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 The last of the keeper reviews, Vancouver looks like they might put themselves back into contention after a down year in 2007. The Fist have an impressive rotation anchored by Jake Peavy and should have plenty of offense, featuring Chase Utley, David Ortiz, and newly-acquired Todd Helton. The Fist also have a lot of extra picks in the 2008 draft. Shaky Keeper: Greg Maddux, pitcher. Maddux was probably kept for sentimental reasons more than anything else, though as a fifth starter, you can't complain. Maddux has been showing his age the last few seasons, even though he had a solid 2007 campaign. Surprise Castoff: Jose Guillen, outfielder. Vancouver had a lot of players to protect and although Guillen would have been a nice way to round out the outfield, the Fist had to cut him. Guillen had an off year last year but should latch on with someone in the draft.
 Bill Levesque brought DMBL baseball back to Tampa Bay after acquiring the Honolulu Sharks in the offseason. Will the Sharks return to the playoffs or will there be a learning curve? The Plunkers have a decent starting rotation and their offense has some upside. Sure they'll need a little luck and a good draft, but you never know. Shaky Keeper: Jason Kendall, catcher. Added as a last minute move, Kendall was almost cut - and probably should have been. The catcher has been declining for the last two years and may be just about done. With Kenji Johjima already on the roster, Kendall may not make it to Opening Day. Surprise Castoff: Jose Valverde, closer. Valverde was a surprising cut, especially since the club protected only one reliever - Pedro Feliciano.
 In their first year of existence, the Straphangers were in rebuilding mode. Is that rebuilding project ready to blossom? Probably not just yet, but the Sardines ought to be a lot better than last year's dismal 13th place finish. Fans will be looking forward to Cole Hamels, Fausto Carmona, and Ryan Braun leading this very young team for years to come. Shaky Keeper: Stephen Drew, shortstop. The Sardines have a very young team so they can afford to be patient with young prospects like Drew and Homer Bailey who normally wouldn't have found a place on more playoff-ready teams. It remains to be seen whether Drew develops into a useful player or fizzles out. Surprise Castoff: Andruw Jones, outfielder. Jones is a hit or miss kind of player, and while he missed a lot this year, he still has a studly ceiling. Despite seemingly being in the league forever, Jones will only be 31 years old this April, so some team will take a chance with the slugger.
 The Animals were busy in the offseason making trades, trying to take the next step after winning their first division title in 2007. The offense, featuring Albert Pujols, Magglio Ordonez and Jorge Posada, looks to be strong, and the pitching staff, anchored by Johan Santana, is very young, but should be capable. Shaky Keeper: Scott Rolen, third baseman. Rolen, a favorite of GM/Owner Anthony Pucci, seems to be on the downside of his career, putting up subpar numbers last year and could be a weak link in the otherwise strong lineup. Surprise Castoff: Adam LaRoche, first baseman. With the acquisition of Mark Teixeira, there was simply no place left for LaRoche, so the Animals set him loose.
 The Sugar Bears had a historic year in 2007, but can they repeat (yet again that is)? The short answer is, sure they can, why not? All the pieces are still there and, if anything, the rotation is stronger than it was last year. One point to make is that key offensive component Nick Johnson will miss the entire season after eating a bad box of cereal. Shaky Keeper: Nick Johnson. Well, he's going to miss all of the season and there's not much else to pick no here. Johnson has been very injury-prone during his career, but that hasn't stopped him from winning a Mitchell Award. Known for his extreme player loyalty, it's not surprising in the least for GM/Owner Butch Garretson to retain Johnson's services. Surprise Castoff: Nothing all too surprising. Scot Shields has been with the team for three seasons, so there was a chance that cutting the "other Shields" may have been a tad painful for Garretson, but as he said in a statement earlier "one Shields is better than none."
 Team Buddah had one of the worst possible keeper lists heading into the offseason but traded star outfielder Ichiro Suzuki for a large package of players. Overall they improved the number of keepable players, but overall the team is still very mediocre. With no feared hitters on offense, Buddah will have to draft an offensive monster to strike fear into enemy pitchers. On the pitching side, things aren't so bad. The rotation is pretty much set and the bullpen has three solid pitchers. Shaky Keeper: Jorge Sosa, pitcher. There are a few other guys that could have been included, but we'll go with Jorge. He slots in as the fifth starter, and he'll probably be adequate in that role. Surprise Castoff: Troy Glaus, third baseman. Although he seems to be breaking down, Glaus still put up decent numbers this year. With no third baseman on the roster, it was rather surprising that Glaus was left off.
