Season Preview - Atlanta Flyers

2017 Record: 76-84
Key Additions: 3B Chest Rockwell
Key Losses: Barry Zito
2018 Prediction: 85-75

2017 was a season that Flyers fans would rather forget. The team started slow and never got on track, finishing with their worst record since 2009. The once youth-rich Atlanta club has started seeing their home-grown players take the money and run, and the well has dried up a bit in Charleston. In addition, the rest of the division has caught up a bit to the Flyers, with San Juan mimicking their model to a tee. At this point, this isn't a 90 win team, and the team philosophy has started to crack; despite the most rookies on any 40-man roster in the league, Atlanta has over $78 million (of their $82.5 million payroll) tied into five players. With exactly $0 of wiggle room under his cap, GM Jim Masters has the stress of hoping his big stars do well, but not so well that they win a post-season award and destroy his carefully planned finances.

Batting Order

CF Gregory Burns
2B Curt Smaza
SS James Ewing
LF Darren Lemming
3B Chest Rockwell
1B Justin Morneau
C Jeffrey Clement
RF Josh Brady

While Darren Lemming and Chest Rockwell is about the scariest 1-2 punch you can think of in the middle of a batting order, the chance of their being a lot of guys on base in front of them seems slim. Burns is getting his first shot at full-time work after collecting about 400 PA's in his rookie year, and #3 hitter James Ewing struck out 136 times in 690 AB's. Jeff Clement is a scary good catcher, but he can't seem to stay healthy. Justin Morneau is certainly serviceable, but the aging veteran's good numbers only serve to hide the fact that John Twain isn't developing the way the team would like.

Pitching Rotation: Homer Bailey, Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Tucker, Al Krieger, Corey Wade
Closer: Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez

There's no doubt that Bailey will be a Cy Young contender if healthy. Zambrano is always a coin flip (9-16 last year is not what they need again). Tucker is an underrated young arm, Corey Wade is just not good. Rookie Al Krieger (1st Round Pick out of U. of Miami, 2013) was 9-4, 3.01 last year in AAA (and 42-15 overall in 4 minor league seasons) and hopes to make up for the recent losses of Prior and Zito. The bullpen is not a team strength (outside of closer K-Rod).

This seems to be a "litmus test" type season in Atlanta; let's see what this team is made of and if another run of Atlanta dominance is on the horizon.

Season Preview: Taipei Tai Fong

2017 Record: 48-112
Key Additions: SS Jose Reyes, C Kenji Johjima
Key Losses: just respect
2018 Prediction: 69-91

Rudy Ruettinger (2nd overall in 2017) and Theodore Unger (3-12, 5.23 for TAI)are what GM Dylan Goforth has to show for his trading of Roy Oswalt and Antonio Mule. Ruettinger has a ton of pressure on him, not just to live up to the hype of being a #2 pick but to equal or better the performance of Mule, who starts for division rival Kyoto. Are poor personnel decisions the thing of the past for Taipei? Or are the signings of a 34 year-old catcher and a 33 year-old shortstop supposed to be signs of a commitment to winning now? Last year's debacle has left the Tai Fong at the 60M cap mark, fans are disinterested, players are frustrated, yet remarkably, noone was fired for incompetence.
Let's review: 48 wins, the fewest in SLB - every other team had at least 72. Last in runs scored with 591, last in HR, last in OBP - and yet they still managed to hit into 107 double-plays - and last in slugging. They were the worst hitting team versus both LHP and RHP. Maybe the Far East was worse than we thought, as having this Triple A team in your division had to pad those win totals. On the mound, Goforth's team had the second worst ERA, struck out the fewest number of batters, walked the most batters and had the fewest quality starts. Congratulations, you have nowhere to go but up, right?

Batting Order v RHP
SS Jose Reyes
2B Larry Kargel
CF Tom Maple
RF Walt Coon
1B Dan Posedel
C Kenji Johjima
LF Eric Dalton
3B Troy Tulowitzki

On the bench you'll find household names like C Gene Alten, SS George Fair, SS Patrick Greene, CF Jordan Parraz and RF Eric Valent. Opposing managers are trembling with fear thinking about the possible late game heroics about to come from those guys. But hey, they're supposed to be young, right? Building a franchise from bottom up? Well the pressure is on - right now. Because if this team doesn't start winning games right now, they won't be able to afford some of their young talent. Case in point, CF Tom Maple. He's 27, runs, hits, hits for power and can catch everything in the outfield and he's in his walk year. A last place finish means either Goforth lets him walk, and starts yet another rebuild, or Taipei resigns him for big money and hamstrings their budget for the future. Great work so far.

