SportsJudge Blog Has New Home

Welcome to SportsJudge Blog. Please excuse us while we remodel.

Our blog now has a new home address: http://sportsjudge.com/sjblog

The main SportsJudge website remains the same: http://www.sportsjudge.com

Thanks.
The SportsJudge.com Team

Two Sports Law Review Articles Make SSRN Top 10 in Collective Bargaining

With both the NBA and NFL collective bargaining agreements set to expire next year, two sports law review articles recently made the SSRN Top 10 List in the area of collective bargaining:

(1) Matthew Parlow, The NBA and the Great Recession: Implications of the Upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement, Marquette University Law Review (2010).

(2) Marc Edelman & Joseph Wacker, Collectively Bargained Age/Education Requirements: A Source of Antitrust Risk for Sports Club-Owners or Labor Risk for Players Unions, Penn State Law Review (Forthcoming 2010).

The History of Fantasy Sports Dispute Resolution; SportsJudge.com

As the 2010 fantasy football season approaches, I thought it would be fun to compose a timeline of articles about SportsJudge.com and the fantasy football dispute resolution industry.

SportsJudge's Media Timeline

January 19, 2007: Sam Borden of the Jacksonville Times-Union publishes perhaps the first newspaper article on SportsJudge.com, noting " [t]he surest sign of an intriguing idea is one that seems preposterous yet logical. "

September 10, 2007: Liz Farmer of The Baltimore Daily Record touts SportsJudge.com for the 2007 fantasy football season, but also expresses uncertainty about whether SportsJudge would get repeat customers.

September 4, 2008: Brian Baxter of American Law Daily highlights SportsJudge founder Marc Edelman's transition from big-firm associate to professor and entreprenuer.

February 19, 2009: Ron Kaplan of the New Jersey Jewish News gives SportsJudge.com an unequivocal compliment--touting SportsJudge as "the Solomon of Fantasy Sports."

May 21, 2009: More positive press, as The Wall Street Journal's Nano Di Fino suggests that fantasy sports commissioners should "mosey over to a fantasy dispute resolution site like SportsJudge and let a detached stranger make that call."

August 31, 2009: Time Magazine runs a feature on fantasy football and mentions SportsJudge.com and its services.

September 10, 2009: A CNN feature called "Lawyers, Insurance Firms Cash in on Fantasy Football" mentions SportsJudge.com as "offer[ing] to mitigate fretful, fantasy freuds."

August 1, 2010: Eriq Gardner highlights the role of SportsJudge.com with the growing fantasy sports industry in his ABA Journal article "The Umpire." Gardner estimates the number of fantasy sports contestants in North America at 30 million.

August 25, 2010: SportsJudge.com is featured as a thriving idea/business during a three-minute segment on CNBC's Squawkbox (video link available here).

Link to CBNC Story on Fantasy Dispute Resolution; SportsJudge.com

Here is a link to CNBC's Squawk Box, discussing SportsJudge.com and the market for fantasy sports dispute resolution. CLICK HERE.

CNBC to Air Feature on Fantasy Sports Dispute Resolution; SportsJudge.com

Tomorrow (Wed. 8/25), CNBC's Darren Rovell will interview me about SportsJudge.com and the growing market for fantasy sports dispute resolution services.

The interview will appear first on Squawk Box at 7:50 A.M. EDT and then again on CNBC's afternoon programming at 1:40 P.M. EDT.

SportsJudge's Colligan Joins Forbes; Daily News's Spector Promoted to Rangers Beat Reporter; Coslov to Lead SJ Hockey

This was a big week for SportsJudge alumni and friends in the world of hockey:

Michael Colligan, who wrote SportsJudge's heralded hockey column from 2008-2009 and also writes a column on sports business at The Hockey Writers, will soon be joining Forbes SportsMoney. We look forward to seeing Mike "on the cover of Forbes Magazine, smiling next to Oprah and the Queen."

Also, Jesse Spector -- a long-time baseball reporter with the New York Daily News, who competed in the 2009 SportsJudge.com Fantasy Baseball Classic -- has been promoted to the Daily News's new New York Rangers beat reporter. We will be reading Jesse's work from the blue seats.

