We have hit the "spiritual" midway point of the season and the dog
days of summer are upon us. From my perspective, fantasy nerves are rapidly
fraying.
Will Grindley's seemingly insurmountable lead disappear and open the floodgates
of hope and opportunity? Or is 2004 the "Year of the Rebuilt"?
Owners begin to scramble to make the fine-tuning touches necessary to give them
the 2nd-half advantage. Who will break out of their slump? And who will prove to
be 1st-half-fluke? What are my team's needs and how many points does it add up
to?
When dealing with other owners, they CLEARLY undervalue YOUR players while
overvaluing their own.
Just some of my own personal commentary about this year:
1. A lot of kudos have been thrown Grindley's way -- and they are ALL
well-deserved. I would like to mention here the success of BEERMAN. He is solid
in 3rd place right now -- a definite contender for the crown. SOLID. He lost his
#1 HR hitter early in the season. He basically has had Boone in a funk all year.
Halladay was hurt. MacDougal did nothing. Put that all together and he is STILL
in the money... Tremendous. IMO, a story on par with that of Grindley and the
re-building program of the off-season.
2. Disagreements, yes. Armageddon, no. This year has certainly seen a few
controversies and I dare say we are not done with them, yet. However, this is
NOTHING compared to last year and the near-fatal blows that we all felt. Again,
a true and BIG thanks to Gary for keeping things together.
3. Better overall leadership -- most everyone is pitching in and doing their
fair-share to see that everything is running smoothly. Especially at the top
(Burr and Kwan)... but all the way through the ranks.
4. Rules discussions? A thing of the past? Remember that at the beginning of the
season we almost introduced FAAB? I think that half the league thought FAAB was
some gay-rights movement. Well, I guess that is a thing of the past.
5. Kimo's tirades on the board? A thing of the past? Where is Kimo? (a
competitive book to "Where is Waldo?")... Personal altercations aside,
Kimo has been mysteriously quiet on the public board for a while.
6. The Ups and Downs of the Commish. I am only partially talking about his sex
life. Gary has had whole 72-hour periods without making a comment on the board.
This is an all-time record and can only be attributed to Better Housekeeping.
7. Newbies on board. 3 new owners. 2 in the top half of the league (well, Pups
are now out of the top half, but, anyway). Good job and keep up the good work --
but if I pass you in the standings, I promise to do NOTHING but let you hear a
LOT of shit from me!
8. The "golden deals" -- who will make the ultimate in 5-for-1;
re-building keeper for the boatload of non-keepers? Will whoever does this be
the 2004 league champion?
9. Can you believe that I have not thrown in the hat for 2004 yet? At least 3
other teams have before me!!!!
Lots of sub-plots and stories. Have a GREAT 2nd half everyone and good luck on
the flip side.
