I'm lost!

[DePloderer]

OK, so after two and a half seasons of following baseball, I'm now up to speed with the basic rules and strategies of the game ( although I do still find myself wondering if we speek the same language sometimes when listening to Hawk and DJ, what is all this stuff about " cans of corn"?). But I am completely lost when it comes to the ins and outs of trading players.

 

With Football or Rugby, if a manager wants a player he'll pay cash or cash plus a player and either get him or not. You get the occasional free agent where he is no longer wanted by the club or star who plays out his contract so as to get a maaive deal elsewhere, but that's it.

 

So can anyone tell me what is meant by "eligible for arbitration", "free agency" (I think this just means - out of contract), why do we need to "open a roster spot", or any of the dozens of things that need to be taken into account befor a trade is considered?

 

Or is it realy not as complicated as it seems?

 

Cheers

[rangercal]

arbitration

the use of a third party to settle a dispute between a player and an organization.

 

 

free agency

the system that allows baseball players to sign contracts with any team when their contract expires if they have played in the major leagues for at least six years.

 

25-man roster

a list of players that make up a baseball team from opening day to September 1, limited to twenty-five players.

40-man roster a list of players that make up a team during spring training, limited to forty players; players on the forty-man roster, but not on the active roster, may be sent to the minor leagues during the season.

[rangercal]

Q: When does a player become eligible for free agency?

A: A player with six or more years of Major League service who has not executed a contract for the next season is eligible to become a free agent.

 

Q: When does a player become eligible for salary arbitration? A: A player with three or more years of service, but less than six years, may file for salary arbitration. In addition, a player can be classified as a "Super Two" and be eligible for arbitration with less than three years of service. A player with at least two but less than three years of Major League service shall be eligible for salary arbitration if he has accumulated at least 86 days of service during the immediately preceding season and he ranks in the top 17 percent in total service in the class of Players who have at least two but less than three years of Major League service, however accumulated, but with at least 86 days of service accumulated during the immediately preceding season.

[Al Lopez Ghost (old)]

The 40 man roster is a tricky thing, and I know I will probably say something wrong here, or omit something important, but I think it's worth trying to explain a little more. The Sox and all teams' organizations consist of the 25 major league players and another let's say 100 minor league players. Every year there's a draft of high school graduates and certain college level players, and these players, when signed, enter the minor league system. These drafted signees belong to the team exclusively, but for a limited time, I think 3 years. After that time, either they must be added to the 40 man roster, or they become eligible for another draft held in the winter. So teams protect their best prospects by adding them to the 40 man roster - of course this is done after some less highly regarded player is dropped from the 40 man roster. So it can be a very fluid thing, and you will often hear that the team has "outrighted" a player - like Kevin Walker recently - to a minor league team, thus removing him from the 40 man roster, clearing space to acquire a player from another team's 40 man roster, or to add one of the 1-3 year players to make that player eligible for calling up to the major league team.

 

It's just that simple.

[TLAK]

The can of corn reference comes from old style groceries. Space was limited so canned goods were put on shelving high on the wall, the customer would tell the clerk which can she wanted and the clerk would slide it off the shelf with a hooked stick, like a cane, then catch it with his free hand. So a can of corn is an easy catch.

[jackie hayes]

Rob Neyer wrote a convenient little article, a transactions primer, a few years back, in case you want to know more.

[SAVVY18]

what is all this stuff about " cans of corn?"

 

LOL...That's just Hawks way of describing a lazy fly ball to the outfielder for an easy catch.

 

You see, back in the day the cans of corn were kept on the very top shelf at the grocery store and they had to use a stick to knock it down off the shelf. When it fell, it wasn't a hard line drive, just kind of fell off the shelf for an easy catch by the shopper. When the outfielder catches that lazy fly ball, they look like they are catching a "can of corn".

 

 

In the upcoming Red Sox series, you are gonna hear Hawk call Boston the "Carmines". That is just his slang term for the Red Sox. Carmine is the color of red in their uniforms.

[DePloderer]

Rob Neyer wrote a convenient little article, a transactions primer, a few years back, in case you want to know more.

 

 

Thankyou all. All is now understood, I think.

[longshot7]

The other issue about trading that's hard to get - I think (and the thing I don't get about Int'l Football) is that both teams want to come out winners. If Team A has a player under contract, they're legally bound to pay him for whatever length of time, but if they decide to get rid of him, or another team could use him - Team A trades that player and his contract to Team B for asnother player that either helps that team out, or costs significantly less (what's called a salary dump.) The system is designed to help both teams in a transaction.

 

What I don't get in Int'l Football, is if one team buys a player from another team, then the second team just has a gaping hole there, not another player. why not have a trade from the first team?

[DePloderer]

The other issue about trading that's hard to get - I think (and the thing I don't get about Int'l Football) is that both teams want to come out winners.  If Team A has a player under contract, they're legally bound to pay him for whatever length of time, but if they decide to get rid of him, or another team could use him - Team A trades that player and his contract to Team B for asnother player that either helps that team out, or costs significantly less (what's called a salary dump.)  The system is designed to help both teams in a transaction. 

 

What I don't get in Int'l Football, is if one team buys a player from another team, then the second team just has a gaping hole there, not another player.  why not have a trade from the first team?

 

 

I take it that by "Int'l Football" you mean soccer, not International football as in County of origin teams (obviously there is no trading between these teams).

 

If so, when a player is bought from a team, another player is often part of the deal. Even so, with the money got for the player the selling team can go and buy a player from any other team. As most players can play a number of positions, a gaping hole is not usualy a problem. If the position was a critical one, such as a goal keeper, the selling team is unlikely to sell unless it had another keeper lined up to buy, or a reserve keeper that could step up to the first team.

 

There is no limit to the number of players a team can have. We don't have rosters as such, just the first team and the reserves (often known as the Stiffs).

 

Often players are sold off to reduce debt and not replaced, a prime example of this is my own team, Leeds United, who when they were relegated last season sold any and all players of any value. You may or may not know that 99% of all European football teams are running with huge debts. It is probable that only Chelsea and Manchester United of the English Premiership are in profit. Most of the big teams on the continent are propped up by large companies such as Fiat.