Finally, over at SportsJudge Blog, our hockey coverage will be led this year by Darren Coslov, who is entering his third season with the blog. While Darren will have some big shoes to fill, he has already written several outstanding hockey features, including this brilliant piece on the Edmonton Oilers. We look forward to Darren's emergence as the face of SportsJudge Hockey.

SportsJudge.com to Provide Free Dispute Resolution Services to Fantasy College Football Invitational

On January 1, 2010, SportsJudge.com announced that it would begin providing free fantasy dispute resolution services to any fantasy sports league that donated 15% or more of its league entry fee to a SportsJudge.com approved charity.

In this spirit, SportsJudge has agreed to serve as the pro bono arbitrator to the Fantasy College Football Invitational--a fantasy college football league comprised of twenty industry writers, editors and analysts.

A link to the league's inaugural draft results is available here:

New York is the Capitol of Fantasy Sports Dispute Resolution

Since the American Bar Association published its article last month on fantasy sports dispute resolution, I have received a number of press inquiries asking where SportsJudge.com customers live.

Here are some answers, based on our past 500 web hits. From these results, it seems New York, NY is the nation's capitol of fantasy sports dispute resolution.

Top 10 Most Popular States for SportsJudge.com Fantasy Sports Dispute Resolution

1. New York (13.8 %)
2. California (9.4%)
3. Florida (6.8%)
4. Pennsylvania (6.4%)
5. Illinois (5.8%)
6. Massachusetts (4.8%)
7. New Jersey (4.4%)
8. Minnesota (3.8%)
9. Texas (3.4%)
10. Connecticut (2.8%)

Top 10 Most Popular Cities for SportsJudge.com Fantasy Sports Dispute Resolution

1. New York, NY (9.2%)
2. Chicago, IL (3.6%)
3. Houston, TX (2.8%)
4. West Palm Beach, FL (2.8%)
5. Southfield, MI (1.8%)
6. Richmond, VA (1.8%)
7. Minneapolis, MN (1.8%)
8. Washington, DC (1.6%)
9. Philadelphia, PA (1.6%)
10. Brooklyn, NY (1.6%)

American Bar Journal Writes about Fantasy Sports Disputes, SportsJudge.com

Eriq Gardner had a great article in August's American Bar Association Journal about SportsJudge.com and the history of fantasy dispute resolution. The article begins:

For the love of the game or the pursuit of some prize money, about 30 million people actively play in fantasy sports leagues across the United States and Canada. Competitors build rosters of professional sports athletes and set lineups in pursuit of statistical achievement. Nothing rankles fantasy enthusiasts more than perceived unfairness, such as a lopsided player trade between two competitors that tips a league’s balance.

That’s where Marc Edelman comes in.

For a link to the full article, please see here.

Fantasy Baseball Dispute No. 8170-T: SportsJudge Court Approves NL-Only Trade of Bay for Capps & J. Hairston (Time Stamped July 27th)

SPORTSJUDGE.COM

COURT OF FANTASY BASEBALL

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	x	Index No. 8170-T Trade Date: July 27, 2010 Date Posted: August 2, 2010 League Type: NL-ONLY ROTO Dispute: TRADE REVIEW Judge: MARC EDELMAN TRADE BETWEEN PHIRE & KENNY POWERS APPROVED
COMMISSIONER OF CAMPIONS CUP LEAGUE Petitioner, - against - PHIRE & KENNY POWERS Respondents.	: : : : : : : : : :
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Commissioner of the Campions Cup League brings this claim in the SportsJudge.com Court of Fantasy Baseball Disputes to resolve a fantasy baseball dispute involving the status of a proposed trade of Phire players Jason Bay (OF, New York Mets) and Chris C. Carter (LF, New York Mets) to Kenny Powers for Matt Capps (P, Washington Nationals) and Jerry Hairston Jr. (IF/OF San Diego Padres).

This trade was time stamped on 7/27 at 2:47 P.M. – before Jason Bay was placed on the disabled list and before Matt Capps was traded to the Minnesota Twins. The trade was viewed with these concepts in mind.

The Law on Upholding a Trade

In this court, it is the general rule that any fantasy baseball trade shall be upheld as long as the trade adequately benefits both teams. (See Public Opinion No. 101, Big Red Rockers v. Big City Bombers). Where a league constitution provides alternative criteria for reviewing a trade, the alternative criteria may supersede the general rule. (See Public Opinion No. 409-T, Commissioner of Campions Cup League v. Cartman).

