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 The Mudcats have been in and out of the playoffs over their 11 year history. Although competitive in '07, the Cats still ended up on the outside looking in. Will '08 signal a return to the playoffs for the Mudcats? The Mudcats, on offense anyway, seem to be focusing on a youth movement with Delmon Young, Ryan Garko, Troy Tulowitzki, Jeff Francoeur, and Grady Sizemore all expected to man key positions. The pitching staff, on the other hand, is starting to show signs of age. Though still in their prime, some of the pitchers seem to be facing downward trends lately and could be a problem for the organization in the near future. Shaky Keeper: Barry Zito. The Cats need pitching but it's no sure bet that Zito will return to form anytime soon. After a horrible 8-16 2007 campaign, analysts are not projecting a much better year in 2008. This is probably Zito's last chance to show a glimmer of his past self. Surprise Castoff: There's not much leftover that anyone's going to fight over. The biggest name left off the Cats' protected list is Andy Pettitte. Pettitte has had some success in the DMBL though he's only played parts of the past three seasons. No doubt some team will give Pettitte a chance in 2008.
 After taking over the South Boston Gang, new owner Tom Zagenczyk had his work cut out for him...or did he? Surprisingly, the Bombers have a very solid protected list. Blue Ridge has four good starters, including perennial DMBL disappointment Josh Beckett, decent relievers, and a good offensive core that includes Prince Fielder and Vladimir Guerrero. Maybe the Bombers will be competitive in their first season afterall. Questionable Keeper: Overall, it's a very solid list, so there are only a couple of players that could be considered borderline. Last year's number one pick Dan Uggla seems to be the iffiest player on the roster with only a .245 average and .326 OBP, but his 31 homers may have made the decision easier to keep the young second baseman. Surprise Castoff: Zagenczyk wanted to keep 16 players, but in the end had to release Adrian Beltre. With Garrett Atkins already manning the hot corner, there was no room for Adrian, even though the team would have liked to keep him. Blue Ridge also set free several "Old Guard" Barbosa players, including Eric Gagne, Dontrelle Willis, and Ramon Hernandez. Although these players were stalwarts during the Barbosa reign, it is clear that there is a new regime in charge in Blue Ridge.
We interrupt our regular Keeper Fallout schedule for this announcement. Big trade news today as Las Vegas and Marietta completed a huge 4 players for 11 draft picks deal. Vegas continues to build for a run in 2008 by jettisoning a boatload of picks in exchange for some roster help. The jewel in the deal is designated hitter Jim Thome who gives the Rats a huge power presence in their lineup alongside Matt Holliday. Joining the pitching staff will be A.J. Burnett, who will probably slide into the #3 slot after Chris Young and Erik Bedard. The final two players are relievers Rafael Betancourt and Pat Neshek. With three relievers already protected, this effectively completes the Rat Pack bullpen. Will team owner Eric Wickstrom even show up at the draft? Well, the Rats had six extra picks already in this draft, so losing a few won't hurt much this year. Let's take a look at what the Rats gave up. For this year, the Rats gave up six picks: the Rats returned the Mighty Men's number one pick (13th overall) and New Jersey's fourth round pick (acquired in the Ichiro deal), which is the third pick of that round. They also surrendered their 6th, 7th, 10th and 13th picks this year (all the first slot in their respective rounds). Vegas further surrendered their 1st, 7th and 10th picks in '09, and their 7th and 14th picks in 2010. The Rat Pack also got Herschel Walker in the deal (oh wait that's a different trade). That's a hell of a lot of picks and one crazy blockbuster. Curious as to how this breaks down? I'm sure there's already a lenghty post on the Ning!
 All the keeper lists are now in and the rosters will be updated today. Free agent lists will most likely be updated by Wednesday. We'll take a look at the protected lists now that the final lists are announced. The Falcons missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 1992. Will 2008 be a rebuilding year or will the Falcons try to return to past playoff glory? With owner Stump Matiash, pride is still a factor. In a press conference, Matiash noted that while the club will try to get younger, that does not mean that they want to sacrifice a year to rebuilding. The Falcons made a few trades to beef up their offense in an attempt to remain competitive. Shaky Keeper: Kevin Kouzmanoff, third base. The Falcons traded a late pick to secure Kouzmanoff last year, but after the A-Rod deal, this doesn't make a lot of sense. Not only do the Falcons have A-Rod elligible at the hot corner, but also franchise cornerstone David Wright. What is Kouzmanoff's future with the club? Your guess is as good as mine. Surprise Castoff: Considering the fact that he's been a clubhouse favorite for a number of years, we at DMBL News are a bit surprised that Kenny Lofton was let go. Lofton looks to have a solid 2008, despite the fact that he's up there in years. Honorable mention goes to Aaron Heilman, who the Falcons kept with worse numbers in the past.
