The future is secure; but, we are not talking financial. We are talking shop on the new guy, and to a larger extent, the new guy's new team.
Arizona Diamondbacks co-ace Dan Haren is 6 feet 5 inches tall. He also weighs 220 pounds and isn't averse to sporting a grizzly beard.
But those aren't the reasons D-Back fans already like him. It's his ERA, strikeout-to-walk ratio and disappearing splitter that is adding to his new team's new look.
General Manager Josh Byrnes may have followed Supertramp's "Give a Little Bit" to heart. He did just that to get Haren via trade Dec. 14, though not in pure numbers.
Byrnes yielded six prospects to his infamous Oakland A's counterpart Billy Beane, the best being a 22-year-old outfielder who lacks discipline at the plate, has had his focus questioned and has never played above AA ball. Byrnes also was able to complete the intra-league trade without giving Beane two of his top three pitching prospects: Max Scherzer and Jarrod Parker.
Like any good poker player, Byrnes waited until he was in a position of power. Having already built his young team around outfielders Chris Young and Justin Upton, adding an inexperienced and untested Carlos Gonzalez was just extra crème at the top. The young players Byrnes kept, paired with infielders Conor Jackson, Stephen Drew and Mark Reynolds already gave Arizona a National League Championship Series appearance in 2007.
Now it's the poker-winning pair of Haren and former Cy Young winner Brandon Webb that likely has Byrnes swiveling frantically in his black, leather chair, waiting for spring training to start.
If Randy Johnson can regain any of what he once had in his Seattle mullet days or even as a D-Back several years ago, Byrnes may need a seatbelt to contain himself.
First on the agenda is finding a closer. In the case of the D-Backs, their ninth-inning man will likely have to find himself, as he is already on the roster, in the form of young righty Tony Peña or veteran Brandon Lyon.
With the addition of Haren, that may be all that's left on Byrnes' plate.
Haren, 27, is Byrnes' key to continued success. And the former A's ace will be a D-Back for a minimum of three years at a paltry price of $16 million. To put that in perspective, New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte will make $16 million in 2008 alone; and, his much-maligned former teammate Roger Clemens might mandate that salary for, say, about half of the season.
But Byrnes was not finished on that December day before the calendars changed; he's done just about everything but spelunking since the off-season started.
He shipped out the unpredictable and exceedingly expensive Jose Valverde for three role players and mostly avoided the off-season's focus on the Mitchell report.
All this, just as Chad Tracy is getting healthy, Orlando Hudson is re-signed and Manager of the Year Bob Melvin returns as skipper.
Followers of the game may no longer look at the National League West as the Randy or Paula to the American League's Simon.
The San Francisco Giants will be propelled by a rotation of Barry Zito, Noah Lowry, Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum in 2008, but have not one offensive force.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are stocked full of talent and have a new Sherriff Joe (Torre) in town.
The San Diego Padres have Jake Peavy and that's plenty.
The Colorado Rockies are in a similar position to the D-backs, but they don't have the poker pair.
Byrnes has gone all in with his aces. As the other faces at the table can see, all he must do now is lay down his cards.
The bets were made and the D-Backs' future is secure.
Reach the reporter at: apentis@asu.edu.
