quote:Originally posted by King of Queens:
quote:Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:
KOQ mentioned Kerry Wood from 1998, but obviously we weren't running this contest at that time.
Let's hear it. Any war stories from the past that involve in-season pickups, or did everyone just use the standard "last place gets first choice of free agents" method before FAAB?In 1998, I was playing in an NL-only rotisserie league that had first-come, first-served (FCFS) free agency. This was the relatively early days of the internet, so not everyone in the league had round-the-clock internet access. Nevertheless, half of the league was camped out on the computer waiting for the official news that Wood was recalled. Someone else beat me to the Kerry punch by 10 minutes (I was out on a coffee break), and of course Wood had his Rookie-of-the-Year season. I ended up winning the league, but the experience was so maddening I swore never to play in another FCFS again. Other than one local league that I played in from 2002-2003 (hi, Kimo!), I have remained true to my word.
FAAB Rules! [/QUOTE]any stories of busts at that amount- so far Hamels and Wood would have both paid off. Glenn- congrats on nabbing him in I believe it was the super. [/QUOTE]First off, I am half sorry about Maxies rough outing. One of my only friends who is also a Gator fan (
) Ira blew alot of FA bucks to jump start his team with this latest phenom as has lots of other lost boys in this event. But only half sorry. The other half is looking at it as improving my own selfish chances. Only time will tell if Scherzer will be a closer the likes of Rivera or a starter the likes of Webb or a combination of both (Wood). He will have a couple more shots so I hope for you all it works out in 2008. I hope for me it doesn't, but thats baseball.By the way, I bought one of the brides-maid gifts in Clement ($203) last Sunday but did not place any money on Scherzer because I knew I would not put enough gas in to win. But what do I know. I am only swimming with minnows I am told.
Now to Chesty's point. The biggest FA flop I bid on that I recall is when Matt Herges was to be the closer in SF (2005?) and he generated a lot of activity in the FA pool, but the bids were a laughable $150 to $250 (some cases more as I recall). I bid over $200 and got nada. Not on the same scale IF Scherzer flops in 2008, but it is the biggest I seem to recall.
Someone else asked about the in-season value to Baseball HQ. I have found their daily AL and NL writeups to be often VERY illuminating. They really look behind the numbers of hot and cold streaks and I have avoided alot of the kool-aide because of it. I have plumbed plenty of FA goodies based on their write-ups, too, and in many cases the week before the player made the big splash (i.e. Otsuka a couple of years ago just as an example).
Everyone on these boards knows I am a devotee of Shandler and Baseball HQ. I will however caution against their offer of Personal Advisors. On a flyer, I tried it last season and was severly disappointed. Not willing to condemn on one chance, I tried again this year. I told the personal advisor that I was in the NFBC and that they were no trades. He wrote back to me that I had too many starting pitchers and I should "...sell high..." on a few of them. He evidently did not understand NFBC or the whole "no-trade" concept. The rest of his analysis was superficial (told me I am weak on steals...imagine that) and in many cased contradicting other Baseball HQ general guidance.
Money burned and lesson learned. I will not go there again.
