Pineda to the Nads

The Warpigs traded Michael Pineda and pick 91 to the Nads for a reserve pick.

Picky Picky

The Wahoos traded pick 46 to the Nads for their 2019 2nd round pick.

Rasmus to the Sidewinders

The Killer Bees yanked Colby Rasmus off their cut list and sent him off to the Sidewinders for pick 92.

Rasmus was elated, to say the least. "I go from being cut by the effin' Bees to being fitted for a ring! Just like that! I had already signed up on Linkedin to try and start a new career, and now I get to take part in a champagne celebration next fall."

The Snakeman, however, tempered Rasmus' enthusiasm slightly when he commented, "Yeah, we got him fitted for a ring, but he has to actually make the club before he gets it. Oh, and it's a bourbon celebration."

Still More Picks

The DVs traded pick 92 to the Sidewinders for picks 112, 128, 144, and 160.

More Picks on the Move

The Fungoes traded their 2019 3rd round pick to the Inmates for picks 62 and 76.

Mavs Pick Up Another Reserve

The Inmates traded a reserve and pick 105 to the Mavs for pick 62.

Warpigs Acquire Asdrubal Cabrera

The Warpigs traded picks 38 and 84 to the Buckeyes for Asdrubal Cabrera, pick 47, and pick 143.

Cabrera figures to DH and PH vs LHP for the Pigs while serving as a back-up at 2b/ss/3b. The switch-hitter hit .392 vs LHP last year.

Rhinos Get Another Reserve

The Rhinos traded pick 59 to the Buckeyes for a reserve pick.

Hunter Renfroe to the Rhinos

The Warpigs traded Hunter Renfroe and pick 52 to the Rhinos for picks 27 and 91.

Ships Passing in the Night

The Warpigs traded John Lackey to the FFTs for Adam Wainwright.

The Warpigs and FFTs just can't settle on which of these aging batting practice hurlers they want on their team. Throw in the fact that both are likely to be cuts anyway, and it begs the question: "Why?"

"Wainwright has a chance to make our team as a pinch hitter and pinch bunter off the bench," said the Pigman. "At least that's something. That Lackey guy... I just don't like his name."

Hey, You Guys Remind Me Of...

While watching the Patriots toying with their playoff opponents, it got me to thinking which of the Big 4 franchises are the most like the 16 NASOMA teams. And the result was this:

Dallas FFTs - Los Angeles Dodgers (of course) - There was a time several years ago when the Dodgers were regularly either the champs or competing for the title. Then they went quiet for a long while, but they're still a team to be reckoned with almost every year. Or as the FFTs might say, "Oh well certainly to that too as I will but also but you just do not screw up like I can." [That quote is an actual FFT text.]

Tulsa DVs - Tampa Bay Lightning - The Lightning and DVs both won one title, although no one remembers anything about either one. Also, neither team was heard from before their win. Or since.

Oklahoma Drillers - Detroit Pistons - Both won a couple of titles during a short, dominant period. Since then, they both start every season with high hopes before tanking for better draft position.

Disney Super Goofs - Detroit Lions - Matt Millen is the GM for both. Rumor has it the Lions were pretty good a long, long time ago. They were called the Oilers then.

Waco Inmates - Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals - Next year is always their year. Always. And it totally doesn't matter that they have no rings... next year is The Year of the Inmate!

Nashville Killer Bees - Dallas Mavericks - They won their one title. They've sucked balls ever since.

Stanley Sidewinders - New England Patriots - Completely and totally dominant right now. They perform on a different level than everybody else. Plus, their balls are deflated.

Belldale Rhinos - Colorado Rockies - All the promise. All the great, young prospects. All the empty shelf space waiting on trophies. At least the Rockies lost to the Red Sox in their one trip to the World Series. The Rhinos lost to the effin DVs. Oh, the indignity.

Mansfield Mavs - Orlando Magic - Both made the finals twice. Got swept both times. Okay, okay, I'm exaggerating. lol. The Magic won a game one of those years.

Chicago Nads - Cleveland Browns - Not the old Browns team that moved to Baltimore... the expansion Browns. The one now. The one that drafted Johnny Manziel. The one that had only ten men on the field fifteen times this year.

South Grand Prairie Wahoos - Indiana Pacers - The Pacers dominated the old ABA, but has had almost no success in the NBA. I'm not sure if that tells you more about the ABA or the NBA. The Wahoos have won 3 times in their other league. None in NASOMA. I'm not sure if that...

Hooterville Warpigs - New York Yankees - They've won the most titles, giving everyone one more reason to hate them even when the Pigstripes aren't good enough to win.

