Games

The DVs swept 5 from the Inmates, finishing up a 9-1 season vs the Impotentmates.

From the HEAD INMATE...

DVs took all 5 vs Inmates via a very fucked-up netplay on Saturday.

Playing the September games first due to persnickety HAL, Inmates out-hit DVs 17-16, but lost in 12 innings 11-9 as Santana allowed 3 1-5 ballpark taters. Game 2 was uglier, as the Beakless Chicken gang was routed 9-2. The last game at the Baptist Bowl saw the Inmates take it in the ass 13-2.

Moving to Tulsa for the August games saw Santana shutout by Halladay 2-0. The finale had Ryan Howard hit 3 taters and a double, yet the Impotentmates still couldn’t win, losing 10-6.

Inmates are now 10-15.

The HEAD INMATE

From the DVDude...

And a good time was had by all….

DVs now 15-8 – the new netplay sucks, btw. Finally got it going in Hamachi, but trying to get it going with game only did not work – and Hart’s program would shut down everytime he tried to access lobby. For me, during the game setup, whenever I would try and click control over to him – it would hang. We ended up playing all 5 on his machine, with him home and visitor, which seemed to work a little better.

Not sure how/what we need to do - I like the drag and drop, but it is very different in terms of how we hand control back and forth.

And one of the homers was a 1-3 split card reading, not a ballpark homer – bee-otch!

DVs

Games

The Drillers hosted the FFTs for 7 games, and won 6 of them. The Drillers extended their early lead over the DVs to 3.5 games, while the FFTs dropped under .500 for the year.

April Deadline

The first deadline is approaching. All teams must have played and reported at least 20 games by April 1st. The Wahoos, SuperGoofs, DVs, and Rhinos need to get some games in this weekend. Don't be an April's Fool.

Games

In games played since Draft Weekend...

The Pastas took 2 of 3 home games from the Warpigs.

The Pastas then lost 3 of 5 at the Mavs.

Team Pages

All of the team pages are completed. Click on the team icons on the home page for each one.

Future Considerations

The following future picks have been dealt already. All are for 2010 except the one noted:

The Wahoo 1st belongs to the Tweeners
The Wahoo 3rd belongs to the Tweeners
The Wahoo 9th belongs to the Buckeyes

The DV 1st belongs to the Fungoes
The DV 5th belongs to the Warpigs
The DV 8th belongs to the Drillers
The 2011 DV 1st belongs to the Fungoes

The Buckeye 3rd belongs to the Tweeners
The Buckeye 5th belongs to the Wahoos
One Buckeye reserve pick belongs to the Wahoos
The other Buckeye reserve pick belongs to the Warpigs

The Warpig 1st belongs to the Buckeyes

The Killer Bee 7th belongs to the Fungoes

One Fungo reserve pick belongs to the FFTs

Getting Caught Up

On the website, the rosters page is now complete. There is also a link to the results of the Draft.

If you see any errors in either, let me know.

The Yahoo Tracker link on the homepage should now take you to the Yahoo league the DVs set up. If you haven't already done so, add your team to it.

Standings

The Standings page is now updated. So is the trades page. Soon I'll have the rosters up to date and the draft results posted. Also, depth charts on each team's home pages will be done soon. Currently, the Warpig page is the only one done. Click on the Warpig on the home page to see it.

The "gold standard" league is close to being ready to send out. The commish has been hard at work on it. Watch for it coming soon to your inbox.

Mock Draft vs the Actual First Round

The first five selections of the Draft matched the Mock Draft pick for pick. The Mock picks are in parenthesis.

1. David Price, Fungoes (Price)
2. Ricky Nolasco, Wahoos (Nolasco)
3. Chris Davis, Mavs (Davis)
4. Cliff Lee, Warpigs (Lee)
5. Alexei Ramirez, SuperGoofs (Ramirez)

I had no real intentention of taking Cliff Lee at 4 when I wrote the Mock, but the closer we got to Draft Day the more I realized I needed his card and those innings. The Goofs were hoping to get Davis, but settled for his second choice of Ramirez.

6. Justin Duchscherer, Warpigs (Balfour)

Despite what I predicted in the Mock, I had planned on taking Duchscherer at 4 and Kuo at 6. But I figured the two starters would serve me better by keeping Lackey from pitching in any homer parks this year. I also trusted that Matt Thornton would last until pick 17, and his card was every bit as good as Kuo's. If Thornton didn't survive, though, the gamble wouldn't have paid off.

7. Nate McLouth, Nads (McLouth)

Six of the first seven picks were correct in the Mock Draft.

8. Max Scherzer, Pastas (Duchscherer)

I commented that this team had to make a choice between current card and potential here. Scherzer helps in both. I had Scherzer going 14 to the Fungoes... and if he had made it that far, he would have.

9. Grant Balfour, Buckeyes (Teagarden)

The best reliever in the Draft falls to the Buckeyes at pick 9, making my prediction of Teagarden a moot point. Teagarden then started the big slide... sitting back in the green room all alone by the time he was chosen by the Sidewinders with pick 45. Said Taylor, "It was embarrassing to sit there so long all alone, not being picked. Even when all the kids made fun of my name, they still picked me for their team because... well, because I am GOOD! And now this. And to make it even worse, I have to play for the damn Snakes!"

10. Kerry Wood, Killer Bees (Danks)

I thought I had Wood going earlier (at pick 16) than he really would, but it turns out I had him slotted too late. I really thought the Bees would take anything other than a reliever, but Wood fits the Beeboy's plan of returning to the top in 2010.

11. Hong-Chi Kuo, Drillers (Kuo)

Another pick right on the money, even though I thought at the time that Kuo would really have gone earlier. Still, it's a great pick.

12. Taylor Buchholz, Wahoos (Wade)

When it came to this pick in the Mock Draft, I was torn between Wade and Buchholz because the Chief told me, "I'm torn between Wade and Buchholz." Buchholz gets the nod because, according to the Wahoo manager, "He's cuter."

13. John Danks, Sidewinders (Devine)

Danks slid a little, and the Snakeman unlocked his jaw and swallowed him whole. Devine would have helped, but Danks is a better pick.

14. Jose Arredondo, Fungoes (Choo)
15. Travis Snider, Fungoes (Scherzer)

When writing the Mock Draft, I knew Snider was going here. Just knew it. But I wanted Snider at pick 17, so I tried to lead the Fungoes to Choo. Plus, I liked the 'Gezundheit' line. Choo lasted until pick 37 - a nice pick by the Goofs. I know the FungoDude preferred either Scherzer or Danks with the other pick, but they were both already off the board. Arredondo is a nice consolation.

16. Joey Devine, Rhinos (Wood)

The Colonel assured me he would not take Wood (something about sloppy seconds), but I left the pick there because I liked the idea of him taking one of his cuts with his first round pick. Devine is a great pick for the Rhinos. His only drawback is the limited innings. The Rhinos made it an even better Draft by grabbing Corey Wade at pick 18.

Draft Wrap Up

Results are still coming in. I'll list all outcomes when I have them all. It's important to report how you did vs each opponent. There was one instance of two teams reporting different results from their games. It could have been a typo or possibly just an old man's faulty memory, but it's good that we get it straightened out right away. And I know, FIFTEEN of us already know to do this, and the 16th manager will never read this and wouldn't get it anyway.

Here are the transactions that have been reported to me from the Draft. Let me know if you made a trade that doesn't appear here.

1. The DVs traded Clayton Kershaw, a 1st round pick in 2010, a 1st round pick in 2011, and an inner thigh massage to the Fungoes for Roy Halladay.
2. The Pastas traded Lastings Milledge to the FFTs for pick 145.
3. The Warpigs traded Melky Cabrera and David Ross to the FFTs to complete an earlier deal.
4. The FFTs traded David Ross and Daric Barton to the DVs for Fred Lewis.
5. The Drillers traded Leo Nunez to the DVs for a 2010 8th.
6. The Fungoes traded Jeff Francoeur to the Killer Bees for a 2010 7th.

