For Bucco fans

[keystone]

Baseball America plays "What If" with the Pirates:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/majors/

[Buczilla]

I don't have a membership to that site, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why the Buccos have been so bad for so long. A shoulda, woulda, coulda article of that variety does nothing for me. I have seen articles of that sort numerous times. The damage has already been done and with the new front office and a plan in place, hopefully we can soon turn the page.

[keystone]

Buczilla -- You can't open the link? C**p!! I blew for a subscription to BA online so I could donate their "wisdom" to the board. $#@! Some contribution if y'all can't even open the site... :hissyfit:

It is a good article, actually, in that it looks at all sorts of problems in scouting, drafting, etc. An organizational shake-down. But probably nothing a Pirates fan doesn't already know. I had you in mind when I posted the link.

So, take this BA:

What If ... ?

Multiple poor decision have led to Pirates' struggles

By John Perrotto
January 21, 2009

E-mail Print

PITTSBURGH—The Pirates have seemingly spent the better part of two decades slamming the car door on their fingers.

They have had 16 straight losing seasons since suffering a devastating loss to the Braves in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game Seven of the 1992 National League Championship Series. That leaves the Pirates only a sub-.500 finish in 2009 away from breaking their tie with the 1933-48 Phillies for most consecutive losing years.

But instead of getting their fingers caught in the car door, what if the Pirates had followed the script of the 1998 Gwyneth Paltrow movie "Sliding Doors?"

Paltrow's character is unjustly fired from her public-relations job. As she returns home, time reverses itself and two versions of her are created while she tries to catch an underground train. In one she ends up having a blissful life; in the other she has a mundane life.

For a moment, let's put the Pirates in the same situation and see what might have been if they had been on the other side of the sliding train door during all these losing years.

What if ... the Pirates had decided to re-sign Barry Bonds?

Bonds, to this day, insists that he never wanted to leave the Pirates. In fact, on a late-July night during the '92 season, Bonds stood at his Three Rivers Stadium locker after another stellar performance on his way to a second NL MVP award in three years and dropped a bombshell to two reporters. He said he would re-sign with the Pirates if they offered a five-year, $25 million contract.

The deal would have been unprecedented at the time and former club president Mark Sauer, who had been brought in the previous summer to make the Pirates more profitable, quickly dismissed the idea. Bonds became a free agent at the end of the season and signed with his hometown Giants for six years and $43.75 million, easily the largest contract in baseball history to that point.

Bonds hit 176 home runs with the Pirates. He went on to belt 588 more in 15 seasons with the Giants to become baseball's all-time home run king.

What if ... the Pirates had taken Jim Leyland's advice?

Kevin McClatchy led a group that completed the purchase of the Pirates on the first day of spring training in '96. McClatchy inherited a manager in Leyland who had led the Pirates to three straight NL East titles from 1990-92 and won two NL manager of the year awards in that span.

Leyland felt the Pirates had a good mix of young players (lefthander Denny Neagle, righthanders Francisco Cordova, Jon Lieber and Esteban Loaiza and catcher Jason Kendall) and young veterans (second baseman Carlos Garcia, third baseman Jeff King, shortstop Jay Bell and right fielder Orlando Merced). He believed they could become a contender if McClatchy increased the $21 million payroll.

McClatchy refused and Leyland asked to be released from his contract at the end of the season despite having four years remaining. Leyland then led the Marlins to the World Series title in 1997 and the Tigers to the American League pennant in 2006 after a six-year hiatus from managing.

What if ... the Pirates had not traded Aramis Ramirez and had traded for Ryan Howard?

With the Pirates facing heat from the commissioner's office to get in line with baseball's debt/equity rule, Littlefield was ordered to shed payroll quickly just before the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline in 2003. Thus, he dealt Ramirez, a promising third baseman, and center fielder Kenny Lofton, a top-flight leadoff hitter, to the Cubs for a forgettable three-player package highlighted by second baseman Bobby Hill.

Two years later, Phillies GM Ed Wade was so impressed after watching Kip Wells strike out 12 while shutting Philadelphia out on four hits that he tried to trade for the righthander and offered Howard to the Pirates. Littlefield, believing the Triple-A first baseman struck out too much, turned down the deal for Howard.

Ramirez has hit 173 home runs and driven in 575 runs in five-plus seasons with the Cubs and Howard has belted 177 homers in a little less than four full seasons with the Phillies, winning rookie of the year and MVP honors along the way.

