The problem with Ward may be the fact that he's chubby - but he was chubby when he hit 20 homers in part-time duty. I don't think he ever figured out how to handle consistent breaking balls - he could crush fastballs a mile, but those junk breaking balls on the edge of the zone, or out of it, just destroyed him. I think the moment this really dawned on me was watching Curt Schilling pitch to Ward one game, and he perhaps threw one fastball out of the six or seven pitches he threw. The rest was just junk on the edge of the zone, and Ward was so out in front of it - foul ball after foul ball - before hacking at a pitch in the dirt. The league found his hole, and exploited it, while Daryle never seemed to fully adjust.
He never really had value. When we got him five or six years ago, he had the same rap that he has now.
5 or 6 years ago, people were much more hopeful he'd turn around and become the 35 HR, 120 RBI stud that his swing, his pedigree, and his productivity projected him to be. Hence, more value. Like almost being traded for Alfonso Soriano.
