This thread has now evolved from talking about all of this MLESS team trades to only Tim's trade with the MLESS team. The flag you and Tim so eloquently wave is, in my opinion and probably some other managers, not being served in this case. The MLESS would have been better served by including a Rookie No. 1 pick in Tim's deal who would have had 1-2 years to develop. I would have demanded that to go along with an aging 2B who has already maxed out and a 1B/DH who so far has hit a career high of 21 HRs in a MLB season and a late developing C with legal problems. Throw in the Rookie 1 and it would have been a sweet deal for the MLESS team, which was supposed to be the case right? And the trade would have been more painful for Tim, right? Neither Durham nor Durazo is in the top 15 of either position that they play currently and I don't think they ever will be...maybe I'm wrong and we'll find out in a couple of years from now.

As another observation here...it is clear that Mike has particular likes and dislikes of certain ML baseball players which from time to time influence his acceptance or denial of certain trades and that he currently puts a lot of stock into Durham's value at this particular point. That tends to annoy some managers who don't hold the same views and see things differently as the thread above regarding Kent and Escobar clearly indicated. Finally, I believe that both you and Tim put a lot of energy and knowledge into what you post on this board, I just see things slightly differently in this case. I think we all need the season to go ahead and start already, huh?