Transaction Recap-Trade Deadline Edition

[Jhonny Baseball]

Hey PEBAers. Man, that was long. Here it is:

Transaction Recap
By Jhonny Baseball for American Baseball Perspective


Imperial League
Pan-Atlantic Division
Arlington Bureaucrats
The San Antonio Calzones of Laredo traded 29-year old center fielder M. Hernández and $2,500,000 in cash to the Arlington Bureaucrats, getting 29-year old center fielder B. Jefferson in return.
This is an odd trade of similar players between two teams vying for a wild card spot. Both play a flawless center field, can run like deer, and are free agents at season’s end. However, both have been downright wretched this year. A classic challenge trade where both teams are hoping a change of scenery will do their new players good. So far, for Hernandez, in a very small sample size, so good. Hernandez is the superior player, with a contract to match. He costs more than he is worth, but the cash sent with him makes it a wash.


Manchester Maulers

Connecticut Nutmeggers
Connecticut Nutmeggers: Signed SP J. Oliver to a 2-year contract extension worth a total of $3,500,000.
Like a child’s drawling of Scarlett Johansson, Oliver looks pretty lousy on paper. In the flesh however, he is a knockout. Oliver has struck out more than one man per inning while allowing less than one free pass a game. This is a good low cost, short contract. Should midnight strike and Oliver join most of his teammates in the pumpkin patch, the Spice Boys wont be on the hook for too much or too long. If he keeps it up, he will be worth every penny.

London Underground
The Aurora Borealis traded 28-year old third baseman D. Gagné, 23-year old starting pitcher A. Molina and 23-year old starting pitcher A. Torres to the London Underground, getting 22-year old starting pitcher K. Kojima and 23-year old third baseman J. White in return.
Although this trade seems like a straight up swap of comparable players, I have to give the advantage to Aurora. Gagne is, on paper, has the potential to be the best player in the trade, but he has been horrible so far this year. He is heading toward free agency so it is up to the Tubes if they want to gamble with extending him. He is already 28 so the zenith is close. They are paying a premium for exclusive negotiating rights which may or may not be such a good idea.
I like Molina and think he could be a good back end of the rotation guy, except his endurance does not befit a starter. He would make a fine long man, but asking him to start is to invite a cavalcade of tired pens, mismatches, injuries, and emergency call ups. None of these are good things. Unfortunately, he is arby eligible, and will be compensated for his success this season.

Dixie Division
New Orleans Trendsetters
The West Virginia Coal Sox traded 30-year old starting pitcher J. Sánchez to the New Orleans Trendsetters, getting a 2nd round draft pick in return.
Although he is having a rough season, Sanchez comes pretty cheap and will nicely round out the Trendsetter’s rotation. As fifth starters go, he is high end and should keep his new team in games with more run support and a better defense behind him. This is a good win now move by Nawluns. Although it will cost them a high draft pick next year, why live for tomorrow? Tomorrow’s much too long.
Charleston Statesmen

Kentucky Thoroughbreds
The Kentucky Thoroughbreds traded 26-year old starting pitcher X. Yuan to the San Antonio Calzones of Laredo, getting a 4th round draft pick in return.
Save a million dollars, get rid of a 3-12 pitcher, gain a draft pick. What’s not to like?

San Antonio Calzones of Laredo
The San Antonio Calzones of Laredo traded 29-year old center fielder M. Hernández and $2,500,000 in cash to the Arlington Bureaucrats, getting 29-year old center fielder B. Jefferson in return.
The first four sentences of Arlington’s side of this recap are just as applicable for Laredo. Jefferson has the skill set to be Todd Hansen’s big brother, but yet to strike fire. Los Calzones are doing their best to put Jefferson in a position to thrive, sitting him against righties, letting him loose against portsiders, and presumably pinch running and putting him in as a defensive replacement. As of yet tho, the match is still wet. If he ever does get hot, look out.
Financially, I agree with the move to jettison Hernandez’s sarlacc death pit of money and outs contract. I understand that the 2.5 mil that went with him is the price of doing business, but it makes moving him a slight financial loss. Los Calzones are going to need to go deep into the playoffs, and hit a few game sevens to begin to hope to be able to get out of the red.

