American Baseball Association.

[gehrig38]

SUBJECT: WEEK 22 NOTES
SCHEDULE:
1 vs Detroit
OFF DAY
3 @ Las Vegas
2 vs St Louis

RESULTS:

• 8/27: FLA 6 DET 3 Camp W (6-5 4.46) 7 IP 2 K 3 ER Galindo SV (6) Haupt 2-3 2B (25) HR (20) RBI (64) Mendoza 3-4 HR (12) RBI (44)
• Jim Brooks L (14-5 3.19) 5 IP 6 K 3 HR 4 ER
• Pittsburgh won 5-4 today but after the game announced Jamie Watkins (13-10 3.83) would miss the remainder of the season and any postseason play with an undisclosed shoulder issue. The Miners are currently 6.5 games ahead of the Jets.
• 8/28: OFF DAY
• Big day in the minor leagues. At Rio Ranco top prospect Juan Portio tossed a complete game punching out 3 in a 10-0 win and in that game 1B Tamuramaro Matsuda went 3-3 drilling 3 homers and driving in 8.
• At Alamogordo OF Chad Coyle went 5-6 with a HR and drove in 4 in a 13-5 win.
• Jake Grab has some back issues and will head to the 10 day DL. We'll revisit in a week or so to see what the timetable looks like. Mike Allen is recalled from Alamogordo
• 8/29: LV 6 FLA 4 Willoughby ND 6 IP 6 K 4 ER Ginn 2 IP 2 ER L (2-1)
• 8/30: FLA 5 LV 4 (10) Chase ND 7 IP 3 H 3 ER Galindo W (8-6) Richardson ND 8 IP 9 H 1 ER
• Kinnon Mendelson kept his perfect season going. Punching out 10 over 7 and giving up 1 run to move to 9-0 1.65.
• 8/31: FLA 9 LV 4 Samvdio W CG 11 K 4 ER (9-8 4.34) Saldana 2-5 HR (27) 2 RBI (69) Harris 3 RBI (50) Brown 3-4 HR (3) 2 R 2 RBI
• Max Ramirez is called up from AA, IF Josh Klatt from AAA. I'm holding back on anything more as AAA and A as well as the young clubs are likely to make the postseason. Want that 3rd catcher and backup infielder.
• 9/1: STL 5 FLA 4 Agresta W (2-3 7.42) 6 IP 5 K 4 ER Jeanty SV (27)
• Pollock L (2-4 5.36) 5 IP 6 K 5 ER (4 run 1st) Mendoza 2 HR (14) 2 RBI (46)
• David Weller homered 3 times in a 7-6 Clovis win. He is now hitting 270-39-129 and will be called up to AAA for the seasons final weeks.
• At Farmington P Prospect acquired earlier this year, Jeff Phares went to 5-2 2.82 since being acquired by tossing 7 scoreless, giving up 4 hits and punching out 8
• 9/2: FLA 7 STL 2 Camp W (7-5 4.40) 6 IP 5 K 2 ER Haupt 3-3 2 BB 2 2B (28) 3B (4) SB (42) 2 R 2 RBI (67)
• Signed as a minor league FA in 2004 21-year-old Satoyuki Ouchi has been below average if not downright bad. Yesterday he punched out 16 in 7.1 IP and is 7-7 on the year. That outing likely earned him at least 1 more season in our minor league system. He's a mid 90's arm who could definitely be a starter, but has had some bad luck. In his 1st season at Rio Rancho, he was 1-8 8.55 giving up 110 hits in 72.2 IP and striking out 91. Get this, his BABIP? .454..... Last year he brought it down toa still unlucky .344. This year it's .293

AL POTW - Jahiem Kouassi (DEN) 12-24 3 HR 7 RBI (.308-23-68)
NL POTW – Guiomar Cortezo (LA) 13-27 2 HR 8 RBI (.362-21-92)

• AAA OF Chad Coyle continues to bring home the hardware. He follows his August POTM award with this weeks POTW, going 13-25 2 HR 8 RBI and is hitting .299-28-112 with 119 runs
• Harland Daig (AA) went 16-30 HR 3 RBI to take home AA POTW. In 35 games at Clovis he has hit .397-6-29 to bring his year to .342-21-102 with 107 R and .383 OBP in 120 games

RECORD: 4-2 (71-69)
PLACE: 3rd 11 GB (5 GB WC)
RUNS SCORED: 616 10th
RUNS GIVEN UP: 629 9th
DEFENSE: .705 7th
OWNER MOOD: Undecided
POWER RANKINGS:
1) Los Angeles
2) Detroit
3) Alaska
4) Ohio
5) Pittsburgh
…..
13) Florida

[gehrig38]

• AL PLAYER OF THE MONTH – Joe Vertz (OH) .337-11-32 (.290-38-112)
• NL PLAYER OF THE MONTH – Guiomar Cortezo (LA) .432-6-22 (.362-21-91)
• AL PITCHER OF THE MONTH – Nate Walker (ALK) 4-0 1.43 (13-7 2.75)
• NL PITCHER OF THE MONTH – Jeremy Horst (LA) 5-1 1.98 40 K 36 IP (15-3 3.13)
• AL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH – Ismael Saldana (FLA) .372-8-23 (.284-27-69) Ended April .185/.261/.383 5 HR 13 RBI
• NL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH – Bobby Ruppe (SD) .264-8-16 (.231-13-27)

• Chad Coyle took home AAA Hitter of the Month after his .412-9-30 August. His combined season .300-28-111
• RP Hiroshige Hirai took home AA pitcher of the month after 14 appearances 4-0 2 SV and 22 K's in 22 IP
• 18-year-old Juan Guerra won Short Season player of the month. He hit .373-7-28 and scored 27 runs. He's hitting .354-9-45 with an OBP of .386.

Single season save record is 50. Claus will give it a run. Likely to be the first time in many years there has not been a 60 HR season.
Sergio Robles is “that guy” when it comes to the bell curve. He ruins all defensive metrics for OF and CF and his 8.2 WAR going INTO September is insane There have been a total of 8 10+ WAR seasons done by 6 different players.
The single-season ERA record and SHO could also get beaten this year.



Detroit, Ohio Alaska, and Las Vegas. I would call those 4 locks for October. That final WC spot is Minnesota, Chicago or us.



Los Angeles. That's the only lock I'd dare to say in the NL. The East and Central with the Jets hot right now appear to be in play and Washington, San Francisco, New England and Texas are all very much in play for October. Go back and check out who did what at the deadline, it's interesting.

