FOOL-X 1985 Offseason (Expansion!)

[Chief Rum]

BTW, if anyone cares, I chose Round 27, because I felt going all the way to Round 30 wouldn't help much, but that dropping all the way back to Round 25 is pretty limiting for what us expansion teams will have available to field as teams. I picked a middle ground round between 25 & 30. I'm at work, so I don't even know who I got with my picks in Rounds 27 & 28.

[CleBrownsfan]

I'm just worried about being able to field my MLB squad!

[hyde4us11]

Originally Posted by CleBrownsfan

I'm just worried about being able to field my MLB squad!

I can't field a ML team, it's impossible. I will have to play a 17 man team.

[spot]

Originally Posted by hyde4us11

I can't field a ML team, it's impossible. I will have to play a 17 man team.

Did you not protect 25 men? Or were some of those guys younger prospects not yet ready for the big club?

[gstelmack]

And do you have cash to sign FAs?

[hyde4us11]

Originally Posted by spot

Did you not protect 25 men? Or were some of those guys younger prospects not yet ready for the big club?

I had prospects in AAA ready for the big club to take the place of the few players i figured I'd lose from the big league club. I wasn't going to be good I know that but I'd have had 25 players. I wasn't playing (and still won't) to play prospects that are clearly not ready.

[Chief Rum]

What's mystifying to me is how anyone could look at four new teams coming in and think losing just six players was going to be acceptable. But I understand, it's what Alan had in there, by accident, so if you're not looking close enough, you'll accept it on faith and move on.

But, yeah, just look at the numbers, there's just no way six players at most would have been doable with four new teams coming in.

[hyde4us11]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

And do you have cash to sign FAs?

No, I don't. I have 18 players now and need to cut 1 player to get under the cap. I will say I just plan on letting it ride out. I have spent a good deal of money and the reason was i had cheap prospects ready to play. I will say again, I wasn't going to be good but I had 25 guys to field a team. I don't mind being a bad team at all. I just don't like the fact that my team looks like I am not even trying to field a good team. I always field the best team i can. Its not always good but it clearly shows i am playing the game to the best of my ability. You guys just can't make fun of me for a few seasons lol.

[CleBrownsfan]

Lets just fast forward the next 3-4 years quickly

[hyde4us11]

In 4 seasons this league will be great because of the 4 new teams. Chief, I wouldnt mind if i'd have lost 8-10 but I lost 17. Thats quite a bit over that even.

[spot]

Originally Posted by hyde4us11

No, I don't. I have 18 players now and need to cut 1 player to get under the cap. I will say I just plan on letting it ride out. I have spent a good deal of money and the reason was i had cheap prospects ready to play. I will say again, I wasn't going to be good but I had 25 guys to field a team. I don't mind being a bad team at all. I just don't like the fact that my team looks like I am not even trying to field a good team. I always field the best team i can. Its not always good but it clearly shows i am playing the game to the best of my ability. You guys just can't make fun of me for a few seasons lol.

Uh, that wasn't in the agreement when I signed on.

There is always the minor league contract offers... Not the greatest consolation, I know, but you'll at least have a full team.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by hyde4us11

In 4 seasons this league will be great because of the 4 new teams. Chief, I wouldnt mind if i'd have lost 8-10 but I lost 17. Thats quite a bit over that even.

I agree, 17 is far too much. I am hopeful that Alan will simply decree that the bottom eight selections of all the expansion teams will return to their original squads. I am sure that would help. There should still be enough players for us expansion teams between the 27 remaining players and the free agents.

The math alone, BTW, says 12 at least per team would be required for a 35 man draft. Even 8 (96 players, 24 per expansion team) is pretty small for expansion; I think everyone should have been counting on losing at least 10.

While I think the mistaken 6 thing is unfortunate and losing 17 players is way too much, there still has to be a considerable hit on current teams to bring in four whole new franchises, which to that point have only two years of draftees and that's all. I think this is mostly just a bit of a poor situation with no one truly to blame, but you also have to accept some blame for setting your margins so thin with respect to your roster. You probably shouldn't have handed out some of the contracts you did.