Those trades all happened prior to rosters being set for the 2009 season.

This trade happened after rosters were set:

1. The Warpigs traded Rafael Furcal to the Killer Bees as the player to be named later in an earlier deal.

Ballpark Updates?

Anybody want to announce their ballpark updates?

Pigs are bumping homer numbers up to 15 on both sides. Singles stay at zero.

Rosters and Draft Picks

The official pre-Draft rosters are now posted on NASOMA.org. You can view the html version of them by clicking on the appropriate place on the menu bar across the top, or download a printable excel file by clicking in the appropriate place on the left side of the screen.

The draft picks you can use are based on the picks you own and the number of players you protected. The formula is this:
(30) + (number of reserves you have) + (2 optional picks) - (number of protected players) = number of draft picks you get.

Example... the Fungoes have 4 reserves and protected 20 players. So...
30 + 4 + 2 - 20 = 16 draft picks, the last 2 of which are optional.

Now, the pick numbers of the picks you own, beginning at #142, will have changed. The reason for this is: pick 142, previously the Rhino 9th round pick, is lost to him because his last player (including his optional picks) will be taken prior to pick 142. So then everybody after 142 slides up one. That continues every time a team makes its last selection.

On the roster page, underneath your players, is a list of your draft picks. They are also listed on the Draft Grid. I didn't mark "optional" by your last two picks this year. Just know that your last two picks are the "Tweener Rule" picks. If you use them, you'll need to make cuts to get back to your allowable number of players.

I'm probably doing a crappy job of explaining all this. Sorry.

Some numbers from the final rosters...

There will be 213 draft picks (counting optional selections).

The World Champion Killer Bees retained the fewest players (14), followed by the Nads (16), the Tweeners (17), the Inmates (18), and the DVs (19). The most players were kept by the Rhinos (26), the Warpigs (25), and the FFTs (24).

Of the last 23 scheduled picks in the draft, the Tweeners have 8, the Killer Bees 5, the Nads 5, the Inmates 3, and the DVs 2. Those will be the teams picking at the end of the evening.

The Warpigs make the first optional pick of the Draft at #89, and the Pigs will also be the first team to make their final selection at pick #121. The Rhinos are next, finishing up with pick #129.

Counting optional picks, the Bees have the most draft picks with 20. The Warpigs have the fewest with 8.

There were six uncarded players protected, and half were by the Fungoes. The Warpigs are the only team who cannot draft an uncarded player (barring any trades between now and the Draft).

Call or email me if you have questions or if there is a problem with your roster or draft pick list.

Trade

The Rhinos send Hideki Okajima to the Fungoes to complete a trade from last March.

500th Post

Read some sad news this morning. Something I missed from this off season... The Winston Salem Warthogs are no more. (What is a "thog" anyway?) The new team name is the Winston-Salem Dash. The "Dash" comes from the punctuation mark between the two city names (it replaces the space in the old name). How dumb is that?

I managed to find one last black Warthog cap in my size on Amazon. Bought it.

Trade

The FFTs traded picks 50 and 82 to the Wahoos for Daric Barton, Jon Rauch, pick 106, and future considerations.

Flash Drives and Hamachi

First of all, if you're not already doing this, it's a good idea to install the SOMBB game on a flash drive or external hard drive instead of your C drive. I installed onto an 8G flash drive, but it doesn't have to be that big. Now I can play the game from any desktop pc or laptop without changing the authorization.

Also, and this is a biggie... install Hamachi on your computer. It makes netplay so easy. The DVs and I struggled to get the game played the conventional way, but when connecting thru Hamachi, we had no problems at all (other than getting Chase Utley out).

Both teams have to have it running to use it. If one of the teams doesn't have it, your only option is connecting thru the game. With Hamachi, however, you can easily host or join, be home or away, enter thru the game lobby or not - all quickly and easily.

Here are the directions...

Go to this page https://secure.logmein.com/products/hamachi/vpn.asp?lang=en

Click on the Download Now button

Complete the registration, accept the conditions of use, and click Go to Download

Choose the Windows version to Download

Choose Run to the next two prompts; this will take you to the Setup Wizard

Accept the agreement and choose Next

I would UNCHECK the “automatically start Hamachi” and CHECK “create shortcut on your desktop.

I would leave the Security option UNCHECKED, as there’s no reason to have Hamachi running unless you’re playing Strat

Choose the top, non-commercial option

Click to Install

Finish to launch Hamachi

You’ll get a prompt saying that you appear to be running Hamachi for the first time. Click Next to take the short tutorial.

Now we’re going to launch Hamachi for the first time and create your own Hamachi network address. Click the power button in the bottom left

Choose an account nickname (mine was Pigman) This will be how you are displayed in the Hamachi network.

If you get a Windows Security Alert, choose “Unblock”

Now the Hamachi window will show your personal Hamachi network address and your Hamachi account nickname.

Click Next to complete the tutorial. You’re now ready to join the network we’ve already established for our league. Click the second button on the bottom row where you’ll have an option to Create a new network or Join an Existing Network. Choose the Join option.

Choose NASOMA for the name of the network you are joining, and founded1980 for the network password. Click Join.

Now you’re in. You’ll see other members of the league, displayed by their network address, name or both. You can right-click on a name to choose Set Label and adjust the display.

If the names are in gray, then the other users are not logged in. If they are green, they are logged in. You can right-click, choose Chat, and start a conversation with someone.

Now you’re ready to play NetPlay. One team “hosts” while the other “joins.” The joining team enters the host team’s Hamachi address. For example, to connect to the Warpigs, you would enter 5.138.22.200. Even easier is to have both teams enter the Game Lobby first and launch the game from there.

Let me know how it works for you. Call me or the DVs if you have any problems.

Play ball!

Ineligible Cards

Here is the list of cards to remove from your stacks. Let me know if you see any mistakes or omissions.

Baek, C., SD 111 IP
Bautista, D. PGH 41 IP
Bautista, J. PGH 314 AB
Bautista, J. TOR 56 AB
Bay, J. BOS 184 AB
Bay, J. PGH 393 AB
Blake, C. LAN 211 AB
Blake, C. CLE 325 AB
Blanton, J. OAK 127 IP
Blanton, J. PHI 71 IP
Castro, J. BAL 151 AB
Corey, B. SD 39 IP
Davis, R. OAK 196 AB
Eckstein, D. ARI 64 AB
Eckstein, D. TOR 260 AB
Gallagher, S. OAK 57 IP
Gallagher, S. CHN 59 IP
Gaudin, C. OAK 63 IP
Gonzalez, A. WAS 49 AB
Gonzalez, A, NYA 52 AB
Griffey, K. CHA 131 AB
Griffey, K. CIN 359 AB
Grilli, J. COL 61 IP
Gross, G. TAM 302 AB
Gross, G. MIL 43 AB
Hansen, C. BOS 31 IP
Harden, R. CHN 71 IP
Harden, R. OAK 77 IP
Hawkins, L. NYA 41 IP
Hernandez, L. COL 40 IP
Hernandez, L. MIN 140 IP
Jackson, Z. CLE 55 IP
Jones, J. DET 79 AB
Jones, J. FLA 37 AB
Kotchman, C. ATL 152 AB
Kotchman, C. LAA 373 AB
Kotsay, M. BOS 84 AB
Kotsay, M. ATL 318 AB
Lamb, M. MIN 236 AB
Marte, D. PGH 47 IP
Massett, N. CHA 45 IP
Michaels, J. PGH 228 AB
Michaels, J. CLE 58 AB
Moss, B. PGH 158 AB
Moss, B. BOS 78 AB
Murton, M. CHN 40 AB
Nady, X. NYA 228 AB
Nady, X. PGH 327 AB
Norton, G. ATL 171 AB
Ohlendorf, R. NYA 40 IP
Ozuna, P. LAN 32 AB
Ozuna, P. CHA 64 AB
Patterson, E. OAK 92 AB
Patterson, E. CHN 38 AB
Ramirez, M. LAN 187 AB :o(
Ramirez, M. BOS 365 AB
Reyes, A. CLE 34 IP
Ross, D. CIN 134 AB
Sabathia, C. MIL 131 IP
Sabathia, C. CLE 122 IP
Stairs, M. TOR 320 AB
Tavarez, J. ATL 42 IP
Teixeira, M. LAA 193 AB
Teixeira, M. ATL 381 AB
Tomko, B. KC 61 IP

Cuts

Final pre-Draft rosters are due by midnight on the 6th (Friday). Feel free to report any preliminary cuts before then so I can get the rosters narrowed down. Nothing is official until Friday night, but if there are certain cuts still on your roster, email me and I'll dump em.

