Roy Oswalt: I Want To Be Traded

[Frayed Knot]

Steve Phillips on WFAN: 'I would trade Strasbourg for Oswalt. I would not take Mejia for Oswalt'.

Are you Effing serious - he said that?!?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Yes, he did, FK. I forgot it was Phillips, and was briefly annoyed. Then I remembered, and I started laughing a little. Confession: I've been listening to the Phillips-on-Francesa stuff ever since... like those "You Are Not the Father" Maury shows, it's terrible for you and contributes to heart problems/brain rot, but sort of irresistible-in-small-doses.

metirish wrote: Yeah well, we've seen Steve's taste in youngsters.

James Lipton would call that "an absolute delight... a masterpiece to shame masterpieces." I call it "BOC."

metirish wrote: As a mets fan I want to see him stay in the NL East .

As a Mets fan, I'd rather see him the once a year we do, say, Lincecum, and watch the rest of his dazzling starts from afar.

[Frayed Knot]

I don't know what to say - particularly seeing as how he's (at least in a theoretical sense) not only advocating dealing a guy who was the #1 pick in a draft not yet a year old but the #1 best prospect IN YEARS according to most, but is doing so in the name of the Washington Freakin Nationals as if their .500-ish start coming off two straight 100+ loss seasons means they're in a position where the addition of Oswalt puts them over the top.
Even assuming that Oswalt is/will be significantly better than this year's version of Strasburg, this trade would start to smell like last week's fish by next year or soon thereafter. Oh yeah, and then there's the $30 million of your owners money you're tossing into this deal.

Are we sure he was no longer there during the Kazmir talks?

[Centerfield]

Frayed Knot wrote: I don't know what to say - particularly seeing as how he's (at least in a theoretical sense) not only advocating dealing a guy who was the #1 pick in a draft not yet a year old but the #1 best prospect IN YEARS according to most, but is doing so in the name of the Washington Freakin Nationals as if their .500-ish start coming off two straight 100+ loss seasons means they're in a position where the addition of Oswalt puts them over the top. Even assuming that Oswalt is/will be significantly better than this year's version of Strasburg, this trade would start to smell like last week's fish by next year or soon thereafter. Oh yeah, and then there's the $30 million of your owners money you're tossing into this deal. Are we sure he was no longer there during the Kazmir talks?

Yes. Which is why we got as much for him as we did.

[G-Fafif]

I hope we get Oswalt for one reason: So he can go on Francesa's show and tell him, "It's OH-swalt, you dope. Not OZ-walt. I've been in the league for ten years, get it straight."

[ashie62]

Valadius wrote: If Mejia can develop a third pitch, he'll be unstoppable for the next 7-10 years. He was throwing 98 mph tonight consistently.

I've been waiting for Maine to develop a third pitch, and, uh,

[Guest Edgy DC]

I can't think of anybody who's been unstoppable for 7-10 years at a run. Maddux? Seaver? Walter Johnson?

[ashie62]

Strasburg is going nowhere except to DC

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Edgy DC wrote: I can't think of anybody who's been unstoppable for 7-10 years at a run. Maddux? Seaver? Walter Johnson?

Lincecum's at 2 1/2 and counting. Pedro was close. Maddux? Koufax? Feller, around the war years? Mathewson?

[soupcan]

I've been unstoppable for going on 15 years now. Ask my wife - she'll vouch.

Not sure if that counts though.

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

Steve Phillips on WFAN: 'I would trade Strasbourg for Oswalt. I would not take Mejia for Oswalt'. Yeah well, we've seen Steve's taste in youngsters .

I'm sorry, i just thought this comment was really funny.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Vince Coleman Firecracker wrote: metirish wrote: Yeah well, we've seen Steve's taste in youngsters . I'm sorry, i just thought this comment was really funny.

"Hey there, beautiful. I'd trade David Wright for just one night with your sweet, sweet honey."

[MFS62]

Steve Phillips on WFAN: 'I would trade Strasbourg for Oswalt. I would not take Mejia for Oswalt'.