[EddieK]

Well, I did not lose anyone of importance, however, I will not be able to field a full 25 man roster either. The salary cap is what is hitting me hard too but hey I've won 2 championships so I will just have to hoep that we can somehow rebuild and be successful again in the future.

[Chief Rum]

FWIW, this is the same sort of thing (minus expansion) that is hitting Hammersmith in FOOL. I have been hemorrhaging players from the roster for years now, and trying mostly to replace them from within, while trying to keep the core talent still intact. It's certainly not an easy thing to do.

I was actually surprised at how few big contracts were made available in expansion. There were only 2-3 that were more than $3 M. Both expansion periods in FOOL in which I was a current owner, I made available larger contracts to help free up cap space, and I know other owners did, too.

Not that that does anyone any good now. Just saying I was surprised at the lack of "overpaid" players made available. The only truly overpaid player I saw available was that 3B who went to Stafford.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

The math alone, BTW, says 12 at least per team would be required for a 35 man draft. Even 8 (96 players, 24 per expansion team) is pretty small for expansion; I think everyone should have been counting on losing at least 10.

But I disagree, in that 24 per expansion team should have been plenty. You've had two drafts (which is 20 players, right?) plus FA.

Right now most of the expansion teams have well over 40 players on their roster, while most of the veteran teams have around 30 (31 in my case, and that seems typical). I found one veteran team with 42, but the expansion teams are all in the 46-49 range.

I'm not going to blame anything, I could have done the math myself up front, but just pointing out that attempts to say this was necessary to fill the rosters is just wrong.

But at this point I think we should just forge forward as-is. It will correct shortly enough to not bother worrying about. If it was a slow-sim league I'd probably be arguing for a do-over, but in this league forget it, in a month it will all be levelled out again.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

But at this point I think we should just forge forward as-is. It will correct shortly enough to not bother worrying about. If it was a slow-sim league I'd probably be arguing for a do-over, but in this league forget it, in a month it will all be levelled out again.

Sorry that I haven't chimed in much. I'm seriously buried with work for the rest of this month (as normal). I'm trying to not get too upset at myself, but this has honestly been a series of comedy of errors on my part.

I am quoting this post from Greg as I think it is the best course here, in only a few weeks things will have fixed themselves and hopefully this is a distant memory.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

But I disagree, in that 24 per expansion team should have been plenty. You've had two drafts (which is 20 players, right?) plus FA.

Right now most of the expansion teams have well over 40 players on their roster, while most of the veteran teams have around 30 (31 in my case, and that seems typical). I found one veteran team with 42, but the expansion teams are all in the 46-49 range.

I'm not going to blame anything, I could have done the math myself up front, but just pointing out that attempts to say this was necessary to fill the rosters is just wrong.

But at this point I think we should just forge forward as-is. It will correct shortly enough to not bother worrying about. If it was a slow-sim league I'd probably be arguing for a do-over, but in this league forget it, in a month it will all be levelled out again.

24 players doesn't mean they're all major league ready. We're not stocking 24 players for the MLB roster, we're stocking 24 players for the entire franchise. And the drafts are 5 each, not 10, so it's only 10 players, and they're all years away from contributing.

It doesn't even make sense for expansion teams to use all 24 picks in a draft on MLB level players. The protections were for entire franchises, including prospects, and we're actually more likely to need the prospects than the major leaguers, which would be all of the current teams' least and worst.

So, no, 24 is not nearly enough. I would say 30 was probably the number to aim for, with the cap on players any individual franchise can lose set at 11.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Alan T

Sorry that I haven't chimed in much. I'm seriously buried with work for the rest of this month (as normal). I'm trying to not get too upset at myself, but this has honestly been a series of comedy of errors on my part.

I am quoting this post from Greg as I think it is the best course here, in only a few weeks things will have fixed themselves and hopefully this is a distant memory.

Naw, don't sweat it, Alan, we know you're busy, and you do a great job with things. No one's perfect, and between expansion, busy work and the vacation (on top of the coming holidays), you have had an awful lot on your plate.

While I agree that time will certainly fix things, I do think giving back the bottom eight from each expansion team would also help alleviate things for the current teams and balance things out a bit. Any thoughts on that? It's a relatively harmless quick fix that will probably give at least 2-3 players of something approaching major league quality back to the teams that need them, like hyde's team or Eddie.

