Overhead at the Christmas dining table:
Question: You're in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and Walter O'Malley. You've got a gun, but only two bullets. Whaddya do?
Answer: Put 'em both in O'Malley.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
Death of the Fan
Are fantasy sports killing fanhood?
Your loyalty as the owner of a fantasy team is to the players on your team. And if you play rationally, those players will be selected on no other basis than their own skill and availability. In a non-biased draft, then, the players you assemble on your own team will not be the players on your favorite team, because a) if the players on your favorite team are generally bad players, you will not select them, and b) if the players on your favorite team are generally good players, everyone in the league will be trying to select them, limiting their availability.
Therefore you are faced with an inevitable, disconcerting dilemma: do I root for my own fantasy team, and thus for the players on my team, who represent a wide cross section of the league's teams, or do I root for my favorite team above all? At first, you think that these two goals are not mutually exclusive, that you can do both. To a certain extent, you can. But things get complicated pretty quickly. When you have a starting pitcher on your fantasy team who is pitching against your favorite team, what do you do? Do you sit him down? If this decision to sit him down is made for any reason other than attempting to win your fantasy league, it takes away from the "integrity," if you will, of that league. If you're going to bother playing fantasy sports at all, then you have to suck it up and start the pitcher going against your team if it is a move that will bring you closer to winning the league. So then more questions arise--do you root for your pitcher to get shelled, convincing yourself that it's a "win-win" scenario? (He pitches well, I have something to fall back on despite my favorite team being shut down; he pitches poorly, my team wins, which makes me happy, too.) Do you root for him to pitch well in a losing effort? This is the option that most fantasy owners would probably choose (A complete-game shutout in a 1-0 loss, perhaps?). While it sounds good, this line of thinking is dangerous. It's the beginning of fantasy baseball's slippery slope, which leads downhill towards the dissolution of your traditional loyalty. When you're rooting for your pitcher to do well against your team, you don't really mind so much when he emerges with the win--it's just one game, after all... If you're not careful, soon your loyalty to your fantasy team has eclipsed all your other sports loyalties in prominence.
The problem is that a fantasy team is something that is completely yours. You are the general manager, owner, manager of your fantasy team. In contrast, your favorite team is an enormous conglomeration, owned by a billionaire corporation, run by a general manager who continually frustrates you, coached by a manager whose decisions you constantly berate. You are in a boat with hundreds of thousands of other people, watching and hoping and sweating and dying from afar, with no control over the entity you invest so much of your own being into supporting. You pour money into the franchise you call your own, but that money just goes into the pockets of those behind the scenes, the decision-makers who have no intention (nor should they) of including the fan in the process of running and building the team.
All that frustration is erased when you own a fantasy team, however. Every decision made is by you alone, and the results of all of your decisions quickly and clearly show up in the standings. As the saying goes, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. You have absolute power over your fantasy team, and that power undoubtedly is corrosive. What it corrupts most absolutely is one's fanhood--the ability to irrationally, unquestionably root for one's favorite team with the utmost passion in every situation. When the responsibilities of fanhood bump up against rooting interest in the players that constitute one's fantasy squad, well... you would like to say that your motives are always pure, that with every at bat and pitch and inning you are rooting for your favorite team, but it doesn't always work out that way. Your favorite team might even change to your fantasy team, the one you actually can control, with the real team that you root for running a not-so-close second.
This doesn't always happen, of course. As in everything else, there are levels and shades of fanhood and rooting interest, complications that come to bear in different situations. But I have found that it is nearly impossible to convince yourself, to talk yourself into rooting for a team or a player or an outcome. Rooting interest, fanhood, is just something that comes to you, and you cannot, under any circumstances, coerce it to come to you in a certain way. You know exactly how you feel about it at all times, and you can't change the way you feel or the level of your passion, no matter what you tell your friends or what you scream at the TV or while in your seat at the ballpark. Thus, thanks to your fantasy team, you might find yourself wishing for an outcome that runs against your chosen party line as a fan, and despite the fact that you would rather that wish wasn't extant, there it is, and there's nothing you can do about it, short of eschewing fantasy sports.
Everybody makes their choices: play fantasy sports, or no? The decision is not an easy one, or one made lightly, because nothing is free--not even Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball. It comes with a certain price attached, a price measured in our fanhood. What that price will be, and how the course of the season will rearrange one's loyalties and interest, can never be determined before one dives into the fantasy sports realm.
