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July 6

STONES reserve Phil Nevin, activate Adam Everett.

July 7

STONES reserve Zach Day, activate Wayne Franklin.

TEDDY'S SPLENDID SPLINTERS trade L Walker to RUFFINS for Scott Hairston.

TEDDY'S SPLENDID SPLINTERS reserve S Hairston, activate E Chavez.

RUFFINS reserve J Mabry, activate B Hill.

July 10

Click here for updated rosters in Excel format.
Click here for the 2005 Rotation Draft Pick Tracker

Free Agent Bids and Waiver Claims

Hey, Big Spenders...

The in-season salary cap officially increases to $3.50 effective Noon on Tuesday July 13.  However, keep in mind that you cannot make roster moves on that day just to raise your total salary above the $3.00 level.  All mid-week moves must still be in reaction to an MLB roster move or a CFCL trade.  The earliest date you can make free moves to take advantage of the higher cap is Friday July 16 (to be effective on Saturday).

Coming Soon ... IFAB Day

Here's an early reminder that the Interleague Free Agent Bidding (IFAB) Day is just around the corner.  Specifically, it will be Sunday August 1, the day after MLB's July 31 trading deadline.

We added this new wrinkle a couple years ago to address some issues concerning players who came to the NL on the date of the MLB interleague trading deadline, as well as to increase the excitement that goes along with that day. 

IFAB day is the only time during the season when free agent bidding is allowed on a non-Friday.  The intent is to allow CFCL teams to acquire players who come over to the NL at the trading deadline immediately, rather than waiting until the following Friday.

IFAB Day is the day immediately following the MLB interleague trading deadline, regardless of when it occurs.  For example, a couple years ago we had normal transaction day on Tuesday, and then ALSO allowed bidding on free agents on Thursday August 1 to cover all the guys who came to the NL after Noon on Tuesday.  This year the trading deadline falls on a Saturday, so we allow free agent bidding on that Sunday.

Here are some important details about this rule:

1.  On the Interleague Free Agent Bid Day, bidding will be allowed on ALL free agents (not only those that came over from the AL in trades). 

2.  ONLY free agent bidding and associated moves (reserves, waivers) will be allowed.  You cannot make a straight reserve/activate move on IFAB Day.

3.  Any players waived on IFAB Day will remain on waivers only until 4:00 on the Friday immediately following (so in most cases the waiver period will be less than the usual week).

4.  If the MLB trade deadline falls on a Friday, players traded to the NL on July 31 can ONLY be bid on on the Interleague Free Agent Bid Day.  This would prevent a situation where Pedro Martinez gets traded to the Expos at 3:45 on Friday and is snagged for .12 by someone who's got Internet access at work.

If anyone (especially the new owners) have questions about how this works, contact and Executive Committee member.

Topper Watch

In 2005, the teams that finished in 5^th-12^th place in 2004 will receive a budget of up to .06 to use toward reacquiring players who had played out their option with the team (B-contract players). The exact amount each team receives will be based on how far behind the 5^th place team they are at the end of the year, in terms of a percentage of the 5^th place team's point total.

Based on the standings through last Thursday, here are the teams that would receive Topper Budgets for use in the 2005 Draft and the amount each team would receive: