Bums change Lineup

(Virginia Beach, VA)
After being swept by Orlando, the Bums' manager Michael Taylor decided to boost offence with a change in the line up to balance out the batting order. The new order will be.


1 SS Adam Everett
2 OF Eric Byrnes
3 C Toby Hall
4 3B Hank Blalock
5 1B Jason Stokes
6 OF Adam Greenberg
7 DH
8 OF Bubba Crosby
9 2B Michael Holliman

Hall and Blalock move down, as Byrnes moves up. Hall has the best batting average ont he team, and Blalock has the 2nd most RBIs, behind Everett. Batting .095, Larry Bigbie will be switching with Brad Wilkerson at DH. Jason Stokes moves up to 5th place while batting .300.

If you want to change your line up, tell me. Then, I can add you to the authors list and we can all post.

Bleus sign Sheets

The winless Montreal Bleus make a move to improve their pitching staff. 35 year old Free Agent Ben Sheets will replace Noah Lowery as the 4th starter. Sheets is a 6 point pitcher, but he will get as many starts as a first starter.

Sheets will wear the number 36. When asked why, Sheets said "I've worn 15, 21, and 28 in my career. Those were taken. I looked at number 51, but I respect Lowery and won't take his. I added 15 and 21 together to get 36." Sheets will fly to Montreal and start the next game against the Roughnecks.

As far as Lowery, he will be released. He may be signed as a RP at the end of the season, but he does not have a job as of now.

CBL Pictures

Hank Blalock

CBL Fantasy Rankings

Here is the rankings of CBL players. It is based off of past performance, age, and potential.

1.Juan Encarnacion OF
2.Adam Everett SS
3.Sean Burroughs 3B
4.Gary Mathews, Jr. OF
5.Brent Abernathy 2B
6.Mark Mulder SP
7.Willy Mo Pena OF
8.Khalil Green SS
9.Ben Grieve OF
10.Victor Zambrano SP

11.Toby Hall C
12.Mark Prior SP
13.Eric Gagne RP
14.Joe Crede 3B
15.Elijah Dukes OF
16.Braden Looper SP
17.Hank Blalock 3B
18.Brendan Irons 1B
19.Jose Vidro 2B
20. Willy Aybar 3B

21.Matt Anderson RP
22.Dontrelle Willis SP
23.Chuck James SP
24.Boof Bonser RP
25.Chad Bradford RP
26.Jamie Simms SS
27.Cristian Guzman SS
28.Rocco Baldelli OF
29.Robert Ware SP
30.Kip Wells SP

31.Doug Waechter SP
32.Ryan Church OF
33.Javier Valentin C
34.Ricky Bracket OF
35.Chris Young SP
36.Jeremy Hermida OF
37.Shawn Chacon SP
38.Akafumi Koike SP
39.Manny Delcarmen RP
40.Junior Spivey 2B

41.Kiko Calero RP
42.Dauner Sanchez RP
43.Eric Byrnes OF
44.Garret Atkins RP
45.Sidney Ponson SP
46.BJ Ryan RP
47.Choo Freeman OF
48.Richie Sexson 1B
49.Larry Bigbie SP
50.Jorge Julio RP

51.Kurt Ainsworth SP
52.Gil Meche SP
53.Bobby Bradley SP
54.Craig Monroe OF
55.Shea Hillenbrand 1B
56.Esteban Yan RP
57.Eric Munson C
58.Kaz Tadano SP
59.Eric Milton SP
60.Kason Gabbard SP

61.Josh Pappelbon SP
62.Ambiorix Burgos RP
63.Jason Ellison U
64.Juan Francia 1B
65.Tim Spooneybarger SP
66.Josh Phelps 1B
67.Brian Buscher U
68.Matt LeCroy U
69.Joey Gathright OF
70.Jason Jennings SP

71.Noah Lowery SP
72.Jake Woods RP
73.Bubba Crosby OF
74.Brian Horwitz U
75.Morgan Ensberg 3B
76.Pete Laforest C
77.Preston Wilson OF
78.Jack Taschner RP
79.Darren Clarke RP
80.Jason Windsor SP

81.Brandon Backe SP
82.Fernando Nieve SP
83.Dewon Brazelton RP
84.Iván Maldonado RP
85.Jeremy Brown C
86.Daniel Ortmeier OF
87.Adam Greenberg U
88.Oscar Robels U
89.Jason Stokes OF
90.Damian Rolls 2B

91.Brent Butler 2B
92.Randall Simon U
93.Brad Wilkerson U
94.Jason Tyner U
95.Angel Berroa SS
96.Rob Bowen C
97.Joe Inglett OF
98.John Rodriguez OF
99.Michael Holliman 2B
100. Bobby Crosby SS

101.Peter Bergeron U
102.Chris Burke U

All Time Stats

They are fully updated for the first 2 seasons of the CBL. Check them from the top.

