Here's a Boston Globe report that suggests Kevin Millar will play at Fenway this year, despite denials from his agent. Theo Epstein, no doubt encouraged by his boss, former Marlins owner John Henry, came up with a creative way to get his man, and can't understand the fuss. ''It was not our intention to violate any unwritten rule,'' he said.
Theo's plan is to "allow" Millar to reject the Red Sox waiver claim, as is his right. Then, the Chunichi Dragons will accept compensation (rumoured to be Benny Agbayani, who the Japanese fans will adore, and enough cash to pay the transfer fee they owe the Marlins) and Millar will end up in Boston after all.
''It's something we haven't done lightly,'' Epstein said. ''We researched it so we could proceed without infringing on the rights of the Marlins, the Chunichi Dragons, or Kevin Millar. We were comfortable making the claim when we were confident there were several possible resolutions of this move and all of them would involve the teams being made whole and not ending up with less than what they started with.''
In Florida, and in a few other front offices, there's outrage. "You just don't claim players on waivers who go to Japan. It just hasn't been done before," a Marlins' official said. ''They broke a gentleman's agreement,'' another unnamed source said. ''This is [b.s]. Yeah, we're [peeved].''
The rookie GM who has them so upset is smart, determined and innovative; the Marlins are the latest Jeff Loria masterpiece to be systematically destroyed. No wonder their people are [P.O.'d].
Another interesting buzz is getting louder, with the Yankees apparently willing to broker a three-way deal that will put Bartolo Colon in a White Sox uniform (from what I hear about his off-season "conditioning," they'll need to let it out a bit) and make El Duque an Expo. Chicago reliever Antonio Osuna will come to the Bronx, says the Boston Herald, and Boss George will cut a cheque, which will make Expos' principal owner Bud Selig happy. Like the vast majority of trades these days, it's about relieving financial burdens. Talent is an afterthought, but it's clearly a great move for the White Sox, who would be upgraded immediately from "distant second" to "contender" in their division. The Yankees get the satisfaction of keeping Colon away from Boston, and their 8-man rotation is down to seven. It makes so much sense, I predict it will happen, once Brian Cashman explains it to Kenny Williams.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20030115083435999