TCBA Today and Yesterday

for TCBA league officers will be conducted in January, with the announcement and installation of newly elected officers to be done on Friday night at the Lancaster Winter Meeting. Anyone interested in serving as a league officer should contact Bob Braun as soon as possible to insure that the proper name appears on the voting ballot.

After serving as TCBA Commissioner for eight years, Braun has already announced that he will step down from the Commissioner's post in February. Acting Commissioner Marty Fiehl has indicated that he is willing to continue serving in that position, if elected to the post in the upcoming voting. Anyone else interested in serving the league as commissioner should not be dissuaded by either Braun's or Fiehl's announcements.

With Marty Fiehl shifting his responsibilities to that of Commissioner, it will be necessary for TCBA to choose a new treasurer. Anyone interested in this sensitive and important position should contact Marty for more details.

In addition, at least three members will be needed to fill the Rules Committee seats. The current members of the committee include Gerry Hobbs, Jim Lafargue, and Gary Sibley. Traditionally the current Commissioner has chosen names to be placed in nomination for seats on the committee. The three highest vote-getters in the balloting are assigned to the Rules Committee.

The other positions that have traditionally held "officer" status include, editor and statistician. It is unclear if either of these positions will be filled, or if they will even appear on the ballot. In both cases, a move toward the use of League Manager/Power Tool would render the current job descriptions obsolete. A further discussion will be held in Lancaster on this technology-based change.

Another significant change that may result from the Lancaster Meeting is the move of TCBA Yesterday from a loosely affiliated "experimental" module of TCBA to a full-fledged, democratically administered, TCBA league. Should such a change occur, it is expected that the duly elected officers of TCBA Today would serve the same function in Yesterday, thus increasing the number of voting members from 24 (including Today expansion managers) to 28 (including 4 Yesterday-only members.)

Contact any league officer for more info.

In the Capitol Division, an exciting race all year long between Frank Tedeschi's defending League Champion Bethesda Bambinos and the Rapidan Rapids was finally won by Gary Sibley's Bedouins. Despite the second-place finish, the Bambinos will make the playoffs as the second-seeded wildcard team. Both Capitol teams are very strong and either one has a real chance to win it all in the playoffs, although Rapidan's first round bye is a definite advantage. This is the first Capitol Division crown for Sibley, and his first outright visit to the Today playoffs since taking over the old Harbor Beach Combers during the 1990 season. Despite a storied past, Sibley's franchise (#1) has never won a TCBA League Championship. Tedeschi has had much success in the past seven years, including four division crowns and the 1996 TCBA Today League Championship.

In the Atlantic Division, usually known as the division that no one really wants to win, another year-long battle between Portsmouth and London is going right down to the last game. Only two games separated the teams going into series 12, and a head to head showdown will be played between them, possibly on NetMeeting. Both Casey Lyman and Pat Lowrey are in their rookie season as TCBA managers. Neither franchise has won a League Championship, and both would be considered long-shots to win this year. The likely first round opponent for the winner in the Atlantic Division will be Scranton, representing the most successful franchise in TCBA history, with five League Championships since 1988.

Final Series 12 results were due last week, at which time Dan was to start calculating timeliness bonus $'s in preparation for the February Auction (remember, each team is eligible for 72K if all series have been reported on time). Those bonus $'s will be officially awarded to teams as of 1/1/98. Several "hot trade rumors" seem likely to come about in January after bonus $'s are awarded. Remember to indicate designated cuts if a deal or purchase puts your team over the 35 man control limit.

A LIST OF KEY DATES:

Monday, 12/15........Trading ends at midnight.

Sunday, 12/21.........List of cuts bringing teams to 30 man limit as well as up to eight rookie nominations are due to Player Control Agent.

Week of 12/22..........Rookie Nominations announced.

Thursday, 1/1..........Cash bonus $'s awarded; trading window reopens.

Saturday, 1/31.........Trading ends at midnight; rosters frozen until after Rookie Auction

Friday, 2/6.................Rookie Auction; teams must cut to 30 players immediately following auction.