[hyde4us11]

Alan, this is not a error by you. Any of us including myself could have done the math. If your swamped why don't you let me do the sims on the hit the button and let it go days? I will check in with you in the morning and we can talk then. I have been back and forth from the doctor's today to hear we can't help you with the pain anymore then we already have. So I have had a bad day. I will survive with this team as is. I just try my hardest to field a respectable team and I am disappointed in myself here not you. I always want to be competitive to make the league more enjoyable for everyone else that play's in this league and any league I am in for that matter. You are nothing short of first class and I MEAN NOTHING SHORT OF FIRST CLASS. I will survive and continue to play the game to the best of my abilities. I will need to cut down on my computer time to make this pain stuff work but FOOL or any of the family of networks will not be where its cut. I have way to much fun with all of you. Eddie when you read this BAI isnt one of the cuts either lol. Please Alan do me the favor and understand I do not think you messed up.

Sorry and thanks for letting me say my peace.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by hyde4us11

Alan, this is not a error by you. Any of us including myself could have done the math. If your swamped why don't you let me do the sims on the hit the button and let it go days? I will check in with you in the morning and we can talk then. I have been back and forth from the doctor's today to hear we can't help you with the pain anymore then we already have. So I have had a bad day. I will survive with this team as is. I just try my hardest to field a respectable team and I am disappointed in myself here not you. I always want to be competitive to make the league more enjoyable for everyone else that play's in this league and any league I am in for that matter. You are nothing short of first class and I MEAN NOTHING SHORT OF FIRST CLASS. I will survive and continue to play the game to the best of my abilities. I will need to cut down on my computer time to make this pain stuff work but FOOL or any of the family of networks will not be where its cut. I have way to much fun with all of you. Eddie when you read this BAI isnt one of the cuts either lol. Please Alan do me the favor and understand I do not think you messed up.

Sorry and thanks for letting me say my peace.

Sorry to read that, hyde. You're a terrific owner and player to have in any league, and it sucks to see you're in so much pain. I hope things get better for you.

[TimGuru]

Hey peeps, lets ALL have some perspective, like hyde posted. Its ok to vent, but can ALL of you make sure that (a) we don't descend into the bickering that plagued this league in the dark past and (b) we make sure we let Alan know that we appreciate his, you know, running the league while he was travelling abroad, through the holidays, etc. Its a fake baseball league, that turns a new leaf every week. You're teams will be mighty again mighty soon. Nothing to see here, move on.

[spot]

Dan,

One of the things that all of this shows is how you have developed and stockpiled an entire organization of quality players. It is of little consolation, but I am sure you have the ability to restock in the coming seasons.

[hyde4us11]

Originally Posted by spot

Dan,

One of the things that all of this shows is how you have developed and stockpiled an entire organization of quality players. It is of little consolation, but I am sure you have the ability to restock in the coming seasons.

That had crossed my mind lol.

[Alan T]

Sim time, getting exports now.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by hyde4us11

Alan, Portland signed Esparza and he was a compensated FA. I didnt receive a pick for him or a email. Can you look into it for me?

Going to take a little bit of time to look into this, so give me a few minutes here.

[Alan T]

This year's draft order:

1) London
2) New York
3) Boston
4) Spring
5) Ann Arbor
6) Cleveland

7) Havana
8) Portland
9) Cumberland
10 Stafford

11) Virginia Beach
12) Washington
13) Indianapolis
14) Balzac
15) Maricopa
16) Mexico City

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by hyde4us11

Alan, Portland signed Esparza and he was a compensated FA. I didnt receive a pick for him or a email. Can you look into it for me?

Here are the compensation awards that were not correctly awarded in the game. It was not a game bug, but in a shocking development was something else I broke. I have fixed these for this draft so you will receive them as you should.

