This Week In CFCL History

Here’s a look at this week in CFCL history, covering the dates June 9 to June 15.

June 9, 1998	COPPERFIELDS trade Kevin Young to DEM REBELS for Robb Nen. A pitching for hitting swap between teams close in the standings … the Copperfields were in 2nd and the Rebels in 4th.  Young was solid for the Rebels, providing a .279 BA, 13 HR, 66 RBI, and 11 SB; however the Rebels ended up slipping a couple places in the overall standings by year’s end.  Nen provided 21 Saves with a 1.72 ERA for the Copperfields, but they still fell a point and a half short of the eventual Champs, David’s Ruffins.
June 9, 1998	DOORMATTS trade Jason Kendall and their 3rd round Rotation Draft pick in 1999 to LAMBCHOPS for Eli Marerro and Chris Holt. Teams at opposite ends of the standings swap catchers.  The first place Lambchops pick up Kendall, who excels with a .320 BA, 8 HR, 40 RBI, and 18 SB, though the Lambchops slip to third by the end of the season.  The last place DoorMatts get a catcher for the future in Marerro, but he struggles the following season, hitting only .192, though he does contribute 11 SB. It’s years before Marerro is productive, and by that time he’s long gone from the DoorMatts.  Holt never makes it to 1999, as the DooMatts cut him in Winter Waivers following the 1998 season. The DoorMatts ended up trading away the Chops’ 3rd round Rotation Draft pick in another deal.
June 10, 1986	SPHERECHUCKERS trade Greg Minton and Ron Robinson to Z-28s for Mark Davis and Matt Keough. Vile, despicable scum.
June 10, 2004	COPPERFIELDS trade Steve Trachsel, Alex Gonzalez, and their 13th round Rotation Draft pick in 2005 to DEM REBELS for Marlon Byrd, Jimmy Rollins, and their 7th round Rotation Draft pick in 2005. Rollins contributed a .292 BA, 12 HR, 58 RBI, and 18 SB to the Copperfields’ unsuccessful quest for the 2004 title, but Byrd was a flop. The following Draft Day, they selected Jose Macias with the Rebel’s 7th round draft pick.  The Rebels released Gonzalez after the season. They kept Trachsel for 2005, but injuries limited him to only 37 IP. They ended up trading the Copperfields’ 13th round draft pick to Hot Sludge Sundae.
June 12, 2008	MOORE BETTER trade Jeff Kent, Paul LoDuca, Jon Rauch, and Ramon Martinez (IF) to STONES for Homer Bailey, Mitch Stetter, Matt Antonelli, and Brandon Jones. The Stones start to assemble pieces for their title run in 2008. Kent and LoDuca supply decent OBA, but little else (140 TB, 43 RBI, 30 RS combined), while Rauch provided 10 HoSv.  Moore Better didn’t get much production from their return for the deal. Baily provided 10 QS, but a 4.53 ERA in 2009, while Stetter contributed 21 HoSv.
June 12, 2001	GO-GO trade Darryl Kile, Ricky Gutierrez, Carlos Zambrano (ML), and their 7th round Rotation Draft pick in 2002 to DEM REBELS for Phil Nevin, Pokey Reese, and Russ Ortiz. The Go-Go acquire three final-year contracts from the rebuilding Rebels.  The Go-Go got excellent returns from Nevin and Ortiz, and some much-needed steals from Reese:  Nevin: .297 BA – 29 HR – 84 RBI – 2 SB Reese: .217 BA – 5 HR – 20 RBI – 13 SB Ortiz: 2.88 ERA – 1.14 RATIO – 10 W – 0 Sv  Even with this production, the Go-Go slipped from 1st place at the time of the deal to 4th by the end of the season.  The Rebels didn’t get any direct contributions from the players they received in this deal, but benefited nonetheless.  During the off-season, they packaged Kile, the Go-Go’s 7th rounder, and a pick of their own to the Six Packs for four players, including Robb Nen and Julio Lugo. They kept minor leaguer Zambrano through the 2002 draft, but traded him to the Picts as part of a deal for Chipper Jones in one of the earliest dump trades in CFCL history. Gutierrez ended up going to the American League, so the Rebels released him.  This trade, and the subsequent deals resulting from it, helped the Rebels rise from an 11th place finish in 2001 to 2nd in 2002.
