Every year in my NL-only league, I release a guy who I have for fifty cents for a seemingly better player, only to have the fifty-cent guy immediately go nuts while the guy I picked up sees his career go the way of Larry Craig.

This was never more evident than in 2005, when I dropped a fifty-cent Bill Hall in late April for Mike Lamb. Hall went on to hit 17 homers, steal 18 bases and bat .291 as I languished in the middle of the pack. If I discussed Hall’s 2006 campaign my left hand would begin to tremble.

A year later it was Brandon Phillips, who made Hall’s numbers look sick. I never actually had Phillips, but I was on the brink of pulling the trigger as he came into the NL via trade.

This year’s gaffe is probably the worst to date. After he entered the NL, I was the lone bidder for Jason Michaels. A week later, Jacque Jones, who is dreadful, also came into the league. I have no idea why I was compelled to take on Jones, but I did and dropped Michaels in the process. Last night Jacque Cousteau registered his third hit for me (over two weeks) and recorded his first RBI. Over the same period, Michaels has batted .400 with two homers and 11 RBI.

In more depressing news, my Edinson Volquez and Kelly Johnson for Derrek Lee and Brian Fuentes trade has worked out as expected. Lee, who I have always loved, has officially forgotten how to hit. Volquez, who carried me through the first eight weeks, continues to roll right along for his new roto team, hurling two-hitters like they were going out of style.

It’s going to be a long summer.