I wonder if he would have traded John Smoltz for Doyle Alexander.

Later

[metirish]

I caught the last 15 minutes or so of Phillips on with Francesa....I can't even remember what they were talking about now , what was funny though was the idiot callers calling up to praise Francesa for putting Phillips on his show, modest Mike took note to tell us that Steve through Mark Chernoff is now on in other cities as well...."and if I have played a part in that then good, he's got a lot of good things to say"....next caller called to complain about obstructed seats in the new ballparks.....a valid call....."I don't know what to tell ya....I'm not an architect , I don't know why they do it either"......it was the way he said it though....maybe the caller was surprised to hear Francesa admit to something like that..."whoa , you're not an architect?".

My first thought was "you built that fat body of yours Mike".

[MFS62]

Edgy DC wrote: I can't think of anybody who's been unstoppable for 7-10 years at a run. Maddux? Seaver? Walter Johnson?

That reminds me. Somebody should interview Jamie Moyer about what it was like to pitch against Walter Johnson.
(Yes, that was me calling someone else old.)

Later

[Willets Point]

Roy Oswalt is getting #^$%ed.

[Guest Edgy DC]

The only guys who come even close are Tomo Ohka in 2000 with the Red Sox and Ned Garvin split between two teams in 1904.

Ned Garvin, male prostitute.

[MFS62]

I hope we get Oswalt for one reason: So he can go on Francesa's show and tell him, "It's OH-swalt, you dope. Not OZ-walt. I've been in the league for ten years, get it straight."

Man, that just gave me some old radio flashbacks.
I remember when Mel Allen kept saying "Leroy" Face, when the best closer of that time's name was El Roy Face. He never got it right.

And Stan Lomax, a fixture behind the WOR sports desk for many years would pronounce All-Star pitcher Cam -meel- ee-oh Pas-kwal as Cam-Ill-oh Pas-kul.

Of course, these days we have Jon Miller constantly trying to proove that he can pronounce names correctly. He comes off as just constantly trying.
Later

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Say whatever else you will about Steve Phillips: the man sticks to his guns.

His almost-unbelievably smug, crazy-like-a-bacon-sunhat guns.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

I wouldn't trade Strasbourg for Oswalt, but I must admit that some of what Phillips says makes sense. I think he is right when he asserts that proven talent is more valuable than a prospect's potential for a team that thinks it can win NOW. I also agree with him that the Nationals need more than Oswalt to be a playoff team this year. That's why it would be crazy for the Nationals to trade Strasbourg for virtually anyone at this time, but from the Astros perspective it would be a good deal to make.

I agree with Phillips that Oswalt would best benefit a team that is in win now mode and potentially one starter away from contending. He would be a perfect fit for the Mets, but I don't know that the Mets have or can afford the players it would take to secure Oswalt's services for the next 3 seasons. Santana, Pelfrey, and Oswalt at the front end of the rotation would really improve the Mets chances of making the postseason and would be a formidable group to have in any short series. It is just a dream as I don't forsee it happening.

[bmfc1]

"I think he is right when he asserts that proven talent is more valuable than a prospect's potential for a team that thinks it can win NOW."

A logical position. Let's say that it's one month from now and the Mets are where they are now--a playoff spot is a reasonable expectation--and Seattle calls about a trade involving Cliff Lee. Would Mejia and Thole get that done? If not, would you include F. Martinez? That's a lot but you're getting a lot right now.

[Guest Edgy DC]

First of all, Steve Phillips deserves the fall he got, but seeing him trying to maintain his dignity while chatting on that cheesey-assed set almost breaks my heart.

Second of all, they absolutely and clearly rhetorically cheat, in framing the question, "In this week's Hot Corner, Phillips defends himself and explains why dealing an unproven commodity for an ace might not be a bad idea."

The issue is this "ace," with this salary, for this "unproven commodity." By not speaking more to the specific case, he's either being dishonest or intellectually lazy. He goes into that later, when speaking about other teams, but never mentions that he said the Mets shouldn't trade Mejia.

