Astros WikiLeaks

Now that we have all had a good laugh, and Houston has plenty of egg on its face, what have we learned from this security compromise?

A couple of years ago, I attended a duel interview of Brian Cashman and Theo Epstein, moderated by ESPN Baseball Tonight's Karl Ravech. These two former arch foes could finally share the same stage, as Epstein had recently relocated to the north side of Chicago. They both made two things abundantly clear that were affirmed today; the first, there is only a limited window in which you can make real negotiation progress with another team (often late June through August, and the offseason). The second, absolutely no one is in the business of doing you a favor. If you're the Yankees or the Red Sox, be prepared to pay, because no one has any sympathy for you. 

The third that cannot be denied from today, and by far the funniest thing, many baseball professionals in the front office are hardly what Roger Dawson (Master of Power Negotiation) would call power negotiators. In fact, after reading the leaked Deadspin logs, most of the individuals in the position of making major organizational decisions seem about as savvy as many rivals in my fantasy leagues. On many levels, this is disheartening. You want to visualize a Boiler Room like scene, with guys having removed ties, sweaty shirts, windowless rooms because time has become meaningless, and cell phones surgically attached to their hands. Not so. I am afraid like in any business, some people are far more dynamic and creative than their counterparts, and more successful.

 These are the facts that were confirmed earlier today. All of which are equally entertaining, disturbing, and enlightening. I won't yet indulge in Ichiro's part of this fun mishap, though you can look forward to an upcoming article on the best Yankees trades never made in the last decade. 

What the baseball world is biting at the bit to know now: who is our Julian Assange?

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