Two Rule Suggestions

The FFTs have proposed the idea of having a post-draft free agent signing of sorts. For all those wanting to stay up past the final draft pick, you could continue taking players - as many as you want or some specified number - which you would then have to, of course, cut when narrowing your roster down to 30.

This would be something like the NFL does. As soon as the last team drafting has made their last pick, all undrafted players are fair game. It might come in handy if you finished drafting and suddenly realized you didn't have enough at bats to cover the catcher position or something. The FFTs just like to cut a lot of guys after spending the night looking at their cards.

We'd need some rules to determine who gets to pick when. Probably just stay in draft order among the teams who want to participate.

It would seem harmless enough. Most teams have started passing when they get to the last two optional picks anyway, so not everyone wants more players. And as long as the selections happened AFTER the last official drafter was finished, I see no harm. I would suggest that an earlier deadline than usual be made for announcing cuts - like by Saturday afternoon - for any team taking part in the free agent signings. Your roster has to be down to 25 by the time you play your first game, anyway.

The other thing I'm suggesting - and no one has mentioned this to me - is that the SuperGoofs be allowed to change his ballpark if he so chooses this year. Now, he may not want to, but it seems only fair that he be given that option. Especially since it's a long time before we switch parks again.

Trade

The Warpigs traded Jason Bartlett to the Sidewinders for pick 61.

2009 Schedule

Thanks to the Merry Mentor of Mediocrity, the 2009 Schedule is completed. And thanks to me nagging him about it, the Warpigs play all four of their double headers on the road. Again.

Go to NASOMA.org for the schedule. There is a webpage version and a printable one on Excel.

2009 Mock Draft

1. Fungoes - David Price. Moving up from pick 4 to pick 1 was expensive, but the Fungoes think the Price is Right. Price is rated either #1 or #2 in every prospect list out there and will make a nice battery with Fungo Matt Wieters, the OTHER guy ranked either #1 or #2 in those polls.

2. Wahoos - Ricky Nolasco. The Wahoos are loaded for bear, err, pig this year. Adding Nolasco's 200+ innings to the rotation AND the bullpen completes a very good staff.

3. Mavs - Chris Davis. Hard to figure what the Mavs are looking for here. Price would have been a nice selection, but with him gone, Davis is a good bet. He's local, and the Mavs attend a lot of games; the Mavs could use a big bat at 1B/3B; and Davis is going to be good for a long time.

4. Warpigs - Cliff Lee. The Pigs need a starting pitcher, and Cliff Lee is the best starter available.

5. SuperGoofs - Alexei Ramirez. Trading Rollins for Carlos Quentin made the Goofs younger and better, but leaves a big hole at SS. Ramirez can play several spots well now, and is scheduled to be the starting SS for the ChiSox this season. The Cuban defector has the tools to be a solid part of the Goof lineup for quite a while.

6. Warpigs - Grant Balfour. Balfour is probably the best reliever available and joins Soria and Wagner in a deep Pigpen.

7. Nads - Nate McLouth. The Nads could use a CF, and the best one falls into their laps here. McLouth is a Gold Glover with speed and youth, and he is probably the best full time player available in this year's draft. The Nads also need bullpen, but there should be plenty of good cards around for the taking in rounds 2-3.

8. Zaps - Justin Duchscherer. The Zaps could go with youth here or the pitching they need. The race in the AWD will be a close one, and the Zaps are in position to win it if they draft pitching. Duchscherer's card is as good as it gets this year, although he is somewhat short on innings.

9. Buckeyes - Taylor Teagarden. Although the Buckeyes have a lot of holes to fill, he's still probably the team to beat in the MFD, and Teagarden's card is the quintessential Buckeye card.

10. Killer Bees - John Danks. The Bees need help everywhere except 1B, so I have no idea which direction he goes here. Danks is the best young starting pitcher available, and probably has the most future value of any player on the board.

11. Drillers - Hong-Chih Kuo. Kuo teams with Joe Nathan to give the Drillers a great lefty/righty bullpen duo.

12. Wahoos - Cory Wade. The Wahoos add another quality arm to their bullpen. The Hoos are set. Let the games begin.

13. Sidewinders - Joey Devine. The Snake bullpen is practically the only weak link in this team. Devine makes a good team better.

14. Fungoes - Shin-Soo Choo. Gezundheit. More young hitters for the Fungo stable.

15. Fungoes - Max Scherzer. More young pitchers for the Fungo stable. 2010, the year of the Fungo.

16. Rhinos - Kerry Wood. The Rhinos don't need much except bullpen, and the Fungoes are going to be claiming Lidge or Okajima off of his roster any day now. The list of RH relievers available is dwindling fast by now, but the Rhinos still get a good one. Still, like the Warpigs at pick 4, it sucks to use a first round pick on a guy you cut just last year.

UPS

UPS... When it absolutely, positively has to be there in a few weeks.

Schedule?

Will the Merry Mentor of Mediocrity bless us with a schedule soon?

The Peanut Gallery

In case you haven't noticed, NASOMA has a new place to leave messages. The new site, The Peanut Gallery, can be reached thru NASOMA.org or by clicking here. It is set up so that any of us can leave a post or a comment to a post. You should have received an email inviting you to be an author of this blog. Accept the invitation and starting leaving posts.

Trade

The Wahoos traded Chris Young (SD) and pick 92 to the Killer Bees for pick 12.

Comments Needed

Re the Demerit Rule: Is everyone okay with it as it is written in the earlier post? I received no comments one way or the other. I don't know if that means everything is cool or that no one looks at this blog or what. I would rather not spend too much time at the Draft bitching and moaning about stuff we could bitch and moan about on here.

I tried to water it down enough so it's not fatal to get nailed with demerits, while still keeping it effective as a means of keeping us on some kind of schedule.

And while I'm begging for feedback, I'll bring this up again... I can open Big Innings to other authors. If you think you'd like to be able to post on here (not just comment, but initiate a post), I'm pretty sure it's possible. Any thoughts on that?

Trades

The Fungoes traded pick 4, pick 20, and pick 21 to the Warpigs for pick 1, pick 34, a reserve pick, and Ryan Freel.

The Fungoes now own pick 1 and are on the clock.

The Warpigs traded picks 130, 145, and 161 to the DVs for their 2010 5th.

The Wahoos traded Justin Speier and pick 89 to the Warpigs for pick 81.

The Demerit Rule

Below is how the Demerit Rule will appear in the Constitution. There are a few minor changes from the way it was written last year. The changes are in red. The changes to part A are only moving the deadlines by one day so they are due on the first of the month instead of the last day of the previous month. It actually gives you an extra day. The change in part C deals with games played on a third party's computer. It is now each team owner's responsibility for getting his game files - not the responsibility of the computer owner. The change in part E clarifies the deadline for turning in final stats. The change in part F was discussed last summer as a way to penalize teams falling way behind on their games played more than those who fall only a few games short. And the changes in part G is a compromise of several suggestions.