Pitching Rotation: Ron Mexico, Eric Ridener, Chris Fetter, Roy Higuera, Theodore Unger
Closer: Kevin Whelan

Rookie pitchers Chris Fetter and Roy Higuera will get a shot in the rotation this season and they'll probably be 2 of Taipei's best pitchers. Ron Mexico kept his ERA under 4 last season so he's considered an ace. Closer Kevin Whelan throws real hard and is in his walk year. Unger will be a free agent after the season as well.

Six seasons in, Taipei still looks like a first year expansion team. Time to quit making excuses and win some games.

Season Preview - Baltimore

2017 Record: 75-85, last in South
Key Losses: None
Key Additions: Don Drysden
2018 Prediction: 77-83

After a strong start got the fans in Baltimore excited, the Panthers did what they do best: disappoint. Jose Guttierez' squad couldn't even take advantage of the surprisingly poor year by Atlanta, and finished the year in last place. For the record, this was the 6th Last Place finish for Guttierez since taking over as GM in 2007 (to go with three 4th place and one 2nd place finish and zero playoff appearances). If you ever wondered the answer to "What happens when a rich dude from Miami buys a baseball team and installs his son as the GM?".....

The front office's cure for all of Baltimore's woes? SIGN DON DRYSDEN! That's it. Pay a middle reliever with a 4.89 career ERA nearly $5 million a year. Problem solved! First place here we come! But seriously, that's the only player move of any significance in the entire off season.

Batting Order (vs.RHP)
SS Billy Frill
2B Frank Vanderwal
1B Dallas McPherson
RF Vladimir Guerrero
LF Kieron Pope
CF Noah Lankford
3B Teddy Gammel
C Jon Poterson
pitcher

I'm too lazy to type out the vs.LHP lineup, which is pretty much 100% different. It's a crazy number of platoons, and I'm not sure it's that useful to keep them all going. Once some guys show they are better, expect them to get the bulk of the playing time. Baltimore keeps trotting out Guerrero and McPherson, refusing to trade these fan favorites at the expense of a true rebuild. Granted, McPherson defied his age by bashing 41 HR's and driving in 135, so he's hardly been a detriment. Gammel, Pope and Vanderwal all showed 20+ HR power, putting the Panthers right in the middle of the pack offensively. A pair of injured catchers has the team in the hole early depth-wise.

Pitching Rotation: Dennis Tankersly, Zach Putnam, Cole DeVries, Ben Cepeda, Oliver Perez
Closer: Don Drysden

A pair of veterans sandwich three young arms in a rotation that is trying to improve on their 14th place team ERA (4.98) in 2017. 'Tank' suffered from bad run support, going 7-10 last season despite a 3.05 ERA, where Perez went 12-8 with a 5.00+ mark. DeVries and Putnam gave the team innings (over 300 combined) and rookie Cepeda looks to make a splash after going 12-2, 3.15 in AAA Miami last season. The bullpen.....just shield your eyes and move on.

The Panthers are off to another quick start, but they probably won't benefit from another down year from the Flyers. The team can't get any lower in payroll, and fan expectations are so low that scientists can no longer measure them. Maybe the 17 people left in the ballpark will enjoy a few good games. Or not.

Season Preview: Osaka Ronin

2017 Record: 72-88, 3rd in Far East
Key Additions: 1B Prince Fielder
Key Losses: SP Roy Halladay, SP Johan Santana, C Tony Montana, 3B Chest Rockwell
2018 Prediction: 70-90

