Millennial League Baseball, est. 2001

[Questdog]

Thursday, October 11, 2006

The Millennial Cup

Syracuse Sycamores (2-3) at
Jacksonville Jays (3-2)

Game 6
SYR: Ken Fall (27-L) (0-1 1.80 ERA 5 IP, 5 H, 1 HR, 2 BB, 0 SO)
JAX: Al Calice (26-R) (1-0 1.23 ERA 7.1 IP, 4 H, 0 HR, 3 BB, 3 SO) All-Star(06)

We won this matchup in Game 2, 4 to 1.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
SYRACUSE
1: 3B Stan Stephens (30-R .389-18-1-6-1.000-0 B) All-Star(4: 01,03,05-06)
2: 2B Skip Dunkin (29-S .211-19-0-0-.421-1 A) Silver Slugger(SS-04)/All-Star(2: 04-05)
3: 1B Mitch Kahmann (28-L .056-18-1-1-.327-0 C+) Silver Slugger(05)/All-Star(2: 06-06)
4: CF Bruce McNutt (24-S .062-16-0-0-.312-0 B) Rookie
5: RF Jimmy Ward (32-L .412-17-1-1-1.118-0 B) All-Star(06)
6: LF John Byers (24-R .250-20-0-1-.550-0 A) RoY(04)/All-Star(3: 04,06-07)/Gold Glove(RF)
7: C Larry Slattery (31-R .286-14-0-2-.732-0 C) All-Star
8: SS Graham Carr (35-R .143-7-0-0-.286-0 B+)
9: P Ken Fall (27-L .000-1-0-0-.000-0 D)

JACKSONVILLE
1: 2B Buddy Hendricks (28-R .286-14-0-2-.639-5 A++)
2: LF Tim Dawson (31-R .429-7-0-0-1.000-0 B+)
3: CF Tom Walker (28-R .176-17-1-4-.626-2 B) Silver Slugger(2: 05-06)/All-Star(4: 04-07)
4: RF Dave Bess (31-R .200-20-1-3-.627-0 B+) All-Star(2: 06-07)
5: 1B Jack Washburn (25-L .286-14-0-1-1.024-1 B) All-Star
6: 3B Tom McDowell (30-R .300-10-1-2-1.062-1 C+) All-Star(2: 06-07)
7: SS Brian Bowden (30-R .150-20-0-0-.411-2 A) All-Star(2: 06-07)/Gold Glove(3: 02,06;2B-04)
8: C Don Kern (30-R .333-6-1-2-1.262-0 B+)
9: P Al Calice (26-L .000-3-0-0-.000-0 F) All-Star(06)

Game Start: 8:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 68 F, Clear Skies, with a 7 MPH wind blowing left to right
Attendance: 29,707

Top of the First
Stan Stephens grounds out to short. Skip Dunkin grounds out to 2nd. Mitch Kahmann strikes out! 1-2-3!

Bottom of the First
Buddy Hendricks swings at the first pitch and doubles to left! That was just brilliant, Pia! Your suggestion to lead him off this game! Tim Dawson grounds out to 2nd and Hendricks goes to 3rd. Tom Walker flies out to right and Hendricks tags up and beats the throw home. 1 to 0, Jays! Dave Bess grounds out to short.

Syracuse 0
Jacksonville 1

Top of the Second
With 2 outs, John Byers triples to right center........ Larry Slattery swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds out to 1st, unassisted!

Bottom of the Second
Jack Washburn takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Tom McDowell lines out to 1st and they double Washburn off base....... Brian Bowden strikes out..........

Syracuse 0
Jacksonville 1

Top of the Third
The Sycamores go down 1-2-3!

Bottom of the Third
We go down in order...

Syracuse 0
Jacksonville 1

Top of the Fourth
With 1 out, Mitch Kahmann walks on 4 pitches... Bruce McNutt draws a walk....... Jimmy Ward beats out an infield hit and the bases are loaded with 1 out. The Bullpen stirs. PH Steve Schooley (22-L), 2 for 4 this series with an RBI, flies out to right and Kahmann tags up and Dave Bess throws him out!!

Bottom of the Fourth
Steve Schooley stays in to play left. Our 2-3-4 hitters go down in order....... Walker and Bess are underwhelming this series.......

Syracuse 0
Jacksonville 1

Top of the Fifth
With 1 out, Graham Carr lines a hit to center.... P Ken Fall bunts one foul with 2 strikes! Stan Stephens grounds out to 3rd!