***(Rattlers) Bardino -> Legends (2nd round)
***(Aztecs) Salas -> Legends (3rd round)
***(Aztecs) Alvarado -> Rattlers (2nd round)
***(Freedom) Esparza -> Axemen (2nd round)
***(Aztecs) Anderson -> Axemen (3rd round)

[Alan T]

Amateur Draft Round 1:

Round 1

Round 1, Pick 1 - London Bishops: 3B B. Kamerman

Round 1, Pick 2 - New York Legends: LF P. Madan

Round 1, Pick 3 - Boston Resettlers: CF S. Barrios

Round 1, Pick 4 - Spring Lions: SP J. Gómez

Round 1, Pick 5 - Ann Arbor Wolverines: RF C. Linkletter

Round 1, Pick 6 - Cleveland Naps: C P. Salas

Round 1, Pick 7 - Havana Banana Sluggers: SP J. Vega

Round 1, Pick 8 - Portland Axemen: CF J. Hernández

Round 1, Pick 9 - Cumberland Defenders: SP T. Sánchez

Round 1, Pick 10 - Stafford Terriers: C G. Miller

Round 1, Pick 11 - Virginia Beach Surf: LF M. Castronovo

Round 1, Pick 12 - Washington Freedom: SP J. Gil

Round 1, Pick 13 - Indianapolis Clowns: SS M. Pinentel

Round 1, Pick 14 - Balzac Ticklers: CL L. Nava

Round 1, Pick 15 - Ann Arbor Wolverines: SS M. Martínez

Round 1, Pick 16 - Mexico City Aztecs: MR S. Miller

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Alan T

Here are the compensation awards that were not correctly awarded in the game. It was not a game bug, but in a shocking development was something else I broke. I have fixed these for this draft so you will receive them as you should.

***(Rattlers) Bardino -> Legends (2nd round)
***(Aztecs) Salas -> Legends (3rd round)
***(Aztecs) Alvarado -> Rattlers (2nd round)
***(Freedom) Esparza -> Axemen (2nd round)
***(Aztecs) Anderson -> Axemen (3rd round)

I can't edit supplemental picks in game, it won't let me add/delete/edit them in any way. So the best I could do here was have the AI pick the best player available and award them to the correct team that owned that pick. Sorry if it didn't follow the draft list exactly, but figured this was better than nothing. The edited picks are Bolded below.



Supplemental Round picks:

Supplemental Round 1

Round 1 (Supplemental Round), Pick 1 - New York Legends: 3B B. Lawson

Round 1 (Supplemental Round), Pick 2 - Ann Arbor Wolverines: 2B M. Powers

Round 1 (Supplemental Round), Pick 3 - Ann Arbor Wolverines: RF C. Wulms

Round 1 (Supplemental Round), Pick 4 - Maricopa Rattlers: CF D. Stevenson

Round 1 (Supplemental Round), Pick 5 - Mexico City Aztecs: C P. Rainey

Round 1 (Supplemental Round), Pick 6 - Mexico City Aztecs: CF J. Zamora

Round 1 (Supplemental Round), Pick 7 - Washington Freedom: 1B H. Wilkerson

Round 1 (Supplemental Round), Pick 8 - Mexico City Aztecs: SS R. Wise

Round 1 (Supplemental Round), Pick 9 - Ann Arbor Wolverines: LF F. Trejo

Round 1 (Supplemental Round), Pick 10 - Ann Arbor Wolverines: 3B J. Deleón

Round 1 (Supplemental Round), Pick 11 - Virginia Beach Surf: SP F. Méndez

Round 1 (Supplemental Round), Pick 12 - Indianapolis Clowns: SP Á. Ibarra

Round 1 (Supplemental Round), Pick 13 - London Bishops: SP T. Cooke

Round 1 (Supplemental Round), Pick 14 - Boston Resettlers: MR A. Miranda

Round 1 (Supplemental Round), Pick 15 - Cleveland Naps: MR F. Hines

Round 1 (Supplemental Round), Pick 16 - Balzac Ticklers: MR B. Walter

Round 1 (Supplemental Round), Pick 17 - Mexico City Aztecs: MR P. Marín

[Alan T]

And the rest of the draft:

