Friday, April 27, 2012

Who Won Roll Call?

Up at ESNP.com today, there are ratings of winners and losers of the first day of the NFL Draft.
Over on the baseball side of things, there are people going nuts over whether Michael Pineda's labrum tear means the Mariners "won" their trade with the Yankees. (Their prize in the deal, DH Jesus Montero, at least has both arms still attached, which temporarily tilts this in Seattle's favor.)
This is, of course, hooey. Trades take years to develop. Drafted players often take years to come into their own. Remember when everyone was screaming that Houston "lost" the draft one year because they took Mario Williams over Reggie Bush? None of those kids has played a down in the pros yet - judging them a "win" or a "loss" is spitting sunflower seeds into the wind - the best you can hope for is not getting spit on your face. Baseball trades are even worse, especially when much of the package is made up of minor leaguers. An A-ball arm today may not crack the big leagues for five years; he may be a stud then, but who wants to wait that long to pass judgment?
It's fun to compare. But when the comparison gets leavened with screaming panic and a demand for absolutes, then things get stupid.


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