Cards

Strat-O-Matic is now taking orders for the new cards. The DVs and Pigs both ordered theirs today. Version 12.0 Upgrade, Cards & Card Image. $58.75 plus shipping. If you haven't ordered yours yet... get 'er done!

2007 Draft Order

1. Nads
2. Killer Bees
3. Wahoos
4. DVs
5. Oilers
6. Zaps
7. Rhinos
8. Drillers
9. Tweeners
10. Inmates
11. Mavs
12. Buckeyes
13. Warpigs
14. Sidewinders
15. FFTs
16. Fungoes

To my knowledge, there have been 8 draft slots traded:
The Buckeye 1st is owned by the Bees
The Warpig 1st is owned by the Wahoos
The Sidewinder 1st is owned by the Zaps
The Buckeye 2nd is owned by the Wahoos
The Buckeye 3rd is owned by the Wahoos
The Warpig 5th is owned by the Wahoos
The Wahoo 8th is owned by the Oilers (by way of the Warpigs)
The Oiler 8th is owned by the Nads

At the moment, every team has 2 taxi spots with these exceptions:
The Buckeyes have no taxi spots remaining
The Tweeners have 3 spots
The Wahoos have 3 spots
The Sidewinders have 3 spots (by virtue of winning the contest)

Email me at warpigsbaseball@yahoo.com for a draft order bracket.

Extra Taxi Spot

The Sidewinders won the contest for the extra taxi spot. This gives them 33 roster spots. The taxi spots are tradeable.

The final totals:

1. 436 Sidewinders
2. 434 Inmates
3. 423 Mavs
t4. 420 Nads
t4. 420 Zaps
6. 415 Tweeners
7. 410 Killer Bees
8. 409 Warpigs
9. 405 Rhinos
10. 403 FFTs
t11. 402 Drillers
t11. 402 Wahoos
13. 388 DVs
14. 384 Fungoes
15. 382 Oilers
16. 378 Buckeyes

E-mail me at warpigsbaseball@yahoo.com for a detailed account of the final results.

Fielding Ratings

Strat-O-Matic has posted the fielding ratings. Click here.

2007 Draft Plans

Well, I believe I have most all of the I's dotted, and T's crossed for our draft. Based on previous responses, all 16 managers will be present for the draft weekend March 9,10,11.

I have made our reservations at the LaQuinta in Arlington where we held this past years draft.

You will notice a major change from last year. All the old structures have been demolished, and a completely new LaQuinta has been constructed. Therefore, all our rooms will be brand spankin' new. I told them that we would do our best to keep things looking new. They will provide adequate trash cans, and I promised we would properly use them to dispose of any food and beverage containers, etc.

Our meeting room is the "Arlington Downs Room." We have the room all three days

(Friday, Saturday and Sunday). I will plan on arriving around noon on Friday to get the room opened up, etc. Also, I have requested that our sleeping rooms be adjacent to the meeting room, and LaQuinta will attempt to do so. That means that if our noise keeps anybody awake, it will be us, and not some other guests.

As far as costs, the meeting room is $100 per day plus tax and gratuity. The gratuity is for the cleaning folks to set up the room, as well as occasionally coming in and cleaning up trash, etc. This will make our meeting room cost $372.00. When divided by 16 that makes our individual cost $23.25.

The price for our sleeping rooms will be the same as last year, which is $89 plus tax per room per night. When tax is added the room cost per night is $102.35.

All rooms are reserved under the name of NASOMA. I will provide LaQuinta with a room list, which will be as follows:

(1) Glenn Wheeler and Clifton Collier.

(2) Herman Wheeler and Norman Wheeler.

(3) Derek Townsend and Jose Escobar.

(4) Terry Miller and Rick Lackey.

(5) Dave Hibbard and Steve Hart.

(6) Vincent Mullen and Philip Mullen.

(7) Garth Lewis and Bryan Reusser.

(8) Shawn Spears and Tristan Traviolia.

For managers flying in, it is not too early to begin checking on air fares and schedules. Since American Airlines now competes with Southwest in many markets, it is possible that air fares may be less costly than last year. Also, if Southwest has a lower fare, there would be no problem with using Southwest even though they come into Love Field as opposed to DFW. As you complete your airline reservations, please let us know the cost, flight number, and arrival time, so we can make plans to activate the NASOMA taxi services. Also, let Terry know your cost, so he can prepare a spread sheet showing how much money each person owes, or receives.

If you want to check out the LaQuinta on their web site, it is the one located at 825 N. Watson Road, Arlington, TX 76011.

Oiler Travel Agency

Trade

The FFTs trade Brady Clark to the Oilers for Shawn Green.

