What the Diamondbacks
Should Do
by Ross Friedman
One of my consistent themes in
my articles is that whenever a team is making a
decision, it should always be with the intent to
give them the best possible chance to win a
championship, as that should be the ultimate goal
of every sports team. They are not easy to win,
so each team needs to figure out what the best
way for them to get one.
This brings me to an
interesting decision the Arizona Diamondbacks
should be making. They are a team that has a
chance to make the playoffs, but probably not
enough. It appears that it will be very hard for
them to win the World Series without spending
significantly more money for the betterment of
the team.
At this point, the team that
plays in Bank One Ballpark is bankrupt. They do
not have the money to put them over the top. At
best they will stay a team with a borderline
chance to make the playoffs. In other words, they
do not have enough to reach the goal of a
professional sports team.
So this gives them two options
to reach their goal. First, maintain the way they
are now until they can find a way to get their
financial situation in order and then add the
players necessary to make a World Series run. Or
second, trade off the big name talent they have
now, to put together a young talented nucleus
that can win down the road.
From the fan of the D-Backs
perspective, you always hate to see your team
rebuild, because that means a number of losing
seasons. Arizona’s management is probably
scared of attendance dropping off too much if
they did trade off their big name stars and had a
losing record so they will probably try the
technique of maintain their current team.
This would be (and will be) a
huge mistake.
Randy Johnson is 37 years old.
Curt Schilling will be 35 next season. In May
Todd Stottlemyre turns 36. Matt Williams and Jay
Bell will both be 35 next season and Steve Finley
36. Do you see my point? If and when the
Diamondbacks can afford a winner, their team will
be too old to win, if they are not already.
However, players like Johnson
and Schilling have a lot of trade value. So does
Matt Williams. They can try to do a Herschal
Walker move with these players and create a young
nucleus that could win, and at a cheaper price,
for years to come.
Basically, they should be
trading off their six highest paid players; Randy
Johnson, Curt Schilling, Matt Williams, Todd
Stottlemyre, Jay Bell (although they would have
to pay part of his salary), and Steve Finley.
Now, the following is part of
the trades they should make, although they
assuredly will not. Randy Johnson they should
ship off to the Yankees in a package that would
bring them D-Backs Alfanso Soriano, Nick Johnson,
and Ted Lily. They should trade Curt Schilling to
the Boston Red Sox in a trade that would include
Tomo Ohka and Wilton Veras.
If the Mariners lose Alex
Rodriguez, they will be seeking more offense and
the D-Backs should try to trade them Matt
Williams in a deal that would include Carlos
Guillen and Jeff Heaverlo. The rest they should
trade for whatever prospects they can get, with
Todd Stottlemyre probably bringing in the most of
the other three players.
That’s it. Trade off the
big names and bring in young and talented ones.
Plan B
Cut down on operating expenses
while finding a way to increase the attendance at
the ballpark. Sign Manny Ramirez and make a run
right now.
2001 Suggested
25-man Roster
Lineup:
LF-Tony Womack
2B-Alfonso Soriano
1B-Nick Johnson
CF-Luis Gonzalez
RF-Danny Bautista
3B-Wilton Veras
SS-Carlos Guillen
C- Damien Miller
Bench:
C - Kelly Stinnett
1B - Erubiel Durazo
IN - Andy Fox
IN - Craig Counsell
OF - Dave Dellucci
PH - Greg Culbrunn
Starters:
Brian Anderson
Tomo Ohka
Ted Lilly
Geraldo Guzman
Ben Norris
Bullpen:
Matt Mantei
Byung-Hyun Kim
Mike Morgan
Greg Swindell
Russ Springer
Miguel Batista
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