[USML Announce] I'm Out

Sun Aug 4 11:35:16 EDT 2013

Not sure if we discussed it in the past.  I suspect that one of two things
would result, either the likelihood of meaningful ill feelings or that it
would not be effective at all because owners would be inclined to support
all trades lest someone seek retribution for a "no" vote when the shoe is
on the other foot.  From a practical stand point, I don't want to be
bothered with trying to get my head around the nitty gritty of each deal
that owners make and I sure don't want to need to plead my case each time I
make a deal.  I could be in the minority.

I made peace with trade activity of all stripes a long time ago because our
league ownership is very stable and I trust each participant to do what he
believes is best for his team.  I'm not going to second guess anyone.  I'm
not that smart.  I can't count the number of times I was sure someone made
a bad deal only to find that a few months later I was wrong.  I don't
believe that owners collude either.

Our asterisk rules and salary cap and floor provide meaningful limits on
what teams can do.  So, even if a team is able to amass a ton of talent,
it's hard to actually deploy all that fire power.  For example, to
accomodate the trades I made with John F, I now need to bench Verlander and
Wieters.  If I want to activate either, I will need to bench Cabrera or
some other collection of high salary guys.  I guess what I'm saying is that
trades can't be viewed outside of the complete context in which they are
made.

Just my two cents.  Probably not worth that either.

-- Rich

On Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 3:23 PM, Rick Gammons <ricklgammons at gmail.com>wrote:

> Gentlemen;
>     Should we bring up the feasibility of league voting for all trades, or
> would that create a possibility for ill feelings?  Did we ever discuss this
> in the past?
>  Rick
>
>
> On Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 1:26 PM, Jeffrey Winick <jwinick at harriswinick.com>wrote:
>
>> Guys,****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> I’ve spent 48 hours trying to come to terms with the weekend trades
>> involving the Brats.  I can’t.  ****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> The trade with Rich effectively ended what should have been a great
>> finish to the season.  There were 5 teams with at least a shot to win this
>> year in what was the tightest race in the history of the USML.  Now we have
>> a runaway winner crowned not because of great strategy or foresight, but
>> because one team was prepared to turn the season on its head one week
>> before the trading deadline.****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> Dump trades happen every year and they are always upsetting to one team
>> or another.  And unbalanced trades, even absurdly unbalanced trades happen
>> on occasion.  I get it.  It’s entirely conceivable that a dump trade could
>> have been completed this last weekend that would have put one of the teams
>> in the driver’s seat to win this year.  But when a DUMPING team trades away
>> four legitimate keepers (Joe Mauer ($16), Raul Ibanez ($2), Anibal Sanchez
>> ($20) and Omar Infante ($6)), I’m left to wonder why I’m playing this
>> game.  I am not and I REPEAT, I am not, suggesting that there was any
>> wrongful intent involved in this weekend’s transactions.  But I honestly
>> can’t understand them and I have made a concerted effort to do so.  ****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> I’ve been really angry for 48 hours thinking about these trades.  That’s
>> ridiculous.  I haven’t slept well for two nights because of my frustration
>> about what has now happened to this season.  That’s nuts.  ****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> So I’m going to do the responsible thing and stop subjecting myself to a
>> game that is supposed to make me happy but is instead making me miserable.
>> I’m out.  I’m not going to dump my team, although I’ve considered it.  Even
>> were it possible (and it isn’t), I’m not going to try to duplicate the type
>> of ridiculously unbalanced trades that just took place.  I’m just
>> essentially going to stop playing this year.  In that way I hope to
>> minimize the impact on the rest of the teams in the league while at the
>> same time moving on from this set of circumstances.****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> I’m sure that with 4 months to cool down I’ll be ready to give it another
>> go next year.  But in fairness, I’m not presently prepared to make that
>> commitment.****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> Jeff****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> ****
>>
>> Jeffrey H. Winick**
>>
>> *Harris **|** **Winick LLP***
>>
>> 333 West Wacker Drive
>> Suite 2060**
>>
>> Chicago,* *Illinois* *60606**
>>
>> Tel: 312.662.4600* **|** *Fax: 312.662.4599****
>>
>> Direct: 312.662.4602* **|** *Cell: 312.841.2817**
>>
>> www.harriswinick.com* **| *jwinick at harriswinick.com****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> *STATEMENT OF CONFIDENTIALITY, ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE & DISCLAIMER *
>>
>> The information contained in this e-mail message is confidential
>> information, protected by the attorney-client privilege and intended only
>> for the use of the individual(s) or entity named above.  If the reader of
>> this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that
>> any dissemination, distribution or copy of this communication is strictly
>> prohibited.  If you have received this communication in error, please
>> immediately notify the sender via telephone or e-mail and delete the
>> message.  Thank you.  Although this e-mail and any attachments are believed
>> to be free of any virus or other defect that might affect any computer
>> systems into which it is received and opened, it is the responsibility of
>> the recipient to ensure that it is virus free and Harris|Winick LLP* *shall
>> not be responsible for any loss or damage arising in any way from its use.
>> ****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> announce mailing list
>> announce at usml.net
>> http://lists.usml.net/mailman/listinfo/announce
>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> announce mailing list
> announce at usml.net
> http://lists.usml.net/mailman/listinfo/announce
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://usml.net/pipermail/announce_usml.net/attachments/20130804/df4201f8/attachment-0001.html>