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slant.gif (102 bytes) From the Desk of the Commish

Commish

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November, 2007

Hail to the Champions

I used to write a 50,000-word "Playoffs Preview" at this time of the year, but traded that in for a much shorter and simpler article last year.  People seemed to like that format, so I figured I'd stick with it.  (Why not?  It's a helluva lot less work for me!)

This year's post-season includes several familiar names and one not-so-familiar.  The Salem Cowtippers have been to the November dance seven times now, while the Cleveland Rocks are experiencing the post-season frenzy for the first time in franchise history (leaving the Great Lakes Sphinx as the sole remaining franchise to have never tasted the bittersweet sorrow of November baseball.)  This is the fourth appearance for the Ravenswood Infidels franchise, the sixth for Los Altos, #4 for the Badgers franchise (but the first for Tony Badger), #3 for Kansas, #3 for Nashville and #4 for the SoCal Slyme.

Incredibly enough, out of the eight playoff teams this season, only one (Southern Cal) appeared in the post-season last year.  In fact, the average 2006 record of this year's playoff teams is just 75-85.  That should give some measure of comfort to this year's sub-.500 teams.

In the Ozzie League, the Cowtippers and Infidels will be going head-to-head in the playoffs for the third time.  The first time these two teams met, back in the 2004 OLCS, the Infidels upset the Cowtippers, and just kept on rolling all the way to a BDBL championship.  The second time, in 2005, Salem beat the Infidels en route to an Ozzie League championship and yet another World Series defeat at the hands of the Ridgebacks.  Although Salem went 8-4 against the Infidels this season, look for this to be a very tight series, as the two teams match up well against each other.

The history between the Undertakers and Badgers franchises is the stuff of BDBL legend.  However, all of those legendary match-ups happened well before Tony Badger took over his franchise in mid-2004.  This season, the Badgers went 8-4 against the Undertakers in head-to-head play.  But as always, regular season records mean nothing once the calendar flips to November.  The Undertakers' rotation is tailor-made for the playoffs, and with that great pitching and a home-field advantage, they hope to neutralize New Hope's biggest weapon, David Ortiz.

Over in the Eck League, the Nashville Funkadelic and Cleveland Rocks split their season series six games apiece.  While the Funk boast the league's top offense, the Rocks own one of the league's best pitching staffs.  The old saying about good pitching beating good hitting in the playoffs doesn't always apply, however.  And with the Funk getting the home field advantage in their homer-friendly ballpark, they could easily beat the Rocks into submission.

Finally, the Kansas Law Dogs spent all season adding to their arsenal of superstars in preparation for November.  And some of that arsenal -- namely, Roger Clemens and Paul Konerko -- came from their Division Series opponent, the Slyme.  The story of Southern Cal's 2007 season is among the strangest in league history, and since anything can -- and does -- happen in a short series, perhaps the strangeness will continue into November.

Salem Cowtippers

In 2007, the Salem Cowtippers won more games, and outscored their opponents by more runs, than any other team in the BDBL.  But all you need to know about the Salem Cowtippers is reflected in our recent poll question, which asked how far the Cowtippers will go in the playoffs.  Out of nearly 20 responders, not one person felt that Salem will win the BDBL championship.  Either those responders voted simply because they thought it would piss me off, or they've been paying attention to history.

The story of how the 2007 Cowtippers were built began in the winter of 2005.  The '05 Cowtippers had won more games than any other team that season, and yet found themselves on the losing end of the World Series at the hands of the Allentown Ridgebacks -- yet again.  As if that defeat weren't demoralizing enough, Salem was left with a 2006 team decimated by free agency, injuries and ineffectiveness.  With $44.9 million to spend on free agents, and gaping holes at nearly every position in the lineup, starting rotation and bullpen, the 2006 season was destined to be Salem's first-ever rebuilding year.

Perhaps the biggest key to the 2007 Cowtippers' success has been its starting rotation, which includes four 17-game winners and five starting pitchers with double digits in wins -- a feat that had never been accomplished before.  Every member of that record-setting five-man starting rotation was acquired in 2006.  The first of those acquisitions was Kelvim Escobar (17-8, 4.42 ERA), who was signed with the 24th pick of the second round of the '06 free agent draft.

