IBC

So, we've had a few suggestions so far.

- Jared Cloutier, who we picked Brian Walsh over in November. Gudim vouched for him last fall, and we picked Walsh over him since Cloutier had a previous brief stint in the IBC.
- Dave Mueller (BCMBL, Jag's recommendation)
- Larry Bestwick (BCMBL, Jag's recommendation)
- Dan Passner (I think BCMBL? Brandon's recommendation)
- Pat G's friend, not in any sim league.

Any thoughts on any of these guys? I don't really know any of them too well. I believe Bestwick has been in the league before too, and was a pain in the ass.

I was in BCML with the first four, but I don't remember with certainty if I'm thinking of the correct team with Passner. If I am, my personal ranking would be:

1. Mueller
2. Cloutier
3. Bestwick
4. Passner

I'd need to confirm which team(s) Passner used to manage, though. Bestwick is a knowledgeable guy, but he was kind of a pain in the ass (imo) and it didn't go well with either him or Jared in their brief runs in IBC.

My choice would be for Jared Cloutier ... I am sure John Anderson would speak well of him also.

Personal preference:

Jared
Bestwick or Mueller
Pat G.'s friend
Passner

I don't know any of the guys. When we bring in guys from other leagues, the IBC isn't a priority for them, so I'd give strong consideration to Pat's guy IF Pat thinks he has the patience for a rebuild

Here's what Pat G's friend said in an email to me:


Hi, JP. I had a good conversation with Pat last night about the IBC
League and am interested in joining and taking over the Indians
franchise.

For the benefit of the Executive Committee, here is a little
information about me:

I grew up in the DFW Metroplex of Texas and now live in Richmond, VA.
I've been a baseball fan since I was 6 years old. I played baseball
through high school and have continued playing softball as an adult.
My favorite teams are the Texas Rangers and the Washington Nationals,
and my favorite all-time player is Dale Murphy. I'm also a former
sports writer who covered the Texas Rangers in the early-2000s.

I've played fantasy baseball every summer since the mid-1990s, back
when we held in-person drafts and turned in our rosters and lineups on
paper. I've played ESPN and Yahoo leagues mostly, and several leagues
on Whatifsports.com, which are much more complex, complicated and--I
think--more fun. The best leagues I've played in are the ones in which
the other owners are very active in setting their rosters, making
trades, etc., and where even the last-place teams are managed by
involved owners who are working to rebuild. There's nothing worse than
needing a piece or two to fill out your team ... and seeing good
players tied up on teams that nobody's managed in two months. I also
hate going through a season where the only transactions all year are
waiver claims, because nobody ever tries to make trades. I prefer
active, engaged leagues and find them much more fun, and I typically
check on my teams at least 1-2 times per day, especially in a
daily-format league, because I want my team to be as competitive as
possible in every circumstance. I'm been a league commissioner and as
well as a member.

I've always watched MLB as a fan of the sport, and not just one or two
teams, so I know the players on other teams as well. Since I've moved
to Richmond, which is home to the Giants' AA Eastern League team, I've
also become a big fan of and gained much more knowledge in different
franchises' minor league propsects as well. I've gotten the chance to
see some of the top prospects pass through the Eastern League in the
last couple of years, like Gary Brown, Tommy Joseph, Nick Castellano,
Anthony Rendon, Gerrit Cole, Jamison Taillon, Dylan Bundy, and Kevin
Gausman, to name a few. I have a new appreciation for judging and
evaluating prospects.

I'm currently in two Yahoo leagues--one that's AL-only and won that's
mixed. I co-manage the mixed team with Pat. My AL-only team is in
second place currently, and my co-managed team is middle of the pack
but has moved up from the bottom. I've won dozens of championships in
ESPN, Yahoo, and Whatifsports over the years.

Also, I literally wrote a book about fantasy sports: When I got my
master's degree, my thesis focused on the proliferation of fantasy
sports as driving content in main stream mass media; basically, how
broadcast, Internet, and print journalists cover sports differently
than a generation ago because of how fantasy sports has gripped their
audience.

I'm also the only person I know who is a big college baseball fan, so
I know the top college players and where they're likely to go in the
MLB draft.

I hope this gives you some idea about my experience as a baseball fan
and fantasy player. Please let me know if you or the Executive
Committee want to know more. I'm happy to help. And I'd be pleased to
join your league.

You can reach me here (dfwoodward@vcu.edu) at any time.

Thanks for considering me.

Danny Woodward

While I still feel that Jared would be the best of BCMBL GM's who are interested - and would in fact be a good GM for the Indians given their present circumstances - I am not opposed to Danny Woodward.

I know I am not the best GM in the league but his experience and interest in baseball is fairly similar to my own (though I did not do my Master's thesis on fantasy) to own before joining the IBC and I am comfortable that he will remain interested in the league through the growing pains it takes to turn over a "down" roster.

I'm much more inclined to give Danny a shot. Strike while the iron is hot, we don't want the ASB to roll around and have another GM that doesn't participate and have this discussion again

After talking to Jim last night, Jared appears to be the best of the BCMBL bets, and is more apt to running a rebuilding effort than Mueller or Passner would. I'm not really a fan of Bestwick from what little I've dealt with him.

As for Jared versus Danny, I could be swayed either way, but lean toward Danny. He does appear to be eager and have the #want, but I'm also a little bit hesitant to give such a big project to somebody with no sim experience. That said, it's seemingly worked better taking a shot on guys rather than the BCMBL route, or CBA route we took with Walsh. Besides Jim, who has done a solid job with his Mets/White Sox, we have brought in Steven Sander and Stephen d'Esterhazy, who have pretty good little rebuilds going on in Baltimore and Anaheim. Their rosters indicate to me that we should be willing to give a new guy a chance. d'Esterhazy had to pick up Dave Taylor's pieces, while Sander was thrown into a minidraft fire with other experienced GMs.

If there's a good argument for Jared, I'm ok with that, too. I could be swayed to lean that way as well.

I'm okay with either, it might be nice to get some fresh blood in here instead of continually pulling from the same leagues. But ultimately I don't have a preference between either.

This Danny guy would be my first choice for Cleveland. He sounds like someone who would take on the monstrous challenge and invest the time necessary.

I think it is time to bring Danny on board ...

Well, Aaron, Brett and Jim all would like Danny to join, and Shawn's preference is that way too -- so I'll jump on that wagon as well, since that's the way I was leaning. I know Jason's top choice was Jared, but at 5-1, it's probably best to just get Danny situated quickly. I don't really want to be responsible for Cleveland's DL maintenance, and the more time elapses, the more prospects are scooped up on the free agent wire.

I'll get him set up with everything today and get something posted tonight.