June 12, 2001	DEM REBELS trade Antonio Alfonseca and Bobby Hill to (ML) RUFFINS for Chin Feng Chen (ML), Wilton Serrano (ML), Marcus Giles (ML), and their 10th round Rotation Draft pick in 2002. Not playing any favorites, on the same day as the trade above, the rebuilding Rebels complete a deal with the Go-Go’s competition.  The key for the Ruffins was Alfonseca, and he saved 16 games with a 3.63 ERA after the deal, though it wasn’t enough to improve the Ruffins’ 4th place standing.  The main prize for the Rebels here was Giles. He manned the 2B base post for the Rebels for five years before dealing him to the DoorMatts in 2006. Chen also proved useful, as they included him in the deal with the Picts for Chipper Jones (described above).  The Rebels ended up cutting Serrano before the 2002 Draft, and passed when it came time to use the Ruffins’ 10th round pick in the Rotation Draft.
June 13, 1989	SIX PACKS trade Bob Walk to LAMBCHOPS for Mike Marshall.
June 13, 1989	COPPERFIELDS trade Donnell Nixon, Pete Smith, Ramon Martinez (RL), Mitch Webster (RL) and their 1st and 2nd round Rotation Draft picks in 1990 to BALD EAGLES for Rolando Roomes, John Franco, and their 1st and 2nd round Rotation Draft Picks in 1990. The Copperfields were in 4th place at the time of this trade, 6 points out of first, while the Eagles were in 7th, 4 points out of last.  The target here was obviously Franco, as the Coppers stood to gain 4 points in the Saves category along with whatever help Franco could give in ERA and Ratio. Franco fizzled, though, saving only 15 games and posting a 4.24 ERA the rest of the way.  The Eagles came out ahead in this one – Martinez blossomed the following year, winning 20 games with a 2.92 ERA and 1.01 Ratio.  The draft picks traded here are an interesting story. At the time, the minor league draft only lasted two rounds, so each team traded the other their entire set of minor league draft picks.   The Copperfields used the Eagles’ first round pick to select Reggie Jefferson, while the Eagles selected Kiki Jones with the Coppers’ pick in the first round. Neither player made it to the majors in the CFCL … Jefferson had some decent seasons in the American League, while Kiki sang a hit duet with Elton John … sorry … I mean never made it beyond AA.  The Copperfields had traded away the Eagles’ second round pick in a subsequent trade, while the Eagles didn’t use the Copperfields’ pick in the second round because they had already filled their minor league system.
June 13, 2000	DA PAUL MEISTERS trade Andy Ashby to COPPERFIELDS for their 6th round Rotation Draft pick in 2001.
June 14, 1988	CROCKETS trade Tim Raines to BALD EAGLES for Kevin Bass and Todd Frohwirth (ML). The front running Eagles looking for an upgrade in the outfield, but it doesn’t work out that way. Not only do the Crockets get minor league pitcher Frohwirth, but Bass out-produces Raines the rest of the way. Post-trade stats:  Raines: .247 BA – 7 HR – 22 RBI – 12 SB Bass: .248 BA – 10 HR – 42 RBI – 16 SB
June 15, 1984	FORGOETZ ME NOTS trade Jesse Orosco, Alan Wiggins, and Dan Driessen to COPPERFIELDS for Pascual Perez, Brian Little, and Eddie Milner. The first trade in CFCL history, and the only trade in the 1984 season.   We looked at this one in detail yesterday:  The First Trade in CFCL History
June 15, 1993	COPPERFIELDS trade Pete Incaviglia to SIX PACKS for Denny Martinez. A pitching for hitting trade by teams separated by only 2.5 points at the time … the Copperfields in second place, and the Six Packs in third.  Incaviglia gave the Six Packs 13 HR and 45 RBI the rest of the season, but the rest of the team fell apart and they tumbled to last place.  Martinez was decent for the Copperfields, contributing 9 Wins and a Save, though with a slightly elevated 4.12 ERA. The Copperfields went on to take the 1993 Championship.
June 15, 1999	SIX PACKS trade Ryan Klesko, Steve Avery, Dave Veres, and their 2nd round Rotation Draft pick in 2000 to SLACKERS for Jeff Bagwell. The Six Packs go for broke to secure Jeff Bagwell for their title run and it pays off big time. Bagwell is a monster after the deal, hitting .281 with 21 HR, 67 RBI, and 18 SB, helping the Six Packs to the 1999 Championship.  Klesko and Veres had good seasons the following year, but it didn’t mean anything for the Slackers … they left the league after finishing last in 1999.