by Al Hogg » Mon Apr 17, 2006 1:25 am
People put in proxies based on the available player pool and the current needs of other teams. Let's say I've put in proxies based on the assumption that the player after me needs a shortstop. I hold off picking a first baseman, however, because I know he's got one and I can likely wait until the next round without my choice being taken. All of a sudden, the other team is allowed to drop its first baseman and picks up my preferred shortstop ahead of me. And maybe I had three shortstops in my proxy knowing that there were two other teams ahead of me that needed shortstops, and indeed both those teams picked the other two of my proxied shortstops. Then the draft screeches to a halt because my picks are gone and I am oblivious to it because I was sure I had put in enough proxies.
People also make picks based on the players other teams have already chosen. I know, for example, that a team in my division has picked Randy Johnson and that has had some influence on who I have picked for my team, the stadiums I am thinking about, etc. If teams are allowed to drop players several rounds later, that messes up those strategies and opens the door to all sorts of drafting games. ("Hmmm, I'll take a hard lefty here, see if I can get my division rivals to load up on righty batters, then I'll switch him out for a hard righty...")
When this has come up in the past in this set of leagues, the ruling has been to put the player in question in your autodraft and then drop him in the waiver wire.
Or trade the player. Anybody: If you want Gomes, send Ducapa a PM, find out who he wants instead, pick that player and make the trade.