The World Series-bound Bucs!<div> RG<span></span><br><br>On Sunday, August 4, 2013, Dennis Adams wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><p dir="ltr">
At PNC park in Pittsburgh today.</p>
<div>On Aug 4, 2013 11:35 AM, "Richard Robbins" <<a>rerobbins@itinker.net</a>> wrote:<br type="attribution"><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">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.<div>
<br></div><div>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.</div>
<div><br></div><div>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.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Just my two cents. Probably not worth that either.</div><div><br></div><div>-- Rich</div></div><div><br><br><div>On Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 3:23 PM, Rick Gammons <span dir="ltr"><<a>ricklgammons@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div><div>Gentlemen;<br></div> 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?<span><font color="#888888"><br>
</font></span></div><span><font color="#888888"> Rick<br>
</font></span></div><div><br><br><div><div>On Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 1:26 PM, Jeffrey Winick <span dir="ltr"><<a>jwinick@harriswinick.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
</div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div><div><div link="blue" vlink="purple" lang="EN-US"><div><p>Guys,<u></u><u></u></p>
<p><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p>I’ve spent 48 hours trying to come to terms with the weekend trades involving the Brats. I can’t. <u></u><u></u></p><p><u></u> <u></u></p><p>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.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p><u></u> <u></u></p><p>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. <u></u><u></u></p>
<p><u></u> <u></u></p><p>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. <u></u><u></u></p>
<p><u></u> <u></u></p><p>So I’m going to do the responsible thing and stop subjecting myself to </p></div></div></div></div></blockquote></div></div></blockquote></div></div></blockquote></div></blockquote></div>