Meanwhile, Hill is out of Organized Baseball and Wells has pitched for five teams in the last three seasons as his career record has fallen to 65-94.

What if ... the Pirates had taken Matt Wieters instead of Daniel Moskos in the 2007 first-year player draft?

Despite Wieters' high bonus demands, Littlefield was given the OK to draft the catcher from Georgia Tech. However, Littlefield firmly believed Moskos, a lefthanded reliever at Clemson, had more upside.

Wieters, who went to the Orioles with the No. 5 pick, made his professional debut last season and was Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year after hitting a combined .355/.454/.600 with 27 home runs in 530 plate appearances for high Class A Frederick and Double-A Bowie. Meanwhile, Moskos was 7-7, 5.95 in 110 innings at high Class A Lynchburg.

Scouts are calling Wieters a potential Hall of Famer. They look at Moskos and wonder if he will even make the major leagues.

It's like Dandy Don Meredith said to Howard Cosell so many years ago on a Monday Night Football telecast, "if ifs and buts were candy and nuts we'd all have a Merry Christmas."

The Christmases haven't been very merry for the Pirates in the last 16 years and neither have the summers.

What if ... the Pirates had taken B.J. Upton or Scott Kazmir instead of Bryan Bullington with the first overall pick in the 2002 first-year player draft?

McClatchy was adamant the Pirates needed to use the first pick on a player who could help the major league club quickly, and general manager Dave Littlefield agreed even though his scouts wanted a high school player with more upside. Thus, the Pirates chose Bryan Bullington, a righthander who was the Mid-American Conference player of the year at Ball State, instead of a high school player like Upton, a shortstop, or Kazmir, a lefthander. Even the Pirates described Bullington as a No. 3 starter after drafting him, a rather modest ceiling for a No. 1 overall pick.

Bullington, now 28, has yet to win a major league game, and has been claimed on waivers by the Indians and Blue Jays in the last year. Upton, now a center fielder, and Kazmir—both four years younger than Bullington—helped the Rays make an amazing

[redlegsfan21]

Buczilla -- You can't open the link? C**p!! I blew for a subscription to BA online so I could donate their "wisdom" to the board. $#@! Some contribution if y'all can't even open the site... :hissyfit:


Not all of us can spend money on stuff like BA, my money is more better suited to go to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for some tickets.

[Buczilla]

I appreciate you posting that keystone. To me though it is nothing more than a recycled story, the yearly kick the dog while it's down article. ESPN had their fun with us with a piece back in September. Just like everyone of these articles that come out, they get the Ryan Howard thing wrong everytime. The trade that was offered to us involved Kris Benson, not Kip Wells. The deal was turned down because the Buccos thought they had a 1B just like him named Brad Eldred. The Phillies were interested in Kip Wells, but Howard was never offered to us in a deal for him.

McClatchy ran this organization into the ground by cutting corners. He had the team running on a shoe string budget. He never cared about the product on the field, all he cared about was the size of his wallet. This is a man who never saw the novelty of a new ballpark wearing off. One who jacked up ticket prices after the first season at PNC Park when we finished 62-100, after setting a franchise attendance record. Not only that, but he had the payroll slashed by over $15 million. He went back on his word about building a competitive team.

Every year we would get the same bull crap marketing scheme packaged differently(think We will...). Come to the ballpark, come to the ballpark....check out all our promotions, our 901 firework nights....Skyblast... Who needs scouts? Lets neglect Latin America. Lets keep signablity in mind when it comes to the draft. One thing I really disliked was how we were told how great our minor league teams did after every season. The wins and losses were always flaunted. The farm is there to develop, winning ball games should have been secondary. The Penguins hockey team here in Pittsburgh fired a coach down below a few years ago for running his team in such a way.

One can say whatever they want about Nutting, but he doesn't try to act like he knows what he is doing. He went out and got baseball people with baseball minds to run the organization. They laid the plan out on the table from the door pretty much. These folks want to build a championship team, not a team that is gonna make .500 for the sake of ending the consecutive season losing streak. We have a presence in Latin America again. Money is going in all the right places, not just straight to the owners bank account. Our farm is in better shape than it was at this time last season.

