Yeah, it seems like Beane would make that trade as long as there wasn't a better offer on the table. Haha. Williams isn't that good. Look at what it took to land Mulder and Hudson. Well, IMO, Williams is equal to Haren and Zito is less valuable than Mulder or Hudson. I think Haren had a whopping 4.5+ K/BB ratio in pro ball at the time of the trade. Haren has better stuff than Williams and better control. He strikes out more hitters, walks less, and allows fewer baserunners. He is a far better pitcher than Williams is. Zito may or may not be less valuable than Mulder and Hudson, but in a poor FA pitching market, he's worth a lot. He's also a lefty, which increases his value to many clubs. Yeah, he probably will be overpriced, I agree. However, I evaluate pitchers based on ERA first and foremost, and Williams is actually better in that area. Williams has a better ML ERA. Haren has a much better minor league ERA (more innings to compare). Haren has one season under his belt. It's not exactly a fair comparison, IMO, since one bad game bloats ERA so much (compared to stats like WHIP, K/BB, and the more exotic stats).