CBS FANTASY WAILING ONION LEAGUE

After 7 weeks here are the current standings. My friend Eddie Garza has his Hydras kicking ass. I hope we can convince him to play HBD.





Yellow Onion Division

Team                                              W     L     T       PCT

New York Cheechakos                      5     2    0      0.714

Tampa Bay Hurricanes                     4      3    0     0.571

Chicago Cubbies                              3     4      0     0.429

Memphis Where My Pitches At         2     5      0     0.286



Purple Onion Division

Team                             W    L     T      PCT

San Antonio Hydras       6     1      0      1.000

Fresno Yokuts               5     2      0      0.714

Texas Texans                3     4      0      0.500

S.F. Oogle Birds            3     4      0      0.500







White Onion Division

Team                                    W     L     T     PCT

Jersey City Skeeters              4      3     0      0.571

Santa Fe Booze Hounds         3      4     0      0.429

Hartford Crushers                  2      5     0     0.286

Norfolk Subs                         2      5     0     0.286

O'Brien Seeks Swan Song at 38

SP Alvin O'Brien spent 9 years as the ace of the Arizona Amberwoods staff, but may have to finish his career wearing some other cap.  O'Brien and the Amberwoods could not agree on terms for a new contract before the open market deadline, and now the 2-time Cy Young Award winner might have to part ways.

O'Brien is over the hill as baseball players go, but can still get it done on the mound.  He was a finalist for last year's AL Cy Young Award, after spinning a 19-11 campaign with an ERA of 3.19.  O'Brien also notably threw a no-hitter at age 36 a couple of seasons ago.  Even at 38, he will bring Type A compensation back to the Amberwoods if he signs elsewhere.

O'Brien is hoping for at least 2 years on any new contract, which might be a point of contention for some franchises given his age.  But he hasn't seen much dropoff in production, and he has never had to go to the DL.  Perhaps O'Brien is just one of those players who defies all laws of nature.  Or perhaps Arizona's commitment to player training regimens and medical facilities are the reason O'Brien seems as spry as a 27-year-old.

When looking at possible destinations for the all-world pitcher, 7 teams spend $20 million on training as Arizona did, and only 5 of those could benefit from the win-now mindset signing O'Brien would require.  Of those 5, Portland and Philadelphia are already pretty solid in their rotation.  So that leaves Los Angeles, Rochester, or O'Brien's original home, and the Stars don't have the room in their budget to meet O'Brien's demands.  So the leading candidates for now might be the Amberwoods and the Lake Effect Snow.

Those are the only teams who should sign him, but of course there's no rule saying a team must spend $20 million on training to make a big free agent splash.  Only time will tell, but O'Brien is definitely one of the major storylines as free agency officially opens today.

Trade Cyclone hits Wailing Onions

Many trades were consummated this off-season, and we haven't even gotten to free agency! Here's a round up:

Charleston trades SP Kyle Merritt to Buffalo for two minor league SP and one RP.

Charleston trades SP Hal Ricarrdi and LF Pat Saunders to Seattle for a minor league OF, C, and SP.

New Orleans trades RF Heath Gwynn to Chicago (AL) for LF Erik Gray and a minor league SS.

Jacksonville trades RF Benjamin Davis and minor league LF, C to Washington D.C. for RF Felipe Lee, C Matt Sweeney, and a minor league CF.

Toledo trades SP Brian Montague to Texas for a minor league RP.

Charleston trades LF Hector Pettitte to Memphis for a minor league SS.

Philadelphia trades SP Wesley Barker for RP Tomas Campos and a minor league CF.

Texas trades 3B Jim Johnstone to New York for C Quinn McMasters.

Los Angeles trades C Woody Flaherty to Mexico City for a minor league 3B.

Cincinnati trades RP Carl Campbell to Chicago (NL) for a minor league SP.

Charleston trades a minor league SP to Arizona for a minor league SS and C.

Toledo trades RP Greg Malone and a minor league SS to Fresno for SS Goose Thompson and SP Esteban Valdes.

Seattle trades SP Alfonso Cruz to Washington D.C. for a minor league C and RP.

San Antonio trades SS Shawn Strong to Boston for a minor league SP.

Slot work

ONLY IN AMERICA can an 18-year-old from Coleman, Mich. walk into a room and demand millions of dollars. And only in sports are people dumb enough to hand it over.

This brings us to the season nine amateur draft in the Wailing Onion. Usually I do the top 10 or 12 picks, which is about all I can take until getting bored. We'll see how this goes.

