A while ago I applied the entirety of Sun Tzu to football and GMing. I’m back to do it again - this time with Carl von Clausewitz’s masterpiece - “On War”. *Please note, this article started as an attempted to apply it to the league as a whole, then morphed into a lot of free agency talk.
Chapter 1 - Application of “What is War” to free agency.
To start with - Clausewitz works to define war, and he makes note that he isn’t going to define war based on what publicists and others might, but the act itself, the duel. In this case, we must work to define management. At the broad level, management would be just looking at the overall team composition and budgeting, coupled with minor personnel focuses. However, the ISFL is a special case, and as such, we cannot just define management to be solely those pieces involving team composition. It should also encompass the other pieces of the job that have an influence on the team and the ability to be successful.
Management therefore is an act of generating and utilizing a team to force our opponent to lose.
Losing arms itself with the inventions of free agency and drafting in order to contend with losing. Being required to draft oneself in certain rounds, and other restrictions, like cap, are hardly worth mentioning when it comes to thinking about losing. Losing, that is to say truly losing in the sim, is the means, but the submission of opposing teams in the Ultimus, awards, and pro bowl are the ultimate objects. In order to attain these objects fully, the other teams must be disarmed during free agency and the draft. The real aim of managing in theory. It takes the place of the final object, and puts it aside in a manner as something not properly belonging to management.
As Clausewitz continues to discuss the “utmost use of force”, we must look at how this pertains to management. His focus entirely is on disarming the enemy without bloodshed, and the best translation to the ISFL involves receiving players without drafting them. This means free agency. While free agency can be a dangerous and difficult game at times, involving team hatred to stew amongst the league and leading to heartbreak as you risk letting one player go in an effort to pursue another, it is also something which is incredibly valuable.
With the aim being to ‘disarm the enemy', Clausewitz goes on to share why this is necessary. By generating successful free agency within the league, it puts teams in a situation in which they have to draft well and use their call-ups to their advantage. By utilizing free agency, it can help provide parity within the league. While Clausewitz states that disarming the enemy or overthrowing them must always be the goal - it seems cruel to state that free agency should be viewed in the same light. However, he isn’t wrong here. To maintain success for a team, not just on the field, but in the locker room, viewing free agency with the same ruthlessness is imperative. “War is always the shock of two hostile bodies in collision,” and while we would like to think that free agency is rainbows and flowers, we know that it is and can be cut-throat. The real war of the ISFL is free agency, and it can in fact feel as though a collision between two teams as they bid for the same player, or retain that player for their team. Clausewitz further says, “Here then is another case of reciprocal action. As long as the enemy is not defeated, I have to apprehend that he may defeat me.” Much in the same way, we must believe that until the contracts are signed, that a player may choose to go elsewhere in free agency. One must relent and believe that it is secured until the ink is dry.
As Clausewitz elaborates on the effort needed if the goal is to defeat the enemy (re: win free agency) then he mentions how the efforts of the team must be proportional to the powers of resistance (other teams, or even teams looking to retain players.) Furthermore, the powers to which he refers are viewed as both means and the strength of will. This means ultimately two things, how much you can convince the player they should be there, and [redacted formula from the Colorado Yeti free agency Handbook]. While we may be able to view an approximation of the power available to the other team pitching in free agency, we must also always do our best to increase our means as much as possible. But if the opposing team does the same, then we reach a third reciprocal action, as Clausewitz calls it.
Therefore, as you plan and look to compete against the other team you must let your brain reason in the abstract. You cannot stop short of the extremes, because you should be prepared to deal with the extremes. This does not just apply to free agency in terms of overpowering the other team to win over the free agents, but also in terms of preparing for the offseason every year. Players who you did not expect to leave, you should be ready and able to replace them or have a plan to deal with their departure as much as possible. Even if we suppose the extreme circumstances, we have to also admit to ourselves that this does not always mean that it is the case, and sometimes you can burn yourself out with the threat of assuming what can go wrong will.