Bottom of the Fifth
Jack Washburn walks on 4 pitches. With 1 out, Brian Bowden doubles to right center and Washburn scores! 2 to 0, Jays! Our first hit of the game since Buddy Hendricks led off with a double! The next two make outs.

Syracuse 0
Jacksonville 2

Top of the Sixth
Their 2-3-4 hitters go down in order!

Bottom of the Sixth
Buddy Hendricks draws a walk. Pia, you will get a raise for next season! If the budget can hold it, of course....... That does it for P Ken Fall. New Pitcher: Need I tell? Bob Carroll (32-R) pitching in his 5th game of the series. He has been the first pitcher out of their Bullpen in every game, except in Game 5, when no pitcher came out of their Bullpen. We have 1 run in 5.1 IP off of him. PH Fernando Tello (25-L) takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4! Tom Walker grounds into a 5-4-3 double play and Hendricks goes to 3rd............................................... ... P Carroll is a fly ball pitcher and Walker is a fly ball hitter...... Dave Bess lines a 3-0 pitch to center and Bruce McNutt makes a diving catch.............

Syracuse 0
Jacksonville 2

Top of the Seventh
Fernando Tello stays in to play left. Jimmy Ward grounds the first pitch up the middle for a hit....... The Bullpen scrambles. Steve Schooley lines a 3-2 pitch to left for a hit.......... With 1 out, PH Paul Coyle (28-L), the rookie who is 0 for 3 this series, grounds into a 3-6-3 double play!!

Bottom of the Seventh
Ken Ritz (25-R), a rookie, is in to play 2nd. We go down in order........

Syracuse 0
Jacksonville 2

Top of the Eighth
PH Bob Sedrick (29-R), 0 for 3 with a run scored this series, strikes out looking! Stan Stephens bloops a hit to center.... The Bullpen is up. But Skip Dunkin and Mitch Kahmann both strike out!!

Bottom of the Eighth
New Pitcher: Jim Gibson (35-R), in his third game of the series. He has given us 2 runs in 3.2 IP. PH Bob Hutson (25-L) What? I thought we did not like changing catchers when a pitcher is throwing a shutout! That is true, but P Al Calice is at 124 pitches and will not pitch the 9th...... Hutson walks on 4 pitches! PH Tony Carini (23-L) lines out to 2nd and they double Hutson off at 1st........................ How can you manage to only have 2 hits, but still manage to hit into 3 double plays? Dunno, but we have done it....... Buddy Hendricks flies out to deep right.

Syracuse 0
Jacksonville 2

Top of the Ninth
New Pitcher: Ron Thurgood (23-L). Bob Hutson stays in to catch and Ken Yockey (27-R) is in to play 3rd. 4-5-6 up for Syracuse. Bruce McNutt grounds out to 1st, unassisted! Jimmy Ward grounds out to short! 1 out, please! Steve Schooley strikes out and THIS Millennial Cup Belongs to the Jays!

Won - 2 to 0

We had 2 whole hits (both doubles) and made no errors
Syracuse had 6 hits and made no errors

Al Calice (W 2-0) pitched 8 shutout innings, allowed 6 hits, 2 walks and struck out 8. 124 pitches.
LHP Ron Thurgood (SV 3) pitched a perfect 9th and struck out 1.

Ken Fall (L 0-2) went 5+ innings, gave us 2 runs, 2 hits, 3 walks and struck out 4.
RHP Bob Carroll went 2 scoreless innings and gave us 1 walk.
RHP Jim Gibson wen 1 scoreless inning and gave us 1 walk.

2B Buddy Hendricks hit a double, drew a walk and scored a run. PH/LF Fernando Tello drew a walk in his only trip to the plate. 1B Jack Washburn drew 2 walks and scored a run. SS Brian Bowden hit a double and had an RBI. PH/C Bob Hutson drew a walk in his only trip to the plate.

For Syracuse, RF jimmy Ward had 2 hits. LF John Byers hit a triple in his only at bat.

P Al Calice was named the MVP of the series, going 2-0 and allowing only 1 run in 15.1 IP. Last year, he was 0-2 with a 10.12 ERA.....

[Bub13]

Originally Posted by Questdog

... and THIS Millennial Cup Belongs to the Jays!

[ayaghmour2]

I thought the Jays were cursed for real! Finally it's title time!

[Questdog]

I sure do miss that 'Thanks' button.....

Thank you both for your posts!

[Westheim]

Is it really over? Did they really win?