The boys in the front office are on the right track. It's all about development. If we are gonna have any chance of competing down the road we need to be able to turnover talent. A one and done shot is not in the plan. We are not being sold bells and whistles. They are not overhyping the product on the field with only the thought of putting backsides in seats. It has been build for the future from the door.

If it takes eating some L's to do things the right way, then so be it. I feel more confident about this rebuilding process than any other that has taken place over the past 15 or 16 years.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

I started a similar thread back in December.

http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=83242

[ol' aches and pains]

I started a similar thread back in December.

http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=83242

In other words, what if the Pirates had a competent front office? Did they really turn down a Ryan Howard for Kip Wells trade?

[ol' aches and pains]

In other words, what if the Pirates had a competent front office? Did they really turn down a Ryan Howard for Kip Wells trade?

Oh, never mind. I read further in that thread, and discovered the offer was actually Kris Benson for Ryan Howard that the Pirates turned down. Now it makes sense!

[keystone]

I figured you would know the real lowdown, Buczilla. I'm glad you posted what actually went down. I, for one, didn't know all of that stuff, and the Pirates are one of my "closet" teams, so I like to keep tabs on them.

McClatchy sure did screw the fans -- that gorgeous ballpark and not one decent team in 10 years. At least the re-building has begun.

redlegsfan21 -- I couldn't really afford the subscription, either, but since I don't know jack about SABRmetrics, I figured I could contribute to the board if I had BA online. I can still copy/paste, but I hate to take up so much space. I'll keep trolling for items of interest. They have great farm team coverage... I used to get BA in the long-ago, before computers and when it was actually affordable.

[NickU]

Just like everyone of these articles that come out, they get the Ryan Howard thing wrong everytime. The trade that was offered to us involved Kris Benson, not Kip Wells.

Actually, that is where you are wrong... sort of. They tried to trade Howard to the Bucs twice: first time for Benson, a second time for Wells.

[keystone]

It's always hard to give up pitchers, but somebody had to have known about Howard's potential, right?

[Buczilla]

Actually, that is where you are wrong... sort of. They tried to trade Howard to the Bucs twice: first time for Benson, a second time for Wells.

Inside the Pirates: The MVP that got away
Howard could have been had ... except Pirates thought they already had him in Eldred
Sunday, August 19, 2007
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the National League's MVP for 2006 ... Ryan Howard of your Pittsburgh Pirates!
Has a tantalizing ring, no?

Just imagine how the franchise's fortunes might have been changed by having such a star, from attendance to TV ratings to ... gasp ... success in the standings.

It almost happened.

Various versions of the story have circulated how Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield spoke with his Philadelphia counterpart, Ed Wade, about possible trades involving Howard. None can be conclusive, of course, as even the parties involved can have their own reasons for twisting such tales.

But here is one version cobbled together from three sources, all of whom agreed on the major elements and one of whom was directly involved on the Pirates' side ...

First, to clear a popular misconception: The Pirates never turned down a deal of Howard for Kip Wells. Although the Phillies liked Wells and inquired about him, those talks did not involve Howard.

Rather, it was the summer of 2004, and the Phillies were interested in Kris Benson. And yes, they offered Howard, who opened that season with Class AA Reading.

The Pirates rejected it.

Was it because Benson was deemed too high a price?

No, the sources said. It was because the Pirates already had a similar prospect in Brad Eldred.

At the time, such an evaluation was not preposterous: Each was 24, each was a first baseman and each had extraordinary power. Howard was in the process of hitting 46 home runs between Class AA Reading and Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Eldred was hitting 38 home runs between Class A Lynchburg and Class AA Altoona. Each had a batting average in the .290s.

Part of the Pirates' thinking was that, after extensive scouting of Howard, they detected a hole in his swing -- under his fists -- and wondered if it could be addressed.

Suffice it to say it has.

One of the key differences between the two at the time, some say, was that Howard had a fairly simple swing while Eldred's had all kinds of mechanical issues in which everything had to be just right to click. That made Eldred the greater unknown.

Another was that, although their strikeout-to-walk ratios were similar early in their minor-league careers, Howard kept improving in that regard while Eldred regressed. Almost all power-hitters will strike out a ton, but it is pitch recognition that separates those who hit home runs in the minors and those who do it at the elite level.

When Howard won MVP honors last season, he had 181 strikeouts but also 108 walks, most at any point in his professional career. This year, he has 142 strikeouts and 77 walks.