Round 2

Round 2, Pick 1 - Indianapolis Clowns: SP R. Polk

Round 2, Pick 2 - Maricopa Rattlers: SP B. Thompson

Round 2, Pick 3 - Boston Resettlers: MR J. Barr

Round 2, Pick 4 - Spring Lions: MR D. Dumisai

Round 2, Pick 5 - Virginia Beach Surf: RF R. García

Round 2, Pick 6 - Cleveland Naps: MR J. Williams

Round 2, Pick 7 - Havana Banana Sluggers: 3B N. Soto

Round 2, Pick 8 - Washington Freedom: SP K. Im

Round 2, Pick 9 - Cumberland Defenders: CL C. Gonzáles

Round 2, Pick 10 - Ann Arbor Wolverines: CF A. Pels

Round 2, Pick 11 - Virginia Beach Surf: 1B F. Rodríguez

Round 2, Pick 12 - Washington Freedom: SP F. Knox

Round 2, Pick 13 - Indianapolis Clowns: RF I. Barrentez

Round 2, Pick 14 - Balzac Ticklers: CL R. Luckwell

Round 2, Pick 15 - Mexico City Aztecs: SP D. Smith

Round 2, Pick 16 - Mexico City Aztecs: CF R. Ruíz

Round 3

Round 3, Pick 1 - London Bishops: C M. Gagné

Round 3, Pick 2 - Mexico City Aztecs: C H. Roy

Round 3, Pick 3 - Boston Resettlers: MR R. Martínez

Round 3, Pick 4 - Spring Lions: SP M. Poole

Round 3, Pick 5 - Ann Arbor Wolverines: CF B. Gill

Round 3, Pick 6 - Cleveland Naps: SP L. Carrillo

Round 3, Pick 7 - Havana Banana Sluggers: 1B Q. Gu

Round 3, Pick 8 - Mexico City Aztecs: C C. Deschamps

Round 3, Pick 9 - Cumberland Defenders: MR R. Brown

Round 3, Pick 10 - Stafford Terriers: LF E. Tamayo

Round 3, Pick 11 - Virginia Beach Surf: CL M. Joseph

Round 3, Pick 12 - Washington Freedom: RF J. Mercado

Round 3, Pick 13 - Indianapolis Clowns: MR D. Wilcox

Round 3, Pick 14 - Balzac Ticklers: RF S. Daoust

Round 3, Pick 15 - Maricopa Rattlers: C F. McKinney

Round 3, Pick 16 - Mexico City Aztecs: CF H. Ramírez

Round 4

Round 4, Pick 1 - London Bishops: MR J. Moffatt

Round 4, Pick 2 - New York Legends: RF B. Patrick

Round 4, Pick 3 - Boston Resettlers: RF M. Kumagai

Round 4, Pick 4 - Spring Lions: 2B M. Hernández

Round 4, Pick 5 - Ann Arbor Wolverines: MR C. Medina

Round 4, Pick 6 - Cleveland Naps: 2B P. Mendoza

Round 4, Pick 7 - Havana Banana Sluggers: C M. Fleming

Round 4, Pick 8 - Portland Axemen: SS T. Disqu

Round 4, Pick 9 - Cumberland Defenders: MR I. Martínez

Round 4, Pick 10 - Stafford Terriers: 3B J. Griffith

Round 4, Pick 11 - Virginia Beach Surf: MR J. Warner

Round 4, Pick 12 - Washington Freedom: C B. Whitehead

Round 4, Pick 13 - Indianapolis Clowns: C B. Wright

Round 4, Pick 14 - Balzac Ticklers: MR M. Marte

Round 4, Pick 15 - Maricopa Rattlers: SP A. LaFontaine

Round 4, Pick 16 - Mexico City Aztecs: C J. Dupont

Round 5

Round 5, Pick 1 - London Bishops: SS E. Ortíz

Round 5, Pick 2 - New York Legends: C A. Gallagher

Round 5, Pick 3 - Boston Resettlers: RF W. Wilkins

Round 5, Pick 4 - Spring Lions: 3B S. Vincent

Round 5, Pick 5 - Ann Arbor Wolverines: 2B J. Valenzuela

Round 5, Pick 6 - Cleveland Naps: MR G. Duccio

Round 5, Pick 7 - Havana Banana Sluggers: LF R. Collins

Round 5, Pick 8 - Portland Axemen: 1B Á. Sánchez

Round 5, Pick 9 - Cumberland Defenders: MR F. Washington

Round 5, Pick 10 - Stafford Terriers: SP J. Nevárez

Round 5, Pick 11 - Virginia Beach Surf: RF O. Ríos

Round 5, Pick 12 - Washington Freedom: SP G. Velásquez

Round 5, Pick 13 - Indianapolis Clowns: SP D. Kang

Round 5, Pick 14 - Balzac Ticklers: SS P. Russell

Round 5, Pick 15 - Maricopa Rattlers: C S. Ito

Round 5, Pick 16 - Mexico City Aztecs: C B. Gagnon

[Alan T]