The Campion Cup League Constitution, at issue in this case, has perhaps the strictest trade restrictions that this Court has ever seen. According to the Constitution, “Only the current season’s value (and past season values) of the players may be considered in the equality of any trade. The future freeze value or contract value cannot be considered as an element in the fairness of a trade.”

The Constitution also has the following restriction, “Only trades that are clearly equitable will be permitted. Trades that leave an impression of even marginally pushing the envelope shall be rejected.” As such, the ruling of Big Red Rockers v. Big City Bombers will not be used to decide this trade, and instead the trade will only be accepted if both sides of the trade are equal in value without taking into account future projections. (See SportsJudge.com Blog Opinion No. 8160-T, Commissioner of Campions Cup League v. Phire & Shazam).

The Proposed Trade

The proposed trade is a 2-for-2 trade:

PHIRE proposes to send to Kenny Powers (2010 statistics in parentheses):

· Jason Bay (.259 Avg., 48 Runs, 6 Home Runs, 47 RBI, 10 SB)

· Chris C. Carter (.244 Avg., 7 Runs, 2 Home Runs, 12 RBI, 0 SB)

Kenny Powers proposes to send PHIRE:

· Matt Capps (3 wins, 27 saves, 39 K, 2.68 ERA, 1.30 WHIP)

· Jerry Hairston Jr. (.251 Avg., 41 Runs, 7 Home Runs, 42 RBI, 8 SB)

The Analysis

As previously stated, pursuant to the Campions Cup League Constitution, this trade will only be accepted if both sides of the trade are equal in value without taking into account future projections as per the league constitution. (See SportsJudge.com Blog Opinion No. 8160-T, Commissioner of Campions Cup League v. Phire & Shazam). Under this strict standard, this court has not upheld a single trade in the Campions Cup since June 2007, when the SportsJudge.com Court of Fantasy Baseball upheld the blockbuster trade of Carlos Beltran for John Smoltz.

This trade nevertheless meets this high threshold for approval. According to most forms of statistical analysis, the main players in the trade (Jason Bay and Matt Capps) provide nearly identical value, albeit at different positions and with Jason Bay having a greater upside.

	Yahoo 2010 Rank (Actual)	Yahoo 2009 Rank (Actual)
Jason Bay	236	26
Matt Capps	116	389

In addition, despite the strong 2010 statistical results of Jerry Hairston Jr. (statistics that thus far almost match Bay’s abysmal performance), these numbers seem to be somewhat of a positive aberration in light of Hairston’s overall career numbers. While this court thinks that Hairston is a clear upgrade for Phire over Chris Carter (especially given Hairston’s speed and positional flexibility) we do not believe the upgrade is enough to make the trade inequitable, especially given that the Padres, at the time, were widely rumored to be close to trading for numerous offensive players that would relegate Hairston Jr. back to the lesser reserve role that he was originally signed to play (court’s note: The Padres have since traded for SS/3B Miguel Tejada and OF Ryan Ludwick), and the primary Campions Cup objectors to this trade had actually been contending that Kenny Powers was getting the better end of the trade by acquiring Bay and Carter (court’s note: Even with the Capps trade risks, we were quite surprised by this argument).

Further, beyond the equitable nature of the actual players traded, there is also great reasonableness in the fantasy trading partners. Kenny Powers and Phire have very little incentive to conspire against the league in making this deal. Kenny Powers and Phire are in second and fourth place respectively – 1.5 points apart from each other in the standings. Phire is in a dead heat with the current third-place team, Highlanders, for saves. The addition of Capps could provide a critical two-point swing in the standings. Meanwhile, Kenny Power is currently tied with the first-place team in runs and is only five RBI ahead of the third-place team (Highlanders). While trading Capps may cost Kenny Powers one point in saves, gaining Bay will likely help Kenny Powers to gain/protect points in these two important offensive categories.

Indeed, this court notes that there is some substantial risk with both players given Bay’s recent head injury and the likeliness, at the time, that Capps would be traded to a team where he would no longer be a closer.

However, even despite all the uncertainty, the court still finds this trade equitable in light of the players traded and the parties involved.

