mlpeel

I'd have been happier if they'd gone into more specifics myself...

Barrett also said that he would like to stay away from the infield not only for his sake, but for the fans' sake. Thanks for the clarification, Jon. BTW, I kept an eye out for you; I think I spotted you once, but there were just too many people in between to catch up to you. Sorry we missed connections -- but that was pretty much the story of the Convention for me: I missed quite a few folks, I was kinda lucky to hook up with the folks I did. Man, that was a busy place...

And you, Craig: Matt Clanton has a clean bill of health; he'll give it another go this spring. Fleita identified 3B Elvin Puello and a catcher named Perez (Rafael Perez?) as guys to watch in the Latin program.

Just for you, Tim: Oneri Fleita said he believes Brendan Harris can play shortstop. Jose Martinez had elbow surgery, but should be ready on about the same schedule as Guzman (i.e., 5/1). Jonathan Ramos had shoulder surgery; the Cubs gave him extra time just to make certain he'd recover fully. He's throwing off a mound, pretty much good to go.

Okay, onto Day 3. Though I knew I wouldn't need to get in as early for Sunday's sessions (both, as always, in the Boulevard Room opposite the Grand Ballroom), I was expecting some missteps in my travel itinerary on Sunday; so I left only half an hour later than Saturday. Naturally, my car-to-train-to-train travel hit on all cylinders, so I trimmed 15 minutes off Saturday's time on the day I expected to take longer. I arrived for the 9 AM session at 7:45, first one in the room (though somebody did walk in immediately after me). So I got my seat for the important day, anyway. "Meet Cubs Business Management" was the first order of the day. The highlights: Ticket sales are, of course, booming -- almost to an inconvenient extent. The Cubs plan an early cut-off sales of weekend/night game group packages to help meet other demands. Sales of tickets for the Convention may follow a different pattern next year: the Convention was actually a little *too* popular this year. VP of Business Operations Mark McGuire said the Cubs turned a small profit, but *only* because of the playoffs. He painted a picture of the business side essentially trying to maintain the team as a break-even operation, trying to hold down ticket prices to a level commensurable with the budget. That amounts to admission that the Tribune must profit from the Cubs elsewhere if its still wants to own a non-producing asset. In response to Rich Smiley's question, VP of Marketing John McDonough said the Cubs have a number of initiatives designed to draw kids into the ballpark: they are aware that kids cannot just drop by the park on game day to watch the game as in years past (which played a big role in developing the current fan base), so they use school discounts and giveaways to draw in the fan of the future. If they ever resolve the dispute with the city over ownership of the player parking lot (still in flux, as are the night games and the expansion -- but at least the park hasn't been landmarked yet), the Cubs will put up a statue (probably of Ernie Banks) in the new concourse that replaces the lot. The players' parking lot will move underground beneath the new multipurpose building replacing the car wash, but the Cubs will try to keep some of the current intimacy (fans wait by the lot for autographs) while improving the safety. The Cubs will consider: a) retiring Sandberg's number even before he goes into the Hall of Fame; b) having a moment of silence for the late Claude Passeau; c) having more tours. I didn't have to change venues for "Down on the Farm", starting half an hour later. The questions from the audience weren't bad this year, though kind of old stuff for most of the posters on this board. Some highlights: Ben Christensen had a setback last fall, but got back to 100% in the last month or so. He'll got a fair chance next spring to get his career restarted. The June amateur draft produces, on the average, about 100 big leaguers per year -- less than 3.5 per team. At this session 2 years ago, Oneri Fleita first started talking up Felix Pie; obviously, his enthusiasm isn't dimmed at all by what Pie has accomplished in the interim. The Cubs were pleased with his Lansing season and thrilled by the way he performed in the Dominican Winter League (except in terms of the amount of playing time he was getting: they called up to have him benched, they didn't want him to burn out). Despite his strong showing, they plan to move him a bit more cautiously than they did Corey Patterson: they expect he'll start at Daytona, though with a definite chance to move up if circumstances warrant it. Pie's current studying English in a university in San Pedro de Macoris. John Stockstill believes about 15 teams base their draft on signability -- which benefits teams like the Cubs that take the best player regardless. Oneri Fleita talked a bit about some of the catchers: he blames himself for Geovany Soto's second half fade at Daytona; he called Lukas McKnight a great kid and hopes to find more playing time for him next season; Yoon-Min Kweon is finally back to 100% after his shoulder surgery; Casey Kopitzke is a tough guy who has played his way into the picture and has been invited to spring training. On local players: RHP Matt Hines has been released; Carmen Pignatiello ("a tough kid") has done well but will simply have to prove himself every step of the way; Brandon Sing, recovered from mononucleosis, is already in spring training, working to regain his strength and still having a Richie Sexson upside; Billy Petrick is also in Mesa doing some kind of training (it sounded as though the Cubs were trying to head off some kind of problem before it happened). Todd Wellemeyer was an unannounced guest at "Down on the Farm": he looked distinctly ill at ease. I changed my question on the fly to something about Wellemeyer: with nothing to do, he was just sitting there jittering. "Todd, I've followed your career since you were drafted. Now, I've always heard you have good fastball and a terrific change -- but you seem to have a different breaking ball every year, one year a slider, the next a curve. When you had your big breakthrough at West Tennessee, I heard you'd really gotten command of your curve -- so when you showed up in the majors the next year, you were throwing the slider again. I was wondering if you plan to stick to just one of them in the future, or if you hope to master both." Wellemeyer smiled as he replied, "I'm working on a slurve." Ernie59 was at these sessions; he brought Mark Kanges along. When the session ended, Ernie beat me to Wellemeyer by a step and asked how Todd's grandfather, a lifelong Cubs fan, was doing -- exactly the same question I was going to pose. Todd, now much more at ease, talked with us freely for some 5-10 minutes -- and then talked to Mark Kanges for another 5 minutes or so. I know some friends of Welleyemer's, but I'd never met him before; I really liked him. Wellemeyer mentioned he was 5'4", 130 lbs. as a freshman in high school; he listed at 6'3", 205 lbs. last year. *That's* a growth spurt...

