There seems to be widespread objections to contraction in Real-Time leagues – I polled the 2000RT1 owners about a month ago and the answer was a resounding no – so I suggest that PB focus all its energy on attracting new owners. There’s so many ways this could be done, both internally and externally. It can’t cost much to put an ad in the classified section of Baseball Weekly or similar magazines.

As for internally, PB would be wise to start offering incentives for owners to pick up new teams.

How about a half-price discount for the first six months if anyone picks up a team that’s been orphaned for a full season? If a team has been without an owner for a year or more, what’s the harm in letting someone have it for half-price? Getting $7.50 a month is better than getting nothing, right? When the asking price for all franchises is the same, regardless of the roster, it’s no surprise that the worst teams have problems finding owners. Would you expect prospective suitors to pay as much for the Brewers as they would for the Yankees? Of course not.

How about offering a free franchise for one season to anyone who won a World Series title last year? How about a free franchise for six months to all division winners? Even if you’re giving them away for free, at least they’ll have active owners, and that’s a lot better for PB on the whole. And the owner who gets a free franchise will feel that much better about PB in general and his loyalty to the game will be further increased.

For the teams that remain unmanaged, it’s important that more effort be put into maintaining their roster. As people have mentioned on this board, the monthly FA drafts are a great way to re-build, yet unmanaged teams often make silly choices or make no picks at all. In one draft last year, an unmanaged team in 2000RT1 chose Brian L. Hunter with the second overall pick. He’s a decent utility player and all, but he’s not someone a re-building team would have any long-term use for. And when you look at the players that team could have drafted instead – Brett Myers, Bobby Hill, Runelvys Hernandez, Angel Berroa – the Hunter pick looks even sillier. I think a new owner would be much more interested if the team had a good young prospect instead of a 32-year old part-timer.

Contraction should be a last resort, and only in leagues where a large majority of owners think it’s a good idea.