The second member of the rotation, Erik Bedard (17-5, 1.99 ERA), was acquired via trade early in the 2006 season -- a trade in which the Cowtippers sacrificed their $11 million free agent acquisition, Randy Johnson.  Toward the end of 2006, Salem acquired Jeff Francis in exchange for prospect Carlos Quentin.  Francis was then flipped this past winter for Jeremy Bonderman (20-7, 4.24 ERA.)  And just days after that trade, Salem connected again with the Chicago Black Sox to acquire the fourth member of their starting rotation, Brandon Webb (18-8, 2.76 ERA), at the expense of former franchise player Mark Teixeira.  #5 starter Ian Snell (10-9, 5.33 ERA) was also acquired in 2006, in a trade with the Corona Confederates that included Austin Kearns and Bruce Chen, among others.

The 2007 lineup was also taking shape in 2006 thanks to a three-way trade with the Atlanta Fire Ants and Marlboro Hammerheads.  The Cowtippers sent prospect Ian Stewart to the Fire Ants in exchange for free-agent-to-be Miguel Tejada.  The Cowtippers then flipped Tejada to the Hammerheads for Derek Jeter (.331/.400/.439 w/ 48 2B, 130 R and a BDBL-high 224 hits.)

Berkman (.304/.389/.569, 43 HR, 119 RBI), playing in his seventh season with the Cowtippers, fully recovered from the torn ACL he suffered the previous off-season while playing flag football, and enjoyed one of his best seasons to date.  Kenji Johjima, Salem's second-round pick in the 2005 farm draft, enjoyed an MVP-caliber season (.331/.367/.563, 29 HR, 111 RBI) in his rookie year.

Third baseman Scott Rolen was acquired as part of the Webb trade this off-season.  He was later flipped to the San Antonio Broncs as part of the infamous I-70 trade that resulted in Miguel Cabrera (.335/.410/.571) coming to Salem.  Orlando Hudson (.266/.327/.382), Mike Cameron (.250/.324/.485 w/ 25 HR), B.J. Ryan (6-2, 1.94 ERA, 20 SVs) and Will Ohman (2-1, 4.18 ERA, 4 SVs) were also acquired this past winter in trade.

The finishing touches were then set in place this summer, when Nick Johnson (.283/.397/.503), Juan Rivera (.296/.341/.478) and Marlon Anderson (.323/.362/.521) were all added to the team via trade, balancing the lineup and shoring up the bench.

And thus, by sacrificing just one season, the Cowtippers were able to rebuild their franchise from the bottom-up, and assemble a team that not only led the league in wins in 2007, but is set up nicely for 2008 and beyond.

Ravenswood Infidels

For the third time in the past four seasons, the Infidels are the champions of the Benes Division, finishing with a record of 91-69.  They ranked third in the OL in runs scored (841), and hit 200 home runs as a team.  On the mound, the Infidels posted a 4.37 team ERA -- good for fourth in the league.

After winning two division titles (not to mention a BDBL championship) in his first two seasons at the helm of the Infidels franchise, Brian Potrafka was faced with a tough decision heading into the 2006 season: contend or rebuild?  The decision wasn't clear-cut, as the Infidels looked a little thin on paper, yet were returning ace Johan Santana for one final Cy Young-caliber season, and had plenty of quality players in the pitching staff and lineup.  But just 28 days into the season, Potrafka made his decision loud and clear by trading Santana to the Allentown Ridgebacks for several young players with upside.

One of those players, Scott Olsen, enjoyed a phenomenal rookie season in MLB, yet was a bit of a disappointment (8-13, 5.62 ERA) for the Infidels.  Another one of those acquisitions, Edwin Encarnacion (.262/.331/.455, 16 HR, 56 RBI), contributed a little more to the '07 cause.

The Ravenswood farm club has ranked #22, #24 and #23 in the past three years, and yet it has contributed greatly to the success of the '07 ballclub.  Ravenswood's biggest offensive contributor in 2007, OL batting champion Robinson Cano (.383/.408/.569, 46 2B, 17 HR, 117.6 RC), was a product of the Infidels farm system, acquired in the second round of the 2005 farm draft.  Tim Lincecum, who was acquired as a farm free agent in 2006, was traded this past winter for the second-best run-producer in the Infidels' lineup, Frank Thomas (.271/.411/.526, 37 HR, 111.3 RC.)  Joey Votto, who was Ravenswood's top prospect after the trade of Lincecum, was traded (along with another prospect, Eric Hurley, and several others) this past winter for Randy Johnson (11-16, 5.90 ERA, 202 K in 212 IP.)

