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A unique take on sports news, updated several times throughout the day.
Feel free to make a fair offer for this columnWith baseball's annual trading deadline looming today and, perhaps more significantly, the KG-to-Boston blockbuster still alive, the talk of the sports world is once more about, well, sports. Not -- at least for today -- about dog-fighting QB's or game-fixing refs or an utterly joyless chase of baseball's most hallowed record. But why? What is it about trades and trade talk -- from legitimate insider speculation (hello, Jon Heyman) to touched talk-radio callers who have figured out a way to get A-Rod in exchange for Dustin Pedroia and Doug Mirabelli -- that can be so endlessly engrossing? First of all, trades are something fairly unique to sports. Wall Street traders might well disagree, but they primarily trade an asset (say a stock or bond) in exchange for cash. Sports fans know that trading a player for cash is the lowest form of the trade, smacking of the Charley O. Finley fire sale that was rightfully struck down by commissioner Bowie Kuhn as being against the best interests of the game. No, a sports trade is something more substantive, representing the chance for true change. You can't trade your co-workers for people who you're convinced are smarter and easier to get along with. You can't swap a big chunk of your wardrobe with someone else your size because you've gotten sick of looking at the same clothes in the closet every morning. You can't trade your friends or your siblings or your house straight-up for something or someone new, citing the value of a "change of scenery." (You can trade in your car for a new model, which is one reason why Americans love automobiles so much that we'd happily trade our atmosphere with a small-market universe if we could.) Professional sports franchises, however, can transform themselves overnight with the alchemy of the trade. Just look at the Celtics. It wasn't long ago that they were tanking games to try to land a piece of the Greg Oden-Kevin Durant lottery, only to end up saddled with the No. 5 pick and seemingly doomed to several more years of irrelevance. But if the Kevin Garnett trade goes through, Boston suddenly boasts an East-best Big Three of KG, Ray Allen (a draft-day trade acquisition) and Paul Pierce, plus whatever flotsam’s left after acquiring the first two guys. Suddenly the Celtics are serious contenders (at least in the East) for as long as their aging trio holds up, which might not be especially long. All in all, it's a fascinating study in risk-reward that would never be able to play out without the possibility of swapping human beings for one another. Plus, to David Stern's relief, none of the names being bandied about are Tim Donaghy's. While it doesn't appear that baseball will have a banner trading-deadline extravaganza, the Mark Teixeira-to-Atlanta swap is a classic baseball trade. Teixeira is a proven young All-Star slugger with two Gold Gloves at age 27, while the Braves shipped back big-name (and certainly long-name) prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia plus a few highly touted minor leaguers. Will Saltalamacchia or, say, 19-year-old shortstop Elvis Andrus, turn out to be the next John Smoltz or Jeff Bagwell, prospects stuffed into midseason deals who turned out to be stars? Or will they just be the latest in a long line of would-be studs who misfire? Only time will tell, of course. But without trades, sports fans wouldn't get the chance to ask such intriguing questions.
posted by SI.com | View comments |
Comments:Hey, didn't tow baseball players once trade wifes? I think they played for the Mets.
David David,
They were actually Yankees pitchers Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich, who made the swap (literally) in 1973. I have written about them before, such as here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/pete_mcentegart/11/11/ten.spot/index.html i'm willing to trade a nutter butter for a hoho, but only if you provide me the option of swapping beverages at some point during the remainder of the week.
I would like to trade Pete McTagart to the Duluth News Tribune for a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and a slightly used DVD of Gattaca.
Yes, the Yankees. Of course there was the player traded for a player to be named later, which he later named (traded for yourself, ouch)
David Tank the Frank,
Welcome back. Though it's a good thing for me that you don't actually run SI. Somehow I continue to snow the folks that do. How, is anyone's guess. --Thanks, Pete If Tank the Frank wanted to watch "Gattaca" so much, he has through the end of the day to see it on Comcast's inDemand Sci-Fi month. ("Gattaca" being the best title to watch this month.)
What does Tank the Frank have against this McTagart guy anyway and why is he beefing about it in your column Mr. McENTEGART?
Ahh, wild trades... makes me think of the day George Costanza figured out how to get Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr. without giving up too much...all while drinking ditch water and eating grubs. I'll trade you a met's giveaway glove from 1989, that broke, an old hat, and some sneakers my dog chewed on for your column.
Will Will,
Your offer for my column is intriguing but I need to know more. Primarily, will I still get paid? If you're willing to buy out my contract, we may well have a deal! -- Pete P-Squared, KG, and RayRay--wow, could be a formidable trio. It would be great to see the Celts as contenders again. Wish they would've kept Wally Szczerbiak tho.
Now, where in the heck is that McTagart fellow? A fair trade for this column? Well I'll put my two cents in. Sound fair to you?
Wally leaving was probably the last stumbling block to the trade. If you followed the Wolves you would have known that KG and Wally didn't exactly see eye-to-eye.
Chris "You can't trade your friends or your siblings or your house straight-up for something or someone new, citing the value of a 'change of scenery.'"
Apparently you never heard of this guy: http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/ I will give you 2 sleeves of Nike balls, a Bronx Bomber sandwich from Heidis Brooklyn Deli, and Bill Simmons soul for this column.
I'll trade you screen legend Anthony Quinn's undershirt for your column. I'm assuming interested trades are considered.
Travis trumped my Seinfeldism... that's gonna leave a mark.
Johnny Mac's getting upset. Travis,
-- But you wrote the ad! -- And I'm glad I did. I have a couple of comments:
1. Tank the Frank - we get the "Old School" connection. Not funny 2. You apparently think calling Pete "McTagart" is so funny that you do it every time. Still not funny. Since we can call each other by names that aren't real, I hereby dub you "assclown" for all future posts. Mike  |
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