Anthony Peburn turned over his New Milford Blazer franchise to the BDBL front office. Commissioner Mike Glander accepted Jim Doyle's request to join the league rather than assigning the NMB franchise to an existing BDBL owner. Mr. Peburn acted out in his typical fit of rage.
Doyle took a look at the market value of the players on the NMB roster and cut five players. Mr. Peburn agreed with 3 of the cuts but was outraged Doyle cut Freddie Freeman and his 12.5 million salary. Peburn's hyberbolic rants included claims the move made "zero sense" and Doyle already "ran the franchise into the ground."
Other owners accurately pointed out these rants resembled Hillary Clinton's recent pronouncements while Doyle stayed silent. Until now.
Mr. Peburn resigned from the BDBL because he failed to win a world series. Perhaps the baseball gods were angry Peburn made up bizarre dimensions to his ballpark and stacked his team with lefties. Perhaps he knew Kershaw was in the last year of his contract and he wanted to avoid the task of rebuilding a franchise without him. Whatever the reason, it is pretty sad when you leave the ring and criticize the fighter in the ring who has to finish the fight.
Perhaps Mr. Peburn overlooked the fact the Miners had an automatic 7 million dollar cut in revenue under BDBL rules. Or the fact Peburn never won a world series because he relied on bizarre park ratings which did not exist on the road. Better yet, perhaps Freddie Freeman's contract was above fair market value, something a reasonable person would believe given he signed for less on the open market. In any event, Peburn's rants were rather premature coming only a few days after the change in ownership.
Doyle made some valuable additions in the off season. First, the Miners sent Michael Kopech and Dinelson Lamet to the Infidels in exchange for Justin Verlander. Second, Joplin sent Cole Hamels and Adam Warren to the to Chicago for Buster Posey. Finally, the Miners picked up players like Charlie Blackmon and Carlos Santana in the free agent draft. These transactions clearly sent a message to the rest of the league Joplin was all in for the 2018 season.
Joplin built a stadium which resembles the SFG park. The fans love everything about it, especially the various types of food available at the ballpark. The Mine is sold out for all home games this season. At the time this blog entry is being written, the Miners hold a 3 game lead in the division.
Mr. Peburn, you can have a pair of free tickets right behind home plate when the first world series game is held at at the Mine. Hope you keep your calendar free in 2018.