The San Antonio Calzones of Laredo traded 34-year old first baseman J. Duan, 22-year old starting pitcher R. Yamauchi, 20-year old reliever S. Ichihara and a 2nd round draft pick to the Canton Longshoremen, getting 27-year old first baseman J. Otero and 19-year old minor league catcher D. Hawkins in return.
Los Calzones upgraded their 1B, got rid of a bad MR making too much money, and got one of the best catching prospects in the game. The draft pick may hurt but whoever does get picked in that slot probably wont be better than Hawkins. The only downside is picking up Otero’s salary, but getting rid of Ichihara’s makes it quite a bit more palatable. Laredo is putting their chips in for this year, financial considerations be damned.

The San Antonio Calzones of Laredo traded 26-year old catcher C. Tidwell to the Bakersfield Bears, getting 32-year old catcher G. McKnight in return.
Man, SACoL was busy! It is usually a good thing to leave no stone unturned in order to improve one’s team. In this case it would have been better to leave well enough alone. In regards to current ability, they are about equal. However, Tidwell is younger, has a higher ceiling, and still has 2-3 years of making the minimum ahead of him. Even if he never becomes the bopper his potential rating suggests, he would still make a fine backup catcher. McKnight has a better arm, but a weaker bat, and is a free agent at the end of the year. Of course, the whole thing is pretty moot, with Gonzalez ensconced and Awesome Hawkins in the fold.

The West Virginia Coal Sox traded 33-year old right fielder K. Pei, 32-year old first baseman A. Benítez and 21-year old center fielder M. Griffin to the San Antonio Calzones of Laredo, getting 25-year old catcher V. Salgardo, 28-year old center fielder K. Parker, 25-year old reliever C. Phillips and a 3rd round draft pick in return.
So Busy! Pei was probably the biggest prize being dangled, and kudos to the Laredo for not only making it work, but making it work in their favor. They pick up a lot of salary, but as was said before, damn the torpedoes. Ignoring the financial aspect, they got the three best players in the the deal and jettisoned some relatively expensive deadweight. Pei makes too much, but is a legitimate big-time corner outfielder. Benitez is a good hitter, despite his lack of home run power. Griffin is nearly ready and although he, like Benitez, can’t sock a clout, he has an otherwise great bat. He should be part of Laredo’s next playoff contender.

The Kentucky Thoroughbreds traded 26-year old starting pitcher X. Yuan to the San Antonio Calzones of Laredo, getting a 4th round draft pick in return.
All in. Every team needs a long man, and Yuan is one, if a little dull and expensive. SACoL is mortgaging the future for this season. Fortune favors the bold, good luck to them.

West Virginia Coal Sox
The West Virginia Coal Sox traded 30-year old starting pitcher J. Sánchez to the New Orleans Trendsetters, getting a 2nd round draft pick in return.
The canary has succumbed. Sanchez, winless in ten starts for the Sox, must take part of the dead bird blame. Not a bad pitcher, he was far from a centerpiece and was a fungible asset. He is also 30 and a free agent at year’s end. To swap him now is an excellent move.

West Virginia Coal Sox: Signed MR S. Davis to a 2-year contract extension worth a total of $1,640,000.
Looking at Davis’s ratings left me scratching my head as to why he was extended. Then I looked at his stats. .207 OAVG, 1.03 WHIP, almost 9 K/g. Oh yeah! If Davis can hold steady with his performance he will be worth every penny.

The Aurora Borealis traded 25-year old first baseman M. Kouki and 17-year old minor league reliever S. Shimizu to the West Virginia Coal Sox, getting 22-year old starting pitcher A. Tillman and a 3rd round draft pick in return.
Hidden away amongst all the big trades is this minor one. Nothing of any great value was swapped but I don’t like this one for the Sox. They traded away a cheap, average starter and a pretty high draft pick for an middling 1B who will probably be arby eligible after this year, and a baby lefty who is years away from becoming anything, if it happens at all. Tillman is the best player in the deal, and he will be making a million or so less than Kouki next year.