Humberto Sanchez, a prospect acquired in the Lincecum trade, was also traded this winter for Kenny Lofton (.254/.299/.326.)  And while not technically a prospect, Brandon Phillips was acquired as a free agent, traded to Salem, then re-acquired from Salem, all in the same year.  He was then traded once again this winter (along with another prospect, Cesar Carillo) in exchange for staff ace Roy Halladay (14-13, 3.39 ERA in 239 IP.)

Potrafka continued to wheel-and-deal throughout the summer, adding more firepower to distance his team from the Las Vegas Flamingos in the Benes Division.  First, he acquired closer J.J. Putz (5-0, 1.13 ERA, 22 SV in 39+ IP) from the San Antonio Broncs in exchange for prospect Casey Janssen (and others.) Then, he took advantage of a panic-stricken Shark and added Bobby Abreu (.297/.441/.510) in exchange for three players who will likely be cut before Opening Day: Randy Winn, Freddy Lewis and Damian Easley.

With only $8.4 million to spend on eight free agents, the Infidels managed to go from 66 to 91 wins in only one year -- all without the benefit of free agency.  This remarkable feat was accomplished almost entirely through savvy trading and farm system management.

Los Altos Undertakers

After two long years of rebuilding and stockpiling high school teenagers, the Los Altos Undertakes are back in the playoffs.  The Undertakers finished with a record of 99-61 this season, which marks the sixth time in franchise history the team has finished with 98 wins or more.  Los Altos finished third in the OL in runs scored, with 858, and second in fewest runs allowed, with 680.

It's no surprise how the 2007 team was built.  The Undertakers were once a fixture in the BDBL post-season, as they won five Griffin Division titles in the league's first six seasons.  But following the 2004 season, Jeff Paulson formulated a master plan to dominate the league for the next decade.  This plan involved stockpiling every good young player in the game of baseball -- even if those players weren't yet of legal driving age.

In the winter prior to the 2005 season, Paulson began selling off the pieces of his ballclub one by one.  It began with a huge eight-player deal with the Salem Cowtippers, in which Salem acquired all-star Mark Loretta and others, while the Undertakers received four prospects: Edwin Jackson, Adam Miller, Jeff Clement and Alex Gordon.  Paulson continued to stockpile prospects that year, adding Chris Nelson, Brian Dopirak, John Buck, Val Majewski, Jeremy Hermida, Franklin Gutierrez, Chris Shelton among others.

Although several of those prospects should one day provide great production for the organization, none of the young players acquired in 2005 would make much of an impact on the 2007 Undertakers.  In 2006, however, Paulson added several players who would eventually help to carry the franchise back to the top of the division.  The first of those acquisitions was Kevin Youkilis (.258/.347/.404, 86.4 RC), who was acquired from the Bear Country Jamboree in the winter of '06 in exchange for mediocre middle reliever Russ Springer.

Closer Jon Broxton (11-6, 3.31 ERA, 10 SVs) was picked up that same winter (along with Nick Adenhart!) in exchange for part-timer Jay Gibbons.  Later in the '06 season, Paulson traded Eric Chavez (among others) for pitcher Derek Lowe.  Then, this past winter, he flipped Lowe to the Cleveland Rocks in exchange for young all-star Adrian Gonzalez (.323/.375/.538, 44 2B, 29 HR, with a team-leading 120 RC), saving the Undertakers $7.4 million in the process.

With 2003 farm free agent Jared Weaver (8-6, 2.94 ERA), 2004 farm draft pick Jeremy Sowers (6-3, 3.62 ERA), 2006 draft picks Jason Schmidt and Josh Johnson (12-7, 3.47 ERA), and 2006 farm free agent Matt Garza (2-2, 4.39 ERA) in the starting rotation, the Undertakers had plenty of pitching depth from which to deal.  So, in addition to Lowe, Paulson was also able to jettison Dave Bush this past winter, acquiring SUS slugger Chris Duncan (.341/.427/.662, 22 HR in 116 G) in exchange.

