An Evaluation: The Dust Settles on Vermont's Year of Trading

Burlington Free Press

Halfway through the 1st block of the 2008 NASBL season it was apparent that the Vermont Fighting Sioux did not have the horses to make a strong playoff run; a fact that was predicted by this blogger almost 365 days ago. Vermont's roster was in need of a shake up. Filled with aging and underperforming stars, Sioux management set out to turn Vermont's heroes of yesteryear into stars of tomorrow.

This article is not meant to rehash each trade in detail, heck, they've all been posted in the past. What it will do is take a hard look at Vermont's personnel actions between April '08 and January '09, during which 9 trades were made involving a total of 31 players and picks.

During the '08 NASBL season, Vermont was a seller. The advent of the Hot Stove season saw a switching of gears with Vermont using acquired picks to gather proven talent. In all, the assets acquired and traded away fall into three categories; 1) draft picks, 2) players with value for this coming '09 season and beyond and 3) throw in players or those who have suffered injuries leaving their future value unknown. We will look at each category and see if it resulted in a win or loss for Vermont and then render a final opinion based on the overall picture.

Category 1 - Net Result of Draft Picks

Traded Away - 7th and 9th round picks

Acquired - 3rd, 4th, 7th, 2-8th round picks

Verdict - A win for Vermont

Category 2 - Players with Present & Future Value (listed in descending order of '08 MLB Win Shares)

Traded Away - Derek Jeter, John Lackey, Darren Oliver

Acquired - Carlos Quentin, Raul Ibanez, Aki Iwamura, Braden Looper, Jack Wilson

Verdict - While one should never argue that there is a direct correlation between Win Shares and NASBL value, the above represents +46 Win Shares for Vermont.

Category 3 - Players with Limited/Unknown Future Value

Traded Away - Reggie Willits, Billy Wagner, Jorge Posada, Ron Mahay

Acquired - Juan Pierre, Ryan Langerhans, Carlos Ruiz, Santiago Casilla

Verdict - The best players here are Posada and Wagner and if they can regain some of their past value, it's definitely a net loss for Vermont.

Final Verdict - Vermont's biggest gains were in personnel, especially the bat of Carlos Quentin. That, combined with a modest improvement in draft picks, leads us to conclude that Vermont should be better off in the 2009 NASBL season as a result of the 8 trades made over the past year. But you all know where the proof ultimately lies.

Time for Eldest Sherlag to hire an Experienced GM

Illinois Times Editorial--

Illinois rose to respectability last season posting 87 wins and their first over .500 record. However, it was another last place finish for the Chows. There is almost no margin for error in the Tastes Great League -- and particularly in the East. Maybe in the Less Filling, a franchise could survive the learning curves of a GM with no experience, but Illinois is in the Big Boy League and every move must be executed to perfection in order to succeed.

Illinois fans have had to put up with a lot of losing on the filed, now thanks to Sherlag's blunder the Chows are losing in the draft. By missing the postseason, Illinois had positioned themselves ot pick seventh in this years draft. The Chows had talked to us off the record about their draft thoughts and how critical it was to be picking 7th. The list of players that would definitely be there made Sherlag comfortable trading a bit of the future to get Huff.

Last week Commissioner Beard informed the Chows that they will be drafting 8th due to overusage penalties. A stunned Brad Sherlag could not talk to Beard soon enough claiming "This must be a mistake - we were (and always have been extremely careful about our usage." It seems that Sherlag simply didn't understand rule 6-3 which reads:

"Overusage penalties for pitchers are the same as for batters, with the additional provision that teams will not incur overuse penalties for pitchers carded as starters only who do not exceed the number of starts on their cards, if they pitch no relief."

Although this rule is patently clear -- Sherlag claimed he did not realize that Micah Owings was limited in innings pitch regardless of how many starts the Chows gave him. Because Owings had appeared in two games as a reliever for Arizona in the MLB the previous season he was not carded as a starter only. Therefore, Owings usage was limited to 152 2/3 innings. The Chows pitched Owings 182 2/3 innings.

