Looking for opinions. Don't have to be a commish.

Backstory: I commish a couple of worlds. Both have experience/success requirements for entry. One is you can't have a season worse than a blind, one-nut monkey could have(55 wins). If there's a legit reason(mid-season takeover, injuries, first HBD season, etc.), I might overlook it.

So, when someone struggles or starts trading away all their BL talent, I remind them that they need to field a competitive team or their time in the world will be limited. Most take it well and say "I've got blah, blah, blah". One hasn't. He started slow, 2-16 or something, has a very low payroll and a ton of unused payroll. I watched him attempt to dismantle a team in a world I don't commish that had made the playoffs 5 straight seasons(I think he had half a dozen trades get vetoed. He blamed me for leading the charge as I kept pointing out that he wasn't getting value in return) in a hissy over losing out on a FA. So I assumed he'd think I singled him out. If anything, I sent my "be competitive" reminder early in order to give him more time to right his ship. I didn't want him to be 30-90 when I said "You need to be competitive or you're gone".

FWIW, I don't care how you run your team as long as it's competitive. I you want to have a 20m payroll for a few seasons while winning 60 each year, knock yourself out. If you want to have a payroll of 130m and punt the draft, have fun. But field a competitive team. I know 20 games is a small sample size. But, if your payroll is low, and you're winning 20% of your games, it smells like a problem.

Did I overstep my bounds? Should I have waited til the halfway point? Would you want your commish to tell owners to "be competitive"?

Speaking as a commish, I think you did the right thing by telling him early. The sooner you get the info out there the better. It is always better to be able to look back and say, "see, you knew about this when you signed up for the league, and also when I reminded you later on." It's like working in an HR job, you have to document it. Then when the player gripes or complains you have your evidence to show that you gave them multiple opportunities to comply with the guidelines he willingly accepted when he joined the league.

I think you did the right thing. It was just a reminder.

You done good.

I think you were right to do it.

If the league has a solid measureable standard of required competitiveness as yours does (55 wins), I'd think you'd be doing the league a disservice if you DIDN'T remind this owener about the competitive standard.

Although I'm sure an owner who's been in the world for the previous 12 seasons (and is fully aware of the rules) probably wouldn't appreciate the reminder less than 20 games into the season. Especially if you already have a slightly toxic relationship with him.

I'm not concerned with hurt feelings. I'm trying to commish a competitive world.

A commish has very little power and a couple of duties. One of those is maintaining world standards. But, after 30 trade chats, he now understands that he wasn't being "picked on". That, due to our slightly strained relationship, I was giving him the best opportunity to turn it around so I wouldn't be compelled to ask him to seek another world after the season.

There are a lot of owners in the two worlds I commish that don't care for me. That's fine. But they also know my interests are world first, me second. And, because of that, they stick around despite wishing I'd die in a hailstorm of fish.

OK Mike as a commish I have a question for you. What happens if an owner is awol, and has been for a week or more...The rule 5 draft is tomorrow, and it looks like his franchise could loose players...How would one prevent this, if you were the commish. In another league he has been absent since the 5th of October, is it too late to help that franchise out that will/might loose some good players to the rule 5 draft?

P.S. I never saw a hail storm of fish yet Mike......will you take pictures

Not much you can do. If he's AWOL but not long enough to be replaced, run the draft as normal. You can't tell people "Don't take his players!!" because someone won't get the message or they'll say they didn't. If the owners who draft his players want to trade them back when/if he returns(or is replaced) at .50 on the dollar, so be it. But I wouldn't pressure them to do it.

It sucks but you can't reward someone for not being around.

I understand....I was just curious.... and wondering how to re-coup the loses for the next owner

MikeT is a commissioner of a league? I thought he was just the janitor...

mikeT at his commish duties:

I've lost a good 10-15 lbs since then.