OOPS I did it again

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RH reliever Justin Anderson and the Chicago Iron Pigs have come to terms on a 3 year 2.39 million dollar contract extension. The third year is a 900K team option with a 100,000 buyout. Anderson was acquired in a May trade with Indianapolis and went 2-4 4.29 with 2 Saves over 42 innings. He was leading the league with 11 saves at the time he was dealt. Nate Gross ended up in the closers role after veteran Mario Mendoza was dealt. In his career Anderson is 17-27 with 117 Saves and a 3.54 ERA. He was a 2010 All-Star in Indianapolis.

BACKROOM CHATTER
What's not to like. He's a free-agent after this year, already a solid member of the team and can and will do anything asked of him. All that at an insanely cheap price.

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Boston's Vargas and Fresno skipper Peter Pero took home this years manager of the year awards. Pero led the Enforcers to an IBL best 101 win season where they fell short for the 2nd straight year after winning it all in 2009. He signed a 3 year extension prior to this year, his 9th, in Fresno. Vargas led Boston to an 84-78 season and his first visit to the IBL World Series where they captured their 2nd ever title.

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To date no one has been elected to the IBL Hall of Fame. I've cast votes for 2 men this year. Ethan Brooks and Evan Thompson. Their HOF Monitors are 170 and 130 I think. I'm using that as my barometer mainly because the MLB HOF standards are not going to hold up in this league and I DO want to reward defense.

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Chicago announced the signing of Asst. GM Mike Weems to a 5 year 2 million dollar contract. Weems, fired by Columbus last month after helping guide them to 8 straight post-season appearances and a 2004 World Series, was a major coup for GM Curt Schilling.
“I am thrilled to be able to bring someone of Mikes talent onboard. His reputation is unblemished and talent unrivaled. What he did in Columbus is legendary. Mike will initially oversee our player development lab as well as running our draft combine and report directly to me with our Scouting Director Chris Romano now following our combine as well. This will allow me more time to do the things a GM should be doing and will bring about a lot less micro-managing”.

BACKROOM CHATTER
This was as significant outlay of money but I think well worth it. Handing off the responsibilities I did was not easy, but needed.

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• We had just 3 players eligible and one QO we did not make.
• LHP Adam Bick, our specialist, asked 489K we offered 330, club win
• OF Bobby Graves who spent most of the year in New Orleans came in at 1.202, we offered 1.2, player won.
• 1B Kevin Rogers, the subject of many trade inquiries, asked for 664K, we offered 560, club win.
• So post-arbitration we're sitting at just under 15 million in payroll, dead last in the league by a wide margin. We plan on spending, but not just to spend. It has to be the right deal. So far any extensions we've offered and come to terms with have been, in my view, huge wins at huge savings.

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The market opens to a lot of activity. A ton of arms available. The first thing I root out is a good quality LHP for the bullpen, that's an absolute must. Mark Williams is a 30 year old LHP with elite stuff who has been on the other side of town for a few years.
In 10 years he's 17-32 3.14 with 35 Saves over 366.2 IP allowing 309 H 139 BB to 368 punch outs. He's a dominant lefty on LHH. He's considering a 2 year deal at 800K per year. We'll go where he wants on this.

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The Chicago Iron Pigs have sent 29 year old IF Russell Matson, 26 year old OF Xavier Wynn, and 29 year old 1B Kevin Rogers and 5 million in cash to the Washington Jets for 20 year old LHP Augusto Campos and 20 year old 1B Bill Brumfield. Wynn and Matson were big parts of the clubs push to respectability and their 81-81 season but Matson was vocal about his displeasure with regards to his role. Wynn was hurt on and off this year but still had a good year at .284-10-42 over 292 AB's and Rogers hit .274-6-42 over 103 games. An unamed player on the Chicago roster was quoted as saying “Seeing Kevin go hurts, it hurts a lot, he was a big part of this room from day 1.”
Campos was a 2008 Int. FA signing out of Venezuela. The 20 year old lefty projects to be a starter down the road. Bill Brumfield was a 16th round selection by the Jets in the 2009 draft. He won the Class A Silver Slugger award this year. OSA scouts drool over the zone discipline and the raw power.

