The Other Shoes

You know, this is just top-of-my-head speculation here, but shipping Curt Schilling to Boston is a pretty clear indication that the Diamondbacks have finally switched gears from “win now at any cost” to getting rid of at least one aging, high-priced vet who would have helped the team in the short run . . . one sign of a good organization is the ability to recognize when the window of opportunity to win has shut, and the ability to drop the pretense and squeeze maximum future value out of the remaining aging talent on the roster. In Arizona’s case, of course, there are some big ones: Randy Johnson is 40, Luis Gonzalez is 36, Steve Finley is 39, and all three still have value. (This is on top of recent departures like Tony Womack, 34, and Mark Grace, 40).
The Arizona Republic has more, although it doesn’t sound as if a youth movement is in the offing. The paranoid side of me wonders if pursuing Johnson would be Steinbrenner’s next move to counter the Schilling signing; it might actually make some sense, if you think that Johnson could fill Clemens’ slot, but I’m not sure the Yanks would want to part with the young talent needed to make the deal if they’re still shopping for outfield help.