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Looking
Ahead to WB2K2
There are many questions that even
the greatest minds have pondered over for extremely long periods
of time. What came first, the chicken or the egg? Are we alone in
the universe? What happened to Steve Caputo? How will Commissioner
Creighton arrange the teams for the 2002 season? The list could
go on and on. I'll try my best to answer that last question.
From what I've been told there are
currently three options:
1. Completely drop the current teams,
redraft with new captains, and possibly add another team.
2. Keep the current captains (unless they decide to quit) and only
replace players that quit.
3. Keep the current captains (unless they decide to quit), replace
players that quit, and have the option of releasing players into
a "free agent" pool. Also give non-captains the option of requesting
to be released or traded if they desire to be on a different team.
Personally, I like the third option.
If a player is hitting like Tony Batista, or pitching like Derek
Lowe, it gives the captain a chance to drop him and pick up a new
player who can hopefully help his new team, or trade him to a team
willing to take a risk on a struggling player with a solid background.
Unless there's a huge increase or decrease
in the number of players, I'd recommend keeping the number of teams
at five. At most have six teams. Any more than that would be too
many. Look at Major League Baseball. Wouldn't things be better without
the Expos and Devil Rays? Yes, unless you're a fan of either team.
Wiffleball2k2 doesn't need to follow Major League Baseball's example
and flood the league with unbalanced teams. It's fine the way it
is.
In a recent e-mail message to me,
Commissioner Creighton hinted at the possibility of Greg
Creighton retiring at the end of this season. Let's be
hypothetical and assume he does. If Greg, or any captain retires,
he should be replaced with the highest-ranking player from the previous
year. If this is the case, have… no, *force*Mike
Walsh (or whoever winds up being the top-ranked non-captain
at season's end) to be the new Y&R>
captain next season. Of course, give him the opportunity to change
the team's name, although the name would make more sense with Mike
in charge.
If an expansion team must be created,
force the highest-ranking player at the end of this season to become
the captain of the new team. Then, have each returning captain protect
himself and up to two remaining teammates. The unprotected players
would be available to all teams in the draft and considered free
agents until drafted. The new team would draft first among any unprotected
players or new players. The next pick would go to this year's last
place team, then the next-to-last-place team, and so on. All undrafted
players would become free agents.
To prevent "day-trading" of free agents,
have a waiver period of one game day. That way, captains will think
twice about adding and dropping players on a game-by-game basis,
just to field a full team. Otherwise, players could end up changing
teams more than Mike Morgan, and it will cost players a sense of
identity with a team. For example, Joey
Creighton said, "When I think of Wiffolution,
for example, I think of Casey
Sylvester and Jeff
Morrison, and to a certain extent, Dean
Evans. If would be stupid if Wiffolution, next year,
was, for example, Scott
Carmichael, Derek
Byrd, Jordan
Lockhart, and Seth
Yoder. It would just suck."
Of course, there's the possibility
of dropped players or players requesting to be dropped not being
drafted or claimed by other teams. These players could miss out
on the entire 2002 season if they're never picked up! Players must
realize there's a risk associated with requesting to be dropped.
Here's another idea. How about drafting
five players per team instead of four? Have a "minor league" guy,
for lack of a better description. "Call him up" if an everyday player
is injured or out-of-town. This may end up hurting teams, but in
reality, it's fairer. For example, the Holy Whites have seen Nate
Stuempfig and Ian
Byrd miss much of the season. This has actually helped
the Holy Whites! Opponents have had to face all stars Scott Carmichael
and Mike Walsh 10 times apiece each game, and and rarely see an
easy out in the lineup. With a less-talented bench player
filling in, it would make everything more realistic. Think about
it: when an everyday player is unable to participate, his team should
be worse, not better. This extra roster slot would also get more
people involved in the league without having to create a new team.
Well, I realize what I've suggested
has little or no influence on what will actually happen next season,
but that's what I would do if I were in charge.
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