Go to the NSBB main page and click on System News: you'll find an archive of almost all of last year's newsletters and a link to subscribe if you're interested.

I quite forgot a Kerry Wood comment worth mentioning: he discounted the Cardinals in the division race, saying they haven't done much in the offseason and don't have anything in the minors. He said it was a Cubs-Astros race. Nothing like fanning the flames of that rivalry before spring training has even begun... Rich Smiley passed along a few items from "New Cubs" and "The Skipper and His Crew": Asked where he would play on the team, Michael Barrett said he very much hoped it wouldn't be any position other than catcher; evidently he didn't like shuffling to the infield periodically. The two Todds (Hollandsworth and Walker) said they'd be happy to line up wherever Bakers asked them to go on a given day. Asked how he would adapt to the NL after pitching in the AL, LaTroy Hawkins described it as a new challenge; he quipped he'll be glad to face the White Sox, a lineup he already knows. Derrek Lee said his father Leon regarded Hee Seop Choi (his first big sign in Korea) like a grandson -- so Leon felt he was watching his grandson get traded for his son. The players assembled agreed that the most important thing a manager brings to a team is energy and the ability to get maximum performance from his players. Hmm, those happen to be Baker's strong points... Baker remarked that keeping Rothschild rather than replacing him with his own guy (something the Cubs insisted on) was the best move he could have made: the pitchers trust Rothschild. Wendell Kim (subjected to some boos at the opening ceremony but the recipient of more polite treatment here) was asked how tall he is. "Tall enough!" he quipped immediately. Kim prepares for a series by checking the scouting reports on the arms of the different members of the other team, and for a game by reviewing the health status of every Cubs player with the trainer. He said his goal is a 98% success rate -- an admirable goal, but it doesn't even sound possible, and I daresay he fell a bit shy of it last year... The Sarge will work with Alex Gonzalez to cut strikeouts and bring his average up to a .265-.280 range. He stressed the need for Alex to get off to a good start -- though since Gonzo's a hot starter anyway, that shouldn't be too hard... Dick Pole said the things he's learned from Baker are the importance of patience with your players, straightforwardness, and candor. Although every major league clubhouse features an impressive spread of food, Baker periodically goes to the supermarket and buys food for the players and coaches. He tends to bring in foods that reflect the cultural diversity of his players: he'll bring in Southern food, Dominican food, etc., and have everyone eat. He believes it helps make his players a tighter group. While I had an almost Ronnie Woo-Woo-free Convention (I passed him in the hall once, quickly hustling out of earshot when he started up), Smiley was not so lucky: Ronnie was present in force at "The Skipper and His Crew". Apparently his act got a little out of hand: per Rich, WGN Radio's Steve Cochrane, emceeing the session, eventually had to quiet Ronnie down to proceed with the session.

Patience, craig: I just got home. I'll start writing my wrapup shortly...

Just for you, Jeff! Me: "Japan is an increasing source of talent for the majors. Ichiro Suzuki seems to have opened the floodgates. Seattle had to pay a multi-million dollar posting fee just for the rights to negotiate with Suzuki. Under the Payroll Tax, does such a posting fee count toward player payroll or is it a separate non-taxed expense?" MacPhail: (pause) "That is the toughest question I've heard in the last 9 years. I don't know." MacPhail then spoke a bit about recruiting in Japan. He mentioned that ex-major leaguer Mike Pagliarulo runs a scouting service specializing in Japan: if the Cubs are interested in a player, they can send someone like Gary Hughes over and Pagliarulo's service will help out. The Cubs aren't really looking for an Ichiro there, but "there has to be a left-handed reliever" and other types of players who can help the Cubs. After the meeting, MacPhail said he was about 80% certain a posting fee would count toward the Payroll Tax, but the only guys who'd know for certain are owner labor lawyer Rob Manfred and union attorney Michael Weiner.