Duncan was just the first of many SUS pick-ups for Paulson, as he went "back to his roots" to fill his roster with these types of players.  In addition to Duncan, Paulson also acquired Esteban German (.382/.464/.508 in 191 AB), Jonny Gomes (.240/.362/.517, 16 HR in 263 AB), Gerald Laird (.216/.261/.364 in 250 AB), Daryle Ward (.333/.437/.567 in 60 AB)) and Pablo Ozuna (.341/.377/.468 in 205 AB) via trade.

With so many full-time starters earning minimum wage -- including '02 farm free agent Rickie Weeks (.317/.391/.454) and '04 trade acquisition Alexis Rios (.300/.346/.498) -- the Undertakers went into this winter with a nearly full roster and nearly $40 million in spending money.  So, with all that cash in hand, Paulson was able to afford to trade for Michael Young (.297/.346/.421, 45 2B, 91 RBI), and sign free agents Chris Carpenter (21-8, 3.07 ERA in 243+ IP), Ben Sheets (11-2, 2.88 ERA) and J.D. Drew (.244/.359/.453.)

In many respects, the 2007 Undertakers are similar to the BDBL champion 2006 Villanova Mustangs, in that they were the end-product of a persistent, years-in-the-making farm-building strategy, whereby they owned several full-time impact players at minimum wage, which then allowed them to load up on overpriced free agents to supplement that foundation.  It's a strategy that worked well for the Mustangs.  Can it work just as well in Los Altos?

New Hope Badgers

Just three years after Phil Geisel left his franchise in shambles, Tony Badger has managed to take this franchise back from the brink, all the way to the post-season.  After leading the Butler Division for the first two chapters of the season, the Badgers finished with a record of 95-65.  They outscored their opponents by 165 runs -- the third-highest total in the BDBL.  They scored 887 runs (second to only the Nashville Funkadelic) and clubbed 254 home runs as a team (most in the BDBL.)  On the hill, the Badgers compiled a 4.04 ERA -- third-best in the Ozzie League -- despite a home ballpark modeled after Enron Stadium (or whatever Houston is calling it these days.)

Of course, the biggest story of the 2007 season is a fellow by the name of David Ortiz (.291/.420/.760.)  In case you missed it, Ortiz shattered a couple of records this season, with a mind-numbing 79 home runs and 205 RBI.  He created 190.5 runs, which represents 21% of the team's total, and his 79 homers represent 31% of the team's total.

Ortiz's acquisition has become BDBL legend, but like the Zapruder film, it's always fun to review it again and again.  It all began when the first day of bidding wrapped up, and Ken "The Shark" Kaminski had failed to win one of those first five bids.  Immediately shifting into full panic mode (is there any other mode for him?), Sharky placed huge bids on the next group of players, convinced that if he didn't, his $50 million in spending money would go to waste.  After winning four of those five bids, a second wave of panic washed over him, as he now felt he had no money left, and had overspent for players he didn't need.  So, just minutes after winning those bids, he placed all four players -- including Ortiz -- on the chopping block.  Tony Badger immediately shot off a PM, and within minutes, Ortiz was a Badger.

Just days after that debacle, Badger and Sharky connected again.  Once again operating in full panic mode at the prospect of having only seven more months in which to trade, Sharky sent ace closer Mariano Rivera (9-6, 0.98 ERA, 34 SVs) to the Badgers, taking Danny Cabrera's awful contract off of Badger's hands in the process.

When Badger took over the franchise in the middle of the 2004 season, the team was in horrendous shape.  Yet somehow, Badger managed to cobble together a competitive team in 2005; so competitive, in fact, that he earned the #1 draft pick in 2006.  And he used that pick to select Barry Bonds (.260/.405/.532, 97.8 RC in 423 AB) in the first round.

The team Badger inherited had only one asset in franchise player Grady Sizemore (.265/.352/.523, 43 2B, 32 HR, 121.3 RC), who had been acquired in an ill-fated trade with the Salem Cowtippers in 2002.  Together, the three lefties Sizemore, Bonds and Ortiz combined to create 409.6 runs in 2007 -- 45% of the team's total.

