17 Days and Counting

So far I have heard from four owners (five if you count the Rebels) on a return for 2020 and which weekend is preferred for drafting.

Since no one has proactively volunteered they are stepping down I will remind all owners that Winter Waivers are due in 17 days - Sunday, January 5th at 3pm Central Time. Provide a list of the players you are keeping (23) and a list of the players you are waiving.  DO NOT include players who were signed in September or had their contract expire at the end of the 2019 season.  Those players cannot be waived and have already been removed from your rosters.

There are no positional requirements for Winter Waiver.  If you want to keep 23 pitchers, so be it. 23 minor leaguers?  Fine. You MUST keep 23 players and waive the rest.

I will have a list of the waived players posted by Sunday night and you will have until Thursday, January 9th at 3pm to claim.

Happy Holidays.

End of Season Wrap Up - 2019

Congratulations to everyone on a successful 36th CFCL Season with special congratulations going to our top four finishers for making things interesting to the very end.

We are entering the dormancy period of the CFCL.  No trading allowed until the end of the first round of Winter Waivers, Mike C. will be scrubbing rosters to remove S and 19 contracts.  Download your rosters soon if you need your season ending information.

Even though we are expecting 85 degrees for the next two days as we close out September and start October, here's a reminder that Winter Waiver Cuts are due by 3pm (Central) on Sunday, January 5th, 2020.  Please provide a list of your 23 Keepers as well as a list of everyone you're cutting.  Do NOT include players with 19 or S contracts.  Technically you are not cutting them for Winter Waivers, they are already off your team as of the last out of the last game yesterday.  But include the player you are keeping and actually cutting so I can do a proper check and balance of all rosters.

Here are the Hometown Discounts for Draft Day 2020.

DoorMatts  .06

Tucker Barnhart
Noah Syndergaard

Revenge  .05

Ian Desmond

Beatniks  .05

Justin Turner

The Swing  .04

Nolan Arrenado

Killers  .02

Jose Alb Martinez
Sean Newcomb
Luke Weaver

Dem Rebels  .02

Johan Camargo
Corey Knebel

Ruffins  .02

None

One final piece of business.  Once you know if you will be returning, please send me an e-mail with your intention (to play in 2020 or resign).  The sooner we know the compliment of owners we have for 2020, the sooner we can address any slots to fill.

Enjoy the playoffs!

Coming Down The Stretch

As we head into the final month of the season there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

1)  Starting with this Free Agent period (Sunday, September 1st), all Free Agents acquired from here on out will be assigned a contract status of S, meaning that they will be released immediately from your roster at the end of this season.  Unless, of course, a bid of .25 or more occurs, in which case the player has to be kept going into next year's draft.

2)  As of Monday's roster moves, you can add one more player to your active roster as a September Roster Expansion move.  Please remember this DOES NOT mean you can ACQUIRE an extra player on your 40 man roster.  You are still limited to 40 players on your Roster.  However, instead of 23, you can now play 24 on your ACTIVE ROSTER, thereby leaving 16 players on your Reserve List.

Line - Clown Trade

The Kenndoza Line trade Charlie Blackmon (.43 21+), Stephen Strasburg (.33 19), Orlando Arcia (.03 21+), Craig Kimbrel (.15 21+) and their 15th pick to the Clowns for Nick Senzel (.15 21+), Yasiel Puig (.23 21+), Derek Dietrich (.03 21+) and Jonathon India (.10 Mx).

Swing - Clown Trade

The Swing trade Kirby Yates (.07 19), Jarod Dyson (.05 21+) and Yairo Munoz (.01 21+) to the Clowns in exchange for Dansby Swanson (.07 21+), Alec Bohm (.05 Mx) and Keone Kela (.11 21+)

IAFB and Trade Deadline

A couple of quick reminders about CFCL deadlines this week.

Thursday, August 1st at 3pm (CST) is IAFB wherein you can bid on ANY player in the Free Agent Pool, not just the ones that have been traded over from the American League.

