FOR MONTHS DURING the lockout, Major League Baseball players had a consistent gripe about the system they were attempting to change -- a gripe to which fans, too, could relate. At issue is a strategy that has become commonplace in baseball: Tanking.
Popularized during World Series title runs first by the Chicago Cubs and then the Houston Astros, tanking has become an often-imitated way to rebuild. Instead of risking mediocre play that keeps a team stuck in the middle, a team will trade away veteran players and bottom out. The club will then start over with small payrolls, load up on prospects and sell fans on the future, even as the present likely consists of 100-loss seasons.