The idea of the demerits is not to penalize anybody; it's just to try to keep things on a fairly even schedule where we are all playing games on the same pace. Call or email your opponent or me or the Commish if there is some problem with playing games or getting results or instructions, and maybe we can get things resolved without demerits.

Something I noticed... Part D may have been overlooked last season. It says that if you are not planning on playing somebody face to face or on netplay, that you must have instructions sent to them by July 4. I'll try to remember to send out a reminder before the 4th.


V. Deadlines and Demerits

A.The deadline for playing regular season games is as follows:
April 1 - 20 games
May 1 - 35 games
June 1 - 50 games
July 1 - 75 games
August 1 - 100 games
September 1 - 120 games
October 1 - 140 games
November 1 - 162 games

B.All teams must report the results of all games played to the webmaster within 24 hours of playing the games, except for games played on Draft Weekend, which must be reported by midnight Wednesday after the Draft. For games played throughout the season, only one of the teams is required to report the results as long as the email is copied to the other team.

C.When a series is played on the computer, the one with the computer must send the other manager all necessary files (game files, box scores, subsets, etc.) within 24 hours of the final game. The receiving manager determines which files he wants sent to him. The receiving team should then acknowledge receipt of the files. If the computer used belongs to neither team, both managers are responsible for obtaining their own files from the computer.

D.Instructions for all games that cannot be played face to face or via netplay must be sent out by July 4th.

E.Final Stats must be submitted to the Commissioner and the Yearbook by midnight on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. For pitchers, the following stats must be submitted: games, games started, complete games, shutouts, innings pitched, hits allowed, runs allowed, earned runs allowed, walks, strikeouts, home runs allowed, wins, losses, saves, errors, and earned run average. For non-pitchers, the following stats must be submitted: games, at bats, runs scored, hits, runs batted in, doubles, triples, home runs, walks, strikeouts, errors, stolen bases, times caught stealing, times hit by pitch, and batting average. The season's final stats must also include a breakdown of the team's won-lost records against all other teams.

F.Failure to meet the deadlines in Rule V, part A will result in: 1 demerit for falling 1-20 games short of the minimum, 2 demerits for falling 21-50 games short of the minimum, or 3 demerits for falling 50+ games short of the minimum. This will apply each month. Failure to report results as stated in Rule V, part B will result in 1 demerit for each offense. Failure to send computer files or acknowledge receipt as stated in Rule V, part C will result in 1 demerit for each offense. Failure to send out instructions on time, as stated in Rule V, part D, will result in 1 demerit for each offense. Failure to submit stats on time, as stated in Rule V, part E, will result in 5 demerits.

G.Consequences for demerits:
0-3 demerits: no consequence
4 demerits: you are limited to a max of 20 players at the March cut down.
5 demerits: you are limited to a max of 19 players
6 demerits: you are limited to a max of 18 players
7 demerits: you are limited to a max of 17 players
8 demerits: you are limited to a max of 16 players
9-14 demerits: you are limited to a max of 15 players
15 or more demerits: you are limited to a max of 14 players

The number of Reserve Spots you own wouldn't affect the ruling. If you have 2 Reserve Spots, you will still have 32 players at the end of the draft, but you will only start with the max you were allowed. Example: if you have 2 Reserve Spots but earned 6 demerits, you start with a max of 18 players and use the draft to get to 32. And no protecting players for anyone.

Last Year's Draft

If you are interested in looking at the results of last year's draft, it is in the Archives section of the website.

Trades

The Buckeyes traded Jeff Keppinger to the Warpigs for "Uncle" Dan Wheeler.

The Buckeyes traded pick 106 to the Wahoos for Augie Ojeda and pick 137.

Card Ratings

Here is the distribution of the top 100* players (based on current, not future, value) according to the Lamanna Draft Guide:

Warpigs - 13 players. 3 in the top 20 (Chipper 1, Pujols 3, Harden 8)
Rhinos - 9 players. 3 in the top 20 (H.Ramirez 4, ARoid 7, Sheets 18)
Wahoos - 9 players. 2 in the top 20 (Pedroia 2, Youkilis 15)
Drillers - 8 players. 1 in the top 20 (Lincecum 13)
Sidewinders - 7 players. 1 in the top 20 (Mauer 16)
Zaps - 7 players. 1 in the top 20 (Hamilton 17)
Fungoes - 5 players. 4 in the top 20! (Napoli 6, Halladay 9, Sizemore 12, Berkman 14)
DVs - 5 players. 2 in the top 20 (Utley 5, McCann 10)
Nads - 5 players. 1 in the top 20 (J.D.Drew 11)
Killer Bees - 5 players. None in the top 20 (highest rated is Teixeira 23)
FFTs - 5 players. None in the top 20 (highest rated is Rivera 27)
SuperGoofs - 3 players. None in the top 20 (highest rated is Guthrie 40)
Inmates - 3 players. None in the top 20 (highest rated is J.Santana 45)
Tweeners - 2 players. 1 in the top 20 (Roberts 19)
Buckeyes - 2 players. None in the top 20 (highest rated is Y.Escobar 53)
Mavs - 2 players. None in the top 20 (highest rated is Hardy 64)

Among the players eligible to be drafted, there are 10 in the list of 100 and 1 in the top 20 (Duchscherer 20)

The list included only batters with 250+ at bats and pitchers with 40+ innings. And again, this was based solely on their use this year, not their future value.

* The top 100 list, for whatever reason, has one player listed twice - at 54 and again at 62 - so I went to number 101 to get the top 100 players.

Version 14 New Features

There are, as always, new features in the newest CD version of SOMBB. My favorite is...

3) SPECTATOR MODE - Spectator Mode has been added. Now you can watch as other guys in your Netplay league go head-to-head in regular season or playoff games!

Trade

The FFTs trade picks 121 and 130 to the Warpigs for Wilson Betemit and future considerations.

Trade

The Warpigs traded Travis Hafner and pick #2 to the Wahoos for Dexter Fowler, pick #6, and a reserve spot.

Rolling Bones

Just curious... which managers, given the option, prefer to roll dice in a face to face game? My guess is the dice rollers include the Pigs, Inmates, Wahoos, Snakes, and Tweeners. Any others prefer dice to the computer game?

I know the computer allows for quicker games and stats that are done for you, but I would rather NOT hurry through the season. I don't want to just "knock em out," ya know? And I LIKE doing stats. I know... I'm weird.

Another question on the same line... Are the SuperGoofs ready to roll dice? With the master of dice rolling strat players right there under the same roof, I like to think they have rolled about a million games preparing for the Goof's first full season in the league... but I suppose in this computer age, with all of life's distractions pulling us in so many directions, it's possible they have not rolled any.

And while we're at it, how many of us have netplay capacity for mail games? Is it all 16 yet?

Trade

The FFTs traded a reserve spot to the Fungoes for picks 68 and 84 and a 2010 reserve spot.

Draft Issues

Anybody have any issues to bring up at the Draft? We could get some of it hammered out now and save a bit of time. Does anyone have any rules to introduce? Any rules you need explained? Any questions you need answered. Here are a couple of things to get the ball rolling...

1. It has been mentioned to me that we should bring up for vote again the rule the Wahoos proposed last year regarding the Draft order for the 1st round. The rule missed out last year by one vote, but at least two of the nays have said they have reconsidered. Here's the proposal:

In the first round of the Draft (and ONLY the first round), the Draft order among the non-playoff teams will be reversed. Of the ten non-playoff teams, the team with the best record would pick first. Second best record would pick second, and so on. The six playoff teams would still pick 11-16. Rounds 2+ would not be changed from the way we do it now. The reasoning is that it gives teams more incentive to win down the stretch, even after it becomes clear they are not going to make the playoffs. It also prevents tanking - whether in the form of drafting an all-prospect team designed to lose or just flat out not trying your best to win games. The new rule, if passed, would begin with the 2010 Draft.

