[lollipopcurve]

Well, its called development for a reason. Francisco has improved his K/BB every year. The problem is he started out so terribly that even after improving it for 3 years in a row, its still in the 'terrible' range. Francisco could be a historical outlier who makes the improvements he needs to after being so bad in the minors as far as those things go, and to be sure, he has shown some signs that suggest its possible. The problem is, they have just been flashes in very small samples.

I understand that. I am not arguing that Francisco could not put more time in AAA to good use. All I'm saying is that the pro-Alonso camp in this rating is inside-the-box, while the Francisco camp is not. Just as, for years there have been some Francisco supporters on this board -- and I am a relative latecomer among them -- who have been opposed all along by the same arguments that are being levied against Francisco now. Despite the fact that his supporters have been validated more and more as time has gone on, the opposition has changed little, if at all.