Preparing for the Draft

We are less than four weeks away from the draft and it's time to identify some specifics for Roster Freeze Day and Draft Day.

Roster Freeze Day will be Thursday, March 26th at 3pm Central.  By that point every NL team will have begun play (weather permitting) aside from the Braves vs. the Diamondbacks.  The benefit there is every NL team's roster *should* be finalized and you will know who on your team made the NL roster, who was cut, who was placed on the IL and who was sent to the minors.

A quick recap - Any Non Mx player on your roster has to be kept or cut.  If they are kept and placed on the IL (or sent to the minors) you are allowed to reserve them.  They still count against your salary cap and the 15 player max.

An Mx player sent to the minors retains his Mx contract.  If an Mx player is on the NL roster, even if it's just for the opening weekend with the intent of being demoted Monday, that player HAS to be kept as one of the 15 or cut.  If kept, his contract switches to a 22x.  Yes we are at the mercy of NL GMs.  It's been that way since 1984 for the CFCL.  If you're uncomfortable with this, stop drafting Mx players.

If an Mx player is injured and placed on the team's IL, you can keep him BUT his contract changes to a 22x, salary counts against the 2.60 and he's one of your 15 keepers.  You can argue the point, but there is long standing precedent in the league that this is how we handle it. 

The only caveat to the above paragraph is if the Mx player is placed on the MINOR LEAGUE IL.  Then he is considered to still be a minor leaguer and will maintain Mx status.

I will do everything in my power to turn around the final cuts Thursday night.  The earlier I receive your cuts, the quicker I can do the turn around.  Once you submit your cuts you are not allowed to make any trades.  Please do everything you can to turn in a legal cut sheet.  If I have to chase people down to correct mistakes, the whole league is delayed in receiving the cuts.

You are allowed to keep 15 major leaguers (non Mx players) and four minor leaguers (Mx players).  If you want to keep more than 4 Mx players you MUST reduce the number of major leaguers by that number.  No more than 19 players can be on your active and reserved roster combined.  But under no circumstances are you allowed to keep more than 15 non Mx players.

We will be drafting on Sunday, March 29th at 9am.  We are going to use the same room we've used at my office building for the last few years (Conference room 1W).  There will be outlets for your laptops and cell service should be accessible, but no internet.  The building is located at 387 Shuman Boulevard, Naperville.  They have done massive reconstruction to the front of the building (where you enter).  If it doesn't look familiar, don't panic.  That's just the renovation.

Now, about Draft Day.  The Ruffins will not be able to attend in person.  The best, well the only work around we've been able to come up with is for someone to volunteer their cell phone, have it on speaker and we communicate with the Ruffins thusly.  We may  need a designated owner to repeat bids, identify a team dropping out, but hopefully the speaker part of the phone will do the majority of the work.

The Sombreros have once again volunteered to provide the Master Draft List, so thanks goes to Marc for that.

There is a microwave for heating food you want to bring.  No fridge.  I believe there are vending machines in the hallway, but it's basically like last year.

If anyone has any questions, please let me know.  I will be sending out the cut sheets in the next week or two.  We begin drafting with the Ruffin Privilege at 9am on Sunday the 29th.  Please arrive before that so we can conduct the necessary business of electing an EC, signing the trophy ball and collecting the entrance fee ($120 per team - bring cash or a check).

See you at the draft!

Roster Freeze and Draft Day Information

Here is the information for Draft Day 2018 and Roster Freeze Day.  Please make sure to read its entirety as this year is different than others.

DRAFT DAY

Thanks to Easter we, as a league, decided to move Draft Day to the weekend prior to Opening Day.  Draft Day is Saturday, March 24th.  The draft will begin at 12:30.  Any owner is welcome to arrive early (actually it's encouraged so we can dispense with the administrative issues and hit the ground running with the Ruffin Privilege at 12:30).  I should be at the office around 11:30 if not sooner, printing out sheets and organizing the room so anytime after 11:30 is fine to arrive.

Location - We have a NEW DRAFT LOCATION as my business office moved in December.  We will be drafting at 387 Shuman Blvd, Naperville.  There are three conference or training rooms to choose from, I will figure out which one fits our needs best, but two of them are MUCH larger than the room we have been in for years.