The West Virginia Coal Sox traded 33-year old right fielder K. Pei, 32-year old first baseman A. Benítez and 21-year old center fielder M. Griffin to the San Antonio Calzones of Laredo, getting 25-year old catcher V. Salgardo, 28-year old center fielder K. Parker, 25-year old reliever C. Phillips and a 3rd round draft pick in return.
Well it finally happened. Pei has gone away and the Sox flipped over 20 million in salary. Getting rid of Pei and Benitez was a great move as both were free agents and the price they would pay for the rest of the season would still not get then a place in the playoffs. No one likes to lose money for mediocrity. However, losing Griffin hurts, and the talent they got back is a little lacking in ability but not commas on their paychecks. All three former Calzones are millionaires either in the middle of their arby years or in the case of Parker, headed for free agency themselves. Salgando is a good player with a great arm but he makes a little much for a backup catcher. Maybe he and Rex Groves can form a platoon. It is not for me to say.
Parker has been having a rough season, and his change of scenery has done nothing to change the fact. Fortunately (?), he is a free agent, so he may be someone else’s problem soon. The best player the Sox got in the deal is Phillips. He is fine and good and can get people out, but when you trade away your best player, starting 1B and stud prospect and only get a reliever and a weak side of a platoon, you probably could have done better. I take no joy in saying that the Sox had an opportunity to get some combination of younger better and cheaper, but did not appreciably succeed on any of those.

The Canton Longshoremen traded 21-year old second baseman C. Roy and 22-year old minor league center fielder D. Brooks to the West Virginia Coal Sox, getting 26-year old starting pitcher M. Chandler in return.
Maybe one of these teams has a scout that sees something that no one else does, because as it looks to me, this is a swap of organizational soldiers. None of the players make a buck or are worth a damn, and there is no real edge given to either team. The Sox get the two younger players who have more time to get bit by radioactive spiders or something. Whereas Chandler, who, God help me, is what he is, could take the bump and probably not get killed. Tho a comebacker may strip him ala Charlie Brown.
Florida Featherheads

Sovereign League
Great Lakes Division
Canton Longshoremen
The San Antonio Calzones of Laredo traded 34-year old first baseman J. Duan, 22-year old starting pitcher R. Yamauchi, 20-year old reliever S. Ichihara and a 2nd round draft pick to the Canton Longshoremen, getting 27-year old first baseman J. Otero and 19-year old minor league catcher D. Hawkins in return.
I don’t think this is a good trade for the Longshoremen in any regard but financially. I suppose the draft pick could turn into something nice, but none of the players they got back really do all that much for me. Duan is much cheaper than Otero, but much worse. Both are free agents. If Canton wanted to save a little money on this one they accomplished it, but it would have been nice to see them get a little more for flipping him. The real shame in this is trading away Hawkins. For a team going nowhere this year, prospects like Hawkins are worth their weight in gold. His nickname is “Awesome” ferpeetsakes. Getting back two middling pitchers who combined will not be the player Hawkins is going to be is not helping your cause. Yamauchi was an AAA all-star, but is in A ball now. If his development works out perfectly, his ceiling is as a 5th starter. On a positive note, he shares a birthday with Lou Gehrig and me. Ichihara has good peripherals and a big league contract out of whack with his ability. His 15+ era gently hints that maybe he should be sent down.

The Canton Longshoremen traded 21-year old second baseman C. Roy and 22-year old minor league center fielder D. Brooks to the West Virginia Coal Sox, getting 26-year old starting pitcher M. Chandler in return.
Please see the Sox’s comment.

Omaha Cyclones
The Omaha Cyclones traded 28-year old third baseman O. Morris, 31-year old closer D. Nichols and 25-year old minor league catcher C. Peterson to the Palm Springs Codgers, getting 25-year old second baseman S. Brown, 21-year old shortstop H. Dodson and 20-year old closer D. Flowers in return.
From a long term competitiveness and financial standpoint, this is a move that the ‘Clones needed to make. Not going anywhere this year, and seeing their two most expensive players headed for free agency, the smart thing to do was to flip them for something down the road. But did they get enough?
In Scott Brown you have a guy on his disappointing his third organization in as many months. To twist the knife a bit, he is headed for free agency. He is twenty five, so he may be all there, but I would sent him down yesterday to see if he can improve, and to insure he does not get another day of service time.
I hope Omaha’s scouts see something I don’t about Henry Dodson, because to me he looks like a no field/no hit middle infielder. He can run a little but that seems to be it. No teams carry a designated runner, and if they did, there are better options than Dodson. Sadly, he seems to be about ready.
The real prize coming Omaha way is Mudcat Flowers. Someday, if he can match his actual ratings to his potential, he will be a good, multi innings reliever. However, Flowers has some blooming to do until the day he unfolds into fruition and faces the sun.
Again, I like that the Cyclones moved Morris and Nichols, they saved over 4 million and got a nice prospect, but I believe that they could have gotten as much schwag from moving one of their stars alone. I think it is a small haul to bring in for two honest to goodness stars.

