Prologue | Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

Chapter Five: The Hunt for Brandon Webb

With the trade of Ben Davis, Salem’s need for a catcher is now more urgent than ever. Glander continues to pursue all avenues of trade, including Jason Phillips from the Villanova Mustangs. Though Phillips is a first baseman by trade, he can catch in a pinch, and swings a bat well enough to justify his weak defense behind the plate. But more than his bat, Salem is interested in his minimum-wage salary. Once again, the Salem accountants work overtime to help Glander develop another unique trade offer.

One of the ugliest contracts in the entire BDBL – if not the ugliest - is that of injury-prone former star, Ken Griffey, Jr.. Griffey is contracted for $10 million per season, through 2007. No GM in his right mind would go anywhere near that contract. Naturally, Glander devises a way to capitalize on the situation.

In exchange for taking on the remaining $40 million of Griffey’s contract, Glander requests three players in return: Brandon Webb, Phillips and Andy Marte. The trade would free up $40 million in salary from Villanova – an astounding figure – while costing the Mustangs three players with tremendous immediate trade value, but uncertain future value. Glander feels Griffey’s contract is an expense the Salem franchise can afford to absorb.

“With the kids we have coming up through our system,” Glander explains, “I have great confidence that we can operate successfully on a budget of $54 million. By taking on that Griffey contract, that’s exactly what we’d be doing for the next four years.”

After several days pass without a response, Glander reconnects with Villanova GM Tony Chamra to get a status.

“Tony! Who’s the best-looking GM in the BDBL? Tom, eh? Man, you really are his number one fan, aren’t you?”

Through that conversation, Glander learns that Chamra isn’t bothered by the Griffey contract as much as Glander had assumed. The Mustangs are willing to take a $40 million gamble that Griffey will return to his former self.

Chamra counters by offering Phillips, Carlos Lee and Adrian Beltre for Harden. That is $12 million in total salary for a part-time catcher, a platoon outfielder and a no-hit third baseman. Even if the Mustangs were asking for nothing in return, Salem wouldn’t agree to this trade. The fact that they’re asking for Harden causes Glander’s head to shake back-and-forth once again.

He counters by offering Harden for Webb, Phillips and Beltre. Since the Mustangs aren’t looking to contend in 2004, replacing Webb with Harden would be a plus for Villanova going forward. Losing Phillips would be no loss, since he has dubious future value. And losing Beltre (who hit .240/.290/.424 in the previous MLB season) would free up $6.5 million in salary for the auction.

“I love Rich Harden to death,” Glander says, his eyes welling up with tears. “He’s like a son to me. But in this game, you have to learn not to get emotionally attached to your players. It’s a business, and it requires you to make some cold-hearted business decisions from time to time. This is definitely one of those times.”

Adding Brandon Webb to the Cowtippers rotation would be a huge coup for the Salem front office. Webb could be a legitimate Cy Young contender in the BDBL, at a price of just $100,000. As early as last summer, the Cowtippers have been targeting Curt Schilling on the free agent market. They have estimated that Schilling will cost between $9 and $11 million to sign. Adding Webb would mean that $11 million Salem had earmarked for Schilling could go toward the offense instead. Adding Webb would also give Salem the best rotation in the league, with a front three of Wood, Zito and Webb.

The offers and counter-offers continue throughout the day and into the night. By the end of the night, Glander has agreed to give the Mustangs not only Harden, but Salem’s top outfield prospect, Jeremy Reed, as well. He also agrees to take on Adrian Beltre’s $6.5 million contract. It is a staggering offer that no other team can possibly match.

“If not for our depth, we never could have made that offer,” Glander explains. “We have Zito and Wood locked in through the 2006 season, so our rotation in the immediate future is solid, even without Harden. We’re very high on Edwin Jackson and Cliff Lee, so our rotation should still be strong once Zito and Wood are gone. Our outfield is pretty much set through the 2008 season with Berkman and Kearns, and we’re hoping Chris Snelling eventually stays healthy enough to contribute. Though Harden and Reed are two of the top prospects in the game, they are expendable on this team. Taking on $6.5m in salary from Beltre isn’t a huge problem for us, either, because we have already budgeted $9 million for a #3 starter. We’d gladly pay $6.5 million for Brandon Webb on the open market. He’d easily fetch double that amount if he were a free agent.”