Holding

Based on the foregoing, the SportsJudge.com Court of Fantasy Baseball upholds the trade of Phire players Jason Bay (OF, New York Mets) and Chris C. Carter (LF, New York Mets) to Kenny Powers for Matt Capps (P, Washington Nationals) and Jerry Hairston Jr. (IF/OF San Diego Padres).

Legal Commentary on American Needle Ranked No. 8 by SSRN

My short legal commentary about the sports-business implications of American Needle v. Nat'l Football League was recently ranked No. 8 by the Social Science Research Network ("SSRN") in its list of Top Ten Papers Published in the Past 60 Days about Constitutional Liberties.

Fantasy Baseball Dispute No. 8168-T: Court Approves 8-Player Blockbuster Featuring Miguel Cabrera

SPORTSJUDGE.COM

COURT OF FANTASY BASEBALL

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	x	Index No. 8168-T Date: July 31, 2010 League Type: Rotisserie, 5x5 Dispute: TRADE REVIEW Judge: Stacey Evans TRADE BETWEEN ACE AND GARY & HAPPYSCRAPPY IS ACCEPTED
COMMISSIONER OF THE EP RULES LEAGUE Petitioner, - against - ACE & GARY & HAPPYSCRAPPY HEROPUP Respondent	: : : : : : : : : :
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The Commissioner of the EP Rules Fantasy Baseball League brings this claim in the SportsJudge.com Court of Fantasy Baseball Disputes to determine the status of a fantasy baseball dispute involving the proposed trade of Ace & Gary players Miguel Cabrera (1B, Detroit Tigers), Torii Hunter (OF, Los Angeles Angels), Ricky Romero (P, Toronto Blue Jays), and J.J. Putz (P, Chicago White Sox) to the HappyScrappy HeroPup for Ryan Zimmerman (3B, Washington Nationals), Ichiro Suzuki (OF, Seattle Mariners), Jered Weaver (P, Los Angeles Angels) and Roy Oswalt (P, Philadelphia Phillies).

The SportsJudge.com Court of Fantasy Baseball Disputes accepts the proposed trade.

The Law on Upholding a Trade

In this court, it is the general rule that any fantasy baseball trade shall be upheld as long as the trade adequately benefits both teams. (See Public Opinion No. 101, Big Red Rockers v. Big City Bombers). A trade reasonably benefits both teams if it allows both teams a reasonable chance of moving up in the standings. (See Unpublished Opinion No. 468-T, Commissioner Gary B. v. Ever-Lastings and 2 Legit 2 Quit). However, where a league constitution provides alternative criteria for reviewing a trade, the alternative criteria may supersede the general rule. (See Public Opinion No. 409-T, Commissioner P.K. v. Cartman). As the League Constitution at issue has no restrictions on trade reviews, the holding of Big Red Rockers will be used and this trade will be accepted if it adequately benefits both teams.

If the league is a keeper league, as is the case here, this Court will also consider a team’s likely performance in future years, especially with respect to the team currently ranked lower in the standings (See Unpublished Opinion No. 3704-T, Commissioner Paul Schultz v. Snakes & Blutos). This Court recognizes that team owners may have different strategies in terms of short-term and long-term goals; and that while one team may try to maximize its chances of winning prize money this year, another team may play for the future (See Unpublished Opinion No. 3731-T, Commissioner v. Muleskinners & Southsiders).

The Proposed Trade

The proposed trade is a 4-for-4 trade:

Ace & Gary proposes to send to HappyScrappy HeroPup (2010 statistics in parentheses):

· Miguel Cabrera (.350 Avg., 72 Runs, 25 Home Runs, 89 RBI, 2 SB)

· Torii Hunter (.286 Avg., 56 Runs, 16 Home Runs, 64 RBI, 8 SB)

· Ricky Romero (8 Wins, 3.46 ERA, 124 K’s, 1.31 WHIP, 0 Saves)

· J.J. Putz (5 Wins, 1.42 ERA, 43 K’s, 0.76 WHIP, 2 Saves)

HappyScrappy HeroPup proposes to send to Ace & Gary:

· Ryan Zimmerman (.295 Avg., 56 Runs, 17 Home Runs, 53 RBI, 2 SB)

· Ichiro Suzuki (.308 Avg., 39 Runs, 3 Home Runs, 27 RBI, 23 SB)

· Jered Weaver (9 Wins, 3.19 ERA, 155 K’s, 1.09 WHIP, 0 Saves)

· Roy Oswalt (6 Wins, 3.42 ERA, 120 K’s, 1.11 WHIP, 0 Saves)

The Analysis

In short, this trade helps both teams. The trade moves one of baseball’s best keepers (Miguel Cabrera) from a team in prize money contention to a team outside of contention. It also moves substantial 2010 talent to the team in prize money contention.