In addition to those three lefties, New Hope's lineup includes a pair of right-handed swing-from-the-heels sluggers: Michael Cuddyer (.269/.338/.517, 47 2B, 32 HR) and Morgan Ensberg (.264/.391/.562, 35 HR.)  Cuddyer was acquired in a 2006 pre-season trade with the Great Lakes Sphinx (in exchange for four complete nobodies: Claudio Vargas, James Baldwin, Miguel Montero and Brad Nelson), and Ensberg was a $5.5 million free agent signing last winter.

On the mound, the Badgers' ace, Chris Young (13-9, 3.69 ERA), was picked up in the 21st round of the 2005 free agent draft.  With that #1 draft pick in 2006, Badger selected Jake Westbrook in Round Two, hoping to benefit from a bounce-back year.  Westbrook pitched well for New Hope in 2007, but was traded in Chapter Four for an upgrade to John Lackey (9-5, 3.05 ERA in 124 IP.)

New Hope's second-round draft pick in 2007, Pedro Martinez, was also traded in for an upgrade mid-season when he was dealt for Joe Blanton (8-13, 5.77 ERA.)  And the fourth member of the starting rotation, Andy Pettitte (17-6, 4.15 ERA), was acquired in a pre-season trade with the South Carolina Sea Cats -- a trade that cost New Hope only Paul Lo Duca and someone named Jordan Tata.

In all, the New Hope Badgers acquired one MVP winner, one dominant closer and three quality full-time starting pitchers via trade.  And the total "cost" to the team?  Jason Giambi (a free agent), Shane Victorino, Shaun Marcum, Danny Cabrera, James Loney, Chad Paronto, Paul Lo Doca, Jordan Tata, Pedro Martinez (a Rule 18.11 release), Jake Westbrook (free agent), Michael Wuertz, Travis Blackley and Kyle Blanks.  Wow.

Kansas Law Dogs

After three years of white flag waving, the Law Dogs went for it all in 2007, finishing with a 94-66 record -- second-best in the Eck League. Despite playing in the league's best pitcher's park, the Law Dogs ranked third in the BDBL in runs scored (885) and fourth in home runs (218.)  And the Kansas pitching staff ranked second in the EL in ERA at 4.26 -- something that never would have been possible in Kansas' former ballpark model of Coors Field.

The 2007 Law Dogs were built almost completely through free agency and salary dump trading.  The team's current payroll of $101.9 million is -- by far -- a BDBL record.  Heading into the '07 season, Luhning signed free agent Jermaine Dye (.324/.390/.585, 40 2B, 36 HR, 124 RBI, 129.1 RC) to an $11 million salary ($22MM guaranteed over two years.)  Carlos Beltran (.253/.360/.520, 43 2B, 35 HR, 104 RBI, 111.3 RC), a $12MM free agent signing in 2004, was signed to a four-year, $48 million contract at the end of that season.  Mike Mussina (19-7, 3.65 ERA), a $5.5 million free agent signing in 2006, was also carried over to the '07 season.

This past winter, when the Corona Confederates were looking to move Billy Wagner's $7 million salary, they found a taker in the Law Dogs.  Wagner was then flipped to the Cleveland Rocks for Jorge Posada (.250/.349/.509, 29 HR), whose salary is $1.5 million more than Wagner's.  This summer, Luhning added another $40.5 million to his team's salary by trading for Roger Clemens (8-4, 3.62 ERA in 121+ IP) and Johan Santana (15-3, 2.93 ERA), and another $7.5 million with the acquisition of Paul Konerko (.318/.388/.483.) Of course, Kansas will never technically have to "pay" Konerko and Clemens a dime, since they're both free agents after this season.

This willingness to take on so much salary ensured two things: 1) the Law Dogs would be very competitive in 2007, and 2) the Law Dogs will likely be waving that white flag once again in 2008.  It is a textbook example of a one-year "win-at-all-costs" strategy, and so far it has worked as well as you'd expect.

With $37 million in salary allocated to just four players (Konerko, Posada, Mussina and Dye) heading into this season, the Law Dogs needed a lot of low-cost/high-production players to fill out the remaining 21 spots on the active roster.  That's where the farm club came in.