Basically the office is at the corner of Mill and Shuman (just south of I-88 and north of Diehl Road.  The main entrance is at the "back" of the building which faces the parking lot, not the street.  Call or text me with any directional questions.

Amenities - I do not believe there is public Wi-Fi in the building.  So plan accordingly.  As always, if you are using the internet that's fine but we WILL NOT delay a bid while an owner is waiting for a page to refresh or trying to download information.  There also is not a public fridge or microwave.  Any food you bring will need to be ok in room temperature or you'll need to bring a cooler.  Please bring an extension cord if you plan on using a computer.  The rooms should have plenty of outlets, but as I said, the rooms are larger so we may not be sitting right next to a plug.

All the normal Draft Day things apply.  Come prepared.  Pay attention to the player and bid so we can move in a timely manner.  You're certainly allowed to take time to consider a bid, but we don't want owners taking "too much time".  We've all been in the league long enough to know what that means.

After the draft if you are available and want to, we can head out to a local establishment to relive the draft or catch up with each other.  There are a ton of places to choose from in the area, we can figure out specifics the day of.

Entrance fee is $120.  Check or cash is fine.  Just bring payment.  I don't want to have to chase anyone down during the season for payment.

ROSTER FREEZE DAY

Since we are drafting a week before Opening Day we have challenges with our rosters.  The Executive Committee has discussed the matter and has decided that Roster Freeze Day will be Wednesday, March 21st at 3pm.

Yes, that gives you two full days to plan your draft knowing the other teams' cuts instead of the traditional week.  However, this gives you an additional three days to make roster decisions based on what's happening in the National League training camps.

Those teams with minor leaguers will  need to be extra vigilant in your decisions.  If you place an Mx player on your active roster and that player ultimately gets sent to the minors PRIOR to Opening Day, you can reserve that player to retain his Mx status - or you can leave him on your active roster when the season starts and his contract status will change accordingly.

If you place a minor leaguer (who is still in major league camp) on your reserve list and he starts the season on the Opening Day Roster, you will not be allowed to activate that player until July 1st.

This is all pretty standard stuff, however given that Roster Freeze Day is a week and half prior to Opening Day I fully expect NL rosters will still be in a state of flux.

Here is where things can get interesting.  Currently we have a number of CFCL teams with players on their roster who are free agents.  Here is how this will be handled.

Option 1) - You can release the player when you submit your cuts.

Option 2)  - You can keep the free agent player when you submit your cuts.  The player has to be placed on your Reserve List.  His salary counts against your cap and he counts against your 15 keepers.

2a)  If your kept free agent is signed by an American League team prior to Roster Freeze Day (3pm March 21st) the player is automatically released.  His salary is restored to your cap but you will not be able to pull someone back from your cut list to replace the free agent on your roster.

2b)  If your kept free agent is signed by an American League AFTER Roster Freeze Day (3pm March 21st) the player is on your team for the year (unless you release him during the season) and his stats count whenever you have him on your Active Roster.

Once your cuts are submitted your roster is frozen.  You may not move players from Active to Reserve unless a player on your Active roster has been put on the DL or sent to the minors.  You  may not under any circumstances move a player from the Reserve list to the Active Roster.

Any questions, please direct them to me.

Last Minute Deal and Roster Cut Reminder

As the final minutes tick away, final roster tinkering took place.  The Beatniks acquired David Freese (.05 18+) from the Kenndoza Line in exchange for the Beatniks 9th Round pick.

REMINDER:  Roster Cuts are due by 3pm CENTRAL time Sunday, March 27th.  Technically that's today.

I have received two teams' cuts thus far.  My schedule is full tomorrow and I won't have time to review, process and post the cuts until tomorrow night around 9pm or 10pm.  Please, please, please, do not make me chase you down for your cuts at 3:05pm.

Roster Freeze Day Reminder

Just a final reminder about Roster Freeze Day and the associated cuts.

All cuts must be submitted this Sunday (March 23rd) no later than 3pm Central Time.  Please do not have me chase you down to make sure you submitted your cuts.  The sooner I get them and can audit them, the sooner I can post the cuts and updated rosters.

One other reminder - Once you submit your cuts, you may not make any adjustments.  You may not request to cut a different player, you may not make any trades, everything is frozen when you click "send", whether that is on Thursday or Sunday.

