Saturday, February 16, 2019 seemed to be a day of transactions for the Illowa APBA League. It was kind of an unplanned, impromptu Winter Meetings conducted over email, text and phone. I don’t think I’ve witnessed anything like it before.
Within eight hours, a total five trades involving 14 players or draft picks took place. Keep in mind, there was no sense of urgency since the rookie draft and start of season begins in over a month for the IAL.
Here is how it all went down…
9:18 am: Giving in to the Commish
| Bombers | >< | T-Chicks |
| Bombers # 4 Pick | >< | Anderson, T. |
Commissioner Mike Bunch and I have been in talks around this trade for a while. I talked him up to a 4th round pick and was on the fence about it. Mike was relentless though. Every other day, there was a text,
So, 4th for Anderson?
And another one a couple days later… and so forth.
I finally gave in and texted him Saturday morning with my assent. For a little background, my Thunderchickens pitching staff is full of C pitching. Without Anderson, I would still pitch C or better for the whole season.
Certainly, not a blockbuster deal but it gives me a little flexibility.
10:25 am: Manny becomes a Thunderchicken
| Rattlesnakes | >< | T-Chicks |
| Machado, M. | >< | T-Chicks # 1 Pick |
| Rattlesnakes # 2 Pick | >< | Cabrera, A. |
Now this is a blockbuster deal!
John Brandeberry and I had been talking Machado and my 1st for a couple weeks.
Brando sweetened the deal just enough for me to pull the trigger. I had plans for that first round pick (fourth overall) so I would have to adjust. But Manny is just 24.
10:27am: Who? for Who?
| Hustlers | >< | Glaciers |
| Kennedy, I. | >< | Steckenrider, D. |
Two minutes after the Rattlesnakes-Thunderchickens barnburner deal, Dan Bunch and Dennis Jennings announced a trade that stunned the world… oh wait, never mind. This was purely a deal born out of necessity. A D pitcher for a C* pitcher. Nothing to see here.
A full three hours passed before an Illowa manager made the next deal.
2:50pm Hey wait, that was MY pick!
| Marauders | >< | Rattlesnakes |
| Severino, L. | >< | T-Chicks # 1 Pick |
| Cozart, Z. | >< | Porcello, R. |
Here I thought my dear friend Brando needed my #1 pick to help his team.
Nope, he just up and traded it that same day to Don Smith’s Molly Putts Marauders. He got Luis Severino (BXZ) to help to shore up his starting pitching.
4:36pm A fan favorite leaves Twin City
| T-Chicks | >< | Marauders |
| Bryant, K. | >< | Marauders # 1 Pick |
| Suter, B. | >< | Peraza, J. |
Maybe this will work out for the best. Kris Bryant (admittedly on a down year) has been a fan favorite and as a Cubs fan, I can’t root against him. With this trade, I will get two full functioning players (depending on what happens with that #1 pick) for two players who are limited this year.
I’m gambling right now though. I’m betting that Manny Machado will be a third baseman this year and I will have that position and shortstop covered for a few years. If not, I’ll have to adjust.
Either way, Don Smith was probably whooping it up after that trade was made.
The whole day was filled of league texts and emails full of announcements, good-humored barbs and jokes. The interesting part was the correspondence of the trade that never was made.
An anonymous Illowa manager (to protect the innocent) and I traded no less than 16 emails throughout the day to negotiate a deal on a blockbuster level but we couldn’t come to terms. I believe we both wanted to complete it but we just couldn’t come to exact resolution. At one point, we had a deal on the table involving twelve players.
It didn’t help that our league’s rosters were changing throughout the day!
Regardless, I woke up this morning and thought, “What happened to my team?” and “Why is Kris Bryant mad at me?”. On a side note, kudos to commish Mike Bunch who had our updated rosters to us by this morning. We needed them.
The Illowa APBA League’s draft will be held on March 29-30.
