As reported in the NewsFlashes on the main page, we've had some quick turnover in one of our franchises.  Jason Grey of the Reservoir Dogs announced a couple weeks ago that he was withdrawing from the league.  He didn't specify a reason (though he did say he'd write later with an explanation), but I can only speculate that it was related to the expense and hassle of commuting from Arizona.

To tell the truth, since he had been in the league for only a couple years when he moved from the Chicago area out west in 2003, I was surprised when he stayed in the league for two more years.  Let's face it, a celebrity with Jason's credentials wouldn't have had trouble finding a "local" league a little closer to home (and probably one with a quicker Draft to boot), so I give him credit for sticking it out this long.   This is, of course, different from our other commuters, The Professor and Nick, who'd be hard-pressed to find a league willing to take their anonymous a**es on ;-) (although "The Professor and Nick" has the nice ring of a light-hearted crime-fighting series on the USA Network).

While we were sorry to see Jason go (there's no denying he increased the level of competition in the league), we couldn't be happier with his replacement.

Bob Boryca came within a hair's breadth of joining the CFCL when we had two openings prior to the 2004 season.  The fact that he remained interested and enthusiastic about potentially joining the league during the two years since then made it a relatively easy decision to bring him on as Jason's replacement.

Welcome to the CFCL, Bob.  You've got some rather large shoes to fill... 

By now everyone should know that Draft Day 2006 is scheduled for Sunday April 2.  Despite some early concerns that we might have to find a new location, Rich was able to come through with the large conference room at his company’s Oakbrook office.  It's served us very well for a number of years now, so we're very happy that we'll be there once again.  The current plan is to stick with our usual starting time of 8:00 AM.

As in past years, everyone is responsible for bringing his own lunch and drinks for the day.  The office environment precludes alcohol, of course...  There will be limited fridge  space available, plus a microwave for warming things up.  I will provide the traditional Old Gold pretzel rods and Twizzlers (though perhaps in lesser quantities; there have been loads of leftovers in recent years -- probably a result of that no-carbs insanity).

Happily, Dave Holian will be joining us live and in-person, which will of course be a real treat that we old-timers are especially looking forward to.  It also means we can do away with the bidding spreadsheet and Internet communications once and for all.  The spreadsheet did have its benefits, but those were probably outweighed by the technical difficulties it presented -- both before the draft and during.

On the topic of computers, if you plan on bringing a laptop to the Draft, make sure you also bring an extension cord and a power strip.  There are a limited number of outlets available, and not everyone will be able to sit right next to one.

There will be plenty more Draft Day information coming your way as the date draws near.  Speaking of dates…

Pre-Season Calendar

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

The Administrative Pre-Season will kick off on March 22 when Roster Cut Sheets will be sent to CFCL owners.  Roster Cut Sheets will be sent via e-mail in Excel Format.  If you do not have Excel on your computer, you can download a free Excel reader from Microsoft -- there's a link in the Download Center of the website.

If you have Excel and it would be easiest for you, you’re free to edit the Roster Cut Sheet and send it back to me.  Otherwise, you can type the players you're keeping and cutting, plus any contract information into an e-mail.

If there’s anyone out there who would rather submit cuts via snail-mail, let me know and we can discuss adjusting the dates – you'll need to have your cuts done earlier to allow for delivery time.

If there are any questions about how the process works, check the relevant portions of the Constitution or contact me.

Total Quality Stats

As you may have already noticed, I've signed us up with TQS for 2006 and updated all the rosters to reflect Winter Waiver action.  If you haven't done so yet, please head on over to the site and check to make sure I've got your rosters correct in terms of players, salaries, and contracts.  

As part of the registration, I needed to configure our league for 2006, which included setting up the stat columns for our reports.  As we discussed during the off-season, most of the league favored changing the "extra" (non-scoring) stats that print/display on the team reports.  These would allow owners to more easily and accurately calculate OBP, ERA, and WHIP for purposes of evaluating trades or in the final days of close races as we've had the past few years. 

When I first contacted TQS about this, they said there would be an additional charge for setting these additional stats up for us, but as I went through the configuration process, it turned out that they did have a number of the things we were looking for as pre-defined options.  

It looks like we won't actually be able to se the new display on the team reports until the season starts, but you can get a preview by going to the TQS page and looking at the list of free agents, which does reflect the new display stats.  Here's what's displayed for each player:

The scoring categories I assume you recognize.  

The additional hitter categories are:

• PA: Plate Appearances.  This is equivalent to AB+H+SF

• SAC: Sacrifice Bunts.  

• HBB: Hits + Walks + Hit By Pitch

The formula for calculating OBP is:  HBB / (PA-SAC), so all the components are there.

For pitchers, we've got:

• IP:  Innings Pitched

• H+BB:  Hits + Walks Allowed

• K:  Strike Outs

Earned Runs and Walks Allowed are missing from the pitchers display, but those are easily calculated from the other stats that are there.

I assume that since TQS let me select all of these columns, they'll actually have room to display them all on the team pages.  If not, we'll need to re-think things and possibly adjust mid-stream (and possibly have to end up paying extra after all.