Lastly, when you submit your cuts to me, please put in the subject line "Roster Cuts" or "(Your Team Name) Roster Cuts".  While I am hoping all of you attach a spreadsheet which would make it very difficult for me to accidentally see your cuts before I submit mine, I don't want to take any chances.

And in the interest of fairness, I submit my cuts (by 3pm Sunday) to the other members of the EC (Mike C. and Tim).  Until I submit my cuts I will not open your e-mail with you cuts.  So if you have a question about something that needs a response quickly, do not send it in the e-mail that also has your cuts.

I think that's it.  Can't wait to see everyone next Saturday!

National League Spring Training Rosters Online

Showing that one can be the reigning CFCL Champion and still be a hard-working man of the people, Matt Grage has painstakingly and diligently typed up a list of all the players currently in major league camp with National League teams ... that's major leaguers, minor leaguers on the 40-man rosters, and non-roster invitees.  This listing forms the basis of that glorious document, the CFCL Draft Lists, providing the names and eligible positions for each player available on Draft Day.

The rosters are posted in the CFCL Download Center (available via the link at the top of the CFCL Internet Headquarters), and are also available via a link in the menu directly to the right of this column.

Matt will track NL roster moves all through the spring and will update the list to reflect demotions, trades, etc., so check back periodically for updates.

You'll also want to keep an eye on the list as we near Roster Freeze Day - especially if you have players on the fringe of their NL rosters.  Whether players have been officially sent down by their NL team can have a definite impact on what you're able to do with them when you submit your cuts.

Preparing for Draft Day

With more snow in the forecast and subzero over night temps coming with it, naturally we would be busy preparing for the draft.

Reminding one and all, we will be drafting on Saturday, March 29 in my Lisle office again.  We will plan on all arriving around noon-ish (for the Bulls that usually means 12:45).  My hope is we will kick-off the Ruffin Privilege at 1pm.  We may be a bit delayed because of potential . . . .FESTIVITIES!  This will be our 31st CFCL draft, but it will be the first time all of us are together since the conclusion of the 30th CFCL season.  So we'll party like it's . . . well, we'll high five each other and hopefully have some special guests.  I'll know more about that later.

So Draft Day is 3/29.  That means Roster Cut Day is before that.  Let's make it Sunday, March 23 at 3pm.  All cuts and keepers have to submitted to me by then.  I will send out the Keeper Sheet as we get closer to that date. 

I will try to have updated Rosters and Cut Information posted by Sunday night, but that will depend on how soon I receive your cuts and how accurate everything is.  If I have to chase owners down to turn in their cuts or make any corrections on what has been submitted, then it will delay my ability to inform the league as to who is available on Draft Day.

Here's what I want/need you to keep in mind as you start figuring out who you want to keep, who you want to cut and who will be in your minors (on your reserve list).  The best way to think of things is that EVERYONE CURRENTLY IS ON YOUR ACTIVE ROSTER.  In order to move from the Active Roster to the Reserve Roster, the player has to earn it.  They can earn it by being demoted.  They can earn it by being DL'd prior to Roster Freeze Day.

In the past, most owners want to find a reason to HAVE to activate their player.  The correct way to view it is find a reason to HAVE to reserve your player.

We'll use the Rebels as the example (they're not much good for anything else).  Currently I have Cub Future Stud Matt Szczur on a .05 Mx.  Right now, I have to consider him in my active OF.  I fully do not anticipate him making the Cubs Opening Day Roster and once he's sent to the minors, he's eligible to be placed on my Reserve List.

Szczur is kind of a stupid example.  Billy Hamilton is probably a better case.  He's currently on the Revenge at .05 Mx.  Tim has to view him (as I'm sure he does) on his Active Roster.  Only if Hamilton gets sent down before Opening Day can the Revenge not have him on their Active Roster.  Of course, the Revenge could cut Hamilton, but that would be a stupid move made by the likes of Dem Rebels, not the esteemed Revenge.

I encourage you to read the Constitution if you have questions, but as always, please feel free to e-mail me if you are unsure about anything.

Winter Waivers Come To An End

Alfonso Soriano and Mike Dunn cleared waivers Sunday and with that brings an end to the Winter Waiver season.

