Five things to remember from 2007

As the last post of the year (I'm going to take the day off on Monday), we'll take a look at some of the memories from the 2007 season.

1. Liriano vs. Santana
All year long these two were contending for top pitcher honors. Both had amazing seasons and indeed faced off in the All-Star game. Neither was all that impressive in that game, but Liriano fared slightly better. Oddly enough the two would never face each other in a regular season game, but in round 2 of the playoffs, we finally saw the matchup we were waiting for -- twice! In game one, Liriano clearly outduelled Santana in an 8-2 victory, but game two was more even as both earned non-decisions. Liriano got to pitch in the World Series while Santana watched at home on TV. Liriano and Santana would once again contend, this time for the coveted Ben McDonald Award. Santana won by the skin of his teeth and Liriano was forced to settle for the Pat Listach Award.

2. New Blood
The Sardine City Straphangers and the New Jersey Team Buddah kicked off their inaugural seasons in 2007. Both teams started off with a loss - ok make that seven straight losses! After their eighth try, the Straphangers finally earned their first win and it took Team Buddah one extra game to win in their ninth try. Both teams will look to improve in 2008.

3. Newark's Steamrolling
The Sugar Bears were a powerhouse all season long, setting several offensive records along the way en route to a dominating final record. The Sugar Bears won their unprecedented fourth straight DMBL World Series. Chipper Jones took the Mitchell Award. Five Sugar Bears batters were in the top seven in OPS. Jim Edmonds and Marlon Anderson will forever be remembered for their gaudy and unexpected numbers.

4. Hall of Fame Opens its Doors
The DMBL finally took off in 2007 after much planning. The voters inducted four members: Tony Gwynn, Mark McGwire, Albert Belle, and John Wetteland. Although there weren't many votes, the Hall experienced a great opening year crowd in its Parsippany, New Jersey, location.

5. Brett Myers' Losing streak
Not since the days of Kevin Appier have we seen such a bad start to the season. Well at least as far as I can remember anyway. Either way, Myers faced a brutal start to his '07 campaign, going 0-12 early on. Myers finally broke the hex in May against the Honolulu Sharks. Myers looked like a sure bet to lose 20 games. His ERA stood at 10.62 at one point, but he worked hard with pitching coach Sam "Mayday" Malone and actually finished the season at 10-18 (meaning he was 10-6 following his disastrous 0-12 start). Considering where he stood earlier, his 6.27 ERA was somewhat respectable.

Top 10 DMBL New Year's Resolutions

The rosters and free agent lists are updated. Butch has a really good breakdown of the available players on the Ning.

Now for those of you that aren't sure what goals to reach for in the coming year, here's your DMBL-related goals for 2008.

1) I will reply to all email trade inquiries
Hey it doesn't take long to reply with a "no thanks". It'd be even better if a counter proposal was made, but sometimes you just don't feel like like making a deal.

2) I will make all appropriate lineup and roster changes when my player is hurt
Injuries happen to everyone and sometimes there isn't an available player on the roster to take a player's spot when the occasional bug hits. That's when it's imperative to make the right moves to ensure that Barry Bonds doesn't end up playing short stop or that guy with the 7.00+ ERA doesn't have to make a spot start.

3) I will complete at least one trade this year
It's hard to deal with some people and sometimes you just can't find a fit between two teams, but there has to be some way that one of the teams can be tricked...er I mean, convinced to make a deal that is beneficial to both sides.

4) I will vote for All-Stars, Hall of Fame, and Post-season Awards
We can all see that the voting results are pretty low sometimes, so take five or ten minutes and fill out your ballots! At least then you have a legitimate reason to complain when your guy doesn't make the squad or win the award.

5) I will post on the Ning
Everyone loves trash talk and rules discussions have been really great. It's a good way to get to know each other and to help mold the league into an even better one.

6) I will write at least one team note
Bring your team to life with some team notes. Some teams update their notes once a year, others every month, and yet others have tumbleweeds rolling through them (I believe Vancouver still has a reference to Honus Wagner on theirs).

7) I will show up to a live draft
Ok so it's not realistic for a couple of our out of staters, but it'd be nice to meet in person and put a face to a name.

8) I will make at least one snide comment about Butch "cheating"
Ok, that's the easy one!

9) I will maintain a full roster at all times
Why would you let yourself finish a season with less than 30 players? And don't forget to activate your disabled players in a timely fashion and make appropriate cuts after executing an unbalanced trade.

10) I will give the commissioner a large sum of money for all the hard work and dedication
Just checking to see if you're paying attention!

Season disk is here!

Saturday afternoon I found a nice present from Santa in the mailbox - the 2007 season disk! Woohoo. It's been a pretty busy weekend, but the rosters are updated and the free agent list will be soon too. Bear with me since the timing is not great right now with the Holidays and all. I probably won't be posting much until after the New Year, so have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and see you all in 2008.

What is a first overall pick worth?

It's always nice to win the lottery and get your pick of the litter in the first round. It would seem certain that you will get a top notch player - well certain at the time. How often does that pick really pan out? We'll take a look at the last ten drafts to see how our owners did...

Year	player	Team	Yrs w/ team
2007	Jered Weaver	HON	1+
2006	Zach Duke	WWD	1/2
2005	David Wright	ARK	3+
2004	Dontrelle Willis	TIJ	4
2003	Vicente Padilla	HAR	2
2002	Albert Pujols	PHI	6+
2001	Kaz Sasaki	VAT	3
2000	Tim Hudson	CAR	8+
1999	Orlando Hernandez	COL	1
1998	Nomar Garciaparra	PHX	9

In 2007, Honolulu selected pitcher Jered Weaver. Weaver had a solid rookie season and is looking as a likely keeper, so Honolulu did ok with this pick...for now.

Westwood's selection of Zach Duke was looked at as a no-brainer at the time, but Duke was mediocre for the Deductions in 2006 (8-8, 4.74) and was shipped off to Newark before the trade deadline. Duke fared much better for the Sugar Bears (5-1, 3.40), but wasn't protected for the 2007 season. South Boston drafted Duke on a flier, but he only got into a few games in relief and looks like a non-factor for the 2008 season.

Arkansas traded up to get the first overall pick in 2005, sacrificing C.C. Sabathia and six quality draft picks in order to get David Wright. That goes to show you what the Falcons thought of the young third baseman. For the most part, they were right to covet Wright as he has turned into a stud, possibly the best third baseman currently in the DMBL.

Tijuana had the first pick in 2004 and chose lefty Dontrelle Willis. It was a tough decision between Willis and Brandon Webb, who was drafted number two by Phoenix. In hindsight, he probably should have gone with Webb, who is a solid member of the Philly rotation now, but Willis did provide some decent seasons for the Banditos, even if his rookie year was a disaster. It remains to be seen if Willis is protected by new owner Tom Zagenczyk, though a productive 2008 season does not look to be in the cards.

In 2003, Harrison made a miscalculation by picking Vicente Padilla. Why was it a miscalculation? Because the third pick (that's right Junior Spivey was taken next) was none other than two-time Ben McDonald Award winner Johan Santana. Padilla was thoroughly mediocre in '03 (7-12, 4.31). Don't blame the Rats too much. No one knew Santana would be that good, but ouch, that still has to hurt.

2002 was another no-brainer as Philadelphia selected rookie phenom Albert Pujols. Pujols has been a fixture in the Endzone Animal lineup since day one and led the team to their first Morris Division title this year. Pujols is a perennial Mitchell candidate.

In 2001, Vatican City shocked the DMBL by picking reliever Kaz Sasaki with the first overall pick. Sasaki wasn't a bad pick, per se - he did save 57 games in three season with the franchise. But most of the league had been speculating over whether Jeff D'Amico or Barry Zito would claim the number one spot. It's not a true bust of a pick, more like a brain fart.

