Keeper Fallout: Carolina Mudcats

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.

Keeper Fallout: Blue Ridge Bombers

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.

Huge, and I mean HUGE deal between Rats and Mites

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!

Keeper Fallout: Arkansas Falcons

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.

All's Quiet on the Trade Front

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.

Draft Date Set

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.

Big Day o' Trades

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.