Continuing, he gives us three positions which will never occur. We can interpret this to mean:
- Free Agency is never an isolated act.
- It does not consistent of a single instantaneous blow.
- The result of free agency is never absolute.
While it might seem to some GMs as though their players entering free agency is a moderate shock, talk to almost any player who has entered into the process and they will tell you that they had made up their mind ages ago. This is not something which just happens, and it does not occur typically, just because the free agency thread opened. Instead, there are numerous reasons why a player may be entering into free agency: They dislike the locker room, they dislike their stats, and they want to win a ring are just a few of the common denominators that players have shared for why they might enter free agency.
To Clausewitz’s second point, that it is not a single instantaneous blow, free agency doesn’t start or end with a singular reason. Instead, it is the sum of a multitude of reasons for why players may enter into free agency and why they may sign with a specific team. Every free agency would be resolved almost instantaneously and general managers would not have voted to move to have the free agency posted earlier in the season if it were a single instantaneous blow which allowed players to choose to sign within a team. The means of resistance, that is, the reasons why a player may choose not leave their team, are often the pieces that restore the balance of power and parity within the league and free agency.
The last point that Clausewitz makes is that [war] is never absolute. Those who may sign with a team may choose to leave them as well, just as quickly. Just because a team was able to sign certain members during the free agency period, does not mean that the team will be able to keep those members of the team.
Clausewitz continues to tell us that while we should think of and plan for these extreme circumstances, the extreme is no longer to be sought for and we should truly stick within the laws of probability in which we plan. As we look to apply this to free agency, it speaks to the ability to remain realistic when looking at which free agents you should reasonably be able to sign, and where to spend the resources that you have available to make pitches and engage the free agents.
As we read further - we learn about the polarity of attack and defense, that it is not just that there is an attack (or attempting to sign free agents from a team) - since if there was, it would just mean that one side has the ability to do this, and the other has none, but rather there is a balance of attack and defense. This means that there must be the decision to work on the offensive (seeking new free agents from other teams) and the defensive (looking to keep the free agents that are potentially leaving your team). If one team wishes to somewhat, ignore the free agent, then the other team must seek them out even more.
Even in this regard, however, the team can only seek to know what they are doing. While they may believe and have some thoughts as to what another team is doing in the free agency talks with another player, it is only known to them by reports, which may be uncertain and therefore they may make the wrong judgement based upon the data, the descriptions and that error may cost them the free agent. While you want perfect insight into the situation, it is ultimately impossible, and waiting for this information will lead to an untimely end during which you lose the free agent.
As Clausewitz continues, he discusses how periods of inaction will move you further from attaining your goals within war. So too, in free agency, you cannot allow yourself to become inactive upon discussing with the other free agents. You must, in fact, continue the assault, and remain much more readily available and active to keep the opposing team on their toes.
Lastly, the points that Clausewitz makes about the views regarding war pertain in large part to free agency. He discusses how war is a game, and while it is objective (the goal is to win) there is also subjectivity as well. He continues this with a discussion of humanity and that war is a serious means for a serious goal. As we look to apply this to free agency we can see that while free agency is fun for some players, and they’re just looking to see what might be out there and available to them, it is also serious in terms of team building and looking toward creating that winning combination. Therefore, you should still approach free agency and every single free agent as though they are valuable and an irreplaceable part of the team. Additionally, at the end of the day, free agency means that you can continue to build a team without spending draft picks, trading players, or cap space to another team. This ability alone makes free agency an integral part of the league as a whole, and especially management.
Within free agency there is diversity, as there is in war. Some teams may be looking to just see who else they can bring into their team. Some teams are looking at users specifically, versus their players, some teams are looking to generate a team that they can have fun with instead of readily compete with. All of these goals mean that the process of free agency is very different and it can sometimes be easier or more difficult to come by free agents in the process.
Free agency, therefore, is not just a chameleon because it changes the team and your strategy for the season and the draft, but it also has relationships and completes the wonderful trinity of trades, drafting and free agency. These three pieces are key in building a team, and looking to make sure that you have the personnel and players available to have success on the field, but also within the locker room - making it a place in which players want to be a part of.
