Fans at Hammond talk trade talk

FORT MYERS -- As the Major League Baseball trade deadline ticked closer Friday night, North Fort Myers resident Diane Malkowski announced her prediction from her dining table on the Hammond Stadium concourse.

"The deadline's going to come and go and the Twins won't do anything," she said.

But that didn't mean other teams didn't dive headfirst into the trading game. As baseball fans waited out the evening rain before Friday's Fort Myers Miracle-Jupiter Hammerheads game, they discussed trades that went down and trades they hoped would go down.

Teams have until 4 p.m. today to make a deal, and the Miracle's parent team, the Minnesota Twins, looked like they were trying to dash Malkowski's prediction. The Twins were in the running for Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Kris Benson, supposedly offering Doug Mientkiewicz and prospects in return. But Benson will wear a Mets uniform, getting dealt to New York for prospects. The Mets also got Tampa Bay's Victor Zambrano in a separate deal.

That was fine with Malkowski, who wasn't too hot on Benson to begin with.

"You can't give up too much for a guy who'll only be here three months," she said about the soon-to-be free agent Benson. "It'd be different if there was an option they could pick up."

But Cape Coral's Mike Hennings, a Minnesota native and a Twins fan, would have liked Benson in a Twins uniform.

"We've given up a couple of left-handers that have won about 25 games so far with their current teams," he said. "You don't get rid of good left-handers. We need a pitcher and Benson would have been a good acquisition."

Mientkiewicz's trading- block status had a lot to do with young first baseman Justin Morneau waiting in the wings. Morneau spent some time with the Miracle and, along with players like Joe Mauer and J.D. Durbin, is an example of the Twins farm system's strength.

Miracle general manager Steve Gliner said that strength comes from good scouting and the ability to mold young athletes into major leaguers.

"The Twins traditionally have been able to sign the right talent and to see what others don't see in some players," he said. "It's knowing how to evaluate talent and knowing what to do with it. There are a lot of teams that would like to model themselves after the Twins."

The stadium buzzed over another big trade, which sent Paul Lo Duca, Guillermo Mota and Juan Encarnacion to the Marlins for Brad Penny, Hee Seop Choi and a minor-leaguer.

Kevin Stewart was lukewarm about that deal. He liked the Lo Duca pick-up, but was worried that giving up Penny was too hefty a price.

"Lo Duca's a better catcher than anyone the Marlins have right now," Stewart said. "But I can't believe the Marlins would give up Brad Penny. A.J. Burnett hasn't exactly been lighting the world on fire since he came back."

And then there was the trade that everyone was waiting for. Randy Johnson wanted out of Arizona. He really desired to wear Yankee pinstripes, something Stewart thought would really help Johnson get to 300 wins.

"How many games did the D-backs bullpen blow for him?" he asked. "If he goes to the Yankees, that's probably an extra 20 wins in the next three seasons."

But the Yankees' offer wasn't enough, and if Johnson goes anywhere, he'll probably go to the Dodgers, who also are in the running for Arizona's Steve Finley.

Anaheim also is in the mix for Johnson.

The Dodgers' trade parade, one full of big contracts, had Hennings' buddy, Cape Coral resident John Panio, knocked for a loop.

"Does economics play any part in this?" he asked. "I'm being serious."

Hennings thought about cash-strapped Arizona and had a quick answer.

"For the Diamondbacks, absolutely," he said with a laugh.