Carolina selected starter Tim Hudson in 2000 and as a testament to the Mudcats drafting prowess, Hudson is still a member of the Mudcats. Hudson has accumulated a 90-80 record over his eight seasons with a solid 4.20 ERA and 953 strikeouts. In 2004, Hudson won the Ben McDonald Award for his excellent 17-3, 2.08 season, the only award winner of the bunch so far.

In 1999, Columbia selected their second Hernandez brother in their franchise history. Two years earlier, the Crusaders picked Livan Hernandez in the first round of the draft. El Duque fared no better than Livan in his rookie season (7-19, 4.97) and was traded the following season. Duque has hung around in the league and has had some success. In 2000, he had a solid year for the Hawaii Volcanoes (15-6, 3.99) and was 16-9 in 2005 split between Las Vegas and Stanhope.

Finally in 1998, the Phoenix Dragons successfully drafted Nomah first overall, a player that would become a cornerstone for the struggling franchise. Garciaparra was a fan favorite and was still playing with the team until the franchise was dissolved in 2006.

Draft Lottery

Yesterday was the 2008 Draft Lottery to determine the draft order of the first eight teams in the first round. The big winner was Blue Ridge, who moved all the way up from fourth to first overall. If you checked it out last night, there has been more information added since, so you may want to go back and read up. The Lottery was started five years ago in a way to discourage teams from tanking games in order to get a better draft pick - not that it worked much on Las Vegas or Sardine City. Blue Ridge, with a good potential keeper list already, could really help themselves out with a strong draft, or possibly flip the pick for more draft picks. It should be interesting either way.

Lots of rumors are flying about the Mitchell Report. Many current and former DMBLers are being named, but don't worry, there will be no suspensions from the DMBL front office since steroids are not illegal under the current league constitution.

DMBL History Lesson, Part 4: the Modern Era

Amazingly the league back in 1997 is almost the same as it is today. Not much has changed other than some minor rules. Sure there's the Tom Prince Rule, which has never been implemented, the late season expanded roster rule, waiver period and the first round lottery, but none of these are really game-changing. Somewhere around 2004 or 2005 the waiver rules were relaxed and allowed teams to sign players after the trading deadline, though they were no longer elligible to be keepers past the current season.

On March 18, 2001, the first edition of This Week in the DMBL with Zane Smith premeired on the DMBL web site. Soon after, it was joined by Did You Know?, the Press Box, Rookie Watch, Number Crunch, and others.

2001 also featured the very first appearance of Butch's Pre-Season Sims. The Swami had debuted way back in 1993 in the MicroLeague Newsletter, but debuted on the web in 1999.

In the Summer of 2006, during a scheduled intermission, Butch Garretson ran a simulated tournament of the best teams in the DMBL's history, dubbed the Dream Season.

At the end of the 2006 season, the DMBL Hall of Fame began voting for its inaugural class. The voters voted in four members.

Who knows what the future holds for the DMBL? Maybe the scores will be featured on ESPN's bottom line? Maybe Mike and the Mad Dog will be doing more draft reviews? Maybe there'll even be a high-profile owner someday? Only time will tell!

DMBL History Lesson, Part 3: the Return

The MLB Strike left the MicroLeague in shambles even after the work stoppage was over. Many baseball fans were angry with the league and vowed to never attend, watch, or even follow another Major League ball game. But the MicroLeague was saved by another league. In 1995, Butch Garretson started the Steve "Bye-Bye" Balboni Newark Rotisserie Baseball League with six owners. One of the owners dropped out midway through the season and Garretson recruited Yaro Zajac to take over the delapidated roster. After being reintroduced to baseball, Zajac decided that he couldn't let the MicroLeague die. He recruited three of the Balboni League owners to take over for three of the owners who were no longer interested in reviving their MicroLeague teams - a fourth owner would drop out, and once again, another Balboni League owner was called on as a replacement. The three new teams would take turns picking apart the rosters of the three deserted teams, forming the Newark Sugar Bears, Jerusalem Rabbis, and the Toledo Mutthens. The league was successfully resurrected.

1997 saw a big change in the league for numerous reasons. MicroLeague was becoming old and stale and the new version, MicroLeague III was not a suitable upgrade. Garretson and Zajac had investigated a different simulation game - Diamond Mind Baseball. The game boasted more realistic results, with a lot more statistics in consideration and a lot more control for the owners. MicroLeague was cast aside and DMB became the new game engine.

With the success of the 1996 season and more interest in the league, the DMBL decided to expand to 14 teams in 1997. To accommodate four new expansion teams, the league instituted the first protected list rules. Teams would protect 15 players, then, as a player was selected in the expansion draft off their rosters, they could pull back one more player, up to two total players pulled back, for a protected list of 17 players. Austin owner Steve Zajac was vehemently opposed to the new rule, but the majority won out. In fact, most of the owners liked the idea of limiting the protected lists and kept the rule in place for each subsequent year.

Finally, the 1997 was perhaps most significant for the creation of the new league web site. Hosted on Yaro Zajac's AOL service, the site featured a lot of what it features today - stats, rosters, box scores. Finally, most of the league had a way to follow along with the happenings of the DMBL. About half of the owners had internet service at the time, but that number was going up.

DMBL History Lesson, Part 2

Please pay attention, there will be a quiz later. And spit that gum out...

So after a successful first season, Stump Matiash thought that he would run a similar league of his own. The league only had five owners and it didn't even make it through a full season before folding (I mean "permanent rain delay"), but it stoked the interest of Brent Campbell, who was invited to become the MicroLeague's first expansion team - the Scranton Sparrows.

Back in the early days of the league, there were no protected lists. It was what is known as a dynasty league. The entire roster was your keeper list. Back in those days, the draft was only ten rounds long, and no supplemental rounds. There was nothing left by that time anyway. Most teams were done drafting by round eight, leading to some joke picks in the final rounds like "Mickey Mantle" or "Mark Zotti". Brent was given the second pick in each round. The thinking was that it would not be fair to deny Maine/San Antonio the first pick that they have so rightfully earned. Brent was then allowed to solo draft for the final rounds to fill out his roster. Naturally the Scranton Sparrows did not fare well that season. With seven teams in the league, the schedule had a "bye series" for one team, meaning that one of the teams would not play for three days. This was also the first year that allowed for 5-man reserve squads, though it was pretty uncommon in those days to stash inelligible players there.

Having an odd number of teams was just weird, so the Powers That Be decided that the league should expand to ten for the 1993 season. Mark Hazen was the first owner recruited by Steve Zajac. It would mark the only time that an expansion team would make a trade in a year before their inaugural season. The Outlaws traded Rickey Henderson to Hazen's Cheyenne Warhawks for a draft pick. After the other two owners were recruited, the three expansion teams were allowed to make five waiver claims each during the season. With a roster of five players, at least the new expansion teams would not be so far behind going into the new 1993 season.

The three expansion teams would be cycled into the second, third and fourth slots in the draft order and rotate each round. The player qualifications were relaxed a little to allow a larger pool of players to be available. Commissioner Yaro Zajac wanted the league to be a little more realistic and since MicroLeague would randomly injure players in the game, he thought that injuries should factor into the game. The problem was that the MicroLeague games had no continuity. The game had no knowledge of what happened in previous games. There was no fatigue, no pitch counts, and no long-term injuries. The game never replaced players in the game unless they were injured or ejected. Even though the games were quick played - note that the quick play was not instantaneous, but more of a fast forward - you could tell when a player was ejected by the music that played when it happened. During the quick play, the game would pause to play the music, then continue quick play. So the commish came up with a scheme to determine if the injury was long-term by a roll of the dice. He set up a chart for a 10-sided die that he found in an old Dungeons and Dragons kit. Three of the numbers indicated a 15-game injury and one number indicated a 30-game injury. The rest were single game injuries. The first player to fall prey to the luck of the dice was Waikiki's Rob Deer. Deer would also become infamous for his record number of strikeouts that season.