[gehrig38]

SUBJECT: WEEK 23 NOTES
SCHEDULE:
1 vs St Louis
3 @ Phoenix
3 vs Ohio

RESULTS:

• 9/3: FLA 7 STL 4 Willoughby ND 107 pitches in 4 innings, 7 K 2 ER. Trumble 2 errors (7) Broomhall W (2-0) 3.2 IP 1 H 5 K 0 R Galindo SV (7) Saldana HR (28) 3 RBI (75)
• Rio Rancho starts the Rookie League playoffs tomorrow
• 9/4: PHX 3 FLA 2 Ginn L (2-2 3.03) 2.1 IP 5 H 4 K 1 R Chase 6.1 IP 7 H 4 K 2 ER
• Chris Mattingly (DET) entered the 250 win club with a CG 5 hitter, winning 8-3. He's 17-7 3.41 this year
• 9/5: PHX 3 FLA 2 Galindo BS (4) L (8-7 1.98) 0.2 IP 3 H 2 BB 2 ER Samvdio ND 8 IP 7 K 1 R
• 9/6: FLA 6 PHX 4 Pollock W (3-4 5.20) 8 IP 6 K 11 H 4 ER Galindo SV (8)
• Kinnon Mendelson was promoted to Farmington for his final start. He tossed 7 scoreless and punched out 7 on 2 hits in an ND.
• Jace Camp is DtD with a calf issue so Jon Naclerio who went 14-8 4.00 at AAA is called up and will make the start. RP Eddie Hein is also recalled.
• 9/7: OH 3 FLA 0 Mike Rose CG SHO 3-hitter 2 K (12-12 4.78) Naclerio L (0-1) 6 IP 3 ER
• Mike Haupt came out of today's game with an elbow issue. Team doctors are concerned it is a serious thing and has recommended a MINIMUM of 6 weeks rest.
• Hobbs won their 1st round but star prospect Juan Guerra went down with a back issue. He's out for the remainder of the season.
• And finally, SP prospect Triston Ellison left yesterdays game with a “right arm issue” and there has been no word from team officials as of now.

GM'S OFFICE
Like a ton of bricks. That's what hit me when I started to call up someone to play CF in Haupt's place. I don't have anyone. By that I mean NO ONE on the ABA roster is rated even BAD. I have three guys who likely have a combined 5 innings total out there. None of them with the tools. My best defensive CF and ONLY CF in the organization rated even average at the position is Kevin Kass, our 2007 draft pick, who is in A ball. OF Chad Coyle is recalled from AAA. He is rule 5 eligible so he was being added to the roster anyway, but he's had a fantastic season since being acquired (.328-21-79 in 88 games and .296-28-114 in 136 games on the year). Just hoping he doesn't kill himself in center.


MILWAUKEE FIRES GRAFF
The Hawks dismissed manager Tim Graff today. That wasn't even the biggest story. According to sources, after learning he'd been fired Graff apparently stole multiple items of memorabilia from the clubhouse before leaving. Clubhouse cameras caught it all...

• 9/8: FLA 4 OH 0 Willoughby W (5-1 3.79) 7.2 IP 1 H 8 K vs the best team in the AL. Coyle HR from leadoff spot Hayashi HR (19) 3 RBI (66) Gilmore 3-4
• Ellison, our 2006 3rd rounder out of Stanford, suffered a torn flexor tendon. He will miss the next 12-14 months.
• 9/9: FLA 7 OH 3 Chase W (13-9 3.53) 5.1 IP 3 ER Coyle HR (2) 2 RBI Mendoza 2B (15) HR (15) 2 RBI (49)
• Bobby Rone L (17-6 3.97) 5 IP 7 H 3 HR 6 ER
• Just saw an interesting statistic. David Weller, who homered in his 2nd AAA game today after a monster season at Clovis, holds the all-time NCAA record for consecutive games with a HR at 9.
  Milwaukee has hired former Jose Ruiz with a 3-year contract. Ruiz was in Ohio as their Bench coach back in the early 90's (92-95) where they made the playoffs every season. The Hawks hired him away to manage their club in 1996 and 1997 before firing him. He managed San Diego in 2000 (65-97) and hasn't had a coaching job since.

AL POTW - Chris Wright (LV) 13-25 HR 5 RBI (.251-20-58)
NL POTW – Josh Gillian (PIT) 8-20 4 HR 10 RBI (.255-16-61

RECORD: (75-72)
PLACE: 3rd 11 GB (4 GB WC)
RUNS SCORED: 644 10th
RUNS GIVEN UP: 649 8th
DEFENSE: .704 7th
OWNER MOOD: Undecided
POWER RANKINGS:
1) Los Angeles
2) Alaska
3) Pittsburgh
4) Detroit
5) Las Vegas
….
12) Florida (+1)

[gehrig38]

SUBJECT: WEEK NOTES
SCHEDULE:
OFF DAY
3 @ Chicago
3 @ Minnesota

RESULTS:

