I beat you to the punch in the Cruz thread about this deal, but it definitely deserves its own thread.

I'll say it again, with a dose of irony considering Kent's piece on Rose: I'd bet a lot of money that the Phillies are going to win the NL East. Why would Schuerholz put himself in the position of having to dump salary by maneuvering himself into having a half-dozen starting pitchers and then giving away the most marketable to a division rival whose only weakness is starting pitching? I mean, the Phillies lineup should score *tons* of runs.

I'm sure Ed Wade couldn't stop giggling and grinning after getting off the phone with John Schuerholz. As you say, Jordan, a nice Christmas present for the Phils.

I'm sure Primer posters who actually post on baseball topics without making silly Star Wars references will give Estrada a new nickname just like the one that John Mabry has.

Okay, which deal was worse? Giambi for Mabry or Millwood for Estrada? I might be leaning toward the Millwood deal, considering we haven't yet heard any reports of him robbing old ladies or hitting his teammates over the head with baseball bats.

Welcome to the bizzare brave new world of Buddelia.

Time/Warner obviously looked at both Maddux and Millwood being arbitration eligible and thought about the worst possible outcomes... and panicked.(who's the arbitrator any way , Marvin Miller?)

Nice to be a Philly fan who are finnally spending like a large market entity which they are!

This deal was infinitely worse. Kevin Millwood, while somewhat inconsistent and with an injury history, is still an upper-echelon starting pitcher. As such, he's much more valuable than Jeremy Giambi.

The Phillies' 2003 chances in the NL Easy still depend on Brett Myers and Brandon Duckworth developing into useful starters, but it's a lot more of a tossup than it was yesterday. There are three teams in the NL Best and two in the Central who I consider stronger, so it doesn't alter the entire league's balance of power, but I agree, this deal was senseless.

If the decision was made (like Richard, I suspect it was corporate panic after they realized what Maddux will cost) to give Millwood away to the first team that said "sure," why wouldn't Schuerholz have called the AL clubs? And if it's non-entity catchers Atlanta is collecting, where better to shop than Toronto?

Sean, if you and your B.C. buddy Justin pull one like this in our fantasy league next year, it will get vetoed. :-) Millwood helped my Roto teams big time in 2002; I heard him say something about watching tapes and correcting a mechanical flaw after getting rocked in early June, then he pitched well in his next start, so I made "lopsided" trade offers (like Ruben Sierra) for a guy who was 3-5, 4.54 at the time, and picked him up in more than one league. Kevin went 12-3, 2.65 in the second half; I love him.

I usually have a hypothesis, no matter how far-fetched, but for once, I'm stunned.

Uh oh!If the braves think Milwood is worth 10 million in arbitration whats Halladay going to get......? Billy........!

Obviously Braves managment told Scherholtz that with Maddux back in the fold they couldn't afford Millwood. And I guess the only team that was willing to take Millwood's salary was Philly. So Scherholtz was forced to make the worst trade Ive seen in a long time commiting the cardinal sin of trading within his own division to a team that could de-throne them.

I thought at least the Yankees might want to pick him up as an alternative to Colon, in this deal they wouldnt have to really give anything up. Maybe Rivera. As it stand the Braves did nothing to fill any of the holes they have in their infield. (1st, 3rd, 2nd) Even picking up an outfielder would have helped them because they could then have moved Chipper back to 3rd or put him at 1st.

The Angels, Cubs, and Red Sox weren't interested? Why? They seem to have some payroll flexibility and some money to spend these days. (God knows Martinez-Lowe-Millwood would put the fear of death into the Yankees.)

By "Rivera", I meant Juan not Mariano.

Hijack attempt:

The Jays just signed Bordick for $1 million. Not the best use of money, but Ash probably would've signed him to a three-year deal with a guaranteed starting job.

Rob Neyer on the black hole in Atlanta where the GM's brain should be.

The question of the day is:

What does John Schuerholz know, that we don't?

And the answer is:

Very little, at least when it comes to Kevin Millwood and Johnny Estrada.

Mr. Schuerholz, forgive us; for we know not what we do.