Jean-Jacques Taylor, former Cowboy beat writer turned DMN columnist (and the guy who said a couple of months ago that no one obsesses about the Rangers has weighed in on the Danks trade...
And while he likes the deal, I don't understand his rationale.
First, he says that John Danks won't be ready until the middle of 2008, which doesn't seem right...the ChiSox are saying they expect him to compete for a rotation spot this spring, and I, personally, figured he'd be in the Ranger rotation by no later than the end of July this coming year. Taylor's projections has Danks being ready about a year after it seems reasonable he'd be expected to be ready.
But here's the second part:
No matter what Daniels or anyone else in the organization tells you, this deal says something about the Rangers' thoughts concerning Danks' potential. All you have to do is look at the facts. Texas plays in a park tailored for left-handed power hitters. To give up Danks, a left-handed pitcher who has been the organization's top prospect since being selected in the first round of the 2003 draft, speaks volumes.
That's why it was a bold move. And the right move.
So because the Rangers included Danks in a deal for Brandon McCarthy, it says they don't believe in Danks' potential? Is it possible that the Rangers think McCarthy is 1) more major league ready right now, and 2) has a higher ceiling?
Does that really mean that they don't believe in Danks' potential?
And even if that is true -- which I don't think is the case -- does that make them right?
Remember, this is exactly the sort of rationale that was being peddled last season, when the Rangers inexplicably gave up Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez. Supposedly, the Rangers knew something, figured out that Young couldn't hold up, and that Gonzalez wouldn't hit enough to play regularly at first base.
We know how that turned out.
Taylor's point seems to be that the Rangers wouldn't be giving up on Danks if they still believed in him. By that rationale, though, shouldn't Taylor be asking what the ChiSox know about McCarthy, that the Rangers don't?