Fargo Dinosaurs

Desert Hills Division

Aurora Borealis
Aurora Borealis: Signed SP F. Madrid to a 3-year contract extension worth a total of $2,400,000.
As it is right now, Madrid is a middling long man. If his control were to meet its potential, he could be one of the better starters in the game. He is 25, so the book is still out on him, for now. If he could get his k/9 and his bb/9 closer to league average he would be able to take on a more significant position on the Aurora staff. Failing that, hey, he doesn’t cost all that much and every team needs a long man.

The Aurora Borealis traded 25-year old first baseman M. Kouki and 17-year old minor league reliever S. Shimizu to the West Virginia Coal Sox, getting 22-year old starting pitcher A. Tillman and a 3rd round draft pick in return.
This one is a small victory for the Northern Lights. Kouki is arbitration eligible next year, and probably should be an organizational soldier, rather than a big league first baseman. Shumizu does not project to be anything much. Tillman, however is a bit of improvement away from a middle of the rotation starter and still has two years of making the minimum ahead of him. Also, draft picks are nice, you never know what you’re going to get.

The Aurora Borealis traded 28-year old third baseman D. Gagné, 23-year old starting pitcher A. Molina and 23-year old starting pitcher A. Torres to the London Underground, getting 22-year old starting pitcher K. Kojima and 23-year old third baseman J. White in return.
A pretty much straight up swap of starters and third basemen, I like this one for Aurora. White is younger and cheaper than Gagne. While on paper Gagne is a stud and White is plain, on the field Gagne is as effective as the maginot line and White is plain. There is nothing wrong with getting tired of paying for disappointment. There is nothing wrong with plain when your old yogurt is “crap on the bottom”.
I like Kojima a lot. He needs improvement but could be an ace someday. The Borealis are paying a lot to find out, but it seems a pretty good investment. It will be nice for Aurora to have a pitcher that can go nine in Molina’s spot.

Bakersfield Bears
The San Antonio Calzones of Laredo traded 26-year old catcher C. Tidwell to the Bakersfield Bears, getting 32-year old catcher G. McKnight in return.
I like this trade for the Bears as upgrade of talent. Tidwell is a lateral move in the immediate future, with lots of room (but not much time) to grow. They have 3 seasons after this where they can pay him the minimum to find out. They will need a few more players to be making the minimum because they are writing in the ledger with blood. Don’t goth out on us too much there Jon! Then again, feel free.

Palm Springs Codgers
The Omaha Cyclones traded 28-year old third baseman O. Morris, 31-year old closer D. Nichols and 25-year old minor league catcher C. Peterson to the Palm Springs Codgers, getting 25-year old second baseman S. Brown, 21-year old shortstop H. Dodson and 20-year old closer D. Flowers in return.
I think the Codgers did pretty well on this one. Please forgive the leetspeak. Palm Springs took the right move to pretty much lock down the last wild card spot. With these improvements, they may have to be considered higher than a 4th seed. Wooo! In Morris they get a clean up hitter at the top of his game. With Nichols they gain a stud closer who immediately goes to the back of the pen. Hell, they even got a prototypical backup catcher to boot. Flowers is the only real prospect they gave up and he is years away. The Palm Springs payroll goes up, but they can afford it, especially with that playoff money coming in. Call Jimmy and Frank, there’s going to be a party.

Reno Tenpinners
Reno Tenpinners: Signed CL J. Henderson to a 3-year contract extension worth a total of $3,600,000.
Yeah! If Henderson can reach his ceiling he will be a great part of the Keller’s pen. I like the deal in terms of dollars, I only wish that Reno could have gotten a few more years out of him. Henderson is miscast as a closer. His peripherals shout a runners-on fireman with multi-inning capability, not a lock-down, three out stud. Reno has a blank slate next year, pencil Henderson in for 100 quality innings.
Reno Tenpinners: Signed 2B R. Morales to a 2-year contract extension worth a total of $3,560,000.
Morales are Spanish for Molasses. I am not saying the guy is slow, but they time his base running with a calendar. Despite that, he plays a good short and can smack a double. He has had an excellent season and should prove to be at least an adequate placeholder for the next two years until something better comes along.

[Tyler]

First, wow . I don't have time to read everything now, but good job!

Second, in scanning the commentary on my trades, there are lots of small errors cropping up throughout (Benitez, for example, is not a free agent. He's locked up through 2008). It seems like the web reports aren't the most accurate things on the planet.