Also on Thursday, August 1st, but three hours earlier (Noon, CST) is the CFCL Trade Deadline.  All trades AND CORRESPONDING MOVES must be reported to the Commissioner by Noon.  If both teams do not report (or confirm) the trade and submit corresponding moves THE TRADE WILL BE NULLIFIED.  We're going to keep it easy.  There is NO grey area.  It's black and white.  No judgment calls, or stretching the clock.  The e-mail is time stamped in the In Box.  In fairness to ALL OWNERS, 12:01 is not 12:00.  An e-mail saying "I agree to the trade, I'll submit my moves before first pitch" is not acceptable.

We haven't had problems in the past, but I've learned this year it is important to be specific and clarify the rules.

We have four teams that have a legitimate chance to win it all.  All fair and equitable trades are encouraged to make this a race for the ages.

Clowns - Revenge Trade

The Candy Colored Clowns traded Ozzie Albies (.12 X), Jordan Yamamoto (.06 21+) and Tyler Mahle (.02 21+) to the Revenge for Aaron Nola (.15 19!), Lorenzo Cain (.28 20+) and the Revenge's  10th pick.

Killers trade with Sombreros

Twin Killer trade Zack Greinke (.25 20+) and Scott Alexander (.02 21+) to the Sombreros for Pablo Lopez (.03 21+), Tony Gonsolin (.02 Mx) and their 4th Round Pick.

Ruffins and Clowns Trade

The Clowns strike first in the rush to the top.

They trade:
Alex Verdugo (.02 20+)
Julio Urias (.05 20+)
Curt Caseli (.02 21+)
Kiebert Ruiz (.05 Mx)
Their 4th and 7th Round picks

to the Ruffins for:
Max Scherzer (.49 20+)
Sonny Gray (.15 21+)
Marcel Ozuna (.18 19)
Their 14th round pick

2019 Natural Day Results

To commemorate the 35th anniversary (!) of the Sandburg Game, the CFCL's Natural Day played out this way:

Sombreros 46 (Combination of Total Bases, Runs and RBI)
Dem Rebels 44
Kenndoza Line 42
Twin Killers 37
Revenge 27
Beatniks 24
Clowns 23
RYNE SANDBERG 20
Swing 19
DoorMatts 15
Ruffins 10

The Sombreros will receive at $25 gift card to mlb.com in their InBox shortly.

Swing - Line Trade

Kenndoza Line trades Cole Tucker (.02 21+) to the Swing for Mike Soroka (.10 20x)

Killer-Swing Trade

The Twin Killers trade Jean Segura (.26 21+) and Jose Urena (.10 20+) to the Swing in exchange for Kenley Jansen (.28 21+) and Jed Lowrie (.03 21+).

K Wood Results

Here are the results of K Wood.  Yet again, Kerry outperformed EVERY CFCL active pitching staff.

Wood - 20
Beatniks - 17
Line - 17
DoorMatts - 13
Ruffins - 10
Clowns - 6
Sombreros - 5
Killers - 4
Rebels - 3
Revenge - 2
Swing - 1

As you can see there is a tie.  There is no stated tie-breaker so after an impartial flip of a coin the Beatniks win the $25 mlb.com gift card arriving soon in an InBox near him.

K Wood Day

Quick reminder, this Monday (May 6th) is K Wood Day where we celebrate and remember Kid K striking out 20 Astros.

The CFCL team with the most strikeouts from pitchers ON THEIR ACTIVE ROSTER will receive a $25 gift certificate at mlb.com.

Clowns/Sombreros Trade

Clowns send Manny Pina (.05 21+) to the Sombreros for Trevor Rosenthal (.01 21+)

Opening Weekend Recap

In order to have the draft run smoothly last weekend and to try to be efficient with our time, I didn't raise the issue of teams keeping major league players with Mx contracts on their Reserve List.

But I do want to address the matter as there are impacts that may not be obvious.

To begin, the Constitution can be interpreted that a team with an Mx player still in major league camp can/may reserve that player and if that player makes the Opening Day roster the CFCL team simply could not trade or activate that player until July 1st.

