Another Proposal

Perhaps we should consider changing our rule about injured players who don't get a card.

As an example, consider A.J. Pollock. He had 41 at bats last year, but is not carded. Michael Brantley had 37 at bats, but did get a card. Kyle Schwarber, who had FOUR whopping at bats, got a card. Schwarber's status is based solely on the fact that he played a big role in the playoffs for the Cubs. That card only comes in handy for teams replaying the 2016 World Series. I have no idea (and SOM can't or won't explain) why Brantley gets a card and Pollock doesn't.

I'm not suggesting we institute the rule this year, but we need to get out from under the apparently randomness that is Strat-O-Matic when it comes to something like this. They cannot (or will not) reveal why or where they draw the line when it comes to carded players. I had assumed the reason had to do with how many players on each MLB team had more AB than a certain player. I asked one of the guys from the company, and he said that has nothing to do with that.

So I suggest, starting with the 2018 season, we institute a rule that a player who has had a card before, is considered carded for the rest of his career. Not for playing. I'm not suggesting we allow the computer card to play in a game. But we should be able to protect them on our 30-man roster without using a reserve. Then we wouldn't be at the mercy of SOM when it comes to carding a player.

This would only apply to players like Pollock or Dalton Pompey or Lance Lynn or Andrew Susac or Tyson Ross... or Brett Gardner a couple of years ago - veterans who got injured. Not rookies who have never had a card. The same thing would have applied to Schwarber or Brantley had they not gotten a card. You should be able to protect them on your 30 as long as you still have enough AB/IP to field a team for the season.

What say you?