Some of the keeper lists have already been turned in to the commissioner's office, though they won't be revealed until after Sunday's deadline. Apparently some of the teams are already done trading. It's been very quiet since last week's flurry of trades - will there be one final storm this weekend? One can only hope.
The Draft has been set officially for March 1st at 5:00 pm. It will be the first draft to take place in the evening - at least the first one we can remember. Some grumblings have already begun from fans of the Pro Bowling Tour. "I won't have room on my TiVo unless I clear off all those unwatched episodes of American Gladiator first" said an anonymous Newark Sugar Bear fan on WFAN radio. However, ESPN is getting giddy at the prospect of televising a draft where possibly every owner is in attendance, either live or online, including up to 11 possible live owners at the undisclosed Bridgewater location. Expected to make their first appearances at the live venue are New Jersey Team Buddah owner Mike Hornick and Sardine City Straphangers co-GM Chris Calvosa, as well as the long anticipated returns of the Pucci brothers. The Landsman brothers will uncharacteristically not be present, but will be online via satellite.
Yesterday was a big day in the DMBL Hot Stove league, as three trades were consummated. The Hillsborough Hired Hitmen were at the center of two of them. The Hitmen sent promising outfielder Chris Young to the Philadelphia Endzone Animals for a 3rd pick in this year's draft and a 7th round pick in next year's. Young spent all of 2007 in Hillsborough's AAA affiliate. Young has a good combo of power and speed that the Animals plan to put to good use. The Hitmen also sent another prospect, shortstop Stephen Drew, to the Sardine City Straphangers for their 10th round pick. The Straphangers will probably leave incumbent Khalil Greene unprotected with the acquisition of Drew. Like Young, Drew spent all of 2007 in AAA and both players will be rookie-elligible for '08. The third trade of the day involved the Mighty Men, who have been one of the most active teams over the offseason. The Mighty Men sent veteran reliever Trevor Hoffman to the Blue Ridge Bombers for second baseman Orlando Hudson. Hoffman will anchor the Bomber bullpen and bring his veteran leadership to the team's young pitching staff. Hudson had been ruled superfluous with Richie Weeks and Dan Uggla also available to play second. It is the first trade for the Bombers since Tom Zagenczyk took over the team back in October.
How about that alliteration? The Mighty Men traded away a 2009 draft pick for third baseman Edwin Encarnacion of the Las Vegas Rat Pack. Encarnacion was drafted in the third round of the 2007 draft. Encarnacion had a decent debut season with the Rats last year (.749 OPS in 484 PAs). He had been splitting time between third base and DH until Vegas traded away Ryan Zimmerman and opened up a full-time role for Encarnacion. Vegas may now look to Alex Gordon as the future at the hot corner. The deal effectively seals the fate of Morgan Ensberg, who had been a great surprise in 2006 but struggled mightily in 2007. Although most prognosticators already wrote off Ensberg, Landsman made it official at the press conference yesterday. "Morgan Ensberg will not appear on our protected list this season. His performance was disappointing and while he is a model team mate and the kind of individual we love to have as a member of our franchise, Edwin is younger and poised to do great things. I am not saying our relationship with Morgan is definitely over, but it has changed. We wish Morgan all possible success in the future." The Mighty Men may yet attempt to acquire the third baseman with a supplemental draft pick or a spring training invitation. Meanwhile, the Mighty Men are not done dealing and may yet have another deal announced before the end of the day.
 Friday night, the DMBL Commissioner's office approved the sale of the Honolulu Sharks franchise to Bill Levesque. Levesque, a native of Tampa, moved the team from its South Pacific home to Tampa Bay, re-christening the franchise the "Plunkers". Floridians were unsure what a Plunker was, though Levesque's cryptic explanation wasn't much help. "A plunker isn't really anything at all." said Levesque at the press conference. Former DMBLer Eric Plunk stated that he intended to file a lawsuit against the team for using his name without express, written permission. The Plunkers become the second DMBL franchise from Tampa. In 1992, the Newark Crimewave became the Tampa Bay Sweat Sox when owner Paul Barbosa was tired of having his car stolen every morning. The Sweat Sox were disbanded after the 1995 strike season. Levesque is looking into some hi-tech solutions for his coaching staff, repeated mentioning his preference for Ted Williams' cryogenically preserved head to fill the managerial vacancy.
