The Onions! End of Spring Training

If I could pick someone to be my grandfather, I would choose Bill Raftery. I've met Raft a few times over the years in my past life, and he's just a genuine and sweet guy. Plus, think of the gameday access. One of Raft's signature lines is how a player will show "onions" when they make a strong play with onions as euphemism for the male anatomy. That said, our weekly update will hereforth be called The Onions.

INJURY REPORT

Two major leaguers are down for the count. St. Louis' Mickey Dickerson is eligible to come off the 15-day with his back spasm issue. Luis Osoria of Washington remains until the AM cycle on Feb. 13 with a herniated disk in his neck.

INTERNATIONAL SIGNINGS

Valerio Pinzon, SS, Dominican Republic to Norfolk. Norfolk is spending some serious cabbage this spring, this time locking up Pinzon with a $10.3m bonus. Valerio projects a high 70s rating with strong 80s level defense and 60s level contact, power and eye.

Rafael Oropesa, LF, Dominican Republic to Chicago (N). Oropesa got $2.9m in bonus money. He projects more as a first baseman than a true left fielder. Average contact, but good power. All in all a nice major leaguer.

Mark Zheng, P, Korea to Washington. A fringe major leaguer if he meets his projections. Zheng pulled a $295,000 bonus from the Senators.

David Santayana, P, Nicaragua to Minnesota. The $220,000 bonus gets Minnesota a nice minor-league arm.

TRADES OF NOTE

Vancouver and Chicago have come to terms on a deal sending WO legend Mikey Hall and cash to Chicago for minor-league first baseman Esamilyn Valentin. Hall makes his triumphant return to the South Siders. He went 6-9 with a 3.34 ERA in 132 innings pitched last season. Hall was a dominant starter for Milwaukee/Chicago before shift to the bullpen in season six. He has been a reliever and spot starter ever since. Hall is in his second year of a three-year contract paying $5.6m per year. Valentin is a defensive minded first baseman with average contact, power and splits. He hit .306 with 16 homers and 93 RBI at AA and AAA last season.

San Francisco and Buffalo agreed on a deal sending 19-year-old prospect Pascual Pena to the Oogles for Bob Harper, Ben Lincoln and cash. Pena, who Buffalo signed as an international free agent in season eight, saw limited action at the end of last season at LoA. The leftfielder has solid offensive projections, including a scary power figure. Harper went 19-3 last season for the Oogles with a 3.39 ERA and just had his second arbitration year, paying out $3.5m. Lincoln also had his second arby year, earning $2.9m. This was on the heels of a season where he made 56 appearances with a 1.36 WHIP and 3.03 ERA.

Thanks for the Draft Picks

There is some advantage to having Donovan Leiter and Benny Aybar pass through town. These Type A free agents landed my Texans five draft picks in the Top 50, including my original No. 13 pick. Not too shabby. Let's take a look at the other Type A's and B's that moved and who will have to pay extra attention to their draft formulas this spring...ahem:

Jacksonville also landed four picks (23, 42, 51, 139) when Sammy Williams (Boise) and Enrique Cortes (New Britain) bolted town.

Boise got three picks (40, 59, 73) for Bunny Stoops and Julio Fernandez. However, it forfeited its original first-round pick when it signed Williams.

Milwaukee gained three picks (36, 48, 59) . Garrett Collins brought the first and last pick when he signed with Chicago, while Tony Tanaka's signing with Memphis resulted in a Type B pick at 48. The Miller Time also hold the No. 4 selection.

On the flip side...

New Britain's first draft pick is in the fifth round, thanks to the signing of Willie Diaz, Bunny Stoops, Dorian Piper and Sammy Williams. They created nine draft picks for other teams with the sandwich picks and a Type B signing.

And finally...

Bret Laker's failure to accept San Francisco's offer means the Oogle Birds pick up a second round pick at number 87

Washington gets Type D compensation for Dennis Rolls, who demanded $7.5m and never signed. That earns andysox a third-round pick at 120.