2. I was asked this week about the number of uncarded players you can draft. The current rule says that a team can only protect/draft/own as many uncarded players as they have Reserve spots. If you have your two spots, you may protect 2 uncarded players before the Draft and not take any more. Or you could not protect any and then draft two. Or protect one and draft one. But you cannot own more than two at any time - and that includes trading for an uncarded player - from the time of roster cut down until you set your official roster for the season.

Example... Let's say the Sidewinders have two reserve spots, and they list on their protected roster two uncarded players (like Willis and Brignac). Then their turn in the Draft comes up and the Snakeman realizes he could draft heralded 7-tool prospect Ben Dover. He's thinking, "I'll draft Dover and just cut that bum Willis." Sorry, but you can't do that. Once you protected the two uncardeds, you took away any chance you had of drafting an uncarded player.

If you have three Reserve spots, you can protect/draft as many as three uncarded players (and so on). And if you have NO Reserve spots, obviously, you cannot draft an uncarded player.

And just to be clear... you do not HAVE to take uncarded players. The rule just sets the maximum you may own.

The number of Reserve spots you own is listed beside your team name on the rosters page. If it says (32), you have 2 spots.

Trading Lesson #1 - A Cautionary Tale

Colonel Rhino: Hey, I could sure use J.J. Putz. He would make my team unbeatable. What would it take to get him?
FungoDude: How about two picks this year, your first three picks next year, AND I get to pick a reliever off your team next off season?
CR: But you can't take Putz back.
FD: Right, but I CAN take Joba Chamberlain.
CR: Deal.

(5 minutes later)
CR: Dang, even though I took Joba with the 4th pick in the draft, I can't see any way for him to make my team.
Pigman: Trade Joba to me!!!
CR: Whaddaya got?
P: Soiled boxers and Thin Mints.
CR: A whole box?!?
P: Half a box.
CR: Deal!

(5 minutes later)
FD: Boy, with all these picks next year and Joba Chamberlain, we could be great again!
CR: You have Joba Chamberlain?
FD: No, but I will have next year when I claim him off of your team.
CR: I traded him to the Warpigs for soiled boxers and a box of Thin Mints.
P: Half a box.
CR: Half a box.
FD: WTF!

(10 months later)
Chief Wahoo: Hey Colonel Rhino, would you trade me Brad Lidge for all of my draft picks for the next five years?
CR: Nah, that wouldn't be fair to the Fungoes.
CW: WTF!
FD: WTF!

The NASOMA Draft - The Essential 25

The new owner of the SuperGoofs will be attending his first NASOMA Draft this year, and as a service to the rookie, here are some rules (actually, they're more like guidelines than rules. Whatever) :

1. The Draft is held on a weekend in March every year. We used to travel to different places every spring, but in the last few years, most of the Drafts have happened here in the DFW area. The Draft shall never, under any circumstances, be held on the Mavs' birthday.

2. The Friday segment of the Draft consists of 5 hours of waiting for the Zapper to arrive, 30 minutes of rules discussions (you won't be able to hear any of this because, like I said, the Zapper has arrived and will not stop talking until after midnight), and 3 hours of making selections.

3. Get there early and mark your spot. There are, however, some important things to keep in mind here. Such as...

4. Don't sit near the Zapper. The truth is, being in the same building as the Zapper puts you in jeopardy - no one is safe from the decibel level OR the smell - but sitting BY him leaves no hope whatsoever. Now, it's true that the Zapper is usually the last to arrive and there is no telling where he will park his fat ass, so it's a bit of a crapshoot anyway. Good luck. Also...

5. Don't try to sit between the Buckeyes and the Mavs. It cannot happen.

6. The FFTs, the DVs, and the Warpigs always sit together, too; but that's mostly so we can talk each other into taking the wrong guys each round.

7. Don't bring anything you value to the Draft. Have a cardboard cutout of your favorite player? A team mascot? Nothing is sacred. Leave it at home.

8. Be prepared. Everyone comes to the Draft knowing who they want to draft; but while some will have pages and pages of draft notes, others will try to make you believe they are looking at the cards for the first time and couldn't care less. It's all show. They may not have torn their cards apart, but they know who they want to draft - and so should you. Don't come unprepared or you'll find yourself taking somebody else's keeper in the 2nd round.

9. Be prepared to wait for hours at a time for some picks to be made. There is no time limit. Sometimes the picks will happen so fast you can get disoriented, other times there will be long stretches of nothingness. When this happens... it's usually the Zapper's turn.

10. There will be a run on catchers. Count on it.

11. There will be no less than a dozen instances of "Good pick." As a way of providing variety, this can be altered to "Nice pick." The HEAD INMATE has copyrighted this phrase, so you are required to pay him 25 cents for each utterance of it.

12. Speaking of the HEAD INMATE, do not be lured into his room without a chapperone. The Chief did this at his first Draft and couldn't make noise while passing gas for a full month.

13. Saturday is for playing games. The Bees and Wahoos will usually get things started by staying up after the Draft and playing their games into the wee hours. The rest of us will get started as soon as we get done with breakfast.

14. An important thing to know before playing your first game: Any player on your 25-man roster for that first game is officially on your roster and cannot be cut or traded.

15. Another important thing before playing your first computer game: Stats for games played at the Draft have a way of disappearing into cyberspace. Make sure you get the game files and/or box scores put on your flash drive before walking away.

16. Oh yeah, bring a flash drive.

17. Keep track of your results. Have a schedule made out that shows your pitching rotation. On it, make sure to write down the results of every game.

18. There are some teams you want to play early. I'm not going to tell you who they are, but some teams are harder to reach later in the summer than others. It is perfectly normal to stand in line behind their opponents until their series is finished.

19. And no matter what the Zapper tells you, you are not required to play naked. And it's okay to tell him to put his clothes back on, too.

20. At some point Saturday evening, most of the owners in the league will go out to eat. The FFTs pick the place, and he has a perfect record in this department. I highly recommend going out to eat on the Saturday trip. Next to the DV belches, it is the most memorable part of the weekend. Usually, a handful of owners will stay behind and play games. The Fungoes and Mavs usually play each other during this time. You are welcome to stay and get some games done.

21. You are required to make Strat your #1 priority for the entire weekend. Do not make plans to go anywhere or do anything other than baseball.

22. Sunday morning offers one last chance to play games. Everyone will be exiting at various times during the day, but many will still want to get some games in before going back to the real world.

23. The Snakes (and sometimes the DVs) will stay through until Monday. Snakeman and I play our games Sunday evening while taking time out to go to Sunday night mass. We have been asked to not roll dice DURING mass any more, though.

24. Email your results to me at the end of the weekend. Demerits count this year.

25. There will be a Queen of the Draft. The Queen shall have the following duties: none

Trade

The FFTs traded Nomar Garciaparra to the Zaps for Jeff Kent.

Rosters and Draft Picks

Just a reminder, you can see current NASOMA Rosters by clicking on the link on the NASOMA home page. At the bottom of each roster is a list of draft picks owned by each team.

There is also a Draft Grid link on the homepage. It is current.

I'll add a link so you can download a printable version of both pages.

If you see any mistakes on either page, let me know, and I'll get it fixed.

Please feel free to update your roster by making any definite cuts. The sooner the better. Just email me the changes, and I'll take care of it. Cuts you make now are not binding, but it helps clean up the roster page to get rid of the dogs.