Trying to learn from yesterday's experience, I moved up my timetable: I arrived at "Meet Cubs Baseball Management" at 7:30, an hour and a half before it started. Close, but no cigar: the first 2 rows were already staked out. Still, third row wasn't bad. It wasn't long before I was joined by HoopsCubs; shortly afterward, Richard Smiley, who helps with my newsletter, joined us. Spike O'Dell began the session at 9 sharp (well, nearly) and wasted no time turning the floor over to questions. Hendry had some interesting things to say: Asked (by HoopsCubs, as it happens) about the Cubs' greater success in developing pitchers than hitters, Hendry replied hitting is the hardest thing to scout: pitching is easier because it's easier to see arm strength (some teams that can't find pitching may disagree). He further remarked that the gap between amateur and pro, always much wider in baseball than any other sport, is getting even wider these days as kids pursue other pastimes over baseball. Angel Guzman won't be ready for action by Opening Day, but has a good chance of pitching by May 1. Just as with Kerry Wood, the Cubs are working on a multi-year deal with Derrek Lee -- but not with Aramis Ramirez. HoopsCubs had some pretty plausible suggestions why not; I'll let him tell them. Baker, asked how he helps to break in young players, said he talks to them a lot, telling the truth about the way things are and warning them of the pitfalls they can fall into. He added that he likes to bring around kids' parents -- and sometimes if a kid isn't paying attention to what Dusty tells him, Baker will get his parents on his case. Baker also mentioned that what happens to Juan Cruz depends a lot on Cruz himself: if Maddux doesn't sign, Cruz will have the opportunity to win the #5 starter job, if Maddux does sign, Cruz will have the opportunity to grab the long man job. But Baker emphasized it was up to Cruz to seize that opportunity: nothing will be given to him. HoopsCubs treated Smiley and myself to breakfast afterward; the long time gap until my next session vanished just in a twinkling as we talked baseball. The noon session with Kerry Wood and Mark Prior was the most jam-packed room I've ever seen: the aisles were virtually impassable. Our heroes were hilarious: Prior's dry skepticism scored several funny points at the expense of host John Williams (a kid volunteered he'd just thrown a no-hitter; Williams asked his name and said, "Just for future reference", whereupon Prior shot out, "Like you'll remember") while Kerry's ability to entertain a crowd seems to grow every year (when discussing a Wood home run last year, Williams suggested, "Now, you knew he was going to throw a strike there, didn't you? You were thinking along with the pitcher..." when Kerry cut him off, "Hey, I'm not going to pretend I knew what I was doing. I swung, and the ball hit the bat."). The questions were largely run-of-the-mill, giving the aces the chance to clown around a good deal. Asked about their role models as pitchers, Wood mentioned Clemens and Nolan Ryan; Prior agreed those 2 were the guys for power pitchers like them to study, but added Greg Maddux to his list. I asked them about their mix of pitches: Kerry said he throws more sliders than curves and mentioned that it's a fairly new pitch for him, one he's just developed in the last few years; Prior answered that he throws 60-65% fastballs, concentrating on moving the ball around to change the hitters eye plane, and added, "It's no secret I don't throw many change-ups" -- implying the majority of the remainder are curves. After that session, Ernie59 came up and introduced himself. Like me, he's an Arlington Heights resident: he lives near a park where I occasionally play softball. Hope you plan to post a little about what you saw at the Convention, Ernie! I wanted to attend the session with the new Cubs -- Derrek Lee, Michael Barrett, LaTroy Hawkins, Todd Walker, Todd Hollandsworth -- but I was late and therefore stuck outside in the hall. So I went on for my 2:00: "The State of the Industry", MacPhail's only session this year. Even this session had the first row booked 45 minutes before showtime; but at least by the time it started there weren't too many people standing and the aisles remained passable. MacPahil started out by saying he was always impressed by how knowledgeable Cubs fans are and that he was expecting some tough questions. As always, MacPhail had a lot to say in his answers; he stressed the Cubs' commitment to amateur scouting and said they'd never cut back on the scouting staff; he mentioned the team still has limited payroll flexibility for the '04 season (he emphasized the Cubs *will* have the ability to make acquisitions in July if they're in the race) and is in excellent shape going into '05; the Cubs have the highest payroll in the division; WGN is cutting back on the celebrity interviews during the seventh inning; the 4 additional night games are still being blocked by the city, with no explanation of City Hall's specific objection after 2 months; the Cubs, who traded away 2 players who won Rookie of the Year with other teams, need to do a better job of figuring out which of their top prospects are the real keepers; he described the farm system as "above average" but not great. For you "Moneyball" fans, MacPhail repeated the Cubs' scouting report on A's first round draft pick Jeremy Brown: "he's fat, his dad's fat, he can't throw, and the right field fence was 275 feet away." For you Angel Guzman fans, he made 2 remarkable statements: Guzman was hitting 97 on the radar gun the last time MacPhail saw him pitch, and MacPhail believes the Cubs would have won it all if Guzman hadn't had a season-ending injury. As I left the session, I was wondering where to find a phone: I wanted to buzz Serena to try to meet her. As it happened, I didn't need one: she called out to me from behind (she'd spotted me in the morning session, but the crush was simply to great to keep track of me). I went downstairs with Serena and her friends to have a drink and talk Cubs for a few hours. I had a great time; I'm sure Serena's ears will recover soon from the workout they received... "Meet Cubs Business Management" and "Down on the Farm" tomorrow!

