Intrepid
12-12-2006, 03:01 AM
Key, you see this? There's some slick angles to the art of negotiation in this one. Schuerholz took Bavasi to school, you should of seen the Mariners' board over the trade. Bucco fans didn't seem to keen in not getting LaRoche, either.
The REAL LaRoche/Gonzalez Story
I finally have the Gonzalez/LaRoche deal figured out after talking to a ton of people.
Evidently, the Braves have *always* wanted Paul Maholm and Jose Castillo since the GM meetings. (Kudos to harvardplayer who posted a message in this thread because you were dead on baby.) Littlefield agreed with Castillo but refused to trade Maholm. He offered Grabow instead and Schuerholz backed away.
Schuerholz then said Gonzalez for LaRoche and the teams couldn't come together in a package. Evidently, the Braves then pulled this off the table last Saturday.
At some point over the last few days, Schuerholz came back and said he'd take Gonzalez for LaRoche again (possibly wanting Castillo as well and that was why we were hearing Davies name), but this time he had no intention of ever doing the deal. His goal was two-fold:
one, to drive the price of LaRoche up so he could get the Angels to bite on a LaRoche/Giles deal for Kotchman/Figgins.. the Angels knew better of course, and backed away; and
two, to get the Mariners to the table because they were talking with other teams about Soriano - the Braves true target.
While Littlefield was having his medical team send Gonzo's file to the Braves, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution released the article indicating a deal was done between the Braves and Pirates.. the Post-Gazette evidently picked it up and ran it immediately too, and that was enough to drive Bavasi to the phone and do the Soriano deal for Ramirez. Schuerholz pulled LaRoche off the table as soon as he got Bavasi's call.
But Schuerholz wasn't done.. knowing the media had made Littlefield look like a fool that he didn't get the LaRoche deal done, and thinking Littlefield was in 'save-my-job-mode', he came back at Littlefield wanting his original deal - Maholm and Castillo for LaRoche. Littlefield, of course, said no. The Braves want to clear some salary and see Castillo as a cheaper 2B option than Giles, and Maholm as a Ramirez replacement.
In fairness to Dave Littlefield, Schuerholz took him over a barrel. But he had no way of knowing he was being taken until it all played out. What hurt Littlefield is when both the AJC and the Post-Gazette *both* ran with the seemingly made up story about the Braves and Pirates being close, someone with the Mariners probably heard about it, and Bavasi, eager to get some kind of starting pitching, made the call earlier than he wanted to make to Schuerholz.
If the Post-Gazette had not released that article confirming what the AJC said (or vice-versa if the Post-Gazette was the paper that released the information first), Bavasi might never have called Schuerholz as quick as he did. And that was why I heard on the floor the papers screwed up this deal. In reality, the papers reported what seemed obvious - one team was asking for medicals on a player which doesn't happen until a deal is done.
Posturing.. Schuerholz is a pro at it and he rode David Littlefield all the way from one end of the Dolphin Hotel to the other to get what he really wanted - Soriano.
You have to hand it to Littlefield though. He was taken for a ride but it was a ride he had to take. He was never going to get LaRoche without giving up Maholm and Castillo and he held his ground. Kudo's to Dave for that.
While Dave walks away with egg on his face in the fans eyes, he had no choice, as one Asst GM told me tonight -- he had to play it out if LaRoche was his target and he was willing to give up Gonzalez for him.
So the bottom line is this, there doesn't seem to have ever been an honest LaRoche/Gonzalez offer on the table. If there was, it was late last week.. not this week. That would also explain why the Braves are saying Littlefield took too long to deal.. he did last week because he had to gauge the market and interest for Gonzo since no closer of significance had been signed and a lot of teams were looking for one.
The Braves simply used Littlefield. It happens all the time and it has happened to some other GM's, even this year.
Littlefield evidently sensed he was being played all along because he kept talking to other teams who called about Gonzalez and two of those rumors hit the floor tonight.. one with the Mets.
I sense that Littlefield really isn't interested in dealing Mike Gonzalez like the media thinks he is. Don't get me wrong, if he could acquire a young player to fill a hole in his long-range plans, he'll do the deal. But that isn't likely to happen until well after the first of the year after all the free agents are off the market and true values have been established.
Let's face it, Littlefield knows he can get a lot more for Gonzo in January to some team who wasn't able to fill their needs but feels they are close.. and even more in July to a team whose closer might have bit the dust or isn't performing (think Cubs, by the way).
So, as I have suspected and hoped all along, Dave Littlefield is expected to head home from the winter meetings with his roster intact, his cell phone still on, and waiting for that call he knows eventually will come - some team in trouble needing one of his players. Once all the free agents are gone, he very well might even consider trading Maholm - but the price then will be considerably higher than it is right now because there won't be any other options for the team in need.
