Random Fandom

Enough with the news. I need a break from baseball. No sooner than one de-Backman-le ends does another brouhaha begin.

Let's get one thing straight -- Randy did not say he wants a trade. What Alan Nero, one of his agents, said to the Sporting News is as follows:

"Randy has very, very strong feelings about his community and home. In his heart, he'll always be a Diamondback. But I would think at this stage of his career his goals would supersede that. He wants to achieve milestones that very few pitchers in the history of the game have had a chance of achieving. I don't think he fits into a rebuilding situation with any club. My feeling is that it would be best for everyone to focus on what is important to Randy. And what was important to Randy seven months ago hasn't changed."

Now, I realize that it's a fine distinction between Nero saying what Randy wants and Randy saying it himself, but it's a distinction nonetheless. Beyond that, here's what I read into Nero's remarks:

1) Randy wants to reach 300 wins and (probably) pass Roger Clemens on the all-time strikeout leaders list.
2) He doesn't want to play for the Diamondbacks if they're going to be rebuilding.

So… if the Diamondbacks sign Richie Sexson and some other free agents and offer Randy a two-year contract extension, I would think that might be a good deal for Randy. Besides, are you willing to tell me without a doubt that over the next three-year period that the Diamondbacks (with Johnson) are going to be demonstrably worse than the Angels, White Sox, or even the Yankees (unless they simply decide to spend $250 million per year instead of $190 million)?

Lost in the Randy rumors is the news (midway down) that Al Pedrique decided to leave the D-Backs for some vaguely-defined front office role with the Astros. Hmmmm….