Your loyalty as the owner of a fantasy team is to the players on your team. And if you play rationally, those players will be selected on no other basis than their own skill and availability. In a non-biased draft, then, the players you assemble on your own team will not be the players on your favorite team, because a) if the players on your favorite team are generally bad players, you will not select them, and b) if the players on your favorite team are generally good players, everyone in the league will be trying to select them, limiting their availability.
Therefore you are faced with an inevitable, disconcerting dilemma: do I root for my own fantasy team, and thus for the players on my team, who represent a wide cross section of the league's teams, or do I root for my favorite team above all? At first, you think that these two goals are not mutually exclusive, that you can do both. To a certain extent, you can. But things get complicated pretty quickly. When you have a starting pitcher on your fantasy team who is pitching against your favorite team, what do you do? Do you sit him down? If this decision to sit him down is made for any reason other than attempting to win your fantasy league, it takes away from the "integrity," if you will, of that league. If you're going to bother playing fantasy sports at all, then you have to suck it up and start the pitcher going against your team if it is a move that will bring you closer to winning the league. So then more questions arise--do you root for your pitcher to get shelled, convincing yourself that it's a "win-win" scenario? (He pitches well, I have something to fall back on despite my favorite team being shut down; he pitches poorly, my team wins, which makes me happy, too.) Do you root for him to pitch well in a losing effort? This is the option that most fantasy owners would probably choose (A complete-game shutout in a 1-0 loss, perhaps?). While it sounds good, this line of thinking is dangerous. It's the beginning of fantasy baseball's slippery slope, which leads downhill towards the dissolution of your traditional loyalty. When you're rooting for your pitcher to do well against your team, you don't really mind so much when he emerges with the win--it's just one game, after all... If you're not careful, soon your loyalty to your fantasy team has eclipsed all your other sports loyalties in prominence.
The problem is that a fantasy team is something that is completely yours. You are the general manager, owner, manager of your fantasy team. In contrast, your favorite team is an enormous conglomeration, owned by a billionaire corporation, run by a general manager who continually frustrates you, coached by a manager whose decisions you constantly berate. You are in a boat with hundreds of thousands of other people, watching and hoping and sweating and dying from afar, with no control over the entity you invest so much of your own being into supporting. You pour money into the franchise you call your own, but that money just goes into the pockets of those behind the scenes, the decision-makers who have no intention (nor should they) of including the fan in the process of running and building the team.
All that frustration is erased when you own a fantasy team, however. Every decision made is by you alone, and the results of all of your decisions quickly and clearly show up in the standings. As the saying goes, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. You have absolute power over your fantasy team, and that power undoubtedly is corrosive. What it corrupts most absolutely is one's fanhood--the ability to irrationally, unquestionably root for one's favorite team with the utmost passion in every situation. When the responsibilities of fanhood bump up against rooting interest in the players that constitute one's fantasy squad, well... you would like to say that your motives are always pure, that with every at bat and pitch and inning you are rooting for your favorite team, but it doesn't always work out that way. Your favorite team might even change to your fantasy team, the one you actually can control, with the real team that you root for running a not-so-close second.
This doesn't always happen, of course. As in everything else, there are levels and shades of fanhood and rooting interest, complications that come to bear in different situations. But I have found that it is nearly impossible to convince yourself, to talk yourself into rooting for a team or a player or an outcome. Rooting interest, fanhood, is just something that comes to you, and you cannot, under any circumstances, coerce it to come to you in a certain way. You know exactly how you feel about it at all times, and you can't change the way you feel or the level of your passion, no matter what you tell your friends or what you scream at the TV or while in your seat at the ballpark. Thus, thanks to your fantasy team, you might find yourself wishing for an outcome that runs against your chosen party line as a fan, and despite the fact that you would rather that wish wasn't extant, there it is, and there's nothing you can do about it, short of eschewing fantasy sports.
Everybody makes their choices: play fantasy sports, or no? The decision is not an easy one, or one made lightly, because nothing is free--not even Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball. It comes with a certain price attached, a price measured in our fanhood. What that price will be, and how the course of the season will rearrange one's loyalties and interest, can never be determined before one dives into the fantasy sports realm.
Poll Results
By a 7 to 5 margin, you voted that a Major League team should not offer Barry Bonds a contract for 2008.
The new poll asks how many games the Mets will win in 2008.
