However, because of the uniqueness of this type of league the learning curve is tremendous. Often, new owners find themselves with a .400 wpct team in year one of their tenure, jump to .475 in year two, climb over .500 in year three, and then compete for the playoffs in year four.
As the new owners live through the learning curve, we also have 13-year seasoned vets worrying about how high into the 90's their win total is going to get.
Due of this natural difference in experience, we need to have a trade veto process in place. I personally despise all trade veto processes. In my past experience, 99% of the time I felt a trade should be allowed to go through uninterrupted. Often, the veto powers given to a league cause more damage to the league than the questionable trade itself.
I thought about instituting a 24-team vote, with a 1/3 or 1/2 needed to reject a trade. Two issues stopped me from this path:
- Administering a 24 person vote in a timely manner is virtually impossible
- In previous experience I have encountered too many casual owners voting with the hearts instead of their heads. This has led to an inordinately high number of vetoes.
To avoid this, I am moving forward with a small body of owners set aside to review trades. It will consist of a 5-man commission made up of the two owners involved in the trade, then three other owners. I have asked three people to be a part of this and haven't heard back yet so do not want to release their names. I have asked one long time owner, one short time owner, and one in the middle.
The commissioner does not have a vote, rather, he will act as a facilitator of information and make sure the trade is reviewed timely.
- If one of the owners on the commission is involved in the trade being reviewed, the commissioner will step in and have a vote.
- If both owners involved in the trade are on the commission, an alternate will be named to vote.
As you can see, with 2 of the 5 votes almost assuredly going to be "approve", only the most unfair trades should be vetoed and it would require a unanimous veto from the permanent members of the Trade Commission. The idea here is to pass as many trades as possible.
Our charter and guiding principles
- Identify any collusion (can't imagine that happening, but you never know). Colluding owners are immediately banned from the league.
- Only veto trades in which one team is the sole beneficiary
- Lean towards a statistical analysis of the trade, leaving room for some subjectivity though
- Be open to change. We've never tried this before and we're bound to find improvements along the way.
All trades are not to be reviewed. Rather, if the commissioner or one member of the trade commission or feels a trade needs to be reviewed, the new process will go into effect.
Thanks for your patience everyone!
Hummm what is my excuse for such a sinko team.... Gaylord Perry... Might have been a poor pick?? I love this league!! Seriously Learning curve is right.. STILL LEARNING!
ReplyDeleteOne important point to ponder: I DID NOT DRAFT THESE PLAYERS. My vision for the makeup of this team is diametrically opposite the previous owner. Therefore, draft positions are completely irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteYA neeeeeed a Hall of Fame Pitcher??? Gaylord Perry can be had on the cheap::)
DeleteAllen
Team vision doesn't have to make draft position irrelevant. For the most part these players are known quantities. It's not like fantasy baseball where you can take a flyer on a player and hope he surprises, comes into camp in the "Best Shape Ever" or learns a new pitch. Draft position is a strong indicator of player value. Failing to return approximate value back no matter the types of player will wreck your team.
DeleteI hope you are able to re-shape your team to your vision....but there has to be a better way than throwing away a corner stone franchise player and the 3rd best SP in the whole league for a couple of backups.
Lou has handled this very diplomatically as always. I hope the "Trade Commission" works as designed!
Thanks Justin, but I could have handled things much better behind the scenes on this one!
DeleteLou, I think that you handled this quite well.
DeleteAllen, maybe you have a pre-spitter Gaylord Perry. I actually was at the historic game at Shea Stadium, on mother's day, 1964, where Gaylord first unveiled his spitter. Of course, he only revealed this fact decades later. That day is also memorable as being the longest day in baseball history. It was a twin bill, the second game going 23 innings, I believe. I remember Willie Mays playing SS. I also recall by about the 18th inning of the second game, there was nothing left to purchase in the stadium, including water. And by that times going to the rest room was not a pleasant experience.
Paulie
Jeez,I thought I had a pretty good draft for a rookie, spent literally hours researching players, and now find that Pythagoras predicts 115 losses. Guess I am a lot farther down the learning curve then I thought I was.
ReplyDeleteUncle Wilbert Robinson
BTW, who is this character Pythagoras? Is he the owner of that new Greek diner down the street? And how the heck does he get away with predicting that the Daffiness Boys will play like the Cleveland Spiders of '99?
DeleteUncle Wilbert Robinson
Pythagoras is like a mean old uncle who at the beginning of Christmas dinner sounds like a complete bafoon and should be ignored. As the night goes on however, he appears to hit stride and ultimately when the party is over, he's nothing less than a sage.
ReplyDelete