Next step, Roster Freeze Day.  This year Roster Freeze Day is Sunday, March 23rd at 3pm (CST).  I will do my level best to post rosters of all the keepers as soon as possible. after 3pm - most likely sometime Sunday evening.

You may submit your keepers anytime between now and the 23rd HOWEVER once your keepers have been submitted, no changes are allowed.  No cuts, no trades, nothing.  So clearly it is not in your best interest to submit your keepers until close to Roster Freeze Day.

I will be posting a more detailed reminder of Roster Freeze Day and the rules involved as we get closer to the 23rd.  About a week before the deadline I will be e-mailing everyone the Roster Cut Sheet to make the cut process easier (at least the logging of it, not necessarily the decision of it).

Roster Freeze Official

OK Boys, the cuts are finally in and a new roster has been uploaded to the link on the right. Here's a breakdown of who did what. Contract Penalty Qualls .05 penalty DoorMatts McLouth .05 penalty Revenge X Year Exercised Colby Rasmus .04X Bulls Signed LTC Contracts Andrew McCutchen 3 years .15 Revenge Matt Cain 2 years .15 Revenge Tommy Hanson 2 years .07 Revenge Mat Latos 2 years .07 Revenge Cody Ross 2 years .15 Stranger Danger Skip Schumaker 2 years .06 Stranger Danger Ryan Zimmerman 2 years .27 Stranger Danger Mike Adams 2 years .10 Stranger Danger Michael Bourn 2 years .15 DoorMatts Jay Bruce 2 years .08 Clowns Big Salaries Cut Jimmy Rollins .30 Brian McCann .25 Matt Kemp .46 Aramis Ramirez .26 Jayson Werth .32 Ryan Howard .40 Chase Utley .40 Carlos Beltran .29 Aroldis Chapman .17 Francisco Rodriguez .26 Winter Waivers Kept Jonny Gomes Dem Rebels .01 Ben Francisco Red Hots .02 Ivan Rodriguez Twin Killers .05 Alfonso Soriano Bulls .17 Chris Snyder Bulls .03 Devin Mesoraco Clowns .05 Money Per Team Dem Rebels 1.93 13 players needed (14.8 per player) Red Hots 1.90 13 players (14.6) Revenge .92 8 players (11.5) Stranger Danger 1.69 11 players (15.3) Twin Killers 1.20 9 players (13.3) DoorMatts .61 8 players (7.6) Graging Bulls 1.31 13 players (10.0) Clowns 1.05 10 players (10.5) Ruffins .73 9 players (8.1) Kenndoza Line 1.53 8 players (19.1)

The Cuts Are In!!!

Gentlemen -

The cuts are in and therefore the rosters have been updated. Download the Roster Excel Spreadsheet to see what the competition has done.

Below are some of the highlights. Admittedly it doesn't look as pretty as when David did it, but I'm not as talented on the computer as he is.


2010 Winter Waiver Keepers

Aaron Cook .01 – Dem Rebels
Casey McGehee .11 – Dem Rebels
Raul Ibanez .26 – Dem Rebels
Emelio Bonafacio .05 – Dem Rebels (Graging Bulls)
Sean Marshall .01 – Red Hots
Kris Medlin .05 – Red Hots
Dan Haren .33 – Red Hots
Carlos Zambrano .08 – Revenge
Mike Pelfrey .01 - Bulls


2010 Long Term Contracts

Wandy Rodriguez 2 years (.08 11!) Dem Rebels
Jair Jurrjens 2 years (.06 11!) DoorMatts
Chad Qualls 2 years (.06 11!) DoorMatts
Andre Ethier 2 years (.22 11!) Revenge
Ryan Ludwick 2 years (.06 11!) Revenge
Justin Upton 4 years (.22 13!) Bulls
Troy Tulowitski 3 years (.20 12!) Bulls
Pablo Sandoval 3 years (.15 12!) Bulls

X Contracts Awarded

Jay Bruce – Clowns
Michael Bourn - Revenge

Big Salaries Cut

Manny Ramirez .43 Twin Killers
Matt Holliday .50 Twin Killers
Carlos Beltran .40 Copperfields
Lance Berkman .44 Copperfields
Carlos Lee .36 Copperfields
Roy Oswalt .29 Copperfields
Rafael Furcal .19 Copperfields
Brandon Webb .31 Revenge
Jeff Francouer .20 Revenge (Takes a .05 penalty for cutting LTC)
Johann Santana .37 Ruffins
Cole Hamels .24 Bulls