Well, the first day of the Convention is in the books: time for those of us who attended to start passing stuff along. Our new moderator Serena, NSBB special guest HoopsCubs, and myself will pass along our observations in this thread; I hope some of the other posters attending join in here to share their experiences also. I'll start the ball rolling. Friday generally isn't a day where much information passes around at the Convention: it's more of a time for introductions and revving the crowd. This crowd needed *very* little revving this year: I've never seen so many people on the first night, and the atmosphere was electric. As usual, the Opening Ceremony started late -- 20 minutes or so this time. Some of the players listed on the program weren't introduced (Carlos Zambrano, Joe Girardi, and Bill Madlock were the ones I caught), so I suspect they were waiting on those guys and finally went forward without them. There were still a lot of players: most of the '84 Cubs were present, with Ryno and the Red Baron drawing the biggest hands (they later led the singing of "Take Me Out To the Ballgame -- well, they sorta did, anyway: Sandberg sang a line or two and then his mike went quiet, and I don't think Sutcliffe did anything beyond drafting Sandberg as his co-singer). But the crowd had plenty of roar in reserve when the current Cubs were finally introduced: Todd Walker got a great hand and Baker drew solid applause, but Prior topped them and Woodie topped Prior. But the biggest crowd response went to the last person introduced: Ron Santo. Ron, who looked energetic and moved well with just a cane for assistance, threw out the first ball: then he (as the other players already had) tossed his Cubs hat into the crowd -- except his hit the chandelier and landed in the area roped off from the fans. The usual video presentation showing last year's highlights followed -- the highlights were a little higher than years past, of course, starting with Sosa's 500th homer and working toward the division title (I could have done without the replays of Choi's and Prior's collisions, though). As it progressed into fan shots, I began edging out of the room (no easy feat in *that* room, let me tell you): because of the late start, the show was running overtime, and I wanted to get into good position for the interview with Hendry and Baker on WGN SportsCentral at 7. As it happened, I was foiled: an hour before broadcast, the WGN SportsCentral room was already half full with people, so I didn't get my usual front row seats. It doesn't matter much for this show, though: there's no audience participation, so whatever the WGN guys ask is what you hear. This segment really lasted only 15 minutes rather than the billed half hour (the intro and a lot of commercials trimmed off time with Baker and Hendry); but a few nuggets of info popped up. Kerry Wood signed a 1 year deal today, avoiding arbitration. Hendry and Wood's agents are still working on a longer pact. Corey Patterson may not be 100% by the beginning of spring training, but the Cubs still have hopes he'll be ready by Opening Day. But an earlier WGN interview with Dusty Baker mentioned that the Cubs have signed Calvin Murray, a backup center fielder who played for Baker in San Francisco a few years back; they're hedging their bets a bit. The Cubs hired ex-Boston manager Grady Little as a special assistant to Hendry: he'll help out on the field in spring training, then switch to more of a scouting role, scouting AL players for potential trades and giving the Cubs a fresh pair of eyes on their minor leaguers. This is pretty much the same role Ron Schueler filled with the organization last year; Schueler's not back, so the Cubs have pretty much replaced him with Little. Grudzielanek will hit at the top of the order, first or second, again; when Goodwin plays, he may hit leadoff, while Walker will generally hit leadoff when he plays.

Lately, I've been thinking NSBB owes a bit of recognition to posters who've helped make it a more interesting place. The unique flavor of each online community comes from the mix of contributions by all of its posters, not just those of an elite few; but at the same time, high quality contributions from the top posters make that flavor a bit more mouth-watering. Circumstances conspired to make this a good time to honor such a poster, so Tim and I conferred to decide who it should be. Our choice: HoopsCubs, who helped keep the Hot Stove cookin' here at NSBB with his willingness to thrash out trade ideas (peppering these discussions with insights gleaned from his vast correspondence), relentless search for online articles discussing possible player moves, and painstaking salary number crunching. In particular, while the board has seen some thought-provoking discussions, it's tough to beat "Is Choi For Lee On Anyone's Radar?" (a thread Hoops started less than an hour before news of the trade splashed all over the Internet) for topicality. For his efforts, Hoops wins the 1st annual (?) NSBB Award for Posting Excellence. Please join Tim and myself in extending our thanks to Hoops for helping to make our online community a little more interesting. As a token of our appreciation, we've given HoopsCubs a ticket to this weekend's Cubs Convention.

And 2 more for Grudzielanek: he's a Type A. And another 1-2 apiece for Type Bs Lofton and Alfonseca. But the Cubs won't offer all of them arbitration.