• 9/10: OFF DAY
• 9/11: CHI 18 FLA 5 Samvdio L (9-9 4.38) 6 ER 5 IP Broomhall 6 ER 0.2 IP Mendoza 4 ER 0.1 IP
• Eric Mitchell 3-3 2B (19) HR (33) 3 R 5 RBI (99) Former Tarpon Jim Shelley 1-5 HR (3) 3 RBI (11) hitting .162-3-11 since being dealt. RJ Stanton W (13-10 3.42) 7.1 IP 9 K 3 ER
• LA clinched the NL West.
• 9/12: CHI 3 FLA 2 Raita Yamada W (8-4 3.43) 8 IP 9 K 4 H 0 BB 1 ER Knightner SV (34) Takanibu Nakagawa 3-4 HR (8) 3 RBI (36)
• Camp CG L (7-6) 8 IP 5 H 3 ER
• Former Tarpon Ted Barlow tossed a 2-hitter striking out 8 in a 4-0 win over Alaska. He's 14-6 3.30
• Ryan Verdugo (SF), acquired from Minnesota earlier this year threw a 3-hitter and struck out 7 in a 4-0 win over San Diego. He's 6-6 3.89 since being dealt and 13-13 3.65 on the year
• 9/13: FLA 4 CHI 3 Pollock W (4-4 5.06) 7 IP 5 K 3 ER Galindo SV (9)
• Jake Grab has been activated off the DL and will move back into the closer's role
• Kevin Cephus (WAS) belted 3 HR's and drove in 5 in the Jets 21-0 rout of Austin
• Ohio's Luis Santillan hit his 500th career HR today in their 6-4 loss to Brooklyn. He's a career .275 hitter with 500 HRs and 1363 RBI's. A 10-time all-star, 3-time gold glove winner at 3B, 2-time silver slugger winner and a World champion (2002 with Detroit)
• Washington righty Geoff Philpott as diagnosed with a torn UCL and will undergo reconstructive surgery today. He'll be out at least 10 months. He was 12-11 4.07 this year.
• Here it comes. 3 games against Minnesota. They hold down the 2nd WC position, 2 up on Chicago who we just got screwed by, dropping 2 out of 3.
• 9/14: MIN 7 FLA 6 Galindo L (8-8) gives up 8th inning HR to Jared Lews (13). Willoughby ND 7 IP 7 H 4 BB 4 ER Saldana 3-4 3B (3) RBI (78)
• Juan Garza 3-4 2B (33) 2 R 2 RBI (60)
• Alaska and Las Vegas are now tied atop the West and Chicago got a shutout from Sergio Orozco to go 4 up on us and stay 2 in back of the Huskies.
• 9/15: FLA 6 MIN 1 Chase CG (14-9 3.41) 7 H 3 K 1 ER Hayashi (23) Foggie (17) homer Harris 3-4 R
• Former Tarpon Guancolo Bzios L (1-5 3.44) 6 IP 6 K 3 ER
• Ohio clinched the AL Central and Vegas clinched a berth in the postseason. Chicago is 1 back of Minnesota and we are now 5 GB with 10 to play.
• 9/16: MIN 10 FLA 9 Crushing loss. Grab serves up a PH bases-loaded GW 2B with a 9-7 lead. Eric Arcuri 3-4 2 2B (3) 3B (2) 4 R 2 RBI (18)
• Saldana 3-5 HR (29) 2 RBI (80) Coyle 2-4 2B (8) 2 R 2 RBI (8) BB

AL POTW - Ian Chaffee (LV) 10-25 6 HR 9 RBI (.326-36-84)
NL POTW – Juan Burruel (WAS) 15-29 3 HR 7 RBI 10 R (.205-21-92)

RECORD:
PLACE:
RUNS SCORED:
RUNS GIVEN UP:
DEFENSE:
OWNER MOOD:
POWER RANKINGS:
1) Los Angeles
2) Las Vegas
3) Ohio
4) Detroit
5) Pittsburgh
…..
15) Florida (-2)

[gehrig38]

SUBJECT: WEEK 25 NOTES
SCHEDULE:
3 vs Brooklyn (18)
3 @ New York (26)
OFF DAY

RESULTS:

• 9/17: FLA 6 BRK 3 Camp W (8-6 4.32) 7 IP 5 K 3 ER Grab SV (29) Mendoza 3B (2) 3 RBI (52)
• Detroit clinched the Division today and Alaska clinched at least a WC berth.
• Minnesota and Chicago are tied for the 2nd AL WC spot, we are 5 back with 8 to play.
• Pittsburgh is 4 up on Washington, KC is 1 up on Texas and San Fran and Washington are tied for the wild card with Texas 4 back and New England 5
• 9/18: BRK 6 FLA 3 headed into the 8th up 3-2. Pollock ND 7 IP 9 K 2 ER Galindo serves up game-tying homer and Grab loses (8-8) while not recording an out. 2 H BB HR 3 ER Saldana solo HR (30)
• Jared Reilly 3-4 2 2B (24) HR (13) 3 RBI (60)
• Miners clinched at least a tie.
• We are 6 GB with 7 to play.
• 9/19: FLA 4 BRK 1 Willoughby CG 4 hitter (6-1 3.58) 7 K 1 ER Saldana 3-4 2B (11) 2 HR (32) 3 R 3 RBI (84)
• Knuckleballer Robbie Givens was promoted to AAA and in the semifinals tossed 8 innings of 1 run ball in a 2-1 win over Ann Arbor.
• 9/20: NY 6 FLA 5 (15) Josh Klatt's 15th inning HR (1) ruined when Galindo and Turner (1-4 BS 4) give up 2 walks 3 hits and 2 runs in the bottom half. Naclerio comes in the 5th and throws 6.1 innings of 1 hit 5 K ball.
• Another devastating loss. This one eliminates us from the postseason.
• Alaska is 1 up on Vegas. Chicago is 1 up on Minnesota for the last WC spot. KC leads Texas by 1 game in the NL Central and the Jets have a 2 game lead on New England and 3 games over Texas for the final wild card.
• 9/21: FLA 6 NY 1 Samvdio CG 6 H 10 K (10-9 4.42) Trumble 3-4 R Barranco 3-5 2B (25) 2 R RBI (61)
• RJ Stanton closes the regular season in style. Punching out 13 in a no-hitter and beating Denver 4-0. The win keeps Chicago 1 game up on Minnesota for the 2nd wild-card spot.
• Alaska and Las Vegas are tied in the west.
• The Kodiaks finish with Ohio while Vegas entertains Minnesota in the seasons final series'.
• KC moves to 2 up with 4 to play on Texas in the NL Central and the Jets remain 2 up on New England in the WC race. Frisco clinched the top spot today.
• The Mike's propelled Alamogordo today. Stapp went 2-4 with 2 3 run homers and Lyon went 4-4 2B 2 HR 4 R and 3 RBI while Dave Weller was 2-4 3B and 2 RBI
• 9/22: FLA 4 NY 1 Camp W (9-6 4.18) 7 IP 10 H 3 K 1 ER Grab SV (30)
• Well, we 'clinched' a .500 season.....
• Denver veteran Pat Thompson won his 200th career game today. He's 200-151 4.22 during his 16-year career and has won 2 world titles (2002-03 Detroit)
• Chicago loses and the Huskies win. 2nd WC spot now tied with 3 to play.
• Texas wins to move within 1 of Kansas City in the NL Central. Washington, New England and Texas all win, so the WC remains unchanged.
• 9/23: OFF DAY
• Hobbs scored twice in the 10th and gave up 2, and then scored 2 more in the 11th to move onto the Short Season championship

AL POTW - Eric Hecht (MEM) 11-25 5 HR 11 RBI (.338-48-124)
NL POTW – Rob Anderson (POR) 11-28 4 HR 9 RBI (.329-40-110)

RECORD: 4-2 (81-78)
PLACE: 3rd ELIM
RUNS SCORED:
RUNS GIVEN UP:
DEFENSE:
OWNER MOOD:
POWER RANKINGS:
1) Ohio
2) Los Angeles
3) Detroit
4) Las Vegas
5) New England
…..
12) Florida

[gehrig38]

