YEA OR NAY FOR MAY 9TH

Being part of a fantasy league with people you are good friends with can be a slippery slope.

It’s obvious that you want to win, but you’ve often got to weigh that against friendships.
In a league with friends, I am less likely to do certain things as opposed to a league of acquaintances.

Case in point. About a month ago I was working on trading for Hanley Ramirez in one of my leagues. Hanley was currently owned by a good friend of mine and we had some preliminary discussions that really didn’t go anywhere.

Assuming the deal was dead, I stopped on the offers and was setting my sights elsewhere. But then, out of the blue, my friend threw back two offers last week that left me floored.

In both, he offered me Hanley, but for two separate packages…you be the judge.

Package #1: Hanley for Victor Martinez and Dan Haren.

Package #2: Hanley for Corey Patterson and Dan Haren.

Considering the fact that Corey Patterson was days away from being flat out jettisoned from my squad, offer number 2 seemed like a no brainer.

But before I could pull the trigger, I had a revelation. A moment of clarity, if you will.

I couldn’t live with myself if I accepted package number 2. I know that Corey Patterson is a bum and that his days in Cincinnati are dwindling. To even put him and V-Mart in the same class is a major blunder.

But I just couldn’t do it, for several reasons.

For one, if I did, this friend of mine would certainly face ridicule from other owners. I didn’t want that to happen.

Second, as someone who has been a commissioner for two decades, I know that you don’t want this type of trade to happen. Lopsided trades are the bane of every commissioner’s existence.

I have always been one hundred percent behind the notion that unless there is proof of collusion between two owners, no trade can be vetoed. If someone is dumb enough to give up David Wright for Pedro Feliz, than that’s life. It’s a tough lesson to learn, but that guy definitely won’t make that mistake again in the future. Not after he gets ripped a new one by everyone else in the league.

But even though I wouldn’t veto such a trade, it would make me upset as a commissioner. Only because I know it is going to cause headaches. Other owners are ticked because they were unable to be a part of such a lopsided deal. The owner who dealt Wright is upset because he’s got 9 or 10 owners threatening to burn down his house.

You will only have one guy who is not upset and that is the guy who got Wright. And pretty soon, you’ll have him complaining to you, because his life repeatedly is getting threatened by the rest of the league. Nobody wins. Especially the commish.

Lastly, if a trade like this went down, you often get labeled. Even though it wasn’t me who proposed the trade. If you pull off a trade like this, people don’t forget. And that makes it harder to make trades further down the line.

I remember about 7 or 8 years ago when a friend of mine trading Alex Rodriguez in the first week of the season. It didn’t look terrible, on paper, but by the time A-Rod got rolling around to an MVP season, the trade ended up being absolutely horrible. I think the owner actually changed his team name to ‘I Can’t Believe I Traded A-Rod’.

It can take years to get over a mistake like that. As the guy who got hosed, you are gun shy about making moves, for fear of it happening again. And as the owner who made out, people look at you as being shady. Somebody who can’t be trusted and who you can’t even consider dealing with.

As is, there were a couple owners who couldn’t believe Hanley got dealt for V-Mart and Haren. Imagine if I had pulled the trigger on the other? It’s just not worth it.

That being said…if you are in a league with simple acquaintances, you have to make that deal. Feelings be damned. If you and I aren’t ever going to see each other outside of our annual draft, I will do everything in my power to rob you blind.

I’ve been called lots of names by fellow owners in my years playing fantasy. I’ve also called other owners a number of names that can’t be printed here today. But hopefully, this example will prove to some of you that I do have a softer side. How can I rip off a close friend? Blum, on the other hand…

On to this week’s YEA or NAY. Enjoy.

YEA: To Dioner Navarro. A weird guy to start things off with, I know. But never let anyone tell you I don’t know how to toot my own horn. I loved Navarro before the season started. And despite spending two weeks on the DL with a fluke injury, Navarro is batting .368 with a home run and 10 RBI. He’s even been caught stealing twice…at least he’s trying. Consider: Pudge Rodriguez is batting .252 with 1 home run and 14 RBI. Unfortunately, he has spent no time on the DL.

NAY: To the Tigers. Jim Leyland says they are going to shake things up after getting swept by the Twins. So, they release Jacques Jones. Ooohh….that’s turning things on its ear. The Tigers promptly lose 3 of 4 at home to the Red Sox. I guess it’s time for another shakeup. Maybe this week, they’ll send Zach Miner to AAA. That will teach all you overpaid superstars not to mess around!