It's like somebody suggested U2 should trade the Edge for, um, Justin Guarini, and he comes out and defends it under the guise of "In this week's Hot Corner, Phillips defends himself and explains why dealing a guitarist for a singer might not be a bad idea."

There's no such thing as a "proven commodity" or an "unproven commodity." Reliability occurs on a continuum, and older pitchers get hurt too.

[Frayed Knot]

First of all, who knew there was such a thing as 'Fanhouse TV'?

Secondly, I think his explanation there makes him even more bat-shit crazy than I previously thought.
As Edgy said; "The issue is this "ace," with this salary, for this "unproven commodity." By not speaking more to the specific case, he's either being dishonest or intellectually lazy."
He partly explains it by saying that Strasburg might get hurt as if that's a possibility while Oswalt doing so isn't in the equation.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Edgy DC- "The issue is this "ace," with this salary, for this "unproven commodity." By not speaking more to the specific case, he's either being dishonest or intellectually lazy. He goes into that later, when speaking about other teams, but never mentions that he said the Mets shouldn't trade Mejia."

I agree that he did not address the specifics of Strasbourg for Oswalt. However, regarding his comment that "...I would not take Mejia for Oswalt", I never read that to mean the Mets shouldn't trade Mejia for Oswalt if it was offered, but rather Mejia would not be enough to garner Oswalt from the perspective of the Astros.

[Guest Edgy DC]

You right.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Let's say that it's one month from now and the Mets are where they are now--a playoff spot is a reasonable expectation--and Seattle calls about a trade involving Cliff Lee. Would Mejia and Thole get that done? If not, would you include F. Martinez? That's a lot but you're getting a lot right now.

As far as I'm concerned, mortgaging your future for the promise of a playoff spot is never a prudent move. [see: Zambrano-Kazmir, the premise.] To upgrade an already-formidable contender-- "load the battleship," say, rather than "arming the rowboat"? That's another story.

Although... depending on how confident I am in Mejia's/Thole's chances, and if I'm a bigger fan of next year's presumed draft class, I might be more willing to take on a Lee, who'll either stick around after year's end for market cost or yield draft picks when/if he signs elsewhere.

Frayed Knot wrote: First of all, who knew there was such a thing as 'Fanhouse TV'? Secondly, I think his explanation there makes him even more bat-shit crazy than I previously thought. As Edgy said; "The issue is this "ace," with this salary, for this "unproven commodity." By not speaking more to the specific case, he's either being dishonest or intellectually lazy." He partly explains it by saying that Strasburg might get hurt as if that's a possibility while Oswalt doing so isn't in the equation.

Exactly.

I don't feel bad for Steve Phillips one bit. He's had opportunities, and squandered them all, bringing many people down with him.

[Frayed Knot]

In all, I think this should be the basis for future team prez/owners when evaluating possible GM candidates: Would you ever, or under what circumstances would you, trade a Steven Strasburg?

Not that there's a specific correct answer, but if I'm hiring someone with the power to make those decisions (or even suggestions) with budgets being what they are today I'm sure as hell going to want to know the job seeker's view on something like that.
You should never say never, but Phillips' problem is that goes too far the other way. Taking the idea that prospects don't always work out he essentially just lumps Strasburg into the generic 'hasn't proven anything yet' pile and therefore rationalizes that the bird in the hand is automatically better without regard for the specifics of this particular case. He also justifies it by painting a very rosy scenario of the upside: make the playoffs --> more money this year --> heightened fan interest --> increased attendance next season, etc., almost as if those are a given outcome of pulling the trigger.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

WE'RE THEORETICALLY ACCEPTABLE! WE'RE THEORETICALLY ACCEPTABLE!

[Zvon]

"veteran fiber"?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Zvon wrote: "veteran fiber"?

Y'know, the kind that's gotten stuck up in you for a while, so's even a high-colonic can't get it out of there easily.

Really, though... I have no idea what that means. The team is significantly younger than it used to be.