1993 was the birth of the MicroLeague Newsletter - a weekly publication featuring stats, rosters, transactions and goings on in the league. It was distributed to its members to that they could better follow the league, since there was no league web site yet. Previously, the owners would have visited the Zajac household or phone in for their results. The Newsletter unfortunately only lasted about seven or eight issues - which are forever enshrined at the DMBL Hall of Fame.

The 1994 season went on pretty much the same. One of the few seasons without any new owners. Of course you may remember that 1994 was the season of the infamous strike in Major League Baseball. The strike left a bad taste in the mouth for many baseball fans and that was also the case with the MicroLeague owners. The league was abandoned and apparently left for dead for the 1995 season.

Next week, we'll take a look at the post-strike MicroLeague and start getting into some DMB...

DMBL History Lesson, Part 1

Most of you weren't around in the infancy of the DMBL - referred to as the MicroLeague back in the beginning. Here's a little trip way back in time to the beginning...

Always big fans of baseball, the founders of the DMBL played a lot of video games and simulations, including Hardball and Earl Weaver on the computer, Pete Rose Baseball on the Atari, and whatever was popular in the arcades (RBI maybe?). Mike "Stump" Matiash introduced the game MicroLeague to Yaro and Steve Zajac. Soon the newer MicroLeague II came out and Steve Zajac came up with the idea to compete against each other. Steve went out and bought a roto magazine and soon we were out recruiting for a new league. Yaro signed up Paul Barbosa and Brian Dissler and Steve recruited his buddy, Eugene Mullin. Ryan and Mark DeRonde were also signed up, but bowed out before draft day. With five of the original owners waiting for the draft to start and Paul running late - really, really late, we went ahead and started the draft, awarding Paul a player that he had originally talked about drafting in the first round, Will Clark. After the draft was completed, Paul finally arrived but it was too late. The Newark Crimewave were off to a poor start, but after Barbosa cooled off, he sat down and picked up the rest of his roster.

Now at the time, the rules were quite different. There was no pre-season and no five-man reserve roster. The season was only 150 games long. Rules for qualifications were different (400 at bats, 35 games for relievers). There were no injuries. With only six teams, there was only one division and it was decided that only the top two would meet in the championship. With only one division, the All-Star game featured the MicroLeague All-Stars against the Major League All-Stars in a two game match - one against the NL stars and one against the AL stars. Very few trades were made in that inaugural season. Arkansas traded Kelly Gruber to Vancouver for Mark Grace. Columbia traded Cecil Fielder to Arkansas for a package of players.

Eugene Mullin lost interest about 2/3 or the way through the season and Ryan DeRonde, originally slated as an original eight owner, took over. The Austin Outlaws took the division, but lost to the Vancouver Iron Fist in the first World Series. Bud Black was named the first series MVP - well-earned, as Black dominated the Outlaws in his two starts. Bobby Bonilla was named MVP and Ben McDonald earned the first "Cy Young" award in a controversial vote.

We'll take a look at some more history soon...

Tuesday Tidbits

There's a new Trade Talk article posted looking at some of the biggest trades. We kind of covered some of these in the last post, but this broadens the scope a bit.

Diamond Mind will ship the season disk on December 11, so I'll be making that annual call to put in my order. Hopefully that means that the rosters will be updated sometime mid-month.

We'll be starting the voting for the DMBL Hall of Fame soon. Last year we inducted our first class of Hall of Famers. The 2008 ballot will be updated soon and you'll get a chance to vote for the next group. Last year we inducted Tony Gwynn, Mark McGwire, Albert Belle, and John Wetteland.

There's a big discussion going on over at Freaks N Geeks about possibly expanding the farm teams in the DMBL. If you haven't checked it out and weighed in with your opinion, well, what are you waiting for?

There are going to be four rules/league items to vote on before this year's draft, so now's the time to put your two cents in. In case you don't remember, the four items are: 1) stadium leases, 2) outfield positions, 3) expansion, and 4) the new farm team rule.

The Ichiro Deal

If you haven't noticed, there was a huge trade yesterday between New Jersey and Las Vegas. New Jersey, with a sparse roster of keepers traded away star outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and a draft pick for seven players. It was a trade reminiscent of the old Brooklyn/Stanhope or Scranton/Arkansas deals that have been scarce lately. A look at some similar deals...

In 2003, the Brooklyn Bean Counters were in a similar situation as New Jersey and traded away Mike Lieberthal and a pick for four players to Stanhope. It didn't really work out too well for either team as all the players were either mediocre or useless.

In 2002, the Harrison Rats (now known as the Vegas Rat Pack) dealt lefty Al Leiter to Vancouver for three players. Leiter went on to have a good year and the Rats got a good year out of Javier Lopez, so it worked out for both teams.

Another Brooklyn/Stanhope deal occurred back in 2001 when the Bean Counters, in their inaugural year, dealt Todd Helton and Rich Garces to the Mighty Men for six bums -- OK, that's not really true. Bobby Higginson had a very nice year for the Beans and Lieberthal was serviceable, but the rest were bums. Garces was tossed aside, but Helton had an impressive season and has been the Mighty Men's first baseman ever since.

In 2000, the Hawaii Volcanoes made a trade with their fraternal (and unbeknownst at the time, satellite) team, the Arizona Rattlers to restock the Arizona roster. Hawaii acquired Brian Giles and Armando Benitez, both of whom had stellar seasons in 2000. Arizona got some help, but overall it looks like a bust for the Rattlers. Raul Mondesi and Dante Bichette had solid seasons, but the relievers made marginal contributions and the two draft picks netted zero results.

Ok, one more for shits and giggles. In 1998, the Wilkes-Barre Barons (who became the Keystone Gamblers) traded Moises Alou and a draft pick to Philadelphia for Carlos Perez, Garrett Anderson, and Mickey Morandini. Philly quickly traded Alou to New York in part of a ten-player mega deal and used the pick to select Dwight Gooden. Anderson and Morandini were solid if unspectacular and Perez and Gooden were both disasters.

Who knows what the future will hold for Vegas and Jersey after this blockbuster? It'll be fun to find out though.

Santana takes this round

After the young rookie Francisco Liriano won in the head-to-head playoff matchup, Johan Santana will have to console himself with the Ben McDonald Pitcher of the Year trophy. And it was a mighty close vote. The closest, in fact since Santana himself won it back in 2005. Is it the closest vote in DMBL history? Nope, a quick scan of the past winners will clearly show that's not true. In 1999, voters were torn between Arkansas' two aces and Kevin Brown and Pedro Martinez split the prize. It doesn't get any closer than a tie, folks.

A lone second place vote for Philly's Erik Bedard probably cost Liriano at least a tie for the award, but it's far from the most egregious award-voting sin. Way, way back in 1991 when the award still didn't have it's catchy moniker, there were three top candidates for the award - Ben McDonald of Arkansas, Dennis Martinez of Newark (that would be the Newark Crimewave, not the Sugar Bears of today), and Dennis Eckersley of Vancouver. While history shows that Eck probably had the best season of all three, being a reliever, he wasn't going to win this thing. One voter, who shall remain nameless, wanted to ensure that Ben Mac would secure the award (and unbeknownst to him grace the name of the trophy that would be awarded in the future). So the voter jotted down McDonald's name first and Martinez's name sixth, which sealed the fate of El Presidente. The two Denni were denied and McDonald won what some considered a tainted victory. McDonald didn't enjoy much of a career in the DMBL, despite being much younger than Martinez - in fact he only had one other winning season in 1997, while Martinez had a stellar run from 1991-1994. But if not for that single ballot, perhaps we'd have been awarding the Dennis Martinez Pitcher of the Year trophy?