The new poll asks how many games the Mets will win in 2008.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
2007 Review - were the Mets really a first place team?
Marty Noble, in an article for mlb.com, writes the following about the 2007 New York Mets...
The downfall was epic -- until the 2007 Mets, no team with a seven-game lead with 17 games remaining was unable to finish in first. It nuked the Mets in every way, picking at the scab of Yadier Molina and making the 2006 shortfall worse. It tarnished any and all individual achievements in 2007, and it threatens to contaminate '08.
Rightly or wrongly, Glavine's 300th career victory and even his Hall of Fame image lost luster because the Mets lost the division. David Wright's 30-30 season was blemished. Wagner ascent on the list of all-time saves leaders -- he is seventh with 358 -- was obscured. The specter of Pedro Martinez's return was smudged. The achievements of John Maine and Oliver Perez were tainted. Jose Reyes' smile was defaced, the sheen on Moises Alou's 30-game hitting streak was dulled. And Randolph's managerial resume -- even his image as a big leaguer -- has been permanently stained.
And none of that addresses the damage done to the organization that had been on an upswing as it moves toward Citi Field in 2009. Losing to the Cardinals in the playoffs on 2006 was like stubbing a toe compared to the collapse last season.
Contrary to public belief, the 2007 collapse did not begin in August or September for the Mets. Instead, the collapse began in June. The Mets began the year 34-18 (15-9 in April, 19-9 in May). During June fans watched as the Mets lost 8 of 9 to the Phillies, Dodgers, and Yanks. Overall, the Mets posted an abysmal record of 12-15 in June. Things did not get much better in July as the Mets played to a record of 13-14 for the month. The Mets were 15-13 in August and 14-14 in September.
It is worth noting that the Mets had many fans worrying during spring training. During most of March the team played sloppy, listless baseball leaving many fans to wonder what was wrong with the 2006 kings of the NL. These concerns were temporary eased in April and May, but quickly returned by June. The truth is, the Mets were a first place caliber team for 2 months of the 2007 season. The rest of the year they seemed to lack the consistent emotion and drive that is necessary for a playoff bound team. That failure rests on Willie, who has the important responsibility of keeping his team focused and inspired. Lets hope that Randolph has learned from the mistakes of 2007, and will return with new determination in 2008.
The downfall was epic -- until the 2007 Mets, no team with a seven-game lead with 17 games remaining was unable to finish in first. It nuked the Mets in every way, picking at the scab of Yadier Molina and making the 2006 shortfall worse. It tarnished any and all individual achievements in 2007, and it threatens to contaminate '08.
Rightly or wrongly, Glavine's 300th career victory and even his Hall of Fame image lost luster because the Mets lost the division. David Wright's 30-30 season was blemished. Wagner ascent on the list of all-time saves leaders -- he is seventh with 358 -- was obscured. The specter of Pedro Martinez's return was smudged. The achievements of John Maine and Oliver Perez were tainted. Jose Reyes' smile was defaced, the sheen on Moises Alou's 30-game hitting streak was dulled. And Randolph's managerial resume -- even his image as a big leaguer -- has been permanently stained.
And none of that addresses the damage done to the organization that had been on an upswing as it moves toward Citi Field in 2009. Losing to the Cardinals in the playoffs on 2006 was like stubbing a toe compared to the collapse last season.
Contrary to public belief, the 2007 collapse did not begin in August or September for the Mets. Instead, the collapse began in June. The Mets began the year 34-18 (15-9 in April, 19-9 in May). During June fans watched as the Mets lost 8 of 9 to the Phillies, Dodgers, and Yanks. Overall, the Mets posted an abysmal record of 12-15 in June. Things did not get much better in July as the Mets played to a record of 13-14 for the month. The Mets were 15-13 in August and 14-14 in September.
It is worth noting that the Mets had many fans worrying during spring training. During most of March the team played sloppy, listless baseball leaving many fans to wonder what was wrong with the 2006 kings of the NL. These concerns were temporary eased in April and May, but quickly returned by June. The truth is, the Mets were a first place caliber team for 2 months of the 2007 season. The rest of the year they seemed to lack the consistent emotion and drive that is necessary for a playoff bound team. That failure rests on Willie, who has the important responsibility of keeping his team focused and inspired. Lets hope that Randolph has learned from the mistakes of 2007, and will return with new determination in 2008.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Off Season Scorecard
The prevailing thought these days states that Mets GM Omar Minaya is having a terrible off season so far. Fans and media alike claim that Omar deserves a failing grade for his fruitless efforts of late. Such is not necessarily the case. Let's review the facts....
