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Jun 14, 2006 7:00 AM


WASHINGTON - The 2006 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft is over
and all 30 clubs now have their scouts shifting focus to professional
scouting with the trade deadline six weeks away.


How active are trade discussions? I talk with or exchange Blackberry trade
proposals a minimum of five times a day. But remember, only four percent of
trade discussions actually lead to deals.

Fans want to know if we are going to have a fire sale? Are you going to
re-sign Alfonso Soriano, Tony Armas, Jose Guillen and Ramon Ortiz? Are you
going to trade other veterans like Livan Hernandez and Jose Vidro?

The answer is complex.

Does the team winning or losing affect the plan? Do you talk with all the
teams: contenders, pretenders and wait-until-next-year teams?

Of course, everything is factored in every decision. However, the bottom line
is we are going to make the best decisions for the franchise's long-term
success. That could mean resigning our impending free agents, trading them or
even letting them become free agents so we can receive additional first- and
second-round draft choices to help rebuild the farm system (like we did this
past off-season with Estaban Loaiza and Hector Carrasco). It all depends on
the trade market and what value we can get back and what it takes to sign the
impending free agent.

Winning certainly is factored in personnel decisions. For the last three
weeks, we’ve had the best record in Major League Baseball. If this team
continues to win and shows they can beat teams like the Yankees and Red Sox,
and a month from now continues this pace, that will be taken into
consideration. However, the fact that we want to build a perennial contender
means it’ll be difficult to reject a deal to acquire young, future stars who
can provide a strong foundation.

There are 11 clubs we feel match up with us regarding trades over the next
six weeks. Therefore, we are focusing on their Class A, AA, AAA and major
league clubs with extra emphasis from our cross-checkers and special
assistants.

Director of Player Personnel Bob Boone, Scouting Director Dana Brown, Special
Consultant to the GM Davey Johnson and pitching advisor Spin Williams are
focused on particular players in those 11 organizations who we would need to
acquire in any significant deal. We do as much homework as possible. The more
quality opinions you have on players, the better chance you have of making a
successful deal.

Lee MacPhail, Mike Toomey and Fred Wright are our primary professional
coverage scouts. They are laying the foundation for our player targets that
are cross-checked by Boone, Brown, Johnson and Williams. In addition, all of
our other amateur scouts are now in the field covering all the clubs in
baseball, including their entire farm systems.

Our goals are high. We are looking for the best prospects and ways to
simultaneously improve our major league team.

It should be an exciting six weeks. Let's hope our major league club keeps
playing the way they have the last three weeks. It's been a lot of fun
watching them play as a team, fueling their winning ways.