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Elendil · 06-29-2007, 09:19 PM

The Off-season

The stage was set for the most turbulent off-season in the league's short history. Few teams had cash to spare, and the league was pulling out all the stops to renegotiate all the big contracts in the league. Meanwhile, some of the biggest names in the game had suddenly found themselves in free agency, thrown off the Jets and Pilots. Additionally, the league champion Senators found that they would almost certainly lose several of their key players, including Pitcher of the Year Louis Mays.

The first free agent to sign a deal was former Pilot Gary Tufts, who signed a modest $20,000 per year contract with the Peninsula Oilers. Tufts had won the Pitcher of the Year Award in 2007, but had gone 4-11 with a 4.50 ERA last year, having been victimized by the longball and his own team's poor defense.

After that, the Jets, who expected to make back enough money to pay off most of their debts, signed closer Monzaemon Mihashi, who boasted a career 2.69 ERA in three seasons with the Bucs. He would make $27,000 a year.

In a sign-and-trade move, the Jets also nabbed former Bethel pitcher Davis Crawford for a pittance, then after a few weeks dealt him to Fairbanks for young shortstop Mike Gaston (.270/.308/.354 in 189 AB last year).

The biggest trade of the offseason came in November, when the Bethel Mushers dealt outfielder Lloyd Flannery (career .332/.388/.504 but limited playing time last year) to the Peninsula Oilers for 25 year old starting pitcher Leif Morris (14-16, 4.37, 226 K in 317 IP career). The Mushers simply had no room for Flannery in the outfield but could use a decent arm in the rotation to replace Crawford.

From November to Opening Day, there were no further significant free agent signings, as several recalcitrant players faced down the league over the contract negotiations. No Robbins, no Mays, no Abston. It was almost the doomsday scenario the owners had feared.

On Thursday May 6th, the day before Opening Day, the league announced that the season would go forward without the locked-out players if necessary. Their bluff had been called. The North Pole Nicks particularly faced some real difficulties if the lockout did not end. Mike Rancourt, Alan Sellick, and Vincent Leroux were all holding out, apparently under the belief that the Nicks would knuckle under, defy the league, and let them play. In Rancourt's case, this made little sense, as the team would be better off letting him go immediately to free agency. He was making almost $120,000 a year but had only a career 29-18 record with a 3.87 ERA: good, but hardly superstar material.

Would a breakthrough come at the last moment?

06-29-2007, 09:19 PM	#64
Elendil Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: the dynasty forum Posts: 2,318	2009-10 Off-season The Off-season The stage was set for the most turbulent off-season in the league's short history. Few teams had cash to spare, and the league was pulling out all the stops to renegotiate all the big contracts in the league. Meanwhile, some of the biggest names in the game had suddenly found themselves in free agency, thrown off the Jets and Pilots. Additionally, the league champion Senators found that they would almost certainly lose several of their key players, including Pitcher of the Year Louis Mays. The first free agent to sign a deal was former Pilot Gary Tufts, who signed a modest $20,000 per year contract with the Peninsula Oilers. Tufts had won the Pitcher of the Year Award in 2007, but had gone 4-11 with a 4.50 ERA last year, having been victimized by the longball and his own team's poor defense. After that, the Jets, who expected to make back enough money to pay off most of their debts, signed closer Monzaemon Mihashi, who boasted a career 2.69 ERA in three seasons with the Bucs. He would make $27,000 a year. In a sign-and-trade move, the Jets also nabbed former Bethel pitcher Davis Crawford for a pittance, then after a few weeks dealt him to Fairbanks for young shortstop Mike Gaston (.270/.308/.354 in 189 AB last year). The biggest trade of the offseason came in November, when the Bethel Mushers dealt outfielder Lloyd Flannery (career .332/.388/.504 but limited playing time last year) to the Peninsula Oilers for 25 year old starting pitcher Leif Morris (14-16, 4.37, 226 K in 317 IP career). The Mushers simply had no room for Flannery in the outfield but could use a decent arm in the rotation to replace Crawford. From November to Opening Day, there were no further significant free agent signings, as several recalcitrant players faced down the league over the contract negotiations. No Robbins, no Mays, no Abston. It was almost the doomsday scenario the owners had feared. On Thursday May 6th, the day before Opening Day, the league announced that the season would go forward without the locked-out players if necessary. Their bluff had been called. The North Pole Nicks particularly faced some real difficulties if the lockout did not end. Mike Rancourt, Alan Sellick, and Vincent Leroux were all holding out, apparently under the belief that the Nicks would knuckle under, defy the league, and let them play. In Rancourt's case, this made little sense, as the team would be better off letting him go immediately to free agency. He was making almost $120,000 a year but had only a career 29-18 record with a 3.87 ERA: good, but hardly superstar material. Would a breakthrough come at the last moment? Last edited by Elendil; 07-20-2007 at 02:37 PM.