Is this real life?

Nah, I must be dreaming

[progen]

I think they really won!!

[Questdog]

Saturday, October 13, 2006

We finally got to throw party after the Millennial Cup! We had a big celebration Thursday night with everyone at the stadium, which was fun, but last night, I had a party for just me and my staff. Not Manny and his staff; just my people: Pia, my Personal Assistant; Stacy, our statistician; Trudy, the trainer; Brian Yoder, the scouting director; Bernie, the equipment manager, Tyson, our traveling secretary; Evan, the events coordinator, and Cookie, the clubhouse cook. Dr. Suzanne Anderson, while not a full-time staff member, was also there. She really enjoyed the evening and said, "We should do this every year!" I'm for that!

But today, it is back to business..........

Our owner, Rick Orman, gave me my budget for 2008 and he has bumped us up $120,000 to $2.26 million! That makes our budget the 3rd highest, behind Syracuse ($2.46 million) and Rochester ($2.38 million). Hartford brings up the rear at $1.64 million.

We have 6 players eligible for free agency and 8 eligible for arbitration. We got the good news that 3B Wes Fitzgibbons (31-R) is classified as a Type B free agent, so we offered him arbitration and hope to get a draft pick out of him. Of the other 5 players, the only one we would really like to have back is Millennial Cup hero Buddy Hendricks (28-R), but he is injury prone and asking for a 4 year contract at $50,000 a year, which is way too much for someone who cannot hit a lick. The others are Chuck Corrigan (31-R), Bart Daw (35-R), who I love, but hit .157 for Portland (AAA), Bruce McArthur (30-L) who spent most of the year on the DL, and RP Roger Wallace (32-R), who has been around since the get go, but tore his UCL and is expected to be out until May or June of next year.

Three of the arbitration eligible players will be non-tendered: P Danny Coreano (28-L), 3B Russ Baker (28-S), the 2001 MLB Rookie of the Year, who hit .218 for Portland this year, and CF Dickie Stemen (32-R). The other 5 are C Bob Hutson (25-L), C Don Kern (30-R), 1B Jack Washburn (25-L), 2B Ken Yockey (28-R) an LF Fernando Tello (25-L). We have made them all 1 year contract offers for next season, except for Washburn, who we offered a long-term contract.

The team needs for this off season center around 2nd base, once again. In 7 seasons, we have had a different 2nd baseman every year and 2008 will be no different. We have a prospect that I like a lot, but he hit .249 in A+ last year and will probably not be ready until 2009 at the earliest. He is Tom Hart (21-R) and was the #38 prospect this Spring. So we will be looking for a short-term solution this Winter. By the way, I have already talked with Hartford about 2B Paul Heffernan (21-R), who was the #1 prospect this Spring and had a pretty good rookie campaign (.270/.323/.415), but they won't even trade him for Jim Baucom...... Not that I would trade Jimmy Boy, don't worry...... Baucom will be a Jay for as long as i can manage it, even if he starts stinking it up.

I would like to get rid of RP Jack Barber (33-R), if we can, and maybe sign a replacement, but we have some prospects that are coming up, so we may not need any help from the outside. Barber finished 2nd in the MLB in Saves, but stunk up the joint in September and in the Millennial Cup. The rotation is solid. I think Fernando Rivera (23-R) will become a good pitcher for us this year. Hopefully, Del Warwick (32-L) has two more good years in him, because he is signed through 2009. We also have some promising youngsters on the horizon, led by Nolan Cavalier (23-R). Tommy Corris won 22 games for us and hit great, but has somehow not caught my fancy. We could trade him, if we can get something really good. I have been thinking about Mike Marsh and wishing he could come back..... We'll see.

[Questdog]

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

All of our arbitration eligible players have signed a contract for next year and, for the first time ever, we will not have to go to any hearing! Unless, of course, 3B Wes Fitzgibbons (31-R) throws us a curve ball and accepts arbitration over going free agent. That would stink.....

The following players signed 1 year contracts:

Player 2008 Salary 2007 Salary
C Don Kern $16,000 $8,000
C Bob Hutson $15,000 $5,000
2B Ken Yockey $52,500 $46,000
LF Fernando Tello $12,500 $8,000

1B Jack Washburn (25-L) signed a 7 year contract worth a cool million dollars. $100,000 for 2008 and then $150,000 for each of the next 6 years. He made $85,000 this year.

