JohnU
Aristocratic Hoosier
The vast bulk of players who get traded are just organizational paperwork for the front office. You look for ways to upgrade the minor league system, make coaches, scouts and agents happy and eventually you get lucky enough to find a diamond in the pit of crushed marble.
The objective for affiliated ball in the last 15 years at least, is NOT connected to winning, though there is some consideration to attendance and success that every franchise has to have. You can't have a team of losers every year in any baseball town, and I sort of feel bad for fans of these teams who come out to see a guy, maybe buy a ticket a week in advance, only to learn he has been traded for 2 other guys you never heard of.
I go to some SB Cubs games and honestly I have zero interest in the players unless they are playing Dayton, then I watch for gamer or two. Usually it's just another 1 for 4 game. Meh. The bulk of Midwest League rosters are NDFA guys who are either 18 or 23, depending on which island they came from.
I watch too much indy ball now and even though the teams are nobody you ever heard of, they are also put together by a manager/GM who doesn't have a farm system. They ARE trying to win, even though what they win is just ... well, not much. Still, hard core fans get to buy a tee shirt announcing we are the champion!
The churn is as much but for different reasons. Often, one our our better players gets signed by affiliated and becomes part of the churn. The players just play because ... fuck yeah, it I was 24 years old, I'd be playing ball for money!
The objective for affiliated ball in the last 15 years at least, is NOT connected to winning, though there is some consideration to attendance and success that every franchise has to have. You can't have a team of losers every year in any baseball town, and I sort of feel bad for fans of these teams who come out to see a guy, maybe buy a ticket a week in advance, only to learn he has been traded for 2 other guys you never heard of.
I go to some SB Cubs games and honestly I have zero interest in the players unless they are playing Dayton, then I watch for gamer or two. Usually it's just another 1 for 4 game. Meh. The bulk of Midwest League rosters are NDFA guys who are either 18 or 23, depending on which island they came from.
I watch too much indy ball now and even though the teams are nobody you ever heard of, they are also put together by a manager/GM who doesn't have a farm system. They ARE trying to win, even though what they win is just ... well, not much. Still, hard core fans get to buy a tee shirt announcing we are the champion!
The churn is as much but for different reasons. Often, one our our better players gets signed by affiliated and becomes part of the churn. The players just play because ... fuck yeah, it I was 24 years old, I'd be playing ball for money!