SUBJECT: WEEK 26 NOTES
SCHEDULE:
3 vs Denver
PLAYOFFS BEGIN

RESULTS:

• 9/24: DEN 8 FLA 4 Zaire Stimage 3-5 2B (21) HR (35) 4 RBI (81) Winton Alward 5 IP 3 HR 4 ER ND Reese SV (29)
• Pollock L (4-5 5.01) 6.1 IP 6 K 9 H 5 ER 5 run 7th Coyle (4) Mendoza (16) Saldana (33) homer
• 31-year-old Chris Davidson tossed a no-hitter in a 4-0 win over Austin today. He struck out 7 and walked 2. He ends the year 12-10 1 SV 3.46 ERA
• Vegas wins, Kodiaks lose, Aces up 1 with 2 to play in the AL West
• Chicago wins and Minnesota loses so Hitmen up 1 in AL WC.
• Tex wins and KC loses and is now tied in the NL Central. Only one will make the post-season.
• New England and Washington both won so the Jets still lead by 2. Minutemen are 9-1 in their last 10 with the Jets going 4-6
• 9/25: FLA 6 DEN 2 Willoughby W (7-1 3.49) 7 IP 3 H 9 K 2 ER Foggie HR (18) 2 RBI (48) Gilmore HR (13) 2 RBI (32)
• Milwaukee beats Chicago on Tyshawn Ogarro's 3-3 3 HR day, 10-4. Chicago remains 1 up as Minnesota also lost.
• Vegas and Alaska both win. Kodiaks down 1 going into the final day.
• KC and Texas both win too, they are tied heading into the final day.
• New England wins again, the Jets lose so its Washington +1 heading into the seasons final game.
• 9/26: FLA 4 DEN 3 Chase ND 7 IP 8 H 6 K 3 ER Galindo W (9-8) Grab SV (31) Hayashi 2 HR (25) 4 RBI (80)
• Vegas clinches the West, Alaska takes the 1st WC spot. Chicago wins to take the 2nd.
• KC and Texas both lose and will play 1 game tomorrow for NL Central title.
• And in a stunning turn, New England wins and the Jets lose to end up tied. They have a 1 game play-in tomorrow.

Play in games before the play in games!
New England completes an insane final week when Pat Strickler tossed a 5-hit CG shutout in a 5-0 win to take the 2nd and final WC spot. Texas gets a 4-5 3 RBI day and 7.1 scoreless innings that allows Sean Cockley to win his 20th (20-8 3.10) and allows the Cowboys to take the NL Central.

[gehrig38]

Eric Hecht (MEM) .339 and Guiomar Cortezo .353 take home the league batting titles.
That's a former Tarpon in 2nd place in the NL in Saves. Also 2nd in the AL in wins.



New England has the play-in-game tomorrow but don't sleep on the fact they picked up 7 games in the final 10, going 9-1 to Washingtons 2-8.

• AL PLAYER OF THE MONTH - Eric Hecht (MEM) .348-9-26 (.339-48-126)
• NL PLAYER OF THE MONTH – Josh Gilliand (PIT) .397-9-27 (.270-21-78)
• AL PITCHER OF THE MONTH – Ted Barlow (DET) 5-0 1.84 (17-6 3.11)
• NL PITCHER OF THE MONTH – Sean Cockley 5-1 1.36 (20-8 3.10)
• AL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH – Layne Cosman (OH) .300-6-12 (.245-24-64)
• NL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH – Kevin Cephus (WAS) .318-7-13 (.243-28-78)

RECORD: 2-1 (83-79)
PLACE: 3rd 16 GB
RUNS SCORED: 718 9th
RUNS GIVEN UP: 722 t-8th
DEFENSE: .704 7th
OWNER MOOD: worried

[gehrig38]

WILD CARD PLAY IN GAMES
Chicago (Stanton 15-10 3.35) @ Alaska (Walker 16-8 2.93)

• Maxence Brum (CHI) struggled all year long, hitting .219-18-56 following 2006 when he hit 37 HR and drove in 92. But he mended all those fences today when he hit a game-winning walk-off HR in the bottom of the 9th off Chicago closer Shemar Knightner. Neither starter got to the 7th
• Alaska will face Ohio in the ALDS and Vegas will face Detroit.

In other news, Alamogordo defeated Carson City 3 games to 1 to take home the AAA Title. Manager Tim Bogar was named AAA manager of the year
Hobbs defeated the Idaho Falls Ghostriders to take home the short season league title.

New England (Hurtado 16-10 2.76) @ San Francisco (Verdugo 14-14 3.70)

• History repeats itself. Juan Magna drilled a 1 out 2 strike solo home run and San Francisco walked it off in beating New England 5-4 in 10. Former Tarpon Juan Madrid threw 3 scoreless innings to get the win.
• San Francisco faces LA in the NLDS while Texas and Pittsburgh are the other series.

NEWS
Storm 2B Toshiyoshi Fujii suffered a setback from his back injury and is going to be out an additional 1-2 weeks. He'll miss LA's 1st round. He hit .295-20-94 this year

[gehrig38]

DIVISION SERIES

• Ohio defeats Chicago 3-1 Sergio Robles MVP 3 HR 9 RBI
• Detroit defeats Las Vegas 3-1 Naoaki Fuchigami MVP .471
• Los Angeles defeats San Francisco 3-1 Guiomar Cortezo MVP .333-3-5
• Texas defeats Pittsburgh 3-2 Sean Cockley MVP 2-0 0.56 16 IP 10 H 9 K

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

• Ohio defeats Detroit 4-1 but Detroit OF Loan Auffret takes home MVP honors .545-5-10
• Texa defeats LA 4-3 Kevin Manning wins the MVP 3 HR 6 RBI

2007 WORLD SERIES

• Someone is winning their 1st title. Ohio is in its first post season trip in 6 years and 9th overall. They have made 3 World Series trips, losing to Jacksonville in 1994, Pittsburgh in 1995 and Oklahoma in 2000. Texas is appearing in its 1st World Series.

• Ohio defeats Texas 4-2 and Joey Vertz takes home the World Series MVP. .364-2-9

[gehrig38]

• AL MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Sergio Robles (OH)
• NL MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Guiomar Cortezo (LA)
• AL SANDY KOUFAX AWARD - RJ Stanton (CHI)
• NL SANDY KOUFAX AWARD – Josh Daugherty (NE) 1st rookie in league history to win the award
• AL JACKIE ROBINSON AWARD – Ben Chase (STL) .295-41-110 (Saldana finished 2nd)
• NL JACKIE ROBINSON AWARD - Josh Daugherty (NE) 17-6 2.29
• AL MARIANO RIVERA AWARD – Danny Claus (OH)
• NL MARIANO RIVERA AWARD – Juan Madrid (SF) Ya, that one.

