ESPN Insider: MLB Insider – Weekend Update
Okay, this page is probably password protected, too. So here is the relevant quote: Tigers: OF Kenny Lofton could be headed to Motown. The Detroit News reports that Lofton has no other suitors at this time and could sign with Detroit as early as today. The club is believed to have offered Lofton only a $1 million contract.
Yes, that’s the Members Only section at ESPN.com. And yes, Kenny Lofton signed with Chicago, perhaps even before that note was written.
The point isn’t that you have to pay to get bad info, ESPN was quoting their stringer at the Detroit News, but that even if you pay for info, you have to look at the context. And the fact is that until something happens, chances are good that the writers covering a team aren’t privy to a lot of information.
They are privy to some info. They cultivate sources on the team. But if you’ve ever hung around with baseball beat reporters, they are given pro forma access to the players and coaching staff, and they are sometimes courted by warring factions if a team is up for grabs.
What they are not able to get, unless someone is using them, is inside info from management. At least if management doesn’t want them to get it.
Sure, it’s important to follow what a team is saying about playing time and roles for all its players. But the real value of analyzing teams comes when you decide that a team can’t be so stupid as to believe what it’s saying.
That’s when you might find a reserve who gets a surprising shot at the show. And if you’re lucky, your reserve will take advantage of the chance.