The Downside of 'Upside'

[DOUGHBOYS]

But, sometimes it just aggravates me so much that it comes out through my fingers on the keyboard.
My mind still does a scream unheard whenever the word 'value' is used in the pre-season.
I know that it's my problem though and try to suppress it, but just can't sometimes.

Today, it is another word that makes me want to play an endless rap song (I hate rap) rather than hear this word in a good way.
The word is 'upside'.
By itself, upside is a good word.
Used like this....
'I drafted Garrett Richards because I want to draft upside picks such as Richards and AJ Pollock.'
Can somebody please just stop?
Please?

Almost every word has an antonym.
Of course, the opposite side of upside is downside.
WHY does nobody call Garrett Richards or AJ Pollock a 'downside' pick.
After all, they are more of a downside pick than upside.
Coming into this year, they are certainly on the downside.
BUT, hype has made them 'upside' picks.
How that can be, I'll never know.

Yesterday a drafter told me he took Shohei Ohtani for his upside.
He's dead now.
Killed with a thousand swings of a baseball bat.
Oh wait.
That was only in my mind.
Ohtani has displayed Double AA prowess in Spring Training.
How in anybody's world can that be considered....'Upside'.?

You know who has upside for this coming year?
NOBODY!
Cuz we don't have any idea how the year will go.
You know who had 'upside' last year?
Jonathon Villar, that's who.
Villar took baths in upside.
Soon, it was his owners who were taking baths.

'Upside' is a word that makes us feel good. It's like 'value' that way.
Heck, if I talk long enough about AJ Pollocks 'upside', I can almost forget that he misses as many games as he plays.
Same could be said about Garrett Richards elbow.
We like to trick ourselves.
Hell, we're not gonna exclaim to somebody that we took Noah Syndergaard because he's Mets pitcher, and Mets pitchers have a habit of flaming out and dying on the vine.
It sounds better if we just say that Syndergaard has a lot of...'upside'.

In politics, this is referred to as 'spin'.
If talking long enough about Trump in not being a typical politician because of no political experience, the voter can say that there is a lot of 'upside' to Trump.
Unfortunately, in politics, if voters are fooled by 'upside' they are stuck for four years.
Fantasy baseball has that part right.
Can you imagine still owning Troy Tulowitzki after believing in his 'upside' four years ago?

The word 'upside' almost implies that there is a steep downside to a player.

Acuna- youth, playing time.
Kingery- youth, playing time
Pollock- injury, lots of injury
Castillo- youth, playing time
Bird- unproven, injury

Each of these players have been thought of as 'Upside' players.
Players like Betts, Aaron Judge, and Domingo Santana cannot be thought of as 'Upside' players.
They are stable or have already had a big 'upside' year.
Unwritten rule- A player cannot have two good 'upside' years.
If so, this player turns into a 'solid' or 'stable' player.
I believe Carlos Gomez has qualified for all these words and is even an 'upside' candidate again this year.
Go figure.