On Wednesday, May 22, 2002 the Oakland A's traded Jeremy Giambi to the Philadelphia Phillies for John Mabry, instantly entering themselves into the annals of all time bad trades.

As speechlessness is difficult to convey in this format and does readers of this column little good, I will attempt to conquer the muteness that overcame me at hearing of this travesty of a trade.

Like the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, Billy Beane needs a brain. Some might think that this is an overreaction considering Beane's stellar reputation as one of the best GM's ever. However, there are few trades in memory that were this obviously bad on the day they were completed.

The imbalance is apparent with only a cursory glance at their basic statistics.

Career Major League Stats Prior to 2002:
John Mabry, 31, 2361 AB: 180:461 BB:K, 6 SB, 55 HR, 3 3B, 129 2B, 640 H for a .271 BA, .325 OBP, and .398 SLG.

Jeremy Giambi, 27, 977 AB: 146:220 BB:K, 27 HR, 3 3B, 53 2B, 266 H for a .272 BA, .369 OBP, and a .416 SLG.

Stats to Date in 2002:
Mabry, 21 AB: 1:5 BB:K, 6 H, no extra base hits, for a .286 BA, .304 OBP, and a .286 SLG.

Giambi, 157 AB: 27:40 BB:K, 43 H, 8 HR, 7 2B, for a .274 BA, .390 OBP, and a .471 SLG.

Giambi is four (peak) years Mabry's junior and owns better skills across the board than Mabry. Even if Giambi's potential has been blemished in some secret manner, the Phillies shouldn't be overly upset as they've essentially given up nothing. Mabry's a fully replaceable bench player.

Given the obvious one-sidedness of this deal, the question now becomes what on earth would cause Beane to complete such a transaction, and the extreme nature of the disparity leads to wild speculation. A number of scenarios come to mind. Giambi must be personally or physically damaged in some way. Possibly a car wash accident has left him with a career-ending injury. Perhaps he's committed a horrible crime that will lead to his arrest or merely severely insulted the organization or Beane personally. Near the time of his brother's signing with the Yankees, there were reports of his arrest for marijuana possession, so deeper drug problems may lie beneath the surface. Maybe this is a message to others to avoid such activities.

My pet conspiracy theory is that Beane was compelled by Commissioner Selig, either directly or through Oakland A's owner Steve Schott, to sabotage the team for "the good of baseball", since the organization has been the thorn in the side of Selig's argument that small market teams cannot compete.

Despite his recent comments that the successes of Minnesota and Montreal detract in no way from his arguments for contraction or his other suggested changes, Selig must realize that obvious contradictions in the standings severely damage his cause. A lack of competitive balance has been his battle call for change, and if balance visibly exists, even many of his most gullible followers will likely desert.

Unfortunately, however much we may hope that there is some dark secret behind this staggeringly stupid trade to somehow justify this behavior, the likelihood is that it's the result of nothing more sinister than sloppiness. How sad and disillusioning that Beane was sucked in by the mirage of defense.

Reportedly, Oakland hopes to improve their outfield defense by removing Giambi and replacing him with Adam Piatt. Tomorrow I'll further discuss the state of the A's, including the several moves they made Tuesday and Mabry's role on the Athletics. I just don't have the stomach for it today.

Philadelphia doesn't intend to immediately give Giambi a starting job, although he will reportedly receive at-bats at a number of positions and have the opportunity to expand his role with quality play. I expect him to assume a Melvin Mora like schedule, albeit with less positional flexibility, in which he plays almost full-time at a few different positions.

As you can tell from his at-bats so far this season, Mabry held only a small role on the Phillies. Giambi's presence with the team should considerably enhance the club even if they do imprudently limit his role.

The Phillies will continue to hit Jimmy Rollins leadoff, but they've searched for a quality #2 hitter for the last few seasons. Giambi fills that role quite adequately in front of superstars like Scott Rolen and Bobby Abreu, and the lower part of the order, normally comprised of Mike Lieberthal, Marlon Anderson, Doug Glanville, and now either Pat Burrell or Travis Lee. I don't expect Giambi to see time anywhere except first base, left field, and right field, but the best offensive option involves benching neither Travis Lee nor Pat Burrell.

Larry Bowa should move the speedy Bobby Abreu over to center and let Giambi play RF, benching Doug Glanville to remove the worst hitter in the Phillies' lineup. When top prospect Marlon Byrd is ready to debut, the nominal AAA centerfielder can take over right, with Giambi shifting to left and Burrell sliding to 1B to replace the mostly powerless and increasingly expensive Lee. If Giambi develops more power, he can move lower in the lineup with someone like Byrd potentially moving between Rollins and Abreu. A batting order consisting of SS-S Jimmy Rollins, RF-R Marlon Byrd, CF-L Bobby Abreu, 3B-R Scott Rolen, LF-L Jeremy Giambi, 1B-R Pat Burrell, 2B-L Marlon Anderson and C-R Mike Lieberthal gives the Phillies the most balanced and deepest offense in the National League East. Even a potential Scott Rolen trade doesn't substantially affect this arrangement as Burrell should develop into a cleanup hitter, Lieberthal's an adequate #6, and either AAA 3B-L Chase Utley(.346 OBP/.509 SLG) or AA 3B-R Travis Chapman(.452 OBP/.617 SLG) can debut in the #8 slot.

Philadelphia GM Ed Wade significantly advanced his organization towards post-season competition with Wednesday's deal, and regardless of Oakland's rationale, he still acquired a very competent starting position player for essentially no cost. He'll even save money if he deals Travis Lee to a 1B-needy organization like Anaheim or Atlanta, both teams that can offer a decent pitching prospect for a nearly essential upgrade at the weakest position on their respective rosters. While this transaction doesn't currently top his swipe of Bobby Abreu for Kevin Stocker on the day of the 1997 Expansion Draft, both moves definitely and instantly improved the Phillies.