Home Team Makeover: Seattle

2008 Edition Will Feature Many New Faces

Seattle- After a few seasons of relative tranquility, the Mariners lineup that takes the field in March will be wildly different than the one that packed up its gear in September after a disappointing 2007 campaign. After a series of moves this week, Seattle likely will have new starters at all but one position--catcher--when the team faces the Astros in the season opener.

Catcher: A position of stability, Joe Mauer will return behind the plate after hitting .316 last season with 33 steals. Yorvit Torrealba appears to be in position to return as the main backup after today's trade of Carlos Ruiz to Detroit.

Firstbase: Fan favorite Paul Konerko (.296-30-113) surprisingly is in Minnesota now after several productive seasons as Seattle's firstbaseman. 2007 waiver claimee Carlos Pena (.241-2-5) appears set to take over.

Secondbase: With today's trade for Freddy Sanchez (.316-11-64) from Houston, holdover Jose Lopez's (.287-10-47) time with the franchise may be in jeopardy. Sanchez would appear to be in the running for the leadoff spot vacated by Rafael Furcal.

Thirdbase: Kevin Kouzmanoff (.271-6-12), acquired midway last season for Roger Clemens, seems established at the hot corner for 2008. His main competition for the position, 2006 first rounder and 2007 opening day starter Edwin Encarnacion (.273-16-57), is now in Washington with the Senators.

Shortstop: 2007 first rounder Troy Tulowitzki (.156-0-1) will be handed the reigns after Rafael Furcal (.270-9-46) was traded to rival Houston. The team is really excited about Tulowitzki and was concerned by Furcal's 32 times caught stealing last season.

Leftfield: Long a position of weakness for the Ms, Seattle brass hopes today's acquisition of Hideki Matsui (.205-3-15) from Detroit will lend some stability to the slot for at least a few seasons. Matsui suffered through injuries last year, but should be an improvement over the tandem of Marcus Thames and Jason Tyner.

Centerfield: Perhaps the centerpiece of the offseason, Aaron Rowand (.225-7-24) joins the team from the Senators to replace Ken Griffey in center. Rowand was a target in the 2007 draft, but was snatched by Gord Fitzgerald before the Ms could move.

Rightfield: It appears the Mariners will split duties here between Griffey (.233-19-55) and 2007 starter Michael Cuddyer (.275-26-109).

Although the lineup will be different, it remains to be seen whether it will improve the 6th best offense in the National League.

Leadership Change

Biermann Assumes Control

Annandale, VA- The Molson Baseball League's Commissioner's Office this morning announced that former commissioner and sitting Los Angeles Dodgers chairman Bob Biermann will assume control of the Office of the Commissioner through June. Mr. Buchanan will be out of the country for three months, returning the first week of June.

"I asked Bob if he could step in this week, and he agreed," Commissioner Buchanan said. "I have a lot of demands on my time preparing for this assignment between now and my deployment date, and I am very appreciative that Bob is willing to step in to make sure the league runs smoothly."

Mr. Buchanan said he expects to have some connectivity while deployed and intends to continue managing the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers.

Rules Proposals

Mr. Buchanan was asked about the proposal from the Florida Marlins to reduce the salaries of veterans released at cut-down time before the draft. The Commissioner said that while he thinks the idea has some merit, he believed that the players union would demand that these veterans first be given the opportunity to earn that salary from a different team before any reduction took place.

"These players have earned the right to be paid," MBLPA representative Peter Spellos said between signing copies of his new book, "100 Porn Web Sites You Can't Live Without."

Mr. Buchanan also offered, "One drawback I do see, although it is not a deal breaker, is that reducing these salaries will contribute to talent inflation. Let's face it, there are a few teams every year that are well under the cap, and they could pick a lot of these high-salaried, aging players up for a year."

On Team Identity

In his interview with league reporters, Mr. Buchanan had a lot to say about the team identity concept which continues to make the Molson League unique among most fantasy leagues.

"The team identity rule, which has been part of the league for over 20 years, was intended to offer members the opportunity to manage their favorite teams with the right of first refusal on all rookies coming through those systems. Although the League has taken steps to offset the competitive imbalance that is inherent in this system, most-recently by charging draft picks for team identity protects, I do not feel that is sufficient, and suggest the League owners consider new measures.