1. ST. LOUIS: Vernon Myers, RHP. This high school from Michigan is going to be a hero one day. Until then, his current ratings are better than some of my major leaguers. Gulp. Anyhow, great splits and control from this kid.

2. NAWLINS: Derrik McPherson, 2B. Arguably the best player in the draft, McPherson is a four-tooler, with speed as his only real downside. He has strong contact and power numbers and a solid eye. His defense isn't too shabby either.

3. SANTA FE: Dontrelle Harding, SS. The 19 year old has some growing up to do. Good contact. Great power. Meh splits and, for a shortstop, he has rightfielder's defensive projections.

4. MILWAUKEE: Norm Crawford, LHP. The first southpaw was a nice prize for the Miller Time. Strong splits and good control and velocity numbers from this kid.

5. CHICAGO(A): Geraldo Tavarez, RHP. Nineties splits. Mid-80s control. Solid glove. And the tool wants to finish college.

6. CINCINNATI: Willis Lindblom, SS. A legit shortstop (defensively), Lindblom has monster power numbers and solid splits. Downfall is mediocre contact.

7. WASHINGTON: Amos Sowders, RF. Great health and durability. Great power. Great splits. Great eye. And that's about it.

8. SEATTLE: Ariel Espinoza, 3B. Like my tires, Espinoza is well balanced. Mediocre contact, paired with solid splits, power and eye. His defense is pretty good too. Overall he's good, but not great.

9. MINNESOTA: Ham Thielman, RHP. Surprised that the Ham dropped this far, but that's likely due to his signability. Great control and velocity, and good splits. His health is troublesome. The Hammer remains unsigned.

10. VANCOUVER: Ajax Robbins, LHP. A lefty closer, Robbins mixes great control and velocity. Really, really strong durability and health numbers.

11. SAN ANTONIO: Junior Mendoza, SS. A shortstop built to play third base. When he makes contact, the ball is likely to fly. Strong power and splits and a really sharp defensive makeup. Good durability but lousy health, much like my wife.

12. FRESNO: Bill Elster, SS. Across the board, he's projecting on the cusp of a five-tooler. Of course, if he doesn't sign it could be a problem.

13. TEXAS: Melvin Baldelli, SS. Solid defense and good offense. The power is impressive. The splits are not.

14. ROCHESTER: Ivan Garces, LHP. Good control and splits for this 19 year old lefty. I'd be a little concerned about his near even flyball/groundball ratio.

15. NORFOLK: Sam Rando, LHP. Great velocity and control mix. Splits are good and the flyball/groundball ratio are meh.

Other notes:

• Garry Miller at the 33rd pick is the $1m break. No. 34 signed for $960,000.
• Round one lasted 57 picks with A and B supplementals.
• Mr. Irrelevant? Portland's unsigned pitcher Rudy Matthews. At pick No. 827, Rudy is a pitcher and even that is a stretch.
  

Week IV

The calendar says, "Thursday." My class doesn't show for another 45 minutes. I think it's time, ladies and gents, for week four of The Onions!.



We've bounced back here at Control from a nifty snowstorm which closed my office early, canceled my Thursday evening teaching assignment. Today, it got to the low 40s in Syracuse and most of last week's snow has melted. My in-laws, on vacay in Myrtle Beach, called to complain about the weather last night. I took the opportunity to make fun of them and said that next year, they should just give me the $500 they spent on airfare and I'll go on vacation.

Enough chatter.

TRENDSPOTTING

• Tip of the glass to reigny for clocking the longest losing streak in season nine. His 11-gamer heading into the PM2 cycle is keeping my underperforming bunch out of last place in the AL South.
• And while we're on the subject, thanks to Ralph and Mark for handing me a 1-7 record during our interleague meetings.
• Arizona's five-game winning streak is the current Best of the Bigs and is made even more impressive with their sub-.500 home record.
• Speaking of homewreckers (well, if you say it fast it kinda sounds the same), San Francisco is 31-9 on the road. Not what one would call a hospitable guest. They also have top record in the WO at 58-14.
• Boston's Howard Lee is toting the league's longest hit streak at 17 games. He's also sporting league highs in home runs (26) and RBI (82) and is this weeks The Onions! Player of the Week.
• Congratulations to Gene Koehlert, Texas' only league leader from the plate. His 317 at-bats are a source of Texans pride.
• AL pitching is leaving a bit to be desired this year. Of the top 20 pitchers in earned run average, THREE -- Lewis Harang of Rochester, Les Carroll of Chicago and Tom Miller of Texas -- are from the junior circuit. You know the pitching is bad when my team is in the equation.
• Allen Glynn earned two more wins this week, giving the Jacksonville starter 15 on the season. Barring an injury or one of Mark's players running him down with the bullpen cart, he will likely break the single-season wins mark held by Portland's Larry Dickens (24 last season).

