Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Bye Bye Pudge...

I made a trade late last night to bolster my minor leagues and build for the future. I sent Pudge packing to the Tri-State Titans - along with RP Todd Coffey - for Neil Walker, Ryan Sweeney, and a 3rd round pick.

Neil Walker is a 21-year-old slugging prospect for the Pirates. He was a 1st round pick in 2004 as a Catcher, but was moved to 3B full-time this season. He is currently flourishing for the AA Altoona Curves to the tune of a 925 OPS (313/379/546, 11 HR, 37 RBIs). He still struggles with defense, but I'm hoping that comes around.







Ryan Sweeney is one of the top prospects in the White Sox Organization. At age 22, Sweeney has already had a short stay in the big leagues. Currently, he's in AAA and playing for the Charlotte Knights. He has respectable 778 OPS so far this season.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Week 12


POW: Johan Santana (2-0, 15IP, 1CG, 1SHO, 9K, 1BB, 1ER, 81.25 Points)

Johan had my highest point total for a POW winner this season. Unfortunately, his great week was overshadowed by a broken wrist for Miguel Tejada. I'll be stuck with Juan Uribe at SS for a little while. Hopefully, Miggy will be back soon.

I have been stuck at 1-3 games behind Otto for a while now. He hasn't been able to pull away, but I haven't been able to get any closer. PIB was booted from the league for general incompetence, and his replacement seems to actually have a brain. So, my division just got a little tougher since the dead weight was removed.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Week 11

POW: Ian Snell (1-0, 9IP, 1CG, 7K, 2BB, 0ER, 51.25 Points): Snell only made 1 start, but he made it count. He threw a CG with no ER allowed. My rising star just keeps getting more and more impressive. Here's to hoping the Buccos can start scoring him some more runs...

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Minor League Trade


I traded Jamie Garcia (SP, STL) to J24ktArm for Jeff Clement. Clement was a 2005 1st round pick out of Southern Cal. He got off to a slow start in AAA this year, but he has bounced back and raised his OPS to 809. I wanted a catcher since Laird didn't pan out for me, and Pudge is gettin' to be an old man. Now, between Clement and Kottaras, I should have a nice catcher in a year or 2.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Week 10


Player of the Week: Carl Crawford (12/34, 4 2B, 3B, HR, 7 RBI, 5 SB, 10 R, 66.75 Points)

After 8 weeks of pitchers winning the POW, I have now had back-to-back offensive players take the award. Carl Crawford had a monster week by piling up XBH and SB. It took a monster day from my offense on Sunday to avoid a weekend sweep by Shuppers. And, the win in the final game moved me into a First Place tie with Otto.

We voted on a rule change regarding overrides. We don't usually changes rules in mid-season. But, abusing the override rule to gain extra roster spots has become the "cool thing" to do for several managers in the league. That should change after the AS break when the new rule goes into effect.

Monday, June 04, 2007

Week 9


Player of the Week: Albert Pujols (5/23, 2B, 3HR, 7RBI, 3BB, 47.75 Points).

And we have the first offensive player to win the POW award this season. Congratulations Albert! Pujols didn't have a great week at the plate (only 5 hits), but he made his 5 hits count as 4 went for extra bases. His 2HR game on Sunday propelled him to the prestigious POW. He picked a nice week to step up, as none of my pitchers had particularly good weeks. Apologies to Brad Lidge...but I just HAD to use this picture.

Pudge was a close second with 45.75 points. He went 11/25 for a 400 average. He also added 5 XBH, but only 1 was a HR. Regardless, this is the best week I have had from a Catcher all season long.

And, Clemens has a "fatigued groin"? Maybe he should tell Andy Pettitte to loosen up his grip next time...