The Ronin were absolutely one of the worst teams in SLB for the first half of last season before a surge made things uncomfortable for the Kwaan and Bushido. With some major losses to the pitching staff and lineup, it remains to be seen if GM Tom Hey can capitalize on the second-half success of 2017 and snare a playoff spot. Osaka has had three straight 3rd place finishes - nothing to brag about when you have Taipei in your division.
Last season saw the typical Ronin squad - power hitting, ridiculous in their home park, and equally silly pitching numbers. That 5.77 ERA was the worst in SLB and their 352 bombs were tops. Same old story. So will this years team be any different? Or will it be more of the same - no fun to play against but your team, if decent, will take the series? Gone are pitchers Halladay and Santana, who led the Ronin with the only ERA's under 5 and they're replaced with rookie Bobby Ojeda Jr. and a Rule 5 pick, Carlton Smith. This doesn't look promising, as even long-time Hey favourite Ben Sheets had a 6.15 mark and is now 38 years old.
All of those homeruns didn't even give Osaka the run scoring lead last season, they were in the group (everyone was behind Paris) with San Juan, London and Halifax. Winning homerun derby's doesn't translate to wins and now Rockwell and his 54 bombs, as well as Montana and his 69 shots, have left for greener pastures. What's the Ronin's answer? Prince Fielder. And I'm not mocking it, as Fielder has long wanted to move to Osaka where his skills are perfectly suited. As Fielder himself noted, "I didn't lose weight, I didn't change anything this offseason. They didn't sign me to pinch-run, they signed me to jog around the bases. I'm hitting 75 this year no doubt. I wish I played my whole career here."

Batting Order v RHP
3B Paul Matthew
RF Rueben Brown
1B Prince Fielder
LF Dave Peppers
C Elmer Kennedy
CF Jack Schalk
2B Juan Thomas
SS Mike Henderson

There's some speed on the bench with CF J Kimm and LF J Kemp, and more power with C R Doumit, veteran IF C Utley and CF K Lipton. Matthew can't hit enough to leadoff however, and the Ronin will be relying on solo shots to win games. If they're going to follow this philosophy, why not get a 3B that can jack them out too?

Pitching Rotation: Ben Sheets, Bobby Ojeda Jr, Carlton Smith, Christopher Lambert, Ryan Anderson
Closer: Brock Landers

I guess if you're not committed to putting a winning team out there, at least make it entertaining. It doesn't even look like Tom Hey cares at this point, as that's the sorriest excuse for a pitching staff I've seen - counting expansion teams as well. Run totals for Osaka and their opposition will be high this year, homerun records might fall (with the usual, "yeah but he did that in Osaka" caveat) and while they might make things difficult, they won't be in the playoffs. Hey left about 30M on the table, so maybe he'll show enough interest to trade for a big-ticket pitcher or three.

Season Preview: London Knights

2017 Record: 86-74, 2nd in Euro
Key Losses: SP Daisuke Matsuzaka, SS Jose Reyes
Key Additions: 3B Alex Gordon
2018 Prediction: 84-76

Thanks to the woeful Far East last season, GM Sean O'Hallaran saw his Knights make it to the playoff round. But rather than patting himself on the back, the Knights GM has to be worried about what went wrong after finishing with 11 fewer victories than in 2016. This team, infused with great young talent and draft day steals, was supposed to be the next big thing. What happened? Well, the pitching didn't cut it at all. Despite the effort of Daisuke Matsuzaka, London finished with a whopping 4.86 ERA, better only than Baltimore and Osaka. Yikes. Jered Weaver got 32 starts and rewarded Manager Davey Johnson with a 5.41 ERA. And after Dice-K's 3.23, the next lowest ERA on the team was closer Craig Hansen at 4.26. Even the awesome Knight offense couldn't make up for this mess.

So the exciting offense, with a wicked combination of speed and power and players in their prime, remains intact save for Jose Reyes signing with Taipei. (Who's his agent? Sheesh.) Alex Gordon, formerly of Cleveland, will take his spot in the lineup. O'Hallaran resigned 2B T Mackey, who is as solid a #7 hitter you'll find. There are three 30/30 players for opponents to deal with, in McFadden, Clemente and Russell. So did the Knights improve their pitching this offseason? Did they replace the dearly departed Dice-K? Negative. It looks like London will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory with this pitching staff. Oh, they resigned RP Michael Zagurski. Good job, you can't replace a 6.72 ERA easily. And he signed left-hander Sean Burnett for the 5th spot. Burnett posted a 6.71 ERA last year, and that miniscule advantage in suckiness means he's a starter while Zagurski is a middle reliever, I guess. Paris is going to clobber this pitching staff, no?

