The Very Funny Arizona Diamondbacks

[Crash Course]

It seems that the Yankees and D'backs cannot agree on a deal for Randy Johnson. In the NY Daily News there was a report that read:

According to Arizona and Yankee sources, when the Johnson negotiations first got underway between the clubs, the D-Backs asked for Vazquez, $19.5 million (the difference between the remaining $35.5 million on Vazquez contract and the $16 million owed to Johnson next year) plus four top Yankee prospects. In addition, the D-Backs said they would expect the Yankees to acquire for them another young starting pitcher from among the A's Barry Zito and Tim Hudson, the Dodgers' Edwin Jackson, the Devil Rays' Scott Kazmir, Colorado's Jason Jennings and Shawn Chacon, the Tigers' Jeremy Bonderman and Toronto's Ted Lilly.

It was an offer the Diamondbacks knew the Yankees would immediately dismiss, but as one baseball source told the Daily News: "(Arizona's newly installed CEO) Jeffrey Moorad wants his first deal to be the deal of the century here."

A week or so later, the Diamondbacks came back to the Yankees and proposed Vazquez, reliever Tom Gordon, the $19.5 million, lefthander Brad Halsey and one of four top prospects among third baseman Eric Duncan, outfielder Rudy Guillen, infielder Robinson Cano and 19-year-old lefthander Abel Gomez. That, in turn, brought a counter-proposal from the Yankees of Vazquez, a cash settlement of $13 million to $14 million, and three lefthanded pitching prospects, Halsey, Alex Graman and Gomez.

Let's see.......Vazquez, nearly $20 million in cash, Tom Gordon, Halsey, and a blue chip prospect..........yeah, right. That's the ticket.

It's not exactly Casey Fossum, Brandon Lyon, Michael Goss and Jorge De La Rosa; but, it would do............

My stars! What are they smoking in the desert? Good for the Yankees on telling Arizona to stick it.

[KCBOOMER]

You could look at this from the opposite angle and say that the D'Backs are being very clever by asking for more than anyone would possibly pony up for Johnson. First, there is always the possibility (albeit extremely slim) that the Yanks might have accepted, second, a lower proposal later might seem reasonable to the Yanks when it in fact it is still too much, and third, the Yanks are no more done with this trade than the moon has ceased orbiting the earth.

[captain_napalm]

Well it's going to get interesting, as it seems that the Red Sox have thrown interest