We're going to clean up that language because it is inconsistent with the intent of the wording.  Every owner in the league has had AT LEAST three years of experience with Mx players still in major league camp as of Roster Freeze Day.  For some reason this year at least five owners believed that they were SUPPOSED to reserve (or stash in some of their words) the players on their reserve list with the only consequence being the July 1st restriction.

For years, for years . . . . for years the explanation (beginning with Commissioner and Owner Emeritus Mahlan) has been that once the previous season ends ALL PLAYERS are considered to be on a team's ACTIVE ROSTER.  Come Roster Freeze Day, CFCL owners need to point to a viable reason for a player to be placed on the Reserve List.  Basically there are two viable reasons.

1)  A player was placed on the Injured List by their National League team;
2)  A player was demoted to the minors.

That's it.  Everyone else is active.  But this year we had five teams wanting to reserve guys who had no right to be reserved as of Roster Freeze Day.  As it turns out, by Draft Day we had two (possibly three, I forget the timeline) teams with players on their reserve list that should have been active.

I'm not picking on owners, this is simply the facts.  The Sombreros had three players on their reserve list make their National League team's Opening Day Roster.  The Killers had one.

So they cannot activate or trade those players until July 1st.  End of story, right?  Not exactly.  The ramifications run a little deeper.

1)  Both teams kept the maximum 15 on their Active Roster heading into the draft.  So in effect the Killers were allowed to keep 16 major league players on their roster and the Sombreros 18 (!!).  That is an unfair advantage over the remaining eight teams who only kept a maximum of 15.

2)  Had we drafted this past weekend (AFTER Opening Day), what would have happened?  Well aside from no one drafting any Cub starting pitching, the Killers and Sombreros would have had to either cut the guys they kept on their reserve list or cut one (for the Killers) and THREE (for the Sombreros) from their Active Roster, thereby making four more player eligible to be drafted.

Had they chosen to keep their coveted Mx players (making them active and jettisoning someone from their Active roster, that would mean the presumed 15th best player from last year's 4th place team would have been available and the 13th, 14th and 15th best players from last year's CHAMPION team would have been available.

3)  The "punishment" or consequence for "guessing" whether these players were going to make their National League roster is they can't be activated until July 1st.  True.  But that means on July 1st, when the trade deadline is looming, they essentially will have made trades to acquire four (half) seasoned, major league experienced players and it will have cost them nothing in return.

I'm willing to own some of the responsibility on this.  Every year, Commissioner Mahlan would post here at the Front Office the Draft Prep Post wherein, among much other information, he would remind owners how to handle Mx players.

I used to do that too.  This year, I chose not to.  I was dealing with other league things that were sucking the life out of me, busy with non-CFCL life things and I thought "This year I'm not going to hold everyone's hands and remind them of something they've been told for over ten years."

The first few times my parents would remind me to brush my teeth and then after that they didn't any more.  Not because I didn't need to brush my teeth, but because I knew what I was supposed to do and I needed to do it on my own.

As I mentioned earlier, I am not intending to pick on the Killers and Sombreros.  There were five owners who submitted cuts with Mx players in Major League camp on Roster Freeze Day.  It just turns out, the other three owners had their players sent to the minors prior to Opening Day and, I think, prior even to Draft Day so it didn't negatively impact the talent that could have been available to draft from.

We have two ways to solve this.  One is to always draft AFTER Opening Day.  That way there's no question who made the Opening Day roster.  The other is to clean up the language in the Constitution so that there is absolutely no confusion that if a player is in camp on Roster Freeze Day, he is either kept on the CFCL team's Active Roster OR he is released into the Free Agent Pool, available to be drafted on Draft Day.

I'm thinking we'll probably do the latter since our league has historically preferred to draft prior to Opening Day.