Listach Award Announced

Francisco Liriano of Marietta won the coveted Pat Listach Rookie of the Year Award yesterday. It was the first time a member of the Mighty Men franchise has won the award. The Listach was first awarded back in 1998 when the Mighty Mites were still the Jerusalem Rabbis. Liriano was a key member of the team's 2008 World Series push, and despite losing in a tough six-game series to the Sugar Bears, Marietta's ownership is happy with the results. "Frankie pitched his heart out for us this year," said owner David Landsman in a press conference. The good news, however, was tempered by the announcement made earlier today in Marietta. Landsman announced that he was so happy with Liriano's performance that he has awarded him a year-long cruise around the world. "We think this is the best way to put Frankie in a position to be successful with our franchise for many years to come" said Landsman. Skeptics think that the "cruise" idea is a cover for some injury sustained after Liriano was forced to pitch on three days' rest in the Series. "It's awfully convenient that Marietta is willing to let their ace pitcher off for a whole year to hang out on a cruise ship instead of leading their team to another possible Series appearance" said Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Terence Moore.

Looking back on Draft 2007

It seems like as good a time as any to take a look at the first round of the 2007 draft and see what boneheaded mistakes we made or hidden treasures we uncovered. Let's take a look:

1) Jered Weaver, Honolulu - This was a pretty obvious pick at the time and it's not a bad one. Weaver had a solid 2007 season for Honolulu (10-13, 4.34, 1.21 WHIP). Weaver looks like he'll be a keeper for 2008, so the Sharks got their money's worth here.

2) Anibal Sanchez, DC - Not much of a reach here for D.C. at the time. Sanchez looked like he'd be a good bet for the future. Anibal posted pretty mediocre stats for the Slappers (7-13, 4.57, 1.47 WHIP). Things aren't looking so good for Sanchez for '08 though. In his first game of the Venezuelan Winter League, Sanchez blew out his arm and will miss the entire 2008 season. It's likely that Anibal will not be protected by D.C.

3) Cole Hamels, Sardine City - A disaster for the 2007 season (4-18, 6.07 ERA), but looking good for 2008. Hamels and pitching coach David Cone have discovered a flaw in Hamels' mechanics and think that the young lefthander will rebound in 2008.

4) Josh Johnson, Philadelphia - With the previous three picks, Philly's selection was a no-brainer. Johnson was 13-9, 4.54 with a 1.51 ERA in 2007 as the fourth man in the Animals' rotation. Like Sanchez before him, Johnson also injured himself in a freak Trick or Treating accident last month and will likely miss the '08 season.

5) Joel Zumaya, New Jersey - The draft room was stunned that Zumaya went this early, but Zumaya put up very solid numbers (8-5, 3.63, 1.23 WHIP, 3 saves) for Team Buddah. Zumaya, like many of the other first rounders apparently, will also miss the 2008 season after testing positive for midi-chlorians. Team Buddah, with a dearth of keepable players for 2008, may end up protecting Zumaya, however.

6) Takashi Saito, Hillsborough - So far out of the players taken, Saito has had the best 2007 season. Saito saved 17 games in a split closer role for the Hitmen and compiled a 2.44 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. Saito is looking likely to return in 2008 and could assume the full time closer role. A great pick for the Hitmen.

7) Chris Duncan, Hoboken - Duncan was the first position player to be selected and paid big dividends for the Cutters. Duncan led the team with 32 homers and also drove in 102 runs with a .985 OPS and helped to lead the Cutters to their first playoff appearance since 2002. Despite the successful rookie campaign, Duncan is on the fringe of being retained for the 2008 season. Hey, at least he didn't have any freak injuries...yet.

8) Dan Uggla, South Boston - Some questioned South Boston's wisdom (or sobriety?) when picking Uggla when they already had protected Rickie Weeks and Orlando Hudson. Nevertheless the Gang was tempted by Uggla's power potential. But Uggla never did pull it together. Uggla batted a mere .193 with a .599 OPS and 9 homers in 218 at bats. He looks like a borderline (very borderline) keeper for the Blue Ridge Bombers, but so far is looking like a major bust.

9) John Maine, D.C. - The Slappers make their second pick of the first round and selected another starting pitcher. Maine (11-8, 4.94) was not much better than Anibal Sanchez, but his 2008 outlook is much better. Maine made some major strides at the end of the 2007 season and the coaching staff seems to think he could be a solid middle-of-the-rotation starter.

10) Delmon Young, Carolina - Young became the first inelligible player to be selected in the 2007 draft. Young's numbers in the minors were nothing special, but he may end up with a bench spot on the Mudcats' roster next year. The Cats still think that Young has superstar potential.

11) Nick Markakis, Arkansas - Markakis was only a part timer for the Falcons in 2007, but Arkansas knew that he was a long term project. Markakis projects to be a starting member of the Falcon outfield in '08.

12) Jeremy Sowers, Marietta - The young lefty was so-so for the Mighty Men (11-10, 5.33 ERA). Maybe not a world-beater, but he did hold down the rotation slot all season and had a winning record to boot. He was disastrous in the playoffs (0-1, 15.88) and didn't even play against the Sugar Bears (mercifully so). Sowers is not expected to be protected by the Mighty Men.

13) Scott Olsen, Vancouver - Speaking of disasters...Somehow Scott Olsen amassed a winning record (6-5) despite getting shelled seemingly at every turn in the rotation (5.94 ERA, 1.59 WHIP). Vancouver has already stated that Olsen will not be protected after repeated bombings in the minors and the Arizona Fall League.

14) Dennys Reyes, Newark - Reyes was fortunate enough to be drafted by the Sugar Bears, but he was only average in 2007. He did end up with 11 saves on the year, good enough for second on the team, but he also blew six of them. His 4.25 ERA was decent, but only fifth best in the Newark bullpen. Reyes is a longshot to be kept by the Sugar Bears.

8)

Odds n Ends

The career stats have recently been updated. Browse through to bring back some of the memories of star players past. Remember when Jason Giambi was a Golden Falcon? Remember when Bob Tewksbury won 21 games? How good has Alfonso Soriano been in the DMBL? Skeptical about the "Lefties suck in DMBL" theory? Check out the careers of Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson, C.C. Sabathia, and others. Lots of good time-wastin' there.

Award winners will start to be announced Wednesday, so if you haven't voted yet, better get to it.

I'm not sure if I'll have enough to write about day in and day out during the offseason, so posts may be a bit sporadic in the next few months.

Team Review: Vancouver Iron Fist

Vancouver looked poised to make another playoff run, then things went horribly awry sometime around the All-Star break. The Fist found themselves on the outside looking in once again.

What went right: The offense was solid. David Ortiz hit 49 homers and Moises Alou was solid as a platoon mate. Chad Billingsley was a pleasant addition to the rotation and Billy Wagner had a solid year as closer.

What went wrong: The pitching staff couldn't get things together. The rotation was juggled constantly. Youngsters Rich Hill and Scott Olsen were disasters. Ben Sheets still can't figure out the DMBL and Chris Carpenter, acquired midseason from South Boston, was only mediocre. The bullpen, other than Wagner, was a revolving door of failure. Jason Bay looked lost at the plate.

The Fist have put themselves into a good position to rebound from the 2007 debacle, but there are still question marks. How much does Greg Maddux have left in the tank? Will Ben Sheets ever fulfill his potential?

Trade-happy Thursday

So finally, the first trade of the Hot Stove season has been made...hold on, make that the first two trades! And the Las Vegas Rat Pack is at the center of both of them.

