What's An Owner To Do?

I faced a dilemma at the deadline of the IFAB deadline. I wanted to improve my team and if not make a run at the title, at least try to finish in the money. In order to do so I would need some offense. Key injuries to Eric Byrnes and Khalil Greene (as well as general ineffectiveness) had left Dem Rebels sorely lacking on the offensive side of the ball. A big trade had just been pulled off in the MLB and Manny Ramirez had moved to the National League. Should I bid on him? Would I bid on him? As Detective Roland Castlebeck said to Randall Raines “Here I am, right in the middle of a moral dilemma.” (Movie anyone?)

More and more stories were coming out of Boston that Ramirez had threatened to lie down and not play for the Red Sox if he wasn’t traded. This after years of demanding trades, promising to never again play for the Red Sox. Would I want someone like that on the Rebels? Certainly not.

But I’m trying to get back into the pennant chase! At what point does the price of our morals outweigh the price of a trophy? Ultimately I didn’t get Ramirez. Not from a lack of effort (the Rebels bid their maximum FAAB of .35) but because Steve had more Stones in his wallet he picked up Ramirez for .50. As I e-mailed the bid, I felt a twinge of remorse as though I was doing something wrong; much like telling my kids to look both ways and cross at the corner, then running across the street quickly to save time.

It caused me to look back over the history of the Rebels (and my fandom) and realize that there doesn’t seem to be a clear cut line for us to follow.

My favorite player for quite a long time was Mark McGwire. I loved him in Oakland, enjoyed him in St. Louis and had him on the Rebels whenever the opportunity presented itself. I even made sure to tape the episode of Mad About You when he had a cameo appearance with my then TV fantasy, Helen Hunt. But now he is a shameful reminder of how easily I have been duped.

Sadly I know I’ve cheered for Sosa, though now I would be distraught if the Cub organization ever allowed him back into Wrigley Field. Opponents to that thought have expressed “He should be honored and recognized for his accomplishments as a Cub and should be in the Hall of Fame. He put up tremendous numbers.” Yes, he did . . . BECAUSE HE CHEATED!!!! And I know he probably faced pitchers who were cheating as well, but that doesn’t change things in my mind. He couldn’t have put up those numbers if he approached the game like Aaron, Dawson or Sandberg.

To my knowledge I never had Barry Bonds on my team (League Secretary Mahlan may end up disproving that statement) but I know I bid on him during the draft. The logic of my thinking being “I don’t really want him, but if everyone else drops at .12, how can I pass him up?”

Aramis Ramirez, while not having been accused of cheating, dogs it out of the batters box more than the Westminster Kennel Show, and yet I acquired him in a trade last year as I made a failed push for the title.

A lot of what happens in sports occurs behind the magic curtain, so even if we wanted to stock our teams with only hard playing, clean nosed players it would be impossible to pick the right guys. But even avoiding the obvious ones – the ones pumped up on enhancers, the dogs that don’t run out of the batter’s box, the guys that won’t run out an infield pop up, the guys in the field that turn routine outs into triples – can we run a successful team not using those guys? Successful? Probably. Championship? Most unlikely.

Non CFCL Notes: Jim Edmonds turned a routine flyball into a ground rule double on Tuesday at Wrigley – think about that, a ground rule double at Wrigley. For that to happen the ball basically had to bounce straight down on the warning track (which it did) and Edmonds was there, looking into the sun with his wrap arounds securely sitting on the bill of his cap as he made a dramatic backhanded twisted glove effort to catch the ball.