Beginning with the deal’s primary pitchers, there is no question that Jered Weaver is a better pitcher than Ricky Romero. Currently, Jered Weaver ranks 1^st in the AL in Strikeouts, 4^th in the AL in WHIP and 11^th in the AL in ERA. By comparison, Ricky Romero is tied for 8^th in the AL in Strikeouts, 31^st in the AL in WHIP, and 18^th in the AL in ERA. Jered Weaver’s statistics makes him a potential “third keeper” for some EP Rules clubs, but not a dominant keeper. By contrast, Ricky Romero, while solid, is certainly not keeper caliber.

Moving to the trade’s secondary pitchers, Roy Oswalt ranks 13^th in the NL in Strikeouts, 8^th in the NL in WHIP, and 24^th in the NL in ERA. In other words, he is solid but not spectacular. Meanwhile, J.J. Putz puts up the stats of one of baseball’s better middle relievers and an asset in the E.R.A. and WHIP categories. However, as a middle reliever, Putz only contributes to two categories, while Oswalt is an asset in four. Neither player is a likely keeper for 2011.

Shifting now to the offensive side of the trade, Miguel Cabrera is the deal’s shining gem. Cabrera currently in contention for the American League Triple Crown, and will likely be a major contributor in four offensive categories for years to come. Not only is he an almost certain keeper, but he is one of the EP Rules league’s top keepers. By signing Cabrera, HappyScrappy Hero Pup gets a superstar to build around for many years to follow.

By contrast, Torii Hunter, Ichiro, and Ryan Zimmerman are also very solid hitters, however, none are premier keeper options. While Zimmerman may have some keeper value due to his position (third base) and young age, his statistics still do not place him in the same category as Cabrera.

Holding

Based on the foregoing, this court accepts the proposed trade from Ace & Gary of players Miguel Cabrera (1B, Detroit Tigers), Torii Hunter (OF, Los Angeles Angels), Ricky Romero (P, Toronto Blue Jays), and J.J. Putz (P, Chicago White Sox) to the HappyScrappy HeroPup for players Ryan Zimmerman (3B, Washington Nationals), Ichiro Suzuki (OF, Seattle Mariners), Jered Weaver (P, Los Angeles Angels) and Roy Oswalt (P, Philadelphia Phillies)

Fantasy Baseball Dispute No. 8169-T: SportsJudge.com Court Approves Trade of McCutchen, Niese & B. Anderson for Cuddyer and Hanson

SPORTSJUDGE.COM

COURT OF FANTASY BASEBALL

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	x	Index No. 8169-T Date Rendered: July 30, 2010 Date Issued: July 30, 2010 League Type: Rotisserie, 5x5 Dispute: TRADE REVIEW Authoring Judge: Ed Gefen TRADE BETWEEN PiNsTrIpErS & THE SONS OF PITCHES IS ACCEPTED.
COMMISSIONER OF EP RULES BASEBALL KEEPER LEAGUE Petitioner, - against - PiNsTrIpErS and THE SONS OF PITCHES Respondent	: : : : : : : : : :
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The EP Leagues brings this claim in the COURT OF FANTASY BASEBALL to determine the status of a fantasy baseball dispute involving the proposed trade of PiNsTrIpErS players Andrew McCutchen (OF Pittsburgh Pirates), Jonathon Niese (P, New York Mets) and Brett Anderson (P, Oakland Athletics) for The Sons of Pitches players Michael Cuddyer (OF-1B, Minnesota Twins) and Tommy Hanson (P, Atlanta Braves).

This court ACCEPTS the proposed trade.

