I had quite the mess to clean up the day of the trade.

I check MLBTR and the various sites religiously this time of year for anything exciting, especially relating to the Angels. Most of the time I do this while eating lunch, or drinking coffee, or in the case of "the day", both. I have seen movies in which people react to shocking news (OMG IM PREGGOS WITH ROBO-HITLERS BABY) by spitting things out they are currently drinking, and honestly, thought it was sillyness that would never happen in real life.... especially to myself.

And then the "trade afternoon" happened.

As I was cleaning coffee (extra cream, assloads of splenda) and Mongol King (mongolian BBQ, always tastes the same no matter what I put in my bowl, explosive diarrhea included in every serving) off my computer monitor at work, I was trying to wrap my head around two things:

1) How this trade isnt the worst thing since I found out that Santa Claus want real last year

and

2) How my digestive track deals with this oily mess when I have trouble with it using rags and chemicals. Seriously, I need to take a pressurized water hose to my arteries to live past 40.

Then I called my Dad and several things about the call made me feel better.

My relationship with my father is pretty much 100% sports based.  Im sure some or most of you lucky enough to have your dad around can identify with a sports based relationship, maybe not, but this isnt about you, its about me so shush about your Dad bro.

In my state of shock and utter disbelief in thinking that the Angels just made the worse trade in baseball history, I called the dude who knocked up my mom:

M- "Dad, you sitting down?"

D- "Wait.... alright go."

M- "The Angels traded for Vernon Wells, Napoli and Rivera to the Jays"

D- "Interesting"

M- "Its not interesting, its awful, he is owed 80 something million over the next 4 years"

D- "Didn't he hit 31 home runs last year... and 40 doubles or so?"

M- "Yeah, but his splits indicate th-"

D- "44 Doubles is 44 doubles anywhere."

M- "Yeah but 84 million dollars?"

D- "I'm not concerned with Arte's pocket book or his bottom line"

M- "But... but like, Wells' nose is funny looking"

D- "This is true"

And then it dawned on me the downside of caring too much about one team. You get into the finances of an extremely rich person and have it personally effect the way you think about players. Wells is overpaid, and thats an over statement. 

My dad is a baseball purest, he has nailed trades correctly based on baseball insight and instinct while I was arguing sabermetrics. The Hunter free agent signing; while I was arguing his declining age and huge contract my father simply pointed out he is a hard nosed baseball player who will fit right in with the Angels. No citing of splits, WAR, contract length or anything along the lines of what every member of this board tries to cram into every post in attempts to be more correct than others.

The simplicity is the beauty of baseball. While I argue OPS+ my Dad simply states "He is a good ball player, 5 tools when right, he made the team better today."

The best part about baseball, and Dads, is that we can both be right while arguing two completely different ways, two different worlds, two different point of views. Wells can have two extremely effective seasons and provide stability to a slap hitting, weak ass offense. Is he worth a bajillion dollars? No, but I don't go to enough games to care about rising prices. I am not related to Arte Moreno so I wont feel the effect of my allowance being diminished.

I would never want someone who thinks like my father running a baseball team, for obvious reasons, such financial tomfoolery is reckless at best. I find that the purest standpoint of the trade is refreshing, and comforting. Wells is a good ball player, maybe a Hunter part 2, should be solid in left and be a bat that doesnt make me assume an auto out when he bats 5th or 6th.

Without getting into the details, the contract, the players given up, just simply "Is the team better today then it was yesterday?"

My Dad thinks so, and he is somehow usually right about these things.