stitchface

today is the last weekend day to set your roster. there will not be an extension through next weekend so please get it done.

still to be made! Also, please remember minor leaguers must meet eligibility even if they finished last year in the minors.

I'm ready for any offers!

you should be able to do drops and trades. you are not allowed to pick up players pre-draft however.

I should probably point out that column B is fantasy team - so if you unhide that column, you can sort the columns (make sure to choose all of them!) by team name and see your pitchers all grouped. if you have trouble with this let me know.

any questions? Comments? FYI - you can review last years draft results on the league home page.

I think I've got a good read on it now. I will send a spreadsheet with old and new scores. We will use the new scores in keeper roster determination.

let us know when you return to Earth! :D

haven't seen quakers in quite a while!

or did you write it?

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Akf6boaGVcvI0ui8iHsJKJ85nYcB?slug=ap-bonds-steroids&prov=ap&type=lgns

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AjadY2hT207g8Zj_cpP.7NI5nYcB?slug=ap-tribune-cubs&prov=ap&type=lgns

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-athletics-geren&prov=ap&type=lgns

If a taker for Barrett can be found (for some pitching please!), what would it take to get Salty from the Braves?

except more emphatically. Signed 3B-R Aramis Ramirez to a five-year, $75 million contract; signed RHP Kerry Wood to a one-year, incentive-laden $1.75 million contract. [11/12] The current mania is that everybody's going to have to spend more to compete, perhaps infused with a bit of new CBA-inspired euphoria. That helps explain Jim Hendry's comment that he has to "keep up with the Cardinals. At least as far as far as spending money." It's in anticipation of the cashbaths bleeding bottom lines to come that some have already rushed to congratulate the Cubs for signing Ramirez to this sort of money, but I guess I'm a little more reluctant to sign on with that brand of crowded wisdom. Ramirez isn't especially athletic or nimble, and his third-base play has already lost ground considerably from his more aggressive days with the Pirates—he's not good pouncing on bunts, ranging to his left, guarding the line, or starting double-plays. Instead, he's functional, and that's okay, but that's him at this best, and now that he's entering the tail end of his peak, it's unlikely to get better. Skip asking whether he'll be able to play third effectively in five years; he might not manage it in three. So essentially, the Cubs are paying $15 million per year for his bat, from ages 29 through 33. To his credit, he has excellent plate coverage and top-shelf power. The question is whether or not that will persist as he moves out of the more-usual peak period of ages 25 through 29, into his early thirties. There, last season's PECOTA card comparables offer some clue, in that the most-similar players to him through 2005 were Tony Perez after 1970, Larry Parrish after 1981, and Tim Wallach after 1985. I don't take those as good signs. Parrish's career was scragged by injuries, and by that point, he couldn't handle third any more. Perez also couldn't really play third, but like Ramirez, he was pretty durable; the problem is that his power went from outstanding to adequate at the ages where the Cubs are hoping that Ramirez stays at the levels of the last couple of seasons. And Wallach? He was significantly less the hitter and by far the more brilliant defender than Ramirez is. The comparison to Perez, who was coming off of a monster 1970 season, seems particularly appropriate. Looking at the money spent and the future I think we can reasonably expect from Ramirez, this really looks like a panic move, where the Cubs couldn't afford to lose face, and will instead be forced to deal with a question of whether or not they'll survive Ramirez's decline in the field. As is, I expect they'll regret his decline at the plate over the life of the contract, but that's in part because the hitter Ramirez really reminds me of is George Bell, and like Perez, Bell never again reached the heights he scaled in a normal peak period. As much as I like watching Ramirez hit, and as much as he's been an essential cog in their lineup, barring a major overhaul of the roster to field a genuine, less-fragile contender, this was a major financial mistake. If Hendry achieves that overhaul or not, either way, the contract's a major millstone, untradeably huge from a player who might have to go to first or DH before it's done. The contrast is Wood's deal, which after initially paying him the $3 million to buy out his 2007 option, seems like a reasonably minor financial risk. If Wood fulfills all of the playing time and active days on the roster incentives, he stands to make more like $6 million, and if he does that, chances are the Cubs will be happy about it. There's some question about what role he'll be employed in, but a resurrection as a relief ace seems to be within the realm of possibility. As much as Wood has been called upon to do so much for this team, and as much as he seemed to be ill-served by it at times, I'm glad to see him stick around.

Assuming the rumors are true, I think Westbrook is clearly the better option. They both give up a lot of baserunners courtesy of a low k rate and moderate walk totals. However, Westbrook has a 3:1 groundball:flyball ratio while Lee's is 0.75. This is very important at Wrigley Field.

I am officially cranky. I don't want to read sunnydoo's crap nor do I want to hear about "rational Cub fans" who enjoy losing! Hey! Lets have fun! Fun fun fun watching them lose!

I have to admit, I don't much feel like thinking about baseball right now. I will try and get on the rule changes soon.

AL MVP - David Ortiz (Grady Sizemore, Carlos Lee) NL MVP - Ryan Howard (Albert Pujols, Carlos Beltran) Interesting note here is that both Pujols and Beltran outscored Sizemore and 8 more NLers outscored Lee. Maybe the NL isn't that weak after all? AL Cy Young - Johan Santana (duh, John Lackey, Roy Halladay) NL Cy Young - Brandon Webb (John Smoltz, Roy Oswalt) Again, the NL has more top scorers. AL ROY - Nick Markakis (Kenji Johjima, Justin Verlander, Felix Hernandez) - weak group - half of the marlins finished ahead of these guys NL ROY - Hanley Ramirez (Dan Uggla, Ryan Zimmerman)

http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=5629&PHPSESSID=1d557aacac3be09a9da7356bbcdf3e48

Arapahoe Basin opened today, winning the title of first to open for the 2006-07 season. They offered skiers and riders an 18-inch base, 1,200 vertical feet, and three terrain features in High Divide Terrain Park. They are supposed to get tons more snow this week too!

got my ALCS tickets this morning!

...SNOW IN THE SIERRA LATE TONIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING... A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL REMAIN NEAR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST THROUGH THURSDAY. A BAND OF MOISTURE WRAPPING AROUND THIS LOW WILL SPREAD RAIN AND HIGH ELEVATION SNOW INTO THE SIERRA LATE TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING. SNOW LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO DROP TO AROUND 7000 FEET NORTH OF HIGHWAY 50 AND DOWN TO 7500 FEET IN MONO COUNTY BY EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. IN THE LAKE TAHOE BASIN...UP TO 5 INCHES OF SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE ABOVE 8500 FEET... WITH 2 TO 4 INCHES POSSIBLE BETWEEN 7500 AND 8500 FEET. SNOW LEVELS ARE NOW EXPECTED TO REMAIN ABOVE LAKE TAHOE...BUT SNOW OR RAIN MIXED WITH SNOW MAY FALL OVER DONNER PASS TONIGHT AND THURSDAY WITH LITTLE OR NO ACCUMULATION EXPECTED. FARTHER SOUTH IN MONO COUNTY...FROM HIGHWAY 395 WESTWARD AND ABOVE 7500 FEET...2 TO 4 INCHES OF SNOW ARE POSSIBLE.

poor poor yankee fans won't get to see their team. of course, nobody cares about the other six teams fans that will never get to see their team. all in all, a delay would have hurt the tigers more - they cannot afford to lose verlander.

http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/30806.html registration required so highlights: