Week 5 NewsletterMay 12, 2009PHONY LEAGUE BASEBALL NEWSLETTERVol. 25, No. 5 PHONY LEAGUE BASEBALL ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Sometimes I wonder why I bother. The Scapegoats are back, tied for first place. That would be the Scapegoats who have had two of the first four Players of the Week on the Bench, that have made no free agent or waiver claims, and have yet to make a single substitution. Maybe autopilot is the way to go. We’ll see…. And of course, the Instigators are the ones they’re tied with, although they have actually made some roster moves this year (probably more than they have in the last five years put together). At the other end of the standings, the poor get poorer, as the Ghost Riders suffered through one of their worst days ever, hitting 1 for 27 while giving up 9 ER in the space of 7 IP. To add insult to injury, Dan Wheeler’s vulture win was taken away from him and given to Brian Shouse. Ugh. Even Greinke got a loss (1-0, but still a loss). Let’s see who was actually decent this week, shall we?
The Player of the Week on the Bench is the unowned and unloved Matt Harrison, pitching a complete game four-hit shutout. Tsk tsk. Of course, that just barely got his ERA down under 5.00…. In transactions, we see the Ghost Riders for some reason haphazardly reassembling its farm system of 2007, with fixtures Nolan Reimold and Luke Hochevar suddenly acting as if they might have some value. Of course, now that they’re back on my roster they will stop cold and return to their usual rubbish status. TRANSACTIONS: May 6: May 7: May 10: May 11: May 12: The last day to postmark or deliver a waiver claim for the players released in this newsletter is Monday, May 18, 2009. If a claim for one or more of those players is postmarked or delivered on or before that date and does not specify whether it is a waiver claim or a free agent claim, it will be considered a waiver claim. Announcements of all free agent and waiver acquisitions are subject to change if a late arriving letter or postcard is received from a team with a superior claim. REMINDER ABOUT FREE AGENT CLAIMS: When claiming a free agent, you must specify whether the player being released is in the lineup or not. The status of the released player is the status on the day before the claim goes into effect, which means in most cases it is the status on the day you send the claim. If the released player is not in the lineup on the day you send the claim, you can just note NIL, which, of course, means not in lineup. If the released player is in your lineup on the day you send the claim, you must report who will replace that player in your lineup. I do not care if you already reported a sub to your “checker.” You must also report the sub in the free agent claim. If it makes it easier to understand, when you make the claim just forget that you have a “checker” for your lineup and pretend that all your substitutions are reported to the person receiving the player claim. Then, report the substitution in the free agent claim.
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