AL GOLD GLOVES/SILVER SLUGGERS

• P GG – Zaire Nibbs (CHI)
• C GG – Tyrese Sheridan (MIN)
• C SS – Giobbe Funicello (ALK) (7)
• 1B GG – Tyshawn Ogarro (MIL)
• 1B SS – Eric Hecht (MEM) (3)
• 2B GG – Jared Lewis (MIN)
• 2B SS – Jared Reilly (BRK)
• 3B GG – Nate Lazer (DET)
• 3B SS – Luis Santillan (OH) (3)
• SS GG – Elvis Andrus (CHI)
• SS SS – Andy Dominique (NY)
• LF GG – Layne Cosman (OH)
• LF SS – Ian Chaffee (LV) (2)
• CF GG – Sergio Robles (OH) (3)
• CF SS – Sergio Robles (OH)
• RF GG – Luis Romero (MIN)
• RF SS – Domenic Loetzsch (LV) (6)
• DH SS – Braedon Newbury (MIL)

NL GOLD GLOVES/SILVER SLUGGERS

• P GG – Dwain Milazzo (LA) (4)
• C GG – Kennan McGaughey (TEX)
• C SS – Mike Paul (SF) (2)
• 1B GG – Gene Keller (SAN)
• 1B SS – Guiomar Cortezo (LA) (2)
• 2B GG – Luis Silva (NE)
• 2B SS – Rob Anderson (POR) (4)
• 3B GG – Luis Castaneda (KC)
• 3B SS – Jarod Bodkin (PIT)
• SS GG – Troy Tulowitzki (NE) (2)
• SS SS – Luis Andrade (PIT)
• LF GG - Mike McMillen (NE)
• LF SS – Kevin Manning (TEX)
• CF GG – Tim Taylor (LA) (2)
• CF SS – Tim Taylor (LA) (2)
• RF GG – Michiyo Fujimoto (JAX)
• RF SS – Juan Mercado (SF) (7)
• DH SS – Chris Beard (SAN) (3)

Both leagues CF sweep, Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers

[gehrig38]

10/28 HIRINGS AND FIRINGS

• St Louis has once again made a front office change. One year after he was hired GM Jorge Colon was fired today. They also cleaned house on the big league staff.
• They fired Mgr Mike Griffin 1 year to the day he was hired.
• They fired pitching coach Taju Tejada
• They did not renew the contracts of hitting coach Heihachiro Kobayashi and bench coach Mike O'Berry
• Milwaukee fired Manager Joe Girardi after 17 years in the ABA. He left for a year in 1995 to manage the Hawks and returned in 1996. Winner of 4 consecutive Manager of the year awards (2002-05) he leaves with a lifetime .521 winning percentage.
• The Jets then promoted bench coach Ron Washington and gave him a 2-year deal. Washington managed the Portland Lancers after 9 years as a bench coach in LA, Alaska, and Portland. He's been on 1 world championship club (1993 LA)
• Kansas City fired manager John Hale and signed bench coach Ned Yost to a 1-year deal to manage the club in 2008. They also did not renew the contract of hitting coach Josh Bard.
• The Austin Colts fired GM Bob Gorinski. No replacement has been named.

SALARY ARBITRATION
I have 15 players eligible for arbitration. I am tendering all and the only one of concern is Mike Haupt. He's got a 4.49 offer but I have lowered that to 4.25. He had, for his salary, a bad season. I am assuming he's going to ask 5.5 or something in that neighborhood.
I have exactly zero pending free agents who are comp eligible.

INTERNATIONAL MARKET
I should update you all on where I landed here. Once I exceeded the cap I got aggressive to the point I will have no impact or ability with this year's crop.
I managed to sign 16-year-old superstar free agent Rodolfo Rojas. He entered the market seeking 4.5 million and after I had surpassed my cap I watched and waited. No one touched him all summer, and much of that, in my opinion, was a combo of things. His asking price and questions around his work ethic. Early in September I sent his agent an offer of 1.38 million and was shocked to get a call back in agreement to the deal.
Our scouts have told me that he legitimately has 60 home run power potential and the ability to hit .350 as well as work an OBP far north of .400. He will work at the complex for at least the next 6 months, and we'll see where he is come February. He's actually ready to play rookie ball right now in my opinion.
He may be a kid I dangle at some point if the off the field stuff rears its ugly head. Anyone with the nickname “Sweet Lettuce” is someone I think needs to have eyes on him

RUMORS SWIRLING OUT OF MIAMI
League sources have told us that there is a discussion involving prized pitching prospect Juan Portio and 1B Juan Barranco and one other player off the Tarpon 25 man roster in a possible package deal. We were unable to confirm anything about the potential trading partner or talent potentially coming back. In addition to being ranked as a top pitching prospect, Portio was the first player signed in the franchise's history. Someone close to GM Gehrig Schilling has remarked that “any deal involving that kid is going to be a monster”

11/4 FLORIDA INKS BERGESEN
I non-tendered PC Ismael Guerra after the season. I didn't like what I was hearing about his relationships with both his pitchers and staff. I managed to snag former Kodiak PC Brad Bergeson and he agreed to a 4-year deal. He's got a great reputation around the league and his forte is power pitchers which is right up my alley. In his 6 years in Alaska, his staff made the postseason 5 times.

11/6 MORA, TARPONS AGREE TO 4 MORE YEARS
Florida Tarpon head scout Luis Mora has agreed to a 4-year extension to remain the head of the Tarpons scouting department. “Luis has managed to develop the games top minor league organization and I think his best work is still ahead. This deal is a win-win in every sense of the word” Florida GM Gehrig Schilling stated.

• 11/9 OHIO'S MATTINGLY AND LA'S THOMSEN TAKE HOME CASEY STENGAL AWARDS
• 46 year old Generals manager Don Mattingly took home the AL's award for best manager, his 1st, and Los Angeles's Tim Thomsen also won his career first as the NL's top manager.