[Questdog]

Sunday, October 21, 2007

The Gold Gloves were announced today:

P Mike Marsh, Memphis (26-R) 2nd straight award ex-Jay
C Mark Scott, Rochester (32-R) 3rd award:03,05
1B Bill Jacobson, Buffalo (29-R) 3rd award:01,05
2B Eddie Taylor, Rochester (27-R)
3B Lindy Elson, Charlotte (27-R) 2nd straight award
SS Brian Bowden, Jacksonville (30-R) 4th award: SS-02,06; 2B-04
LF John Byers, Syracuse (24-R) Won for RF last year
CF Pete Hudzik, Buffalo (28-R) 3rd straight award
RF Fumio Ono, Buffalo (25-R) Rookie

[Questdog]

Monday, October 22, 2007

The Fireman Trophy was announced today:

Jerry Brustad, Orlando (23-L) 13-3 1.75 ERA 34 SV (Votes: 12-72)

He was 4th in the voting last year. He is the only player who had any votes last year to get any this season.

Others receiving votes:
Chris Ramirez, Memphis (25-R) 7-7 1.31 ERA 13 SV (4-53)
Mickel Cannady, Rochester (26-R) 3-1 1.38 ERA 9 SV (0-7) ex-Jay
Bob Carroll, Syracuse (32-R) 13-10 3.79 ERA 22 SV (0-7)
Ron Thurgood, Jacksonville (23-L) 4-3 2.02 ERA 12 SV (0-3)
Mike McGillicuddy, Columbus (27-R) 8-6 3.18 ERA 24 SV (0-2)


The Rolaids Relief Man Award was also announced:

Jerry Brustad, Orlando - 123 pts

It is the 4th highest point total of all-time. The top 3 all came in 2005, led by Bill Grant of Jacksonville with 140.

Next 4:
Benny Martineau, Richmond (36-L) 4-3 1.65 ERA 30 SV - 104 pts
Jack Barber, Jacksonville (33-R) 2-2 2.71 ERA 33 SV - 84 pts
Brent Piorkowski, Birmingham (25-R) 4-4 2.76 ERA 20 SV (0 BS) - 74 pts
Hal Bradford, New Orleans (31-L) 8-6 2.50 ERA 25 SV - 66 pts.

No player has ever won the Relief Man Award twice, but Benny Martineau, last year's winner, has finished 2nd 3 times. He is the only player to finish in the top 5 in each of the past 2 seasons and he has finished in the top 5 6 straight years.

Editor's Note: The Relief Man award uses a modified version of the formula that was used in the late 70's and 80's. We have added Holds to the mix and penalized losses and blown saves more. (4 X SV) + (3 X W) + (2 X HLD) - (8 X L) - (6 X BS)

Also, Orlando announced that they had signed 3B Ernie Patterson (26-R) to an 8 year escalating contract that tops out at $305,000 per season in year 4 (2011) and averages $286,625 per year. That is a lot to give anyone, much less a player who could only play 101 games this year due to injury.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

The Silver Slugger team was announced today:

(Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB)
P Claude Sipple, Memphis (26-R .333-66-1-10-.753-0)
C Tsuyoshi Kotani, New Orleans (26-R .289-464-15-61-.834-0 39 2B)
1B Ron Spencer, Indianapolis (27-R .312-436-28-72-.959-0 led MLB in OPS)
2B Frank Bates, Syracuse (35-R .284-584-34-114-.856-12 104 R led MLB in HR/RBI) 5th award(06;SS-2002-03,05)
3B Ray Dallas, Hartford (25-R .343-603-19-105-.907-10 207 H, 40 2B, 30 SO led MLB in BA/H/2B) 2nd straight award
SS Shawn Smith, Rochester (23-R .305-646-7-63-.725-26 95 R)
LF Mike Herring, Rochester (27-L .303-468-21-82-.904-0 95 BB led MLB in BB) 2nd straight award
CF Tom Walker, Jacksonville (28-R .297-595-16-69-.859-35 40 2B, 88 BB, 27 IW, 68 SO led MLB in 2B) 3rd straight award
RF Abelino Rede, Providence (23-R .307-573-28-114-.893-25 90 R led MLB in RBI) Rookie

[Questdog]

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

The Rookie of the Year was announced today:

RF Abelino Rede, Providence (23-R .307-573-28-114-.893-25 90 R led MLB in RBI) (Voting: 16-80)

Others receiving votes:
RF Norm Jones, Orlando (23-L .338-491-9-69-.872-2 31 2B) (0-44)
CF Jerry Belisle, Charlotte (23-L .298-598-9-57-.782-40 91 R, 10 3B) (0-19)
CF Bruce McNutt, Syracuse (24-S .237-435-20-77-.791-15 70 BB) (0-1)

As per usual, the pitchers dominate the Rookie of the Month Awards, but get no love at the end of the season.