Meet the Rookies

Five young guns will join the CBL fraternity. The first round draft picks from the draft after season one are in the big leagues, and ready to play. Here are their bios.

Brenden Irons- Austin Roughnecks
From: Arlington, TX
W: 205 H: 6'3"
Hand: L
A big hitter in college ball, Brenden is slated to fill the shoes of Sean Casey. A power hitter in college, Irons was highly scouted for the CBL. The first base position had aged players, so being the first rookie first baseman to play in the CBL will put the 'Necks at an advantage.

Akifumi Koike(昭文小池)- Omaha Cyclones
From: Shizuoka, JPN
W: 180 H: 5'11"
Hand: R
The best pitcher in the draft class after the scouting combine, Koiki is comparable to a Daisuke Matsuzaka type pitcher. He has a strong curveball, and change up. With the Cyclones having just one star pitcher, he will add a lot to the line up.

Jaime Simms- Orlando Majestics
From: Los Gatos, CA
W: 194 H: 6'1"
Hand: R
Brought in to replace Nomar Garciaparra, Simms is finally able to show why he was the 3rd pick in the draft. Built with speed, and a bat that can hit for average, the short stop will be a boost to the season 2 champions. Similar to Troy Tulowitzki. He will bat in the 3 hole, in the heart of one of the strongest lineups in the CBL.

Ricky Bracket- Portland Trappers
From: Valdosta, GA
W: 173 H: 6'3"
Hand: L
A player with swag, Bracket's bat and speed can fill a leadoff spot. Similar to BJ Upton, if he gets a hold of a ball, he can launch it. His speed rounding bases, and getting to fly balls. With Jermaine Dye retiring, the Trappers have a great outfield with their new rookie.

Robert Ware- Virginia Beach Bums
From: Anderson, IN
W: 215 H: 6'8"
Hand: R
He has the size of Randy Johnson, and the identity to Brian Wilson. The "Heartland Hurler" will have a presence on the mound for seasons to come. He was added to help the Bums get younger on the mound. With a fastball over 100 miles an hour, when he's in the strike zone, he is deadly. But he does have control issuses if he doesn't get off to a good start.

So those are the rookies!

CBL Rookie Draft

So here is how it works. This will be the rookie class starting in season 3 and 4. They replace the old players in here now.

First round players will be available to play after one season, then the rest will be in the minors for two until they can play. Each player will be the first players on the reserve list. The Bleus will get the final 2 picks in the draft as Round 3, for their expansion team compensation.

Round 1
1. Montreal Bleus Rhyne St. Pierre C, 3 Point
2.Omaha Cyclones Dillon Fisher OF, 3 Point
3. Austin Roughnecks Matt Zetticci RP, 6 Point
4. Portland Trappers Carson Fitzpatrick SS, 3 Point
5. Virginia Beach Bums Johan Montero 1B, 3 Point
6. Orlando Majestics Pedro Valenueva SP, 6 Point

Round 2
7. Montreal Bleus Chris Nowakowski SP, 6 Point
8.Omaha Cyclones Beto Martinez SP, 5 Point
9. Austin Roughnecks Shawn Katz 3B, 2 Point
10. Portland Trappers William Strauss 1B, 2 Point
11. Virginia Beach Bums Miguel Blanco OF, 2 Point
12. Orlando Majestics Drew Tabulov C, 2 Point

Round 3
11. Montreal Bleus Ryu Shi-Won 2B, 2 Point
12. Montreal Bleus JP Daniels OF, 2 Point

All-Star Rosters

Team Taylor
SP Victor Zambrano
SP Mark Mulder
SP Kip Wells
RP Eric Gagne
RP Matt Anderson
C Javier Valentin
1B Sean Casey
2B Jose Vidro
3B Joe Crede
SS Khalil Greene
OF Juan Encarnacion
OF Gary Mathews, Jr.
OF Ben Grieve
DH Elijah Dukes