Pre-Opening Day Trade

Just ahead of Opening Day, the Clowns trade Keon Broxton (.10 21+) to the Beatniks for Erik Gonzalez (.10 21+)

Draft Day Cut Info

Big Salaries Cut

Madison Bumgarner
Brian Dozer
Joey Votto
Jake Arrieta
Charlie Blackmon
Starling Marte
Clayton Kershaw
Gregory Polanco

Long-Term Contracts

Ketel Marte 2 Years (Dem Rebels)
Paul DeJong  2 Years (Revenge)
David Dahl 2 Years (Revenge)
Amed Rosario 3 Years (Beatniks)
Corey Seager 3 Years
Eugenio Suarez 2 Years (Sombreros)
Christian Yelich 2 Years

X Contract Exercised

Cody Bellinger (DoorMatts)
Josh Bell (Revenge)
Rhys Hoskins (Clowns)
Ozzie Albies (Clowns)


Winter Waivers Kept

Albert Almora (Dem Rebels)
Jimmy Nelson (Revenge)
Maikel Franco (Revenge)
Robbie Erlin (Beatniks)
Seung-hwan Oh (Beatniks)
David Hernandez (Kenndoza Line)
Rich Hill (Kenndoza Line)
Yasiel Puig (Clowns)
Cole Hamels (Swing)
Kenley Jansen (Swing)

Long Term Contracts Cancelled

Kyle Schwarber  (Dem Rebels  .05 penalty)


Draft Day Budget

DoorMatts  1.19 remaining; 11 players needed  (10.8 per player)
Dem Rebels  1.66 remaining; 11 players needed (15.1 per player)
Revenge  1.16 remaining; 8 players needed (14.5 per player)
Beatniks  1.27 remaining; 12 players needed (10.6 per player)
Kenndoza Line  1.62 remaining; 10 players needed (16.2 per player)
Clowns  .62 remaining; 8 players needed (7.75 per player)
Swing  1.26 remaining; 12 players needed (10.5 per player)
Sombreros  .50 remaining; 8 players needed (6.25 per player)
Ruffins  .69 remaining;  9 players needed (7.6 per player)
Twin Killers  .92 remaining; 8 players  needed (11.6 per player)

Clowns - Ruffins Trade

Ruffins trade Tyler Flowers (.02 19+) to the Clowns for their 4th and 10th round picks.

Clowns Trade With Line

The Candy Colored Clowns trade Stephen Strasburg (33, 19+) and a 7th round pick to Kenndoza Line for Seranthony Dominguez (8, 20+) and the Line’s 11th rounder.

Clowns -- Rebels Trade

The Candy Colored Clowns trade:

Colin Moran  .01 20+
Chris Archer  .19  20+
Corey Ray  .10  Mx

to the Rebels in exchange for:

Archie Bradley  .10  19+
Hunter Renfroe  .05  19+
Rebels' 17th Round Pick

Prepping for Draft Day

We have entered March, which for most people means St. Patrick's Day and (hopefully) spring weather.  For those with more cultured palates we understand we've entered the Month Of Draft Day.

Here are some things to be aware of:

1)  The Golden Sombreros have once again agreed to compile the Master Draft List.  Much thanks to Marc.

2)  The Draft Room has been secured.  Like last year we will draft at 387 Shuman Blvd (corner of Shuman and Mill) in Naperville.  Same room 1W.  Take the elevator to the basement and turn left to the end of the hallway.  I can't promise internet connection (no wifi from the building) being in the basement, but there will be outlets at each desk for laptops.

3)  Reminder, Draft Day is Saturday, March 23rd.  We'll start at 10am.

4)  Once cuts have been submitted you are welcome to participate in the Ruffin Privilege Game.  Submit the name and winning bid of the player you think the Ruffins will nominate as the first player of the draft.

5)  I will send out Cut Sheets the week of March 10th.

6)  Roster Cuts are due by 3pm March 17th and I will release cut information later that night.  Once you have submitted your cuts no trades are allowed - no exceptions.

7)  At the draft I will provide Draft Sheets, Rotation Pick Sheets, Twizzlers and Pretzels.  You bring whatever material you need to enjoy the draft (food, drink, laptop, etc).  I believe there are some vending machines, but we don't have access to microwaves or fridges so plan accordingly.