BACKROOM CHATTER
Romano has Brumfields power at 20+ with his eye trending to 17-18 soon. Both are pretty much at their peak now. We could actually toss him out at 3B, which we're working on as we speak in our winter development lab. He's a LH bat with 50+ HR pop and an eye that could get him on 45% or more of the time.
Campos is a 6'4” lefty with two good pitches and a third he's working on. If the Change up comes he's a steal. He literally cannot throw a ball, his command is spectacular and Romano says it has “19” potential. Both guys will likely start in rookie ball, short season at the highest.
The other side of this was trading 3 players who were very large parts of what ended up a great year. Matson was unhappy and we tried to accommodate him with this move. Wynn is part of a glut of RH outfielders we feel good about having depth with. Most of them are corner guys with little pop, we need to change that. And Rogers was a RH 1B with solid skills but nothing like those needed on a contender at a position you need to get power from.
The 5 million might seem steep but Washington needed that to cover Matson's 2012 salary, they take it all after that so we shed payroll without really trying. That money may end up in extensions for some of the guys we have on roster now.
FWIW Eddie Cook is drawing the most interest, along with Nate Gross, of any of our players. If we move either it will be for 4-star talent or better.
I'll likely wait for the Winter Meetings to do that.

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CHICAGO, DETROIT SWAP
The Chicago Iron Pigs have sent 21 year old reliever John Sirianni to the Detroit Phantoms in exchange for 23 year old CF Kevin Dietz.

BACKROOM CHATTER
While working the wires Detroit had offered up Dietz in a few other deals. I am unsure why. Unless our scouts are idiots and our valuation system is broken Dietz rates as the best defensive CF we've ever seen. In 2010 he was ranked 22nd on the IBL Prospect list. Sirianni had a fantastic season in Albuquerque going 5-4 12 Saves1.21 ERA with 68 K's in 59.2 innings and he's left handed. But when we talked to Detroit they were insanely high on two guys of ours in the minors and it turns out they'd offer Dietz for one or the other, when I was thinking I'd have to send both to get him. Dietz was the 33rd overall pick in 2009 by Las Vegas, dealt in 2010 in a 7 player deal with Detroit. Our scouts have his bat upper teens at best (17) with insane gap power and eventually great bat to ball skills. He swings a bit too much and won't have a ton of power but I'll say right now if he hits .250 he'll play here his entire career. His defensive tool-set is as good or better than any IBL outfielder in existence. He hits LH as well. He's our guy in Center for the next decade.
We have a ton of deals in the 'talk' stage but two very glaring holes now. An everyday SS who can pick it and a legitimate every day 1B not named Juan Nieves. Also trying to address the LH reliever role and negotiations are almost to the point I'm going to have to give my free agent desire what he wants.

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Today at a press conference GM Curt Schilling announced the club had traded LF Eddie Cook, and 1 million in cash, to the Staten Island Sharks for 26 year old SS Kareem Jackson and 20 year old P prospect Jason Montano, and the Sharks 2012 2nd round draft choice. Cook has been a coveted player throughout the off-season when it was known he was available with no shortage of suitors. No specific reason why this deal was the one Schilling lept on. Cook hit .271-8-38 over 365 AB's and at 27 the former 1st rounder is poised to enter his prime.
Jackson is a LHH SS/3B with some 5+ years of IBL Service time. A career .217/.272/.339 hitter over 2300 AB's with 50 HR's and 40 SB. No one thinks Chicago made this deal to get him in their every day lineup but his defense will be something the club can use. Jackson was the 1st overall selection in the 2004 draft by the Sharks and rose as high as #5 on the IBL prospect list. Since tearing his labrum in 2008 he has not reached the lofty heights many had for him out of high school.
Montano was a 13th round selection in 2009 and went 6-10 4.84 in 25 AA starts last year. Given time Chicago scouts think he's a potential 2 or 3 if everything breaks right.