ARBITRATION RESULTS
Eric Borrows asked 272,00 offered 240,000 team win
Luis Samvdio agreed to terms a few hours before his hearing on a 1 year 750,000 deal
Brad Turner asked 320,000 offered 220,000 team win
Mike Haupt asked 4.49 million offered 4.25 million player win
Seb Broomhall asked 290,560 offered 200, 000 team win
Mike Allen asked 821,500 offered 650,000 player win
Jon Harris asked 300,800 offered 220, 000 team win
Bobby Trumble asked 286,720 offered 200,000 team win
Josh Klatt asked 320,000 offered 220,000 team win
Jon Naclerio asked 320,000 offered 220,000 player win
Geoff Gilmore asked 320,000 offered 192,000 team win
Juan Barranco asked 462,500 offered 425,500 team win
Jeff Phares asked 320,000 offered 192,000 team win
Jake Grab asked 314,880 offered 200,000 team win
Jorge Longoria asked 305,920 offered 200,000 team win

So we went 11-3 overall.

FREE AGENCY BEGINS
The big news came out of Japan where superstar Royouya Sugai declared free agency. It lasted about 20 minutes as the Texas Cowboys held a press conference to announce the singing of the 28-year-old 2B to a 5 year 34.5 million dollar contract. He was a 4-time all-star, 4-time silver slugger, and 6-time gold glove winner on Japan. Led their league in hits 3 times, 3B 3 times SB 5 times won 3 batting titles and led the league in OBP 3 separate times as well.

• 11/21 Buffalo signs OF Harland Legge 6 years 22 million
• 11/26 New England snagged former Nippon Baseball league superstar Jonathan Huber and signed him to a 5 year 21 million dollar deal. The 32-year-old is a 5 time MVP, 9 time all star 9-time silver slugger and took home a staggering 34 POTW awards and 29 POTM awards. He won 7 HR titles including the last 5, 5 RBI titles including the last 2, and a batting title. His career slash line .305/.463/.704 with 426 HR and 1086 RBI's in just 1153 games. He has no defensive options so he'll DH but he brings an immediate 50+ HR presence to the Minuteman lineup.

[gehrig38]

I'm sort of in a trance as I look up and down the roster. Rob Anderson is the premier name on the market and he's a 2B which would be a great fit. But I have no chance of coming close to this ask of 8 years with an AAV of 7.5 million.
I look at the pitching and it screams 'patience!'. Willoughby (26) Pollock (24) Samvdio (25) are the anchors and future. Broomhall (26) likely goes into that group as well. Camp (33) Chase (28) are guys I am desperate to move for the right price. Southorn is a ways off if he can reign in his control.
Mendelson is a good 2 years off, but he'll be worth the wait. He had an awesome season. Tristan Ellison will miss all of the 2008 seasons as he rehabs from elbow reconstruction, so I can't put him in any mix looking ahead. Juan Portio has drawn interest this winter. He's at least 2-3 years off if everything goes right.
Another wild card in this mix is Arturo Mendoza. He's almost ready now at the plate, to play in the ABA. His mound work is still a good ways off. Maybe a 2008 call-up? I don't know but he's not ready.
In a perfect world, I open next year with Chase, Willoughby, Pollock, Samvdio, and Broomhall. That means moving Camp, which I think I can, possibly at the winter meetings.
My late season realization of the complete lack of any depth in CF was a wake-up call. I have some great prospects but none are above A ball as far as I am concerned.
Juan Barranco isn't going to hold on. He cannot play 1st and he is not going to hit enough to DH. That leaves me with Foggie/Stapp 1B, Harris, Borrows and Trumble in the infield. Stapp is not much of an option at 1st given his poor defensive resume. Trumble is an elite, gold glove caliber shortstop. But all of these guys I would upgrade given a chance.
Some wild cards in next years mix are Harland Daig. He hit .393/.419/.613 in 40 games at AA after being traded. If he can get his bat going in AAA or have a big spring he presents immense flexibility with elite defense at 2B, SS and 3B. He's also a 50+ steal guy.
Our outfield is 'set' as far as I am concerned. Saldana in left, Haupt in center and Hayashi in right. All three are left-handed hitters who hammer RHP with Haupt the only one that hits even close to that vs LHP. That means I need my other 2 OF to be RHH that crush LHP and can cover all three OF positions.
That means Chad Coyle is expendable as an LHH corner OF who cannot hit LHP.
Geoff Gilmore is a below average defender at the corners but an RHH who can hit left and right-handed pitching.
Tomiji Takamoto is an RHH right fielder. He can't play anywhere else with any confidence.
So in summation, I have 3 outfielders and 3 guys I can trade. I need to get back 2 RH outfielders who can cover all three spots and hit left-handed pitching. I'd love to get a slick fielding 1B too.
Ideally, I could swap Gilmore for another RHH who is equal to or near him as an offensive player but plays more than 1 outfield position at least average, preferably above.


11/28 FLORIDA TRADES GILMORE TO MILWAUKEE FOR RENOVATO
The Tarpons and Hawks pulled the trigger today on a deal that will see 28 year old Geoff Gilmore and 15,000 in cash head to Milwaukee in exchange for 27 year old OF Juan Renovato. Milwaukee will retain a portion of Renovato's contract.
Gilmore is a career .247 hitter with 34 HR's and 90 RBI's in 204 games.
Renovato has hit .258 with 4 HR's and 29 RBI's in 85 ABA games.

GM'S OFFICE
Veteran readers might remember Renovato. We signed him as a minor league free agent in 2004 and dealt him to Milwaukee for SS Jeremy Crimi and OF Sean Bowden.
Washington then took him in the 2005 Rule 5 draft but returned him in April of that year.
Renovato has no power to speak of but he can hit and he hits righties as well as lefties. He's a burner, he plays the corners above average and can fill in in center in a pinch and he's right handed. He also is a hard ass worker.

[gehrig38]

11/28 FLORIDA-BUFFALO TRADE: LYON FOR BERNAL
Gehrig Schilling, general manager of the Florida Tarpons has announced a deal in which the Tarpons will acquire 24 year old OF Ernesto Bernal, the Nickels 2nd and 3rd round draft choices in the 2008 amateur draft, and 290,000 in cash. To complete the deal Florida sends 24-year old C prospect Mike Lyon, 21-year old C prospect Issui Takata and top P prospect Juan Portio to Buffalo.

GM'S OFFICE
Trading Portio was painful. He's going to be very good, potential ace material. But that's 3-4 years from now. Bernal is a right-handed hitting outfielder who can seriously win a gold glove at any position out there. He is rated as the leagues fastest and best baserunner. He can work the count, but his bat right now isn't something to get excited about. He was signed by Ohio as an international free agent in 1999 and Buffalo took him in the 2006 rule 5 draft. Portio became part of the deal when the picks came into play. We have no 4th-6th round picks but now we have pick 15, 36, 46 and 54, 67 and 76 in the first 3 rounds. Which means we will have 6 players after 6 rounds anyway and 6 of the top 76 picks overall. It was a very steep price to pay, but the scouts and our draft will make it worth it.
The under the radar piece here is the value in those 6 picks. I could now feasibly trade 3 picks and still have 4 players in the 1st 3 rounds as I have a comp pick in this years 2nd round.

