Dangerous Game We're Playing, Huh.
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ZEN KOAN, DEPT.
I dunno what it was, 1990 when chess computers got super good, way better than me anyway. By 1995 the gap was ridiculous. In 1997 came the last big-money, national chess tournament Dr. D played in. Can you guess what is coming next?
Smartphone apps weren't yet that great, as I recall, but laptop apps most certainly were. Second round of the 1997 Philadelphia Open I drew White against this high-school kid ... move 8, I spring a "novelty" on him. A very strong, surprising, unexpected opening move that must be met with several precise moves to save the game, right out of the opening.
The kid sits there with a downcast look on his face for 5 minutes. Finally he gets up and leaves.
A minimum of 45 minutes later, he reappears at the board, sits back down, and unleashes 8 consecutive moves that match what my laptop (later) gave as the solution to the position. We drew the game. I haven't entered such a tournament again. Draw your own conclusions. Mine was that the kid went up to his hotel room (which is where such tournaments are played) and made an ethical choice.
Which was okay, however. There are no morals, right, only values. ;- )
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CUT YOUR OWN STOCK MARKET ROUTE TO QUICK RICHES, DR. D STYLE
What does Dr. D think of Jerry Dipoto's preferred management style, of trading your way to baseball championships? Hey, that's how WE roll, too. Justynius used to accuse me of being actually a very poor drafter -- despite using BaseballHQ's draft guides, which rule out incompetency -- and complain about the way I'd spend the whole year trading Taijuan Walker for Mitch Haniger, usually with bottom-3 owners.
:- )
Here's the fatal flaw, though. I'd be happy to try to beat any 11 of YOUSE mooks that way. I'd be much less happy about trying it against F-500 corporations stacked with armies of nerds and farms full of supercomputers rolling at 15 petaflops a second, you feel me?
......
It's hard to imagine what Jerry Dipoto knew about Marco Gonzales that ... well, that THEY didn't know about him. The same goes for Erasmo Ramirez, and Dee Gordon, and ...
In the big, big, bigGEST picture it just seems a fairly unlikely approach, finding good stuff about other teams' players that they themselves didn't see.
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BUT WHO KNOWS
The Cards KNOW that Marc-O might get to feeling better, might get his vicious changeup back, and might get to going 15-9 every year. They know very well that's possible; they just don't think it will happen.
From a fan's standpoint, Dr. D thinks it's very well worth watching for. Hey, once every five days! Especially in March.
But hey. Since Dipoto has sworn to us that we will thank him for avoiding Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta and all players of their ilk (and salary levels), and since Dipoto's got little to show in the farm system beyond Christian Bergman any more, The M's emergence as a powerhouse depends on Dipoto being as good as he thinks he is. At finding players in other teams' systems who are a lot better than those teams realize they are. :: shrug ::
It's possible he is. He's only had a couple spins o' the roulette wheel, and one great spin can get the trade journals talking.
......
Then again, maybe Zunino and Paxton can get it done for us. A LOT of seasons are won that way.
Bah humbug,
Dr D