Logan County Tweeners - San Diego Chargers - The Chargers' overall W/L record for their franchise is within 3 games of being exactly .500. That sounds pretty Tweener.

Waxahachie Fungoes - San Antonio Spurs - They have won multiple times. They're always in contention. They often have the best players in the league. And when they beat you, it makes a fella say, "What the fuck?!?"

Mansfield Buckeyes - Montreal Canadiens - Once dominant, but it was awhile ago. In fact, the last time the Canadiens won, Bill Clinton had just been elected to his first term in the West Wing. The last time the Buckeyes won, Matt Santos had just been elected to his first term in "The West Wing."

Brantford Boll Weevils - Vegas Golden Knights - Not enough evidence to know how good they'll be. Plus, to write their team name, I still have to look it up to get it right.

New Ballpark Numbers

Here are the new ballpark numbers. Your current ballpark is listed on the roster page. You can, of course, take the new numbers of your park or keep the old. If you keep the old, you have the additional option of adding or subtracting 1 or 2 points from each number. We will proclaim our choices at the draft.

Hall of Fame Poll

There are two polls on the left side of Big Innings. Please take a minute to make your selections for MLB's Hall of Fame. I included all of the returning nominees and the best candidates of the new ones. You may select multiple players.

An announcement of the newest HOFers will happen Wednesday. Our poll is open until that afternoon.

2017 DV Yearbook

The DVs have updated his team yearbook. I have linked it to the home page of our website. It's pretty cool. Check it out.

Ratings Guide Available January 19th

This was posted by SOM today...

Hi folks, I know many of you have been patiently waiting on this update, which we do appreciate. 2017 Ratings Guide orders will begin tomorrow, January 19th. Ratings Download orders will be available immediately, while Ratings Book orders will start shipping early next week. If anyone is ordering to pick up a Ratings Book here in Glen Head, please call us in advance to confirm availability.

Checkmate

The Sidewinders clinched the 2018 NASOMA title today - a record for the earliest in the calendar year to win the Higdon.

The Snakes, who had wrapped up the 2018 AWD title about three years ago, went ahead and won the Higdon as well, with the clincher being another trade with the Wahoos.

Edwin Encarnacion

Roberto Osuna

David Dahl (on ground)

The Sidewinders sent reserve picks in 2018, 2019, and 2020, a 2nd round pick in 2019, a 1st round pick in 2020, and the rights to injured, uncarded minor leaguer David Dahl to the Wahoos. In return, the Sidewinders received reliever Roberto Osuna, Edwin Encarnacion, and pick 78.

"If I've learned anything," commented the Snakeman, "I've learned that there's always someone willing to give you their best players if you pile up enough shit to give in return. I mean, hell, I didn't give up a single damn thing from this year."

"To be honest," continued the Snakeman, "I was kinda irritated having only 7 of the best 8 relievers in the league. Now I have all of the top 8, which means I will not only win my third straight Higdon, but I can also get the plaque engraved for 2017 and 2018 in one trip. It's really just a time-saver for me."

Congratulations, Sidewinders, on the back-to-back-to-back titles.

Nads and Wahoos Trade

The Wahoos traded pick 94 to the Nads for a reserve pick in 2019.

Where are the Cards?

Official announcement from Strat (I started to link the video, but it's a realllly bad video)...

1. First day for Pre-Orders.......January 24th
2. Last day to Pre-Order for Opening Day pick-up orders......February 14th
3. Opening Day at SOM........February 16th
4. Shipping of orders begins...........February 20th

Good News for the Inmates

We heard earlier that long time Inmate star Rafael Palmeiro was making a comeback. Then there was news his batting cage sessions were smokin' and that he was hammering the ball. Here's proof:

Rafael Palmeiro: The comeback is real!

Duffy to the Pigs

The Warpigs traded Kyle Barraclough and Matt Bowman to the Buckeyes for lefty starter Danny Duffy.

The two RH relievers give some depth to the Buckeye staff, which now has 5 relievers. The rotation is now down to just two full-time pitchers (Gio and Ervin), so there's still some work to be done.

For the Warpigs, Duffy will slide into that 4-5 slot of the rotation with Odorizzi and possibly Lackey and/or Pineda. The bullpen takes a hit with the RH side down to just three guys (Cishek, Raisel, and Carl Edwards).

First Trade of 2018

The Fungoes traded their 6th round pick in 2019 to the Mavs for Jonathan Lucroy.

Lucroy joins Sal Perez to give the Fungoes almost 900 at bats at catcher. And where Perez gives the Fungi homer chances, Lucroy gives them walks. Together, they make a formidable backstop.

The Mavs, on the other hand, will be busy during the 2019 draft, having now picked up an extra 1st, 5th, and 6th.