No
reason to go that deep.
As we all know the
Mets traded the minor-leaguer in 2004 for Victor Zambrano to help with
a playoff run. Victor wasn't even the best "Zambrano" in the league
then, let alone a good pitcher.
1. The Rays (Devilrays
back then) called Kazmir up from the minors immediately. Why didn't the Met's
just do that? Kazmir won 2 games in 2004...Zambrano? "0".
2. Kazmir through a
gem yesterday for the Dodgers...12 years later. Zambrano? Had a sub-par year in
2005 and then pitched 40 more innings combined in 2006/7 before hanging up his
cleats. Where he is now? Parts unknown, weight unknown.
3. General note on the
quirks and misunderstandings of baseball (This might be my next book). In ALL
other major sports (NBA, NFL, NHL, etc.) a player competes in the big leagues when
selected in a draft (either out of college, or high-school these days). They
are ready to compete there and then. The only exception is MLB - where players
need to be groomed for several years in the minor leagues, especially pitchers.
I never quite understood that. The only recent exception to this is the NBA
D-League where un-drafted players and castaways can fight their way to or back
into the light. Even there, the D league is not pre-school for future NBA
players. It's just a place to keep some reasonable talent fresh in the event
that a current player twists an ankle. For the NBA - the pre-school is
called college. That's another Clutch rant for another day.
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