Free Agency - update

read this post and then this article should make a lot more sense

Not in a religious way for all you LDS readers out there - in a baseball way.

Much to what I am assuming is Brooke's delight, I realized that most of my posts have strayed from sports topics. So I've decided to write about sports again, mainly because I miss doing it and also it was the original purpose of this blog.

Lately I have been very interested to see which baseball players filed for free agency and to see what the possible rosters are for my favorite teams in the 2010 season.

There are some big free agents out there now like John Lackey and Matt Holiday and I thought I would give you all a run down of what free agency is - and what it means to an organization.

Once a player has been drafted or signed with a team, he cannot become a free agent until he has been on the 25-man roster for six years. Players who are not eligible to file for free agency can be up for salary arbitration if:

They are not able to file for free agency
They are not under contract
Cannot come to terms of agreement with their current team
Been on the 25-man roster for three years.

Arbitration means that both the player (his agent) and the organization submit a number and the arbitrator selects that which he or she (pretty much always a he) deems most fair for a player of that talent level.

Note that there are exceptions but I won't get into that.

If a player has filed for free agency, the club offers arbitration in early December (I'm not sure what the dates are this year, but I know it is always around Winter Meetings). The player has around a week to acceot and be added to the roster - or contact negotiations can last pretty much up until the start of the season like Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers last season. There are rules about when their team can negotiate and when they can't but we won't get into that.

Now, there are different classes of free agents depending on the skill level of the player. Type A free agents are in the top 20 percent of their position and type B free agents are between 21 and 40 percent of the top players for their respective positions. This is determined by the Elias Sports Bureau.

If an organization offered its free agent(s) arbitration and he/they decline, the organization is offered a supplementary draft pick in the following draft. It depends on the team that the free agent eventually signs with. A team can lose their first or second round pick if they sign Type A or B free agents, or the draft pick can be sandwiched between the first and second rounds.

There are a lot more rules that have to do with free agency but I'm not going to get into it because this is complicated enough as it is.

However I do want to explain the 25-man roster to those people out there that are Major League Baseball novices. Baseball teams are allowed to carry 40 people on their roster, but only 25 people on the active roster. The 25-man rule is effective at the beginning of the season until August 31.

So you may hear people refer to the 25-man roster or the 40-man roster. When a player on the 25-man roster is placed on the disabled list a player from the 40-man roster can be called up to replace him during that time. If a player is placed on the 60-day DL they can be replaced on the 40-man roster and the club is not penalized. A player on the 15-day DL remains on the 40-man roster, but they are not eligible to play in a game until they come off the DL.

The remaining 15 players on the 40-man roster play in the minor leagues. In September the rosters are expanded and all 40 players are eligible to play on the active roster. Many prospects make their Major League debut this way.

Teams use the expanded rosters in different ways. If they have the division locked up, they will use the callups to gain experience and to give their everyday guys a rest before the postseason. If a team has no shot of making the playoffs they will likely take the time to give their prospects ML experience and to see which players will be ready to contribute in the coming season. Teams that are making a push to enter the playoffs usually use the callups in a needs-based way, such as pinch running or out of the bullpen.

There are some complicated rules that come with making the 25-man roster and options once the players have done so, but I will save that for another post.

Until later.

P.S. I should note that the Yankees won the World Series this year. I just didn't feel like writing about it. Yes I believe that they purchased that championship, but hey if I owned a team and had the money to buy the best players I probably would too.

Since You've Been Gone

I've been slaving away at my new job (hence the small amount of blog posts since I moved to Colorado, plus my computer died on me so I had to get a new one...) and it sure has made time fly by. I realized that I have been back in Colorado for three full months, which is a full quarter of a year.

Things are really getting busy at work and I am traveling a lot. Add the holidays on top of that and before I know it, it'll be another three months.

There are some things that I find myself really missing about Utah and I want to share it with you, and those of you who are still in Utah please think of me when you enjoy the following.

This blog post is inspired by my favorite Utah blog Your Heart Out, these bloggers find all the cute little shops and restaurants in the valley and share them with the world. I've been trying to find something similar for the Denver area and I haven't found anything even close - sad!

I miss the soup at Kneaders, and the fruit tarts. I also miss the all-you-can-eat french toast, the canolis, sandwiches - I mean I could go on for a very long time here. I loved going there for lunch on a cold day, and I didn't realize I would miss it so much.

I miss being in downtown Salt Lake and seeing temple square - and I know I am going to miss it even more when I know the lights are up.

I miss trips to Park City to go shopping.

I miss finding places like Stumpy's, which is absolutely delicious.

I miss knowing exactly where to find the closets bathroom when I am in the mall. Sadly, I knew the whole layout of the University Mall. Today my mom and I were at Nordstrom and she asked me where the bathroom was located. I looked around and simply realized that in Provo I knew exactly where to send her.