Trade

The DVs trade Alex Gordon, Nick Swisher, B.J. Upton, Cliff Lee, and Mike Wuertz to the Warpigs for Roger Clemens, Scot Shields, Ken Griffey, and Kiko Calero.

2007 NASOMA Draft Update

The head Oiler has asked me to tell you that the 2007 NASOMA Draft will be the weekend of March 9-11 in Arlington, Texas. It appears we may have all 16 owners there!

Promotional Taglines

Here are some early leaks on new promotional taglines for 2007...


Fungo Baseball! You woulda been better off coming last year!

FFTs! Putting the middle F in FFT for 28 years!

Warpig Baseball! Feel the Magic! Feel the Pork!

Be a Bee! Celebrate Mediocrity!

Drillerball! How did we do last year? No, seriously.

Buckeye Baseball! When you absolutely, positively have nothing else to do.

Zaps! Come out to the ballpark! Or don't.

Spend a night with the Inmates! Come late. Leave early. Get drunk. Throw up.

Rhino Baseball! Where even our fans don't know our record!

Oiler Baseball. Looking for excitement? Come to the ballpark instead!

Wahoo Baseball Nation! Our fan is the greatest in the world!

The Mavs! Slightly Better Than Average!

The Sidewinders: Goddammit! We still believe 2006 is our year!

The 2007 DiamondVision! Fight every natural instinct and come watch us play!

I'm a Tweener. He's a Tweener. Wouldn't you like to be a Tweener, too?

Nad Fever! Scratch it!

Looking Ahead...

According to their website, SOM will begin taking pre-orders for the 2006 Baseball Season cards on 12/21 (which usually means they'll start a day or two before that).

Any ideas or suggestions about where and when to draft? My first choice for Draft Weekend is whatever weekend is free for the Tweeners. After two years of being unable to attend, he needs to be there.

I wish this blogger was more user friendly for adding comments. Make yourself an ID and password and write it down.

All Hail the Fungoes!

The Fungoes are NASOMA Champions! They defeated the FFTs 4 games to 2 to win the Higdon Award.

In their 19th year in the league, the Fungoes advanced to their second World Series (and first in over a decade) and (finally) claimed their first title. "It was a 19-year plan executed to perfection as far as I'm concerned," said Fungo manager Dr. Derek Townsend. "I could have won many times before, but I'm glad I didn't because it makes this time so much more specialer." "In fact," he continued, "I don't think I will allow myself to win another championship for a long time so I can continue to savor this one."

The Fungoes got to the Series by defeating the Mavs in the first round and the Warpigs in the second round thanks mainly to cheating. Ryan Zimmerman, stolen out from under a more deserving manager in the first round of last year's draft, led the way along with Willy Aybar (taken with pick 147 in last year's draft - but obviously playing with a doctored card). Roy Halladay and Tim Wakefield pitched well in all three series, and the bullpen was magnificent. Especially combined with all the freakin' luck in the world! But I digress...

The FFTs were led to the series by Mariano Rivera and some guy named Aaron Small, who single-handedly defeated the weary Sidewinders. The Snakeman self-jinxiated himself by publicly claiming victory before the first dice were rolled. FFT manager Dr. Terry Miller said, "I knew we had him where we wanted him when I saw him continually writing 'Sidewinders NASOMA Champions' over and over on little slips of paper during game 1." Even after the series ended with a game 7 FFT triumph, the Snakeman was preparing to play the World Series and had to be lured away from the table with the promise of more beer before the real finalists could get started. Sidewinder owner Dr. Vince Mullen's only discernable comment was, "Well, at least it wasn't like last year where I was just lucky to extend the Inmates to a sixth game."

That night, we (Pigs, Fungoes, Snakeman, FFTs, Oilers, Mavs, and Dr. and Mrs. Buckeye) had great fun at the Mavericks/Grizzlies basketball game. The view was impressive, although it distracted us from the game somewhat. I can't believe she left early - I wasn't finished.

On the train ride home, Fungoman got to slip into fireman mode and stop a wayward youth from setting the train on fire. All in all, it was a great day to be a Fungo, bringing to mind the Fungo anthem:

Now Harry Walker is the one who manages this crew
He doesn't like it when we drink and fight and smoke and screw
But when we win our game each day
What the fuck can Harry say?
It makes a fellow proud to be a Fungo.

Congratulations Fungoes on your first Higdon. Remember, this means you have to get it engraved to give to the 2007 Champion (and Warpigs is one word).

Trade

The Buckeyes traded Brady Clark to the FFTs for Tony Graffanino.

World Series Results

The Fungoes defeated the FFTs 4 games to 2.