David Wright (.304/.349/.504, 106.4 RC) was a third-round selection for Kansas in the 2002 farm draft -- one of the best farm picks ever.  David DeJesus (.289/.349/.443, 81.2 RC) was a farm free agent pick-up in 2003.  Takashi Saito (5-3, 3.57 ERA, 28 SVs) was a mid-season farm free agent pickup in 2006.  Farm products Adam LaRoche, Chris Shelton and Adam Jones helped secure Clemens and Konerko in Chapter Two, and former farm products Zach Duke and Brandon Wood helped bring Santana, Brett Myers and Chad Cordero to the 'Dogs.  Myers and Cordero were later traded along with another Kansas farm product, Jose Tabata, to secure Jonathan Papelbon (2-0, 0.41 ERA, 14 SVs in 22 IP.)

Luhning has also done a nice job of finding low-cost players with high value (either value to the Law Dogs or value on the trade market) through the late rounds of the draft or on the free agent scrap heap.  Aaron Harang (traded to Corona in the Santana deal) was a 16th-round draft pick in 2005.  Brad Lidge (an 11th-round pick in the '07 draft) and Reggie Willits (a Chapter Two pickup off the free agent scrap heap) brought Anibal Sanchez (4-3, 3.58 ERA in 50+ IP) to Kansas in trade earlier this year.  Miguel Batista, a 21st round draft pick in 2005, was traded this past winter for Fernando Rodney (1-9, 3.17 ERA.)  And Joe Smith -- a farm free agent in Chapter Four this year -- was flipped almost immediately for playoffs LOOGY Dennys Reyes.

With $44 million committed to just three players in 2008, Chris Luhning has clearly put all his eggs into the 2007 basket.  Let's hope for his sake that this strategy works better for him than it did for the 2006 Blazers.

Nashville Funkadelic

The Funkadelic finished with an EL-best 97-63 record and more runs scored than any other team in the BDBL.  Playing half their games in a bandbox ballpark modeled after Cincinnati's Cinergy Field, the Funkadelic pitching staff ranked fourth in the EL in ERA at 4.31.  And they were the greatest comeback team in the league this season, winning 14 games when trailing after seven innings.

The biggest asset a team can have is a cheap superstar franchise player who can supply years of above-average production at below-average cost.  Finding these players is difficult.  Finding a team willing to part with one of these players is even more difficult.  Yet, the Funkadelic organization owes much of its success to several teams that were willing to do just that:

  • Jason Bay (.274/.385/.513, 36 HR, 115 RBI, 115.7 RC) was acquired from the New Milford Blazers last year in exchange for Ken Griffey, Jr. and Bartolo Colon.  The Funkadelic not only received a bargain franchise player signed through the 2010 season, but they rid themselves of Colon's bloated salary in the process.
  • Ryan Howard (.297/.399/.556, 45 HR, 133 RBI, 140.9 RC) was acquired from the Marlboro Hammerheads in 2004 (along with pitcher Scott Olsen) in exchange for Aquilino Lopez and Dan Plesac.  Seriously.  You can look it up.  Howard is now signed through 2014.
  • Jose Reyes (.274/.323/.493, 33 2B, 23 3B, 26 HR, 132 R, 47 SB, 112.8 RC) was acquired from the South Carolina Sea Cats in 2004 in exchange for Roy Halladay.
  • Ichiro Suzuki (.350/.396/.465, 106 R, 127.1 RC) was acquired from the SoCal Slyme in 2003 in a three-team deal, in exchange for Jason Giambi and Jose Valentin.

Those four all-stars earned a total of just $8.9 million this season -- over $1 million less than Cleveland ace Kenny Rogers earned alone.  With so much money "saved" by these four players, Nashville could afford to overspend this past winter on free agents Greg Maddux (9-7, 3.75 ERA in 225+ IP), Ramon Hernandez (.310/.385/.521, 37 2B, 22 HR, 98.4 RC) and Jason Jennings (19-6, 4.02 ERA in 233 IP), who, combined, cost the team $33.5 million this season.