[gehrig38]

12/4 St Louis signed former Portland Lancer Zach Hogue to a 2 year 4.36 million dollar deal. The 30-year-old slugger is a career .296/.379/.551 hitter in 730 games, all with Portland. He's hit 187 home runs and driven in 537. He left for Japan after the 2006 season and it turned into a nightmare experience apparently. His 5-year career saw him average 41 HR and 119 RBI's per season so the deal is extremely club-friendly since the 2nd year is a vesting option at 550 at bats.

12/5 Vegas manages to ink 29-year-old lefthander Jin-Hyun Noh to a 4 year 14.96 million dollar deal. A 2-time most valuable pitcher in the Korean League he comes here with an 89-60 3.20-lifetime record in 314 games, 170 starts. He has struck out 1312 to just 246 walks in 1217 IP for a career K/BB ratio of 5.33 to 1.

[gehrig38]

12/7 WINTER MEETINGS OPEN WITH RUMORS SWIRLING AROUND 2007 NL MVP GUIOMAR CORTEZO
The 2007 winter meetings kicked off today and they did so with a bang. Rumors are flying that the Los Angeles Storm are talking with 3 different clubs about a possible trade involving their 26-year-old 1B Guiomar Cortezo. Cortezo took home the NL MVP honors this past year when he hit .353-29-117 to win his 1st batting title. He led the NL in PA, R, H, RBI, AVG, OBP and OPS. He added 32 doubles 12 triples and 28 stolen bases to those numbers while registering a career-high 6.6 WAR.
LA is rumored to be after ABA ready starting pitching and more.
Sources close to the team say that Cortezo and 2007 NL Manager of the Year Tim Thomsen are not on the same page and haven't spoken since the All-Star break.
Owner Chris Darnell has made it clear he expects the 2008 version of the Storm to be contenders. We are not sure how potentially trading away the leagues best player accomplishes that unless you get an enormous haul in return.
Cortezo signed a 4 year 12.44 million dollar deal prior to the 2007 season and is set to earn 2.84 million in 2008 and 3.88 million in both 2009 and 2010.


DOMINICAN FREE AGENT ALATORRE IN TALKS WITH 4
Las Vegas, Detroit, New York, and Florida are said to be the 4 teams currently in talks with free agent left-hander Juan Alatorre. The 28-year-old is said to be very interested in remaining on the east coast and many have said that Florida definitely has “home field advantage” in ongoing discussions.

[gehrig38]

LANDMARK DEAL SENDS NATIONAL LEAGUE MVP PACKING
Someone earlier in the week had mentioned the 'haul' Los Angeles might get if a trade for 2007 NL MVP came to fruition. Florida Tarpon GM Gehrig Schilling was apparently the GM willing to give the Storm a 'truckload'.
Starting Pitchers Jace Camp, Jeff Chase, OF Tomiji Takimoto and 1B/DH's Juan Barranco and Mike Stapp were sent to Los Angeles along with the 2008 2nd round pick acquired earlier this winter and the 7th pick. 2007 NL MVP Guiomar Cortezo and 740,000 in cash were sent Florida's way.

GM'S OFFICE
This was a deal I did NOT initiate. Cortezo was put on the table by Storm GM Andy Viazo. My initial thought was there would be far too much in the way of talent needing to head back that I could not 'afford' the price tag. LA, beyond Cortezo has, well had, zero 1B prospects in the pipeline although I don't think it's a position you generally need to “fill” with prospects. My initial offer of Barranco and Stapp was laughed at. I don't think Andy was thinking I was serious. Instead of piece mealing the rest I put Camp and Chase on table as my 2nd offer.
Things turned serious from then on. We had as many as 9 names and picks and money and kitchen sinks in various iterations of the deal. Takimoto and the pick were the 7th phase of discussions in which we took some names off the table too. In the end the cash helped cover us for now and the picks sealed the deal. We have done much of our winter checklist and the meetings aren't even over. There was enough there in the way of other names that we may be back at the podium soon if we can iron out a few things.
Clearly changes the complexion of the team and certainly the lineup. We could have Haupt, Saldana, Cortezo and Hayashi as four of our first five bats vs RHP. We were just a game over .500 last year vs RHP.

[gehrig38]

TARPONS SEND COYLE TO PHOENIX
OF Jeff Coyle was dealt to the Phoenix Roadrunners today for IF prospect Teagan Meloche and C prospect Joey Scalzi. Coyle has a monster year in AAA hitting .296/.432/.540 with 28 HR and 114 RBI in 136 games. Florida has been shopping Coyle since the end of the season as they try to pare down the glut of left-handed hitting outfielders on their ABA roster.

TARPONS, STORM BACK AT IT, FOGGIE HEADS TO LA
The Florida Tarpons and Los Angeles Storm today announced another trade between the clubs. Utility man Ajani Foggie was dealt to LA, along with the Tarpons 3rd and 8th round pick in the 2008 draft and Florida received middle infielder Juan Guevara and C prospect Chris Schultz as well as the Storms 2nd round pick in the 2008 draft. The recent acquisition of NL MVP Guiomar Cortezo made Foggie's RH bat expendable and the Tarpons managed to get back a 2nd rounder (32nd) in the trade.
Guevara hit .312/.391/.409 in 119 AAA games last year then appeared in just 1 game after a September call-up. A right-handed bat who can man either 2B or SS as an above average defender.
Schultz is a 24-year-old catcher in the making. He moved there at the beginning of the season and will continue to progress as he starts the season in AA Clovis.

GM'S OFFICE
And then there were none. In the span of a week, I managed to offload every player I spoke earlier in the offseason about dealing. Looking at the roster now I love the composition. I dislike our depth behind the plate because beyond Mendoza is Ramirez and veteran Alan Benson who is a 4A type of player. Guevara goes on the 38 man roster but he'll open at Alamogordo. He needs at-bats and to be playing every day. Schulz will open in Clovis and catch every day and Joey Scalzi acquired earlier this winter will open at Farmington and catch every day. 1st rounder Eddie Ellerbee will start the year at Hobbs splitting time with Japanese C prospect Masayoshi Kikuchi.
I also found out through the grapevine that Dwaine Milazzo, LA's two-way star, will be getting more time at 1B this year. He was 18-8 3.14 and took home his 3rd gold glove as a pitcher. I say that because he is the only player in league history to win a gold glove on the mound AND in the field. He won the GG in 2004 at 1st Base. He's a career .231/.302/.397 hitter with 103 2B 14 3B 80 HR and 295 RBI in 674 games. On the mound, the 30-year-old is 82-63 1 SV 4.17 with 1161 K's in 1241 IP.

