S60 - Minimum Win Requirements

 Jack Torrance - contributing reporter

Thought it would be fun to see where franchises fell had we used the new MWR in place three seasons ago - three year rolling: 55, 115, 180. We'll list anyone within 10 wins of the minimum required to see just how close some teams where. 

Year 1 (S60) - Need at least 55 wins (.340 win %)

• 57 - Austin Son's of Odin
• 54 - Fargo Snowmen (first year)
• below
• 48 - Chicago Gunslingers
• 44 - Pittsburgh Yinzers
• 46 - New York Empire (replaced)

Year 2 (S59) - Need a combined 115 wins (.355 win %)

• 117 - Austin Son's of Odin
• below
• 111 - Chicago Gunslingers
• 98 - Pittsburgh Yinzers, New York Empire

Year 3 (S58) - Need a combined 180 wins (.370 win %)

• 188 - Colorado Springs From My Loins
• 184 - Chicago Gunslingers
• below
• 177 - Austin Son's of Odin
• 153 - Pittsburgh Yinzers
• 139 - New York Empire

Next year will be Year 1 - min required of 55 wins. Go get 'em boys!

Voting Results

Thank you again to everyone who voted. It appears that we will have a couple of rules moving forward heading into Season 61.

MWR:

Rolling MWR: 55, 115, 180 - 10 Votes

55 MWR: 6 Votes

50 MWR: 5 Votes

Rolling MWR: 50, 105, 165 - 2 Votes

Therefore, moving into Season 61, we will implement a Rolling MWR of 55 wins, 115 wins, and 180 wins. Any new owner will automatically receive a 1-year grace period, provided they are doing the proper things (minors stocked, fielding competitive teams, etc.)

Restrictions on Money in Trades:

Restrict Money being traded to cover a player's salary - 16 votes

No restrictions on money being sent to trade partner - 5 votes

Therefore, money will be allowed to cover a player's salary, but not allowed to go above that salary.

If anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to contact the Commissioner directly or post in the World Chat. I'm looking forward to seeing how these rules help forge our world forward.

S60 - Rule Voting

A big thank you to all of those who decided to add their votes in the recent polls. The goal has always been to ensure Cobbfather is one of the most competitive worlds in WIS, and helping ensure ML teams are up to a certain standard is just one of those ways. But you guys didn't click the blog this time to read my writings, you want the vote results. Here they are. 

• Minimum Win Requirement
• Voted 90% in favor
• Next we need to determine what that MWR will be. For this one, we will message the commissioner in Trade Chat directly. Here are your options.
• 50 Wins every year
• 55 Wins every year
• Three year rolling, 50, 105, 165
• Three year rolling, 55, 115, 180
• Option that gets the most votes will be put into effect for S61.
• Minimum Salary Floor
• Voted 80% against - no further action.
• Spending Cap on IFAs
• Voted 80% against - no further action. 
• Restrictions on #1
• Voted 70% against - further action.
• Restriction on consecutive #1-5 picks
• Voted 60% against - though VERY close. 
• Players Out of Position - No formal stance voted on but league agreed, will be case by case; bring any issue you have to the commissioner's attention and they will address. 
• Minor leagues needs to be addressed and not routinely have 0% fatigued pitchers in games - nor position players pitching games. This includes Rookie level after the draft. 
• Daubs hence forth shall be referred to as Commissioner Darth Daubs.

A committee was raised in Global Chat, but for now leaving it to the Commissioner to continue pushing the league forward and be the one who will address major issues. If that is something you would like to vote for, please voice in global chat and we can throw up another poll. 

NEW POLLS - Trade Chat old man daubs your choices and make him get his abacus out...whatever that is. 

• Minimum Win Requirement
• 50 Wins every year
• 55 Wins every year
• Three year rolling, 50, 105, 165
• Three year rolling, 55, 115, 180
• Money involved in trades
• Allowed to cover up to salary of players being traded.
• No restrictions
• Not allowed to include money in trades until All-Star break.

Editor's Note: I'd still like to vote on removing all Canadian teams and forcing them back to the states, but we'll hold on that until another year. 

S60 Open Letter to Owner

Catherine Trammell - contributing reporter

Dear Mr. norsk, 

Lucky all you Son's of Bitc...Odin fans are WEIRD! This has been your 21st season with the franchise and are currently lined up for a top 5 pick. Fans were delighted to have you move the franchise here after S39 from San Juan and Nashville the season before that; though the franchise under your reign is just 1352-1726 entering this season. That said, the fans are getting excited about the current rebuild you are working on and hoping to claim the franchise's first division title since the one you won your second season in the league, S41. I see the promo material starting already....Ready, Steady, Division Champs after Twenty!

To give the fans a little something to look forward to, let's take a look at what you've built over the years and where you might need some more focused attention. Let's start off with the International market.  

International Market

• Us fans would rather see hot dog prices go down than continued funding in the international market. You've quietly been spending $5-8M since S56 but we are afraid its not turning into future major league talent. Your last productive IFA was Akinori Yoshii (DH) and Luigi Gil (SS) back in S44. Majority since have seen 8-10 professional years, with many not cracking the main lineup. The $5-8M is no longer going to cut it in today's market but diving into the deep end or getting out of the pool all together might be the toughest and most important decision that the Austin brass need to decide on. 

We've had a top 16 protected pick all but 2 years, the fans are starting to think you love seeing Austin's name in print on the blog and using the blog's scouts for the prospects you sign! First a quick look at those picks over the years. 

