Japan

 

My local wrortes spider wrote a long column about trading "prospects" for major league players.   I was just struck by what an absurd way this was to think about the puzzle put forward by the trade.  

 

The distinction between "prospect" and "player" is a distinction that exists in your head, a distinction based on the labels that we put on players.    One is as much a player as the other.   James Shields is a player; Wil Myers is a player.    My main reaction to the trade is how silly it is to react to the trade based on drawing this imaginary line between players, thus putting one into one class and the other into the other.