The annual baseball winter meetings are being held at Disney World in Florida, but for many committed fans ? and some that should be committed ? the real action pales in comparison to the virtual action on Internet message boards.
Don?t get me wrong. The Internet is a great tool. However, it also allows any yahoo with a PC to play GM of his chosen team. A lot of these posers ? pardon me, posters ? clearly are experienced in the realm of fantasy baseball. The ones, who at some point in their rotisserie baseball careers drafted a team that finished in the money, are convinced they could run a big league team and produce similar results.
Indeed, there are current baseball executives who seem to fit that mold. Late-twentysomethings who started as interns and scant years later find themselves in the big office with the big salary.These young men, and women, never played the game, never ran a minor league club, and approach the game from purely a statistical point of view.
Last season, one particularly successful National League franchise brought on board a young man to anchor their player development department. His name wasn?t familiar to any of the veteran executives who attended the staff meeting where he was introduced. After his appointment was announced by the owner, he stood up, and according to someone who was there, told the group, “I know most of you don?t know me, but rest assured I?ve done very well in every fantasy league I?ve ever played in.”
It was one of those moments where everyone has to look away in order not to laugh out loud, not quite sure whether this was a “Borat” moment or the real thing. It was no act, apparently, and as long as there are similar hires throughout the game, the Internet GM?s will all feel they have a fighting chance to do something similar.
It?s quite entertaining, actually. Having done sports talk radio for the better part of 30 years, I?m used to hearing some pretty bizarre trade proposals. In this town, there was a perception that having simply worn the Orioles? uniform made you a better player. I recall a listener proposing the Orioles trade utilityman Lenn Sakata and either Dennis or Tippy Martinez ? but not both ? to the Mets for Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry when the latter two were in their early primes. He was in disbelief when I explained that the Mets would likely laugh that one off.
The trades proposed on the Web aren?t usually that ridiculous, but many are suggested with little or no knowledge of the players? current contracts, which is frequently a prime consideration. There?s still a tendency to ridiculously overvalue your own players, but a few posters sometimes come up with something that?s genuinely thoughtful and credible. Admittedly, I?ve appropriated a thought here and there.
Beyond the sometimes comic aspects of these message boards, the one thing that is patently obvious is that fans have a tough time spelling and writing in complete sentences. It?s too late for remedial English classes, but I know the perfect holiday gift for that Web-addicted baseball fan on your list: a dictionary.
Phil Wood has covered baseball in the Washington/Baltimore market for more than 30 years. You can reach him at [email protected].