"We thought as long as we limited Micah to 27 starts and never used him in relief, he could throw as many innings as game situations dictated. We just simply misunderstood the rule. We had plenty of starts and innings left for Capuano. We were out of the race and could easily have given Capuano more starts in the final block. We will chalk this up as a painful lesson - at least the penalty didn't cost us a play-off birth."

Misunderstood the rule? A real GM knows the constitution backward and foreword to make sure he makes the best decisions for his club. A real GM also knows the difference between Dimitri and Delmon. The honeymoon in Illinois is over. Chows fans are tired of waiting, both for a play-off birth and for the Chows turn in each round of the draft. Chows fans will be waiting one pick longer now -- hopefully they will not be waiting another season for success.

Knights Acquire Kent for 2B Insurance

(New York Daily Mirror - January 7, 2009)

NEW YORK - The Knights have acquired veteran second baseman Jeff Kent from the Miami Surf in exchange for the Knights' sixth round pick in the 2009 draft. The Knights also acquire the Surf's eighth round pick in the trade.

Kent, who will turn 41 in March, will primarily be used in a backup role to Ty Wigginton, who figures to be the team's starting second baseman in 2009. Wigginton had a good season in 2008, hitting 30 homers and knocking in 86 runs. However, the Knights, concerned about overusage issues, decided that Kent would fit the bill to fill in for Wigginton on occasion and to serve as a right-handed pinch hitter.

A few years ago, this would have been a major acquisition for the Knights. Kent has had a terrific NASBL career with four different organizations. His best year was 2003, when he smashed 45 homers, knocked in 152 runs and batted a combined .319 for the Cannons and Cannibals, earnig him the Less Filling MVP award. Overall, Kent has 1,480 career hits, including 244 homers, a .274 career average and 810 runs scored. His power numbers have fallen in recent years, as has his ability to be an everyday player.

Kent joins Craig Biggio, Mike Piazza and David Cone as fading stars who have donned the Knights uniform in the twilight of their careers.

LVI Slugger Packs Bags for New England

Burlington, VT



The Vermont Fighting Sioux have acquired slugging LF Carlos Quentin from the Leigh Valley Iron Pigs as well as LVI's 4th round pick in exchange for the Sioux's coveted 1st and 2nd round picks (#3 in each round). Quentin's bat will be immediately plugged into the cleanup spot to provide protection for all-world 1b Albert Pujols.



Accused of overpaying in the blogoshpere, Sioux GM Justin Rabidoux responded by saying "Any time you can add a young player the caliber of Carlos, 26, you do what you can. If that means paying a bit too much, then that's what we'll do. Besides, we still have Georgia's #1 pick from the [John] Lackey deal, so we still have a chance to strike it rich in the draft. Plus, after we missed out on Matt Holliday, we got beat up in the media. Now, we make a move, and get hammered. Go figure."



LVI GM Kevin Burns is sure to be a happy Pig. In only one season in NASBL, Burns has established himself as an astute evaluator of talent and will surely make wise decisions with his new found draft picks.

NASBL Round 3 / 4 Draft Order

The 2009 NASBL Round 3 / 4 Draft Order calculations are complete. The calculations consist of a base of $10,000 FA Money per CMI and Game Results deadline each block, modified by a system of bonuses and penalties outlined in the NASBL Constitution. Bonuses can be earned by turning in CMI and results early, by posting articles to the NASBL News or sending them to me for Front Page use, or through a series of Fun Awards bonuses that will be detailed below. Penalties primarily result from the late turn in of CMI or Game Results.


