Here's a recap of the decisions taken in the Christmas edition of the winter meeting.

 We had to deal with a double occurrency, indeed: the resignation of Mr. Massimo Facchini (owner of the Faccos, formerly the Fatties) for personal reasons, and an expansion request from Mr. Roberto Cavicchi, a longtime friend of our league. Of course, the two things were a perfect fit, and we both regret the losing of a real sportsman and rejoice while welcoming the new entry.

 Subsequently, a new chapter was introduced in the rule book about expansion. We let Mr. Cavicchi (the new franchise's name will be appointed at a later date) choose between retrieving the Faccos franchise in its entirety or starting from scratch. Quite eloquently about the team's misfortunes, he opted for the second possibility. Each team will therefore protect 13 players (not necessarily the keepers for next season), and the new franchise will be allowed to draft, for a symbolic token, one unprotected player from each team. He will then go to the draft exactly like the other teams. The appointment of the new franchise will become official after Championship Day.

 

PREVIOUS BULLETINS

12/20/96  The Ghiotto meeting: Candies spend!  (with trade rules)  12/23/96  Flowers: The Mob Visited My House!  (in Italian)  01/05/97  The Loan Auction  01/19/97  The Trades Deadline  02/01/97  Brokers Are 1996 Champions  02/23/97  Freeze Time Coming  03/10/97  Keepers Submitted  05/05/97  Draft Time!  12/20/97  Realignment, expansion and predictions  01/10/98  Mikes latest Championship Team  03/01/98  1998 Keepers and Draft  04/14/98  1998 Season starts  09/16/98  The new freezing rules  11/01/98  Predictions

Championship Day is closing in, as we got the 1998 season disk from Diamond Mind a few days ago. The exact day will depend from the owners' personal businesses and vacations, as usual (Mr. Steve Donati, owner of the Sniffers, is usually in Santo Domingo for the whole month of January every year). We keep our predictions online for the third straight edition of this bulletin.

  East Division
It will pobably take a little more time to see an East Division team eventually reach the Finals.
The Burberries count on team balance and a good pitching staff to win the division for the third time in five years. They will be challenged by the Christians, who will try to put the first red star on their cap relying exclusively on a potent lineup. Defending division champions Topos and perpetually slumping Bidons have no hope for even a .500 season.

 Central Division
It looks quite a close race here. The Pachos appear to be the favorites, with a good lineup and great names on the mound. The only challenge can come from the Candies, with probably some too many "soft spots" in their lineup. Anonymous campaign for the Flowers, and as for the Faccos (formerly the Fatties), well, new faces, but same old story.

 West Division
Look for the eventual champion to come from this division for the third straight year. The Brokers, who won the division last year, appear to be virtually unbeatable, and the Mikes, who won the Finals last January and refused to give up hopes in the last days of the trading season, will come second, likely with a wild card berth though. The Bucks will try to put up a challenge for second place. The best team ever put on the field by the Sniffers is still projected in last place. Will it ever change?

Other pages for our friends online:

• A complete list of the keepers for each team (see also the reference page on the same matter).
• A complete list of the players drafted by team (a reference page is available on this matter as well).
• An updated team by team analysis in our usual Teams page, a fan favorite; it displays a roster analysis with the projected lineups for each team.
• The latest edition of this year's statistical recap for each and every player involved in our game. This page is updated weekly throughout the season, and is the best reference tool to evaluate the current strengths and weaknesses of each team.

You can see all the statistics of the 1997 DiamondMind Baseball Championship; they are provided, as usual, by courtesy of the Flowers Home Page.

Check the League's Coming Events . Stay in touch!

 For a complete recap of all the year's trades, see the Trades List Page, which appears (or does it?) on the Flowers' archive site.

 

 

Comments and suggestions are welcome.
Mail me at r.caramelli@bo.nettuno.it.
Thank you.

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