 The Mighty Men have just about conceded that this will be a rebuilding year for them. But with all those extra draft picks, maybe they won't be as bad as that usually implies. The Mighty Men have only four pitchers protected, with one of them inelligible, so it's likely that the Mites will have to overpower their opponents with offense. The rest of the roster is mostly young, so we all know that could go either way. Shaky Keeper: Not much to pick on here. Micah Owings is probably the biggest question mark on the roster. After a decent rookie campaign the young pitcher showed some positive signs and may yet prove to play a pivotal role in the future rotation. Surprise Castoff: With the departure of Jorge Posada, Bengie Molina had to be smiling ear to ear, but that all changed on Keeper Day. Molina's on base percentage probably sealed his fate, but he still has decent numbers for a catcher. The Mighty Men really didn't have much room for the backstop, however.
 The Rat Pack was the busiest team during the offseason completing two mega-deals and completely revamping their keeper list. The Pack is already a division favorite among some pundits. Their pitching staff is more or less complete (10 already on the roster!) and the lineup only lacks a shortstop and a first baseman. And that includes two "project" players, Rich Harden and Alex Gordon. The Rats may very well be done drafting after round five! Shaky Keeper: Brett Myers, pitcher. Every player on the Rat Pack roster has either immediate impact or has some kind of longterm upside. Myers falls more into the latter category than the first, though his numbers aren't horrendous. For this year, Myers would be a horrible keeper choice, but he does have the upside of being a decent pitcher if he makes a successful return to the rotation. Surprise Castoff: The Rats were able to successfully deal away almost every player that had any value, so there wasn't much to cast off when all was said and done. The best player left off has to be Kevin Gregg, who had pretty decent numbers while closing last year. Without the upside for the future, it is easy to understand why he was left off the final roster though.
 The Cutters surprised everyone by making the playoffs last year. Will they do it again? If you take a look at the Cutters roster, you start to get impressed - "wow, Hanley Ramirez, Miguel Cabrera, Hunter Pence, Scott Kazmir!" But it soon gets bad. This is a team that hangs on a great draft. With just an okay rotation, the Cutters will need to find a great starter. The lineup will have plenty of holes to fill as well. Shaky Keeper: Mike Napoli, catcher. If you look behind the numbers, Napoli isn't too bad - .351 OBP, .443 SLG, solid numbers against lefties. But it's hard to get past that .247 average. Jarrod Washburn is a close second (maybe even a tie). Surprise Castoff: Not that much too surprising left off the Cutters' keeper list. We'll go with longtime fan favorite Geoff Jenkins. Jenkins has been with the Cutters for four years, but GM/owner Mark Hrywna decided it was time to cut ties and give the youngsters a chance.
 The Hitmen made arguably the biggest offseason trade, dealing superstar Alex Rodriguez to the Arkansas Falcons. The Hitmen, with offense to spare, solidified their rotation with the acquisition of Dan Haren, giving them one of the top rotations entering the 2008 draft. With lots of extra talent, the Hitmen were very busy in the offseason, but also have one of the better protected lists in the league. Shaky Keeper: Tough to make this call, but we'll go with Billy Butler. Butler spent all of 2007 in Hillsborough's minor league system, but is ready to make the leap to the DMBL in 2008. Butler just barely qualifies at first base and may spend a lot of time in the DH slot. His numbers are decent so he's not all that shaky, but the rest of this roster is pretty solid. Surprise Castoff: We're going to go with Josh Willingham. Willingham failed to impress the Hitmen after a decent 2007 season (.252/.366/.580) in limited playing time, so he was cut loose. He's still young enough (28) that several teams will be more than happy to give him a shot.
 D.C. made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history last year. They hope to build on that experience this year and hopefully advance. The club protected two of the best relievers in the game in Jonathan Papelbon and Joe Nathan. The offense has a decent starting point - a good mix of power and speed. The four starters all look to be solid, though there is no true ace among them. Shaky Keeper: Lastings Milledge. Milledge is ineligible for the 2008 season so he'll spend the year in AAA. Milledge is far from a sure thing these days, despite putting up decent MLB numbers in limited time last year. D.C. coaches intend to work with the young hitter in not only shaping his game but also his attitude. Surprise Castoff: Frank Thomas. Is it nearing the end of the road for Thomas? Although he was only DH-eligible for 2008, Thomas had a decent .857 OPS and provides good on-base skills and power. Other than Derrek Lee and Jeff Kent, the team will need to find some more players with good on-base percentages.
 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.
 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.
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The last of the keeper reviews, Vancouver looks like they might put themselves back into contention after a down year in 2007. The Fist have an impressive rotation anchored by Jake Peavy and should have plenty of offense, featuring Chase Utley, David Ortiz, and newly-acquired Todd Helton. The Fist also have a lot of extra picks in the 2008 draft.
