This is how the blog world works...I read this story on River Ave. Blues...then I read this follow-up on Baseball Musings...then I read this from Rob Neyer. Now I'm blogging about it.
I think that the idea of draft pick compensation, in theory, was great. Find a way to give compensation to small market teams when big market teams sign away their free agents. The loss of a first round pick should be a huge punishment, enough to thwart away the Yankees of the world from pilfering from the Royals of the world.
If this were any other sport, the loss of a first round pick would usually be restrictive enough to warrant not going after the free agent. I think that the systems used in the NHL and NFL are interesting. They differ in the way the status occurs (NHL is based on service years, NFL is based on getting a "franchise tag"), but both allow the former teams to match the offer sheet signed by the free agent.
I don't know if that would work in baseball (it would be interesting to figure out, though). But instead of going to those systems, I think the key is to revamp the draft. The Yankees don't need to worry about losing a #1 pick this year because they're getting a protected first rounder from failing to sign their first round pick last year. Even if the Yankees didn't have a first rounder, they wouldn't have to worry too much, because they could wait until a later round and pay above slot for a player who may have slipped down the draft charts due to pay demands.
I think it's a good idea to change the way the draft pick compensation is done in baseball (including the "arcane system used to classify free agents"). I just wonder if maybe we should look at the draft system itself, first.
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