 The Hot Stove League waits for no one, including any prospective new owners for the Honolulu franchise...The Marietta Mighty Men and Philadelphia Endzone Animals completed a trade Wedneseday. The Mighty Men sent their longtime catcher Jorge Posada to the Animals in exchange for three picks in 2009's draft (1st, 3rd, and 8th). Philadelphia is going all in this year in an attempt to win the title. Philly already is down three picks in this year's draft and will lost four picks in next year's draft. After winning the Morris Division title last year for the first time in franchise history and coming within one game of the DMBL World Series, the Endzone Animals and their fans are hungry to win the coveted title. Posada beefs up an already potent Philly lineup that features Albert Pujols, Magglio Ordonez, and Mark Teixeira. Meanwhile, the Mighty Men seem to be at the other end of the spectrum, picking up draft picks and prospects. The Mighty Men acknowledged that 2008 would likely be a rebuilding year and hope to come roaring back in '09.
 Breaking news just in from Honolulu as the Sharks franchise has just been put up for sale. With a month to go, team owner Adam Kozubal stated in an official press release that he did not have the time to commit to the DMBL. "I hate doing this on short notice, but since the rest of the league owners feel that I don't contribute enough, then I'm going to discontinue my participation in the league. With my current work load, coupled with the baby continuing to have serious health issues, the amount of time I'm going to be able to allocate to playing a fantasy baseball game is going to be very little. And since I know that my lack of participation is a sore spot for some of the other owners in the league, I feel that this is the best course for everyone. I hope that you can find a replacement for me quickly. It's been fun, but I feel that it is time to move on. If the other owners want to know why I'm leaving, please feel free to share this info with them. Thanks, Adam" The Sharks were one of the 1997 expansion franchises and had recently had success making the playoffs in four of the last five years in addition to the fact that the franchise was one of the most popular franchise among fans. The DMBL has already reached out to persons on the waiting list to take over the franchise.
This morning a huge deal was completed between the Arkansas Golden Falcons and the Hillsborough Hired Hitmen. The Falcons sent starter Dan Haren and young outfielder Nick Markakis plus four draft picks (spread out through 2010) to the Hitmen in exchange for sluggers Alex Rodriguez and Adam Dunn, young starters Ian Snell and Jeremy Bonderman and reliever Jonathan Broxton. The move solidifies the Falcons lineup, and makes them once again competitive for the 2008 season. A-Rod will likely fill the DH slot in the Falcons lineup with incumbent David Wright expected to man third base. The Hitmen meanwhile complete their young rotation with Haren, who will likely fill the number two or three spot. Are there more deals to come? Stay tuned!
Well there certainly is a lot of discussion going on around the draft date, especially the time. We'll try to hammer this one out in the next few days. And remember when I posted something about how quiet the Hot Stove league had become? OOPS, I guess the DMBL gods heard me and forced a couple of trades over the past 24 hours. First it was Vancouver completing a long-rumored deal that sent outfielder Jason Bay, young first baseman Conor Jackson and a fourth round pick in 2009 to Marietta for DMBL veteran Todd Helton. Helton had been a mainstay in the Mighty Men lineup since 2001, so the fans were very upset at the news. Irate fans called into the Fan's Rude Awakening radio show this morning screaming for owner David Landsman's head. "We could have gotten the same package for Wes Helms" said livid caller Jimbo from Kennesaw. "If Landsman knew what he was doing he could have gotten Prince Fielder and Vlad Guerrero for Helton" said another heated listener. Landsman was too distraught for questions but issued a brief statement that began "Today we say goodbye to a truly Mighty Man." A tearful Landsman departed the scene while upset fans picketed the parking lot. "He was a fan favorite" said manager Graig Nettles. Meanwhile, Honolulu finally did something about their glut of catchers. The Sharks shipped off Brian McCann to D.C. in exchange for pitcher Mark Buehrle and a third round pick. Buerhle will solidify a solid staff featuring Roy Oswalt and Jered Weaver, while McCann slides right into the starting lineup for the Bushslappers. Kenji Johjima is expected to take over the everyday catching duties for the Sharks.
As the protected list due date draws near, it seems that the rumor mills have gotten very quiet. I expect things will surely heat up as the January 27th keeper due date gets closer. Draft dates are now being considered and Saturday March 1 looks like a good possibility. It's a bit later than usual, but not that much. At least at this time, we'll have some spring training news to chew on. We're thinking about an evening or late afternoon draft this year, so no one has to get up early! Let me know your opinions on the draft date. Also in the next few days, expect to hear more about this year's Hall of Fame candidates. We'll be opening up the voting this week, so keep your ears open.
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