As a baseball fan which is worse?

Danny Diamond

Founder/Admin

Ok, this will obviously differ depending on the market you are in or the team you follow.

Which is worse for you to swallow as a fan?

Losing a young prospect in a trade that turns into a superstar with his new team, or grabbing a guy that WAS great but now just sucks the life out of your team and payroll?

To me its the young prospects no doubt. Obviously its much harder to predict who will be great and who will be a bust, but its that unknown factor that get so many deals done.

The comfort of losing a young stud is hopefully having the confidence to acquire someone else in return that gives you instant value.




Real Life:

Boston Red Sox in 1990 trade pretty much unknown first baseman and minor leaguer Jeff Bagwell for journeyman but reliable Larry Anderson.

Anderson helped the 90 Red Sox into the ALCS where they lost to the A's, and Bagwell......well Bagwell could have clobbered the Green Monster for 15 years.

Who knew?


But for every Jeff Bagwell traded away there is a Johnny McShitface that never pans out for an almost allstar that can help teams now.

So which is it?

Create A Poster for No Mercy

Dr. Giganto

Definitely picking up the declining veteran.

Prospects are like playing the lottery. Sure, you might miss a chance at a great player, but if you kept every prospect, you'd have a farm system full of shitty minor leaguers.

The shitty veteran, however, sucks worse because your team should be able to see the signs of decline in the first place. For instance, some Mets fans I know are really excited about Delgado, and I'm just thinking to myself, "Uh...Delgado's not really that good any more"