Ivar is a brand NEW Guest writer on PA.  Please welcome him to the site!

            If you’ve played fantasy baseball, then undoubtedly you have drafted a player or two that you were sure was going to provide you with superior stats that would be the key to winning your league.  On the way to the title, however, something happened that you did not expect:  your stud player/super sleeper/can’t miss prospect stunk the joint up to high heaven.  Maybe he had a season ending injury, perhaps he was benched after several weeks or months of substandard play, whatever the reason, you can trace your team’s failure back to the mistake you made by drafting Player X. After you watched in horror as your team spiraled down the proverbial drain, you may have muttered, “You are now DEAD TO ME!” even as you vowed never to let that player populate your roster again.  I know it has happened to me, and I will even confess, I have made the same mistake with a player over consecutive seasons, chalking up one year’s terrible performance to bad luck, only to be burned twice.

            Because I want to win every league I enter, I began to compile a DTM list a few seasons ago.  Looking over that list before I draft, I feel confident that I am minimizing my risk by avoiding those players I can no longer trust, or simply loathe on a deeply personal level.  Of course, such a list is dynamic, changing as players retire or simply fade away to minor league obscurity, while others take their place in the hall of infamy.  To be sure, some players do redeem themselves, becoming fantasy zombies and arising from the dead to become useful pieces of the roster puzzle we all struggle with every season.

            My current list looks like this:

Ben Sheets, SP, OAK

Vernon Wells, OF, TOR

Alex Rios, OF, CHW

Rickie Weeks, 2B, MIL

Todd Helton, 1B, COL

Garrett Atkins, 1B/3B, BAL

Russell Martin, C, LAD

Mark Ellis, 2B, OAK

Francisco Liriano, SP, MIN

Alex Gordon, 3B, KC

J.J. Hardy, SS, MIN

Rafael Furcal, SS, LAD

Jhonny Peralta, SS, CLE

Alfonso Soriano, OF, CHC

Aaron Rowland, OF, SF

Milton Bradley, OF, SEA

Eric Byrnes, OF SEA

Lastings Milledge, OF, PIT

Elijah Duke, OF, WAS

Xavier Nady, OF, CHC

Travis Hafner, DH, CLE

Andruw Jones, DH, CHW

Vladimir Guerrero, DH, TEX

Jeff Weaver, P, FA

Brad Penny, SP, StL

Fausto Carmona, SP, CLE

Tom Gorzelanny, SP, CHC

Ian Snell, SP, SEA

Bobby Jenks, RP, CHW

Brad Lidge, RP, PHI

           At one time or another in my fantasy career each of these players has found his way onto my roster, with disastrous results.  I wouldn’t draft one of these guys, even if I was playing in a 15 team AL-only or NL-only league with 30 roster spots.  At least, until I see them play well for a whole season, without significant injury.  Then, and only then,  might the zombie rules come into play.  Resurrection, or arising from the dead, however, is a rare occurrence and should never be an expected event. 

            If you play against me in a league, just know that you need never fear that I will steal any of the players from your draft queue, nor will I outbid you by using my FAAB to add one of these sorry excuses for baseball players to my team.  You need not worry that my superior waiver position will deprive you of any of my DTM listers, you are free to take them and insert them into your lineup at your own risk.

            Most of these players have a story to go behind their DTM status, but I will leave that for another article.  Instead, I would ask that you let me know who you consider worth of DTM status, and maybe provide just a bit of explanation.  Misery, as we all know, loves company. 

© Ivar G. Anderson 2010