WHAT ABOUT NERIO?
A new feature of The Onions!, we'll take a look at how everyone's favorite roid head, Nerio Turner, is faring. Suffice it to say, it's not going well in Washington for the 34-year-old. He has four hits in 13 at bats for the Senators. Nerio has one home run but only seven appearances thus far. Eek.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OR-BER NIETO?
Another new feature, we'll try to track down the world traveling Orber Nieto as he tries to stay with one team for an entire season. All we need is Rock-a-pella to do the theme song.

Anyhow, Orber has been with Houston since a mid-season trade in season eight. In 55 games played, he is hitting .272-16-33 with a respectable .936 OPS. Unfortunately, the 32-year-old is out with a back injury for the next five cycles. This makes injuries to his back, shoulder, knee, hammy and hip during his career. But, with five teams in nine seasons, he's got to have some great frequent flier mileage.

DISABLED, DISMEMBERED AND DISEMBOWELED
Note: Disemboweled was the first "dis" word to come to mind. I need help.

A quick check of the disabled list shows one new member of the 60-day vacation club. Bartolo Cordero of Kansas City is gone for the season with a torn hamstring. Very nice. Five new entries on the 15-day include Hiram Boone and his blistered finger.

INTERNATIONAL FREE AGENTS
Amazing how baseball can mend fences between nations. Venezuelan-born third baseman Carlos Cervantes signed with Washington. Maybe one day Hugo Chavez and the United States will be able to put aside its differences. Of course, Cervantes' record setting $18.2m bonus payment would do it for me too.

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS
There was one trade this week. St. Louis and San Francisco swapped minor leaguers.

A draft review is forthcoming. It'll take a few days as I'll be out of town this weekend.

The Onions!

We're a hearty bunch here in Syracuse. In Washington, 12-18 inches of snow paralyze a city. Here, the TV weatherheads say that the roads might be slippery. The 'Cuse is looking at 18 inches of snow by tomorrow morning's rush and the county has banned travel after 6 p.m. At right is a photo of a street near my house.

Me? My office closed at 2 p.m. and the college cancelled classes tonight, which means a slightly early Week 3 version of The Onions!

Trendspotting

• Fist pounds to Sandshark who turned an eight-game winning streak into a two-game loser. And, congrats to Memphis for matching him almost win-for-win and keeping San Antonio at bay.
• Boston's seven-game win streak is the top one in the majors.
• Conversely, Buffalo is amid a five-game losing streak.
• Portland's Vin Dali holds the crown of longest hit streak. Of Dali's 27 hits this season, 16 have come during the streak.
• Fausto Valdivia (ARI) and Glendon Borders (VAN) have 14-game hit streaks.
• A.J. Lemke is The Onions! Player of the Week. Lemke is working a 12-game hitting streak and sporting league-leading .412 batting averages and a 1.211 OPS for the Oogle Birds.
• The top 10 pitchers by wins? All NL pitchers. From Allen Glynn (10-1) and Trent Milligan (9-1) to the five tied with seven wins, not a one comes from the American League.
• Oh, and of those 10 pitchers, half of them pitch for either Ralph or Mark.

Disabled and Dismembered

No one joined the 60 this week, but new comers to the 15-day DL include Erubiel Sosa (JAX), Harry Palmeiro (SFE), Julio Castillo (NY) and Ralph Hayes (ROC). Everyone has minor stuff, including a couple of bad knees.

Transactions of the Week

• 50 people (50!) were reactivated from the disabled list throughout the Wailing Onion. Another 45 went on. Oy!
• The first trade in a while sends Santa Fe centerfielder Peter Kim to Memphis for Octavio Guzman and Tony Santiago.

The Onions! Week Two

The Ash Wednesday version of The Onions! as we here at Control will be spending Thursday evening watching the Syracuse-Georgetown basketball game. I don't have a particular dog in this race as I once worked at SU and spent my childhood as a Hoyas fan. It should be a great game.