Eldred, batting .215 for Class AAA Indianapolis, has 76 strikeouts and 17 walks.

The punch line: The Pirates traded Benson that summer to the New York Mets, along with Jeff Keppinger, for Jose Bautista and Ty Wigginton. Bautista was brought back after being given away in the Rule 5 draft debacle a year earlier. The Pirates released Wigginton in late 2005. Wigginton and Keppinger are now everyday players for other teams.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07231/810532-63.stm

[keystone]

:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

Howard makes me a nervous wreck if I'm rooting for the Phillies on any given day. I absolutely hate the idea that excessive K's are now OK. And, of course, the Pirates were right in evaluating the "hole" in his swing. I've never seen a bigger block of Swiss cheese!

[NickU]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07231/810532-63.stm

It happened, sure no one can confirm it but the rumors were everywhere. The Kris Benson deal was also denied. Look, we are talking about two of the worst GM's in Ed Wade and Dave Littlefield.

They won, hammering the defending world champion Cardinals, whose pitching this year is nearly as bad as the Phillies’ pitching.

I came to The Bank thinking eerie yet convenient irony — infamously disenchanted former Phil Scott Rolen, a perfect choice for a game-winning hit. And bad karma — Friday the 13th, but please no more pitching injuries, or black cats in Ryan Howard’s path to greatness.

Despite all the bone-headed, short-sighted things the Phillies have done en route to the brink of 10,000 defeats, give them credit for one thing: At least they didn’t trade Howard for Kip Wells.

Actually give credit to Pittsburgh Pirates GM David Littlefield. That discussed deal in the summer of 2005, near the end of the disastrous Ed Wade administration, didn’t happen because Littlefield wasn’t enamored enough of Howard. Friday night the Phillies’ potent young lineup shelled Wells — previously 5-0 against them, but 3-11 this season.

http://www1.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/130-07142007-1377770.html

[keystone]

The same Ed Wade who's in Houston now?

[Buczilla]

I found the article that got the ball rolling on this rumor....

Howard behind Thome; club won't give him away
April 1, 2005
By Jayson Stark
ESPN.com

One of the most-asked questions in spring training was: Why won't the Phillies trade Ryan Howard, their best power-hitting prospect since Mike Schmidt?

It turns out that one of the people asking that question was Howard himself.

Howard's agent, Larry Reynolds, told ESPN.com that he'd faxed a letter to the Phillies on Friday, formally requesting a trade.

"We can't demand a trade," Reynolds said. "All we're doing is requesting one. But we figured that if we put it in ink, they would understand we're not just talking."

Howard, 25, is coming off a 48-homer season and opened a lot of eyes this spring by hitting .315 with three homers.

But the Phillies have concluded he can't play anywhere but first base. And he's still blocked by Jim Thome for the next four years.

"We don't know what we're supposed to do," Reynolds said. "We think he's ready for the big leagues. He just wants an opportunity."

One scout appraised Howard's readiness for the big leagues this way: "He's got holes, no doubt about that. But he's going to run into 25-30 homers by accident. And the good thing is, he uses the other side of the field."

There are a number of teams that would love to give him a shot, too. And some of them are asking how Howard could possibly have more trade value than he has right now.

"Believe me," Phillies general manager Ed Wade told ESPN.com earlier in the week, "we've talked about all of that. But we still feel as if Ryan has significant value for us. Despite the fact he's coming off a tremendous season, he still has two options left. So we just feel the appropriate thing is to let him continue to develop and see what happens."

With the Phillies fishing for bullpen pieces, it's believed the Devil Rays were ready to dangle Danys Baez, and the Pirates were willing to talk about their glut of arms. But, Wade said, "We've never had a conversation with one team where names were involved. They were all just expressions of interest."

Nevertheless, teams that have inquired about Howard believe the Phillies will use him and Placido Polanco as their biggest chips before the trading deadline -- where Wade will be under massive pressure to make a major deal.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2028023

Wade's interest came from the 12 K complete game shutout Wells tied on his Phillies on July 5th. The trade deadline was the 31st of that month. Jim Thome played his last game of the season on June 30th -- remember the injury? Howard was in place the rest of the way. Brad Eldred made his debut on the 22nd of July. By the time the deadline came, Howard had shown that he could hold his own in the big leagues. Trading Howard at that point made no sense. You didn't forget that Thome's name made it's rounds? A trade finally went down on the 25th of November. So who was really being shopped?

Phillies reportedly shopping slugger
Associated Press

"I'm not a doctor. I don't know," Thome said before Friday night's game with Florida.

Thome was placed on the disabled list on July 1 with tendinitis in his right elbow and acknowledged feeling some discomfort earlier in the week after batting practice.

Thome did not hit Friday but hoped to swing again in the next few days. He also expected to go to the minor leagues for a rehab assignment before he was activated.

"When it's ready, we'll go," Thome said. "We're trying to get over the hump here of feeling better."

Thome was also on the DL in May with a lower back strain and missed another 19 games in what is easily turning out to be the worst season of his career (.207, seven home runs, 30 RBI).

Besides the injuries, Thome is suddenly having to deal with trade rumors. With the July 31 trade deadline approaching, a report in this week's USA Today Sports Weekly said the Phillies had shopped Thome to at least two NL teams.

"This time of year, things like that happen," Thome said. "When you get close to the deadline, things like that come up. I don't know anything about it."

There are several obstacles in a potential deal involving Thome, however, with the biggest being salary.

Thome is due about $12.5 million in 2006 and $14 million in each of the final two seasons of his six-year contract. The Phillies have a club option for 2009 and Thome has a no-trade clause.

Plus, he turns 35 in August.

Thome refused to comment on any scenarios where he would waive the no-trade clause or if the Phillies have approached him about doing so.

"I don't know nothing about it," Thome said. "I need to get healthy and get back before I can worry about anything."

If Thome doesn't go, the Phillies could dangle top hitting prospect Ryan Howard as bait for a frontline starter as they try to make a run in the NL East. Howard, also a first baseman, has been touted as a Thome-like slugger. The only problem is, Thome is blocking Howard's path to a full-time job.

Howard is hitting .250 with four homers and 12 RBI filling in for Thome, with his 11 RBI in July the second-highest total among NL hitters.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, who also managed Thome with Cleveland, said he was unaware of any potential deals involving the slugger.

"I think any time you've got a player like Jim Thome and a young player like Howard, I think there will be talks, especially when Jim hasn't been playing," Manuel said.

While Thome will be out for a while longer, third baseman David Bell should be ready to play on Saturday.

Bell (.252, five homers, 30 RBI) did not start for the second straight game, still recovering from back spams that hit him this week while trying to pick up a magazine.

Bell said he felt much better on Friday and would be available to pinch-hit. Manuel said he rested his third baseman as a precaution and started Tomas Perez for the second straight night.

Bell took some swings in the cage, ran and fielded grounders before the game.

"I'm definitely going to play tomorrow," Bell said.

More mill material...

Wells' road woes continue with 8-2 loss in Chicago
Allows 6 runs, 9 hits; Pirates drop 3 of 4 to Cubs
Monday, July 18, 2005
By Paul Meyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

CHICAGO -- If the Philadelphia Phillies have any interest in acquiring Kip Wells -- and there's reason to believe they at least have some -- their people would be better served remembering how he pitched against their team two weeks ago than how he labored against the Chicago Cubs yesterday.

With a Phillies' scout in the house to watch him, Wells turned in yet another abysmal road start in the Pirates' 8-2 loss.

Just two starts after throwing a four-hit shutout July 5 against Philadelphia, Wells left the unfriendly confines of Wrigley Field before the third inning ended.

"A very disappointing outing," manager Lloyd McClendon said. "It got pretty ugly pretty quickly."

In his eight-out flameout, Wells yielded nine hits and six runs.

That largesse raised Wells' totals in his past six road starts -- all losses -- to 41 hits and 29 earned runs allowed in 22 innings.

Still, the Phillies, desperately seeking a starting pitcher, could be desperate enough to make a run at Wells before the non-waiver trading deadline July 31.

The Phillies are dangling first baseman Jim Thome to see if they get any nibbles. If they can unload Thome and his huge contract, they would install power-hitting Ryan Howard at first base.

But if the Phillies can't rid themselves of Thome, Howard almost certainly would be available. His left-handed bat would fit well at PNC Park.

The Phillies also want to replace Mike Lieberthal as their catcher and could have interest in, say, Humberto Cota. A Cota departure could open the way for the Pirates to put rookie Ryan Doumit behind the plate on a regular basis and bring back David Ross from Indianapolis to help with the transition.

