Thursday, January 31, 2008

Day Laborers up the ante for Holbert

Earlier this evening, the Mexico City Day Laborers increased their offer to number one overall pick in the amateur draft, 2B Ken Holbert. Holbert has been holding out since being drafted and initially demanding a $4 million signing bonus.

Mexico City GM e_mandat confirmed that the Day Laborers have offered Holbert a ML contract and an $8 million bonus, double what the prized prospect initially demanded. Holbert’s camp has yet to respond to the latest offer and still maintains that Holbert may choose to play in an independent league this season, and try his luck in next year’s draft in the hopes he’ll receive more money.

The Building of a Contender


The Austin Chin Music roster (salary and years left under contract) is below, along with how each player was acquired. Obviously, for me trades have been the way to this point. The team sits at 56-24 in season 7, with one championship (season 2) under its belt.

C - Cory Speaker ($7.875M/1) - Acquired via trade in season 5 along with LF - Brent Pose from Santa Fe for 3B - Alex Olivares and P - Adrian O'Connor.
C - Josias Nieves ($378K/1) - Acquired via trade in season 5 along with Rafael Osuna from Cleveland for P - Elvis Nicholson, C - Calvin Chase, and 2B - Bump Monahan.
1B - Fritz Gaillard ($4.9M/4) - Acquired via trade in season 7 along with SS - Torey Benavente from Scottsdale for 3B - Ron Turner, P - Ernest Holdridge, and SS - Harry Nieves (I regret this one).
2B - Richie Lowry ($500K/1) - Acquired as a free agent in season 4.
3B - Dusty Mann ($7.3M/5) - Acquired via trade in season 4 from Philadelphia for P - Raul Santana.
SS - Blaine Serrano ($360K/1) - Acquired via trade in season 5 along with 2B - Bump Monahan from Texas for P - Matt Adams (another trade I regret making).
SS - Torey Benavente ($343K/1) - Acquired via trade in season 7 along with 1B - Fritz Gaillard from Scottsdale for 3B - Ron Turner, P - Ernest Holdridge, and SS - Harry Nieves (see above).
LF - Willie Chavez ($9.5M/2) - Acquired via trade in season 5 from Augusta for LF - Ray Alexander and P - Rob Sanders.
LF - Bo Callaway ($1.23M/1) - Acquired via waivers in season 5.
CF - John Wolf ($5.6M/2) - Acquired via free agency in season 6.
RF - Willie Cambridge ($8.5M/1) - Acquired via trade in season 5 from Charleston for P - Seth Carter and CF - Brady Ward.
DH - Philip Ross ($343/1) - Acquired via Rule 5 in season 6.

SP - Rafael Osuna ($396K/1) - Acquired via trade in season 5 along with C - Josias Nieves from Cleveland for P - Elvis Nicholson, C - Calvin Chase, and 2B - Bump Monahan.
SP - Rico Cruz ($378K/1) - Acquired via trade in season 5 along with P - Chuck Griffin and 1B - Omar Franco from Pittsburgh for RF - Achilles Snow, SS - Juan Gonzalez, and C - Tommy Broome.
SP - Chuck Griffin ($5.4M/2) - Acquired via trade in season 5 along with P - Rico Cruz and 1B - Omar Franco from Pittsburgh for RF - Achilles Snow, SS - Juan Gonzalez, and C - Tommy Broome.
SP - Bret Ross ($378K/1) - Acquired via trade in season 5 along with Ps - Adrian O'Connor and Stven Sinclair from Honolulu for RF - Albert James and 1B - Julian Sanchez.
SP - Monte Griffin ($925K/1) - Acquired via free agency in season 7.
LR - Dan Ripken ($378K/1) - Acquired via trade in season 5 from Tampa Bay for P - Sid Tanner.
LR - Wilfredo Ortiz ($343K/1) - Acquired via Rule 5 in season 6.
SU - Darwin Daniels ($360K/1) - Acquired via trade in season 5 from Philadelphia for P - Jumbo Santiago.
SU - Seth Bold ($4.1/3) - Acquired via free agency in season 7.
SU - Damon Daneker ($2.4M/1) - Acquired via trade in season 5 from Rochester for 1B - Apollo Reid, LF - Luke Smart, and P - Bernard Harris.
SU - Dude Simpson ($378K/1) - Only original Chin Music on ML team).
SU - Ken Cortes ($1.4M/1) - Acquired via free agency in season 2.
CL - Jerry Price ($4.8M/2) - Acquired via trade in season 6 along with P - Ivan Diaz from New Orleans for Ps - Benji Nunez and Sammy Martin.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Ken Holbert holdout watch


As we prepare to enter week two of the Ken Holbert standoff, Mexico City GM e_mandat, affectionately know by his peers as mandate, may be wondering whether or not the Sim Gods have something against him.

In season 5, the Day Laborers missed out on super stud pitcher Don Bale despite having the number one pick in the draft. With that wound still fresh, e_mandat now faces the possibility of losing the number one overall pick in the season 7 draft, 2B Ken Holbert. Holbert has yet to sign with Mexico City and e_mandat provided us with this update on the situation recently:

“Ken is mulling over your offer. You've given him the big league deal he wants, but we're still debating whether he could get more next year after a season in indy ball. Give us time, and we'll get back with you. More money may make that call come quicker.”

Whether or not the Day Laborers have offered more than Holbert’s original demand of a $4 million bonus is unknown. But it looks like if Holbert is going to sign with Mexico City, it will likely be for close to double that amount. Holbert’s camp did make it clear that there was a possibility he would not sign before the draft took place, but you can’t blame e_mandat for rolling the dice and drafting a stud 2B that projects into the high 90’s overall.

Mexico City can only hope that Holbert agrees to sign eventually. Otherwise, it will be another disappointing draft for the Day Laborers.

Introducing the Camp Inquirer

Welcome to even more time of your life being spent on HBD. This blog will detail the ongoings, provide analysis, previews and advice for teams and owners (and other curious minds) in the Camp World. All owners of a team in Camp are invited and encouraged to publish works and all readers, regardless of ownership status, are invited to comment. Hopefully this blog doesn't contribute to any divorces.