I don’t mean to go all quantum physics on you, but for a few minutes there, Jon Lester was simultaneously traded to the Orioles and not traded to the Orioles. It was a total Schroedinger’s Cat situation, really:
#RedSox in discussions on a deal that would end Jon Lester to the #Orioles sources from both teams say. Would return a pitcher
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) July 30, 2014
Hearing Orioles are close to a deal with the Red Sox for pitcher Jon Lester. Same as @PeteAbe
— Brittany Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) July 30, 2014
From everything I can glean Orioles aren’t close to Lester deal. Was told they didn’t want to send top prospects there/anywhere. We’ll see
— Dan Connolly (@danconnollysun) July 30, 2014
Orioles reports on Lester “a guess” according to club source and not a good one at this stage
— Gordon Edes (@GordonEdes) July 30, 2014
And on and on and on.
And the thing is: all of those folks are good reporters who get stuff right most of the time. It’s just that, with the trade deadline, most reporting skills are sort of nullified by the fact that the news in question is a simple nugget of information, not a story subject to the kind of journalistic work these people normally do. Sure, to even get to the point where someone is telling you stuff takes work and trust, but ultimately you hear something or you don’t, it’s true or it’s not. Big trade news can be broke by someone in the loop or someone just in the right place at the right time.
So, we sit back and wait for the actual news. It’ll come eventually. Promise.