YEA: To trading Brandon Webb. I know he has been amazing, 8 wins in 8 starts. But the law of averages can’t keep up and you know it. If you keep holding on to him, his stock is only going to go down. Be happy that you got 8 of his eventual 20 wins and go take someone to the cleaners.

NAY: To the trade Quiggs made, which he commented on following one of my blogs a week ago. Sorry, but I have to give a thumbs down to the deal. In case you haven’t seen it, Quiggs dealt Ryan Braun and Matt Cain for David Ortiz and Greg Maddux. The thinking being that he had Edwin Encarnacion on his bench, who could be plugged in for Braun. I love Ortiz, but I love Braun more. Mainly, due to stolen bases. I even have a bet in place with a pal of mine that Ortiz will end the year with a higher batting average than Braun. It’s not even a question…Braun strikes out too much. But secondly, I’m a big Matt Cain fan. I think Cain to Maddux is a big drop. And the way Maddux has pitched of late, it’s starting to look like he might finally be feeling his age. Hope it works out, but if it were me, I probably would not have made the deal.

YEA: For me and what I wrote two weeks ago about Brett Myers. Something is wrong and it’s only getting worse. He proved that yesterday in Arizona. The game Saturday against the Giants doesn’t count because that isn’t a Major League lineup. If you had other options, I would consider sitting Myers until he figures it out.

NAY: To Richie Sexson. Dude is 6’8” and 240 pounds and when he charges the mound he’s got to throw his helmet at the pitcher? Get some balls.

NAY: While we’re on the matter, the Mariners as a team. After emptying out their farm system for Erik Bedard, the M’s were picked as favorites in the AL West. But they are no in full out freefall. They are 3-12 in their last 15 games. They scored 3 total runs in their three straight losses to the Rangers and the three headed monster that is Sidney Ponson, Vicente Padilla and Kason Gabbard. Forget the Tigers…this is the team that needs a shakeup. I’d say fire the manager, but nobody even knows who he is.

YEA: To the deal this past offseason between the Rangers and Reds that sent Edinson Volquez to Cincy and Josh Hamilton to Texas. Now that was a great deal for everybody. We need more of those.

YEA: To Carlos Gomez. He got drilled in the head earlier this week when trying to steal second base. When he comes back, he hits for the cycle. We should try that with Ryan Howard….have Cole Hamels just line up and drill him in the head.

NAY: To this weeks Survivor. In case you missed it, I can’t even put in words what happened. Let it be known that I had to leave the room when Erik did what he did. I was ashamed to be a man. On a related note, my 7 year old daughter has been making fun of this guy since the season began because his occupation is listed as ‘ice cream scooper.’ When your livelihood is being mocked by a first grader, you might want to reassess things.

YEA: To MTV’s Real World Hollywood. You would think by now they would have exhausted the pool of nut jobs, but the producers of this show continue to dig them up. God bless you.

NAY: To Kimmo Timmonen. Bloodclots come and go, but the Stanley Cup is forever. Suck it up.

YEA: To the new Speed Racer cartoon. In case you missed it, Chim Chim is now a robot monkey. Super sweet!!!

NAY: To ‘Made of Honor’. I told a friend of mine that I would not out him and the fact that he got sucked into the movie last week. You should be ashamed of yourself JM.

YEA: To Mt. Laurel Baseball Day at the Phillies last Saturday night. I actually got to walk my t-ball team on the field before the game. 3700 kids from Mt. Laurel baseball flooded the game and marched around the stadium.

NAY: To the security people at the game, for absolutely screaming at any kids who dared touch the grass on the field while they walked around the stadium. How much harm was going to be caused by some 8 year old reaching down and simply running his hand along the grass, which was in FOUL TERRITORY ANYWAY!!! These people need to get a clue.

YEA: To my daughter for not throwing up after the game. Two hot dogs, a cotton candy, half a bag of peanuts, a soft pretzel, some popcorn and an order of French fries.

NAY: To Khalil Greene. I never thought I would be able to hate anyone as much as I do you.

YEA: To Matt Capps. On Wednesday night, Capps gave up 3 hits, 1 run and recorded 3 outs. ON 8 PITCHES. You don’t see that everyday.

YEA: To Sidney Crosby pulling out one of his patented dives in the series against the Flyers. I want to see him try it….I dare you.