Coaching Roundup

Someone made a point in the chat area that this year's coach hiring was the smoothest ever. I tend to agree. It was also one of the most lucrative times ever to be a coach -- 11 coaches nabbed $3 million or more. Here's some highest-paid coaching facts:

• Lloyd Staley got $4.7m to oversee Vancouver's defense.
• Houston laid out $4.0m to hire David Pote.
• Pedro Merced of San Antonio is the highest paid 1st base coach at $1.5m, while Portland shelled out $1.4m for third-base coach Matty DeJesus.
• New Britain paid $1.7m for Julian Bravo to mentor its AAA pitchers, making him the highest paid minor league coach.
• Los Angeles laid out $300K+ each for two rookie level coaches.

Record Watch

We're still a relatively young league so most of our career record holders are still active. But, there are a few that could fall in season nine.

HITTING

• Hits: James Gao (FRE) enters season nine as the all-time leader with 1,641. Pat Saunders (FLA) and Dave Adams (ARI) trail at 1,625 and 1,589 respectively.
• OPS: Timo Phillips holds the record at 1.072, but remains unsigned. Al Mendoza sits at 1.053 and with Portland, you never know what could happen.

PITCHING

• Strikeouts: Wayne Ramsey remains unsigned with 1,070 strikeouts. Chicago Black Stockings' Art Shelley is 94 away from claiming the title.
• Worst ERA: William Gonzales and his 6.14 ERA are retired, but Benji Santiago is not. Vancouver will trot out Benji and his 5.85 ERA. You never know.
• Appearances: Al Ibanez (SF) has 542 and is 29 away from Angela Acosta's mark of 571.

A Chechako, A Summer Knight and a Booze Hound...Hey Oh! (Part 2)

Season 9 is nearly upon us and there's only one question -- who wins the NL west, Portland or San Francisco? The Oogles are the defending world champions and have the target on their back after cruising to championship (the Oogle Birds lost four playoff games in their run to the title). In the mean time, can Memphis and San Juan post consecutive 100+ win seasons? I could write individual team previews, but who's got time for that?

Let's look at the NL...

NORTH: There's nothing to say when you win a division by 25 games. Chicago ran away with things and then added Louis Fleming and Slash Miles. Milwaukee and Minnesota were both active in the off season, and I respect Cincinnati for standing pat and developing the kids. Only one question...will someone mount a challenge?
CARNAC SAYS: Chicago in a walk.

EAST: Now, here's an interesting division. All quality teams that would run rampant in the AL, but when packed into one division, we get everyone's favorite word -- parity. Philly has a solid core of pitching, but went out and got Guy Freel and Frank Thome, plus slotted Frank Thome at third. Florida brings Kyle Merritt, Hal Riccardi and David Aquino back to the hill. Buffalo adds a pair of free agents in Pete Baker and Denny Katou. Washington has been trading like the world is going to end. Questions: 1) Does Florida have the offense to make a challenge? 2) Does Philadelphia have the pitching to hold Florida off?
CARNAC SAYS: Pick 'em. Push. It's a cop out. Take either Philadelphia or Florida.

South: Because the East and West are so strong, we get another semi-stinker division. KPMcClave took Jacksonville to 99 wins and a 21-game division win. And, just to keep it interesting, he went out and dropped $70+ million in free agency. Houston, Santa Fe, New Orleans? They'd probably kick my team's ass, but instead they'll spend the year watching Jacksonville's. Question: Did KP budget himself into a corner if something goes wrong?
CARNAC SAYS: Jacksonville.

West: And then there is the toughest division in Wailing Onion. Why? Fresno was 40 games out last year with 74 wins. Los Angeles was 35 back with 79 wins. Either one would have made wild card challenges in the AL. Sandleaguer and cheez have the misfortune of battling it out between Portland and San Francisco. Question: Does it matter who actually wins this division?
CARNAC: San Francisco wins it, Portland gets the wild card.

A Chechako, A Summer Knight and a Booze Hound...Hey Oh!

Season 9 is nearly upon us and there's only one question -- who wins the NL west, Portland or San Francisco? The Oogles are the defending world champions and have the target on their back after cruising to championship (the Oogle Birds lost four playoff games in their run to the title). In the mean time, can Memphis and San Juan post consecutive 100+ win seasons? I could write individual team previews, but who's got time for that?

Let's start our division previews in the AL...

