However, now the anti-Nutting fireworks-and-bobbleheads crowd will clog cyberspace with predictions of Duke's imminent trade to a team willing to pay that kind of salary. Nothing will quell these cries unless the team starts to win and pays to keep these kinds of salaries on the squad. I will say, though, that if come the last week of July, Neal A. Huntington deals Duke to a contending team for a bunch of Single A prospects with great "upside", well, it will be hard not to join the cynics out there, whose numbers are increasing every year.
Speaking for the arbitration process, I wonder if part of the Pirates' argument for a lower salary would have been the fact that Duke was unable to throw any complete games (reference Pirates final home game of '09 and my heated email exchange with Mr. Huntington)? Just wondering.
Flipping Duke in a mid-season trade may actually be a good idea. Since he's 4-16 post all-star break combined in '08 and '09. And maybe Brad Lincoln will be ready.
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