Kelvim Escobar will be going straight out to test the free-agent market next week, says JP Ricciardi, one of the items contained in Jeff Blair's excellent preview of what should be a very interesting off-season. Blair has accurately sensed the downturn in the market, and says that only Guerrero and Sheffield are going to get Jim Thome money this off-season. I think that's right, although I can see some team with money to burn going too long and too expensive on a Kevin Millwood or even an Escobar; pitching almost always seems to sell above its real value. Todd Helton's available, if anyone feels like taking on the $100M+ still owed to the John Olerud of Colorado. The Astros were smart to clean out the Phillies and save $9M in the process of the Wagner trade; that may end up being the best haul of the winter. Money, which was no object as recently as two years ago, is now the scarlet letter for many useful ballplayers who are simply too expensive to keep or to acquire. The barometer is dropping in baseball, and everyone is suddenly realizing how far in debt they've gone. By the time this off-season is over, the financial landscape of the game may have changed for good.
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