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| Wednesday, February 14 | |||||
| Jays seek compensation for Sirotka Special to ESPN.com | |||||
CHICAGO -- Legend has King Solomon settling a conflict over custody by preparing to saw a baby in half. The real mother was the woman who became hysterical over the prospect.
While that precedent would seem to have little to do with American League baseball, it illustrates the level of wisdom that commissioner Bud Selig might soon have to summon in the dispute between the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago White Sox. The path to resolving it is at least as murky as the MRIs of Mike Sirotka's left shoulder taken immediately after the January 14 trade that sent 20-game winner David Wells to the White Sox.
Nobody questions whether the Blue Jays received damaged goods in the deal. Sirotka, who was a favorite to start on Opening Day for Toronto, will likely miss the upcoming season with a torn labrum.
But because the Blue Jays made the trade knowing there was something wrong with Sirotka, it seems unlikely that Toronto general manager Gord Ash will receive the "compensation" he feels he deserves. The White Sox not only discussed Sirotka's recurring soreness with the Jays before the trade was finalized but the Blue Jays agreed that Sirotka's problem was minor "looseness" in the shoulder after giving him an MRI on January 19 in Dunedin, Fla.
Both teams were shocked when Sirotka was diagnosed with a torn labrum after an exam last week in Toronto. Making matters worse, Sirotka has told some reporters he also has a partially torn rotator cuff.
But why didn't those injuries show up last month? Ash says it's because the technician in Florida took the MRI at the wrong angle to show the tear. He says it can be proved that the tear is "categorically old," but if technology hasn't advanced to a point where injuries can always be spotted how can they be precisely dated?
In interviews last week, Ash did not accuse the White Sox of intentionally misleading him about the severity of the injury. So if the Blue Jays at first ignored the risk that Sirotka may be damaged goods -- after all, he left his last regular-season start with a hyperextended elbow -- is Ash justified to expect the trade to be rescinded or altered significantly a month later?
Wells' agent doesn't think so. "It's like buying a used car," Gregg Clifton told the National Post of Canada. "The only way I think this trade would be rescinded is if the Blue Jays asked the White Sox certain questions and they were lied to. To be rescinded, you have to have fraud, and reliance by the Blue Jays on that fraud."
In 1997, the Yankees' acquisition of Padres outfielder Greg Vaughn was voided because Vaughn flunked a physical. But in Sirotka's case, he passed the first physical. The time lag would seem to change the situation drastically.
"What we hope is clear to our fans is that we made every effort to provide the Blue Jays with as much information as possible, and both sides have assumed a certain amount of risk in making this trade," said White Sox GM Ken Williams, who asked if the White Sox would be in line for compensation if Wells' chronic bad back flared up in spring training.
If this was a financially motivated trade like the one Toronto made with Cincinnati, in which they obtained arbitration-eligible Steve Parris for two minor-league pitchers, the sides could probably resolve the difference between themselves. In fact, the White Sox have volunteered to alter the six-player deal because of the health of Mike Williams, a Class A right-hander who was traded with Sirotka, right-hander Kevin Beirne and outfielder Brian Simmons. But pitchers like Sirotka don't grow on trees.
Ash hasn't said what compensation he wants, but the belief is that Jim Parque would fit nicely. He's a 25-year-old lefty who was 13-6 last year. But the White Sox are counting on Parque to be a key part of a rotation that includes two starters (James Baldwin and Cal Eldred) coming off surgery. Without both Parque and Sirotka, the Sox would be heading to spring training with Wells as their only starter not dealing with questions of health or inexperience. If not Parque, others rumors have mentioned the Blue Jays asking for one of Chicago's young pitching prospects like Jon Garland, Jon Rauch or Kip Wells. Don't expect the White Sox to surrender Garland or Rauch, regarded as two of the best pitching prospects in baseball.
The Jays are equally disadvantaged by giving up David Wells to get a disabled Sirotka. They could be left trying to catch the Yankees and Red Sox with a rotation that features right-handers Esteban Loaiza, Joey Hamilton, Chris Carpenter, Roy Halladay and Parris. Jamie Navarro could sneak into the picture. No wonder Ash is angry.
Sirotka spent Tuesday undergoing another shoulder exam, this one by Dr. James Andrews. Barring an unexpectedly positive report, Ash is expected to turn to Selig for relief.
His mistake may have been falling in love with Sirotka in the first place. The White Sox would have rather dealt Parque, who one Chicago columnist calls Sirotka Lite. But Williams said the Jays would not do the deal without getting Sirotka.
While Parque could have been had for the asking back a month ago, the hunch is that now it's too late to ask.
Phil Rogers is the national baseball writer for the Chicago Tribune, which has a Web site at www.chicagosports.com.
 Send this story to a friend | ALSO SEE Sirotka exam inconclusive; White Sox stand by trade | ||||