Chicago Baseball Week In Review

As many of you know, long-time CFCLer Eric Lamb hosts a weekly blogcast about happenings with the Cubs and White Sox, titled "Chicago Baseball In Review".  Rich recently passed on the news that this coming Saturday, Eric will welcome Cubs' broadcaster Len Kasper as a special guest.

You can tune in via the web at:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/eric-l/2010/04/17/chicago-baseball-week-in-review, and also check out download podcasts at iTunes by searching for "Chicago Baseball Review".

Congrats, Eric, and landing the big-time guest!

Chris Sampson, et al (but no Delilah)

Chris Sampson
Candy Colored Clowns .06 (Burton)
Copperfields .05 (Open)

Greg Smith
Copperfields .06 (Open)
DoorMatts .06 (Zavada)

Adam Russell
Kenndoza Line .05 (Raynor)

John Hester
DoorMatts .06 (Zavada)

Paul Janish
Dem Rebels .05 (Schafer)

Livan Hernandez
Copperfields .05 (Open)

Silly Little Game

Next in the line of documentaries on the topic of fantasy baseball is "Silly Little Game", the most recent installment in ESPN's 30 for 30 series of sports documentaries.

Unlike earlier attempts that followed a bunch of nobodies playing the game ("Trading The Gator") or an obssessive nobody playing the game with a bunch of experts ("Fantasyland"), this one focusses on where it all began - the origins of the original Rotisserie League.  As the blurb on ESPN's site says, "few to none of the millions of fantasy players who make up today’s multi-billion-dollar fantasy industry know anything about its origins, nor do they pay any respect or dividends to its founders. Now they will. "

It's a different spin on the fantasy baseball doc, and one I'm looking forward to seeing.  Though I have my concerns after viewing the excerpt ESPN has posted, in which actors prortraying Dan Okrent, Lee Eisenberg, and other founding fathers at La Rotisserie Francais as swarthy chefs and waiters play baseball in the background.  Huh???  I can only hope this is a non-representative clip; if the whole film is like this, I'll be magnificently disappointed.

"Silly Little Game" premieres on Tuesday April 20, at 7:00 Central, on ESPN.  More information can be found at the film's website:  http://30for30.espn.com/film/silly-little-game.html

Nick, Rich, and Jacque

Now that in-season publication has started, if you're not checking out The Monroe Doctrine on a regular basis, you're doing yourself a great disservice.  Rich is once again making quality weekly posts about the CFCL past and present, the Cubs, MLB, and life in general.  You subscribe via a news reader, or at a minimum be sure to click the link over in the sidebar to the right of this post on a regular basis.

If you haven't read his Bring Me Your Torch post casting "Survivor: Heroes vs Villians" using current and former Cub players, go check it out, then come back here for a little treat.

Well done, don't you think?  The reference to the Jacque Jones moment from the 2006 CFCL Draft was a nice touch.  For those who would like to relive it or experience it for the first time, here's the video:

Beginning of the year reminder

Gents -

A new roster spreadsheet has been posted for download with the first week's worth of bids. Each week on Sunday (afternoon or evening) I will be posting an updated roster.

Also, keep in mind that as of the end of the Draft a little over a week ago, the current salary cap was raised from the $2.60 on Draft Day to $3.00 until the All-Star Game.

First Bidding of the Season

Burke Badenhop
Red Hots .06 (Lewis)
Kenndoza Line .06 (Thole)
Copperfields .05 (Open)

Ronald Belasario
Clowns .05 (Arrendondo)
DoorMatts .05 (Zavada)

Nate Robertson
Revenge .06 (Open)
Bulls .05 (Flores)

Mike Jacobs
Bulls .05 (Open)

Chad Durbin
Bulls .05 (Flores)

Miguel Olivo
Ruffins .05 (Hill)

Rodrigo Lopez
Ruffins .05 (Olsen)

Jesse Chavez
Clowns .05 (Allen)

Opening Day Reminders

Happy Opening Day, Everyone!
A few quick reminders as we count down the hours to the first pitches of the 2010 CFCL Season:

• If you haven't done so yet, be sure to check your rosters in both locations they appear - the CBS Sportsline site and in the Excel rosters sheets available in the Download Center.  Verify not only that all your players are listed, but that their salaries and contract statuses are correct.
• You have until Noon Central today (Monday April 5) to set your active roster for the first few days of the season.  Last year, rosters were locked half an hour before the first game of the day - this year it looks like we've got up until 5 minutes before the first pitch of the first game.
• Remember that you can make moves between your Active and Reserve Rosters every Monday and Friday during the season.  You can enter your moves on any day, but every one needs to be effective on either Monday or Friday - if you're setting your roster on a different day to be effective for an upcoming Monday or Friday, be sure to specify your effective date before entering your moves.  For details on how to set the effective date for a move - in fact, for a full refresher on how to process and report all CFCL roster moves (including trades and free agent bids) review this primer from 2008.  There are couple tiny differences (rosters locking 5 minutes before the first game vs 30 minutes, for example), but by and large everything still applies:  CFCL Transaction Primer.
• Our first Free Agent Bidding date will be Sunday April 11, with a bidding deadline of 3:00 PM Central Time.  See the CFCL Transaction Primer for details about how to e-mail in your bids.
• Remember to check in every week or so with the Monroe Doctrine for the most recent ruminations from Rich.  There's a link to the Doctrine in the sidebar over to the right.
• Finally, for those of you who have Comcast, don't forget that you get a free preview of MLB's Extra Innings package for the first week of the season (April 5-11), which should allow you to see nearly every game being played in MLB.

Good luck, everyone.  Here's to another great season!