This is the first, of what will hopefully be ten team profiles of the Junior League teams. Up first, is Charlie Singer; President  and General Manager of the Wicked Singhas. Charlie lives in Miami, FL.

On to the questions, Charlie’s answers first, my comments in italics.

How/when did you get into the league?
Um… my boss’ husband invited me.  That was weird. I took over for uber-fantasy stud Derek (sic) Whatever in 2004. Tough shoes.

A little background here. That boss that he talked about was Horseman President, Cary’s wife. I really thought we had an ace in the hole with this one. We could have put pressure on him via Cary’s wife to pull of a trade. Certainly ones job is more important than this stuff.  Alas, we never got to use this advantage because by the time the Horsemen were contending, Charlie was no longer under the employ of Cary’s wife, oh and its illegal too. We would have never done that. Second, there was an uber-fantasy stud named Derrick Widmark. Derek pulled a Ricky Williams and quit the league, and Charlie got to inherit a very good squad (though I can’t remember the specifics, apparently either Charlie doesn’t remember, or doesn’t want to remember because…….

Have you ever won a championship?

Are you kidding me?  Of course not.  I was a point away from beating the Paleos in ?2006? but Andy fucking Pettite got shelled in the last week and i lost… Boy, i hate the yankees. I used to dominate my old league in the 80s/90s and I recently won my mixed league so i dont know whats wrong with me in this league.

…Charlie got a good roster and hasn’t produced a championship. He sounds like a Royals fan, when talking about his domination of an “old league”. I wonder if Lou Gorman was in that league? I really love the grudge against Pettite costing him a potential pennant. These are the gems of Roto Baseball, when you remember that one specific game, by one specific player, and still hold a grudge. Of course, Pettite was an Astro in ’06, so this run at the title didn’t happen in ’06. Pettite was a Yankee in ’07, and please take a look at his final start…. Ring any bells Charlie? On a personal note, I have a story like that. In 2002 there was a tight race to the end. The Mighty 4 Horsemen won, only because “Every Day” Eddy Guardado was not called on in a save situation in the Twins final game, not getting that save, cost someone a championship… and won me one. So much for “Every Day”.

Explanation of Name(s) (some teams have changed names over the years)

Always believed team names should incorporate the name of the owner (e.g. Eisen Ears)… I am from Boston.  I like beer.  The Wicked Singhas is what a Bostonian with a thick accent would say when they were praising a Thai Beer or I suppose… me.  Shoulda been Wicked Pissah Singha but thats too long.

I guess it would be apropos if Nomah was a Wicked Singha.

Rival, is there one team in the league that you NEVER want to see win.

Great question – as a newbie I have no natural rival… I have immense respect for the Paleos and always root for their success as long as it is not at my expense; so they are my lakers to my celtics… So they are my spiritual rival (see 2006 we have determind this was ’07), but there is another team that I despise and hope they never win, but i will leave you guessing who they are.

Charlie wussed out big time here. I wonder if that team is the Horsemen, if so… we won last season, so take that.

Greatest Trade, if you can remember

None – I always f*ck trades up…

Cop out. I will remind you of part of one. Last season, while finalizing a deal, Charlie made me settle on Scott Feldman instead of Flyod or Danks (dont remember which one). Feldman ending up being our  Doyle Alexander circa ’87. So, in this instance, you did f*ck that one up, and you were so happy that I settled on Feldman!!!!!

Greatest Pick (either contact or rotation)

None – I hate all my drafts/auctions.

Just be honest…. I can’t or don’t want to take the time to remember.

Why you play? (just for the love of baseball, if you have a partner, is this a way you keep in touch?)

Stats – drool… drool.  My precious… my precious.

That’s why the game was invented, STATS baby. I expect this to be a popular response.

Favorite MLB team

The World Champion Boston Red Sox.

Good choice, there are many of us in the Junior League. Fine men, rooting for the greater good against the evil forces of the Decepticons aka the Yankees.

Favorite baseball memory

1.  Game 6… 1986… Shea Stadium.  The smile on David Henderson’s face when he caught the second out before everything fell apart.  I was in the right field stands and had a great view of him.  Of course, everything after that sucked.

2.  2004…AL Championship… Games 4,5,6 and 7… I was working on an award show and had to watch all the games on Tivo – and miraculously, no one ever told me what had happened.  OMG!!!!

Good to see another Dave Henderson fan, as you can see by my site… I celebrate his entire catalog. Also I am very impressed that you were able to avoid the results of those games. I can’t do that. I need to know.

Stance on Fantasy vs Reality (how do you feel when your real favorite team is going against your fantasy players)

Depends on the circumstance, but real favorite team always trumps fantasy.

I think that will be the company line for most everyone.

MY FINAL BAKEDTHOUGHTS…. Charlie is a real “player of the game”. There is no taking advantage of him in trades, as he is a baseball enthusiast. He does not disappear during the season, regardless of the Wicked Singhas standing. He also handles the weekly transaction, a duty that has little reward, but lots of work. He is no longer “the new guy”. In fact, an unknowing observer would think he has been in the league as long as anyone. Also, he was the first (and only) person to respond to my questionnaire (hint!hint).