The Kindness of Rivals

My policy on roster deadlines has been to give people at least a full 24-hour cycle after the allocation page is ready to play with their allocations and maybe even make an emergency last-minute deal if they realize they have left themselves without a backup catcher or something.  But this month that left me with extra time to fret over the awful blunders I had made at the draft.

This was not good. Right at the end of the draft I came down with a severe case of Barreto Fever, fixated for some reason on the Outs’ rejected infield prospect. I nearly drafted him Monday, right after the Outs let him go, with only 4 owners left in the room.  I shook myself out of that delirium just in time. But having extra time to brood Tuesday  sent me into a relapse.  I threw two or three wild Barreto trade ideas at the Outs, who took them with aplomb and, to their credit, did not take advantage of me before my fever finally broke and I moved on.

Similarly, the Rosebuds tolerated another outbreak of Gleyberitis, in which I conjured insane ideas (including 4 2/3 years of Rafael Devers for 4 months of  Gleyber Torres straight up) that could have crippled the Wolverines for years. The Rosebuds calmly talked me down off the ledge.

It reminds me of my life-threatening bout of Milleria few years ago, when I pestered the Drive for Brad Miller based on a persistent delusion that Miller would deliver a championship or two to Old Detroit. That bit of possession didn’t end until the Wizard kindly told me I should forget about Miller because he wasn’t  as good as I seemed to think he was.  What compassion! What discernment! What mercy!  The Wizard could have taken the Wolverines to the cleaners and sent them away naked.  But instead he gently counseled me to get a grip.

What a wonderful league this is, where one can always depend on the kindness of rivals.

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