Thanks,
Pigman

Ratings Disk

SOM is releasing the Ratings Disk tomorrow. Cards are just a few weeks away.

And for what it's worth, Strat-O-Matic is a great game, but it's run by paranoid elitists who cannot tolerate anybody questioning their peculiar ways.

/End rant

Trades

The DVs traded Chien-Ming Wang and John Maine to the Buckeyes for Chad Gaudin and Ryan Madson.

The FFTs traded Jhonny Peralta and pick 95 to the DVs for Andy Sonnanstine.

The FFTs traded pick 92 to the Wahoos for picks 116 and 121.

2009 Hall of Fame

The poll on the left is your chance to place your vote(s) for the 2009 HOF. You may vote for as many of the players as you want. You are also welcome to leave comments on here. The official MLB results will be announced Monday.

Trade

The Tweeners trade Aaron Rowand and pick #6 to the Wahoos for picks 25 and 41 in this year's draft and the Wahoo 1st round pick in 2010.

Looking Ahead - 2009 BUD

Rhinos

Hitters: ARod, H.Ramirez, Abreu, Braun, Ethier, Rios, Soto, Votto, BJ Upton, Polanco, Y.Molina, Kemp
Starters: Sabathia, Sheets, Burnett, Garza
Bullpen: Lidge, Okajima, Putz, T.Pena, Lindstrom
Picks in the first 100: 16, 18, 49, 62, 79, 94

Opinion: The defending BUD champs are loaded again. This offense is scary-good, and the defense is not too bad either now that Hanley is no longer a 4. The starting pitching, headed by Sabathia, is also very good. If this team has a weakness, it's the bullpen. Adding to the problem is the fact that the Fungoes still get to claim one of these relievers to complete a deal from last spring. But the Rhinos have plenty of picks, including two fairly early ones, and there will be a lot of good relievers in the draft.

Main needs: bullpen


Wahoos

Hitters: Pedroia, Bradley, Youkilis, Morneau, Rollins, Damon, Aramis Ramirez, Ianetta, Reed Johnson
Starters: Hamels, Baker, Lohse, Meche, C.Young
Bullpen: Marmol, Fuentes, Rauch, J.Cruz, Marte, Wuertz
Picks in the first 100: 25, 41, 53, 73, 89

Opinion: The Wahoo offense is just as good as the Rhino offense, and their infield defense is the best in the league. The starting pitching is not quite as good, but Hamels is excellent. The bullpen is pretty deep, too. The Wahoos don't have any early picks, and that will hurt some; but this team doesn't need much.

Main needs: CF


SuperGoofs

Hitters: Quentin, Thome, Nady, Garko, Snyder, Pence, Hunter, B.Phillips, Betancourt, Edmonds, Church, Blake
Starters: Volquez, Marcum, Guthrie, Looper
Bullpen: Broxton, Hoffman, Brocail, Byrdak, J.Lewis, Marshall, J.Miller
Picks in the first 100: 5, 37, 65, 69, 70, 85

Opinion: The first year of the SuperGoofs will be a rough one, but mostly because they're in the hardest division. The Goof offense is average, but deep, with no outstanding hitters other than Quentin. And the best three hitters (Quentin, Thome, and Nady) will leave the Goofs with 4's in both LF and RF. The starters are good and Broxton will be a fine stopper, but this team could be in for a long year.

Main needs: 3B, SS, and a division realignment


Warpigs

Hitters: Pujols, Chipper, Manny, Granderson, Giles, Bay, Furcal, Doumit, O.Hudson, S.Drew, Bartlett, Atkins
Starters: E.Santana, Lackey, Harden, Litsch
Bullpen: Soria, Wagner, Wheeler, Springer, H.Bell, Sherrill
Picks in the first 100: 1, 2, 17, 34, 81

Opinion: The Pigs have a set lineup that should score runs in bunches. The starting pitching is lacking, but having the first two picks in the draft will help that. The pen is pretty average except for Soria and Wagner, who are very good. The fights between the Pigs, Rhinos, and Hoos will be fun to watch. All three teams are easily good enough to win the league.

Main needs: SP

Looking Ahead - 2009 MFD

Inmates

Hitters: Dunn, Howard, Ankiel, C.Guillen, Beltre, K.Johnson, Theriot, David Murphy, VMart
Starters: J.Santana, Floyd, Vazquez, Myers
Bullpen: Villanueva, Franklin
Picks in the first 100: 22, 28, 38, 44, 60, 76

Opinion: The defending MFD champs have a few holes to fill if they are to repeat. The offense is very left-handed and not very deep. The defense is not great either. The pitching staff starts with Johan Santana and then drops off. The bullpen needs to be completely rebuilt. As great as Santana is, winning the MFD will be hard to do; and the only reason it's even possible is that the entire division is down again this year.

Main needs: C, OF, pitching


Buckeyes

Hitters: Giambi, Werth, Cust, Winn, Grudzielanek, Y.Escobar, Crede, Kouzmanoff, K.Suzuki
Starters: Buehrle, E.Jackson, R.Johnson, Maddux
Bullpen: D.Oliver, Madson, Gregg, Gaudin, Durbin, Colome
Picks in the first 100: 9, 42, 57, 74, 83, 86, 90

Opinion: A year away from the post season has the Buckeyes hungry, but he'll need a good draft. The offense has a couple of good bats, but the Buckeyes will be forced to manufacture runs again this year. The pitching staff is, in a word, old. There are some good numbers there, but still not a real strength. On the other hand, the Buckeyes have a really good shot to win this division.

Main needs: 1B, offense, and Geritol


Nads

Hitters: JD Drew, Burrell, Ad.Gonzalez, Willingham, Uggla, Glaus, C.Guzman, Eckstein
Starters: Webb, Dempster, Arroyo, Bannister
Bullpen: Saito, Affeldt
Picks in the first 100: 7, 23, 39, 55, 71, 87

Opinion: Could this finally be the year the Nads win the MFD and go to the playoffs? The Nad lineup is probably the best in the division. There are a couple of holes, but Drew, Burrell, Gonzo, Uggla, and company will score some runs. And Webb and Dempster give the Nads two excellent starters. Unfortunately for them, Arroyo and Bannister will both be bad. And the bullpen, other than Saito, is lacking. The Nads have big needs and no extra picks, so it will be tough, but this team has a chance to win this year. The quality of the Nad draft will tell the tale.

Main needs: C, CF, SP, bullpen


Mavs

Hitters: Huff, Dye, DeJesus, Blalock, Dmitri Young, Weeks, Hardy, Chris Young, J.Upton, Laird, Headley, Kendrick, Butler
Starters: Matt Cain and four days of rain?
Bullpen: Street, Valverde, Romero, Weathers
Picks in the first 100: 3, 19, 26, 35, 51, 67, 99

Opinion: The Mavs have some good young players, but not a lot of good cards right now. Huff will be great, DeJesus will be an excellent table-setter, and Dye brings power; it drops off a bit after that. But Young, Upton, Hardy, Headley, and Kendrick are on the verge of big things. The pitching staff doesn't have much beyond Cain. Gallardo and Bailey are still around, but offer no help for 2009. The Mavs have the third pick in the 2009 draft, so another elite young player should be added to this team. This division is winnable, but 2010 is probably a better bet for the Mavs return to the post season.

Main needs: C, SP

Looking Ahead - 2009 AWD

Killer Bees

Hitters: Teixeira, C.Pena, Hawpe, Cameron, Tejada
Starters: Billingsley, Jurrjens, Cueto, Verlander, Hughes
Bullpen: umm... none?
Picks in the first 100: 10, 12, 32, 48, 64, 80, 96

Opinion: The defending NASOMA champs will have a tough time defending that title. The cupboard has been left bare. There are still some good, young arms... and they'll have a gold glove caliber fielder manning the DH position... but this team could be in trouble for 2009. Two first round picks will help, but my guess is the Bees continue a youth movement with their eyes on 2010.

