Oh what a difference a year and a new collective bargaining agreement make. Last year during the winter meetings, the Diamondbacks stood by and watched Dan Uggla be plucked from their farm system. We then had to endure an entire season where he played daily as the starting second baseman for the Florida Marlins making the all-star game as a rookie. Were it not for the fact that the Diamondbacks had themselves acquired a gold glove caliber second baseman that was amazing us on a daily basis, the Uggla incident (which is how it will forever be known) would have been unbearable. Today was the final day of the winter meetings which meant it was Rule 5 day again. For clubs such as the Diamondbacks who have a lot of talent in their minor league system, this day is always stressful as you just may lose a bright star to another team.
The new collective bargaining agreement gave the Diamondbacks a stay of execution since it prolonged by a year the amount of service time a player can have before having to be protected on the 40 man roster. There was less of a chance of losing one of their players this year than would have been the case under the old agreement. Even so, it was worth watching to see how well the Diamondbacks minor leagues had been scouted and if there were a diamond in the rough left unprotected.
One frustrating thing about Major League Baseball is their seeming lack of interest in promoting their product from a draft standpoint. For the National Football League and to a certain extent the National Basketball Association, the draft is a full day event with all of the pomp and circumstance surrounding an important starting point to the next generation of superstars. For baseball, it is almost like a spy thriller where an agent must go deep behind enemy lines to infiltrate government offices to steal state secrets. Draft results are listed after the fact unless you want to pay $14.95 for an opportunity to see a couple of talking heads speak about some unknown player who had been in the minors for 5 years. I have not completely bought into the whole pay for Internet information concept and as such I am not a subscriber to the baseball TV thing. I patiently waited like an expectant father outside the delivery room to see whether the baby was a boy or a goat. In the case of the Diamondbacks this day, things went well and they did not lose any players. Coming in with a full 40 man roster, they also did not gain any players. It’s a sad day when you claim victory for not doing anything.
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