Team Lommel
SP Braden Looper
SP Mark Prior
SP Shawn Chacon
RP Chad Bradford
RP Boof Bonser
C Toby Hall
1B Doug Mientkiewicz
2B Brent Abernathy
3B Sean Burroughs
SS Adam Everett
OF Willy Mo Pena
OF Rocco Baldelli
OF Choo Freeman
DH Hank Blalock

Season 3 roster moves

Austin Roughnecks
Sean Casey Retires
Preston Wilson Retires
Bring up rookie 1B, Brendan Irons
Drop SP Eric Valent
Drop 2B Andy Cannizaro from reserves
Claim 2B Chris Burke from Free Agents
Claim OF John Rodriguez from Free Agents

Montreal Bleus
Claim Eric Milton from Free Agents

Omaha Cyclones
Bring up rookie SP, Akafumi Koiski
Drop Chris Reitsma
Claim Iván Maldonado from Free Agents

Orlando Majestics
Shannon Stewart retires
Bring up rookie SS, Jamie Simms
Juan Francia moves to U
Drop Brent Roneberg
Claim OF Joe Inglett from Free Agents

Portland Trappers
Jermaine Dye retires
Bring up rookie OF, Ricky Bracket

Virginia Beach Bums
Doug Mientkiewicz retires
Dmitri Young retires
Bring up rookie SP, Robert Ware
Bring up 1B Jason Stokes
Drop Eric Milton
Claim U Brad Wilkerson from Free Agents

Player Notes!

So here are some news and notes on players for season 2. If you didn't know yet, players automatically retire after they pass the age of 37. Also, I've decided to change player ratings based on Season 1's performance.

Retirements
Sean Casey
Jermaine Dye
Doug Mientkiewicz
Shannon Stewart
Preston Wilson
Dmitri Young

Swan Songs, last season will be season 3
Chad Bradford
Kiko Calero
Shea Hillenbrand
Braden Looper
Gary Mathews, Jr.
Eric Milton
Richie Sexson
Randall Simon
Junior Spivey
Jose Vidro
Esteban Yan
Victor Zambrano

Rookie Campaigns
Ricky Bracket
Brendan Irons
Akifumi Koiski
Jamie Simms
Robert Ware

Up a rating
Shawn Chacon 5>6

Down a rating
Morgan Ensberg 3>2

MVP results

Here are the results of the MVP voting

1st Adam Everett 12 points
2nd Sean Casey 8 points
3rd Brent Abernathy 4 points
4th Juan Encarnacion 3 points
5th Victor Zambrano 1 point

Adam Everett is the Season 2 MVP. He joins Sean Burroughs as the only MVPs in league history.

Season 2 MVP Voting

Here are the 5 players who have proven themselves as a star players in this league. Four batters, and one pitcher are included in the voting. This will be Heisman style voting. With a selected group of gentlemen having votes, they will make first, and second place votes. First will be 3 points, second will be 1. Here are the choices.

Brent Abernathy - Orlando Majestics
28-65, .413 Batting Average, 16 RBI, 15 Runs, 7 Home runs, 9 Strike Outs

Sean Casey- Austin Roughnecks
29-65, .446 Batting Average, 16 RBI, 15 Runs, 4 Home runs, 10 Strike Outs

Juan Encarnacion- Portland Trappers
29-67, .433 Batting Average, 20 RBI, 16 Runs, 5 Home runs, 7 Strike Outs

Adam Everett- Virginia Beach Bums
34-82, .415 Batting Average, 18 RBI, 19 Runs, 7 Home runs, 7 Strike Out

Victor Zambrano- Austin Roughnecks
33 innings, 5-1 Record, 1.81 ERA, 12 Ks, 8 Walks

So there you have it! I honestly think this is wide open.

M's Release Elarton

Aging Scott Elarton was released from the Orlando roster following his 1/3rd of an inning performance against the Trappers. The first pitcher in M's history has not lived up to expectations. A 6 point pitcher for season 1, lost a point due to poor performance, and now is 1-4 with an ERA of 12.5.

M's have signed Jason Jennings, who was a free agent, and now is on the roster for the rest of the season. A 5 point pitcher is crucial for the stretch run for the Taylor Cup.

