The Cincinnati Reds

The Reds just traded Juan Francisco to the Braves.  I've never heard of Juan Francisco before, but from the news article, it does not seem like he's going to be a great asset to my beloved Braves.  He got injured last year, and he showed up overweight to spring training. (Personally I have to forgive Francisco for the weight gain since I've had my own troubles in that department, but then again I'm not a professional athlete, so I supposed I should be given slightly more leeway than Francisco when it comes to overall physical health).  Anyway, trading is kind of like classroom assignments.  We'll be sitting down with our team lists soon and splitting players up into next year's teams. We try to keep things pretty even --- same # of boys and girls, same # of heavy hitters aka trouble makers.  We try to give each teacher the same # of cheerful, committed players who love the game of learning.   Even with a great deal of Moneyball type chatting, some classroom teams just turn up uneven the next year.  Either a new unknown gets on the roster at the last minute or some old timer shows up out of shape for the new year, grouchy and no longer interested in the game.  Still, we do the best we can. And we know that there's always potential for the greatest year ever.