Probably strongly in the minority on this one, but count me in the camp that says if Pineda is one of your top 5 pitchers and Ackley is your best bet at 2b then you put them on your opening day roster. Service time be damned.
I understand the sentiment that runs pervasively around these parts that goes something like "2011 is a lost cause, we handicap 2017 for two weeks/months of Pineda/Ackley." And I wholeheartedly agree that in a vacuum the most intelligent move would be to hold out each for 10 days and assuredly prevent them from getting that extra year of service time.
However the 2011 season isn't going to be played in a vacuum. It's not chess, nor is it a matter of game theory maximization. Why? Because each of the pieces on the field are human; they have emotions, feelings, confidence issues, etc.
Jack Z owes it to the other 23 players on the team, the coaching staff, the fans, to put forth the best option we have to win in 2011. Count me a believer in the fact that best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. The teams that are going to be winning in 2017? The teams that the best free agents want to come play for? The teams that have the attitude and expectancy necessary to compete with confidence? The teams with an increased budget due to high ratings, TV contracts, and playoff monies? The odds are that they will be those same teams that win today. The Tampa Bay Rays of last year, the money ball A's of yesteryear are the exceptions, not the rule.
Play for today, play to win, play with confidence, and we'll be in a much better position to win 6 years from now than if we hold back a couple stars for service time reasons.
$0.02.
- Ben.
Add new comment
1