BACKROOM CHATTER
In the end this was about giving a once promising prospect a 2nd chance, picking up a young arm with big upside, unloading a position we have a glut of in OF'ers and ultmately grabbing a 2nd round pick (16th in the round) from a team in “Win Now” mode.
Cook is and will be a good player. Having said that we have a plethora of RHH outfielders and him being 27 made the move more than palatable.

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We lost no one but did select one player. SP Aaron Camarillo from Las Vegas. A 25 year old RHP with elite control and the stuff to hide in the bullpen with some spot starts this year. He has top half of the rotation capability and is a ++ asset off the field.

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Denver has agreed to send former top C prospect Hector Orozco to Chicago for LH reliever Adam Bick and minor league Catcher Matt Frazier. Orozco was the 35th overall pick in the 2010 draft and there as no shortage of comments about the Saints parting ways so soon with a prospect many think could be a front line starter on a contender. Orozco is a good defender, still needing work, who is athletic enough to have played CF in high school. His contact and bat skills are projected to be 20s while he has no real power, and does not run well. He'll have to hit his way on.
Bick was the Iron Pigs lefty, their only lefty, out of the bullpen last year and the 34 year old will move into that role in Denver. Frazier is a 2-star prospect.

BACKROOM CHATTER
This was all on Denver. They came to us and the upside was too much to pass up. This is a potential .330 hitter whose OBP will likely be .300 as well. He won't hit for any power but he's a good defender with room to grow and enormous offensive potential who will head to Class A to start the season.

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37 year old Scott Herman signed a 3 year 27 million dollar extension with the Jacksonville Panthers today. The 2-time world champion went 21-7 3.29 in 33 starts last year to pace the league in wins. Scott is 202-147 4.00 in 468 career starts spanning 3058 innings. His entire 14 year career has been spent in Jacksonville.

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• Los Angeles announced the signing of 7-time all-star IF Adam Finch to a 3-year, $17.7 million contract while also announcing they'd inked 7-time all-star reliever Adam Brolin to a 2-year, $9.9 million contract. The 39-year-old Brolin is 2nd all-time with 500 saves, and LA announced he would, in fact, close for them in 2012.
• Meanwhile, Utah announced they'd snagged 1B Josh Sparks off the market on a 6-year, $35.7 million contract. The 32-year-old Sparks is a career .283/.346/.454 hitter over 1352 games with 297 2B and 188 HR's. He's a 2-time all-star.

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Year 22 of the IBL and there are still no members of the HOF. 1B Ethan Brooks received the highest vote to date, garnering 69.4% in his 6th year while OF Ryan Thompson received 49.5% in his 2nd year of eligibility.

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INTERESTING NOTE
Brian Stachowski led all IBL catchers last year in OBP....
Who knew? I should have. His .343 led New England's Adam Higgins .339. Higgins, by the way, was just dealt to New England from Oklahoma City for a legitimate 3-prospect haul. He's got 2 years remaining on his current deal.

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New York announced the signing of 35-year-old RP Mike Strong to a 2-year, $18 million free agent contract. Strong is 77-41 with 175 saves and a 2.56 ERA over his 14-year career. He returns to NY after spending 2008 there, when he went 6-2, 37 Saves, and a 2.16 ERA. This will be his 7th IBL team.

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Chicago announced the signing of 3.5 star prospect Mario Correa, a 17 year old out of the Domincan Republic and 17 year old Venezuelan 3B and 4.5 star prospect Cruz Mendiola. Details of both signings were not released.

BACKROOM CHATTER
Correa signed for 190K, Mendiola received 325K. That 515 leaves 235K for any other potential amateurs. Mendiola is a switch hitter with potential 17 Contact, 15 power, and 18 ability to put the ball in play. Huge potential.
Correa projects to have an elite sinker that could be mid-90s when all is said and done. Two more big time prospects for the system.
A system we've pretty much overhauled and completely built from the ground up.

