By Andy Behrens
May 14, 2007
Lots of fantasy owners impose inane restrictions on themselves. Last week I heard from an owner who refuses to draft Mets, Yankees, or Barry Bonds.
Yup, this guy avoids every player on the top run-scoring team in the National League, every player on the top run-scoring team in the American League, and the most productive hitter in baseball history. He just ignores them. Excludes them from his pre-rankings. He's free to do so, of course. You almost have to respect the depth of his loathing. There's nothing I can do to fix someone like that. But I can address an equally ridiculous self-imposed restriction:
"I don't make trades before June."
That's not a quote from a reader email. It's from a note that accompanied one of those "This trade has been rejected" notifications you receive when someone rebuffs you in a Yahoo! league.
There are all sorts of sensible reasons to reject a trade, but flatly refusing to make any deal before an arbitrary date? That's uniquely stupid. Lots of fantasy owners adhere to the no-trades-before-June idea, though. So do a bunch of experts. The reasoning usually goes something like this: category needs can't be identified until you're several weeks into a season, and it can take months to separate the stars from the frauds. Well, if your preseason projections more or less match your category rank in mid-May, exactly how much longer do you need to wait?
No fewer than 18 more days, apparently. Because June 1 is the date when – POOF! – all your fantasy needs will be revealed. Does anyone believe that? Really? In rotisserie leagues, that sort of thinking is particularly harmful. The stats your players accumulate in May mean just as much as the stats they accumulate in September. The earlier you make a deal that fills an obvious need, the greater the benefit.
Yet this dude won't budge:
"I don't make trades before June."
It's taken all kinds of self-restraint for me to avoid discussing the specific players involved in the proposed deal. I'd like to, though. But I don't really want to call out the other owner. That seems like bad form. Let's just say he'd be able to replace a Shannon Stewart-type player with a guy who's hit 40 or more HR in consecutive years. There are valid reasons to turn down my offer. I'm asking for some useful pieces in return. But this …
"I don't make trades before June."
… is not a valid reason.
No, that ugly relief appearance from Micah Owings (7.3 percent owned) Sunday doesn't indicate a demotion. The Diamondbacks had an off-day on Thursday and they have another today, so they're keeping the other four starters on schedule. Because the last thing you want to do is mess with Doug Davis. In his five starts, the 24-year-old Owings has a 2-1 record, a 3.18 ERA, and 21 K in 28.1 innings. He should already be owned in keeper leagues and NL-only leagues, and he's worth considering in 12-team mixed leagues, too.
Cust
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Good for you, Jack Cust (16.8 percent owned). He didn't exactly make the most of, um … his first four or five opportunities he had in the big leagues. But in the absence of Mike Piazza, Cust has been sensational this year for Oakland. He has six HR in 26 at bats and an OPS of 1.546. With four games ahead against Kansas City, there's really no reason to think Cust won't continue his usefulness.
The Twins wisely rid themselves of Sidney Ponson. They'll soon shake the magic eight ball to determine which of the three intriguing Rochester Red Wings – Scott Baker (3-2, 3.16 ERA, 0.89 WHIP), Kevin Slowey (3-2, 1.51 ERA, 0.62 WHIP), or Matt Garza (2-2, 3.75 ERA, 1.53 WHIP) – will start on Saturday against Milwaukee. Baker seems to be the most likely candidate. He and Garza are already in the Yahoo! player pool, and they're less than two percent owned.
Thorman
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Scott Thorman seems like a nice three-day add, with the Braves set to face three Washington Nationals right-handers: Jason Bergmann, Jerome Williams, and Levale Speigner.
The best of the available probables for Tuesday are these: Daniel Cabrera (36.5 percent owned) at Toronto, Paul Byrd (3.4) versus Minnesota, Joe Kennedy (1.3) versus Kansas City, Sergio Mitre (0.4) at Pittsburgh, and Jason Hirsh (8.2) against Arizona.Andy Behrens has written for ESPN.com, the Chicago Sports Review, NBA.com, the Chicago Reader and various other publications. In all likelihood, Andy owns more Artis Gilmore memorabilia than you. Follow him on Twitter. Send Andy a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast. Updated on Monday, May 14, 2007 4:18 pm, EDT Email to a Friend | View Popular
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