Winter Waiver Process

Gentlemen -

Winter Waivers are due to me no later than 3pm on Sunday, January 3rd. Below I have pasted the Article in the Constitution that deals with the process and the claims. It's pretty self-explanatory, but if there are any questions, feel free to e-mail me. Thank you to the Kenndoza Line and Ruffins who have already submitted their cuts. The Rebels have submitted their cuts to the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE XVII. Winter Rosters and Winter WaiversBy 3:00 PM Central time on the first Sunday in January, each owner is required to submit to the League Secretary a list of 23 players, irrespective of position, taken from its combined Active and Reserve Rosters, but not including any players who have concluded their current contract (B or S contract players). This group of players becomes the winter roster.
NOTE: The date on which 23-man protected lists are due may be adjusted at the discretion of the Executive Committee if the New Year holiday falls on or near the first Sunday in January.
Immediately after the submission of winter rosters, a waiver period concluding at at 3:00 PM Central time on the following Thursday begins. Teams may select players who were waived. On claiming such a player, the claiming team must, in turn, waive a player from its own winter roster. Players thus waived become eligible for a second round of waiver claims, lasting until 3:00 PM Central time on the following Sunday, that are conducted in the same fashion. (unclaimed players from the first waiver period are no longer eligible.) The process continues on a Thursday-Sunday schedule until there is a period in which no one is claimed.
Players currently in the American League can be waived and claimed during Winter Waivers. American Leaguers claimed on Winter Waivers must be released if they are still in the American League in Roster Freeze Day.
Players on X contracts or long- term contracts cannot be waived during Winter Waivers. If, in special circumstances, an X or long-term contract player appears on the Winter Waiver list (for example, when the players remaining following a new owner draft are included in the waiver pool), the player's current contract status and obligations will remain in effect for the new team.
There is no limit to the number of players a team may claim in any given round of Winter Waivers. To claim more than one player, a team must submit a prioritized list of the players they want to claim. There should also be an accompanying list of the players the team will waive from their current roster should they receive any of the players they claimed.
Priority for claims will be in reverse order of the standings (the team that waived the player gets lowest priority), with the lowest-ranked team getting the first player on their list, the next lowest team getting the highest player on their list who is still available, and so on up through the standings. Selection then returns to the lowest-ranked team who still has players remaining on their list, and the process is repeated.
The salary of a player claimed on winter waivers stays the same as it had been before he was waived. His contract status becomes W, which will change to D if the player is kept by his CFCL team on the following Draft Day. The contracts of minor leaguers (M-contract players), as well as X and long-term contract players who are claimed on Winter Waivers remain unchanged.
After the first round of winter waivers, winter rosters may exceed or fall below 23 players through trading action. Whatever size the roster, however, any successful claim of a player on waivers must be accompanied by the placing of another player from the claiming team on waivers.

The Team Has A Name!

Just in time for the holiday rush on team paraphernalia, Mike Bentel (owner of the former Moore Better) and his twin brother Matt (GM and Special Assistant to the owner) have released the name of their franchise.

The Twin Killers are now in business.

It's Official!

With 22 shopping days left for the second Christmas of the year, the CFCL has announced it's draft date for 2010.

Saturday, March 27th will be Draft Day 2010 with the start time most likely being 3pm to accommodate travelling owners. Location is still to be determined, but the leader in the clubhouse is the traditional Oak Brook Draft Room.

Next up is Winter Waivers. Sunday, January 3rd, 2010 at 3pm your list of 23 protected players is due.

More Post Season Information

While you can all see the final standings on Sportsline, the standings don't tell the whole story. The standings not only provide bragging rights and decide on money payouts, they also determine the Rotation Draft and HTD for Draft Day 2010.

Here are the results of the HTD to be used at next year's draft. The players listed after the team are the players with expiring 09 contracts.

1. Kenndoza (Not Eligible for HTD) - Kemp; Jones, C; Ruiz, C; Soriano, R; Lincecum
2. DoorMatts (Not Eligible for HTD) - Willingham
3. Copperfields (Not Eligible for HTD) - Pence; Loney; Schneider; Bell, H; Gregg, K; Lilly; Maholm; Pena, Tony; Young, Chris B;
4. Bulls OWNER OF THE SWEET SPOT [trademarked by the CCC] (.06) - McCann; Maine
5. Clowns (.04) - Theriot; Phillips, B
6. Ruffins (.04) - Wright; Rollins
7. Rebels (.03) - Dunn
8. Revenge (.03) - Sanchez, F; Lidge
9. MooreBetter (.03) - LaRoche, An; Hardy
10. Red Hots (.03) - Molina, Y; Reyes, J

You may have noticed the standings order. While the Line and Matts tied with 79 points, the Line won the tie breaker 6 categories to 4. Lost in all the hubbub for first was the fact that we had a tie for ninth. The Hots and MooreBetter tied with 36 points. They also tied in categories, 5-5. So then we move to the second tie breaker (Total At Bats plus walks for their hitters plus three times their innings pitched). MooreBetter came out on top 10,966 - 9285 to snag ninth place and the 6th selection in the Rotation Draft.