Main needs: bullpen, and pretty much everything except 1B


Sidewinders

Hitters: Wright, Ortiz, Markakis, Beltran, Mauer, D.Lee, Derosa, A. Hill, Renteria, J.Wilson, Bruce
Starters: Peavy, Lester, Zambrano, U.Jimenez, Lilly
Bullpen: KRod, R.Perez, Downs, Mahay
Picks in the first 100: 13, 29, 45, 58, 61, 77, 93

Opinion: The Snakes are loaded again. There are no holes on the offense (except maybe LF). Derosa's big year with the bat and availability at six positions is a huge advantage. The rotation is set, and the bullpen has KRod and three quality lefties. They're short on RH relief, but this draft is deep in that area.

Main needs: LF and RH relief


Zaps

Hitters: Hamilton, Kinsler, Reyes, Fielder, Delgado, Byrd, Martin, C.Jackson, Encarnacion, Crawford, Milledge, A.Gordon
Starters: Greinke, Pelfrey, Jered Weaver, W.Rodriguez
Bullpen: Capps, Qualls, Shouse
Picks in the first 100: 8, 24, 40, 56, 72, 78, 88

Opinion: The lineup is as good as the Snake lineup. It is talented, young, and deep. There is power and speed. The pitching isn't as good but is still better than many teams. They have pitching depth, but no ace or closer at the top. A good indication of the expectations of this team will be that first pick. Will the Zapper add the big pitcher he needs or go for more youth?

Main needs: pitching


Tweeners

Hitters: Soriano, B.Roberts, Victorino, Loney, Hart, Swisher, O.Cabrera, F.Lopez, B.Molina, Teahen, Reynolds, Rowand, C.Ross
Starters: Oswalt, Harang, Blanton, Kendrick
Bullpen: F.Cordero, Hampson
Picks in the first 100: 6, 54

Opinion: The hitters on this team are interesting. There are a lot of good guys, but the onbase and slugging is not that great on any of them. There are only three hitters on the team with an OPS over .800 (Soriano, Roberts, and Ross). That makes me think this team is probably a year away from being on the Snake/Zap level. Oswalt is great, but the other starters struggled in 2008; and the bullpen is thin and shaky. And the biggest issue of all for the Tweeners is the lack of draft picks. They have an early pick at #6 but then only 1 more pick before round 7. The good news is the Tweeners probably don't need to draft anything but pitching.

Main needs: pitching, draft picks

Looking Ahead - 2009 NERDD

DiamondVision

Hitters: Holliday, Utley, McCann, M.Ordonez, Helton, Lowell, J.Guillen, Wells, Griffey
Starters: Beckett, Cook, Lowe, Kazmir, Kershaw
Bullpen: Jenks, S.Shields, Beimel
Picks in the first 100: 31 and 63

Opinion: The offense is pretty stout. Those first four in the list are as good as any team can put together. And Utley getting a 2 helps. The pitching is fairly average both in the rotation and the pen. Both could be easily improved except that the DVs are in terrible shape for the draft. Only 2 picks in the first 100? He sold his soul last year, and it got him a World Series berth... but he'll pay the price in the draft this year. Still it's going to be a good team. Probably not as good as last year, though.

Main needs: shortstop and draft picks

Drillers

Hitters: Ludwick, C.Lee, Vladimir, Longoria, Jeter, Shoppach, Posada, Wiggington, Ellsbury
Starters: Lincecum, J.Shields, Haren, Bush, Slowey
Bullpen: Nathan, Delcarmen, Dotel
Picks in the first 100: 11, 27, 33, 43, 59, 75, 91

Opinion: The Driller offense will not be as good as in the past. The trade for Ludwick and Shoppach helped, as those two will be two of the best hitters on the team. Neither the offense nor the defense is the strong suit of this team heading into the draft. The pitching, however, is excellent. Lincecum is maybe the best pitcher in baseball, and Haren and Shields are as good a 2-3 tandem as there is in the league. The bullpen is not deep, but Nathan is outstanding; and there are enough good relievers in this draft to complement him. And unlike the DVs, the Drillers have the picks to get them.

Main needs: CF, 1B, bullpen depth


FFTs

Hitters: Mi.Cabrera, Ichiro, H&K Matsui, Iwamura, M&Del.Young, Fukudome, Peralta
Starters: T.Hudson, Wainwright, Dice K, Liriano, F.Hernandez, Kuroda, McGowan
Bullpen: J.Rivera, Joba Chamberlain
Picks in the first 100: 50, 66, 82, 92, 95, 97, 98

Opinion: The offense has dropped off a lot from FFT teams of the past, but who wouldn't love to have this pitching staff? It's above average for 2009, but it is loaded with young studs for the future. Joba, Liriano, Dice K, Wainwright, Felix, Kuroda... And any staff with Rivera at the end of it is going to win their share of games of close games. Ichiro is the best defensive outfielder in baseball, and Iwamura and Michael Young both got better than they deserved on defense, but otherwise this is not a great defense behind these young pitchers.

Main needs: C, 1B, bullpen


Fungoes

Hitters: Berkman, Sizemore, Napoli, Ibanez, Figgins, Zimmerman
Starters: Halladay, Wakefield
Bullpen: Papelbon, Rowland-Smith, Burton, Sampson
Picks in the first 100: 4, 14, 15, 20, 21, 30, 36, 46, 47, 52, 68, 84, 100

Opinion: The talent at the top of this team is amazingly good: Berkman, Sizemore, Halladay, Papelbon... but there's a big drop off after that. Napoli is going to be very good, and Ibanez will help, but this team lacks a lot of depth. The good news is, the Fungoes will rule the draft. They have 13 picks in the first 100, including 7 of the first 36 picks. And as he has proven time and time again, the Fungoes KNOW how to pick 'em. Expect the look of this team to change dramatically by the end of the draft.

Main needs: 2B, SS, LF, RF, starting pitching, bullpen depth

Strat Cards

I've spent a little time these last two weeks going thru the boxes and sacks of SOM cards you have so graciously donated. And let me tell you... rubber bands suck.

There's still a lot of work ahead cataloging and seeing how many complete sets I can put together. And beyond that, I really don't have a plan of where this all goes.

Here are a couple of pics of the vast amount of cards I have been going thru. The plastic boxes with the colored tops (66 total) are all full and divided up by years. The loose stacks on the table are the ones I have gone thru recently. They are stacked by years. All the rubber bands are gone, but many cards were damaged by them. Apparently cheap rubber bands begin to melt to the cards within 2-3 years. Even good rubber bands go bad after 5-6 years. Of course it also has something to do with how and where they are stored.

I suspect there will be 2-3 complete sets of all years 1998 and later, and at least 1 complete set of the years before that. I don't even know what years I have anymore. I know original cards go back as far as 1971, with quite a few from 1984 on, and sporadic amounts for 1971 to 1983. And there are reprints of many different years prior to 1971. Most of those should be complete sets. I am using ziplock snack-size bags to store them by teams.

If any of you want to come by and help sometime, you are welcome to. :o)

Looking back at 2008

All of my life, I have associated years with the significant events that happened that year. And often, that association was baseball related. 1967 was the Red Sox/Cardinals and Bob Gibson... 1969 was the Orioles (I saw them play in Anaheim that year) and the Amazin Mets... 1975 was the Red Sox/Reds and Game 6... 1982 was Harvey's Wallbangers... 1989 was the A's/Giants and the earthquake... 1998 was the great home run chase and the year my family and I went on our baseball vacation...

And there are the Strat-centered references. 1987 was the birth of the Warpigs... 1989 was my first title... 1995 was the year we lost the division to the Fungoes and then got a second chance against him in the World Series...

