Duke's A Blue Devil

So the moldering embers of a rumor that started last week in some spanish-language newspaper seem to be exploding into a more intense flame. The Nats are interested -- according to a team source -- in getting troubled wife-and-child-threaten-to-killer Elijah Dukes.

Our good friends at NTP already did the work for me, writing why this would be a bad idea. In part:

I don't want Elijah Dukes to be a member of the Washington Nationals. I don't want him to put on a uniform and be held up as a representative of my team and my city. I don't want him to be a symbol of what the Nationals stand for or what DC-area children should aspire to. It's not often that character trumps talent in professional sports. But this is one time when it damn well should.

Some athletes, like Josh Hamilton, come right to the brink of squandering their prodigious talent before they figure it out. Others, like Young, have a good reputation marred by one unforgivable incident. And some guys, like Robert Fick, just do stupid things because, well, they're kinda stupid. Elijah Dukes is in another category. He's not Hamilton, who was mostly just hurting himself. He's not Dmitri Young, who had a 30-year track record of being a pretty okay guy to fall back on. And he's not Fick, who will forever be linked to one inexplicable dumbass on-field decision. Right now, Elijah Dukes is a danger to himself and a detriment to everyone he comes into contact with.

He's right. Dukes is different than all those other guys.

And while he's got a world of potential, and is abstractly the perfect buy-low candidate, I want nothing to do with him. And that the team would be interested in him to the extent they seemingly are troubles me. Character isn't the most important thing; it's certainly overrated.

If you want a troubled guy with an upside, sign Milton Bradley. He hasn't (I think!) threatened to kill his kids, leaving his fights to jackass umpired and noted repugnant thugs like Jeff Kent. But because the bulk of his character 'problems' occur on the field, instead of in his estranged wife's (girlfriend's?) school classroom, they'd probably never consider it.

Have a happy Thanksgiving. Be sure to save me some stuffing.