Another important trade for the Funk franchise was the acquisition of Joe Nathan (9-4, 1.33 ERA, 28 SVs) from the Kansas Law Dogs in 2003.  Nathan was acquired at the great expense of the legendary Buddy Groom.

Nashville also earned $8.5 million in additional spending money this winter when the hapless Blazers voluntarily acted as a broker between the Funkadelic and the agent for Chipper Jones.  For a small, nominal fee of Akinori Iwamura, Yoslan Herrera, Hong-Chi Kuo and David Dellucci (collectively known as the "International House of Useless Prospects"), the Blazers agreed to donate $8.5 million to Steve Osborne's favorite charity, paving the way for Chipper (.304/.387/.582, 32 HR, 104.3 RC) to enjoy an all-star-caliber season at third base for the Funk.

Nashville received another helping hand from a friendly neighbor when they acquired Freddy Garcia (4-3, 4.38 ERA in 76 IP) midseason in exchange for Yunel Escobar.

As you can see, the 2007 Nashville Funkadelic owe a great deal of their success to the Sith-like trading ability of their GM.  The Funkadelic franchise is not only sitting pretty in 2007, but appears to be set up very nicely for years ahead.

Cleveland Rocks

At long last, Mike Stein has made it to the post-season.  In the first two years of this franchise's existence, they finished the regular season tied for the wild card lead.  In both seasons, a one-game playoff decided the final spot in the post-season.  In both games, the Rocks enjoyed an early lead.  And in both games, the Rocks lost.  For the next several years, Mike Stein did everything he could to make it to the post-season, including trading away Roy Halladay, Brandon Webb, Joel Piniero and Kevin Youkilis for "quick fixes" that never quite fixed anything.

This year, the Rocks finished with a record of 89-71, which, thanks to lackluster competition within the division, was just good enough to eke into the post-season picture.  Cleveland ranked in the middle of the pack (6th) in runs scored in the EL, and their 4.29 team ERA ranked third in the league.  The Rocks outscored their opponents by just 40 runs this season, but enjoyed a five-win Pythagorean bonus, thanks in part to a 27-16 record in one-run games.

Several decisions made during the team's rebuilding year of 2006 contributed to the team's success this season.  Jim Thome (.310/.462/.697, 41 HR, 111 RBI, 143.7 RC) was picked up in the second round of the free agent draft after an off season in MLB.  That gamble paid off big-time, as Thome led the team in on-base percentage, slugging and RC/27.

Bill Hall (.259/.331/.482, 44 2B, 27 HR) was acquired in a mid-season trade in exchange for a couple of role players: Ronnie Belliard and Roberto Hernandez.  Gary Matthews (.310/.379/.463, 42 2B) was also acquired in trade, in exchange for free agent David Wells and overpriced middle infielder Mark Ellis.  Freddy Sanchez (.299/.332/.379) was acquired that same chapter in a three-team trade with the New Milford Blazers and Marlboro Hammerheads.

That very same chapter, the Rocks also acquired Fernando Rodney and Adrian Gonzalez in two separate trades (for Casey Fossum and Matt LeCroy, respectively, if you can believe it.)  Rodney was then traded this past winter for Miguel Batista, who was then packaged to New Milford prior to the start of Opening Day for Kenny Rogers (12-10, 4.46 ERA.)  Gonzalez was also traded this past winter in exchange for staff ace Derek Lowe (20-6, 3.00 ERA), who led the league in both wins and ERA.

Another key Chapter Four pickup for Cleveland was James Shields, who was acquired as a farm free agent.  Shields was later packaged at the Chapter Five deadline for Raul Ibanez (.274/.325/.480) and Tim Salmon (.230/.368/.443.)

Also in 2006, Stein signed free agent catcher Jorge Posada to a risky $8.5 million salary.  That risk paid off when Posada was flipped this winter as part of a three-team deal, with the Rocks getting Billy Wagner (6-7, 3.41 ERA, 35 SVs) and Pat Burrell (.245/.349/.454, 24 HR.)

