"Uptown is a place. Upton is a player. The only thing missing is the 'W,' as in winner.

Maybe that's why a can't-miss kid suddenly is on the trading block.

This is stunning news, and pray it's just a bluff. Once, Justin Upton was a 19-year-old prodigy, so gifted that the Diamondbacks rushed him to the big stage, attempting to make pizza from green tomatoes. Four years and 447 strikeouts later, he's still a giant sack of potential.

Just last season, the Diamondbacks unveiled a special section of Chase Field, prematurely named "Uptown" in his honor, after signing him to a six-year contract. Imagine how foolish they would look trading him now, just to fill holes of their own making?

"Arizona doesn't have any money," Peter Gammons recently said on WFAN-AM in New York. "That's one of the worst franchises in baseball right now."

Harsh criticism, and surely tainted by Gammons' fondness for the departed Josh Byrnes. Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick called the comments "uninformed," adding that "we'll spend the money we need to be competitive." Kendrick also said he wouldn't intervene if his new general manager, Kevin Towers, wants to trade Upton.

That would be a big mistake.

Around here, fans still cringe whenever Carlos Quentin hits a home run, not to mention Carlos Gonzalez. What if Upton suddenly soars in Boston? What if he joins Amar'e Stoudemire on billboards in New York? That could be a crushing blow to a bruised fan base, and the Diamondbacks know it.

"We really have tested our fan base over the last two years," manager Kirk Gibson said. "Bless their hearts, I think our lowest attendance this year was 15,505. I wrote it down on the back of my (lineup) card. I was grateful, and I told our team about it.

"We have to be grateful for those people that came and supported us through the thinnest of times, and give them an opportunity to get more up-close and personal (this spring).""