[ayaghmour2]

It's offseason time! And there's already been a trade!

We had a few notable retirements, with two of the three expected. As expected, Doc Love hung up the cleats, and thankfully, so did Ray Ford. He didn't sign anywhere else, so his entire career was spent with the two Chicago organizations. All his FABL time was with us, like the recently traded Montes, Ford was part of a talented generation of Cougars that never won anything. The last retirement, however, was unexpected, as George Dawson decided to take a broadcasting job with the Foresters instead of returning for the 1950 season. Dawson, 38, appeared in 35 games for us and hit .293/.396/.415 (117 OPS+). Pretty solid even if it was limited time, but a broadcasting job for an exciting up and coming team is probably more interesting then a bench job on a constant disappointment. Besides, then Foresters took Dawson 19th Overall in 1929, and he hit .298/.346/.383 (100 OPS+) in 1,181 games in Cleveland. He was part of the lone championship team in 1934, and for the first six years of his career he was an elite defensive shortstop Eventually he morphed into more of a bat then glove in the twilight of his career, and he actually had an above average WRC+ in each of his four big league stints.

This cuts the 40-man roster to just 33, although plenty of players will be later protected in the Rule-5 draft. The retirements and trades bode well for whoever is left standing, as bench spots will become easier to come by. Granted, more trades could bring players in, but I'm skeptical that any big upgrades will be available this offseason.

Looking at the prospects themselves, our group initially ranked 3rd among the 16 FABL franchises, earning 164 points. That trails just Boston (205) and the runner-up Foresters (174), as our mixed system was bested by both a top heavy and deep system. As always, we have a large number of the games top prospects, with 9 in the top 100, 29 in the top 250, and 46 in the top 500. Despite a weaker draft class then normal, we still had first rounder Biff Tiner inside the top 50, and five of our first six draftees on the list. I added another top 500 guy in the Carlos Montes trade, but even though this is how the list looks now, it's likely not to end this way. I'd like to take advantage of our depth to add either a top level player or prospect, but that's never an easy task.

Anyways, this is what the top 40 looked like after the first trade of the offseason:

1. RHP Bob Allen (7th Overall): 1st/11th
2. CF Jerry Smith (12th Overall): 2nd/12th
3. LHP Ron Berry (36th Overall): 7th/62nd
4. C Garland Phelps (38th Overall): 3rd/33rd
5. 2B Biff Tiner (40th Overall): 13th Overall Pick
6. CF Henry Norman (52nd Overall): 8th/70th
7. CF Johnny Peters (53rd Overall): 4th/42nd
8. SS Elmer Grace (71st Overall): 6th/52nd
9. LHP Dixie Gaines (91st Overall): 5th/44th
10. CF Jeff King (106th Overall): 11th/122nd
11. RF Jimmy Hairston (110th Overall): 14th/135th
12. LHP Buster Clark (122nd Overall): 61st Overall Pick
13. 1B Cal Rice (124th Overall): 15th/143rd
14. CF Bob Allie (126th Overall): 12th/125th
15. LF Clyde Parker (146th Overall): 9th/76th
16. CF Frank Reece (150th Overall): 17th/162nd
17. 3B Amos Peterson (154th Overall): 13th/130th
18. SS Buddy Jenkins (155th Overall): 19th167th
19. CF Clyde Skinner (156th Overall): 22nd/179th
20. SS Cecil Burr (157th Overall): 16th/154th
21. RHP Wilson McKinney (169th Overall): 23rd Overall Pick
22. CF Harley Dollar (179th Overall): 25th/33rd
23. CF Fred Crawford (180th Overall): 45th Overall Pick
24. 1B Dudley Sapp (206th Overall): 23rd/181st
25. LF Charlie Harvey (215th Overall): 27th/290th
26. 1B John Kerr (220th Overall): 26th/241st
27. 2B Roxy Hilts (230th Overall): 29th/303rd
28. RHP Harry Beardsley (232nd Overall): 10th/81st
29. SS Willie Watson (241st Overall): 24th/223rd
30. RHP Lee Parker (262nd Overall): 36th/368th
31. RHP Tommy Seymour (268th Overall): 35th/363rd
32. RHP Zane Kelley (293rd Overall): 18th/165th
33. CF Doc Zimmerman (309th Overall): 32nd/344th
34. 3B John Price (317th Overall): 38th/380th
35. SS Archie Cunningham (320th Overall): 20th/168th
36. LHP Mike Emerson (345th Overall): 39th/390th
37. 2B Rupert Heinbaugh (362nd Overall): 33rd/352nd
38. 1B Charlie Everitt (364th Overall): 34th/356th
39. LHP Mack Lyons (370th Overall): Acquired in Trade with Chiefs
40. 3B Lou Jackson (378th Overall): 93rd Overall Pick