Requiem Part 2: Pedigree

There's another side to the whole Aaron Heilman to the bullpen debate, and that's your fifth starter, Brian Bannister.

Pedigree is very tricky. Although I haven't heard anyone say it, it would be easy to say that a guy like Bannister is getting the benefit of the doubt (there's that phrase again) because his father was a major leaguer, and a good one at that in Floyd Bannister. In the past, there has been validity to an argument like that. Dale Berra lasted in the majors much longer than he should have. And for every Ken Griffey Jr., there's a Ron Hodges (so someone did catch that there's no relation...you passed the test). That's when pedigree crosses that line and becomes an unintentional version of what we know as nepotism.

But as in life, not all fathers and sons are created equal. And here's the advantage of having a father who's played in the majors. Rick Peterson tells young Brian in September that he needs to work on a changeup (as Brian told Sal Marchiano on WPIX in an interview that aired in the last few days). Brian goes home in the offseason and works on a changeup, which has helped him to a great spring. Now I put this to you: if Brian Bannister's father was an air traffic controller, do you think Brian would have had the same results? Nope. But Brian did nothing but work on that changeup this offseason with his highly experienced father. And that is the advantage of pedigree. It's not something that just appears, yet pedigree is something that is cultivated. It's not automatic...If it was, then John Henry Williams would have been a star. And when it's all said and done, Brian Bannister might not be a star either. But as for now, he seems to be taking advantage of the experience that's at his disposal.