Trendspotting

• Hey Texas! Way to make losing an art form with the current six-game streak.
• On the flipside Chicago's Black Stockings (9) and San Juan's Reales (8) have the longest winning streaks in the league.
• San Francisco's magic number can start being calculated. The Oogle Birds are 26-4 this season. Their Achilles' Heel? Playing at home, where they've lost **three** games.
• Willie Campos (CHI-N) and Darren Thomas (POR) each have 15-game hitting streaks heading into Wednesday's PM2 cycle.
• Pedro Contreras (BUF) is getting some Nerio Turner-esque respect with eight intentional walks. Not bad for a guy with a .790 OPS.
• Dangerous hitters of the week: Darryl Bravo (JAX) and Sammy Gonzales (NY) who are hitting home runs every 7.60 and 7.68 at bats, respectively.
• From the "Don't Believe the Hype" department, last week's Player of the Week Heath Gwynn (NO) has cooled off. He's down to a 1.200 OPS and has seven hits in his last 46 at bats. Slacker.
• Allen Glynn (JAX), Johnny Robinson (LA), Sammy Dickey (MEM) and Norm Sanders (SF) and Kareem Duckworth are the notable starters with perfect records. Glynn leads all at 7-0. Robinson follows at 5-0, while the rest are 4-0.
• Glynn is The Onions! Player of the Week this week. He strikes out 4.5 batters for every walk issued and rocks a 0.91 WHIP. That's enough for me.
• I changed my mind. Norm Saunders gets the POW honors. Started twice. Won twice. Gave up two earned in 13 innings, struck out 11 and walked five. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Injury Report

The 60-Day grew this week, as LA's Lawrence Fuller (elbow tendinitis), Chicago-N's Heath Fox (same), Santa Fe's Darrin Serafini (same) and New York's Davey Torres (sore shoulder) all hit the long-term list.

Notable names on the 15-day include Washington slugger Nerio Turner (the juicer has a stiff oblique) and Rochester's Sammy Unamuno (back strain).

International Free Agents

Hello Enrique Berroa! Buffalo just signed this reliever up for a $7.5m bonus. Pablo Santana joined the Chicago-N organization, thanks to a $2.4m bonus.

Transactions of the Week

Feb. 12: New York declines the Rule V return offer of Wilt Wood from Washington. Good thing to since Wood was heading to the DL.

Feb. 14: Minnesota released David Santayana. Two weeks after his international signing, he wears out his welcome and gets released. Sayonara Santayana!

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The Onions! Week One

Trendspotting

Double Digits: Fist pounds and chest bumps to the four teams that have amassed 10+ wins through 14 games. Take your bows San Francisco (12-2) and the trio of 10-4 Memphis, Phila and Nawlins.

Road Warriors: San Francisco is an impressive 7-0 when its on the road. Only Vancouver's 6-1 mark is close.

Going Streaking with Frank the Tank: Five players have had a hit in each of the first 14 games. Most impressive in the bunch is Heath Gwynn of Nawlins, who is batting .509-6-18 with a 1.600 OPS. Ouch babe. He gets The Onions! first Player of the Week award.

Set 'Em Up, Knock 'Em Down: Jacksonhole's Allen Glynn is 4-0 and rocking a spiffy 29/3 K:BB ratio. He'll get the first Pitcher of the Week award.

Doing More with Less: Remember Philadelphia's 10-4 record? It's being done on the backs of an team offense batting a WO DFL* .206.

*DFL = Dead F--king Last

DL Review

15-Day

Louis Paul: The Chicago hurler has a stiff groin. Nothing one of those Korean massage places couldn't handle.

Juan Ferrer: St. Louis' pitcher has an inflamed shoulder.

60-Day

Luis Osoria (DC): Comes off the DL in five days.

Pascual Lopez (MEM): Nerve irritation in his forearm. Yikes. He's done for the year.

Terry Reed (SFE): Wonky shoulder. Should be back after the All-Star break.

IFA Watch

This week's big signing was the unfortunately named Harry Limon. The Dominican centerfielder got $1.7m. His offensive numbers are indeed offensive, but he covers the field well. He has Johnny Damon's arm, but damn he's fast.

Transaction Watch

Feb. 10: Washington promotes Nerio Turner. In 45 AAA at-bats, Nerio had zero home runs. Eek.

Feb. 8: San Antonio declines the Rule V Return of Jose Perez from Chicago (A). A 28-year-old corner outfielder, Perez is now back at AA.