• S41 - #15 - JO Ontiveros (2B)
• 14 Pro years, 9 in the Majors - all for Austin. Career .263 hitter with 20-25 HR and 10-15 SB. 
• S42 - #32 - lost due to signing Alberto Crespo (3B) to a 3/$15.6M deal where he had a .270 batting average but never cracked 12 HR or 12 SB. 
• S43 - #12 - Donovan Romano (SS) 
• 12 Pro years, 8 in majors. Lasted just 2 years in Austin before being traded for Larry Schultz (CF) and one other piece. Schultz was a .247 hitter, with 10-20 HR and a wide range of 10-25 SB. 
• S44 - #14 - Hal Lawton (SP) 
• 16 Pro / 8 ML, all with Austin. 262 starts, 76-110 lifetime record with a 1.41 WHIP, 4.76 ERA. 
• S45 - #10 - Lou Porzio (RF) 
• 14 Pro / 7 ML, all with Austin. .276 hitter, 20-25 HR, 10-15 SB. 
• S46 - #7 - Johnny Jay (SP) 
• 12 Pro / 9 ML, all with Austin, though he signed a minor league deal for S60 with Philly - Low A. 77-83 lifetime record with a 1.44 WHIP, 4.57 ERA. 
• S47 - #7 - Trever Kendrick (SP) 
• 12 Pro / 0 ML, retired having never cracked the major league roster. 
• S48 - #15 - Ernest Clements (LF) 
• 12 Pro / 6 ML and counting - signed through S62. Hitting .247, with 15-20 HR and 20ish SB. 
• S49 - #15 - Mark Webster (2B) 
• 11 Pro / 7 ML and counting - signed through S63. 
• S50 - #10 - Rene Rhodes (SP) 
• 10 Pro / 7 ML. Waived after Arb2 and claimed by Colorado Springs. Currently with Montreal. 48-76 lifetime, with 13/20 saves, 1.49 WHIP, and 5.51 ERA.
• S51 - #11 - JD Maness (RF) 
• 9 Pro / 1 ML, though not with Austin.  Never added to 40-man and claimed in Rule 5 by Mexico City in S55. Hit .234 with 8 HR and 10 SB that season, but was demoted the following year. 
• S52 - #9 - Boone Rudolph (2B) 
• 8 Pro / 0 ML though still with Austin. Not likely to crack the majors.  
• S53 - #12 - Fausto Silverio (P) 
• 7 Pro / 1 ML. We traded him S54 for Chris Gore (CF) & Lawrence Hutch (RP). Neither has cracked the ML cllub yetSilverio is currently 6-11, 7/21 in saves with a 1.46 WHIP and 4.99 ERA for Salem after being traded again in S55, then again in S58 to where he is now.  
• S54 - #7 - Isaac Monroe (CF) 
• 6 Pro / 3 ML, enters Arb2 next season. Hitting .280, and averaging 30 HR with nearly 20 SB. The fans fully expect an extension to be signed next season to avoid him walking in Arb3, but that's on you. 
• S55 - #11 - Kane Byrdak (CF) 
• 5 Pro / 0 ML. Offers plus upside on the base paths, but might struggle getting on base. Fans are still excited to see him in the lineup one day. 
• S56 - #6 - Viosergy Barrett (SS) 
• 4 Pro / 0 ML. His glove is slightly below your typical ML shortstop, but like most Odins to crack the ML roster, he offers plus power and speed, though he often struggles against pitchers. His plus range might help make up a little for the limited glove; but even if he gets to the ball will he make the play or cause another error? Might be interesting to see him in CF one day but that requires Monroe to shift elsewhere. 
• S57 - #3 - Sammy Bennett (LF) 
• 3 Pro /  0 ML. The most progression he's made this year is hitting lefties, though he's just slightly below league average at it. But also his glove, with limit arm strength he'll belong in COF or 1B; though not sure he has starter ratings in those areas; his overall value has a lot to do with his healthy and durability it seems. 
• S58 - #7 - Freddy Smith (SS) 
• 2 Pro / 0 ML. Freddy 'Freakin' Smith is one name the fans are looking forward to, by the way his comp of Dee Valle is currently on the MVP watch list with the career year he's having, though only slightly better than the S58 year in which Smith was comped to him.  Looking back, maybe  slightly adjust that comp as Valle has become a near 20/20 guy on a .300 average in recent seasons. 
• S59 - #4 - Albert Dykstra (SS) 
• 1 Pro / 0 ML. The blog projected him as a league average defensive Shortstop, but that's good news - because he should stick at Short allow Smith to shift his poor range to 2B. Perhaps Mark Webster is dealt for younger talent or an arm which seems to be needed in Austin. At the plate he was projected as a .290ish hitter with 25 HR. Odinians were thrilled with this pick!!
• S60 - #4 - JJ Durham (P) 
• 0 Pro / 0 ML. The recent drafts of Austin are looking much better, but like the blog said he's going to have a fantastic first pitch and it just keeps improving; not even through the first full year and it's already rated as an 85. He's slowly become the blog's favorite relief prospect in the game. 

Trades

• The fans have noticed the Austin brass often steer away from trades, having only made 8 of them since taking over the franchise, 6 of them being between seasons 46-50; and 4 of the 8 with Atlanta - only the S50 Mark Yang deal was likely beneficial to the team.

Still not easy to rebuild with those 10-15 picks, depending on the quality of the drafts. With limited trades and limited FA signings, you choose to stick with those guys you draft and keep them around - much like Colorado Springs. We appreciate your dedication to the fan favorites! Unlike some retired players, we've noticed a lot of the former Odin's end up staying in Austin and becoming a big part of the community. Once a weird Austinite, always a weird Austinite. 

-Go get 'em Son's of Odin!