• Place a cap on the number of protects a team can have in any given year. Because eliminating team identity altogether has continually failed in voting, this proposal would reduce the competitive imbalance by setting a cap of 1-2 team identity players annually per team. This proposal could also improve the draft pool which, as this season demonstrates, is usually considerably weakened by the removal of the top rookies from roughly two-thirds of Major League Baseball teams.
• Teams cannot trade team identity player rights. If the intent of the rule is to let you control your favorite team's players, I fail to see how trading their rights is consistent with that philosophy. For me, this is clearly a competitive imbalance which is wholly inconsistent with the intent of the team identity rule.

"Historically, one counterargument has always been that Major League farm strength cycles are cyclical, but after twenty years in this league I think that is not true. In any case, I don't think we can rely on a natural cyclical phenomenon to balance the competitive effects of the team identity rule."

Roster Spreadsheet

The league has posted the post-cut down roster and salary spreadsheet online. The link is on the right panel.

Rules Idea: Cut Player Salary If Released

This idea has occurred to me several times in the past, particularly at this time of year. It's basically about adding some market incentives to the waiver/draft pool.

When we cut our rosters down to 25, a lot of players get cut. A lot of them have some value, but their salaries are too high to justify keeping them around. This happens in real life too. But in real life, a released veteran who becomes a free agent will (if he can) sign a new contract with someone at a greatly reduced salary. In the MBL, such players insist on being paid at their full previous salary, a figure that, in essence, every MBL team has announced they aren't willing to pay him.

The result is a waiver/draft pool cluttered with overpriced veterans, some of whom could potentially help a team. You probably cut several yourself recently.

So here's a rules idea, to be added to Roster cuts in the Charter:
When players are released under this rule, their salaries are reset to 75% of their current amount, or the league minimum salary, whichever is highest.

I think this would make the pool a little livelier, and would be fairly easy to administrate, as a strictly once-a-year occurrence.

What do you guys think? The details could be different, like the actual percentage number used and/or who it applies to. (For instance, I could see arguments for applying it only to players whose current salary is relatively high - over $400,000, perhaps.)

Atlanta Moves Up

Braves Swap Picks with Detroit

The Atlanta Braves tonight traded their first round pick--the second overall--and Craig Monroe to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for the first overall pick in the draft. Atlanta is expected to select Justin Verlander once the draft begins.

"Verlander would be our choice had we stayed put," Detroit GM Matt Millen said, "but we have too many holes to fill. Getting Monroe to play center for us this year is huge, and there are other prospects we like still out there."

Will the Tigers sit at #2 or trade down further?

Marlins, Athletics Pull Off Blockbuster

Twins and Indians, Senators and Mariners also Strike Deals

The Oakland Athletics earlier this week traded RF Jermaine Dye and C Rod Barajas to the Florida Marlins for the rights to SS Hanley Ramirez and 2B Dan Uggla. Dye, Oakland's 2006 MVP, became the odd man out in a crowded Athletics outfield and should start right away for the retooling Marlins.

"The future is now," Marlins owner David Conner told The Home Plate Press.

In Oakland, Ramirez is expected to solidify a position that has plagued the franchise since Barry Larkin was auctioned in the Great Cincinnati Sell Off of 2000.

Other Deals

• In Minneapolis, Minnesota announced it has sent Geoff Jenkins to the World Champion Cleveland Indians in exchange for pitchers Bartolo Colon and Danys Baez.
• The rival Seattle Mariners and Washington Senators also reached a deal with Washington sending Olmedo Saenz to the Pacific Northwest for Seattle's fifth-round selection.
• The Detroit Tigers traded their sixth pick to Florida for Mike Piazza.
  

Teixeira, Kotchman Bay-Bound

Upton, Burnett Head to DC

The Washington Senators reached a deal today with the cash-strapped Oakland Athletics, sending firstbasemen Mark Teixeira and Casey Kotchman to the Bay Area for pitcher A.J. Burnett and prospect B.J. Upton.

Oakland owner Brad Colvey said, "Teixeira and Kotchman shore up a positional weakness that has existed since we relocated from Cincinnati three years ago." Teixeira joins a lineup that potentially includes Adam Dunn, Jermaine Dye, Nick Swisher, and Eric Chavez, although the Athletics have some cutting to do this week to get under the salary cap.

For the Senators, General Manager Mike Keenan said, "Brett Hull is the best player I ever coached. As far as this deal goes, the opportunity to pick up a top-flight pitcher like Burnett and a potential superstar like Upton was too much to pass up."