The Law on Upholding a Trade

In this court, it is the general rule that any fantasy baseball trade shall be upheld as long as the trade adequately benefits both teams. (See Public Opinion No. 101, Big Red Rockers v. Big City Bombers). A fantasy trade reasonably benefits both teams if it allows both teams to have a reasonable chance of moving up in the standings. (See Unpublished Opinion No. 468-T, Commissioner Gary B. v. Ever-Lastings and 2 Legit 2 Quit). If the league is a keeper league, as is the case here, this Court will also consider a team’s likely performance in future seasons, especially with respect to the team currently ranked lower in the standings (See Unpublished Opinion No. 3704-T, Commissioner Paul Schultz v. Snakes & Blutos).

This Court recognizes that team owners may have different strategies in terms of short-term and long-term goals; and that while one team may try to maximize its chances of winning prize money this year, another team may play for the future (See Unpublished Opinion No. 3731-T, Commissioner v. Muleskinners & Southsiders; see also Unpublished Opinion No. 3797, Commissioner v. Foo Dogs & Maulers).

The Proposed Trade

PiNsTrIpErS proposes to trade:

· Andrew McCutchen (OF Pittsburgh Pirates, .293, 57 R, 8 HR, 32 RBI, 21 SB)

· Jonathon Niese (P, New York Mets, 7 W, 84 K, 3.43 ERA, 1.37 WHIP)

· Brett Anderson (P, Oakland Athletics, 2 W, 22 K, 2.35 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, activated from DL for July 30 game)

The Sons of Pitches Propose to trade:

· Michael Cuddyer (OF-1B, Minnesota Twins, .278, 62 R, 10 HR, 48 RBI, 2 SB)

· Tommy Hanson (P, Atlanta Braves, 8 W, 122 K, 3.99 ERA, 1.35 WHIP).

The Analysis

Four of the five players in this fantasy trade dispute are age 23 or younger, so the key to this trade is primarily about potential, and there is a lot of uncertainty on both sides.

The PiNsTrIpErS are currently in second place, and have acquired the trade’s lone veteran, Michael Cuddyer. With Cuddyer, who is batting in the middle of the order for Minnesota, the PiNsTrIpErS could be expected to improve in HR (a bit) and RBI (more than a bit). In addition, with Hanson, the PiNsTrIpErs look to enjoy an upgrade in wins and strikeouts.

The Sons of Pitches, sitting in eighth place and without the benefit of three clear keepers for next season, get at least one potential keeper for their roster in McCutchen. McCutchen has dealt with shoulder issues this month, but can boost almost any team’s stolen bases and batting average. The Sons of Pitches do lose HR potential, but they are already at the bottom of the league in those categories – with 124 HR, trailing the next-lowest team by 19 (15.3 percent).

In pitching, the ceiling is high on Niese – 6-2 with a 2.58 ERA and 1.10 WHIP since coming back from the DL on June 5 – and Anderson, a projected ace who plays in a pitching-friendly stadium for a team that is on the upswing. One, if not both, a these pitchers could prove important to the PiNsTrIpErS run at “a money finish” down the stretch.

Holding

The Court approves the trade of PiNsTrIpErS players Andrew McCutchen (OF Pittsburgh Pirates), Jonathon Niese (P, New York Mets) and Brett Anderson (P, Oakland Athletics) to The Sons of Pitches players Michael Cuddyer (OF-1B, Minnesota Twins) and Tommy Hanson (P, Atlanta Braves).

Article on Baseball Collusion Makes SSRN Top 10 List

Exciting news: My article on the history of collusion in Major League Baseball was recently ranked No. 10 by the Social Science Research Network ("SSRN") in its list of Top 10 papers about collective bargaining.

Fantasy Baseball Dispute 8167-T: SportsJudge.com Approves Trade of A. Gonzalez for McCann & Broxton

SPORTSJUDGE.COM

COURT OF FANTASY BASEBALL

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	x	Index No. 8167-T Date: July 27, 2010 League Type: Rotisserie, 5x5 Dispute: TRADE REVIEW Judge: BRIAN DOYLE TRADE BETWEEN EVIL EMPIRE & MCNACK IS ACCEPTED
COMMISSIONER OF EP RULES BASEBALL KEEPER LEAGUE Petitioner, - against - EVIL EMPIRE & MCNACK Respondent	: : : : : : : : : :
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Issue

The Commissioner of the EP Rules Baseball Keeper League brings this claim in the Court of Fantasy Baseball Disputes to determine a fantasy baseball dispute involving the proposed trade of Evil Empire players Brian McCann (C, Atlanta Braves), Jonathan Broxton (RP, Los Angeles Dodgers) and Josh Willingham (OF, Washington Nationals) to McNack for players Adrian Gonzalez (1B, San Diego Padres), Chase Headley (3B/OF, San Diego Padres) and Yadier Molina (C, St. Louis Cardinals). This court accepts the proposed trade.