Chapter 2 coming ???
Chapter 1 - Application of “What is War” to free agency.
To start with - Clausewitz works to define war, and he makes note that he isn’t going to define war based on what publicists and others might, but the act itself, the duel. In this case, we must work to define management. At the broad level, management would be just looking at the overall team composition and budgeting, coupled with minor personnel focuses. However, the ISFL is a special case, and as such, we cannot just define management to be solely those pieces involving team composition. It should also encompass the other pieces of the job that have an influence on the team and the ability to be successful.
Management therefore is an act of generating and utilizing a team to force our opponent to lose.
Losing arms itself with the inventions of free agency and drafting in order to contend with losing. Being required to draft oneself in certain rounds, and other restrictions, like cap, are hardly worth mentioning when it comes to thinking about losing. Losing, that is to say truly losing in the sim, is the means, but the submission of opposing teams in the Ultimus, awards, and pro bowl are the ultimate objects. In order to attain these objects fully, the other teams must be disarmed during free agency and the draft. The real aim of managing in theory. It takes the place of the final object, and puts it aside in a manner as something not properly belonging to management.
As Clausewitz continues to discuss the “utmost use of force”, we must look at how this pertains to management. His focus entirely is on disarming the enemy without bloodshed, and the best translation to the ISFL involves receiving players without drafting them. This means free agency. While free agency can be a dangerous and difficult game at times, involving team hatred to stew amongst the league and leading to heartbreak as you risk letting one player go in an effort to pursue another, it is also something which is incredibly valuable.
With the aim being to ‘disarm the enemy', Clausewitz goes on to share why this is necessary. By generating successful free agency within the league, it puts teams in a situation in which they have to draft well and use their call-ups to their advantage. By utilizing free agency, it can help provide parity within the league. While Clausewitz states that disarming the enemy or overthrowing them must always be the goal - it seems cruel to state that free agency should be viewed in the same light. However, he isn’t wrong here. To maintain success for a team, not just on the field, but in the locker room, viewing free agency with the same ruthlessness is imperative. “War is always the shock of two hostile bodies in collision,” and while we would like to think that free agency is rainbows and flowers, we know that it is and can be cut-throat. The real war of the ISFL is free agency, and it can in fact feel as though a collision between two teams as they bid for the same player, or retain that player for their team. Clausewitz further says, “Here then is another case of reciprocal action. As long as the enemy is not defeated, I have to apprehend that he may defeat me.” Much in the same way, we must believe that until the contracts are signed, that a player may choose to go elsewhere in free agency. One must relent and believe that it is secured until the ink is dry.
As Clausewitz elaborates on the effort needed if the goal is to defeat the enemy (re: win free agency) then he mentions how the efforts of the team must be proportional to the powers of resistance (other teams, or even teams looking to retain players.) Furthermore, the powers to which he refers are viewed as both means and the strength of will. This means ultimately two things, how much you can convince the player they should be there, and [redacted formula from the Colorado Yeti free agency Handbook]. While we may be able to view an approximation of the power available to the other team pitching in free agency, we must also always do our best to increase our means as much as possible. But if the opposing team does the same, then we reach a third reciprocal action, as Clausewitz calls it.
Therefore, as you plan and look to compete against the other team you must let your brain reason in the abstract. You cannot stop short of the extremes, because you should be prepared to deal with the extremes. This does not just apply to free agency in terms of overpowering the other team to win over the free agents, but also in terms of preparing for the offseason every year. Players who you did not expect to leave, you should be ready and able to replace them or have a plan to deal with their departure as much as possible. Even if we suppose the extreme circumstances, we have to also admit to ourselves that this does not always mean that it is the case, and sometimes you can burn yourself out with the threat of assuming what can go wrong will.
Continuing, he gives us three positions which will never occur. We can interpret this to mean:
- Free Agency is never an isolated act.
- It does not consistent of a single instantaneous blow.