The first trade had Placido Polanco going to the Rats from Vancouver. Polanco was signed as a backup to Chase Utley last year, but was deemed expendable in the offseason. Polanco slides in as the new starting second baseman for the Rat Pack and Vancouver gains a boost in their draft picks. Polanco spent six years in the starting lineup of the Columbia/D.C. franchise before being left unprotected and undrafted last season.

The first deal may have been small potatoes, but the second deal of the day was a blockbuster. Philadelphia sent starter Erik Bedard and 2006 and 2007 Eckersley Award winner Francisco Rodriguez to Vegas in exchange for first baseman Mark Teixeira and a 3rd round pick. Bedard broke out this year with a 17-9 record and 3.94 ERA for the reigning Morris Division champs. Teixeira has emerged as an offensive force the last two years. In 2007, Tex hit 37 homers with 134 RBIs and an .882 OPS for the Pack. Teixeira will likely bump Albert Pujols to the DH slot and take over first base for the Animals.

Lots of other rumors are still flying around, so no doubt we'll see more deals coming soon. Monday we'll cover our final team review and look for the announcements of the award winners coming next week as well.

Team Review: South Boston Gang

As everyone knows by now, the Gang has been sold to Tom Zagenczyk and renamed the Blue Ridge Bombers. Just what made owner Paul Barbosa finally give up on this team?

What went right: The Gang were just on the cusp of contention for a playoff spot all year, but could never really make a serious run at it. The team ranked middle of the pack in both batting and pitching. Vlad Guerrero and Garrett Atkins had great years at the plate. Barbosa made two great trades for the future, bringing in highly touted Prince Fielder from Vancouver and the up and coming Adam Wainwright from Hoboken.

What went wrong: The starting rotation was an inconsistent mess. Aaron Harang was the top starter, and his ERA was barely south of 5.00 (it was 4.89). Huston Street blew 12 saves. Mostly, the team fell victim to Barbosa's waning interest over the course of the season.

Now with new ownership, the Bombers actually have a very good core to build around and may be a surprise in '08.

Team Review: Sardine City Straphangers

In their first year, the Straphangers went for a "build-for-the-future" type of strategy, ignoring the 2007 standings. The only problem was, they were competing for last against the Las Vegas Rat Pack, who had written off 2007 much sooner than the Sardines.

What went right: I guess you can point to Raul Ibanez and Gary Matthews having good seasons as a positive. The truth is it didn't really matter much what they did. The club wasn't going to win in 2007 and the team knew it. The team did actually have a pretty decent bullpen, despite trading away B.J. Ryan. Akinori Otsuka, in particular, stood out. The club was successful in amassing a roster of young prospects and draft picks to build around for 2008.

What went wrong: The team did have the worst offense in the league by far, but given their strategy, it's hard to point to that as something that went wrong. In fact, it'll probably take a year or two to really figure out if any of their future plans went wrong or right. The only thing that could possibly be viewed as a negative is the high asking price for B.J. Ryan early on in the season may have scared off some clubs from negotiating for the reliever and Sardine City had to settle for a fifth round pick.

The Sardines sacrificed the 2007 season in hopes of a brighter future, so the score on their report card remains an incomplete until we can see if any of the seeds they planted will actually bloom in '08.

Keeper Peepers and other stuff

If you haven't joined the DMBL Ning group, then you're missing out on Butch's recent Keeper Peeper series of posts. Butch takes a look at the possible keeper lists of all 14 DMBL teams, trying to discern who is a "no-brainer" and who will likely be cut. It's a good way to gauge what the possible needs and surpluses of the teams are when trying to propose a trade this winter. The first three are already up there.

Yesterday, the winner of the Ian Rintel Front Office Award was revealed. The award was first truly awarded in 2004 (and retroactively awarded since).

Also finally posted to the site is the 2007 DMBL World Series Recap by Zane Smith. Zane takes a game-by-game look back at the Sugar Bears-Mighty Men series and announces the winner of the presitigious Bud Black Award.

Team Review: Philadelphia Endzone Animals

The Endzone Animals started the season off with a new look and ended up winning their first Morris Division title. They lost a tough seven-game series with the Mighty Men, but are in good shape to contend again in 2008.

What went right: Johan Santana once again proved to be a force at the top of the rotation. Santana is one of two McDonald award contenders. Erik Bedard also emerged as an excellent number two and Brandon Webb was solid, though not as good as expected. J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez were one of the best one-two bullpen punches in the league. Albert Pujols had another Mitchell-worthy season anchoring the Animals' lineup.

What went wrong: The offense just needed a little more from some of its cogs like Michael Cuddyer, Adam LaRoche, and Scott Rolen. The club's additions of J.D. Drew and Jimmy Rollins seemed like good ideas, but the two were only slightly better than average. Matt Cain had a rough debut season in the number five slot, but the Animals seem to think he has a bright future ahead of him.

The Animals have arguably the best pitcher and the best hitter in the league and with a strong bullpen, they are in position to be competitive for a long time.

Team Review: Newark Sugar Bears

The Sugar Bears had a historic season. What more can you say? They crushed their way into the playoffs and stomped through the playoffs, winning their unprecedented fourth straight title. The Sugar Bears have had as close to a perfect season as could be expected in the DMBL.

What went right: Um, everything. The offense was legendary, the bullpen was great. The starting rotation was solid. The team won 118 games, for crying out loud! Jim Edmonds and Marlon Anderson had career years, and I mean ridiculous career years. Cla Meredith had a tremendous year in the bullpen and Javy Vazquez seemed to awaken from the dead.

What went wrong:



So anyway, the Sugar Bears will be the target of everyone's "A" game in 2008. Can they win five in a row? Can anyone stop them?

Team Review: New Jersey Team Buddah

As a first year team, New Jersey had low expectations...and met them. The Buddahs finished third from the bottom.

What went right: The starting rotation really wasn't all that bad for a bottom dweller. Jose Contreras was pretty decent for most of the season and Tom Gorzelanny showed signs of being a solid starter. First round pick Joel Zumaya and Bobby Jenks anchored a solid bullpen. Ichiro Suzuki compiled another 200-hit season and rookie Yuniesky Betancourt had an impressive rookie campaign.

What went wrong: The closer position was a mess. Todd Jones blew twelve saves after taking over for the ineffective Bob Wickman midway through the season. Perhaps not coincidentally, Team Buddah led the league in losses after leading after seven innings with 14. The offense was pathetic, ranking 13th in OPS (.728) and 13th in runs created (743).

We'll give Team Buddah a pass in their first year of existence, but it is still unclear what their plans are for 2008. Trading their marketable talent for prospects may be a good idea.

Don't forget to vote!

Seeing as yesterday was election day, I'll use this opportunity to remind everyone to vote for post-season awards. Vote for the top six for the Mitchell (hitter) and McDonald (pitcher) awards and the top there for the Listach (rookie of the year). Voting is open for about another two weeks, so time is running out.

Since 2001, the total votes for post-season awards has averaged just over six votes, with 2003, 2005, and 2006 all maxing out at seven votes. This year we're hoping we can get into the double digits at least.

Look for Zane Smith's World Series recap article to hit the site either today or tomorrow. Finally, we'll know the answer to the burning question - "who won this year's Bud Black (World Series MVP) award?"

Team Review: Matthew's Mighty Men of Marietta

The Mighty Men faced the daunting task of taking on the steamroller known as the Sugar Bears in the DMBL World Series. Still, it has to be considered a successful season. The Mighty Men played in the Series for the second time in franchise history and the first time since 2000 when they were the Jerusalem Rabbis.

What went right: The Mites' offense was probably second only to the Sugar Bears. Wes Helms and Ray Durham had career years. Derek Jeter, Jim Thome, and Todd Helton all had great years and Matt Diaz and Wily Mo Pena had breakout seasons. Francisco Liriano had a McDonald-worthy season, as well as a likely Listach award. Mike Mussina and A.J. Burnett were solid. The bullpen was top notch - with future Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman joined by late-season acquisition B.J. Ryan.

