Schmidt again

From John Shea's mid-July article for the San Francisco Chronicle:

The problem is there aren't many available starting pitchers. For every 10 position players on the trading block, there's one starter. And for every one starter, there's .01 aces. This year, it seems there's no equal to Randy Johnson (traded in July 1998 from Seattle to Houston) or Curt Schilling (July 2000 from Philadelphia to Arizona).

David Wells is 8-1 in the postseason, but he's likely out for the rest of the year. Chan Ho Park, a free agent next winter, was shopped earlier, but the Dodgers' recent surge in the standings prevents them from making a move. The Mets wouldn't mind dumping Al Leiter's contract, but it would be tricky because he can block trades to 10 teams, including interested suitors such as Seattle and Cleveland, plus the Giants.

We're left with Pedro Astacio (the Rockies are hesitant to exercise his $9 million option for next year), Rick Reed (the Mets need to start over), Sterling Hitchcock (a year removed from Tommy John surgery), Jason Schmidt (new Pirates GM Dave Littlefield may have other ideas) and Jeff Suppan (the low-budget Royals don't want to pay $3.8 million next year).

Other possibilities: San Diego's Woody Williams, Cincinnati's Pete Harnisch, Tampa Bay's Albie Lopez and the White Sox's James Baldwin.

The dilemma is they're all expensive, either in terms of dollars or talent required in return, so the Giants and A's will probably take a pass. It is what it is.

The "other ideas" alluded to there reflects the confusion among some observers as to whether or not Littlefield would enter a "rebuilding" mode by dealing Schmidt for a prospect or two.

The Giants didn't pass, of course, as they got Jason Schmidt in a deadline deal that burned a bunch of other teams and forced some crappier deals for crappier pitchers in the final day of the 2001 trading season. Schmidt was no sure bet to become the equal, for a few seasons at least, of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, but the potential was there and the change of scenery - one from a club that struggled for years to a club that was in the thick of a playoff race - did him a world of good.