Type A, B, and C players are defined by a statistical ranking system devised by the Elias Bureau; it's based on stats over the previous two years. The rankings are actually applied to all players, not just free agents; Kerry Wood and Mark Prior were both Type A players, finishing #11 and #12 respectively among NL starting pitchers (Schilling and Johnson ranked #1 and #2). Type A players are those who rank in the top 30% at their position; Type B players rank between 31% and 50% inclusive; Type C players between 51% and 60%. The position groupings are Starting Pitchers; Relief Pitchers; Designated Hitters, First Basemen, and Outfielders; Second Basemen, Third Basemen, and Shortstops; and Catchers. A player is compared only with other players in his league for the purposes of determining whether he's Type A, B, C, or unranked. Teams must offer arbitration to their free agents by the deadline (usually December 7) in order to receive draft pick compensation when those free agents sign with new teams. Teams losing a Type A free agent receive a high draft pick from the team that signs him (a first round pick if the signing team picks #16-#30 in the first round, a second round pick from a team picking #1-#15 in the first round) and a supplemental pick sandwiched between the end of the first round and the beginning of the second round. A team losing a Type B free agent is compensated only with the high draft pick from the signing team; no supplemental pick. A team losing a Type C free agent receives a supplemental pick sandwiched between the second and third rounds; the signing team does not lose a draft choice. Note that not all Type C players will bring compensation to the team losing them, even if the losing teams offered arbitration.

I wouldn't doubt that you did -- but some other folks might not, so I thought I'd spell it out.

That sort of thing is determined by language in the contract rather than the Major League Rules or the Basic Agreement (which govern most of the dates I've listed). As a general thing, though, player/team option deadlines tend to track the time period of regular free agency fairly closely: players want to be free while all the jobs are unfilled, while teams don't want to get stuck with only a few mediocre alternatives available after a player leaves. The only thing I know definitely about the Cubs' ability to trade Sosa is that his contract specifies more than one trade window; but that might just mean the same time period in more than 1 year. I believe the Cubs have some possibility of swapping him before the trade deadline, but that's just my belief: most of the people I talk to would have no way of knowing what's in Sammie's contract and the few who might don't say.

