Sanchez and Wilson: The Bridge to 2012 and the Social Contract

The Pittsburgh Pirates' new management actually did a reasonable thing when they came on board. They started building for 2012. That is to say, they lined up their best draft choices and prospect trades to be ready for 2012-2014. After that, players would become free agents, and there would have to be a new rebuilding cycle. A low-budget team like the Pirates can't afford to have a contending team every year. They would do well to have a contending team every few years. The problem was, veterans, and basically anyone would not be "affordable" in the target time period was considered "not part of our future" and treated, as expendable. That's just plain wrong. I learned that lesson the hard way in Pittsburgh. When I was a senior, my high school hired a new principal. Two years after my graduation, the principal honestly but tactlessly confirmed what I had suspected; that my class and the class behind mine were "stepchild" classes, and he cons...