What went wrong: They had to play the Sugar Bears. You can't say much else went wrong for the Mites. Sure the team never really settled on a fifth starter and Jeremy Sowers was only so-so as the fourth. If you really want to be picky, we'll pick on Morgan Ensberg going 3-27 (.111 average). You suck, Morgan!

The Mighty Men made a strong push to win it all in 2007 and they may end up paying for it in 2008. Still you have to say it was worth it for Marietta.

Team Review: Las Vegas Rat Pack

It was clear from the beginning of the season that the Rat Pack would not contend, so they sacrificed the 2007 season and focused on rebuilding the roster for '08.

What went right: The Rat Pack did in fact gain the top draft position for 2008 and are looking poised for a rebound season. Joe Mauer had another great season and the club made a good deal to bring Matt Holliday in from D.C. Mark Teixeira and Chris Young were solid despite being surrounded by inferior support.

What went wrong: While the Rats ended up with the worst record in the league, that wasn't necessarily a negative. Oliver Perez tied the single season record with 21 losses. The bullpen and rotation were atrocious. Joe Blanton and Jhonny Peralta regressed.

The Rats roster was always in flux in 2007 so they never really did develop a chemistry. The Rats do believe that the rebuilding effort will be a success next season, so it remains to be seen if 2007 was truly a lost season or a successfull one.

Team Review: Honolulu Sharks

After missing the playoffs last season, the Sharks reclaimed their spot in the playoffs in 2007, giving them four playoff appearances in the last five years. The Sharks were pretty steady all year, staying in a playoff spot for most of the year. They ended up winning 86 games and tying with Hoboken for fourth overall.

What went right: The Sharks were a pretty balanced team - decent offense and a decent pitching staff. Rookie Jered Weaver was solid and Jeff Francis was a surprise for the Sharks. Jason Schmidt won 17 games somehow, despite poor peripheral numbers. Veterans Jason Giambi, Jermaine Dye, and Miguel Tejada all had very good seasons, while youngsters Adrian Gonzalez and Brian McCann had breakout seasons.

What went wrong: The obvious target here is the bullpen. Closer Tom Gordon was a disaster, blowing 11 saves and compiling a 5.50 ERA. The usually dependable Roy Oswalt got off to a rough start and ended up with a disappointing 5.20 ERA, though he did end up winning 12 games. The Sharks never did really find a fifth starter as both Kenny Rogers and Cliff Lee were poor.

If the Sharks had a better closer or a dependable fifth starter, they probably could have won a few more games last year. Look for the Sharks to upgrade their bullpen in 2008.

Team Review: Hoboken Cutters

The Cutters have to be happy with their season this year. Butch's Sims picked Hoboken as the second worst team in the league and the Swami picked them to finish middle of the pack. The Cutters ended up tied for fourth in the league with the Sharks with an 86-76 record, tying their previous franchise best in 2002.

What went right: The offense really clicked. Miguel Cabrera led the team with a .363 average, .989 OPS, 50 doubles, and 114 RBIs. Josh Bard and Chris Duncan had breakout seasons. Trades for Greg Norton, Brandon League, and Wes Littleton helped bolster the team. Vicente Padilla had a good year atop the rotation (12-6, 4.35 ERA).
What went wrong: Hoboken had a lot of youngsters in key roles, so it was not a surprise that not all of them panned out. Ian Kinsler, Hanley Ramirez, and Mike Jacobs were just alright at their respective positions and will need to bring their games up to the next level. Scott Kazmir and Boof Bonser are promising, but need a little seasoning. The idea to split Isringhausen's closer role was a good one as Izzy showed signs of losing it (5.69 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, but 11 of 12 in save situations).

Hoboken made a nice run, but they needed just a little bit more to be taken serious as a playoff contender. The youngsters needed to step up, but you really can't fault anyone considering the low expecations of this team early on. Manager Wally Backman earned that new contract extension this year.

Expansion: Yea or Nay?

With expansion a hot topic lately, let's take a look at the pros and cons of expanding.

First the cons. Well obviously the talent level will be watered down. 60 more players selected means less quality free agents. It'll be harder to make the playoffs. Teams that have stockpiled great talent will obviously be hurt more than those with thinner rosters. Expansion teams will most likely raid these teams more than their weaker counterparts.

Now on the other hand, less free agents and harder to make the playoffs means the league will require you to dig deeper. If you like that sort of thing, then this is a bonus! Adding two more teams spreads the talent around more (hopefully) and gives you more possible trading partners.
Let's take a look at the history of those expansion teams that I mentioned yesterday.

The 1992 Scranton Sparrows finished dead last in the league, but in 1993, the Sparrows turned things around tremendously, winning 90 games and finishing just outside of the final playoff spot. In 1994, the team moved to Louisiana and regressed back to second worst, but the franchise enjoyed three straight winning seasons, including a Hanover Division title.

The three teams in 1993 went in three different directions. The Cheyenne Warhawks became the only expansion team to ever make the playoffs in their inaugural year. In fact, the team made the playoffs in the only two years of its existence. Meanwhile, the Waikiki Keys lost a still record 129 games and is probably the worst team in the history of the DMBL. But in year two the Keys made tremendous improvement and won 76 games. The team looked headed in the right direction before dissolving after the 1995 strike season. The Charleston Chiefs meanwhile finished second to last in 1993 and then dead last in 1994.

The 1997 teams almost all finished in the last spots, except for Carolina, who finished in 10th. The last three spots went to Honolulu, Lisbon, and Phoenix. Carolina would be the first to make the playoffs in their third season, while Honolulu didn't make the playoffs until 2003 and the Lisbon Diabos (which were sold and moved to Philadelphia) first made the playoffs in 2005. The Dragons (now defunct) have never made the playoffs or had a winning record.

Expansion?

With all the revenue the league made on cable television contracts this past World Series, the league is abuzz about expanding. There has been some interest from outside parties in obtaining new franchises, so the ownership search could be quite quick.

The league first started as a six-team league back in 1991. 1992 was the first expansion year - one new franchise, the Scranton Sparrows joined. They filled out their roster by drafting along with the rest of the league and then basically having a solo supplemental draft after the initial 10-round draft. In 1993, three new franchises were added. They were allowed to draft five initial players during the 1992 season, claimed off waivers and turned into keepers for the 1993 season. They then drafted alongside the other seven teams and had their own supplemental draft after the regular draft. The last expansion in league history was in 1997 when the league expanded to its current 14-team format. The expansion teams, for the first time in league history, drafted players that were currently rosterd by the other 10 teams. All ten teams submitted protected lists, also for the first time, of 15 players and were allowed to pull back one player after another one was selected - up to a max of 2 players pulled back. In 1996, 2001, and 2006, there were dispersal drafts, but those were quite different from expansion.

Most likely any new expansion would be handled similarly to the 1997 expansion, with teams protected 12 or 13 players and pulling back a player after losing one. Playoffs, division structure, and player qualifications would still need to be discussed. If the league expands, we are looking at 2009 most likely, rather than 2008.

We'll take a look at the pros and cons of expansion tomorrow, as well as the immediate successes of the expansion teams.

Team Review: Hillsborough Hired Hitmen

The Hitmen ended up in the three-way tie for eighth place. Despite being in a playoff spot for a good part of the season, the Hitmen hit some bumps in the road and ended up on the outside looking in.

What went right: The Hitmen offense and pitching were both in the top half of the league. Robinson Cano had a great year atop the Hitmen lineup. Ryan Howard followed up his Listach Rookie of the Year season with a Mitchell Award-worthy season. Takashi Saito and Chad Cordero were a solid closer tandem.

