ESPN Buster Olney Blog

The cost for four prime seats in new Yankee Stadium, as initially marketed, was $810,000 for the season. But that was last summer and so much has changed since then, with unemployment rates, federal bailouts and baseball's economy suffering.

And so it came to pass, in the past 72 hours, that the Yankees informed the Pittsburgh Pirates that while they were interested in acquiring veteran corner man Eric Hinske, they wouldn't make the deal unless the Pirates were to eat half of his remaining salary, or about $400,000.

The two sides haggled for a time, and in the end, the Pirates -- with a payroll one-quarter the size of the Yankees' -- relented, because it makes sense for them to save as much money as possible, even $400,000, in what's becoming a summer of frugality. This small trade says a lot about what's going on in baseball this season.

The expectation among a lot of general managers is that you're going to see a lot of teams looking to make deals like this, eating some salary to get rid of as much as they can. The small handful of teams that appear willing to take on salary -- the Red Sox, the Phillies, the Giants, the Mets, perhaps a few others -- will be in position to dictate terms in what will be a buyer's market.

And it's possible that some general managers who have contracts they want to unload will start to move quickly, because as in a game of musical chairs, opportunity is going to shrink quickly. We saw the St. Louis Cardinals make a deal for Mark DeRosa and the approximately $2.8 million that he is owed, and now sources say the Cardinals have limited financial flexibility going forward. If the Phillies spend on a pitcher like a Jarrod Washburn sometime later this month or in August, that might cost them $3 million to $4 million. It will also probably take the most aggressive suitor for pitching help out of play.

The Washington Nationals are said to be asking high prices for the likes of Nick Johnson, who is earning $5.5 million this year. If interested teams turn elsewhere, the Nationals might face a day this summer when they won't be able to move Johnson at all. Josh Willingham has drawn some interest from evaluators this year; he's hitting .282 with a .402 on-base percentage and .544 slugging percentage. But the market for him will probably be limited because he's making $2.95 million. "We'd like the guy, but we're kind of in lockdown mode," said one GM, forlornly.

Haren apparent

Dan Haren had quite a evening Tuesday: He allowed a run over seven innings, striking out nine and walking one, and picked up his seventh victory in Arizona's 6-2 win. He improved his chances for being named the starter in the NL All-Star Game, and he hit his first career homer.

It's all just part of an incredible season for Haren, who has surrendered only 15 walks against 113 strikeouts, a reflection of his evolution as a pitcher. "I just trust any pitch in any count," Haren wrote in an e-mail Tuesday night. "I don't throw 95 mph anymore, but I can throw a curveball or cutter 3-0. Not being afraid of contact is a big part of my game too. Roy Halladay is my favorite pitcher and I'd like to think I'm a poor man's version of him -- just subtract 2-3 mph."

Haren, of course, started for the AL in the 2007 All-Star Game.

"It would be cool to start this one," he wrote. "St. Louis is where I got my career started and yesterday was the six-year anniversary of my debut actually. There are so many good starters in the NL, though. I'd be happy just to make the team."

Haren worked hard to stifle a smile as he rounded the bases on his homer. "When I hit the ball, I thought it would be like 10 rows deep. I was barely running. Thank God it went over, because it would have been a long single. It felt great, though, and I'll never forget it."

If the NL starter was picked purely on performance, Haren would get the ball -- his ERA is 2.19, a league low; his ratio of walks and hits to innings of 0.81 is easily the best in the NL. His ratio of strikeouts to walks, at 7.53, is the best in the majors.

Haren also won some money from teammates. Why he won, from Trevor Ebaugh of ESPN Stats & Information:
A. Opposing batters went 0-9, 4 K (all looking) against the fastball.
B. Retired 13 of 14 batters in two-strike counts.
C. Threw 82 percent (14 of 17) strikes with the curveball.

Around the league

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