Even though the World Series only ended a couple of weeks ago, it almost feels like the baseball season has just started. For many baseball fans, the season doesn’t start in late March/early April. It starts in early-mid November when the stove gets hot. Free agent signings, trades, rumors, speculation…it all makes for an exciting few months. Unsurprisingly, the New York Yankees usually find themselves in the middle of a new trade rumor on a daily basis – or at least it seems so. Nothing is new in 2011 as every stay-at-home G.M. (that includes me I suppose) is throwing out trade targets and trade packages that, without fail, land a legit stud in a New York Yankees uniform in exchange for some mediocre players. I’m just poking some fun at my New York Yankees faithful. Its only natural for fans to put together trade proposals for our favorite players or vehemently shoot down the proposals for the players that we don’t like. Many fans have been doing the former in regards to the Chicago White Sox’ John Danks, but I’m going to do the latter.
Don’t get me wrong, Danks is definitely a solid pitcher. He’s young (27 on April 15), he’s left handed and he’s put up decent numbers in his young career for the most part. He just doesn’t get my baseball juices flowing though. Everyone looks at him as the No. 2 starter the Yankees have been in pursuit of – that “second ace”. A second ace is really what I think of when it comes to an ideal No. 2 starter in the rotation and nothing about his track record suggests that Danks is the guy that the Yanks should look to fill that role. I think he would make a great No. 3 starter, but mention that in the company of more than one Yankees fan and prepare to unloaded on. Yankees fans LOVE John Danks for some reason. Maybe its because they perceive him to be available. We all know that feeling. Take that girl that sat at the other end of the classroom. She’s pretty hot, but you never invested much into her because she’s had a boyfriend for as long as you’ve known her, but wait…they broke up?! She’s single and available? Now that she’s on the market, she’s that much more attractive to you. At least that’s the way it works with a lot of guys and that’s how I feel a lot of the longing over John Danks has developed. I’m sure some of you are going to read that and think, “man, I wish this clown would just stick to the baseball”…or perhaps worse. Either way, that’s just the picture that’s been painted in my mind.
In terms of a potential trade for Danks, I’m not going to propose any packages, but I will say that I would not include Gary Sanchez or Dellin Betances – let alone anybody rated higher. I know some know-it-all is going to think or say the same thing that I already know: prospects rarely reach their potential, so why not trade a guy like Dellin Betances for a known commodity…blah blah blah. I realize this and for the right player I’m willing to see just about any prospect moved in a deal. Danks just isn’t that right player for me. When trading away stud prospects, I want the return to make my heart to skip, I want my eyes and mouth to simultaneously expand to the size of tennis balls, I want to go running for my phone and scramble through my contact list frantically trying to decide which of my friends to call first. I don’t want to see the news and say, “Eh” or “Hm, alright”. Those are the feelings that John Danks inspires in me and it only gets worse if a guy like Betances or Sanchez is included.
This isn’t the first time I have stood up for the minority of fans that would prefer to see John Danks stay on the South Side while the New York Yankees’ prospects stay in or near the Bronx. It definitely won’t be the last time either.
If you agree, disagree or just want to talk some trash I encourage you to leave a comment, find me on facebook or follow me on twitter @craigmwilliams.
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The White Sox want a package built around Romine, not Betances. That’s more than worth it.
If that is the case, I could warm up to the idea of Danks in Yankee pinstripes.