This is as complete as I can make it at this time; I don't yet have revenue sharing integrated in, nor some other minor league information, but I'll try to include those some other time. Some of these dates have yet to be set by the Commissioner (or in a few cases the Cubs); in such cases, I'll either estimate or give the rule covering the date assignment. For those not interested in some of the rather trivial aspects involved in running a major league organization, there's a simplied calendar in an accompanying thread. NOTE TO ALL: Please do not post on this thread unless you have a question about (or an addition or correction to) one of the dates listed below. I intend to police this thread and remove unsuitable posts; that will make it simpler for the folks who want to read it. Thank you, MLP 2003 August 1: New waiver period begins. Also, players must clear general waivers to be traded. Also, by this date the Commissioner's Office must circulate the list of all potential minor league free agents to all major and minor league clubs; each player on the list also must be notified by this date. August 1-October 31: A major league player on the Voluntarily Retired, Restricted, Disqualified, or Ineligible lists may not be reinstated during this period unless his placement on that list was a disciplinary matter. August 1-undetermined: A minor league player on the Voluntarily Retired, Restricted, Disqualified, or Ineligible lists may not be reinstated until the end of the minor league season and postseason. August 2: Major league players released from this date forward who are subsequently signed as managers or coaches cannot be re-signed as major league players by the releasing club until the following season. August 10: Double A and Triple A active rosters expand to 24 players. August 16: Players added to the 40 man roster from this date forward are considered draft-excluded for the purposes of the following Rule 5 draft. Such players cannot be exposed to general, outright, or special waivers until the following spring training and can't be optioned to the minors until the expiration of a trial period. August 20-26: When a Player Development Contract (PDC) between a major league club and a minor league club is in its final year, either party can give notice of its intent to terminate the PDC by notifying its central office. Major league clubs notify the Commissioner's Office; minor league clubs notify the President of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues. NOTE: there should be no PDCs in their final year in 2003. August 27-September 5: All clubs with terminating PDCs are notified of any clubs in the same classification in the minors seeking a new PDC. August 31: Players must be on a major league active roster or disabled list by midnight to be eligible for the postseason. Also, salaries for all players as of this date will be used by the arbitration panel to decide arbitration cases in the following off-season. September 1: Major league active rosters expand to 40. Also, after this date a major league player must clear special waivers before his contract can be assigned to a minor league team, even if general waivers have already been obtained on that contract. Also, major league players released from this date forward cannot be re-signed to major league contracts by the releasing club until the following season. Also, players with no major league experience prior to this date become eligible for a supplemental allowance if traded to another major league club in the 2004 season. Labor Day: End of the regular season for Class Triple A, Double A, Advanced A, and A leagues. End of Minor League Club Season (including playoffs): From a minor league club's season-ending date forward, a player may not be optionally assigned to that club; all players optionally assigned to the club must be recalled. Players can be optioned again starting in spring training. September 6-25: Clubs with terminating PDCs may attempt to affiliate with clubs of the proper classification. September 26: Major league and minor league clubs that have failed to reach agreement on PDCs at all of the required levels will have PDCs assigned to them by the Commissioner's Office after appropriate consultation with the President of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues. September 29: Players can be traded without clearing waivers. Also, from this date forward an injured major league player unable to play can have his contract assigned outright to the minors provided a.) he has less than 3 years of major league service; b.) he has not previously been assigned outright to the minor leagues in his career; c.) he had no major league service in the prior regular season; and d.) he was not selected in the most recent Rule 5 draft. Players who meet those requirements can be outrighted until spring training. Also, from this date forward an injured major league player unable to play can have his contract assigned outright to the minors if a.) he doesn't yet have a major league contract for the 2004 season, and b.) he is not offered a salary cut greater than the 20%/30% guidelines. Players meeting these requirements can be outrighted until reserve lists are filed with the Commissioner's Office. Note: players who qualify for arbitration under the Super Two rule may elect free agency rather than accept the outright assignment. If such a player accepts the assignment, he does not get any subsequent right to elect free agency, as do other players who decline to exercise rights to refuse minor league assignment. September 29-October 15: During this period, a player who received but declined a right to unrestricted free agency when his contract was assigned outright to a minor league club during the season may once again elect unrestricted free agency unless his contract was re-added to the team's major league reserve list before he exercises that right. Players gain such a right if they have 3 or more years of major league service or have already been assigned outright to the minors at least once in their careers but do not exercise their right to refuse a minor league assignment at the time it is made. September 30: New year begins for PDCs. PDCs that completed their final year and were not explicitly extended but also were not terminated between August 20 and August 26 are automatically renewed. Ocotber 1-31: Major league clubs intending to relocate into a minor league club's territory for the 2004 season must file notice of intent to move with the Commissioner's Office. October 10-November 10: General waivers may not be requested on any player during this period. Note: special waivers to assign a player contract to a minor league club without right of recall and unconditional release waivers can still be requested during this period. October 15: Minor league contracts expire for the current season; if a minor league contract has no automatic renewals left, the player becomes a minor league free agent. Also, the Major League Baseball Players Association must complete its review of the draft 2004 schedule by this date. October 16: The Commissioner's Office issues a list of all new minor league free agents to the major league and minor league clubs. October 21-undetermined: Starting on October 21, no minor league club can assign a player contract to any other professional baseball club. This non-assignment period usually ends when the National Association of Baseball Leagues holds its annual meeting (by rule, scheduled between November 20 and December 10, inclusive), but the Commissioner may set a later date in years when the World Series ends on or after October 12. October 26: For the next 15 days from this date, players with 6 or more years of major league service who do not have contracts for the 2004 season may elect free agency. During this period, a player's 2003 club is the only club which can discuss financial terms with the free agent, though other clubs can indicate their interest and sell the player on the advantages of signing with them. Also, some players traded during the season gain a right to demand a trade after the season; they can exercise that right for the next 15 days from this date forward. Also, for the next 5 days from this date, a club must offer salary arbitration to a player who previously deferred his eligibility for free agency by demanding a trade. November 4: Cubs organizational meetings November 10: From this date forward, players who have elected free agency can negotiate and sign with any team. A free agent signed from this date forward (including any free agent who re-signs with his 2003 team) cannot be traded without his consent until the middle of next season, even if he has no other contract clauses or rights to prevent or limit a trade. November 10-14: General Managers' meetings in Phoenix. November 11: New waiver period begins. Not later than November 15: The Commissioner's Office will issue the official 2004 schedule. Not later than November 20: Major and Minor League Reserve Lists must be filed with the Commissioner's Office by midnight of a date designated by the Commissioner (probably 11/19 this year). Minor league reserves lists become frozen and players listed on them cannot be added to the major league reserve, though players may still be added to a frozen reserve list through outright assignment of major leaguers to the minors and signing minor league free agents. December 7: Deadline for a club to offer arbitration to its departing free agents; failure to offer arbitration ends the club's ability to negotiate with a free agent until the following season and also forfeits the possibility of draft pick compensation for the loss of that free agent. December 8-December 15: During this period, no major league player contract can be assigned to a minor league reserve list. December 11-14: Winter meetings in New Orleans December 15: Rule 5 draft in New Orleans. Minor league reserve lists unfreeze upon the completion of the draft. The Cubs select 26th in 2003. December 16-January 15: Clubs must tender contracts to players assigned outright to a minor league affiliate who do not have 2004 contracts. The player becomes an unrestricted free agent upon failure to tender an offer. December 16-March 1: Clubs must tender salary addenda to all players on their minor league reserve lists. December 19: Deadline for a free agent to accept