[John]

Jhonny's Brobdingnagian recap of the trading deadline action is now posted on the homepage in all its linky goodness. Stellar job, Jhonny! My favorite link this time around explains the Maginot Line. I think it's awesome that I can get both PEBA baseball perspective and a history lesson at the same time.

EDIT: The web report has it right with Benítez, saying he's signed through '08. Must have been a misread.

EDIT 2: Player/Team links have been fixed. @ Jhonny: For some reason all the PEBA links in today's recap had an extraneous "/mambots/editors/" stuck between the domain name and the rest of the URL. I think that happened once before as well. Not sure what's causing it.

[Coqui]

Well I am getting raked over the coals here. I really wanted to keep Hawkins but I got the ebst offer I have so far for him in this trade. Yamauchi is only 22, has started 20 games and has a WHIP of 1.03 in AAA. Ichihara is only 20 and is already putting up good numbers in AAA. Yes, his contract sucks, but my scouts love him so much there has been some mention of kissing him on the mouth. Duan will do his league average thing for me until either of the Young's is ready to take his place.

I got all of that for an A ball catcher and a DH who hit I can't afford to resign. I'll take that return any day. I think both teams fared well here.

In the other trade I am banking on Chandler and his 1.12 WHIP and 6.7 k/9 rate will translate to the majors.

[Tyler]

West Virginia Coal Sox
The West Virginia Coal Sox traded 30-year old starting pitcher J. Sánchez to the New Orleans Trendsetters, getting a 2nd round draft pick in return.
The canary has succumbed. Sanchez, winless in ten starts for the Sox, must take part of the dead bird blame. Not a bad pitcher, he was far from a centerpiece and was a fungible asset. He is also 30 and a free agent at year’s end. To swap him now is an excellent move.

West Virginia Coal Sox: Signed MR S. Davis to a 2-year contract extension worth a total of $1,640,000.
Looking at Davis’s ratings left me scratching my head as to why he was extended. Then I looked at his stats. .207 OAVG, 1.03 WHIP, almost 9 K/g. Oh yeah! If Davis can hold steady with his performance he will be worth every penny.

The Aurora Borealis traded 25-year old first baseman M. Kouki and 17-year old minor league reliever S. Shimizu to the West Virginia Coal Sox, getting 22-year old starting pitcher A. Tillman and a 3rd round draft pick in return.
Hidden away amongst all the big trades is this minor one. Nothing of any great value was swapped but I don’t like this one for the Sox. They traded away a cheap, average starter and a pretty high draft pick for an middling 1B who will probably be arby eligible after this year, and a baby lefty who is years away from becoming anything, if it happens at all. Tillman is the best player in the deal, and he will be making a million or so less than Kouki next year.

The West Virginia Coal Sox traded 33-year old right fielder K. Pei, 32-year old first baseman A. Benítez and 21-year old center fielder M. Griffin to the San Antonio Calzones of Laredo, getting 25-year old catcher V. Salgardo, 28-year old center fielder K. Parker, 25-year old reliever C. Phillips and a 3rd round draft pick in return.
Well it finally happened. Pei has gone away and the Sox flipped over 20 million in salary. Getting rid of Pei and Benitez was a great move as both were free agents and the price they would pay for the rest of the season would still not get then a place in the playoffs. No one likes to lose money for mediocrity. However, losing Griffin hurts, and the talent they got back is a little lacking in ability but not commas on their paychecks. All three former Calzones are millionaires either in the middle of their arby years or in the case of Parker, headed for free agency themselves. Salgando is a good player with a great arm but he makes a little much for a backup catcher. Maybe he and Rex Groves can form a platoon. It is not for me to say.
Parker has been having a rough season, and his change of scenery has done nothing to change the fact. Fortunately (?), he is a free agent, so he may be someone else’s problem soon. The best player the Sox got in the deal is Phillips. He is fine and good and can get people out, but when you trade away your best player, starting 1B and stud prospect and only get a reliever and a weak side of a platoon, you probably could have done better. I take no joy in saying that the Sox had an opportunity to get some combination of younger better and cheaper, but did not appreciably succeed on any of those.

The Canton Longshoremen traded 21-year old second baseman C. Roy and 22-year old minor league center fielder D. Brooks to the West Virginia Coal Sox, getting 26-year old starting pitcher M. Chandler in return.
Maybe one of these teams has a scout that sees something that no one else does, because as it looks to me, this is a swap of organizational soldiers. None of the players make a buck or are worth a damn, and there is no real edge given to either team. The Sox get the two younger players who have more time to get bit by radioactive spiders or something. Whereas Chandler, who, God help me, is what he is, could take the bump and probably not get killed. Tho a comebacker may strip him ala Charlie Brown.