Money

Of course, renewing at TQS wasn't free of charge.  I paid the renewal fee, which means I'm now on the hook for 2006 expenses.  There's no reason I should be the only one to be honored with that distinction though, so if you would like to pay up now, feel free.

Make checks out to David Mahlan and send them to:

David Mahlan
1431 Palmer
Downers Grove, IL  60516

You can also pay via PayPal by sending $101.50 to [email protected].  Note that the extra $1.50 is to cover the cost of PayPal cutting a check and mailing it to me.

Return of the Gator?

About a month ago someone told me that there was a link to the CFCL web page from another league's site, so I Googled "CFCL" to try to find it.  I never did find the reference I was looking for, but what I did find is what appears to be a brand-spankin'-new website for "Trading The Gator."

The site is much slicker than the one that had originally be set up for the film, and - get this - reports that the film is available for purchase on DVD.  The phone number and e-mail address provided for ordering DVDs are the same ones that Producer Brad had used back when they were making the film, so I called and sent an e-mail to get the scoop.  That was a few weeks ago and I haven't gotten any response at all, so I don't know if they're truly producing DVDs, or if the plans fell through, or if this whole website is just someone's school project or something.

http://www.tradingthegatorthemovie.com

The X-Files

According to the official league records, the following players are eligible to be signed to X-year contracts this spring:

Brad Hawpe (DoorMatts)
Jason Lane (DoorMatts)
David Wright (Ruffins)

If you think I've missed someone (entirely possible), let me know and I'll look into it.

In order for a player to be eligible for an X contract, he must meet the following requirements:

He must have been drafted as a minor leaguer (M contract)

He may have been traded while a minor leaguer, but he must still be owned by the team that owned him when his contract changed from M to D

If you’ve got X contract-eligible players, see the CFCL Constitution for details about your options for signing these players at roster cut time.  It would also be worth taking a look at the treatise X Contracts Explained, which appeared in a previous report, so you’ll know what you’re getting yourself into.

Draft Picks

We’re coming to that point in the pre-season when Rotation Draft picks can start changing hands at a pretty rapid pace.  Keep in mind that there are a few tools available on the website to help keep Rotation Draft picks straight:

At the end of the Roster Changes section of this Report, there is a link to the 2006 Rotation Draft Pick Tracker.  This is a web page that lists all of the draft picks owned by each team and also indicates those picks that have been traded away.

The Excel roster sheet (available in the Download Center) lists all of the draft picks that have been traded away and been acquired by each team.  The number in parenthesis at the top of the list is the total number of draft picks owned by that team.

The Download Center also includes the full listing of all 2006 draft picks, broken out by round and fully updated for all trades to date.  This can be found under the 2006 Draft Prep section.

National League Rosters

Speaking of the Draft Prep section in the Download Center, the spreadsheet with the NL Spring Training rosters has been posted.  I’ll update it nearly daily to reflect demotions, etc. during March, and the file will form the basis of our Draft Pool on April 2.

Rule Revisions

Recently, the CFCL approved (nearly unanimously) several recommendations that were made by the Executive Committee.  All teams except the DoorMatts and Da Paul Mesiters participated in the league-wide voting.  The results of the vote were as follows:

All players who acquired as free agents after August 31 will receive S contracts, which will expire at the end of the current season.  This will be the case whether or not the player was in the Free Agent Pool prior to September 1. 

The published report of an MLB roster move actually being completed will continue to be the only way a related mid-week roster move will be permitted.

Teams will continue to receive Home Town Discount rights for B-contract players that they acquire on waivers following the mid-season trading deadline. 

Players who are the "property" of American League teams (for example, players drafted but not yet signed) cannot be selected in the Rotation Draft.  If an unsigned free agent (for example, a college player) is selected in the Rotation Draft and subsequently becomes the property of an AL team without first being owned by an NL team, he will be automatically released.

The salaries of M-contract players who are in American League farm system will not count against their team's Draft Day spending limit.  If such a player is promoted to his AL team's major league roster during the season, he cannot be activated by his CFCL team.

All Winter Waiver claims must be accompanied by the waiver of a player from the claiming team's 23-man roster.  The player waived may be an American League player, who is then eligible to be claimed in the following round of waivers.  During the season, AL players cannot be waived - they must be released.

Fees for 2006 will remain the same as they were in 2005.  As per the Constitution’s Escalator Clause, we will vote on raising the fees by $5 prior to the 2007 season.

The above is just a summary of the newly-adopted or confirmed rules.  The Constitution has been updated to reflect the voting and that will be the authoritative source for CFCL rules (subject to Executive Committee interpretation in case I misrepresented the intent of the rules when updating the document).

Hometown Discount Watch

In 2006, the teams that finished in 5^th-12^th place in 2005 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 2005 standings and point totals, here are the teams that will receive a Home Town Discount Budget, the amount of their budget, and the players who are eligible for a discount.

Record Book

Week Ending 10/02:  No new records were set this week.