Roy Oswalt comes from a long line of stubborn people. His grandfather was a logger into his 70s, and when the rest of his family finally insisted the old man step away from that dangerous profession, he started to harvest acres of watermelon on property where Oswalt would build a house years later.
Billy Oswalt, Roy's father, also worked full time as a logger until a couple of years ago. During the 2005 playoffs, he watched his son pitch for the Astros in St. Louis, then drove overnight back to his home in Weir, Miss., and arrived on time to be back in the woods as usual.
After Oswalt was drafted, he tried to alter his homemade mechanics a little. But after his shoulder got sore, he decided to ignore all those outside voices and go back to what he knew.
That mindset has worked pretty well for him, a mindset he always will have. He is stubborn and shrewd and smart, and if anybody thinks he will settle for anything less than exactly what he wants, well, he doesn't know much about Oswalt. Particularly when it comes to agreeing to a trade.
Oswalt holds the leverage hammer. Many other teams would love to have him, for sure. At age 31, he has a 130-66 record and is the type of guy with whom you win games. The Phillies would love to trade for Oswalt, as would the Mets, the Cubs and the Brewers. But he wields a full no-trade clause.
Maybe there is a place where Oswalt secretly would really like to play; maybe there is a place he would run to if given the opportunity. Many teams probably would have to lure him, but Oswalt is unlikely to waive his no-trade clause for nothing. It stands to reason that any team looking to acquire the right-hander will have to surrender more than the boatload of prospects that the Astros would require.
The guaranteed portion of Oswalt's current contract runs through 2011. He is making $14 million this season and will make $15 million next year and $16 million in 2011. There is a $16 million option for 2012 on his deal.
Moving forward, and as he ages, Oswalt's leverage will only go down. He is in position right now, if he so chooses, to require any team interested in acquiring him to extend his contract -- perhaps guaranteeing that 2012 option, perhaps adding a year or two to the back end of his contract. Then again, if a team adds him now while the second half of the season inches closer, it may get the best of Oswalt.
Oswalt won his second game of the season Tuesday night after earning just one win in his first 11 starts. But that trend should change when the summer starts. Oswalt is traditionally a slow starter, notes Justin Ray of ESPN Stats & Information. Just look at his career totals before and after June 1:
Oswalt is a decisive person. He probably knows what he wants and what he'll find acceptable. And if he doesn't get it, he will have no trouble standing his ground. It's in his genes. This is why any interested team, whether it's the Phillies or some other organization, had better prepare a Plan B list that extends beyond Jake Peavy and Oswalt.
Peavy, by the way, isn't feeling well. He came out of his start Tuesday with a viral upper respiratory infection, writes Bill Center. Eleven of Peavy's first 15 pitches were outside the strike zone.
In the end, the most accessible commodity on the trade market might be Erik Bedard, who had another strong outing Tuesday, against the Orioles.
Elsewhere, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen likes his team's willingness to make a trade, Mark Gonzales writes.
Johnson the greatest lefty?
Randy Johnson goes for career victory No. 300 on Wednesday night, Henry Schulman writes, after a career as an intimidator. You reasonably could make a case for Johnson as the greatest left-handed pitcher in the game's history, given his staggering number of strikeouts (4,843), his career victory total and his Cy Young Awards, all compiled during an era of offense. The first baseball book I read was about Sandy Koufax, so I'm partial to him, given his remarkable trajectory throughout a half dozen seasons. Steve Carlton won 329 games and racked up more than 4,000 strikeouts. Rube Waddell might be in the conversation, as he produced the lowest ERA of any Hall of Fame left-hander not named Babe Ruth.
Eddie Plank had a remarkable career of 326 victories, and folks tend to forget how good Whitey Ford was -- his winning percentage was a ridiculous .690. Carl Hubbell won 253 games and posted an ERA better than 3.00 for his career. Lefty Grove was one of the best pitchers of his era, which also was steeped in offense, and he ranks third in adjusted ERA. Warren Spahn has won more games (363) than any other lefty since 1930. At some point down the line, Johan Santana will be in the mix.
I e-mailed former pitcher Jim Kaat on Wednesday morning and asked him for his perspective, and he replied promptly, as always:
To read the rest of Buster's blog -- including who Kaat thinks is the best LHP of all time, some problems with the Cubs and just how good Roy Halladay is -- please become an ESPN Insider. 
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Buster Olney
