While you still can, check out Neil Best’s Watchdog blog at Newsday.com. It’s good.

Today, for example, he transcribes a radio conversation between Scott Kazmir and Jim Duquette, the man who traded Kazmir for Victor Zambrano.

Apparently they ran into each other in an elevator in Baltimore and had an awkward conversation, which they recap awkwardly in this conversation:

Duquette: “I was trying to keep it loose and light, you know?  You never know that first moment after the trade, you’re not quite sure how the reaction’s going to be.”

Kazmir: “Kind of a halfway smile like, ‘Is he mad at me?  Are we cool?  Everything’s cool?’  No, we were fine.  After we went past one level I think the tension was gone.”

Duquette: “Yeah, there was the point of no return.  Neither one of us could get out. (laughs)”

Kazmir: (laughs)

I’m so happy Scott Kazmir and Jim Duquette can look back and laugh about this now. So funny.

You know who’s not laughing? Mets fans. Mets fans and, I presume, Victor Zambrano.

Anyway, as Best points out, Ken Davidoff provided a nice rundown of the real thinking behind the Newsday.com paywall. It’s pretty much precisely what NaOH posted here.