After passing the driver’s exam, we rarely go back and look at the Rules of the Road. Much in the same spirit, after being in the CFCL for 25 years, I decided to go back over the Constitution, page by page, word by word. Here’s what I learned.
* If there are not 12 teams in the league, we decide on the makeup of the roster based on using 70% of the available players picked at the Auction Draft. It’s not just some random thing of “Hey, it would be cool to use 8 pitchers and 4 outfielders.”
* The Swing Position can be filled with either a Pitcher or Position Player. This isn’t so much something I learned as something that brought back memories of the old days when the Utility Position could only be filled with a Position Player.
* Players traded to the AL mid-season continue to earn stats while Minor League players traded to the AL and are then called up, do not. The rules pertaining to players traded to the AL have changed throughout the years and have always confused me.
* Home Town Discount cannot be used with .00. By that I mean, if the Line have a HTD on Russell Martin and Dem Rebels complete the auction on Martin for .08, the Line has to use at least a penny discount to claim Martin, thereby getting him for .07. It seems obvious, but with all the sneaky bastards we’ve had as owners, one of us should have tried to get Martin for .08, thereby using the HTD, but not spending any of the HTD budget. Can’t do it – it’s against the rules.
* Transaction can be made to our rosters on Monday and Friday. This, again, isn’t necessarily something I learned as it is something that has changed many times over the years. During the CFCL infancy, we would have transaction deadlines on Tuesday. This tied in to when the statistics were printed in the USA Today and our standings were calculated BY HAND by the League Secretary. Since then we’ve reported on Fridays, Sundays and now, bi-weekly.
* Dump Trades are not encouraged and even discouraged (who knew?), with the onus being put on EACH OWNER to make fair trades, as stated in the final sentence of Article XIII “Even with these measures in place, it is still expected that each CFCL owner will consider “the integrity of the league” as well as the good of their own team when considering trades.”
* All of the e-mail you receive from the Executive Committee pertaining to rule changes and votes thereof are actually scheduled mailings, not just random e-mail sent out when it’s convenient for the EC to send them. For example: an e-mail is sent out three days prior to the end of the voting timeframe. This is all a well calculated approach to the governance of the CFCL, not just some random communication. And any team that does not submit a vote is therefore submitting a “Yea” vote. Many times I hear owners say “I didn’t vote because I agreed with the majority.” Well if five owners vote against an issue and four vote for it and three owners don’t vote, those three owners will be counted as “Yeas” and therefore swing the vote to be seven for and five against. Yes, they ended up being with the majority, but they may have their vote counted in a way they didn’t intend.
* Missing Piece: In the original Constitution of the Rotisserie Book, there is reference to the Champion being doused in Yoo-Hoo. In the 24 completed seasons, there has only been one owner to take the Yoo-Hoo shower. Bob Monroe was out of town at the end of the season in which he won the title. So he had his kids dump a bottle of Yoo-Hoo on him while his wife took photographic evidence for the league.
I would strongly suggest that everyone take the time to review each part of the Constitution. As Steven Covey pointed out, it’s always good to sharpen the saw. As you do, read it for knowledge but also notice the detail and language that our League Secretary has used. Clearly this has been a labor of love.
CFCL Notes:
Unfortunately it looks like Kid Dynamite got busted early in Events 48 & 49 at the WSOP in Vegas. Perhaps weary and dejected will make him susceptible to lopsided trade offers.
Non-CFCL Notes:
This is for all the coaches in the Major Leagues. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE stop wearing those damn pullover windbreakers!!!! You look stupid. If it’s cold, wear a jacket. Wear the uniform top that your team is wearing that game. Bill Belichek does NOT coach in the MLB. Either wear your uniform properly or wear a suit like Connie Mack did.
Like we didn’t see this one coming. Cubs sweep the Sox at Wrigley and then give back all three games at U.S. Commiscular a week later. This is just a completely different team outside of the ivy walls.
Shameless Paternal Pride: Cooper Wrigley today walked for the first time! One day short of turning 11 months old.
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2 comments:
Another interesting concept!
I beg to differ when it comes to your Yoo Hoo recollection, though. Bob wasn't the only owner to be christened with the chocolate goop, nor even the first. I had that honor, and in fact got it worse than Bob did. In 1991, Bob had a single bottle of the stuff dribbled on his head by his son while he (Bob) stood shirtless in the bathtub.
A year earlier, I had been doused in Bob's front yard, by the entire league. We had gotten an 8-pack of YooHoo juicebox-like cartons (which Bob was good enough to chill in the freezer prior to the ceremony), and each owner grabbed one and joined in the soaking of the 1990 champ.
And I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that a year earlier than THAT I had Yoo Hoo on hand when our Distinguished Editor won the 1989 title, but Rich refused to submit to the ceremony...
And a hearty AMEN to the coaches in warm-up jackets comment. That ticks me off every time I see Larry Rothschild make a trip to the mound (which is happening more and more frequently lately). Look, I know MLB unis aren't terribly flattering on pot-bellied old guys, but if Herman Franks could do it, anyone can.
This is totally my bust. As I read David's words, I do recall him getting doused. I would like to correct him on one point. I don't believe the "entire" league got him. I believe one owner from Fort Payne abstained. I believe the main reason was for David's following paragraph "when our Distinguished Editor won the 1989 title, but Rich refused to submit to the ceremony..."
I figured if I wasn't going to let it happen to me, I wouldn't do it to someone else. But I do recall Bob playing the part of Lawrence Taylor to David's roll of Bill Parcells.
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