Approaching the Deadline: 2 Things to Watch For

With the All-Star Game now behind us, we’ll spend the next two weeks racing towards the non-waiver trade deadline.  To conserve battery power, you may want to turn notifications off altogether, or make sure you’re never far from a charger if you have the MLB Trade Rumors app for your mobile device.  Great app, by the way.  But, there’s no mistaking that this time of year and the winter meetings are when it’s sure to be blowing up!   …which is just how I like it.

I would like to get something out in the open, though.  With all the talks, rumors, and armchair GMs that have already started popping up in the seat next to you at the ballpark, the corner watering hole, in line at the bank (do people still walk into physical brick & mortar bank buildings anymore?), or online, I’d offer this suggestion:  Keep it real.

Don’t misunderstand, I’m not just talking about the fan who suggests we trade Shane Robinson to Detroit for Miguel Cabrera and Max Scherzer (and of course, Dombrowski would pick up the bulk of the salary), although you gotta watch out for that guy–he’s everywhere this time of year.  For me, the fan that makes that suggestion is already outing him or her-self as an imbecile, and it immediately becomes obvious that that person simply cannot be trusted to engage in an intelligent baseball conversation with you.

The ones you really have to watch out for, though, are the ones telling you, “If I were Mo, I’d give Beltran a one-year deal for ’14, full of incentives.”.

Umm, no, you wouldn’t, bro.

If you were Mo, you might offer Beltran a one-year contract, laden with incentives, but you wouldn’t give him anything, except maybe a pen, hoping he signs it.  Which he wouldn’t.  If for no other reason, his agent, one Scott Boras, would never let him do such a thing so easily–and he shouldn’t.  When I hear people talking about the contracts they’d GIVE players if they were the GM, I love to ask them what they’d do with that contract if they were the player’s agent.  The response to that question usually shows signs of significantly diminished conviction and enthusiasm.

So go forth, and put obnoxious fans in their places!

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