[IBL] MAD packing it in at the 1/3 post

[Chris Hartjes]

Going into the last week of 2016, I was leading the AC West and had to go 3-3 in order to make the playoffs. I instead went 2-4 and didn't get in. It was a very rough off-season. Then I lost almost 100 games in 2017 but that was okay because I had lots of plate appearances to give and could try and build a playoff contender knowing I had at least 1 tier 0 pick and maybe a second if SDQ missed the playoffs. They did and I ended up with a chance to draft two franchise-altering players in Tier 0.

I felt good about my team going into this year. It was going to be an interesting summer as I fought hard, won the division and had the wild card as a fallback.

Instead I have watched rollbot show me how terrible my team is. I am at 15-30 wondering what happened and with no idea how to approach fixing things. Bad luck? Bad manager? Poor team construction? I have no idea. But the losses just keep piling up and I sit dead last in the entire league. Having to play .640 ball the rest of the season to win 88-90 games is simply not going to happen for a team built the way this one has been built.

I won't be playing any more FTF games this year. It's too painful for me to just stay quiet and not complain while all my opponents moan about their bad luck, even when their team is many games ahead of me in the standings. I'm sorry for disappointing folks but I am likely to snap and just quit and let the rest of you find someone else to run my team.

No, I don't view having yet another Tier 0 pick as any kind of consolation prize. I'm here because I cannot figure out how to put together a franchise that wins consistently across multiple years.

No, I don't view having a really good free agent position as being any kind of consolation. I already have problems finding enough usage to make sure that anyone who does has a chance of helping me in 2019 can stick around. 

When we get closer to week 18 I will have a better idea of who I can move to help playoff contenders in an attempt to retool my own team. 

DET Presley
MIL Broxton
TOR Leone
OAK Hendriks
CLE Salazar

These are all "cards" that can be moved right now. Everyone else is either performing similar to their numbers in 2018 or underperforming slightly, making trading them very risky from a 2019 perspective. Except for Odor, who seems to have totally lost the ability to hit.  I won't be releasing any of these players, even if they don't make usage so don't think you can wait me out.

As I'm headed to a 4th straight year of missing the playoffs, 9th season (and almost 10) out of 22 losing 100+ games, and having one sniff at a championship while my closest friends in the league seem to roll out of bed and into playoff contention, I am frustrated and not enjoying any aspect of the IBL at all and wondering if I should plan on being here in 2019. I hope the rest of you find a way to enjoy it.

-- 
  Chris Hartjes
  chartjes at littlehart.net