[Westheim]

The Rebels’ payroll last season was $12.4M, and they are up to $15.4M for next season already, currently the highest in the league. Their budget is $20.6M (3rd in ABL). For comparison, our $16.4M budget ranks 10th, and our current $13.0M payroll ranks 7th. And those two numbers already illustrate well, what kind of squeeze we are in, especially since players on the 40-man roster are NOT included in those figures. [I hate OOTP for doing that…]

As I already stated, this offseason is boring as hell, since we can’t do anything.

Well, that’s not exactly true. We could do something dumb, like that Vinson trade I had on my mind a while ago. That’d be very, very dumb. And while it would be possible to trade Neil Reece for a one-legged bat boy, it would not be exactly a smart thing to do either.

So, no business to be done for the Raccoons, since Jorge Salazar wears a hat prominently displaying “10/5 guy” these days. Why did I want to have these draft picks? Just why…….

As things are, we have to put up with Cesar Salcido pitching out of our pen in 1997. This may go wrong.

For outfielders, more and more I’m on the Buell-in-right (not to be confused with the Bill of Rights) path. It might be very ugly defensively. The kid is 21. Vince Guerra thinks that his ceiling his quite high. There is an opening, and while Luke Newton would be a better option defensively, he won’t move anything along at the plate. Still, Newton will be on the roster as backup to everybody, pinch-hitter, and pinch-runner. That leaves one spot open in our outfield.

We are still sitting on Joe Lacombe. He’s 28. His upsides are limited. His trade value may be as well. IF we can work out a trade for a left-handed reliever, there would be no replacement at AAA that would not completely embarrass himself day in, day out. So Lacombe may stick around come Opening Day solely because we are broken and over the last few years the farm burnt down. To be precise, Buell is the last outfield crop from the fields.

Ah. Many words, no actions. Other teams that were less broken moved people around though:

December 19 – The Titans acquire 30-yr old SS Raúl Rodriguez (.277, 21 HR, 260 RBI) from the Crusaders, sending over 28-yr old INF/RF Jose Ramirez (.260, 13 HR, 330 RBI) and a minor league pitcher.
December 22 – The Pacifics sign 34-yr old SP Manuel Paredes (100-126, 3.81 ERA) for 3-yr, $2.01M. Paredes was with the Falcons in 1996.
December 24 – Ex-SAC CL Cory Maupin (26-30, 2.83 ERA, 159 SV) signs a 1-yr, $670k contract with the Aces.
December 25 – Veteran OF Preston O’Day (.286, 165 HR, 813 RBI) joins the Loggers for 4-yr, $3.28M. O’Day spent all of his 12-year career with the Condors so far.
January 1 – Ex-BOS CL Javier Navarro (29-30, 2.55 ERA, 166 SV) remains in the CL North. The Indians pick up the 27-year old for 1-yr, $810k.
January 2 – Has 35-yr old SP Arnold McCray (173-163, 3.36 ERA) signed his last contract? After pitching for Oklahoma and Washington in ’96, McCray joins the Warriors for 3-yr, $2.28M.
January 9 – INF/LF/CF Rory Gorden (.248, 55 HR, 439 RBI), who suffered through an injury-riddled campaign with the Rebels last year, joins the Condors on a 3-yr, $2.33M deal.
January 15 – The Rebels add another veteran arm with MR Jose Sotelo (33-24, 3.64 ERA, 10 SV), who was with the Aces, for 2-yr, $1.01M.
January 23 – Grizzled veteran SP Bill Smith (214-198, 3.51 ERA), last with the Capitals, joins the Titans’ team on a 2-yr, $1.57M. The contract covers the age 39 and 40 seasons for Smith, who made his debut in 1977 with the Pacifics.

January is over. What else has happened? Joe Lacombe has zero trade value. Ex-Coon Pat Parker got traded to Denver. There are a few big names on the market as the year hits February.

Not that I could do anything else than look at them and sigh.