Money Left Per Team

Dem Rebels 8 players needed; .99 to spend; 12.37 cents per player
DoorMatts 8 players needed; 1.14 to spend; 14.25 cents per player
Twin Killers 15 players needed; 1.91 to spend; 12.73 cents per player
Red Hots 11 players needed; 1.68 to spend; 15.27 cents per player
Kenndoza Line 14 players needed; 1.47 to spend; 14.7 cents per player
Revenge 8 players needed; .87 to spend; 10.87 cents per player
Copperfields 11 players needed; .70 to spend; 6.36 cents per player
Ruffins 13 players needed; 1.82 to spend; 14 cents per player
Candy Colored Clowns 11 players needed; 1.35 to spend; 12.27 cents per player
Bulls 8 players needed; 1.05 to spend; 13.12 cents per player

Roster Freeze and Getting Ready for Draft Day

Gentlemen! It's almost time to start your engines!! All the Roster Cuts have been submitted and below is a recap of how things stand. I have also posted an updated Roster to your right, so feel free to download a fresh copy. When you look over the roster, make sure I have your information right. I don't want to have to make a ton of changes Sunday morning - rather do it now and print everything off with the right information.

Big Names and Salaries Cut

As is the case every year, teams cut big salaries in an effort to free up some cap space so that they can say ".56" on Manny Ramirez. Here are some of the salaries that were chopped.




Ben Sheets .19
Chase Utley .53
Derrek Lee .41
Matt Diaz .16
Kevin Kouzmanoff .28
Trevor Hoffman .21
Aaron Rowand .24
Willie Taveras .27
Ian Snell .12 (Penalty of .05 paid by Bulls)
Carlos Zambrano .22
Casey Kotchman (Penalty of .28 paid by Revenge)
Ryan Church .18
Jake Peavy .42
Juan Pierre .15
Aramis Ramirez .42
Miguel Tejada .21
Casey Blake .24
Kelly Johnson .20
Rick Ankiel .20
Mike Cameron .18
Troy Glaus .17

Long Term Contracts


There also was some evidence that men were not afraid to make that long term commitment. Here are the long term deals that were signed.



Chase Headley - DoorMatts - 2 years at .13
Ubaldo Jimenez - DoorMatts - 2 years at .10
Joey Votto - DoorMatts - 2 years at .15
Ryan Braun - Moore Better - 3 years at .12
Chad Billingsley - Bulls - 2 years at .15
Conor Jackson - Bulls - 2 years at .15
Lastings Milledge - Bulls - 2 years at .12
Nate McLouth - Revenge - 3 years at .13
Mark Reynolds - Clowns - 2 years at .14
Prince Fielder - Copperfields - 2 years at .15

Taking a Hit

Two owners decided to lose money off their salary cap rather than carry the players on their roster.

The Revenge cut Casey Kotchman and have been penalized .14 from their 2.60
The Graging Bulls cut Ian Snell in the last year of his contract and have been penalized .05 from their 2.60

Cash In Their Pocket


Here is what each team has left to spend on draft day along with how many players they have left to acquire. Please make sure I have your numbers correct.


DoorMatts $1.20 left to spend on 12 players (10 cents per player)

Copperfields $1.97 left to spend on 11 players (17.9 per player)

Dem Rebels $1.37 left to spend on 11 players (12.45 cents per player)

Ruffins $1.46 left to spend on 14 players (10.42)

Clowns $1.84 left to spend on 14 players (16.72)

Kenndoza Line $1.66 left to spend on 11 players (15.09)

Moore Better $1.64 left to spend on 11 players (14.90 cents per player)

Graging Bulls $1.19 left to spend on 8 players (14.87)

Morkertzuma's Revenge $1.26 left to spend on 11 players (11.45)

Mo's Red Hots $1.83 left to spend on 18 players (10.16)



That should be about it. See you all Sunday. Remember let's be in place, ready to go at 7:30am. Any questions on directions, call me or zip me an e-mail.