And of course there are other things outside of baseball I associate with certain years. 1963 was the Kennedy assassination (both of my parents were in Dallas to see him that day)... 1969 was man walking on the moon... 1978 was the year I graduated high school... 1982 was the year I got married... 1987 was Aren... 1993 was Kara... 2007 was when I became Catholic...

So what things will we associate with 2008? Our country elected its first black President... Michael Phelps dominated the Olympics... the Inmates won their first division title... the DVs reached their first World Series... the Killer Bees won their first championship...

But 2008 will always be, for me, the year we lost Herman. It still seems almost surreal that he is not here and won't be at the draft next year. I keep expecting to hear from him with some question about the computer or how to order his cards or a comment about something I wrote on Big Innings. Everytime I make a trade I expect an email ragging on me about how I took advantage of someone. And I don't know WHAT I'm going to do about my tax questions next year.

This past year was rough. It took its toll on us emotionally and physically. We argued and fought, but we laughed and made up, too. We head into 2009 with a new owner, a new champion, and maybe a new perspective on Strat's place in our lives. It may not be life or death, but it's important in the connection it gives us to each other and the release it gives us from the day to day grind of work. It's nice to have something like that. Something we love. Something that requires us to count on each other and have others count on us.

Here's to a great and prosperous 2009. Let's have some fun. To quote manager Jimmy Dugan in A League of Their Own...
May our feet be swift; may our bats be mighty; may our balls... be plentiful.

Ordering Cards

It is 5:00 Thursday evening... and I was just able to order my cards and Version 14.0 upgrade online.

Oh, and my Baseball Forecaster came in today's mail!

Diana just THOUGHT we were going out tonight for our anniversary! Woohoo!

Trade

The DVs trade Pedro Martinez to the Sidewinders for Jeff "Don't call me" Francis.

Any of you guys call me Francis, and I'll kill you.

And I don't like nobody touching my stuff. So just keep your meat-hooks off. If I catch any of you guys in my stuff, I'll kill you. Also, I don't like nobody touching me. Now, any of you homos touch me, and I'll kill you.

Trade

The Buckeyes traded Jack Wilson and pick 58 to the Sidewinders for Kevin Gregg.

Trades

The Buckeyes traded Luke Scott to the FFTs for Pedro Feliciano and Chad Gaudin.

The FFTs traded Melky Cabrera to the Warpigs for Marcus Thames.

Uncarded Update and Range Ratings

I have gone thru the rosters and moved the uncarded guys to the bottom. They are highlighted in blue. I think I got them all, but it would help if you checked your roster to see if I overlooked anyone. To see the rosters, go to NASOMA.org and click on the link for updated rosters.

An interesting note: David Price will not have a card.

Also, SOM has released the defensive range ratings for the new cards. Go here to download the spreadsheet.

The 1's:
C - Y. Molina, Mauer, R. Martin, J.Varitek
1B - M. Texiera, A. Gonzalez, Pujols, Kotchman, C.Pena, Youkilis, D.Lee
2B - Pedroia, Phillips, Hudson, Iwamura
SS - Rollins, J.Wilson
3B - Beltre, Rolen
LF - Crawford, Endy Chavez, B.Anderson
CF - Beltran, T. Hunter, Sizemore, Victorino, McLouth, Cameron, B.Anderson
RF - Ichiro, Markakis, F. Guitierrez, Victorino

A Christmas Carol

Tomorrow night (Thursday) is the opening night of the musical. If any of you locals want to come, that'd be great. Get there early and watch me singing Christmas carols in the lobby as part of a quartet. Good fun.

Final Demerit Totals

With the Rhinos and Nads failing to get their final stats in on time (5 demerits each), the final demerit total for the 2008 season is:

16 Rhinos

6 Nads

5 Sidewinders

5 Zaps

5 Inmates

3 Mavs

2 Buckeyes

1 Warpigs

1 Tweeners

1 Killer Bees

According to the new rule, the following consequences have been earned:

Mavs - limited to a max of 20 players at the March cut down.
Inmates, Zaps, Sidewinders, and Nads - limited to a max of 18 players
Rhinos - limited to a max of 12 players

Now, as agreed upon, there will be no consequences assessed this time... but next year there will.

Draft Picks

On the 2009 Rosters page, I have converted the draft picks you own into the actual number of the pick for the first ten rounds. From this point forward, it would be easier if we refer to those picks by those numbers (in the case of trades or whatever). It makes it easier to keep track of.

I'll do the same for rounds 10+ after rosters are set in February or March. You can still trade those late round picks, of course. At the moment, everybody owns just their own picks in those rounds (except for the Pigs, who traded their 12th to the Buckeyes.)

As always, if there is a mistake, please let me know.

A couple of interesting things about the draft picks up to this point...

The Fungoes have 3 firsts, 3 seconds, and 3 thirds. They will have selected 9 players before the FFTs select their first.

The DVs, Warpigs, and Tweeners all have only six picks in the first 10 rounds. The Fungoes have the most picks in rounds 1-10 with 15.

The Nads and Sidewinders both own only their own picks and no more.

Oh, and just as a reminder... The number of draft picks you can actually make is determined by how many players you protect. The formula is:

30
- the number of players you protect
+ the number of reserves you own
+ 2
= the total number of draft picks you can make

Let's say for example that you keep 22 players and you have 2 reserves.
30
- 22
+ 2
+ 2
= 12 draft picks

The last two of those 12 would be optional. If you use them, you will be required to make cuts afterward to get back to 30 plus your reserves.

Uncarded selections are tied to the number of reserve picks you own. You can only protect or draft as many uncarded players as you have reserve picks. If, for example, you have two reserve picks, you may draft a maximum of two uncarded players. If you already have one uncarded player on your protected list, you may only draft ONE more uncarded player. You don't have to draft ANY uncarded players, of course.

Trade

Tweeners traded their 2009 2nd round pick and 3rd round pick to the Inmates for James Loney and Corey Hart.

Trade

The Buckeyes traded Joakim Soria and a 2010 Reserve to the Warpigs for the Wahoo 1^st round pick and a 2010 1^st.

Stats

Click on the team icons on the home page of NASOMA.org to see final stats for each team.

Another Quick Reminder

We still need final stats from the Tweeners, Nads, Rhinos, and umm... the Wahoos. Deadline is November 30.

Also, please check your rosters and draft picks as they appear on the current downloadable spreadsheets on the home page of NASOMA.org. If there are errors, let me know; but also, if you want to go ahead and make some of the more obvious cuts, that would make my job easier later on.

And on a personal note, the first pick in the draft is available. Let's talk trade!

Official 2009 Draft Order

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

I will have a draft grid created soon. I'll put it on the home page of the website.

World Series Trivia

The NASOMA Playoff page has been updated.

The Killer Bees are the 11th different club to win the NASOMA World Series in the 29 year history of the league. The DVs were the 18th different team to play in the World Series.

Eight current clubs have won it all: Warpigs (9 titles), Buckeyes (7), FFTs (3), Drillers (2), Sidewinders (1), Zaps (1), Fungoes (1), and Killer Bees (1)

Only the Nads and Rhinos have yet to play in the final round. Well, and our new team, the SuperGoofs, of course.

In the last 16 years, the finals have been a 5-game or 6-game series 15 times. The only exception was the 7-game series between the Warpigs and Drillers in 2003. There have been no 4-game sweeps in the last 16 years.

Ironically, in the first 13 years of the league, the Series went either 4 or 7 games ELEVEN times.

There have been 4 sweeps in 29 years. The last one was in 1992.

All Hail the Killer Bees!

The Killer Bees swarmed the DiamondVision 4 games to 1 to win the 29th NASOMA World Series. The championship is the first for the Bees. Congratulations to the new champs and to the DVs for a very fine season.