Pressman Thunders from the Right Coast

He writes:

Okay, no. The DH thing makes sense but Rule #2 is shit. We don't put a guy where we "need" him most. If V. Martinez played 19 games at IB in 06 and a few this Spring and the Rays say he'll be there from time to time, then he's eligible at both C and 1B no matter what hapens in the 1st ten 07 games -- and let him be drafted at whichever position comes out of the hat first. Our league should mimic the same options available in reality - isn't that Rule #1? And what say we do not post any eligiblity lists at all. Berger's right. All this hand-holding rankles, dulls the edge. The Fantasy World at large uses a simple eligibility criterion: 10 games at a position in 06 qualifies you there in 07, very easy. For rookies, we can add: 3 starts by April 14 and you can play that position in our league. The justification for exempting the DHs from this rule (although we rarely have to) is that, unlike real baseball, we don't actually hire a DH, we do our little leftovers thing at the end; so to give those players anything like their actual value, we need to put them somewhere. As for guys like Figgins used to be, roving guys like Huff, let them be bought and used at any position for which they qualify - exactly what their real team does. jlp

To which the BCL says:

Now just exactly why are we changing the rules we have played under for nearly 25 years? If it ain't broke, don't fix it. We have always settled who is eligible at which positions before the draft, drawing on the obvious "facts on the ground," and that works for maybe 95 percent of the players. Then we fiddle the few that remain. We have never played the "whatever comes out of the hat first" game.

As for working up a list of eligibles beforehand -- whatever the criteria -- that is what we always do. After a position is drawn on draft day itself, we always go through a list of who can be drafted. Not to do so invites chaos, as when someone waits till last and then announces that (let us say) Piazza is a catcher when there has been no previous agreement that he is a catcher.

Brother Tola proposed trying extra hard to disperse any debate about "eligibles" this year in the hope that we won't be sitting in Peter's dining room at midnight. Actually, I like Peter and I like his dining room, so I'm in no hurry. We can slug all this out on draft day. If slugging it out is the prime attraction, let's go whole hog and invite Koppy back!!

But as BCL, this is what I say. Do what we've always done in the past. Rely on who is playing where during the first two weeks of the season. If there are uncertainties, look at last year or at the club's statement of what the future holds Since the league is a democracy, proposals for doing things in a different way are welcome. But if those proposals fail to get 7 votes, then we do it the old way.

If there is deadlock, Koppy is brought in to arbitrate.