I was coming home from Omaha on Sunday and I got off the plane and I was a little sad when I realized that I wasn't landing in the Salt Lake airport. It is so much more intimate than DIA, and there are so many people running around that place. I envisioned myself coming down the escalator in Salt Lake and walking through the hall to baggage claim, but instead I jumped on a tram with a million strangers and waited for my ride to pick me up.

I miss my friends terribly. I miss running into people I knew everywhere I turned. Here there are so many people and I rarely run into anyone I know.

Please don't misunderstand the post. There are so many things I love about being back in Colorado, I'm just feeling a bit nostalgic today. Soon I'll counter with a "Things I Love in CO." Also I have pictures from Omaha when I went to Winter Quarters that I want to share.

October = Less Sleep

Right now it is 11:49 p.m. and I'm watching the Rockies take on the Phillies in the NLDS.

I have to wake up at 6 a.m. to morrow morning. That is not going to be pleasant. I have to wake up early, so I can get to work early, so I can leave work early, so I can catch game four of the NLDS at Coors Field tomorrow night.

I could have slept in later this morning, but I wanted to watch the Angels game at 10 a.m. that is two nights of rest that have been effected all because of postseason play.

This is getting to be a bit ridiculous.

Being a grown up means that things like work can't be interrupted by sudden changes in my normal habits like Rocktober and my sleeping patterns.

This game has been going on since 8 p.m. tonight. It's tied 5-5 in the top of the ninth with a Phillies runner on second and only one out - dangerous.

I miss my old life a little bit.

UPDATE: Rockies lose, 6-5. Sad day, also it looks like the temp for tomorrow's game will be somewhere between 40-50. Could be worse.

Cheeseheads Everywhere

So I'm finally on my first trip for work! This morning (at a ridiculously early time) I headed to the airport for my first event of the tour - Green Bay.

After a quick layover in Minneapolis I landed in GB to a sea of Packers gear.

My boss, Mr. Jay (not to be confused with Mr. or Ms. Jay from top model), took me to see a bit of Green Bay. For those of you who are not familiar with the area, GB is like a really big version of a small town.

We tried to make it to the actual bay, but we couldn't find a dock. We settled for an amusement park right next to the water.

As we get out in the parking lot I see a bright orange sign that says attention hunters, and I thought you've got to be kidding me. I snapped this photo with my phone and please notice the playground in the background.

Little did I know that this is in fact a problem in the area. Not more than 100 feet away from the playground was the bay, where I saw a man carrying a rifle with a dead goose in his hands. Turns out that in GB it is illegal to shoot a firearm, but the city's limit ends at the shore.

After that we went to see Lambeau Field. I've heard a lot of stories about the field and about this the Packers - but this was awesome. There is literally hardly anything around the field except for trees.

I don't understand how they can pack that place because there is hardly anyone around here - but these people are die-hard fans of a variety that I have never seen before (the people of GB literally own the team - the only team in the NFL like it).

I got an official cheesehead in the pro shop before we headed to Curly's for dinner (it's inside the stadium). The restaurant atmosphere was really cool. We sat in the pub area and nibbled on the most amazing pretzel bites I've ever had. Thanks to Heather B. I've been in love with pretzel bites for a while but these were so good. The dough was almost like a pastry dough because it was slightly flaky. They were crisp at the edges but really soft at the same time. I'm assuming that the pounds of butter they were drenched in put me way over my allotted calories but it was worth it.

I, of course, had a diet coke and it was in the most amazing glasses. They look like any bar glass with the logo on the side but the bottom has a cut out of a football that you see as your drink gets low.

Plus while we were there they filmed the weekly show, Inside Lambeau, with guest star Packers WR Jordy Nelson. This picture is hard to see but I wanted to remember it.

I wanted to get the baked mac 'n cheese but decided after the pretzel bites I should go with the salad. I got the buffalo wings salad. It was deceptively large and the buffalo sauce had the prefect amount of spice.

There was a great looking burger with a Louisiana hot link and sauerkraut that I wanted to get but felt like it wasn't the best choice.

The service wasn't great but the experience more than made up for it. I would highly recommend it for anyone who finds themselves in GB.

Rocktober Anyone?

I'm not sure how many of you are aware of this or not, but the Rockies are playing incredibly well right now, and I am so flipping excited about it!!!

They have a strong lead on the wildcard and are creeping up on the beloved Los Angeles Dodger. I loved 2007 and the Rockies' success but I wasn't in Denver to enjoy it, this year I am. I believe that super stoked is the proper word to describe my excitement level.

I just watched Garrett Atkins homer for the go-ahead-run against the Dodgers.

Today I filled out my request for playoff tickets too.

The Rockies have been flat out amazing since May, and I mean amazing. They have worked hard to get where they are now, and for those of you who have missed it, read this.

That article from the Denver Post comes from the Rockies 14 inning win against the Giants to come within three games of the Dodgers. A WALKOFF GRAND SLAM, even people who don't love baseball have to appreciate that.

Eric Young Jr. made his ML debut tonight too, it was cool to see his dad cheering for him when he got his first hit.