Without further ado, the 2009 Round 3 / 4 draft order is:

1. LVI
2. DFW
3. OJW
4. LCC
5. GCG
6. SPL
7. MSU
8. GRK
9. ILL
10. TRY
11. VFS
12. SPR
13. PCM
14. NYK
15. HHA
16. NJT


The 2008 Fun Awards bonuses are as follows:

LVI - $50 for ERA leader (Daisuke Matsuzaka, 2.60), $100 for Cy Young (Dice-K), and $100 for Rookie of the Year (also Dice-K), $200 for 4 All-Stars

DFW - $150 for 3 All-Stars

OJW - $150 for 3 All-Stars

GCG - $500 for more road wins than home wins (34 road, 30 home), $100 for Rookie of the Year (BJ Upton), $50 for most offensive strikeouts (Ryan Howard, 181), $150 for 3 All-Stars

LCC - $3,000 for most wins by a non-playoff team (94), $100 for MVP (David Ortiz), $50 each for batting average leader, runs leader, and RBI leader (.360 / 137 / 159, all by David Ortiz), $150 for 3 All-Stars. Also lost $2,000 FA Money in trade

SPL - $50 for hits leader (Ichiro Suzuki, 213), $200 for 4 All-Stars

MSU - $100 for Fireman of the Year (JJ Putz), $50 for stolen base leader (Jose Reyes, 78), $50 for saves leader (Putz, 36), $300 for 6 All-Stars

GRK - $2,000 for 2nd most wins by a non-playoff team (91), $250 for 5 All-Stars

ILL - $100 for most All-Stars in the Tastes Great (6), $100 for Fireman of the Year (Joe Nathan), $300 for 6 All-Stars

TRY - $50 for 1 All-Star

VFS - $50 for player with most blown saves (Hideki Okajima, 11), $50 for 1 All-Star

SPR - $50 for 1 All-Star

PCM - $100 for MVP (Prince Fielder), $100 for Cy Young winner (John Smoltz), $100 for most All-Stars in the LF (7), $50 for All-Star MVP (Torii Hunter), $50 for homerun leader (Prince Fielder), $350 for 7 All-Stars

NYK - $50 for pitcher with most losses (Barry Zito, 23), $50 for league record in losses (Zito), $200 for 4 All-Stars. Also gained $2,000 FA money in trade.

HHA - $50 for pitcher with most wins (Justin Verlander, 21), $50 for player with most offensive GDP's (Miguel Tejada, 29), $250 for 5 All-Stars

NJT - $100 for 2 All-Stars

A Look at the New Haymakers

Daytona Beach, FL: There have been many changes to the Haymakers since the end of their dismal 2008 season; a new manager and coaches, a lot of offseason trades, and a new winter facility while the team's GM attempts to be a professional umpire. When Ken Anderson was asked about the GM's possible dual role he said jokingly, "I'm just trying to help out the team any way I can...if I can make some calls in favor of my team I'm gonna do it!" With all the changes on the team, they are still struggling to find their identity. Here's a comparison of the Haymakers lineup and rotation from 2008 and projected 2009 starters.

Catcher: In 2008 Greg Zaun saw the most time there and what somewhat effective in 218 at bats, hitting .298 with 28 RBI's. Troy probably had the weakest trio of players in the league play this postion and it doesn't look much better so far for next season. Projected starter in 2009: No One.

Firstbase: After a solid 1st season in 2007, Conor Jackson started very slowly in 2008 but came on strong at the end of the year. Conor hit .254 with 14 homeruns and 57 RBI's in 2008 and looks to be more productive in 2009. The rumors of moving him to the outfield turned out for be not true for now. Projected 2009 starter: Conor Jackson

Secondbase: Mark Ellis hit .257 with 26 homeruns as the starter in 2008 and looked like Ruth against lefties (ask Beard about it); hitting .311 with 20 homeruns in only 190 at bats. Some injury concerns made the team go another way, and brought in a guy the team feels is one of the better 2B-man in the league with gold-glove fielding. Projected 2009 starter: Brandon Phillips

Thirdbase: Aubrey Huff had a weak season at the hot corner hitting only .249 with 11 homeruns and 46 RBI's and could only field balls hit directly at him. Huff is expected to rebound very nicely in 2009 but the Haymakers did not like his glove and was traded for hitting prospect Billy Buter and a draft pick. Then the Haymakers picked up thier second gold glover of the offseason. Projected 2009 starter: Adrian Beltre

