[USML Announce] Ask Brad Jansen

[Brad Jansen]

Dear CIC:
  It is my general policy to respect the anonymity of owners whose
teams are discussed in the correspondence I receive.  In this case,
however, the owner is Mark Blocker, so there goes that policy.
  I take issue with your disparaging remarks about Wieters (and your
reliance on any publication that employs "Professional" and "Freak" in
its title raises doubts about your judgment as well as your choice of
nondescript cinderblock bookstores that dot the hiways of Indiana, I
might add).
  True, Wieters hit 249 for the season, but note that he hit 266 in
the second half.  You criticize the lad's home run output of 11, but
that's quite productive for a backstop.  And might I remind you that
Mighty Joe Mauer, the USML's most expensive catcher ever, belt but 9
taters last year.
   Now, given the quality of the Bombers' roster, Brother Blocker may
find it difficult to find room for Wieters on his freeze list.  But
Brother Blocker climbed a mountain in Nepal, did he not? The man knows
how to stare down a challenge. I predict that (i) the Bombers retain
Wieters and (ii) extend his contract by one year.  That's my answer,
CIC, and I'm stickin to it.

Regards,
Brad the Answer Man

On Wed, Mar 2, 2011 at 6:39 PM, Andrew Klein <anrklein at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear Brad Jansen,
>
> Last week, I picked up ?a copy of Fantasty Baseball Guide 2011: Professional
> Edition. ?As you may know this is a most excellent resource. ?As the cover
> promises, it has "So Much Strategy You'll Freak!" ?Readers also receive many
> insightful comments from pixilated fantasy baseball experts, such as Jeff
> Winick.
>
> Anyway, after reading Fantasy Baseball Guide 2011: Professional Edition, I
> am very concerned about the owner in our league who has Matt Wieters. ?To
> briefly summarize the issue, Wieters sucks. ?He hit .249 last year, with a
> meager 11 home runs in 450 at bats. ?According to Fantasy Baseball Guide
> 2011: Professional Edition, Wieters' peers among catchers are middling bums
> like Mike Napoli and John Buck. ?Even worse, Wieters is not a "Winick Pick!"
>
> What should this owner do? ?Does he stubbornly add years to Wieters'
> contract and ratchet him up to $10 or even $15 dollars? ?Does he just ride
> out the season with Wieters at $5, knowing that Wieters has no trade value
> (except to himself, which sort of makes a trade difficult.)? ?Or does he man
> up, acknowledge the error of his ways, and cut Wieters?
>
> I look forward to your thoughts on this difficult dilemma.
>
> Yours Truly,
>
> Concerned in Carmel (Indiana)
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