Thursday, March 7th, 1985

Balzac Ticklers: Signed C T. Sherman to a 2-year contract extension worth a total of $1,392,000.

Tuesday, March 5th, 1985

Ann Arbor Wolverines: Signed free agent 1B M. Boulanger to a 1-year contract worth a total of $6,042,000.

New York Legends: Signed free agent MR T. White to a 1-year contract worth a total of $1,193,000.

New York Legends: Signed free agent SP G. Sánchez to a 1-year contract worth a total of $3,636,000.

Monday, March 4th, 1985

Ann Arbor Wolverines: Signed free agent SP K. Andersen to a 1-year contract worth a total of $4,064,000.

Ann Arbor Wolverines: Signed free agent SP A. De Jesús to a 1-year contract worth a total of $5,626,000.

Ann Arbor Wolverines: Signed free agent MR D. Acevedo to a 1-year contract worth a total of $1,390,000.

Ann Arbor Wolverines: Signed free agent MR A. Gilbert to a 1-year contract worth a total of $2,410,000.

New York Legends: Signed free agent SP C. Bardino to a 1-year contract worth a total of $6,159,000.

New York Legends: Signed free agent SP M. Salas to a 1-year contract worth a total of $4,699,000.

Ann Arbor Wolverines: Signed free agent 2B G. López to a 1-year contract worth a total of $1,694,000.

Ann Arbor Wolverines: Signed free agent MR R. Rosado to a 1-year contract worth a total of $1,473,000.

Ann Arbor Wolverines: Signed free agent SP W. Ceriani to a 1-year contract worth a total of $3,298,000.

New York Legends: Signed free agent C S. Simmons to a 1-year contract worth a total of $708,000.

Ann Arbor Wolverines: Signed free agent SP J. Hernando to a 1-year contract worth a total of $3,679,000.

Sunday, March 3rd, 1985

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent MR A. LeClerc to a 1-year contract worth a total of $999,000.

Indianapolis Clowns: Signed free agent SP K. Cho to a 2-year contract worth a total of $10,036,000.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent 1B T. Graham to a 1-year contract worth a total of $1,369,000.

Balzac Ticklers: Signed free agent MR M. Harmon to a 1-year contract worth a total of $728,000.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent 3B E. Hinton to a 1-year contract worth a total of $1,410,000.

Mexico City Aztecs: Signed free agent MR T. Cantrell to a 2-year contract worth a total of $4,358,000.

Indianapolis Clowns: Signed free agent SS J. Simpson to a 3-year contract worth a total of $4,476,000.

Portland Axemen: Signed free agent LF D. Anderson to a 1-year contract worth a total of $7,670,000.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent 2B S. Pahrin to a 3-year contract worth a total of $8,250,000.

Cumberland Defenders: Signed free agent CL K. Sun to a 2-year contract worth a total of $7,834,000.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent MR R. Montoya to a 2-year contract worth a total of $4,630,000.

Mexico City Aztecs: Signed free agent SP S. Marrero to a 1-year contract worth a total of $2,961,000.

Portland Axemen: Signed free agent C F. Navarro to a 1-year contract worth a total of $6,594,000.

Boston Resettlers: Signed free agent C W. Cowley to a 5-year contract worth a total of $32,500,000.

Indianapolis Clowns: Signed free agent C D. Guerra to a 1-year contract worth a total of $1,315,000.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent 2B N. Rosário to a 2-year contract worth a total of $7,000,000.

London Bishops: Signed free agent 1B M. Becerra to a 1-year contract worth a total of $1,891,000.

Stafford Terriers: Signed free agent CF T. Pengilly to a 2-year contract worth a total of $14,444,000.

