HARD HATS trade M Alou and B Brownlie to PICTS for X Nady and their 2004 7th round Rotation Draft pick.

Click here for updated rosters in Excel format.
Click here for the 2004 Rotation Draft Pick Tracker

Roster cut worksheets have been e-mailed to all owners and are also available in the Download Center. The deadline for roster cuts is 4:00 PM on March 29. All teams must reduce their rosters to 15 or fewer players and submit the names of the players being kept to the League Secretary by this date. Any rosters not received by March 29 will be reduced to 15 by a random method determined by the Executive Committee.

The 29^th is next Monday, so by the time you read this the deadline will be just a few short days away.

Before we get to the information about the cuts, we’ve got a brief commercial interruption. As reported in earlier messages, all CFCL fees must be paid by the time your cuts are received. So if you haven't sent in a check yet PLEASE be sure to do so before the 29th.

As a reminder, the fees are $100 per team this year, which covers stat service, trophy, the banquet, and prizes.

Make checks out to David Mahlan and send them to:

David Mahlan
1431 Palmer
Downers Grove, IL 60516

Those of you out there who have (or want to sign up for) Paypal accounts can send me your fee payment via e-mail. EXTREMELY IMPORTANT NOTE: I do not have a Paypal account, so Paypal will have to cut a check and mail it to me to cover your fees. There’s a $1.50 per check charge for this service, which you’ll need to reimburse me for – I’m willing to make that payment option available, but I don’t want to be the one paying for it. If you’re going to go the Paypal route, please send a payment of $101.50 to [email protected].

We now return to our regularly-scheduled report.

Teams with option year players (player on C contracts) must also submit long-term contract information at this time. These teams have three choices:

1. Player may be released into the Free Agent Pool

2. Player may be signed for option year at his same salary and then must be released at the end of the season

3. Player may be signed to a long-term contract

If a player is signed to a long term contract, his salary will increase by .05 for each year of the contract BEYOND the option year (the option year is the current year, in this case, the 2004 season). In other words, a player signed to a 2 year long-term contract would be signed through the 2005 season and will receive a .05 increase in salary. The chart on the roster cut sheet can be used in determining the salary increase. The full amount of the increase goes into effect immediately (it’s not .05 this year, .05 more next year, etc.)

You should be well-aware of the penalty for releasing long-term contract players before their contract is up, but to refresh your memory, .05 will be deducted from your $2.60 spending limit on Draft Day for each of the years remaining on the contract. For example, if the DoorMatts were to release Wade Miller, who has 2 years remaining on a long-term contract, they’d have only $2.50 to spend on salaries this year. This rule applies to anyone who is currently signed to a LTC (anyone with a E, F, or G contract).

Speaking of penalties, any players who are marked with an asterisk next to their contract are players who were acquired via a free agent bid of .25 or more last season. If you have one of these players and decide to cut him, half of his salary (rounded up) will be deducted from your $2.60 spending limit. So if the Lambchops decide to cut Shea Hillenbrand (.30D*) they’ll have only $2.45 to spend. Players who ended up in the American League are exempt from this penalty, so By Kennen can release Sidney Ponson (.34D*) without being penalized.

In the last report, I listed the players who are eligible to be signed to X contracts. This time I'll address the players who are currently on X contracts and what their options are.

Owners who have players who have already been signed to X contracts have two options, and only two options for what to do with them:

Sign the player to a long-term contract, with a base salary of .03 more than his current salary

Release the player

For example, if the Rebels choose the first option (sign long term) for Marcus Giles (.07X), his base salary becomes .10 (.07+.03). They then have to sign him to at least a two-year long term contract using the new base salary and an additional .05 for each year beyond the upcoming year. Say they decide to sign him for 4 years (through 2007). Burrell's salary and contract going into this year would then be .25G (.10+.05+.05+.05).

Note that for players under an X contract you do NOT have the option of signing them for just one more year at the current salary, like you would with an option year (C contract) player. The option year for X contract players would have been the previous year, not this year.

Use the roster cut sheets to make your cuts and to figure out any salary increases for players you sign to LTCs. The form should be self-explanatory, but if you have any trouble with it, please let me know.

Be sure to fill out the last two columns for all the players you're keeping (including minor leaguers). Make sure that the players you keep qualify at the positions you assign them to and that your roster meets the position distribution requirements specified in the Constitution. The 2004 Spring Training Rosters in the Download Center list position eligibilities for each player.