Other news

• The Los Angeles Dodgers protected rookie Hong-Chih Kuo.
• The San Diego Padres protected secondbaseman Josh Barfield and reliever Cla Meredith, and released Edgardo Alfonso.
• The Seattle Mariners decline their option on rookies Jon Huber, Mark Lowe, Ryan Feierabend, Sean Green, and Emiliano Fruto.
  

Notes from the League Office

Rules Voting Ends

The deadline for casting your vote on the 2006 rules proposals has passed. Thanks to the fourteen owners that took a couple of minutes to vote. No proposal passed, so we will use the same rules in 2007 that we did this year.

Overuse Committee Rules

The Overuse Committee has recommended that all 2006 and probationary 2005 penalties be enforced. As we move forward, here are a few hints to avoid trouble in 2007:

• Plan your use at 90-95% to allow for some flexibility should something happen like a late injury. Remember, there is no rule stating a player must appear in 100% of his allowable games or at bats.
  
• Roster a few unlimited players to fill in as necessary when you run out of at bats.
• Farm any players in danger of being used by the automanager in a manner that could push that player past his limit.
• If you are going to be out of town for an extended period, get one owner to act in your stead monitoring use. Note that you will still bear ultimate responsibility for any penalties.
• The league office is lenient when one of your starting pitchers is forced into relief duty by the automanager even though they aren't listed in the relief table, but asks that you contact the Commissioner as soon as you note the issue. Normally, this would make that pitcher GS- and IP-limited.
  

Twins Make Moves

The Minnesota Twins today protected rookies Matt Garza and Boof Bonser. The Twins released William Bergola, Craig Biggio, Shane Costa, Bill Mueller, Brayan Pena, Andy Phillips, Reggie Sanders, Eddie Guardado, Ryan Madson, and Sergio Mitre.

Overuse Penalties Announced

On 24 December 2005, the Commissioner's Office waived considerable 2005 season overuse penalties against a few teams conditional upon a clean record in 2006. Specifically, the White Sox, Marlins, and Athletics had a $1 million penalty waived; the Astros, Cardinals, and Senators $500,000; and the Diamondbacks, Braves, Red Sox, Indians, and Padres $250,000 each.

The Commissioner's Office has reviewed the final 2006 season statistics and is fining these teams for overuse. Any owner wishing to appeal their fines is encouraged to do so to the Overuse Committee--Bob Bierman, Pat Barry, and Steve Sargent. These fines apply against each team's 2007 salary cap.

Arizona Diamondbacks ($250,000 + $56,152=$306,152)
Scott Hairston, 1 AB. This player was ineligible for 2006, but was used even though he had his real-life statistics zeroed out. Because his overuse is 4%, the fine is $56,152, equal to 40% of that player's $140,375 salary.

Chicago White Sox ($1 million + $124,594=$1,124,594)
Dave Roberts, 1 AB. Overuse < 1%, fine is $94,594.
Craig Breslow, .1 IP. Overuse 2-3%, fine is $30,000.

Florida Marlins ($1 million + $60,000=$1,060,000)
Jeremy Hermida, 2 AB. Overuse 4-5%, fine is $50,000.
Will Ohman, .1 IP. Overuse < 1%, fine is $10,000.

Houston Astros ($500,000 + $25,866=$525,866)
Scott Munter, .1 IP. Overuse < 1%, fine is $25,866.

Oakland Athletics ($1,000,000 + $848,260=$1,848,260)
Rod Barajas, 11 AB. Overuse is 2-3%, fine is $191,145.
Gary Matthews, Jr. 7 Games. Overuse is 5-6%, fine is $570,313.
J.C. Romero, 1 IP. Overuse is 1-2%, fine is $21,040.
Julio Santana, .2 IP. Overuse is 1-2%, fine is $20,000.
Chris Spurling, .2 IP. Overuse is <1%, fine is $45,762.

San Diego Padres ($250,000 + $566,527 = $816,527)
Damaso Marte, 3.2 IP. Overuse is 7-8%, fine is $199,988.
Akinori Otsuka, 5.2 IP. Overuse is 9-10%, fine is $366,539.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays ($81,905, to be applied against the New York Yankees)
Joe Crede, 4 ABs. Overuse is < 1%, fine is $81,905.

Toronto Blue Jays ($120,366)
Kelvim Escobar, 1 IP. Overuse is 1-2%, fine is $120,366.

Washington Nationals ($69,211)
Steve Kline, .2 IP. Overuse is 1-2%, fine is $69,211.

If you plan to appeal, please notify the Overuse Committee before December 28. All fines will be final as of January 6, two weeks ahead of the roster deadline.