What went wrong: The young pitching staff is still going through growing pains. Felix Hernandez took a big step backwards after a successful rookie campaign and Jeremy Bonderman is still trying to figure it out. Rookie Justin Verlander was up and down, but showed enough moments of brilliance to give Hitmen fans some hope. Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Delgado had down years - well, down for them anyway. A-Rod still managed to score 100 runs and Delgado did hit 34 homers and 93 RBIs, but overall, expectations were higher for the two.

With a rebound from A-Rod and Delgado and some more progress from the young arms, maybe Hillsborough will get over the playoff hump next season.

Gold Glove Rookies

The Gold Glove winners have been announced on Wednesday night. Three rookie DMBLers received the award, the most since the awards were given out in 2001. Hillsborough's Russell Martin took the prize at catcher. Joe Mauer and Ivan Rodriguez, who both narrowly missed winning the award last year, also narrowly missed winning it this year. But in the end Martin's near-perfect percentage, games played, and total chances made him a clear choice.

The second rookie was Sardine City's Josh Barfield. Barfield was originally splitting time this season with journeyman Julio Lugo, but the Straphangers knew that Barfield would benefit from a full-time gig, so Lugo was sent packing. Whether Barfield's bat was good enough for the Sardines to keep him in the lineup next year is a question, but his glovework could make the decision harder.

The last of our rookie trifecta is Las Vegas' Shane Victorino. Victorino was a bit of a find for the Rat Pack. Drafted in the sixth round, Victorino paid off for the Rats, playing both left field and center field. Rat Pack management has already thrown their support behind Victorino, making it likely that the Gold Glover will remain a key component of the 2008 Rat Pack.

Team Review: D.C. Bushslappers

The Bushslappers snuck into the playoffs last year with an 81-81 record - the first time in franchise history (going all the way back to the Columbia Crusaders days) that the franchise earned a playoff spot.

What went right: The Bushslappers actually put in a great run in the second and third quarters of the season. Carlos Beltran and Alfonso Soriano put up excellent numbers. Esteban German, who was in platoon roles early on, earned regular playing time and ended up hitting .350 over 329 at bats with a .953 OPS. The bullpen's co-closers Jonathon Papelbon and Joe Nathan were lights out and provided the Slappers with some confidence in the late innings. D.C.'s 13 wins after trailing after 7 innings tied for the most in the league.

What went wrong: At the beginning and ending of the season, the Slappers were mediocre. The Slappers backed into the playoffs, despite a 4-game losing streak to finish the season. Jose Reyes and Matt Holliday (who was traded midseason) had subpar years. The starting rotation was inconsistent at best. Anibal Sanchez led the team in ERA (4.57) despite a 7-13 record. Three of the five starters had losing records and three of the five had ERAs of 5.00 or higher.

D.C. will need to beef up their starting rotation and awaken those underachieving bats to keep up with the other Morris Division teams. They got the playoff hex out of the way and now will be looking forward to posting their first winning record.

Team Review: Carolina Mudcats

The on again/off again Mudcats were more off than on in '07. They finished just outside the playoffs, tied with Vancouver and Hillsborough at 79-83 for 8th overall.

What went right: Travis Hafner had a historical season - 60 homers, 136 runs, 123 RBIs, 1.176 OPS, .319 average, .460 OBP, .716 slugging. Billy Hall provided some offensive punch and Rocco Baldelli managed to stay relatively healthy.

What went wrong: The pitching, usually a strength of the Mudcats, was shaky. Carlos Zambrano and Roy Halladay were mediocre and Barry Zito was disastrous. The rest of the offense was weak. Aramis Ramirez contributed 30 homers and 107 RBIs, but his .283 OBP was poor. Grady Sizemore underachieved with only 58 RBIs and 159 strikeouts. The bullpen blew 28 saves - tops in the league.

Carolina's core is still intact, so as long as they fix the few problem areas, the players should rebound in 2008.

New owner found for Gang

Welcome to our newest member, Tom Zagenczyk, who will be taking over the South Boston Gang. Tom (or should I say "Dr. Tom"?) is Assistant Professor of Management over at Clemson University. Many of you may know Tom from his involvement in some Yahoo! fantasy leagues.

The Sardine City Straphangers, meanwhile, have made some changes in their coaching staff. After a disappointing inaugural season, the Sardines have asked manager Bucky Dent to take a pay cut, with incentives for making the post season, but Dent declined, saying that the offer was an insult. Dent was talked into staying as the bench coach. Replacing Dent at the helm will be Joe Torre. Torre, the recently freed former manager of some New York-area minor league team, will have his hands full, but is excited to take on the challenge.

Team Review: Arkansas Golden Falcons

For the first time since 1991, the Golden Falcons missed the playoffs and for the first time in franchise history, they finished with a losing record at 80-82. GM/Owner Stump Matiash now faces a rough road ahead to get back to the glory days.

What went right in '07: Barry Bonds, Justin Morneau, and Lance Berkman all had solid seasons at the plate. Kenny Lofton defied Father Time yet again and the Falcons were able to work their platoons well over the course of the season. The Falcons finished the season on a 17-7 run and finished only one game out of a tie for the sixth seed. Nick Markakis and Chris Coste were solid draft choices.

When went wrong: The usually reliable Falcon pitching was disappointing. Fans were perplexed when Curt Schilling spent half the season in the minors. When Schilling finally returned to Arkansas, he pitched like his old self, going 8-4 with a 3.62 ERA. Young hurlers Ervin Santana and Daniel Cabrera were disasters and Dan Haren wasn't much better either. The pen blew 20 saves over the season and the Falcon pitching staff had the second highest ERA in the league. David Wright put up mediocre numbers after a great 2006 season.

Overall, the Falcons are looking like an older team and their lack of draft picks did them in early. Although certain questionable managerial decisions (Schilling, Brad Lidge) didn't help matters. The second half run certainly gives them hope, but there are many areas to improve on in 2008.

K-Rod claims the Eck

Philadelphia's Francisco Rodriguez has done it again, taking home the 2007 Dennis Eckersley Reliever of the Year Award for the second straight year. It was a pretty close battle for most of the year between K-Rod and Vancouver's Billy Wagner, but Vancouver's late season swoon cost Wags many save opportunities. Looking down the standings, it wasn't a big year for closers in 2007. In fact, K-Rod's 65 relief points was the lowest total in the DMB Era. Part of this can be attributed to the rapid rise of closers-by-committee this year. Five of the top ten in relief points were part of a committee or platoon. Cla Meredith, the highest ranked part-timer, shared closing duties in Newark with Denys Reyes and five other pitchers in the Sugar Bear pen had at least one save. Sardine City's Akinori Otsuka split the job with B.J. Ryan, at least until the latter was traded to Marietta. Hoboken's Juan Rincon split his duties with incumbent closer Jason Isringhausen. Jon Papelbon and Joe Nathan shared the role in D.C. Carolina, Hillsborough, and Las Vegas all had shared or undefined closer roles. Is this a new trend? In Newark, it certainly seems to be that way ever since John Smoltz was converted back into a starter. As for the other teams, it all will depend on the strengths -- and weaknesses of their bullpens.

DMBL Freaks N Geeks

You all should be getting an invite to the new DMBL Freeks N Geeks Ning community. It's a good way to get some league discussion and trash talking going. Sign up and play around a little. You can post messages on other owners' pages - accuse Butch of cheating, he likes that! You can start or participate in discussions. There's already one going on about rule changes that could go into effect for the 2008 season. Feel free to start any topics you want - players on the trading block, venting about how player X didn't perform up to par last year, your pitch for why we should vote for Bengie Molina for MVP, or whatever. Doesn't even have to be DMB-related. Post your latest movie review or your predictions for the MLB World Series (that "other" league). Post an invite to a Yahoo league you are starting. Or brag about how well you did in that other league you signed up for in 2007 - even though we all know that no other league's championship can compare to winning the DMBL Series! There is also a blog feature, so you can start your own blog about the Hoboken Cutters or the Anti-Golden Falcons blog. Finally, you can upload pictures, so you can share photos of your favorite player or pictures of your kids or photos from your latest trip to Transilvania.

