Fungible

Local product Ben Davis (Malvern Prep) signed a one million dollar one-year contract with the Chicago White Sox yesterday. Davis, a 27-year old catcher, hit .207 in 68 games with Seattle and the Sox last season. His contract typifies the state of the game today when a player flirts with the Mendoza line and still signs a one million dollar contract.

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The Braves are a little less formidable today than they were yesterday when outfielder J.D. Drew signed a five-year deal with the Dodgers. Drew spent a single season in Atlanta before moving on. Being a client of Steve Boras, I assume Drew rented rather than bought real estate in Georgia.

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Poor Randy Johnson. He’s still a Diamondback. It’s hard enough when two teams try and negotiate a trade in the era of free agency let alone three, but that apparently was the hang-up in Johnson’s anticipated escape. At the eleventh hour the Dodgers decided they should look out for themselves rather than facilitate George Steinbrenner’s dreams. Rumors have it the Yankees are undeterred and will figure out a way to get their man. Money does that.

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Quick. Who has the best team in each division in the National League? How about the American League? Don’t know. Why not? Because most of us don’t even know who is on each team any more. The dead ball era was followed by the live ball era was followed by the juiced ballplayer era was followed by the fungible team era.

Some day all players will automatically become free agents at the end of each season. Then, GM’s will gather in some warm location and stand in a circle while someone tosses a bat in the air. After someone catches it each GM will take a turn placing one hand over the other up to the nub of the bat until no one else can get a whole hand on it. Last man gripping the bat chooses first. (We will eliminate the part where someone who can still get his fingertips around the lip of the nub starts a second round.)

Instead of posting our favorite team’s upcoming schedule on the refrigerator door, we will post the team’s roster instead to remind ourselves whom precisely we are rooting for.