Updated Batting Orders

Austin Roughnecks
1 OF Elijah Dukes
2 SS Kahlil Greene
3 OF Rocco Baldelli
4 1B Sean Casey
5 2B Junior Spivey
6 C Eric Munson
7 3B Damian Rolls
8 OF
9 DH Matt Lecroy

Omaha Cyclones
1 OF Gary Mathews, Jr
2 2B Jose Vidro
3 C Javier Valentin
4 OF Craig Monroe
5 OF Jeremy Hermida
6 1B Garret Atkins
7 3B Morgan Ensberg
8 SS Bobby Crosby
9 DH

Orlando M's
1 OF Choo Freeman
2 OF Shannon Stewart
3 2B Brent Abernathy
4 OF Ben Grieve
5 1B Shea Hillenbrand
6 3B Joe Crede
7 C Pete LaForest
8 SS Juan Francia
9 DH

Portland Trappers
1 OF Jermaine Dye
2 3B Sean Burroughs
3 OF Juan Encarnacion
4 OF Willy Mo Pena
5 1B Richie Sexon
6 2B Marcus Giles
7 SS Angel Berroa
8 DH
9 C Jeremy Brown

Virginia beach Bums
1 SS Adam Everett
2 C Toby Hall
3 OF Eric Byrnes
4 1B Doug Mientkiewicz
5 3B Hank Blalock
6 OF Larry Bigbie
7 OF Bubba Crosby
8 DH
9 2B Michael Holliman

Fahey Dropped

Omaha, NE

Lead off hitter Brandon Fahey has been dropped off of the roster. Batting an abysmal .76, the Cyclones have released him. They picked up free agent Bobby Crosby who will join the team when they travel to Austin next game.

Trading Spaces

The first trade in CBL History has just taken place. Struggling second baseman for Virginia, Aaron Herr, is sent to Portland in return for 2B Michael Holliman. Holliman has been on the Trappers reserves all season. "Aaron was a good guy, and I wish him luck in Portland" says third baseman Hank Blalock. Herr will be on the reserves, while Holliman will now be in the starting line up for Virginia.

Mid Season MVP Watch

Just like last season, a MVP will be crowned. It's a long way away, but its never to early to have some players who have had a great first half to be recognized.

Victor Zambrano
14 IP, 3-0 Record, 1.42 ERA, 8 Ks, 3 BBs

Kip Wells
13 IP, 1-1 Record, 1.93 ERA, 11 Ks, 3 BBs

Braden Looper
21 IP, 2-2 Record, 3.09 ERA, 14 Ks, 10 BBs

Mark Prior
20 IP, 2-2 Record, 2.25 ERA, 9 Ks, 7 BBs

Brent Abernathy
13-31, .419 Average, 12 RBI, 10 Runs, 5 HRs, 3 Ks, 5 BBs

Willy Mo Pena
15-31, .468 Average, 8 RBI, 8 Runs, 2 HRs, 4 Ks, 1 BBs

Juan Encarnacion
13-32, .406 Average, 13 RBI, 9 Runs, 4 HRs, 2 Ks, 4 BBs

Eric Byrnes
15-34, .441 Average, 5 RBI, 7 Runs, 2 HRs, 2 Ks, 3 BBs

Khalil Greene
14-37, .378 Average, 8 RBI, 11 Runs, 3 HRs, 3 Ks, 2 BBs

So what do you think? Predictions?

Mid Season Notes!

35 down, 35 to go. Here are some notes for the second half

3 players will get ratings boosts. Kip Wells, and Victor Zambrano both will be promoted to 6 point pitchers, with Brent Abernathy being promoted to a 3 point hitter. Here are the stats for the 3 players.

Victor Zambrano
14 IP, 3-0 Record, 1.42 ERA, 8 Ks, 3 BBs

Kip Wells
13 IP, 1-1 Record, 1.93 ERA, 11 Ks, 3BBs

Brent Abernathy
13-31, .419 Average, 12 RBI, 10 Runs, 5 HRs, 3 Ks, 5 BBs

Batting orders will also be changed, and a trade or two will be made.

ERA

ERA will now be calculated with Earned runs in 5 innings, as compared to 9. That will make the stats resemble actual ERA more. Starting with game 10, the ERA will now be lower.

All of Season 1's stats were changed also. That makes Mark Mulder's ERA 2.75 last season.

News

I finally got a Sports Club Stats up!
http://www.sportsclubstats.com/You/ContinentalBaseballLeague.html
Keep up with playoff chances here.

Also, The Majestics will have Juan Francia now start at Short Stop over Oscar Robels. Then Matt Lecroy will be full time DH, and Eric Valent, and Preston Wilson will be the ones switching off at OF