League Announces Overuse Penalties

The Molson Baseball League this morning, in the spirit of the Grinch, announced penalties for teams that overused players in the 2005 season. Three teams were singled out for the highest penalty.

"The Overuse Committee, at the recommendation of the Commissioner," offered League spokesman G. Gordon Baer, "agreed by consensus that player abuse by the Chicago White Sox, Florida Marlins, and Oakland Athletics was most extreme and, as a result, each of those teams will be fined $1,000,000 in cap space."

"The Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, and Washington Senators were deemed moderate offenders and fined $500,000 each. The light offenders--the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, and San Diego Padres--were each fined $250,000."

Because of the attention drift in the league last season and the absence of a clear fine structure, the Overuse Committee and Commissioner also agreed that all of these penalties would be waived unless any of these teams overuse a player in the 2006 season. In that event, the 2005 penalties would be applied immediatelyin-season against the offending team's salary cap.

"Our overuse rules are not new," Commissioner Buchanan said, "and it is the responsibility of the owners--not the League--to track it during the year. However, given the extenuating circumstances, I think waiving the penalties for good behavior in the upcoming season is fair."

The Molson League also has updated its Charter with extensive, clear rules governing overuse penalties for the 2006 season. This penalty structure was derived by consensus within the Overuse Committee.