NORTH: Quick math here. The East division has budgeted $372 million on payroll this season. Boise imported Aaron Camilli to play left and shored up its bullpen with the signing of Shayne Swift. Chicago reloaded the chamber, locking up Stewart Toombs, Garrett Collins and Earle Edmonds. On the opposite end, New Britain supplemented its homegrown talent with some older, familiar names--Vern Dunwoody, Dorian Piper, Sammy Williams. Questions for this season: 1) Can New Britain's Steve Hollins keep it up after his very quiet .313-32-115 season? 2) What kind of difference will Lewis Harang make for Rochester? 3) Is there enough fire power in Boise to make it happen in a hitter-friendly park? 4) Will this be the year for Chicago?
CARNAC SAYS: Boise

EAST: San Juan hit .299 as a team last year. Six regulars topped .300, led by Warren Hamill's .350 average and 1.050 OPS. The rotation took a hit, though, when Germany Smart skipped town. Naturally, ownership made up for it by signing offensive powerhouse Sammy Carr. New York was spared a loss with Jimmie Walters resigning, anchoring a tough rotation. Boston returns a pair of 15-game winners in Lawrence Johnson and Horacio Baez. Norfolk went out and signed one of the big free agents this season, locking up Donovan Leiter. Questions: 1) What's San Juan got up its sleeve? 2) Does Boston even count as a real city? 3) Can New York pull it together and give the Reales a run?
CARNAC SAYS: San Juan by a whisker. New York gets a wild card.

SOUTH: Memphis posted 103 wins. They lost Tanner Howard, but added Tony Tanaka to join Tomas Julio and Tom Green. Texas lost its two late-season pickups in Benny Aybar and Donovan Leiter, but the club had its best season in years (literally) and is trending upwards. San Antonio took a step back in season eight. Is this the sign of a decline? St. Louis had some fine individual performances last season but they couldn't put it together.
Questions: 1) Floyd Brock won the Cy Young award, but what's left in the tank? 2) Are Midre Navarre and Rudy Fingers enough to make up for losing Leiter and Benny Aybar in Texas? 3) Was season eight a blip on the San Antonio/Little Rock radar?
CARNAC SAYS: Memphis

WEST: Traditionally one of the toughest divisions, only 13 games separated first and fourth place. And, none of these guys wasted time getting better. Arizona returns Vic Brock, Doug Pride and Duke Harper off of career seasons. KC brings back a scary core with Odalis Cervantes, Erubiel Blanco, Brent Scutaro and Albert McPherson. Questions: 1) Will Vancouver and Seattle make the run to close the gap between KC and Arizona?
CARNAC SAYS: Pick 'em. Either KC or Arizona with the other team taking the wild card.

NL comes tomorrow or the next day.

Hall of Fame?

So, the new update brings us the Hall of Fame. After much deliberation, we've been offered criteria and the opportunity to nominate. Now, I don't believe we're able to nominate yet, but check your World Office menu.

Confusing is what we've been offered as eligibles. I won't dispute Len Heiserman, who has a .283 BA and .923 OPS, plus 247 home runs. The remainder of the position players leave a little to be desired -- Mule May? Lefty Hodges? Carl O'Connor??

Tony Dodd is the only pitcher under consideration. Again, he was a good closer -- 248 saves, 314 strikeouts in 396.2 innings pitched -- but still a 3.20 ERA and 1.25 WHIP? Meh.

The Smell of Money

Editor's Note: If you don't understand the photo, check your local listings for the next showing of "Trading Places." It's appointment viewing.

You can hear the crackle of the fire as the money burns its way out of the budget and into the payroll column. There's no surprise as to the two top spending teams--Chicago's AL franchise and Jacksonville tallied almost $200m in signings this season. Here are the three teams which awarded more than $50m in free agent deals this spring:


Chicago (A): $108.3m

Stewart Toombs: Four years, $80m

Ray Stone: Two years, $8.9m

Garrett Collins: Two years, $15m

Earle Edmonds: One year, $4.4m

Jacksonville: $74,3m

Joe Stein: Four years, $38m

Tony Snow: Three years, $12.3m

Benny Aybar: Four years, $24m

Chicago (N): $53m

Louis Fleming: Three years, $31.5 + $2m bonus

Skeeter Green: Two years, $3m

Slash Miles: Three years, $14.1m

Sadie Mecir: One year, $1m

Tomas Torres: Two years, $2.4m

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