Aside from all this wheeling-and-dealing, Stein also benefited from several key farm club acquisitions.  Former farmhand Kevin Kouzmanoff was part of the package that brought Rogers to the Rocks earlier this year.  Josh Fields and Erick Aybar were packaged for Curt Schilling (7-3, 2.90 ERA in 93 IP) at the Chapter Four deadline.  Dan Uggla, a 2006 second-round farm draft pick, hit .245/.300/.442 with 27 home runs in his rookie season with the Rocks, just one year after he was drafted.  And Russ Martin, Cleveland's #1 farm draft pick in 2005, hit .267/.310/.392 in a platoon role at catcher.

Clearly, Stein made all the right moves to get his team to the post-season in 2007.  The question is: Did he sacrifice too much and create another one-year solution?  With the trades of Kouzmanoff, Shields and Gonzalez, Stein may have sacrificed years of production for one shot at glory.  But he won't worry about that until next year.

Southern Cal Slyme

Bob Sylvester did everything in his power to throw in the towel in 2007.  But every time he tried, his players threw it right back at him.  From all outward appearances, the Sylme acted like a rebuilding franchise in 2007, trading away huge star impact players such as Roger Clemens, Paul Konerko, Anibal Sanchez, Raul Ibanez, Jose Contreras and Tim Salmon in exchange for future value.  Yet, the team continued to do nothing but win despite these losses.

SoCal wrapped up the regular season with a record of 90-70 -- third-best in the Eck League.  However, they outscored their opponents by only 27 runs, leading to a league-best Pythagorean difference of seven wins.  The Slyme ranked right smack-dab in the middle of the Eck League in both runs scored (7th) and ERA (6th.)

Given that the Slyme weren't built for a 2007 championship run, most of their biggest contributors this season were acquired several years ago.  Staff ace Josh Beckett (16-13, 3.94 ERA) was acquired during the 2004 pre-season with the Chicago Black Sox, in exchange for Vernon Wells, Brett Myers and J.J. Hardy.  De facto #2 starter Ervin Santana (14-8, 3.91 ERA) was acquired (along with Anibal Sanchez) in a 2005 trade with the Marlboro Hammerheads that involved nine players in total.

Hanley Ramirez (.280/.342/.447, 39 2B, 14 3B, 15 HR, 57 SB) was acquired in that infamous 2003 pre-season trade with the Hammerheads, in which the Slyme parted with low-cost ace Roy Halladay in exchange for some Japanese player named "Ichiro" and the then-18-year-old rookie ball sensation.  Ramirez (dubbed "Hensley Bam-Bam Ramirez" by one clearly misguided pundit) proved worthy of the gamble.

Also worthy of a gamble was Victor Martinez (.323/.393/.506, 43 2B, 18 HR, 96 RBI), who was acquired in a 2006 pre-season trade with the Chicago Black Sox, in which the Slyme parted with surefire MVP candidate Derrek Lee.  (Instead, it was Martinez who won the 2006 EL MVP by nearly hitting .400.)

Torii Hunter, a 2006 free agent signing, hit .285/.334/.527 with 41 home runs for the Slyme this season.  Another 2006 free agent pick-up, Jeff Kent, hit .292/.375/.448.  This winter, the Slyme's only signing in the free agent auction was Reed Johnson (.292/.351/.425, 39 2B.)

The SoCal farm club also contributed to the team's 2007 success thanks to the success of Ryan Zimmerman (.266/.327/.398, 41 2B.)  Zimmerman was a Chapter Four free agent pick-up back in 2005.  Contreras (9-5 with a 3.92 ERA in 142+ IP before his trade) was also a product of the SoCal farm system, as he was the #1 overall pick back in 2003.

The trades of Clemens, Konerko, Sanchez, Ibanez, Salmon and Contreras this summer brought several players to the Slyme -- some with value to the 2007 cause.  Among them, Ted Lilly (10-9, 4.40 ERA), Adam LaRoche (.313/.379/.546, 32 2B in 368 AB), Chris Shelton (.298/.383/.500 in 188 AB), Wil Ledezma (3-2, 4.74 ERA), James Shields (6-2, 3.43 ERA) and Dave Bush (2-4, 7.50 ERA) each contributed in some way to the team's unexpected wild card title.

The 2007 SoCal Slyme are an unusual playoff team in many regards, and they certainly took an unusual route to get to the post-season.  But as they say, once you make it to the big dance, anyone can go home with the prom queen.  (Okay, no one really says that.  I just made it up.)