FanHouse AlexanderMogilny

There was a time when my favorite sport was, without hesitation, baseball. Recently, however, my interest in the game has been lost. Not because of a steroid scandal or the incompetence of Bud Selig, but mostly because the team I grew up cheering for, the Pittsburgh Pirates, has been a Major League Baseball team in name only and is currently working on its 17th consecutive losing season with no end in sight.

You might argue that makes me a fair-weather fan, but I disagree. My interest is so low that if, by some perfect storm -- like the rest of the National League halting operations and disbanding from the league -- the Pirates actually won something, I still probably wouldn't care as much as I should. I just don't care about baseball anymore, but I certainly don't begrudge those who still do. It's still a great game, even if my interest is at an all-time low.

As I grow older and more mature (stop snickering), I'm beginning to see the folly of a team, on Deadline Day, spending major assets for a playoff rental. Yes, D-Day is always hyped to the max, and gets fans drooling at the prospect of seeing their team get the likes of Marian Hossa, Peter Forsberg, or Mats Sundin to put their team over the top.

Like Tom Benjamin notes over at his blog, rarely does spending the farm on a short-term rental ever really help a team do big things. Last season, we saw the Isles give up lots for Ryan Smyth and the Thrashers do the same for Keith Tkachuk. Both teams fell flat on their asses in the first round, although some would argue that just getting the teams into the playoffs, and one round of lucrative playoff revenue, was the justification for screwing the team's future.

Think of building a house. A good house takes time to plan, and the foundation is laid early in the design choices one makes. You can't simply stick some Sears Aluminum siding on the outside of a stucco monstrosity and expect it to turn into a million-dollar mansion, can you?