The Law on Upholding a Trade

In the SportsJudge.com Court of Fantasy Baseball Disputes, the general rule, absent contrary language in a league constitution, is that any trade shall be upheld as long as the trade adequately benefits both teams. (See Public Opinion No. 101, Big Red Rockers v. Big City Bombers). A fantasy baseball trade adequately benefits both teams if it allows both teams a reasonable chance to move up in the standings. (See Unpublished Opinion No. 468-T, Commissioner Gary B. v. Ever-Lastings & 2 Legit 2 Quit).

Where the fantasy trade dispute involves a keeper league, this court will also consider a team’s likely performance in future years, especially with respect to the team currently ranked lower in the standings (See Unpublished Opinion No. 3704-T, Commissioner Paul Schultz v. Snakes & Blutos). However, when a club in a keeper league makes a trade based on the perceived future benefit of a player, that future benefit must be concrete, substantial, and imminent, in light of the players traded. (See Public Opinion No. 8165-T, Commissioner EP Rules v. Yoons Goons & McNack).

The Proposed Trade

The proposed trade has Evil Empire sending Brian McCann (.274, 13 HR, 51 RBI, 43 R, 3 SB) Jonathan Broxton (3.00 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 19 SV, 57 K, 3 W) and Josh Willingham (.273, 15 HR, 50 RBI, 50 R, 7 SB) to McNack for Adrian Gonzalez (295, 21 HR, 64 RBI, 57 R, 0 SB), Chase Headley (.269, 7 HR, 34 RBI, 55 R, 13 SB) and Yadier Molina (.236, 4 HR, 38 RBI, 21 R, 6 SB).

The Analysis

In the SportsJudge.com Court's fantasy judgment, this trade reasonably benefits both teams as McNack is very likely to move up in the 2010 standings, while Evil Empire may move up in the standings and has acquired a player with some keeper value in Adrian Gonzalez.

Currently, the standings indicate that McNack is in the bottom half of the league in stolen bases, runs, home runs and saves. With the addition of Jonathan Broxton, McNack is almost certain to gain at least two important points in saves. In addition, by adding McCann and Willingham (and perhaps more importantly losing the light-hitting Molina), McNack is likely to gain some important points in batting average.

Evil Empire likewise has the potential to move up in the standings, by improving in runs (within 10 runs of two teams) and home runs (within 11 home runs of three teams). Chase Headley and Adrian Gonzalez both provide a drastic increase in runs scored while equaling the home run output given up in the trade.

In addition, the acquisition of Gonzalez gives Evil Empire a potential third keeper, or trade bait for another team. While Evil Empire already has Joey Votto, Roy Halladay, and Carl Crawford as its likely keepers for 2010, Gonzalez serves as a legitimate alternative to any of the three, and could pave the way for a future trade. With only a year and a half left on his contract, there is an even greater potential for a future payoff if Gonzalez is traded to a hitter-friendly ballpark. Any such trade, while highly speculative, would surely increase his already impressive numbers he has accumulated in a pitcher-friendly home stadium.

Finally, the SportsJudge.com Court of Fantasy Baseball Disputes notes with respect to this fantasy baseball dispute that while it can be argued that McCann is also potential keeper for some team, the Court finds this argument implausible, given the emergence of young catchers such as Posey and Carlos Santana as the new elite at that position.

Holding

Based on the foregoing, this court accepts the proposed trade of Evil Empire players Brian McCann (C, Atlanta Braves), Jonathan Broxton (RP, Los Angeles Dodgers) and Josh Willingham (OF, Washington Nationals) to McNack for players Adrian Gonzalez (1B, San Diego Padres), Chase Headley (3B/OF, San Diego Padres) and Yadier Molina (C, St. Louis Cardinals). This court accepts the proposed trade.