Saturday, 2/7............Free Agent Draft

TEAM HRV CASH BE 103.3 8.2 LI 84.8 183.9 FG 78.5 105.9 HP 72.6 96.3 NP 56.7 10.1 SX 54.3 11.2 GL 53.7 64.3 WA 51.0 85 NW 49.3 59.7 ME 47.5 58 CS 43.9 10.7 BR 37.6 281.1 MI 31.2 78.8 WW 22.6 5.9 KI 16.8 49.4 SO 7.3 168.1 MEDIAN 62

Yesterday Rookie Auction This January a few lucky teams will be dividing up the M&M&M Boys. That's right; Mantle, Maris, and Mathews will be starting off the new year residing in the TCBA's Junior Circuit. Exact details will follow in later announcements, but for now, the Yesterday Rookie Auction will be held in mid-January using a format very similar to what was done this past summer for the 1969 rookies. A group of players, something like 3 to 5 at a time, will be announced via email, and interes tedmanagers will enter bids on those players within a certain time frame via email. This season's draft will be orchestrated by Stu McCorkindale of Bergen. He will provide more accurate details and player lists as we get closer. The intent is to have the auction completed before we get to Lancaster in February, with an anticipated season-starting date of March 1. The auction can begin as soon as everyone gets their final month's series played. Once min's and max's have been checked, necessary cuts have been made, and cash balances have been adjusted, the auction will begin.

All Hail His Feebleness! TCBA Yesterday announced at the end of November the Feeble Four rankings for the 1969 TCBA Yesterday Rookie selection process. Three of the teams selected for the upcoming Feeble Four are returnees from last year. The lowest of the low is, surprisingly, South Starrucca. The Ainspans selected Big Bill White with last year's choice while managing to win the Hackbart division crown during the 1970 campaign. With a very low HRV of 7.3, due in large part to a plethora of one-year hitting wonders, South Starrucca is not expected back in the Feeble Four next year. Another returner to the bottom feeders is Wilderness, who walked away with an expensive Don Drysdale last year. To do that again, the Wraiths will likely have to go into debt, as they have a tiny bankroll to work with, even considering any Endorsement money they may collect. The third returner is Mimosa. The Mirthmakers have been slowly rising out of Feebleland, and this is likely to be their last visit for awhile. The Mimosans can likley afford one of the big guys, like Mantle ($180 million), Eddie Mathews ($145 mil), and Ken Boyer ($81.3). A newcomer to the group is Kilkenny. Sean O'Malley has already begun to cash in his potato futures in anticipation of the arrival of a another Mick. Kilkenny will almost surely have to go into debt to do that, but the temptation may be too much for the bedeviled Mr. O'Malley. The wealthy Bradenton Buckeyes may finally be ready to part with some of their hoarded cash, as the 1969 Yesterday auction approaches. The rookie roster is loaded with prime performers, many of whom will command a higher wage than has previously been paid. Should studs like Elston Howard, Roger Maris, Ken Boyer, et al slip through the Feeble Four process, Bob Wood will be standing by with mega-ching in hand, ready to give the big boys a lift back to Chicagoland and a long Buckeye career. Among the other rich clubs, figure Long Island and Fortney to play a significant role in the bidding wars to erupt in January during the Yesterday Rookie Auction.

League Manager/Power Tool

It appears that the testing of League Manager/Power Tool, coordinated by Stu McCorkindale, has proved out fairly conclusively that LMPT is a utility that should play an integral part in our operation. Based on all reports, TCBA Yesterday will move to a LMPT format for the next season, TCBA 1969.

In a related move, TCBA Today has already begun an analysis into the possibility of using LMPT for that league as well. LMPT requires no statistical inputting by a statistician, relying totally on files created easily at the local level, which are then forwarded to the commissioner for processing. Among the other advantages of LMPT is a feature that allows every team to have easy access to league-wide up-to-date stats at the begininng of every series. Those stats will be reflected in Uncle Ernie's play-by-play calling. Expect to hear more on this exciting development by the time we hit Lancaster in February.

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