Portland Axemen: Signed free agent RF S. Mitchell to a minor league contract.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent LF J. Sykes to a 5-year contract worth a total of $34,500,000.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent SS L. Stevens to a 1-year contract worth a total of $750,000.

Mexico City Aztecs: Signed free agent SP H. Han to a 1-year contract worth a total of $5,981,000.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent SP M. Vera to a minor league contract.

Virginia Beach Surf: Signed free agent CF R. Torrisi to a minor league contract.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent MR L. Salinas to a 1-year contract worth a total of $1,694,000.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent RF T. Lung to a minor league contract.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent SP R. Mason to a minor league contract.

Virginia Beach Surf: Signed free agent MR M. de Zeeuw to a minor league contract.

Portland Axemen: Signed free agent C I. Higuchi to a minor league contract.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent LF J. Santos to a minor league contract.

Virginia Beach Surf: Signed free agent RF J. González to a minor league contract.

Portland Axemen: Signed free agent SP L. Maldonado to a minor league contract.

Virginia Beach Surf: Signed free agent CL S. Catano to a minor league contract.

Virginia Beach Surf: Signed free agent MR F. Vásquez to a minor league contract.

Virginia Beach Surf: Signed free agent MR J. López to a minor league contract.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent MR T. Mizutani to a minor league contract.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent MR J. Pope to a minor league contract.

Virginia Beach Surf: Signed free agent C J. Cook to a minor league contract.

Virginia Beach Surf: Signed free agent 1B A. Rodríguez to a minor league contract.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent RF R. López to a minor league contract.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent MR J. Júlio to a minor league contract.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent CL C. Morrison to a minor league contract.

London Bishops: Signed free agent MR S. Toope to a minor league contract.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent MR E. Mar to a minor league contract.

Havana Banana Sluggers: Signed free agent MR R. Romero to a minor league contract.

Ann Arbor Wolverines: Signed free agent LF C. Martínez to a minor league contract.

Ann Arbor Wolverines: Signed free agent LF M. Nakamura to a minor league contract.

New York Legends: Signed free agent C J. Bueno to a minor league contract.

[TimGuru]

Hey! I signed a free agent.

[Alan T]

The new file is up. The regular season runs tomorrow morning.

[spleen1015]

I don't think I have enough players for the regular season.

I thought the expansion draft sim was just the expansion draft and didn't include FA1.

Good luck this season everyone!

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by TimGuru

Hey! I signed a free agent.

I did, too. Unfortunately I really needed more than 1. Should be an interesting season...

[CleBrownsfan]

This is going to be a very interesting season for us. I'm going to play with 20 (maybe 21) players on my squad - with only nine position players. I guess we'll see how fatigue plays out...

[hyde4us11]

Chances a expansion team makes the playoffs? I will put a 30% chance out lol.

[Chief Rum]

I have a handful of decent guys on the team, but I am way, way far away from doing anything in this league. And all those supps you guys traded around pretty much just obliterated my draft after the first round. Every pick I had from Round Two on is essentially a whole round worse. Ouch.

At that rate, it doesn't matter if I have more players. It's going to be a long while before I get to where I need to go.

I do like getting some of the hitters I got, particularly Sykes. Disappointed to not get Han.

[spot]

I feel like Stafford will be respectable in their inaugural season. I have a solid lineup but my rotation (after Tanguay) is going to be very suspect.

I know that Yamashita is a bit of a bad contract, but the left-handed power that he adds to the line-up will be key to my offense being able to generate some runs this year. Besides, I have the $$$ right now.

I say above .500 is doable but I will throw in with hyde about playoff bound teams; not likely.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by spot

I know that Yamashita is a bit of a bad contract, but the left-handed power that he adds to the line-up will be key to my offense being able to generate some runs this year. Besides, I have the $$$ right now.

Yamashita was only a bad contract for me because of its length. I signed his deal, but then had a bunch of young guys leave arbitration and I couldn't afford everyone including him. He's definitely worth the money, if you have enough young cheap guys around him to continue to compete.

[Tasan]

I didn't receive compensation for Al Gilbert from Ann Arbor. He was signed before the draft. Gilbert was a Type A player.