Harry Careys Team owner/GM: Doug Carey Hometown: Fresno, CA Best Finish: 1st (1998)

Harrys Win! Harrys Win!

Biggio, Shaw Lead Harrys to First-Ever Title; Look for Back-to-Back in '99

Harry Careys Weekly Stat Table

Congratulatory Notes from other No Fehr Owners

From Barry: Congrats on the championship. I would have to say, though, that (like the Yankees this year) anything less than a championship would have been disappointing for you. Generally, your guys produced the way they were supposed to and it must be gratifying to direct a championship calibre team to a championship (unlike the Orioles).

Don't count your chickens too quickly on next year though because I'm going to be offering up some of my top picks (first and second rounders) for some quality players so that I go into the draft with some extra high priced talent.

It was an interesting first year. Hopefully next year I can give you a run for the money. It was a bit of a drag being in last place for most of the year but hopefully it will pay off next year.

From Bill E.: You da man. I am taking this leage next year...no sophomore slump from the Splinters.

From Mike: It was yours to lose and you almost did. Congratulations. Sincerely Yours, The Once and Future King

Also... We also received congrats from former champs Oriole Connection and the Winning O'Men (but we inadvertently trashed their e-mails)...now it's onto defending the title. The Harrys' off-season roster will be posted here soon.

Harrys Talk About Dumping Philosophy

Basically, I go into every draft day with only one goal in mind: to have a good time and win the league (they're not mutually exclusive, but they can get in the way of each other sometimes). As the seaosn proceeds, if I think I have any remote chance of coming in the money (top four spots), I play all-out to get one of those spots this year. By the all-star break (if not earlier), I decide what direction my team is headed and act accordingly. If my team is near last and several of my top guys are hurt for the rest of the year, then I get into "dumping" mode by trying to trade my healthy valuable high-salary B players (or D players) to the league's contenders in hopes of getting A or low-priced B players in return that will become the foundation of my team next year.

If my team comes in last and I've held onto my expensive B (or D) players, then I have nothing to show for my efforts except the first pick in next year's reserve draft (big deal). If I know I'm headed for last place, I'd much rather be proactive and start planning for next year by making trades that will benefit me in the long-term.

But if the race is close (meaning that I'm not 30 points out of fourth) and my top guys are just under-performing, then I usually hold on and hope they have a huge second half. It's a judgment call. I always keep an eye on next year, but never at the cost of simply abandoning this year. (Does that make sense?) For example, even if my team was just terrible last year, I probably wouldn't have traded Scott Rolen (10C) for anything. He's someone who I'm planning to build around in 1999, when he'll only be 15D, which should be a bargain price. What you want to always keep in mind is that you want to try and build around bargain players as possible so you have more room to work with on draft day.

Dumping is a legitamate part of rotisserie, but it can get out of hand if an owner is just giving away players. It's happened in the past in this league, which is why we instituted several new rules. And each year things get a little better.