WAIVE THIS!

The great thing about being (relatively) new to baseball is that I learn things to broaden my understanding of the game. Part of my recent involvement with Fantasy baseball has required an understanding of the waiver process. I can't say I totally understand what waivers and options are, but this article sure as hell helped me wrap my little mind around it.

The biggest revelation for me is how players, particularly young ones, move up and down the minor-league/major-league ladder. The mechanism for this -- options -- is surprisingly similar to the way that companies seek other companies that are ripe for acquisition. The way I understand it, a team basically has 6 years to toy with a minor-leaguers' career. If at that time, the team doesn't know what to do with the player, the waiver process kicks in, making the player prone to snatching by another team. Um, and other stuff.