Week 18 Newsletter

August 11, 2009

Vol. 25, No. 18
Season Week No. 18
August 11, 2009

PHONY LEAGUE BASEBALL
popculture.incompetech.com/baseball/
Newsletter Editor: Mark S Zimmer

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Even though the dilrods of MLB managed somehow not to trade Roy Halladay, despite it being on the front page of the sports section for months and the subject of talk radio for at least as long, the Ham Fighters pulled off the impossible and swapped Halladay themselves, turning him into a couple of sweet prospects and a first round draft pick. This one looks like a win/win since it puts the Instigators in great shape for taking home the gaudiest of all trophies, ever. Oops---is that like the Sports Illustrated cover curse? Anyway, the Instigators continue to actually pay attention and surge even further ahead of the Foxes, as the rest of us drop farther and farther out of contention.

That’s not necessarily the last trade of the season, though: you still have until the end of Week 20 (that’s week after next, for those unable to make out the header) to make a trade. Remember that free agent salaries go up to $1.00 as of the start of Week 21 too, so make your speculation picks now!

PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS:
Team………. Player……………….. BA.. OP….. OA.. Special Achievement
Kiwis……….. Billy Butler…………... .609. 46…… 2.000. 14 Hits, 5 Dbles, 2 HR
Instigators…. Jason Bartlett………. .385. 41…… 1.577. 3 HR
Foxes……… Mark Teixeira………. .333. 39….. 1.300 3 HR
Mastodons.. Robinson Cano…….. .467. 38….. 1.267 14 Hits, 5 Dbles
Foxes……… Joe Mauer…………... .480. 38….. 1.520
Instigators…. Franklin Gutierrez…. .400. 38….. 1.200

Team………. Pitcher………………. ERA OOBA. PP.. Special Achievement
Scapegoats. Andy Pettitte………... 0.66. 1.10… 9.8
HamFighters Aaron Laffey……… 0.00. 0.86…. 7.0
Bovine Sox... CC Sabathia………... 0.00. 0.52… 6.8

The Kiwis’ manager was lobbying for Billy Butler to be POW, but that really wasn’t necessary—those numbers scream for themselves. The Player of the Week is Billy Butler. Good timing by the Kiwis to move him off the bench just before the start of Week 18….

Speaking of the Bench, the POTWOTB honors are split by two guys in the farm system—that’s right, the farm systems are pitching better than the guys in the lineups. The award is shared by the BoSox’ Gio Gonzalez and the Scapegoats’ Derek Holland. The next few years may be scary.

TRANSACTIONS:

The July 31 deadline just doesn’t slow you moguls down, does it?

August 5:
TRADE WINDS acquire free agent Josh Reddick releasing Cliff Lee.

August 6:
CARP acquire free agent Carlos Gomez releasing Travis Buck.
CARP acquire free agent Luis Valbuena releasing Adam Everett.
INSTIGATORS acquire free agent Sean O'Sullivan releasing Daric Barton.

August 7:
TRADE WINDS acquire free agent Chris Ray releasing Chien-Ming Wang (long-term contract buyout).
TRADE WINDS acquire free agent Alex Avila releasing Vin Mazarro.
BOVINE SOCKS acquire free agent Brandon Lyon releasing Jason Vargas.
INSTIGATORS trade Mat Gamel, Rick Porcello, and INSTIGATORS first round pick in the 2010 farm system draft to HAM FIGHTERS for Roy Halladay.
HAM FIGHTERS release Ryan Garko to make room on their roster.

August 10:
FOXES acquire free agent Jeremy Sowers releasing Jose Contreras.

August 11:
MASTODONS acquire free agents Matt Palmer and Luke French releasing Melvin Mora and Brandon Morrow.

The last day to postmark or deliver a waiver claim for the players released in this newsletter is Monday, August 17, 2009. If a claim for one or more of those players is postmarked or delivered on or before that date and does not specify whether it is a waiver claim or a free agent claim, it will be considered a waiver claim. Announcements of all free agent and waiver acquisitions are subject to change if a late arriving letter or postcard is received from a team with a superior claim.

REMINDER ABOUT FREE AGENT CLAIMS: When claiming a free agent, you must specify whether the player being released is in the lineup or not. The status of the released player is the status on the day before the claim goes into effect, which means in most cases it is the status on the day you send the claim. If the released player is not in the lineup on the day you send the claim, you can just note NIL, which, of course, means not in lineup. If the released player is in your lineup on the day you send the claim, you must report who will replace that player in your lineup. I do not care if you already reported a sub to your “checker.” You must also report the sub in the free agent claim. If it makes it easier to understand, when you make the claim just forget that you have a “checker” for your lineup and pretend that all your substitutions are reported to the person receiving the player claim. Then, report the substitution in the free agent claim.

Questions? E-mail Steve