Game 1	1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9		R	H	E
FFTs	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	0	0		0	2	0
Fungoes	1	0	0		1	0	0		0	0	x		2	7	1
Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher							Save
Halladay 1-0	Martinez 0-1							Cotts 1st
Game 2	1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9		R	H	E
FFTs	1	0	1		0	0	0		0	1	0		3	9	0
Fungoes	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	0	0		0	2	0
Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher
Patterson 1-0	Wakefield 0-1
Game 3	1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9		R	H	E
Fungoes	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	0	0		0	3	0
FFTs	0	1	0		1	0	0		0	0	x		2	8	1
Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher							Save
Small 1-0	Chacin 0-1							Rivera 1st
Game 4	1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Fungoes	0	1	0		0	1	1		1	0	0	1	5	10	0
FFTs	0	0	0		2	2	0		0	0	0	0	4	8	0
Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher							Save
Crain 1-0	Rivera 0-1							Reyes 1st
Game 5	1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9		R	H	E
Fungoes	0	0	0		1	1	1		1	3	2		9	13	2
FFTs	0	0	2		0	0	0		0	0	0		2	5	1
Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher							Save
Wakefield 1-1	Shackelford 0-1							Crain 1st
Game 6	1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9		R	H	E
FFTs	0	0	0		4	0	0		0	0	0		4	7	0
Fungoes	3	1	0		3	0	0		0	0	x		7	9	1
Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher							Save
Crain 2-0	Seanez 0-1							Reyes 2nd

Second Round Results (cont)

The FFTs defeated the Sidewinders 4 games to 3.

Game 1	1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9		R	H	E
FFTs	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	1	0		1	6	0
Sidewinders	0	0	0		0	0	3		2	0	x		5	6	0
Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher							Save
Ryan 1-0	Shackelford 0-1							Rincon 1st
Game 2	1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9		R	H	E
FFTs	1	1	0		0	0	0		0	0	0		2	8	0
Sidewinders	2	0	0		2	0	0		0	1	x		5	8	0
Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher							Save
Peavy 1-0	Martinez 0-1							Rhodes 1st
Game 3	1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9		R	H	E
Sidewinders	0	0	0		0	0	1		0	0	0		1	6	0
FFTs	0	0	0		3	0	0		0	2	x		5	7	0
Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher							Save
Patterson 1-0	Zambrano 0-1							Rivera 1st
Game 4	1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9		R	H	E
Sidewinders	0	1	1		1	0	0		0	0	0		3	6	1
FFTs	0	0	0		1	0	0		1	2	x		4	7	0
Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher							Save
Shackelford 1-1	Rhodes 0-1							Rivera 2nd
Game 5	1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9		R	H	E
Sidewinders	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	1	1		2	5	0
FFTs	0	0	0		0	1	0		0	0	0		1	4	0
Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher
Ryan 2-0	Rivera 0-1
Game 6	1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9
FFTs	2	0	0		0	0	0		1	1	0
Sidewinders	0	0	0		0	3	0		0	0	1
Game 6 (cont)	10	11	12										R	H	E
FFTs	0	0	1										5	8	0
Sidewinders	0	0	0										4	6	0
Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher							Save
Rivera 1-1	Betancourt 0-1							Rodriguez 1st
Game 7	1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9		R	H	E
FFTs	3	0	2		0	0	0		0	0	0		5	6	0
Sidewinders	1	0	0		0	0	0		0	0	0		1	6	0
Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher
Small 1-0	Helling 0-1

Second Round Results

The Fungoes defeated the Warpigs 4 games to 1.

Game 1	1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9		R	H	E
Fungoes	0	0	1		0	2	0		0	2	0		5	8	1
Warpigs	0	0	1		0	0	1		0	0	0		2	2	0
Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher							Save
Wakefield 1-0	Clemens 0-1							Reyes 1st
Game 2	1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9		R	H	E
Fungoes	4	0	0		0	0	1		0	0	0		5	11	0
Warpigs	0	0	2		0	0	0		0	0	0		2	4	0
Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher							Save
Halladay 1-0	Lackey 0-1							Reyes 2nd
Game 3	1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9		R	H	E
Warpigs	0	1	0		0	0	0		0	0	0		1	8	1
Fungoes	0	3	0		0	0	1		3	0	x		7	14	0
Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher
Cotts 1-0	Hernandez 0-1
Game 4	1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9		R	H	E
Warpigs	0	0	0		1	0	0		0	0	0		1	6	0
Fungoes	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	0	0		0	3	1
Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher
Clemens 1-1	Wakefield 1-1
Game 5	1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9		R	H	E
Warpigs	0	0	0		0	2	0		0	0	0		2	6	0
Fungoes	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	3	x		3	4	0
Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher
Crain 1-0	Harden 0-1