Good job Dave.
http://buccoblog.mlblogs.com/my_weblog/2006/12/winter_meetings.html
The REAL LaRoche/Gonzalez Story
I finally have the Gonzalez/LaRoche deal figured out after talking to a ton of people.
Evidently, the Braves have *always* wanted Paul Maholm and Jose Castillo since the GM meetings. (Kudos to harvardplayer who posted a message in this thread because you were dead on baby.) Littlefield agreed with Castillo but refused to trade Maholm. He offered Grabow instead and Schuerholz backed away.
Schuerholz then said Gonzalez for LaRoche and the teams couldn't come together in a package. Evidently, the Braves then pulled this off the table last Saturday.
At some point over the last few days, Schuerholz came back and said he'd take Gonzalez for LaRoche again (possibly wanting Castillo as well and that was why we were hearing Davies name), but this time he had no intention of ever doing the deal. His goal was two-fold:
one, to drive the price of LaRoche up so he could get the Angels to bite on a LaRoche/Giles deal for Kotchman/Figgins.. the Angels knew better of course, and backed away; and
two, to get the Mariners to the table because they were talking with other teams about Soriano - the Braves true target.
While Littlefield was having his medical team send Gonzo's file to the Braves, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution released the article indicating a deal was done between the Braves and Pirates.. the Post-Gazette evidently picked it up and ran it immediately too, and that was enough to drive Bavasi to the phone and do the Soriano deal for Ramirez. Schuerholz pulled LaRoche off the table as soon as he got Bavasi's call.
But Schuerholz wasn't done.. knowing the media had made Littlefield look like a fool that he didn't get the LaRoche deal done, and thinking Littlefield was in 'save-my-job-mode', he came back at Littlefield wanting his original deal - Maholm and Castillo for LaRoche. Littlefield, of course, said no. The Braves want to clear some salary and see Castillo as a cheaper 2B option than Giles, and Maholm as a Ramirez replacement.
In fairness to Dave Littlefield, Schuerholz took him over a barrel. But he had no way of knowing he was being taken until it all played out. What hurt Littlefield is when both the AJC and the Post-Gazette *both* ran with the seemingly made up story about the Braves and Pirates being close, someone with the Mariners probably heard about it, and Bavasi, eager to get some kind of starting pitching, made the call earlier than he wanted to make to Schuerholz.
If the Post-Gazette had not released that article confirming what the AJC said (or vice-versa if the Post-Gazette was the paper that released the information first), Bavasi might never have called Schuerholz as quick as he did. And that was why I heard on the floor the papers screwed up this deal. In reality, the papers reported what seemed obvious - one team was asking for medicals on a player which doesn't happen until a deal is done.
Posturing.. Schuerholz is a pro at it and he rode David Littlefield all the way from one end of the Dolphin Hotel to the other to get what he really wanted - Soriano.
You have to hand it to Littlefield though. He was taken for a ride but it was a ride he had to take. He was never going to get LaRoche without giving up Maholm and Castillo and he held his ground. Kudo's to Dave for that.
While Dave walks away with egg on his face in the fans eyes, he had no choice, as one Asst GM told me tonight -- he had to play it out if LaRoche was his target and he was willing to give up Gonzalez for him.
So the bottom line is this, there doesn't seem to have ever been an honest LaRoche/Gonzalez offer on the table. If there was, it was late last week.. not this week. That would also explain why the Braves are saying Littlefield took too long to deal.. he did last week because he had to gauge the market and interest for Gonzo since no closer of significance had been signed and a lot of teams were looking for one.
The Braves simply used Littlefield. It happens all the time and it has happened to some other GM's, even this year.
Littlefield evidently sensed he was being played all along because he kept talking to other teams who called about Gonzalez and two of those rumors hit the floor tonight.. one with the Mets.
I sense that Littlefield really isn't interested in dealing Mike Gonzalez like the media thinks he is. Don't get me wrong, if he could acquire a young player to fill a hole in his long-range plans, he'll do the deal. But that isn't likely to happen until well after the first of the year after all the free agents are off the market and true values have been established.
Let's face it, Littlefield knows he can get a lot more for Gonzo in January to some team who wasn't able to fill their needs but feels they are close.. and even more in July to a team whose closer might have bit the dust or isn't performing (think Cubs, by the way).
So, as I have suspected and hoped all along, Dave Littlefield is expected to head home from the winter meetings with his roster intact, his cell phone still on, and waiting for that call he knows eventually will come - some team in trouble needing one of his players. Once all the free agents are gone, he very well might even consider trading Maholm - but the price then will be considerably higher than it is right now because there won't be any other options for the team in need.
Good job Dave.
http://buccoblog.mlblogs.com/my_weblog/2006/12/winter_meetings.html