- The result of free agency is never absolute.
While it might seem to some GMs as though their players entering free agency is a moderate shock, talk to almost any player who has entered into the process and they will tell you that they had made up their mind ages ago. This is not something which just happens, and it does not occur typically, just because the free agency thread opened. Instead, there are numerous reasons why a player may be entering into free agency: They dislike the locker room, they dislike their stats, and they want to win a ring are just a few of the common denominators that players have shared for why they might enter free agency.
To Clausewitz’s second point, that it is not a single instantaneous blow, free agency doesn’t start or end with a singular reason. Instead, it is the sum of a multitude of reasons for why players may enter into free agency and why they may sign with a specific team. Every free agency would be resolved almost instantaneously and general managers would not have voted to move to have the free agency posted earlier in the season if it were a single instantaneous blow which allowed players to choose to sign within a team. The means of resistance, that is, the reasons why a player may choose not leave their team, are often the pieces that restore the balance of power and parity within the league and free agency.
The last point that Clausewitz makes is that [war] is never absolute. Those who may sign with a team may choose to leave them as well, just as quickly. Just because a team was able to sign certain members during the free agency period, does not mean that the team will be able to keep those members of the team.
Clausewitz continues to tell us that while we should think of and plan for these extreme circumstances, the extreme is no longer to be sought for and we should truly stick within the laws of probability in which we plan. As we look to apply this to free agency, it speaks to the ability to remain realistic when looking at which free agents you should reasonably be able to sign, and where to spend the resources that you have available to make pitches and engage the free agents.
As we read further - we learn about the polarity of attack and defense, that it is not just that there is an attack (or attempting to sign free agents from a team) - since if there was, it would just mean that one side has the ability to do this, and the other has none, but rather there is a balance of attack and defense. This means that there must be the decision to work on the offensive (seeking new free agents from other teams) and the defensive (looking to keep the free agents that are potentially leaving your team). If one team wishes to somewhat, ignore the free agent, then the other team must seek them out even more.
Even in this regard, however, the team can only seek to know what they are doing. While they may believe and have some thoughts as to what another team is doing in the free agency talks with another player, it is only known to them by reports, which may be uncertain and therefore they may make the wrong judgement based upon the data, the descriptions and that error may cost them the free agent. While you want perfect insight into the situation, it is ultimately impossible, and waiting for this information will lead to an untimely end during which you lose the free agent.
As Clausewitz continues, he discusses how periods of inaction will move you further from attaining your goals within war. So too, in free agency, you cannot allow yourself to become inactive upon discussing with the other free agents. You must, in fact, continue the assault, and remain much more readily available and active to keep the opposing team on their toes.
Lastly, the points that Clausewitz makes about the views regarding war pertain in large part to free agency. He discusses how war is a game, and while it is objective (the goal is to win) there is also subjectivity as well. He continues this with a discussion of humanity and that war is a serious means for a serious goal. As we look to apply this to free agency we can see that while free agency is fun for some players, and they’re just looking to see what might be out there and available to them, it is also serious in terms of team building and looking toward creating that winning combination. Therefore, you should still approach free agency and every single free agent as though they are valuable and an irreplaceable part of the team. Additionally, at the end of the day, free agency means that you can continue to build a team without spending draft picks, trading players, or cap space to another team. This ability alone makes free agency an integral part of the league as a whole, and especially management.
Within free agency there is diversity, as there is in war. Some teams may be looking to just see who else they can bring into their team. Some teams are looking at users specifically, versus their players, some teams are looking to generate a team that they can have fun with instead of readily compete with. All of these goals mean that the process of free agency is very different and it can sometimes be easier or more difficult to come by free agents in the process.
Free agency, therefore, is not just a chameleon because it changes the team and your strategy for the season and the draft, but it also has relationships and completes the wonderful trinity of trades, drafting and free agency. These three pieces are key in building a team, and looking to make sure that you have the personnel and players available to have success on the field, but also within the locker room - making it a place in which players want to be a part of.
Chapter 2 coming ???