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31-year-old Mark Calkins is a two-time all-star, a 2005 world champion, and in that 2005 run, he won the ALCS and World Series MVP awards. Long recognized as a premier defender, the Iron Pigs reportedly targeted Mark on day one of free agency and never let up. Calkins garnered a 4-year, $32.5 million contract, the largest in the Iron Pigs' short history. Calkins was selected in 3rd round of the 2004 draft by Utah and has spent his 7-year career there. He's a career .285/.321/.409 hitter over 991 games with 307 2B's, 37 3B's, and 43 HR's with 399 RBI's. He's 70-99 career in SB. He led the league in 2B's in 2007 (52) and 3B's in 2010 (8).

BACKROOM CHATTER
We never let up. It got dicey in December as three or four teams jumped into the bidding and his ask shot up. I think this team is going to compete in 2012, and to do so, we need to strengthen the middle. We have that now at both SS and CF with Dietz now patrolling. Calkins is a well-known commodity and very popular around the league, and fans were ecstatic at the signing.


NEWS FROM THE FRONT OFFICE

• Fan interest has hit 100. Our 2012 ticket prices were raised before the signing to $14.00, and we are now seeing projected season ticket sales up 32%, with attendance jumping 28% and per-game revenue projected to be up over 50%. All great signs of a healthy club on the rise. Our payroll as of mid-January is 24.6 million, 30th in the league.
• With arbitration projections, our 2013 payroll jumps just 2 million as of today, to 35 million plus in 2014. I expect our budget to grow as well so we'll see how that plays out.

That's it for the moves (I think, but don't hold me to it!), our roster is set. Our pitching did not get the upgrade I worked to get but Rome was not built in a day. We'll go to camp with a ton of competition in the rotation but a pretty stable infield and an outfield full of talent.

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Chicago and Boston have agreed to a trade. Chicago sent Andrew Elliott, acquired from Jacksonville a little over a month ago, to Boston, receiving RHP Pete Ricks and 82,500 in amateur bonus pool money. Boston did not indicate their plans for Elliott.
Ricks is 23-12 6 Saves with a 3.46 ERA over 173 games, 36 starts. Sporting a 1.13 WHIP over 343 innings the 6'4” righty appears to be headed to the Chicago Bullpen.

BACKROOM CHATTER
Boston came to us for Elliott and we had and have more than enough RH bats in the outfield. He is a gold glove winner so they've got plans for him I think. Ricks won the World Series last year with Boston going 5-3 3.00 over 59 innings of middle relief, fanning 65 to just 10 walks in 57 innings. He first perfectly, and at age 25 with 3 more years of club control is exactly what we're looking for.
The bonus money was a nice add we managed after a few days of wrangling.

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30-year-old Mark Williams and the Chicago Iron Pigs announced they'd reached an agreement on a 3-year, $5.6 million free agent contract. Williams, 17-32 with 35 Saves and a 3.14 ERA over his 10 years in the IBL. He won't even have to leave “home” as his last 6 years was spent across town with the Chicago Hitmen. Williams is one of the league's best relievers vs LHH, and Chicago's recent deal of Adam Bick forced their hand even more in the final negotiations.

BACKROOM CHATTER
This was one of two 'must-haves' of the winter. The same day we went after our SS, we made an offer to Williams. This one took the entire winter to get done, as he had a ton of suitors. He's a lockdown lefty for sure. Huge signing just a day before spring training opens.
On the heels of this signing, we also announced the signing of 25-year-old catcher Salvatore Rivera to a 2 year 2.6 million deal. After the earlier trade, we were left with just two catchers on the 40-man roster. That's a recipe for danger. He's a good catcher with good pop who can also play 1B as an above-average defender. Off the field, he's a born leader.
On the same day, our cross-town friends announced they'd retained catcher Tony Noriega to a 4-year, $19.4 million contract with year 4 being a club option.