an arbitration offer from his 2003 club. A player accepting arbitration is considered signed and is no longer a free agent. A player who fails to accept the offer may continue to negotiate with his 2003 club. December 20: The Commissioner's Office submits the Central Tender Letter to the Major League Baseball Players Association. Teams must notify the Commissioner by this date to include any unsigned players on their 40 man reserve lists to whom they wish to retain reserve rights. Failure to include an unsigned player in the Central Tender Letter makes the player an unrestricted free agent, immediately able to negotiate with all clubs (including the one that failed to tender an offer). Contracts must also be tendered to players on the major league restricted list because they failed to report or failed to sign a contract; also to players on the major league disqualified list for failing to render services. Also, the beginning of a contract year for the purposes of the Competitive Balance Tax. The Commissioner's Office notifies the clubs and the Major League Baseball Players Association of all amounts owed under the Competitive Balance Tax from the previous year. 2004 January 1: Last day for a winter league team to request the services of a major league player. Also, if the Major League Baseball Players Association and the Major League Labor Relations Department have not agreed on the arbitrators for this off-season by this date, they shall request lists of professional arbitrators from the American Arbitration Association and make up the 3 man arbitration panels by a challenge process. January 2-12: Salary arbitration filing period for major league clubs. During this period, a club submits a player salary to arbitration by mailing a registered letter to the player whose salary is being arbitrated, the Major League Baseball Players Association, and the Major League Labor Relations Department. The submission takes effect 3 days after the mailing date of the registered letter, so the actual effective dates for a club to file for arbitration are the same as player filings below. January 5-15: Salary arbitration filing period for players. January 6: Baseball Writers of America announce their Hall of Fame voting results. January 8: A club which has offered arbitration to a free agent who fails to accept the offer loses the right to negotiate with that free agent. January 16: Deadline for major league clubs moving into new territory to notify the Commissioner's Office that the move has been completed. January 8-18: Players and clubs exchange salary arbitration numbers. The exchange is effected through the Major League Baseball Players Association and the Major League Labor Relations Department January 31: Clubs must pay up what they owe under the Competitive Balance Tax or be held in arrears. February 1: If a player on the Voluntarily Retired, Disqualified, or Ineligible Lists applies to the Commissioner for reinstatement from this date forward, the Commissioner cannot reinstate that player before giving 30 days written notice to the player's major or minor league club. It isn't clear whether this notice requirement applies for until the end of the season or to the end of the calendar year. Note: this notice is not required for major league players on those lists for disciplinary reasons. February 1-20: Salary arbitration hearings are held. Arbitrators must render a decision within 24 hours of hearing a case. February 8-14: Pitchers, catchers, and injured players report to spring training. The Cubs will probably report on 2/12 or 2/13. February 10: All winter league play must must terminate for players under contract to a major league organization. February 15: Starting on this date, the Commissioner has 30 days to approve or disapprove player contracts rather than the normal 20. February 16: New waiver period begins. around February 18: Voluntary spring training camp reporting date for all major league players. around February 23: Mandatory spring training camp reporting date for all major league players. March 1-10: Teams can unilaterally renew the contracts of unsigned players on their reserve lists. around March 1: Minor league spring training camp mandatory reporting date. around March 3: Clubs can attempt to secure waivers on draft-excluded players, something prohibited since the player's contract was purchased. around March 8: Draft-excluded players to the minor leagues from this date forward. around March 10: First time major league players can be optioned to the minor leagues from this date forward. Also from this date forward, a player obtained in the Rule 5 draft can be released or assigned outright to the minors, provided he has cleared the appropriate waivers and his 2003 organization doesn't want him back. around March 10, 2 PM EST: Deadline to request waivers for the release of players with non-guaranteed contracts and owe only 30 days of 2004 season salary as termination pay (for the rest of spring training, released players are owed 45 days of pay). Also, the deadline to request unconditional release waivers for players with split contracts and owe only the minor league pay rate as termination pay (for the rest of spring training, released players with split contracts are owed termination pay based on the major league rate specified in the contract). around March 12: Last day players unable to play due to injury who have less than 3 years of major league service (and none the previous year) can be assigned outright to the minors. Exception: injured players selected in the most recent Rule 5 draft cannot be assigned outright to the minors even if they meet the service requirements; likewise injured players who have already had at least 1 career outright assignment to the minors cannot be assigned outright. Also, from this date forward to the end of the season, a player traded from one major league team to another receive from the team acquiring the player a supplemental moving allowance to cover the first week of expenses in his new city. Note: the player must meet certain eligibility requirements to receive this allowance. March 15: A player who exercised a right to demand a trade becomes an unrestricted free agent if a.) his club did not trade him, and b.) he has not previously retracted his trade demand. Also, the chair of each arbitration panel discloses how individual panel members voted on each case. The Major League Baseball Players Association and the Major League Labor Relations Department use these voting results to help determine the makeup of the next offseason's arbitration panels. around March 18: A player with 5 years of major league service who has the right to refuse a minor league assignment may provide written consent in advance to a minor league assignment, provided said assignment takes place within 45 days of the consent or Opening Day, whichever is later. around March 24, 2 PM EST: Deadline to request waivers for the release of players with non-guaranteed contracts without owing the entire balance of the contract's 2004 salary. around March 27: Final 25 man active rosters must be filed with the Commissioner's Office by midnight. around March 28: Major League Opening Day April 1: Opening Day for Class Triple A, Double A, Advanced A, and A leagues. Note: a later Opening Day for the majors could push this to April 8. around April 8: Players called up from the minors from this date forward will not accumulate a full year of major league service in 2004. This defers their free agency and possibly their eligibility for arbitration also. April 15: Starting on this date, the Commissioner has 20 days to approve or disapprove player contracts. around April 27: New waiver period begins. Also, special waivers are no longer required to assign a major league contract to a minor league team. May 1: Double A and Triple A active rosters decrease from 24 to 23. Note: if Minor League Opening Day is on April 8, the roster limits will decrease on May 8. May 1: A club can once again negotiate to sign any unsigned free agent to whom it did not offer arbitration by the preceding December 7; likewise any unsigned free agents it *did* offer arbitration but who rejected it. May 15: Major league players released after midnight August 31, 2003 (or midnight August 1, 2003, if they were subsequently signed as coaches or managers) can be re-signed by the releasing/former club. around May 27: Closed period begins 1 week before the start of the June draft. Teams lose negotiating rights to unsigned players drafted in the 2003 June draft. Note: there are exceptional circumstances under which a player may still be signed during the closed period. around June 1-2: Rule 4 amateur draft. In 2004, the Cubs select 25th in the first round. June 5: Date to determine a player's age for the purposes of the Rule 5 draft. Players 18 and under on this date without professional experience who subsequently sign a 2003 minor league contract will be eligible for selection in the 2007 Rule 5 draft; players 19 and older will be eligible in the 2006 Rule 5 draft. June 16: A club may trade a player who elected free agency after the previous World Series and was signed after the election period without that player's consent. Note: this does not, of course, override possible no-trade clauses in the player's contract. around June 17: Earliest possible date for Opening Day for short season leagues. around June 18: Deadline for teams to notify a drafted player of his selection in the June draft and to tender him a contract. Properly notified players are added to the team's Negotiation List and can only be signed by that team until that team's rights to negotiate with that player lapse. Players who have not been properly notified can ask the Commissioner's Office to void the Negotiation Right of the selecting team; they are free to sign with any major league team 15 days after the Commissioner voids the selection. June 30: Commissioner's Office must have a tentative 2005 schedule prepared by midnight of this day. July 1: Players with no previous professional experience may be signed to 2005 contracts. Exception: players in the Armed Services can be signed for the current or future season immediately after the June draft. Also, Commissioner's Office must present the tentative 2005 schedule to the Major League Baseball Players Association. July 31: Non-waiver trade deadline.

