Missed Opportunities: The Big Unit on Macho Row

Randy Johnson
Mariners Magazine: Volume 4, Issue 2 (1993)
In an interview with the Philadelphia Daily News, Phillies legend John Kruk reminded fans that the Phillies almost acquired the best left handed pitcher of his generation at the 1993 trade deadline.

I remember the buzz about this very well.  I had just turned 13, and the rumors circulating in late July were centered around Randy Johnson and the Seattle Mariners.  The newspapers at the time had narrowed down the Mariners most likely trade partners to be the Yankees and the Phillies.  The Yankees were reported to have offered pitcher Bob Wickman and a prospect, and the Mariners were said to have been asking for Curt Schilling from the Phillies.

If the Mariners really were demanding Curt Schilling, I can understand the Phillies not making the trade.  The Phillies ace was 26 years old (three years younger than Randy Johnson) and in the middle of a dominant season that would lead the Phillies to the World Series.  Meanwhile, Randy Johnson was getting roughed up before the trade deadline with a record of 0-3 and a 7.36 ERA in five starts in July 1993.  In hindsight, Johnson is unquestionably the better pitcher and had a better 1993 season than Schilling, but in the context of the moment, it's understandable that the Phillies would pass on the opportunity to trade one ace for another.

Source: Philadelphia Daily News - August 11, 2011

If John Kruk's recollection is correct, the Phillies could have had The Big Unit for Mike Lieberthal and/or Tyler Green, but Phillies GM Lee Thomas wouldn't part with them to make the deal.  If this is true, it's heartbreaking news.  A Phillies rotation of Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling and Terry Mulholland would have mowed down the Blue Jays in the '93 World Series to give the Phillies their second World Championship season.  However, the Associated Press reported a different side to the story in August 1993.  According to Mariners manager Lou Piniella, the team had trade offers on the table from both the Yankees and the Phillies, but the Mariners chose not to make the deal.  Piniella didn't mention names, so it's possible that the Phillies were unwilling to offer up their young pitching and catching prospect, or it's possible that they were offered, but the Mariners didn't bite.  The fact that Seattle didn't come to an arrangement with either club, and that they didn't end up trading him until five years later, leads me to believe that it was the Mariners, not the Phillies, who decided not to pull the trigger on a trade and chose to hang on to their ace.

Source: The Spokesman Review (Spokane, WA) - August 2, 1993

We'll probably never know for sure what offer the Phillies made for Randy Johnson in the summer of '93, or what it would have taken for the trade to happen, but the dream of having Johnson and Schilling hoisting up the World Series trophy for the '93 Phillies will be talked about in Philadelphia for generations to come.

Praise The Imperium

Blaine The Mono
The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands (1991)
My favorite book of The Dark Tower series was first published twenty years ago

Flying Home From Vegas

Heading back to Pennsylvania after our wedding and honeymoon.

Chihuly At City Center

Dale Chihuly Exhibition At CityCenter
3730 Las Vegas Blvd S - Las Vegas, NV
There is an incredible gallery of Dale Chihuly's glass art on display in his gallery at CityCenter on the Las Vegas Strip.  It's just outside of the Aria Casino.

Below are some scans of the visitors guide and a few of the photos from our visit.

An Air Conditioned Pyramid In The Desert

Luxor Casino Hotel
The Strip - Las Vegas, NV

If they ever decide to turn The Stand into a theatrical movie, they really ought to consider switching Randall Flagg's base of operations from the MGM Grand to the top of the Luxor pyramid.  It's a 30 story casino hotel next to The Excalibur on the Vegas Strip.  We're staying here for our honeymoon, and let me tell ya, this place brings cheesy fun to a whole new level.

Work started on the pyramid in 1992 and was finished by the following summer at a cost of $375 million dollars.  The Luxor opened on October 15th, 1993 with 2,526 rooms and it was the tallest building on The Strip at the time.

Every part of this casino hotel makes you feel like you're at an ancient Egyptian theme park.  In previous years, it had even more of a theme park feel.  They used to have a Nile River ride that took you around the casino, but it closed in 1996.  There was also a replica of the tomb of King Tutankhamen, but that closed in 2010 and was replaced with something even better (more about that later).

Map of the Luxor

The lobby, atrium showroom and casino floor of the Luxor is in the center of the pyramid with the hotel rooms rising up above.

 

Our room is on the 20th floor.  The hallway (with an incredibly loud carpet) overlooks the entrance to the atrium showroom.  I can imagine that it can be a pretty dizzying experience to find the way back to your room after a few drinks.

The ancient Egyptian theme continues into the room.  The combination entertainment center/dresser is covered in hieroglyphics and there are stone carvings of glyphs hanging on the wall.  However the craziest part is the window to the outside.  The hotel rooms go right up to the edge of the pyramid, so the window wall is at an extreme slant.

The window overlooks one of the swimming pools, the parking lot, and the desert and mountains that surround the Vegas Strip.

At night, the Luxor Sky Beam shoots out of the top of the pyramid into the sky.  It's created by a total of 39 xenon lamps which are 7,000 watts each, and a series of curved mirrors are used to focus them into a single beam.  It's the strongest beam of light in the world and is visible up to 275 miles away.

I Do

...and they lived happily ever after.