THE ISBL GAZETTE -- Winter Edition #11

PYT	106-56	.654	-
NOI	104-58	.642	2
NOM	100-62	.617	6
DIR	92-70	.568	14
BEA	66-96	.407	40
GIA	62-100	.383	44
RAC	60-102	.370	46

ISBL HOME ENCYCLOPEDIA DISKS PAST GAZETTES TheISBLog.com

AUCTION SITE AUCTION RESULTS/FINANCES

2005 TRANSACTIONS 2005 CALENDAR

Blanton #1 in '05 Junior Draft

The San Mateo Wolverines selected hard-throwing righty Joe Blanton with the #1 pick in the 2005 ISBL Junior Draft. Blanton was one of 15 players selected in the draft by 10 teams.

Other first-round selections included catcher Dioner Navarro (Dirt Dogs, #2), outfielder Jason Dubois (Underdogs, #3), pitcher Dan Meyer (Raccoons, #4), pitcher Brandon League (Beavers, #5), pitcher Fernando Cabrera (Willows, #7), catcher Josh Willingham (Nomads, #10), outfielder Curtis Granderson (Cardinals, #11), pitcher Chris Saenz (Cyclones, #12) and pitcher Kameron Loe (Giants, #14). A complete rundown of the 2005 ISBL Junior Draft can be found near the bottom of the Auction Results/Finances page (just click the link above).

For all of you who have been looking for a place where you could go on and on about your team ... BEHOLD, TheISBLog.com!!! Now every team has its own blog to post their triumphs and travails.

Click on the banner, enter your team name in e-mail style (i.e. finns, meatpossums, dirtdogs, etc.) and isbl (it's cap-sensitive, so all lowercase) as the password to enter this brave new world. Once you've logged in, change your password to something you'll remember, and have at it.

There might be some bugs in the first couple days, and Chris McMains (the blog creator) will probably follow with an e-mail with further instruction, but hopefully this new element to the wonderful world of ISBL will take root for all to enjoy. Thanks to Chris for his efforts.

Oh, and it runs on a different server.

ALL TEAMS ARE STREET-LEGAL

At the conclusion of the auction's second round, all 28 teams have met the league minimums for players, batters and pitchers; and all teams have made necessary cuts in the event their roster exceeded 40 players. Thus, there will be no third round of the auction. If you wish to purchase one of the remaining free agents, you'll need to wait until Week 1 of the season.

NOTE ON TRADES & MONEY

Please remember that you have already paid the salaries of the players on your roster, and that any trades you make here on out do not relieve you of their salaries for 2005. In other words, if you trade a $6m player for a $600k player, you don't get money back unless you ask for it in the trade. Buyer beware ...

2005 GAZETTE TEAM LINKS ARE IN PLAY

Click on the team names to the left and right (or the league logos, for that matter) and you can find current rosters (as of the most recent disk release), even if you don't have access to the disk. Ah, the ISBL, dedicated to finding new ways to lower work productivity ...

NEW LOGOS FOR 2005

If you've surfed the ISBL site of late, you may have noticed that a few teams have a new look for the coming season. That's the registrar with too much time on his hands. If you think you might like something new for 2005, buzz him and -- time willing -- he might cook up something for you. (Hey, at least it's an excuse to hone my Photoshop skills.)

CONTRACT CODING (revised post-deadline)

The coding seems to confuse a lot of owners, so here's a quick index of the codes.

x : Contract Year

When this number reaches 4, the player's minimum salary becomes $1m.
When it reaches 6, the player's minimum salary jumps to $5m.

Players showing a single digit are restricted to 110% of their MLB2004 PA (plate appearances) or BF (batters faced) in ISBL2005 play.

999x : High-unlimited player

Batters with at least 500 PA
Batters rated defensively at CATCHER ONLY with at least 450 PA
Pitchers with at least 700 BF or 162 IP (innings pitched)

These players have no restriction on usage in ISBL2005 play.

666x : Low-unlimited player

Batters with no better than a .650 OPS (on-base-plus-slugging) and no better than a .700 OPS against either LHP or RHP
Batters rated defensively at CATCHER ONLY with no better than a .700 OPS and no better than a .725 OPS against either LHP or RHP
Pitchers with an opposing OPS of .900 or greater

These players have no restriction on usage in ISBL2005 play.

777x : Junior Draft-eligible player

Players with fewer than 30 PA or 10 IP who do not qualify as low-unlimiteds, but who have never amassed those numbers in a single season

These players are ineligible for the ISBL2005 regular season, but can be used in the ISBL2005 Diamond Cup. Their rights are secured in a special draft exclusive to Junior Circuit teams, at a salary of $200k each. They can only be traded to other Junior Circuit teams. Any undrafted 777x player is deleted from the disk. If a drafted player does not qualify for the ISBL2006 regular season, the team that drafted him loses his rights.

555x : Ineligible player

Players with fewer than 30 PA or 10 IP who do not qualify as low-unlimiteds or as Junior Draft-eligible

These players are ineligible for the ISBL2005 regular season, but can be used in the 2005 Diamond Cup, provided that they accumulated stats in the MLB2004 season. (i.e. Richie Weeks is ineligible for the Cup, but the rest of the 555x players are eligible.) Their rights are retained by their owner (who has already paid their ISBL2005 salary), but are lost if they do not qualify for the ISBL2006 regular season. These players are allowed to be traded to other teams, regardless of circuit affiliation.