Northside Baseball welcomes Jim Callis, who's taking time out of his busy schedule to answer your questions on this year's June draft. Jim is the executive editor of Baseball America and is one of the authors of BA's "Prospect Handbook". In between stints with BA, Jim worked for Stats, Inc., for some few years, most notably writing the prospect overviews in "The Scouting Notebook" (something he was still lending a hand with as recently as this year). Jim is one of the foremost authorities on baseball's amateur drafts, an expertise initially gained the hard way: when Baseball America produced "The Baseball Draft: The First 25 Years" back in the late '80s, Jim was the lucky soul who typed in the names, positions, and schools of all the draft picks -- something like 30,000 players up to that time. Take it away, Jim!

Bruce has a game to go cover, so that's all he has time for right now; but he'll try to swing back in the near future to get to some more of these questions. You can submit followup questions over in the "Questions For Guests" forum while this one is locked. Tim and I will keep you posted if Bruce can make it again. Thanks a million, Bruce, and hurry back!

Northside Baseball welcomes Bruce Miles, who's being kind enough to stop by to answer questions from our posters. Bruce covers the Cubs for "The Sporting News" and "The Daily Herald"; he also contributes articles to the Cubs' official publication, "VineLine". Bruce has been writing about baseball since 1989; he's in his sixth year full-time on the Cubs beat and has covered the team at least part-time since 1993. Without more ado, take it away, Bruce!

Don't say things like that, Dave. Remember what happened to Frank.

I wouldn't have come here myself if I hadn't known up front that Tim would do a flat out amazing job. I'm having the exact opposite over the last 2 days: threads I've read still being marked as having unread messages. Hmm...

Yup, he musta stuck in a line somewhere "if ( user == "CuseCubsFan69" ) DoBadThings( ); You give some guys absolute power and it just rushes to their heads... Seriously, if you notice any other oddities with your account, don't hesitate to pipe up. This message board software seems pretty good, but there are curious little glitches happening here and there for no discernable reason.

I removed it for you, Cuse. Very odd you were unable to do so, though...

Or should there be some qualitative measure added? Frankly, 100 "Hey, how ya doin'?" posts don't strike me as much of a qualification. Perhaps 100 or some other number would be the threshhold at which someone would be *considered* for All-Star status.