One thing I failed to mention in the last post. While the Winter Waivers don't take place until the first week of January, that also means that the Trade Freeze is still in effect until the end of the first round of Winter Waivers.

Also, get me your award nominees and dates of availbility for the banquet. The Copperfields have already done so - thanks David!

Lastly, I have posted the updated rosters available for download. The open slots on the teams are the expired 09 contracts.

Heading into the Off-Season

A stellar and exciting pennant race has finally come to an end with the Cubs (specifically Randy Wells) breaking the DoorMatts heart yet again. On CBS Sportsline I had posted a poll of who you thought would win the title. Of the five votes cast, one went to Kenndoza and the other four went to the DoorMatts. When I saw the vote for Kenndoza logged, I thought "Well, Kenn has finally voted." Turns out it was Matt B. "I voted for Kenn to try and do everything to secure the title for myself." As it happens, jinxing has no power over a strong starting rotation.

Interestingly Matt called me over the weekend when he was up either 1 or 4 points (I can't remember) and said he was feeling like he did after Game 4 of the NLCS. It seemed inevitable that the Cubs were going to the Series (just win ONE OF THREE FOR GOD SAKES!) He felt like winning the CFCL title was possible (not certain, but possible) "but there's going to be a Bartman moment, I just haven't had it yet." I guess if falling short of the title after leading by four with three days left is a Bartman moment, then so be it. I think it was more of a '69 moment. The Line had amazing pitching and the Matts couldn't score a run in the final week.

So as we remember the amazing race just completed (coming down to the final at bat just blows my mind) we also have to look forward to next year. Here's what we know and what we don't.

Returning Owners:

A few weeks ago I sent out an e-mail asking everyone for the 2010 intentions. I have finally heard back from all owners and here is where we stand.

Definitely returning: Rich, David M., Matt B., Mike C., Bob, Matt G., Tim

Definitely not returning: Michael Moore (Family needs are calling him out of state, unable to return for Draft Day).

Possibly returning: Dave H. and Kenn. Kenn indicated he's about 90% sure he's coming back. Dave said he was up in the air and needed time to decide. I have asked that both provide their answer by the end of the month.

So we have one sure opening and possibly three. If Dave and Kenn both return, our job is a bit easier (obviously). Mike Bentel - former Ruffin Proxy - has given strong indication that he would like to be considered for any future openings. He still has to be voted in, but at least we have identified a person, they're interested and we already know them. If we have to fill one or two more openings, we have our work cut out for us. That would almost ensure that there is no chance for expansion in 2010. Actually, five of six commenting owners prefer to keep the league at 10 owners, so expansion may not be in our near future anyway.

Keep your eyes and ears open for possible Owner Candidates for whatever openings we may have.

Banquet

Last year we didn't end up scheduling the banquet until late January/early February. Usually we try to arrange something during the post season so we can watch a game while celebrating CFCL 2009. Feel free to start e-mailing me with weekends and times that you're available or not available.

And While We're On The Subject

of the Banquet, we have to work on the awards. I will try to comprise the candidates for the various awards, but to make sure no one falls through the cracks, please e-mail me players from your roster that you feel are worthy of consideration for any of the post season awards. Reference the CFCL website for a list of all post season awards.

Looking Ahead to 2010

Winter waivers don't start until Janaury. But with all the holidays coming up you don't want to be caught unawares, so start thinking about whom you are going to keep and cut. Remember that any players acquired after September 1st are automatically cut. Additionally, any players that had a contract of 09 or 09! are automatically cut as well. For Winter Waivers you need to trim your roster to 23 players (no position requirements). The 23 players include both major and minor leaguers. If you want to keep your four minor league studs, then you can only keep 19 major league roster players.

Already On Board

I have taken the liberty of asking Matt G. to reprise his role as Draft List Guy for Draft Day 2010 and he has graciously accepted.

I have also asked Mike C to take on a second term of Sportsline Czar. Assuming he can work his way clear of the Blue Screen of Death, he has also graciously accepted.

Keep the Mind Fresh

Just because the CFCL and Baseball's Regular season is over doesn't mean there isn't work to be done. Your Executive Committee (Rich, David M. and Mike C) are still serving until next Draft Day. If there are any rules or adjustments or thoughts you want to bring before the EC, now is a good time to voice your wishes. Let us know if you would like to have something considered.

I think that's it for now. As of this moment I don't forsee an issue with securing our Draft Day Headquarters, but I will know for sure after the 1st of the year.

Seven Days of Help

Oscar Salazar
Bulls .05 (Sheffield)

Jody Gerut
Kenndoza Line .05 (Gallardo)

New Line Member, but will he get a full World Series share?

Josh Thole
Kenndoza Line .07 (C. Miller)