Well today is the big day. The first day of exhibition games and the first chance that teams really get to put their new lineups to the test.
A lot of teams are experimenting with different stadium configurations this pre-season. Will it lead to a lot of crazy stadiums inhabiting the land of the DMBL? Probably not. The two most extreme stadiums have probably been the 2005-2006 Cereal Bowl and the 2000 Dragon's Lair (a Coors Field clone). With roughly half the league experimenting with custom stadiums, we could be in for a few new extreme parks.
This begs the question: do you build your stadium for your team or do you build your team for your stadium? Of course it's unlikely that any teams take it into consideration, but it's not inconceivable to have a draft plan that includes a concept of a stadium in there. If the plan is to play in a pitchers' park, you may concentrate less on pitching and more on offense and fielding. Or if you plan to play in a hitter's park, you may load up on your pitching, especially a strong and durable bullpen. It's a pretty backwards way of building a team, so I doubt anyone will implement this kind of thought process any time soon, but it could be in the back of an owner's mind. Did the Cereal Bowl have any influence on Butch Garretson drafting six lefty pitchers? Garretson hasn't yet committed to using the same stadium configurating this year, but it could have been a factor. Then again, he does have 20 pitchers on his roster...
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
"damn Stump"
One more day til spring training games begin. Several teams are talking about building new stadiums. Vancouver, Hoboken, Newark, and Arkansas are all using different stadiums for their spring training facilities than last year's facilities. Will Newark return to their crazy Coors Field-esque stadium? Sugar Bears management is still considering the matter.
Meanwhile, Arkansas drew Newark GM/Owner Butch Garretson's ire when they invited outfielder Jeff DaVanon to camp. DaVanon was expecting to at least be a supplemental pick, but was passed over by Newark. "When they left me off the protected list, that kind of hurt my feelings, but I understand it's a business" said DaVanon in a press conference. "But after watching round after round go by, I started fuming." And what better way to exact revenge on the Sugar Bears than by signing with their arch-rivals? Garretson would not leave a comment, only muttering "damn Stump" on his way to the team clubhouse this morning.
Meanwhile, Arkansas drew Newark GM/Owner Butch Garretson's ire when they invited outfielder Jeff DaVanon to camp. DaVanon was expecting to at least be a supplemental pick, but was passed over by Newark. "When they left me off the protected list, that kind of hurt my feelings, but I understand it's a business" said DaVanon in a press conference. "But after watching round after round go by, I started fuming." And what better way to exact revenge on the Sugar Bears than by signing with their arch-rivals? Garretson would not leave a comment, only muttering "damn Stump" on his way to the team clubhouse this morning.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Monday Musings
Well Draft Day has come and gone, and now we look forward to Spring Training. The 2007 Draft may have been one of the longest in the history of the DMBL/Microleague. We'll post some draft analysis at a later date, after the draft results have been posted. Let's take a look at some of the post-draft fallout.
The Mighty Men wasted no time and have made Kerry Wood a record holder, though I doubt he would be proud of this one. Wood was released before the draft was even finished, making him the fastest to be released after being drafted. The Mighty Men realized they were at their inelligible limit, so they decided to cut Wood so they could draft Josh Hamilton and Micah Owings. Oh yeah, they also traded off Kevin Kouzmanoff to the Golden Falcons to create another opening. The Mighty Men drafted 8 inelligible players in this year's draft!
Sunday, the Bushslappers made the first post-draft pickup and invited Mark Mulder to camp. We don't expect Mulder to see any action in the spring, but maybe D.C. thinks that Mulder can rebound and show something. Will he be worth holding onto? Probably not, but he's worth a spring roster spot, for now.
The Sugar Bears, meanwhile, were disgusted that newly-drafted outfielder Nate McLouth showed up out of shape. McLouth was cut in favor of former Golden Falcon catcher Javier Valentin. McLouth was quite upset with the move and even stated that the Sugar Bear fitness policy was impossible to live up to. "They draft you and send you a case of Super Golden Crip cereal and expect you to not gain a few pounds?" said an irate McLouth. Sugar Bear skipper Don Mattingly noted that no one expected McLouth to eat the entire case of cereal in one night.
The newest DMBL team, the Sardine City Straphangers, pushed their roster to the maximum by signing journeyman infielder Alex Cintron. The Straphangers have launched a new radio show, From the Tunnel, to inform fans of the latest dugout gossip. You can read all about it on their team notes page.
Meanwhile in Vancouver, the Iron Fist invited former Vancouver draftee Kevin Mench and DMBL rookie Jose Bautista to camp to try out for some platoon roles. "We needed some players that could hit lefties" said manager Darren Daulton. Bautista is expected to platoon with Mike Lowell and Mench will share time in the outfield. Neither one has high hopes to make the final team, but hope they can show something and land a spot on another DMBL team.
The Mighty Men wasted no time and have made Kerry Wood a record holder, though I doubt he would be proud of this one. Wood was released before the draft was even finished, making him the fastest to be released after being drafted. The Mighty Men realized they were at their inelligible limit, so they decided to cut Wood so they could draft Josh Hamilton and Micah Owings. Oh yeah, they also traded off Kevin Kouzmanoff to the Golden Falcons to create another opening. The Mighty Men drafted 8 inelligible players in this year's draft!
Sunday, the Bushslappers made the first post-draft pickup and invited Mark Mulder to camp. We don't expect Mulder to see any action in the spring, but maybe D.C. thinks that Mulder can rebound and show something. Will he be worth holding onto? Probably not, but he's worth a spring roster spot, for now.
The Sugar Bears, meanwhile, were disgusted that newly-drafted outfielder Nate McLouth showed up out of shape. McLouth was cut in favor of former Golden Falcon catcher Javier Valentin. McLouth was quite upset with the move and even stated that the Sugar Bear fitness policy was impossible to live up to. "They draft you and send you a case of Super Golden Crip cereal and expect you to not gain a few pounds?" said an irate McLouth. Sugar Bear skipper Don Mattingly noted that no one expected McLouth to eat the entire case of cereal in one night.
The newest DMBL team, the Sardine City Straphangers, pushed their roster to the maximum by signing journeyman infielder Alex Cintron. The Straphangers have launched a new radio show, From the Tunnel, to inform fans of the latest dugout gossip. You can read all about it on their team notes page.
Meanwhile in Vancouver, the Iron Fist invited former Vancouver draftee Kevin Mench and DMBL rookie Jose Bautista to camp to try out for some platoon roles. "We needed some players that could hit lefties" said manager Darren Daulton. Bautista is expected to platoon with Mike Lowell and Mench will share time in the outfield. Neither one has high hopes to make the final team, but hope they can show something and land a spot on another DMBL team.
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