8)  Post Draft.  Nothing official, but if owners decide they would like to grab a bite to eat after the draft and do a post draft analysis, that would be great.

Questions?  Please feel free to text or e-mail me.

First Trade of 2019

The first trade of 2019 has been reported and it involves more than two teams.  Here are the details.

Revenge gets: David Dahl (7 x), Will Smith (6, 20+) and the Clowns’ 11th rounder.

Sombreros get: Travis Shaw (14, 19+), the Revenge’s 3rd round pick and the Clowns’ 4th rounder.

Clowns get: Matt Carpenter (20, 20+), Colin Moran (1, 20+), Michael Wacha (4, 19+) and Luis Castillo (7, 19+). 

Winter Waivers 2019 Round 3

With no one wanting to takes a chance on Yu Darvish, et al., the Winter Waivers for 2019 have come to a close.  Trade Season is open and next up will be Roster Cuts in March.

Winter Waivers 2019 - Round 2

Round 2 results below.  Waiver period ends Thursday, January 17th at 3pm central.

Rebels
Albert Almora  .01*

Waive
Austin Gomber  .07

Swing
Cole Hamels  .16
David Bote  .07

Waive
Zach Davies  .02
Yu Darvish  .32


Beatniks



Clowns
Albert Almora  .01*

Waive
Dansby Swanson  .15


Kenndoza Line



DoorMatts
Albert Almora  .01*

Waive
Pedro Baez  .05

Killers



Revenge
Maikel Franco  .05

Waive
Ramiel Tapia  .05


Ruffins



Sombreros



Players Eligible to Claim:
Austin Gomber  .07
Zach Davies  .02
Yu Darvish  .32
Ramiel Tapia  .05

Winter Waivers 2019 Round 1

Results of Round 1 below.  Players waived can be claimed by Sunday, January 13th at 3pm Central.  And a reminder - Trade Season is officially open!

Dem Rebels
Mag Sierra  .05*
Anthony DeSclafani  .05

Waive
Joe Panik  .07
Cole Hamels  .16

The Swing
Kenley Jansen  .28
Mag Sierra  .05
Keon Broxton  .10

Waive
Dexter Fowler  .17
Mike Montgomery  .10
Yu Darvish  .32



Beatniks
Robbie Erlin  .06
Rich Hill  .11*
Sung-Hwan Oh  .05

Waive
Michael Gettys  .02Mx
AJ Pollock  .29
Ryan Braun  .20

Clowns
Yasiel Puig  .23*
Eduardo Escobar  .24
Victor Caratini  .02

Waive
Mikael Franco  .05

Kenndoza Line
Yasiel Puig  .23*
Rich Hill  .11*
Brandon Belt  .14
David Hernandez  .02
Matt Kemp  .06
Joey Lucchesi  .05

Waive
Chris Shaw  .05Mx
Steven Souza  .13
Pat Neshek  .05
Tyler Anderson  .01
Albert Almora  .01

DoorMatts

Killers

Revenge
Jimmy Nelson  .05*
Raimel  Tapia  .05

Waive
Richard Rodriguez  .06
Micky Moniak  .10Mx

Ruffins
Jimmy Nelson  .05*
Yasiel Puig  .23*
Yadier Alvarez  .05Mx

Waive
David Bote  .07
Odubel Herrera  .16
Clayton Kershaw  .51

Sombreros



Players Eligible to be claimed by Sunday, 3pm:
Joe Panik  .07
Dexter Fowler  .17
Cole Hamels  .16
Mike Montgomery  .32
Michael Gettys  .02Mx
AJ Pollock  .29
Mikael Franco  .05
Chris Shaw  .05Mx
Steven Souza  .13
Pat Neshek  .05
Tyler Anderson  .01
Albert Almora  .01
Richard Rodriguez  .06
Mickey Moniak  .10Mx
David Bote  .07

2019 Winter Waivers

Below are all the players available in the 1st Round of Winter Waivers (2019).  Claims are due by 3pm Thursday, January 10th.  Remember for every claim you make you must submit a player to waive.  Additionally, the order you submit your claims will be the order in which it will be processed.

