The Big Unit, surely, had landed in the Bronx.
" . . . their pitching rotation for Friday and Sunday. Kevin Brown will pitch on Friday. Orlando Hernandez on Sunday."
No mention of Randy Johnson, or any other trade of consequence. With the trading deadline now just 48 hours away -- 4 p.m. Saturday -- sorting out fact from fiction in the realm of baseball dealmakers would continue to challenge correspondents and their consumers alike.
Johnson, despite speculation yesterday that he had turned down a deal that would have sent him to the Dodgers (could someone please explain how Dodgers owner Frank McCourt suddenly went from thin pockets to spendthrift overnight?), still appears headed to the Yankees or nowhere at all, unless the Angels somehow can pull off an 11th-hour coup of the magnitude of last winter's cloak-and-dagger signing of Vladimir Guerrero.
The Red Sox and Cubs continue to have conversations regarding a possible swap of shortstop Nomar Garciaparra for pitcher Matt Clement. That's a deal that still ranks on the far side of improbable but could take on added appeal from the Cubs' side if ace Mark Prior comes through tomorrow's start looking as if his elbow will hold up for the stretch run, one of the Chicagoans' foremost concerns.
From the Sox' side, general manager Theo Epstein must weigh the risk of trading an icon, albeit one whose address will soon change anyway, for a guy who will make a dozen starts between now and October, and like Garciaparra could opt for free agency after the season. You could certainly envision Epstein asking the Cubs to sweeten the deal with a prospect or two, especially if the Cubs are going to insist the Sox also take the salary of shortstop Alex Gonzalez to even out the deal economically.
Again, this one may never go past the talking stage. Neither team has the least bit of interest in expanding their conversation to include interlopers from the outside, the Sox especially wary after their very public pursuit of Alex Rodriguez went unrewarded.