Going into this off season the Mets had a number of holes to fill. The Mets entered the off season needing a second baseman, a LF, a RF, a catcher, a backup catcher, and some pitching help (for both the bullpen and the rotation).
With that in mind, let's look at the moves by Omar thus far.
1) The Mets filled the hole at second by resigning Castillo.
2) The Mets filled the hole in LF by picking up the option on Alou.
3) The Mets helped their bullpen by signing Matt Wise.
4) The Mets filled the need for a backup catcher by resigning Castro.
5) The Mets filled their needs for a starting catcher and a LF by trading Milledge for Schneider and Church.
6) The Mets cleared salary by dumping Mota to the Brewers.
So far the Mets have met most of their immediate needs. For the most part, these moves should be viewed far more favorably then they have been to date. Consider each trade....
1) Signing Castillo to a four year deal definitely hurts. Still, the options before the Mets this year were not very attractive. Built as a win-now team, the Mets needed a veteran second baseman. Castillo will provide a perfect bat for the Mets lineup, while also stabilizing their up-the-middle defense. Fact is, the other free agent alternatives this off season were no where near as attractive as Castillo. Gotay, although he has a good bat, would have really hurt the team defense.
2) Picking up the option on Alou was a fairly solid move. Although he is 41, Alou proved in 2007 that he can still swing a great bat. And with the endless sea of capable backups the Mets have for the outfield, Alou was a simple fix for 2007. He is on a one year contract, giving the Mets the fix they need now while leaving open the door for Martinez and Gomez in 2008.
3) The pick up of Matt Wise was an outstanding move. Wise is a good addition to the bullpen which suffered a collapse late last season. The acquisition of Wise, coupled with the possible return of Sanchez, should be a big boost to the bullpen which had been rock solid for all of 2006 and most of 2007.
4) Retaining Ramon Castro was a great move by Omar. Castro provides a valuable bat off the bench, and in my opinion is one of the best backup catchers in the game. Castro is not just a capable reserve, he is a dangerous weapon that Randolph likes to utilize.
5) The trade of Milledge for Schneider and Church initially spurned very negative reaction from the Mets fan base (myself included). As time has passed, however, I have reflected more and more on the trade. As a result of my reflection, I have come to understand the trade. Yes, it is frustrating that we had to trade Milledge while his value is low. Yes, I believe Milledge will become a very good ballplayer one day and that we will regret not having him. However, as I said before, the Mets are a win-now team and needed to solidify their roster with more seasoned talent. In the trade the Mets finally got the catcher they wanted in Schneider. They got a great game caller with a terrific arm who thus improves their up-the-middle defense (something that is clearly important to the 2008 Mets game plan). With Reyes, Castillo, Schneider, and Beltran the Mets now have a great middle defense core. As for the weak bat of Schneider, who cares. Schneider will serve as the 8th hitter in their lineup and hitting was not been the Mets problem in 2006 and 2007. Also included in this trade was Ryan Church. Church provides the Mets with an upgrade in RF from 2006 and 2007. He has a good bat and a reliable glove in the corner OF spot. In all, the Mets were able to sure up 2 important starting positions by trading Milledge.
6) Omar's ability to dump Mota's salary without taking on anything in return is fantastic. Mota was a disaster in 2007, and had clearly worn out his welcome in Queens.
Yes, Omar has failed to land a front-line starter for the rotation. However, he has quietly filled most of the Mets needs without adding any payroll or losing his top prospects. He has retained financial flexibility while holding onto Martinez, Pelfrey, Humber, Mulvey, Guerra, Gomez, etc. Does that mean I am satisfied with our off season? No, it does not. It does mean, though, that Omar has made some progress and improved the ball club from last season. Like all Mets fans, I still worry about entering the 2008 season with a pitching staff reliant on an aging Pedro, a young John Maine, an erratic Oliver Perez, an injury prone Orlando Hernandez, and an unproven rookie (Pelfrey, Humber, etc). As such, let's hope Omar can use the financial flexibility and stash of prospects discussed earlier to land a front-line starter.
My grade for the job Omar Minaya has done so far in the months since the Mets collapse is a B. Since the collapse Omar resisted the temptation to making drastic trades and signings just for the sake of change. He realized that the nucleus of this team is still very good, and with the proper work can be the leaders of the National League in 2008.