Dan Straily  .10

Chad Kuhl  .02

Tommy LaStella  .10

Pat Valaika  .05

Austin Meadows  .05

Mark Reynolds  .11

Cameron Maybin  .07

Jose Osuna  .10

Ty Blach  .02

Jacob Barnes  .10

Ivan Nova  .06

Jose Quintana  .41

Luiz Gohara  .11

Keon Broxton  .10

Garrett Cooper  .05

Victor Caratini  .02

Raimel Tapia .05

Anthony Rizzo  .49

Mason Williams  .05

Greg Garcia  .10

Austin Jackson  .05

Nick Williams  .10

Hunter Pence  .01

Rafael Ortega  .05

Elias Diaz  .05

Alen Hanson  .06

Christian Villanueva  .10

Addison Russell  .14

Justin Wilson  .10

Tommy Milone  .06

Johnny Cueto  .16

Brad Zieglar  .01
Matt Wieters  .04
Kolten Wong  .14
Phillip Ervin  .05
Randy Rosario  .05
Victore Arano  .05
Jarrod Dyson  .04
Brian Mundell .02Mx
Ben Lively  .05
Trevor Richards  .05
Clay Buchholz  .05
Andrew Suarez  .05
Mike Moustakas  .24
Eduardo Escobar  .24
Jose Bautista  .06
Kenley Jansen  .28
Yoshihisa Hirano  .10
Cory Spangenberg  .10
Buster Posey  .26
Tommy Hunter  .05
Kelvin Herrera  .24
Anthony Swarzak  .03
Brett Phillips  .10
Billy Hamilton  .21
Curt Casali  .05
Evan Longoria  .11
Nick Ahmed  .10
Gerardo Parra  .10
Austin Slater  .05
Austin Barnes  .10
Maggy Sierra  .05
Justin Bour  .13
Robbie Erlin  .06
Matt Harvey  .05
Seung-hwan Oh  .05
Brad Hand  .10
Jared Hughes  .05
Anthony DeSclafani  .05
Jimmy Nelson  .05
Brad Boxberger  .01
Zack Godley  .05
Gorkys Hernandez  .06
Matt Kemp  .06
Andrew McCutchen  .29
Carlos Gonzalez  .15
David Freese  .10
Miguel Rojas  .10
Scott Alexander  .07
Joakim Soria  .20
Brandon Kintzler  .15
Ryan Flaherty  .05
Matt Koch  .06
Clayton Richard  .06
Luis Garcia  .05
Brandon Morrow  .17
Lewis Brinson  .15
Charlie Culberson .05
Jeremy Hellickson  .05
David Hernandez  .02
John Jay  .16
Nick Kingham  .09
Jon Lester  .23
Tyler Mahle  .02
Hernan Perez  .10
Edgar Santana  .08
Scott Schebler  .06
Jonathan Schoop  .20
Hunter Strickland  .05
Eric Thames  .10
Chad Wallach  .05
Tom Murphy  .10
JR Murphy  .05
Brandon Belt  .14
JP Crawford  .10
Josh Fields  .10
Sam Dyson  .05
Robert Gsellman  .10
Mark Melancon  .10
Jhailyn Ortiz  .10Mx
Yadier Alvarez  .05Mx
Mitchell White  .02Mx

DJ LeMahieu .22

Yasiel Puig .23

Ryan Madson .06

Derek Holland .06

Scott Kingery .15

Matt Adams .05

Alex Avila .04

Jordy Mercer .02 

Rich Hill .11

Joey Lucchesi .05

Dan Winkler .05

Zach Eflin .06

Reyes Moronta .07

Jacob Nix .05
Jay Bruce  .08
Jake Diekman  .06
Josh Harrison  .08
Travis Jankowski  .05
Bud Norris  .05
Tommy Pham  .08
Edubray Ramos  .05
Tyson Ross  .01
Carlos Santana  .17
Vincent Velasquez  .10
Tony Wolters  .05
Jorge Alfaro  .10