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August 22

RUFFINS reserve D Graves, activate J Christiansen.

August 23

DOORMATTS reserve N Johnson, activate W Helms.

August 25

SPLINTERS reserve J VanderWal, activate A Kearns.

RUFFINS reserve P Wilson, activate D Wright.

August 27

COPPERFIELDS reserve G Maddux, activate D Tankersley.

August 28

COPPERFIELDS reserve D Tankersley, activate G Maddux.

COPPERFIELDS reserve L Vizcaino, activate T Martin.

COPPERFIELDS sign R Chuch (.12), reserve him, waive J McEwing.

COPPERFIELDS sign D Wheeler (.06), reserve T Jones, waive A Telemaco.

STONES reserve W Franklin, activate J Mesa.

STONES reserve JT Snow, activate J Bagwell.

STONES reserve G Jenkins, activate D Roberts.

STONES reserve R Hidalgo, activate B Hall.

SLUDGE sign K Ishii (.05), reserve R Seanez, waive T Van Poppel.

RUFFINS reserve J Christiansen, activate S Kline.

DOORMATTS sign J Francis (.15), reserve S Burnett, waive R Hammock.

DA PAUL MEISTERS reserve R Stone, activate J Seo.

DA PAUL MEISTERS reserve R Biddle, activate P Wilson.

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

Free Agent Bids and Waiver Claims

That Time of Year

Next Wednesday is September 1, which means two things:

Rosters can expand by one player.  You can activate a player from your Reserve List on Wednesday (Noon deadline) or on any subsequent Friday (effective for Saturday's games) through the rest of the season.  The extra player can also be a free agent acquired during the regular Friday transactions, but keep in mind that free agents acquired during September receive a B contract (unless the bid is .25 or more).

In order to accommodate the extra player, the salary cap increases by .10 to 3.60.

Keep in mind that it's the ACTIVE ROSTER only that expands on September 1 – your full roster can still only be 40 players total.  This means that if you activate a 24^th player for September Roster Expansion, you're limited to 16 players on reserve.  Keep this in mind if you bid on free agents next Friday – don't assume you have an extra roster spot to play with and can acquire a player without waiving or releasing someone to make room.

Eye on the Record Book

This is also the time of year when we take a look to see if any seasonal records are in jeopardy.  Given the five new categories we added last year, we ought to have a shot at breaking some year-old marks.

The Copperfields have an outside shot at topping the record of 3109 Total Bases the Reservoir Dogs set last year.  They'd need to average about 130 bases per week the rest of the way, which may be difficult with the way playing time seems to fluctuate in the last month of the season.  The Stones, of course, also have a shot at this mark.

Five solid weeks in a row could also give the Stones, Copperfields, or Ruffins a chance at beating the Reservoir Dogs' 2003 record of 1017 Runs Scored.  They'd need to average around 45-55 runs per week to have a shot.

The Meisters (led by Barry Bonds) and Ruffins have very good chances of setting a new record for On-Base Percentage.  The Meisters are already far ahead of the Hard Hats' 2003 OBP of .263, and the Ruffins are just behind.

The Stones' 2003 record of 134 Holds+Saves will definitely fall – possibly this week.  The Meisters are nearly there already, and while the Ruffins and Stones probably can't catch the Meisters, they also have a shot at topping the old high water mark.

The record of a 2.56 K:BB ratio that the Lambchops set last year also seems destined to be topped.  The Stones and Ruffins are already far ahead of that mark and seem unlikely to drop.

In terms of point totals, the Stones are well ahead of the record of 97 Total Points set by the Lambchops last year, and they're right around the record of 57 Pitching Points that the Lambchops set last year.  On the offensive side, the Copperfields have been hanging out right around the 2003 Reservoir Dogs' record for 58 Offensive Points.

The seasonal records in RBI, SB, QS, ERA, and WHiP seem safe from assault this year.

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:

Week Ending 8/27:  No new records were set this week.