Chamra leaves the table without agreeing to the offer, but promises to think about it overnight and get back to Glander the following day. After a sleepless night, filled with thoughts of a Salem pitching staff led by three legitimate aces, Glander incessantly checks his messages the following morning.

Finally, at 9:25am, a pop-up window appears on Glander’s monitor, signaling that a decision has been made. Glander sits for a moment, completely still, staring at the monitor, with Big Daddy hovering over his shoulder. The fate of the Salem Cowtippers’s 2004 season could very well be a click away. Finally, Glander summons the courage to click.

Chamra agrees to the trade, but only if Salem throws in Hanrahan.

More chairs fly across the Salem front office, more staffers flee for cover, more windows are broken, and the breakfast buffet is once again toppled over. Reuschel is on his hands and knees, crawling through the carnage, trying to salvage a slice of bacon he finds underneath an end table.

“We’re not giving these (bleeping) guys enough already?!?,” Glander screams to no one in particular. “Joel (bleeping) Hanrahan?!? He just wants us to (bleeping) throw him in?!? Who does this (bleeping bleep) think he is?!? Paul (bleeping) Marazita?!? Jedi mind tricks don’t work on me!!”

Sacrificing Hanrahan would not hurt the Salem franchise, as he, too, is expendable. At this point, however, it is a matter of principle. Salem is trading the best pitching prospect in the game, one of the top five hitting prospects in baseball, AND taking on $6.5 million in unwanted salary. Adding yet another top pitching prospect to the package seems grossly unnecessary.

“I’m not thrilled about trading Harden in the first place,” Glander says, after taking a few hours to calm himself. “If he wants to walk away from this deal at this point, that’s fine with me. Best of luck getting someone else to offer as much as we have.”

Meanwhile, while the Salem braintrust ponders their next move, Greg Newgard of the Silicon CyberSox finally decides to pull the trigger on Glander’s offer of Orlando Hudson for Keith Ginter and John Patterson. Ginter will team with Cabrera at shortstop, providing an acceptable level of offense at a position of historical weakness for Salem. The acquisition of Patterson only means that Hanrahan is even more expendable now than he had been before.

“I will throw in Hanrahan if you throw in Phillips,” Glander finally counters to Chamra later that afternoon. “Or, if you take Beltre out of the equation, then I'll give you Harden, Reed and Hanrahan for Webb. But I'm not giving you all three for Webb AND take on Beltre's salary. That's insane.”

The negotiation has turned into a battle of wills. Glander is convinced that eventually Chamra will come to his senses and realize what a monumentally generous offer he is receiving from the Salem organization. Chamra is convinced that eventually Glander will relent and give him what he wants. Neither side seems willing to budge.

While that stand-off continues, Glander once again enters into negotiations with Kaminski. With the potential of having three legitimate aces and a glaring weakness on offense, Glander recognizes a golden opportunity to swing a deal that would equally benefit both the Cowtippers and Hammerheads in 2004 and beyond. Wood is offered straight-up in exchange for Posada, pending the approval of the Webb trade the following day. The trade would give the Cowtippers a legitimate MVP bat in the middle of the lineup – at a position of inconceivable weakness – while maintaining a front two in the rotation that is as good as that of any team in the league.

After asking Salem to throw in Tom Wilson, however, Kaminski changes his mind and takes the entire offer off the table. Despite placing Posada on the block just days before and stating that he could take on some salary, Kaminski has decided that Posada is too valuable to trade, and the $3 million difference between Posada and Wood is a cost too great to bear. Once again, Kaminski has waffled. Once again, Glander has been lured into Kaminski’s bait-and-switch tactics. Once again, the Cowtippers are left without a catcher.

Next up:
Chapter Six: The Eye of the Hurricane