[Questdog]

Thursday, October 25, 2007

The Ace Award was announced today:

Jim Baucom, Jacksonville (26-L 25-5 1.74 ERA 36 GS, 274.2 IP, 192 H, 13 HR, 47 BB, 272 SO) (16-112)

It is the 3rd Ace Award for Baucom and 2nd in a row! He won the Triple Crown for the 3rd time!

Others receiving votes:
Tommy Corris, Jacksonville (27-R 22-7 2.74 ERA 1 SV, 34 GS, 246 IP, 229 H, 16 HR, 49 BB, 154 SO) (0-56) 6th last year
Terry Luckett, Rochester (32-L 15-7 2.34 ERA 30 GS, 219.2 IP, 184 H, 8 HR, 49 BB, 144 SO) (0-52) 4th last year
Brian Ragazzo, New Orleans (25-L 16-9 2.61 ERA 33 GS, 224 IP, 192 H, 5 HR, 69 BB, 192 SO) (0-26)
Al Calice, Jacksonville (26-R 15-11 2.84 ERA 35 GS, 253.1 IP, 216 H, 13 HR, 60 BB, 181 SO) (0-20) 7th last year
Bob Valvano, Orlando (24-R 20-8 2.97 ERA 36 GS, 266.1 IP, 243 H, 15 HR, 93 BB, 197 SO) (0-5)
Del Warwick, Jacksonville (32-L 15-6 2.94 ERA 32 GS, 217.1 IP, 193 H, 17 HR, 62 BB, 125 SO) (0-1)

4 Jays with votes! Editor's Note: Just as a reminder: I do not vote at all for the Awards.


The Anti-Ace Award Association of America (AAAAA) presented their Hurler Trophy today:

Jim Baucom, Jacksonville, with 388 points in their system.

His 3rd Hurler Trophy, also won in 2004 and last year. He had a record 425 points in 2004, but his 389 this season is the 2nd highest total ever! No other pitcher has ever won more than one Ace Award or Hurler Trophy and Baucom now has 3 of each!

Others over 200 points:
Tommy Corris, Jacksonville (276) 4th last year with 231 pts.
Bob Valvano, Orlando (251)
Terry Luckett, Rochester (222) 5th last year with 214 pts.
Brian Ragazzo, New Orleans (202)

Editor's Note: The Pitcher of the Year award (the Ace Award in our league) in OOTP is not picked based on the way voting would have been in the 70's and 80's, so I have devised a system to try to replicate the way it was in those days for the Cy Young Award based on a formula, except that I have excluded relievers from consideration for the Hurler Trophy. Well, I have technically not excluded them, but they get no points for the stats associated with their role. The formula is much too complicated to write out. Wins, Losses, Shutouts, Strikeouts, ERA and IP are the components. No adjustments are made for park factors, as I do not think that was much of a consideration of voters back then. The system matches voting in the period fairly well, with the few exceptions being ones that I am happy with, since the original vote seemed indefensible.

[Questdog]

Friday, October 26, 2007

The MVP voting was announced today:

2B Frank Bates, Syracuse (35-R .284-584-34-114-.856-12 104 R, led in HR/RBI) (14-214)

Others Receiving Votes:
3B Ray Dallas, Hartford (25-R .343-603-19-105-.907-10 207 H, 40 2B led in BA/H/2B) (2-152) won last year
RF Abelino Rede, Providence (23-R .307-573-28-114-.893-25 90 R,70 BB led in RBI) (0-117) Rookie
3B Keith Meyer, Memphis (32-L .301-541-23-87-.885-15 105 R, 87 BB) (0-99) Winner in 01,03 9th last year
CF Tom Walker, Jacksonville (28-R .297-595-16-69-.859-35 102 R, 40 2B, 88 BB, 27 IW led MLB in 2B/IW) (0-92) 2nd last year
RF Dave Bess, Jacksonville (31-R .285-572-29-112-.854-5 35 2B) (0-83)
C Tsuyoshi Kotani, New Orleans (26-R .289-464-15-61-.834-0 39 2B) (0-51)
RF Norm Jones, Orlando (23-L .338-491-9-69-.872-2 31 2B) (0-40) Rookie
1B Glen Lewis, Rochester (27-L .331-592-11-66-.857-48 93 R) (0-31) 16th last year
LF John Byers, Syracuse (24-R .331-574-8-78-.800-37 90 R, 29 SO) (0-24)
SS Brian Bowden, Jacksonville (30-R .306-617-5-62-.703-37) (0-21) 6th last year
1B Rod Spencer, Indianapolis (27-R .312-436-28-72-.959-0 .555 SLG led MLB in SLG/OPS) (0-11)
3B Stan Stephens, Syracuse (30-R .320-647-7-70-.770-50 103 R, 207 H led MLB in AB/H/SB) (0-7) 7th last year
LF Mike Herring, Rochester (27-L .303-468-21-82-.904-0 95 BB, led MLB in BB) (0-2) 8th last year