Shortstop: A platoon of David Eckstein and Macier Izturis yeilded light hitting and bad fielding returns. Izturis was traded during the season and Eckstein looks to be released. At least now they have someone who can field. Projected 2009 starter: Jason Bartlett

Rightfield: First round pick Hunter Pence couldn't match his power potential with Haymaker Gounds deep fences, hitting only 7 homeruns in 410 at bats. He still has a lot of skills and looks to be the starting RF'er in Troy for a long time, provided he learns how to hit lefties. As a right handed batter, he shouldn't have a problem doing it. Projected 2009 starter: Hunter Pence

Centerfield: After Vernon Wells was traded, Andrew Jones looked very lost at the plate. Hitting .182 with 16 homeruns and 110 strikeouts in 385 at bats he was told that he was sold to the local high school for a can of Milwaukee's Best. He reportedly is battling for a starting job there. The talented but troubled Elijah Dukes was picked up during the season and hopes to take over full time duties in 2010. Projected 2009 starter: Cody Ross & Elijah Dukes

Leftfield: Matt Holliday but together a good season in his one year with the Haymakers; hitting .286 with 30 homeruns and 96 RBI's in the spacious Haymaker Grounds. He was traded after the season in the deal that brought secondbaseman Brandon Phillips, moving Andre Etheir into the starting role. He has some big shoes to fill and only hit .242 with 11 homeruns and 29 RBI's in a part time role in 2008, but he has looked real good in winter ball and should be successful next season. Projected 2009 starter: Andre Etheir.

DH: Matt Stairs and Jason Kubel hit a combined 17 homeruns and 76 RBI's in 2008. Stairs was only signed for 1 year and was never expected to return. The young slugger Billy Butler will see time against lefties while Kubel may be retained to hit against righties. Projected 2009 starter: Billy Butler & Jason Kubel

Will the team field better in 2009? Definetly; with upgrades in fielding at 3B, SS, 2B, and RF and the only downgrade in CF...the overall defense should be solid. Will the team hit better in 2009? Maybe; there are a few young, talented bats but they are really a year away. At this point Jackson, Ethier and Pence will be the heart of the order and that's not saying much. Big bats Holliday and Huff were traded in order to improve the team fielding. The Haymakers have a lot of picks in the draft and will be looking to make the most of them. What's their gameplan? "I haven't really thought about it too much yet," said the GM, "We are trying to get back to the speed, defense and pitching that we had in 2007. That's the game we like to play and the way we like to win. We have a lot of work to do, but I think we can be successful."

Next week: A look at the Haymakers pitching staff for 2009.

Chows get Maine Man

Illinois Times --

And then there were two. Illinois GM/Owner Brad Sherlag inherited a play-off caliber tem from Yorktown just a few seasons ago. At the time Sherlag touted how lucky he was to take over a franchise in such good shape in the NASBL. The foundation that was in place of Beltran, Beltre, Dunn, Kearns, Giles, Barrett, Vidro, Walker, Halladay, Harden, Schilling and Gagne was to leave the Chows in good-standing for years to come. Today Illinois traded Adrian Beltre and the only two left from that promising group are Halladay and Beltran.

"Adrian has been a cornerstone of our team since we moved to Illinois. His defense and his slugging will be missed. However, we were short on pitching this season and having traded both our 2nd and 3rd round picks to bolster our offense, we were not sure we could get enough starting pitching to fill our holes in the draft. We were looking for a pitcher for one of our third basemen and John Maine is a guy we have always liked. We considered him in the draft last year and just one year ago he was a 1st round pick. We think he will be a nice middle of the rotation guy for us for the foreseeable future."

Illinois now holds 1/4 of last year's 1st round in Tulowitzki, Pena, Johnson and now Maine. Maine figures to be the Chows 3rd starter but could be pushed down to number 4 if the Chows go with a pitcher with their first pick. "We really think we can get a good starter if we go that route with the 7th ......... er check that 8th pick." More on the mishandling of the draft and the Micah Owings situation will be covered in the Times editorial on Sunday.