Going into this off season the Mets had a number of holes to fill. The Mets entered the off season needing a second baseman, a LF, a RF, a catcher, a backup catcher, and some pitching help (for both the bullpen and the rotation).
With that in mind, let's look at the moves by Omar thus far.
1) The Mets filled the hole at second by resigning Castillo.
2) The Mets filled the hole in LF by picking up the option on Alou.
3) The Mets helped their bullpen by signing Matt Wise.
4) The Mets filled the need for a backup catcher by resigning Castro.
5) The Mets filled their needs for a starting catcher and a LF by trading Milledge for Schneider and Church.
6) The Mets cleared salary by dumping Mota to the Brewers.
So far the Mets have met most of their immediate needs. For the most part, these moves should be viewed far more favorably then they have been to date. Consider each trade....
1) Signing Castillo to a four year deal definitely hurts. Still, the options before the Mets this year were not very attractive. Built as a win-now team, the Mets needed a veteran second baseman. Castillo will provide a perfect bat for the Mets lineup, while also stabilizing their up-the-middle defense. Fact is, the other free agent alternatives this off season were no where near as attractive as Castillo. Gotay, although he has a good bat, would have really hurt the team defense.
2) Picking up the option on Alou was a fairly solid move. Although he is 41, Alou proved in 2007 that he can still swing a great bat. And with the endless sea of capable backups the Mets have for the outfield, Alou was a simple fix for 2007. He is on a one year contract, giving the Mets the fix they need now while leaving open the door for Martinez and Gomez in 2008.
3) The pick up of Matt Wise was an outstanding move. Wise is a good addition to the bullpen which suffered a collapse late last season. The acquisition of Wise, coupled with the possible return of Sanchez, should be a big boost to the bullpen which had been rock solid for all of 2006 and most of 2007.
4) Retaining Ramon Castro was a great move by Omar. Castro provides a valuable bat off the bench, and in my opinion is one of the best backup catchers in the game. Castro is not just a capable reserve, he is a dangerous weapon that Randolph likes to utilize.
5) The trade of Milledge for Schneider and Church initially spurned very negative reaction from the Mets fan base (myself included). As time has passed, however, I have reflected more and more on the trade. As a result of my reflection, I have come to understand the trade. Yes, it is frustrating that we had to trade Milledge while his value is low. Yes, I believe Milledge will become a very good ballplayer one day and that we will regret not having him. However, as I said before, the Mets are a win-now team and needed to solidify their roster with more seasoned talent. In the trade the Mets finally got the catcher they wanted in Schneider. They got a great game caller with a terrific arm who thus improves their up-the-middle defense (something that is clearly important to the 2008 Mets game plan). With Reyes, Castillo, Schneider, and Beltran the Mets now have a great middle defense core. As for the weak bat of Schneider, who cares. Schneider will serve as the 8th hitter in their lineup and hitting was not been the Mets problem in 2006 and 2007. Also included in this trade was Ryan Church. Church provides the Mets with an upgrade in RF from 2006 and 2007. He has a good bat and a reliable glove in the corner OF spot. In all, the Mets were able to sure up 2 important starting positions by trading Milledge.
6) Omar's ability to dump Mota's salary without taking on anything in return is fantastic. Mota was a disaster in 2007, and had clearly worn out his welcome in Queens.
Yes, Omar has failed to land a front-line starter for the rotation. However, he has quietly filled most of the Mets needs without adding any payroll or losing his top prospects. He has retained financial flexibility while holding onto Martinez, Pelfrey, Humber, Mulvey, Guerra, Gomez, etc. Does that mean I am satisfied with our off season? No, it does not. It does mean, though, that Omar has made some progress and improved the ball club from last season. Like all Mets fans, I still worry about entering the 2008 season with a pitching staff reliant on an aging Pedro, a young John Maine, an erratic Oliver Perez, an injury prone Orlando Hernandez, and an unproven rookie (Pelfrey, Humber, etc). As such, let's hope Omar can use the financial flexibility and stash of prospects discussed earlier to land a front-line starter.
My grade for the job Omar Minaya has done so far in the months since the Mets collapse is a B. Since the collapse Omar resisted the temptation to making drastic trades and signings just for the sake of change. He realized that the nucleus of this team is still very good, and with the proper work can be the leaders of the National League in 2008.
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