[Questdog]

Saturday, October 27, 2007

New Orleans traded C Rich Winkleman (27-R) to Columbus for P Mike Menefee (28-L) and minor league P Eddie Desormeaux (24-R).

Winkleman hit .273/.380/.508 in 128 AB with 7 HR and 22 RBI as a rookie, but was stuck behind Silver Slugger Tsuyoshi Kotani (26-R).

Menefee was 11-10 with a 3.76 ERA in 174.2 IP. Desormeaux was in A Ball and not ranked in the Top 100 prospects.

[Questdog]

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Free agents filed today and 3B Wes Fitzgibbons (31-R) did NOT take our offer of arbitration! He is a Type B agent.

Among the filers was our old friend, Ray McDonald (27-L). There is no chance we will re-sign him, though, as he is wanting over $250,000 a year for 10 years.....

2B Leo Toruno (33-L) is also a new free agent. He was the 2004 MVP. We would not mind signing him if he would take a 1 or 2 year contract, but so far, he is uninterested.

There is a Chinese reliever, Wu-Jiang Chen (33-R), that SD Brian Yoder thinks is worth signing, but he rebuffed our offers and wants more money and/or more than 1 or 2 years.

We did make Buddy Hendricks (28-R) an offer in thankfulness for his Millennial Cup exploits. He was much more amenable than when we were trying to offer him an extension.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Richmond signed RF Terry Graham (28-L), formerly of Ottawa to a 5 year escalating contract that tops out at $190,000 per season in year 4 (2011) and averages $165,600 a year. He hit .259/.366/.416 in 305 AB with 11 HR and 46 RBI for the Otters last year, but has missed over half of each of the last two seasons with injuries. He was an All-Star this year and in 2004 and won a Gold Glove in LF in 2005.

[Questdog]

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Rochester signed 2B Leo Toruno (33-L) formerly of Charlotte to a 5 year dwindling contract that will pay him $268,000 in 2008 and 2009 and average $252,800 per season. The final year has a vested option of 135 G. We was the MVP in 2004 and is a 3-time Silver Slugger and 5-time All-Star, including this past season.

[Questdog]

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Buffalo traded 1B Bill Jacobson (29-R) and $15,300 to Birmingham for a pair of prospects: 1B Lorne Brown (19-R) and 1B Paul Schellenberg (23-R). Jacobson hit .318/.376/.439 in 597 AB with 13 HR and 89 RBI for the Bombers this years. He is a 3-time All-Star and 3-time Gold Glove winner, both also this year. Neither prospect is rated in the Top 100, but both have some positives.

[Questdog]

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Rochester signed P Mike Elizondo (29-R), formerly of Richmond, to a 4 year escalating contract that will pay him $210,000 in the final year and average $189,000 per season. He was 7-18 with a 3.50 ERA in 221.1 IP for the Robins this season, but missed half of each of the 2 years before that with injuries. He was an All-Star in 2003 and 2004 and led the MLB with 18 W in 2003 with Columbus.

New Orleans signed RF Ray McDonald (27-L), formerly of Rochester, to an 8 year escalating contract that tops out at $258,000 in year 4 (2011) and averages $239,000 per season. McDonald can opt out after Year 3. He hit .293/.359/.444 in 588 AB with 17 HR and 72 RBI, 100 R and 30 SB for the Roosters last year. He was the MLB MVP in 2005 with Jacksonville, when he also was a Silver Slugger. He has been an All-Star each of the past 4 seasons. Crosley Field is the best suited park for him that he has ever played in.... Their offense, 3rd in the MLB this year, just got considerably better. The worst hitter in their lineup now had a .744 OPS this year.