Great recap, Jhonny! When you take over a team someday I'll be sad to see these go. Alright. Let me try to explain my thinking here.

First, Sanchez's starts actually came with Connecticut. He pitched twice out of the bullpen for me. He was a salary balance from the Lluea trade and I had neither space in my bullpen nor in my rotation, which is what he wanted. I was happy to flip him for a draft pick.

I'm glad you agree with my Davis extension.
I'm convinced I've pulled a mini-coup trading for and extending him.

As for Tillman, my top pitching scout believes Tillman has already peaked. Now, a 22-year old #5 starter who you can count on putting up a 4.40 ERA for many years at league-minimum is a huge asset, but I've got dozens of guys in my minors who can do that. I wanted to flip him now while his youth gave him some value. In getting Kouki and Shimizu I believe I received enough to make my gamble that Tillman won't blossom worth it. Kouki will be handed the RH part of my 1B platoon, and if he can up his numbers against lefties, the full-time 1B job. He's got the last quarter of this ruined season to prove himself to me. My scouts love him; I think he's up to the task. Shimizu was sort of a throw-in the way the deal was created - who doesn't want to take a chance on a 17-year old with decent potential ratings, even if his peak is a middle reliever? I had two 3rd round picks, so although it does hurt to lose one, it won't sting.

Now, Pei. Yes, I was hoping for much more. I only had two teams seriously interested who could afford his payroll, and San Antonio offered the best package. Salgardo and Jeffries will compete next spring to see who will become my everday C. I'm going to make Groves a target to extend but we're worlds apart right now and I may not be able to afford him. I was reluctant to throw in Benitez, but he's somewhat expensive and a no-power first baseman. I'm confident that Kouki can at least match his production. Phillips immediately locks down a spot in my bullpen. Parker? Well, the Calzones didn't want to take on all of Pei's salary.

As far as Chandler goes - I didn't need him, and Canton was interested. A soldier for two soldiers - I figured I should do that deal.

[Tyler]

Also, Parker isn't a FA (I wish he were). He's signed through 2008.

[Denny]

Well, I thought the whole thing was good but that might be because he liked my transaction (I did catch one smallerror--he advised Omaha to send newly-acquired Scott Brown to the minors to limit his service time, but Brown is out of minor league options so he'd have to go through waivers....which is how I got the guy to start with )

I was a little upset, however, that he didn't see fit to cover my extension of CL-turned-SP Ron Goode for 3 years at $1.33m each, the first two guaranteed and a team option on the third. As long as he keeps throwing 94-96 with a modicum of control for a couple more years, it's a good deal I think.

[Jhonny Baseball]

I dunno how or why I missed on alot of players FA years. It says when their contracts are up right under their salary! I was thinkin there are awful lof of FAs. I am all sorts of red faced over this, and quite sorry.
To Mr.Codgers, I will cover the extensions in the next one.
Again, sorry I messed up.

[Duane]

Awww c'mon guys, leave Johnny alone ... Johnny, I'll be your friend - let's go have a beer ... got any money???

[John]

Not at all, Jhonny. I mean with that volume of stuff to cover, you'd be inhuman if you didn't miss a thing or two! I absolutely love these articles and don't mind getting a bad review on my transactions... I actually find it helpful to get a fresh perspective on the moves I'm making. And the links are pure brilliance. I'll happily live with a goof here or there on length of contracts.

[Badgers]

Glad to know at least one of my SP's is attractive!

[Tyler]

Oh - another random thing - the Steve Davis extension is a team-option second year. More to love.

[Tyler]

Jhonny - I make the background of your avatar transparent to take away the white space. If you want to use it go ahead - makes it look more like a logo.

[John]

And I went and resized it to 150x150 to fit in with the standard avatar sizes we're all using:

I also intend to draft up a logo option for Jhonny that reflects his position with the prestigious publication American Baseball Perspective. :) Just give me a bit to knock off a few more of these minor league logos!

[Jhonny Baseball]

Thanks Commish! I do like the goofball tho.
Mr. Sox, I can't see team options, but as I am a huge fan of them, give your self extra bonus points.
Mr. Nutmeggers, my point was phrased, at best, awkwardly. But what the hey, can't win em all.