For minor league players you're keeping on your reserve list, enter R for their position and leave their salary column blank. Minor league salaries do not count against your $2.60 spending limit. Salaries of major league players who will start the year on your Reserved List should be entered, however, because they do count against the $2.60. This includes, for example, players who start the season on the DL.

Speaking of minor leaguers, remember that you’re allowed to keep an unlimited number of M-contract players on your Reserve List going into the Draft. You can keep up to four M-contract players without penalty. You can keep more than four if you wish, but each M-contract player after the first four counts against your limit of 15 major league players you can keep.

NOTE: If you put an M-contract player on your Reserve List, and he subsequently makes his NL team's Opening Day roster, you will not be able to activate or trade that player until June 30. Be sure to review the topic Protecting M Contract Players in Article XIX. Roster Protection in the Constitution for more details.

You don’t necessarily need to e-mail the Excel file back to me with your cuts – if you want to just send me an e-mail listing your cuts and keepers and any salary/contract information, that’s fine. You should definitely check the roster cut sheet for the official salary and contract status of each of your players, though.

When you e-mail your cuts, make sure you put ROSTER CUTS in the subject line – that way I will know not to open your message until I’ve submitted my cuts to Rich.

Send in your cuts as soon as possible. I have to have them by MARCH 29 or we'll make your cuts for you. As a reminder, your cuts are considered final as of the time you send them – that means no trades or other roster moves are allowed between MARCH 29 and the end of the Draft. Once you mail in your cuts, your roster is frozen, so if you’re working on any last-minute blockbusters, make sure they’re completed and noted on your roster cut sheet before you send it.

Once protected lists have been submitted, they cannot be changed, even for moving players between Active and Reserve Lists. EXCEPTION: Changes may be made at the Draft ONLY to reserve players who were sent to the minors or placed on the DL between the time cuts were submitted and the start of the Draft. You cannot move players from your Reserve List to your Active Roster after your cuts are submitted.

Although we recently voted to change the way we handle Toppers, remember that we'll be using the old method for this Draft. The players you’re retaining Topper rights for do not need to be announced until Draft Day, so there’s no need to note that with your cuts. The list of potential Topper players for each team appears below.

Draft Day (April 4) is the day before Opening Day, so the official National League rosters probably won't be set before the Draft. Every team will probably have a few borderline players who still might get sent down to the minors before Opening Day.

Remember, you can download the 2004 Spring Training Rosters from the Download Center. This spreadsheet has up-to-date information about which players have been sent down by their NL team. The file is in Microsoft Excel format -- if you don't have Excel, the Download Center also includes a link to download a free Excel Viewer from Microsoft. The viewer will allow you to read the spring training rosters, the regular CFCL rosters, and other files I send out during the season. It's a pretty handy thing to have if you don't already have Excel.

An important note to keep in mind about Draft Day 2004: Sunday April 4 is the day we turn clocks ahead one hour, so remember to adjust your alarm clock before drifting off to sleep on Draft Day Eve. Yes, this means you'll lose one hour of sleep (or Draft Prep) the night before the Draft, but be sure you don't show up at 9:00 thinking it's 8:00. You've been warned!

Along with Draft Day, here’s a list of other important dates you should know:

Reports of CFCL sightings (or in this case, hearings) in major media outlets continue to trickle in. This time, it's Lambchop owner Eric Lamb, who made an appearance (via e-mail) on nationwide Sporting News Radio.

A couple weeks ago, Eric was listening to Rick Balou's program on Sporting News Radio and Balou wondered if the therapy he required for the continued heartbreak his beloved Red Sox caused him was tax deductible. Being a professional therapist, Eric shot off an e-mail responding that therapy is indeed deductible as a medical expense and noting that (as Red Sox and Cub fans) the two of them probably meet the criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Balou read Eric's e-mail on the air, though Eric didn't mention if Balou touted him as "two-time CFCL Champion" or not. Regardless or how he was billed, congrats to Eric on his nation-wide exposure.

Based on the final 2003 standings, here are the teams that will receive Toppers, the number of Toppers the team receives, and the players who are eligible for Topper use.  There was a lot of dumping of B contracts this year and as a result there will only be a maximum of four toppable players in the 2004 Draft.  

Record Book