All that, though, is the stuff of July trade speculation.

"I have bigger problems than who's scouting me," Wells said quietly.

Indeed.

Wells has been maddeningly inconsistent in his four seasons with the Pirates, who sooner or later must decide if they want to keep the guy who can be a free agent after next season.

"It's like he takes a step forward and then a couple steps back," McClendon said. "Our job is to make him better."

But at age 28 and after being in the big leagues for at least parts of seven seasons, can Wells get better? Can he consistently be the pitcher who stuffed the Phillies two weeks ago or is he more likely to be the pitcher who threw 36 pitches in the third inning yesterday?

Wells entered the decisive third trailing, 1-0, thanks to a two-out home run by Derrek Lee in the first inning.

Todd Walker began the Cubs' large third with a one-out single. Lee singled him to third. Jeromy Burnitz shot a run-scoring single into right field. Aramis Ramirez grounded a 3-1 pitch through the middle for another run-scoring single.

McClendon visited the mound.

"I think he was concerned about throwing strikes and was trying to temper the fastball a little bit, but that's not Kip," McClendon said. "He's got to power that fastball and he's got to pitch in the middle of the plate.

"I just wanted to remind him that he had a good fastball, a good sinker, and to use it. He was a pitch away from getting out of that inning and we still had a ballgame."

Wells never did find that one pitch.

Neifi Perez bounced into a fielder's choice at the plate, but Michael Barrett singled to right to make the score, 4-0. Then pitcher Carlos Zambrano lined a 2-2 pitch into left-center field for a two-run double.

"It was a back-door curveball down," Wells said. "I think it was a decent pitch. He'd just seen enough of them over a couple of at-bats. He was probably thinking I was coming with soft stuff because that's what I had done. That just kind of did me in."

That hit kind of did in the Pirates, too, on this steamy, 87-degree afternoon.

They loaded the bases with one out in the fourth inning but netted just a run on Jose Castillo's fielder's choice ground ball. They added a cosmetic run in the ninth on pinch-hitter Bobby Hill's run-scoring double.

While losing three of four games here, the Pirates were outscored, 24-7, and were just 19 for 126 (.151) at the plate.

The Pirates, 3-16 in their past 19 games against the Cubs, head home after having faced starters Pedro Martinez, Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, Greg Maddux and Zambrano in their past five games.

"My job is to make sure that we keep things in perspective and to let these guys know things are going to get easier for us," McClendon said. "We'll go back home, we'll regroup and we'll try to get it together."

Wells, meanwhile, will have four days to ponder what went wrong yesterday.

"I got behind on the count -- or least first-pitch balls as opposed to first-pitch strikes," he said. "It's more common than not to give up a hit after falling behind 1-0 as opposed to getting ahead 0-1.

"You're optimistic you're going to get guys out. You're not standing out there thinking, 'Where's this guy going to hit it next?' But that old adage that hitting's contagious rings true when you get behind on the count and make mistakes. They're going to hit the ball hard.

"It's frustrating. I'm kind of struggling right now."

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05199/539582-63.stm

Not anywhere on the internet, via magazine, newspaper, etc will you find one mention from either front office direct quotes pertaining to a trade of Howard for Wells. All you will find is speculation. Speculation just like what can be found in each of these articles.

[Buczilla]

The same Ed Wade who's in Houston now?

That is correct.

[NickU]

I found the article that got the ball rolling on this rumor....



http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2028023

Wade's interest came from the 12 K complete game shutout Wells tied on his Phillies on July 5th. The trade deadline was the 31st of that month. Jim Thome played his last game of the season on June 30th -- remember the injury? Howard was in place the rest of the way. Brad Eldred made his debut on the 22nd of July. By the time the deadline came, Howard had shown that he could hold his own in the big leagues. Trading Howard at that point made no sense. You didn't forget that Thome's name made it's rounds? A trade finally went down on the 25th of November. So who was really being shopped?



More mill material...



http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05199/539582-63.stm

Not anywhere on the internet, via magazine, newspaper, etc will you find one mention from either front office direct quotes pertaining to a trade of Howard for Wells. All you will find is speculation. Speculation just like what can be found in each of these articles.

I don't doubt that, I just distinctly remember this happening with both players. I agree that nothing serious ever happened, I don't think that anything serious ever materialized, so there would be no quotes.