WINTER MEETINGS CLOSE BUT NOT BEFORE JETS WIN THE LOTTERY
The Washington Jets landed superstar Rob Anderson with a 7 year 49.32 million dollar deal. The 28-year-old Anderson was the 2006 NL MVP and is a 4-time all-star and silver slugger award winner. Apparently, there was an agreement between the parties and Anderson will move over to Shortstop for the Jets.

[gehrig38]

CF Mike Trout (97%) Danny Ruzzi (83.6%) and Eric Kivlen (76.4%) were all inducted into the ABA Hall of Fame.
Trout played 11 years making 11 all-star games winning 6 MVP's, Rookie of the Year, 11 Silver Sluggers and one world series title. He gets in with the highest vote total ever. He goes in as a Pittsburgh Miner where he spent 8 of his 11 years. He hit .287/.422/.610 over 1734 games with 569 HR's (tied for 5th all-time with Josh Ortero) and 1337 RBI's (13th all time).
Ruzzi spent 14 years in the ABA winning an MVP 9 silver slugger awards 3 postseason series MVP awards and 2 titles as well as 10 all-star appearances. He goes in the hall wearing the LA Storm hat. He hit .300/.422/.584 in 1845 games with 514 HR's (7th all-time behind Trout and Ortero) and 1424 RBI's (11th all time).
Eric Kivlen goes in wearing a Memphis Blue Sox cap. He hit .284/.417/.575 in 1829 games with 460 home runs (14th all-time) and 1234 RBI's (18th all time). And was a 9-time all-star, 2 time MVP, and 6-time silver slugger award winner.

[gehrig38]

ALATORRE TO PLAY NEAR “HOME”. FLORIDA SIGNS FREE AGENT PITCHER
28-year-old free agent pitcher Juan Alatorre has agreed to a 5 year 17.375 million dollar free agent contract. Florida outbid the Washington Jets, Los Angeles Storm, Las Vegas Aces and Detroit Phantom for the pitcher's services with the final decision apparently being geographically motivated. Juan brings a changeup rated as one of the leagues best, a very good curveball and a heavy fastball that sits in the 93-95 range.

GM'S OFFICE
This was a huge win. Our 2008 payroll sits at 19.976 million, 22nd in the league but close to 3 million more than I had planned.
Marketing has increased our ticket prices by 15% but this winter movement has generated a 30% increase in season ticket sales to date.
This is a huge piece of the puzzle for 2008 and moving forward. A veteran arm who I think will give us 200+ quality innings.
I love where this team is now. I feel like my 'helter-skelter' approach to acquiring talent is passed, and now each trade I am far more focused in a player(s) that specifically fill a hole or increase productivity in a needed role.

TARPONS CONTINUE FACELIFT, ACQUIRE MISSIONS HALLAMORE
Florida Tarpon General Manager Gehrig Schilling continued his roster overhaul today. Adding the game's top SS prospect in San Diego's Kennan Hallamore for a bevy of players including two top prospects. Headed to San Diego is 2B Jon Harris, SS Bobby Trumble, 18-year-old SS prospect Satoshi Kumagi, 23-year-old IF prospect Harland Bolduc and top P prospect, Tristan Ellison. San Diego also received Floridas 3rd round pick in the 2008 draft.
Hallamore went into last season as the 5th best prospect in the game and at 21 he is already challenging for a gold glove and many project him anywhere from a 50+ steal leadoff hitter to a .330+ 3 hole hitter. He signed out of Canada in 2004 and quickly shot up the prospect rankings.
San Diego took in a load of talent. Ellison is the ABA's 23rd ranked prospect but will miss the 2008 season after having elbow reconstruction late last year. Kumagai is the 80th ranked prospect and just 18 years old. A top-flight shortstop who many think will be a perennial all-star. The Tarpons sent their 2007 everyday 2B in Jon Harris as well as one of the games better defensive shortstops to San Diego in Bobby Trumble. Also heading west is IF prospect Harland Bolduc.

GM'S OFFICE
This was a blindside. San Diego came asking about Mendelson. I looked around and saw Hallamore as 'available' and sparked up a conversation. Another deal that took almost a week of back and forth. While it was not intentional, the overstacking I had done throughout the organization in middle infielders, 1B/DH types and the extra picks I had acquired all turned into what feels like a team I genuinely identify with. We will start just one player considered average or near average defensively with a slew of defenders that will contend for defensive awards. With Turner and Hallamore and Mike Haupt in center I would put this up the middle trio against any in the game. 3B will sort itself out but a dark horse in the mix could be Arturo Mendoza if he hits at all this spring.


2008 WINTER OF MOVES

Rather than break each one down again I'll give you a visual of my winter. I sent 16 players packing, 2 SP and 3 Everyday regulars, 5 draft picks and 295,000 in cash and received 8 players, a minimum of 2 who will start and play every day, 3 draft picks and 1.030 million in cash.
I traded 4 ranked prospects, including 2 in the top 50, and received 1 ranked in return. Both Cortezo and Hallamore were highly ranked but their no longer rookies.
We sent LA a total of 6 players, all 6 38 man rostered, and 4 draft picks



The 2 SP spots will be filled with 1 free agent signing already made and 1 young pitcher. The 1B and SS positions will be filled with the 2-star players I dealt for and the third everyday spot will be occupied by a mix of the players I got in return as well as 1-2 from the current roster.

[gehrig38]

Another anemic year for offenses? Man these numbers look horrid. But far more troubling to me is us being predicted to be 8 games UNDER .500? How on earth? Heads will roll if 2008 ends up anywhere near that. If that happens quite honestly I have to completely reassess how I put a club together.
Looking at the offensive predictions and I see my new young star there but if he hits .297 I'm choking someone out.
Anyone want to help Chicago with their pitching? Holy crap. That's an insane 3/5ths of a rotation right there.
Chicago and Detroit predicted to dominate and Denver's aggressive winter convinced the prognosticators.



Got the entire range of races. Dogfight in the East, 2 team race in the central and the west a one horse race?
I don't see the central heading that way. In the East maybe they all compete but Washington added some insane talent this winter.
I don't think I'll be surprised to seet the West a 1 or 2 team division again but I don't see Frisco as just 4 games over .500. I do think LA is going to be that good.