And when you're done playing with that, don't forget to vote for the Mitchell, McDonald and Listach awards!

DMBL Mirror League wrap-up

There are already some rumors of potential new owners swirling around the DMBL office. There could be an announcement as soon as this week. Speaking of announcements, some of the league awards will begin to be announced this week. You may already know the winners of the Eck and the Rintel awards - look for the write-ups shortly, as well as the Gold Gloves. Make sure to get your votes in for the other awards.

This year the Hillsborough Hired Hitmen won the DMBL Mirror League. Vancouver was second, with Newark and D.C. following? Does this bode well for the fortunes of these teams in 2008? And what does this say for Team Buddah, the Sharks, and the Cutters who brought up the rear?

In 2006, Hillsborough also won the Mirror League, with Newark and Vancouver in second and third, respectively. Newark of course went on to win the 2007 DMBL World Series, but Hillsborough and Vancouver both narrowly missed the playoffs. How did Series runner up Marietta do? They finished ninth! The last place team, the Hoboken Cutters, was the fifth seeded playoff team in '07. Honolulu, the fourth seed, finished 12th! Ok, maybe that's just an aberration.

In 2005, Vancouver finished atop the Mirror League, with Hillsborough second and Newark third (same three teams, huh?). Vancouver and Newark met in the '06 World Series and the Hitmen finished just outside the playoffs again. Westwood finished in last and weren't competitive in '06, but the Arkansas Falcons finished 13th in the ML and ended up making the playoffs. Other playoff teams: Carolina (4th) and Marietta (6th) were the top seeded wild cards. The '05 ML had a better track record.

In 2004, Newark, Philly, and Arkansas headed the ML standings. Arkansas and Newark won their respective divisions and met in the World Series and Philadelphia made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In fact, five of the top six ML finishers made the 2005 DMBL Playoffs. The sixth, Honolulu, finished seventh in the ML, so 2006 is looking more and more flukey by the minute.

Finally 2003, the year the Mirror League was first put to use. Newark took the ML in '03 followed by Stanhope, Carolina and Hillsborough. Newark, of course, began their historic four-season championship run in 2004 and Carolina and Stanhope both made the playoffs. Hillsborough, however, finished dead last in the league. Two playoff teams, Honolulu (12) and Tijuana (11), finished in the bottom four of the ML standings.

So what's it all mean for 2008? Probably not much, really. Newark, Hillsborough, and Vancouver probably stand to be in good shape come draft time. Expect some competition from D.C., Vegas, and whoever takes over South Boston. Honolulu, who doesn't have a great ML track record is always a wild card, blatantly disregarding the ML's prognostication powers. As the saying goes, "That's why they play the games!"

South Boston franchise up for sale

After two seasons in South Boston, the Gang is being put up for sale. Owner Paul Barbosa stated in a press conference yesterday that his heart wasn't in it any more. After three playoff appearances between Kentucky and Tijuana in six seasons, the move to South Boston didn't bring any success in 2006 or 2007. The Gang finished in 10th overall in '06 and then slipped to 11th in '07. Barbosa retires just shy of 1000 career wins (981). Barbosa was one of the original founding members of the DMBL - back in the Microleague days - as the owner of the Newark Crimewave. In 1992, he moved the team to Tampa Bay and renamed them the Sweat Sox. The Sox gave Barbosa his first winning season in 1993, but fell short of the playoffs. After the strike, the Sweat Sox were disbanded, but Barbosa came back with an expansion franchise in 1997 - the Lisbon Diabos. The Diabos would become the Philadelphia Eagle Wings in 1998. Barbosa gave it one last hurrah in 2000 when he purchased the Toledo Mutthens and moved them to Kentucky. The Hillbillies made the playoffs in the first season of their existence, then moved to Tijuana in 2002. The Banditos snuck into the playoffs in 2002 and in 2004. In 2004, despite posting an 79-83 record in the regular season, won a one game "play-in" game and advanced all the way to the second round, where they were just one game away from upsetting the Golden Falcons and reaching their first DMBL World Series.

Sugar Bears win fourth straight

Congrats go out to the Newark Sugar Bears, who won their fourth consecutive DMBL championship Friday. The Sugar Bears completed a historic run, breaking all sorts of offensive records and becoming the winningest regular season team to win a championship.

The Mighty Men could not do anything against Chien-Ming Wang, Friday's starter for Newark. Wang pitched seven innings, holding the Mites to one run on five hits and two walks. Marietta's A.J. Burnett was keeping things close until the floodgates opened in the sixth inning where the Sugar Bears scored four runs to blow the game wide open. Bobby Abreu and Jim Edmonds each had three hits and Carlos Guillen drove in three RBIs to lead the offense. The series MVP will be revealed shortly, or as soon as Sugar Bear owner/GM Butch Garretson is done partying and drinking champagne out of the league trophy.

Now that the series is over, trading is once more allowed, so hopefully we'll see some action on the Hot Stove coming soon. Don't worry, the blog won't be going away. We'll be taking a look at the upcoming awards announcements and do some reviews and previews during the off season.

Critical Weekend

By the time my next entry is written, we will have a champion. Will it be the Sugar Bears winning an unprecedented fourth straight title? or will it be the Mighty Men winning their second championship?

The Mighty Men have thought long and hard about going with a tired Francisco Liriano in game six, but opted to go the safer route with A.J. Burnett. Liriano has never pitched so many innings in his pro career, so who knows if this will have any effect for next year. Liriano was already complaining of various aches and pains after his last start. Owner David Landsman was questioned about overworking the phenom. "I didn't trade a first rounder for the kid to sit in the dugout during games" said Landsman. "He's going to pitch when he's told to and that's that."

The Sugar Bears, meanwhile, will toss their Wang out for game six after showing their Johnson in the previous game. "Personally, I'd rather see Bush than either of those" said Landsman. He added "I feel like I'm playing one of those crazy 'theme teams' of Garretson's."

Sugar Bears roar to 3-2 lead

Game five was all Sugar Bears as Newark jumped out to an early 7-4 lead and never looked back. One bright spot for the Mighty Men was the work of their bullpen. With the exception of Rafael Betancourt, the other four relievers held the Sugar Bears to one unearned run over 4 2/3 innings and struck out eight. With the Mighty Men facing a choice of once again going with a tired Francisco Liriano or A.J. Burnett, the bullpen may play a big factor in game six.

Meanwhile, it was the bottom half of the order that lifted the Sugar Bears yesterday. The 1-4 hitters combined to go 3-17 in the game, while the bottom five went 14-22. Manny Ramirez has been one of the few low spots in the Sugar Bear lineup. Since opening the series with a 2-4, 3 RBI night, Ramirez has gone just 2 for his last 16. Mark Teahen finally broke out of his 1-13 slump with a 3-5 night.

Look for a new Rookie Watch article later tonight.

Mussina-Johnson set for game 5

Mike Mussina, the only pitcher to have beaten the Sugar Bears at home so far this post-season, will try to repeat the feat against Randy Johnson, who pitched well in game one. Mussina has not fared well at the Cereal Bowl in the regular season. While Mussina pitched two solid games against Newark in Marietta, Mussina was roughed up in two other regular season starts. In a combined nine innings, Mussina has given up 21 hits and eight earned runs (2 unearned), though he does have nine strikeouts and escaped a decision in each outing. Johnson, meanwhile, has only faced Marietta once in the regular season and the results were similar to game one: 6 IP, 7 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts and a victory. Of course with the Sugar Bear offense, they won't need much more than that.