Mailbag 3/30

Written by Lenny Melnick

Sunday, 30 March 2008

Did you ever have a bad Fantasy Day? Few years ago when Nomar Garciaparra was a shorstop, I exited my plane at O'Hare Airport in Chicago to see a front page picture of "Nomar" grimacing in pain at home plate after injuring his hammy or groin? yars later "nomar" is still making woners grimace.

Please comment on your bad fantasy day!!

Dear Yahoo,
On the evening before the first game between Oakland and Boston in Japan, Monday March 24th, I got fed up with the boorish Nosemar Garciaparra and dropped AKA Nosemar Hamm from my Yahoo team roster and picked up a fine gentleman from Oakland named Jack Hannahan, a third baseman by trade and added him to the roster of my team. I went to the next day and inserted him into my lineup preparing for game one in Japan. Whence upon the next morn I eagerly arose at the unGodly hour of 5:30 AM to watch my beloved Red Sox play the same Mr. Hannahan's team in the Orient, I did not fully realize the sadness and agonizing frustration I was about to endure that day and beyond. The affable Mr. Hannahan did stroke a homer and I was a happy man, until I went to my computer and dialed up the game on the Yahoo fantasy league site. It seems, magically, the aforementioned Mr. Hamm had reappeared into my lineup whilst Mr. Hannahan was AWOL. After saying some words I am not proud of, I checked other places on Yahoo. If I looked up Hannahan in a player search, I surely found that he was on my roster. He was also listed in the transactions on the league page as a member of my daring squad. Today is March 29th. Nothing has changed from my above accounting. But when I clicked on tomorrow's date, the amazing Mr. Hannahan has finally emerged for his permissionless leave of absence and Hamm was gone. Neither Hannahan's homerun, his 3 hits for 8 at bats (.375 batting average), his 2 RBI, nor run scored, of course, are recorded for my team. The other stats of the games are recorded for the rest of the teams in the league standings. Thank you, Yahoo. You have truly kicked off my fantasy baseball season in a memorable fashion.

Bill Liebler