FAAB, Vickrey and the cost of automation

July 11, 2018

Anyone who has been reading me for more than a decade probably knows that I hate the FAAB process for in-season free agent acquisition. In fact, my first “Why I Hate FAAB” column ran in 2005. In short, I can’t come to terms with a blind bidding process that wastes valuable resources, yet we spend…

Read More

Alternatives to the FAAB process

April 21, 2017

This week’s ESPN Insider column, appearing every Friday. The wanton waste in the free agent market continues unabated. This past weekend, in Tout Wars: Avisail Garcia (pictured), $188. Highest losing bid, $127. (I bid $45.) Wasted: $61. Robbie Grossman, $87. Highest losing bid, $32. Wasted: $55. Lonnie Chisenhall, $37. Highest losing bid, none. Wasted: $36.…

Read More

The Flawed FAAB Process

April 14, 2017

This week’s ESPN Insider column, appearing every Friday. Last week, in the Tout Wars Mixed Auction league, the pearl of the free agent pool was the just-anointed closer for the Washington Nationals, Blake Treinen (pictured). This is a player who would have gone for $15-$20 at the draft had he been named a week sooner.…

Read More