Rebuilding a team is one of the hardest things for an organization. Yet fans think it is so easy. Winning is the most important thing when it comes to fans. They expect their teams to win, at all costs. Lead a respective division for a good part of the season, then add the final pieces at the trading deadline. Seems to work in all sports, not just baseball. When winning is no longer a possibility, the priority switches to rebuilding. And it is usually a drastic one. "Trade key players for prospects!" That is heard once it has become clear a season has become a disappointment. That is what the Phillies did this season when they traded Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino. The Mets did the same with Carlos Beltran in 2011.
While it is not a bad idea since the Mets got back Zack Wheeler and the Phillies Tommy Joseph, fans tend to thing these moves always work out. So with the latest rumor from the Wall Street Journal that the Mets, Fred and Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz are broke (to me, it is just a repetition of the same thing that circulates when there is nothing else to talk about), those who can easily say to trade David Wright and RA Dickey should feel like they can get what they want. Prospects.
Nothing makes a trade proposal for an average and ordinary fan easier than saying they want to see their team get prospects back in a deal. It gives them a warm and cosy feeling, like their team will be fine in the near future. Yet one thing seems to always be missing when one of these trades are proposed... THE NAMES OF THE PLAYERS COMING BACK IN THE PROPOSED DEAL! Do you not care who you get back in the trade? Is it more important to move a key player than actually get back something of equal value? Or are you just too lazy to do the necessary research to gauge the market value?
Something tells me it is none of the three questions I just asked. Simply because the "trading for prospects" has taken the place of trading for specific players. I know what most mean, they want to get star young players who will help out within the next year or two. But, why can't people making these proposals simply state the names of the prospects they want to see their team get back? Instead of "prospects", why not name players like Manny Machado, Trevor Bauer, Mike Montgomery, Adam Eaton, Gary Brown, Nick Castellanos, Billy Hamilton, etc. At least you look like you did the research.
But to some, it does not matter. Some Mets fans would be happy with a trade of Wright for four players to be named later. Simply because they would be happy with four players who are age 24 and under. They have to be good, right? So who cares who they are? As silly of an attitude as that seems, it is the exact one that is expressed when somebody says "trade David Wright for prospects."
The main reason Jose Reyes was not traded during the 2011 season was the fact that Reyes was testing the free agent waters regardless of where he was playing. The Mets were never getting fair market value for Reyes, since the trading team would never give up to prospects such as Brown, Jarred Cosart, Jacob Turner or Zack Cox in such a deal. Kevin Plawecki, the catcher the Mets drafted with the draft pick they got for losing Reyes, has more of an upside that the A to AA level minor leaguer(s) the Mets could have gotten for dumping Reyes.
Is it necessary to name the "prospects" you want to see a team acquire for trading a player? Or does the research take away from rooting for your favorite football team? I am all in favor of the fair trade. The next time you suggest a trade of a key player, or even that of a player who you would like to see moved because of the amount of money he is making, finish the whole trade instead of saying for "prospects".
While it is not a bad idea since the Mets got back Zack Wheeler and the Phillies Tommy Joseph, fans tend to thing these moves always work out. So with the latest rumor from the Wall Street Journal that the Mets, Fred and Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz are broke (to me, it is just a repetition of the same thing that circulates when there is nothing else to talk about), those who can easily say to trade David Wright and RA Dickey should feel like they can get what they want. Prospects.
Nothing makes a trade proposal for an average and ordinary fan easier than saying they want to see their team get prospects back in a deal. It gives them a warm and cosy feeling, like their team will be fine in the near future. Yet one thing seems to always be missing when one of these trades are proposed... THE NAMES OF THE PLAYERS COMING BACK IN THE PROPOSED DEAL! Do you not care who you get back in the trade? Is it more important to move a key player than actually get back something of equal value? Or are you just too lazy to do the necessary research to gauge the market value?
Something tells me it is none of the three questions I just asked. Simply because the "trading for prospects" has taken the place of trading for specific players. I know what most mean, they want to get star young players who will help out within the next year or two. But, why can't people making these proposals simply state the names of the prospects they want to see their team get back? Instead of "prospects", why not name players like Manny Machado, Trevor Bauer, Mike Montgomery, Adam Eaton, Gary Brown, Nick Castellanos, Billy Hamilton, etc. At least you look like you did the research.
But to some, it does not matter. Some Mets fans would be happy with a trade of Wright for four players to be named later. Simply because they would be happy with four players who are age 24 and under. They have to be good, right? So who cares who they are? As silly of an attitude as that seems, it is the exact one that is expressed when somebody says "trade David Wright for prospects."
The main reason Jose Reyes was not traded during the 2011 season was the fact that Reyes was testing the free agent waters regardless of where he was playing. The Mets were never getting fair market value for Reyes, since the trading team would never give up to prospects such as Brown, Jarred Cosart, Jacob Turner or Zack Cox in such a deal. Kevin Plawecki, the catcher the Mets drafted with the draft pick they got for losing Reyes, has more of an upside that the A to AA level minor leaguer(s) the Mets could have gotten for dumping Reyes.
Is it necessary to name the "prospects" you want to see a team acquire for trading a player? Or does the research take away from rooting for your favorite football team? I am all in favor of the fair trade. The next time you suggest a trade of a key player, or even that of a player who you would like to see moved because of the amount of money he is making, finish the whole trade instead of saying for "prospects".
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