Batting Order v RHP
CF Warren McFadden
3B Alex Gordon
SS Diego Clemente
LF Delmon Young
RF Jim Russell
1B Jimmy McNulty
2B TJ Mackey
C Billy Wilson

Platoons - shmatoons. What you see is what you get and why not? The 8-hitter, entering his third season, hit .301 with 22 bombs and 15 steals. This lineup will hurt you.

Pitching Rotation: William Bray, Jered Weaver, Christopher Volstad, Tosekawa Mahara, Sean Burnett
Closer: Craig Hansen

Can the closer Hansen get over 20 saves? And if that rotation underwhelms you, hold your nose when you check out the 'pen. A lot of pressure on Weaver to have a great season - he's due isn't he? Good thing London fans are familiar with blitzes and heading for cover, they can show it off when the opposing team comes to bat.

The Paris strategy of great offense/pitching- that-will-hold-you-in-there only works, you know, if you actually have pitching that will hold you in there. The Knights will be fighting tooth-and-nail for the Wildcard spot this year.

Season Preview: Ireland Invaders

2017 Record: 80-80, last in Euro
Key Losses: SP Tadeshi Kawabata, RF Austin Kearns, P Chien-Ming Wang, P Brian Lawrence, RP Julio Mateo
Key Additions: Travis Blackley
2018 Prediction: 77-83

Mediocre on the field, the Invaders were punished severely. Taking a cap hit for .500 ball despite improving by 10 games, the Invaders are sitting at 60M for the 2018 season. That doesn't leave Ireland much room for error. Homegrown talent is going to have to improve last season's disappointing offense (14th in runs scored, 9th in HR) while ace CC Sabathia will be carrying the load once again for the pitching staff. Last season, Sabathia finished with a 3.42 ERA while being a workhorse at 234 IP. Fellow 36 year-old Josh Beckett returns and will have to better his 4.53 ERA. With the departure of Tadeshi Kawabata, will Ireland have the arms to improve the team ERA of 4.65? That puts them right at the middle of the pack again, and mediocrity on either side of the ball is going to get you hurt in the Euro.

So Kawabata leaves, and who does GM Tony Blake spend his dollars (excuse me, pennies) on? Pitchers Travis Blackley and John Lackey (uh oh) and 3B Barry Rosen (who the heck is Barry Rosen? I hear you asking.) When Beckett and Sabathia eat up 30.25M of a possible 60M payroll, your options are limited. Lackey won't even make the team and Blackley will be showing off his career 5.49 ERA in long relief. But the upside is that by 6 straight seasons of finishing last or 3rd, the Invaders have some serious young talent to put on the field. They'll need to step up now or Blake won't be able to afford them in a few years.

Batting Order
CF Andre Howard
SS Whammy May
RF Jerry "Turtle" Ferrara
C Al Murphy
LF Ad Collins
1B Nicholas Weglarz
2B Geoff Orr
3B Sean Burroughs
pitcher

That's against RHP, which means Boog Johnson is sitting most of the time. Is that a good use of your resources? Holy cow! Weglarz can hit too but with GM Blake also training yet another stud, C Jack Berry to play 1B, does this mean Johnson is trade bait? And catcher Earl Hickey doesn't get a sniff of playing time? Ohmigosh. With a boatload of talent at C/1B, some weaker spots on this squad have to be shored up, no? (Outfield, I'm looking at you. Marcus Giles and Geoff Orr, you too. Bullpen, I'd be renting if I were you. Like anyone trusts Orber Moreno's 3.61 ERA last year, as if.) Hickey, Murphy, Johnson, Weglarz, Collins, Howard and Ferrara are all 26 or younger, and Jack Berry looks ready. Ireland seems to have an unbalanced box of talent, something Blake will have to rectify to compete in the Euro.

Pitching Rotation: CC Sabathia, Josh Beckett, Bobby Brownlie, Steve Earle, Al Snodgrass
Closer: Orber Moreno

Rookies Steve Earle (2nd round, 2015) and Al Snodgrass (3rd overall in 2016) will get an opportunity after having great springs. Yoshi Sasaki, a 2nd rounder in 2015, got beat around in spring training and will start for Aussie but is knocking at the door. Brownlie and Beckett have to get those ERA's under 4 to earn their paycheques and keep the dreadful bullpen off the field. Moreno shocked everyone in the league with his 3.61 ERA which is well above his career 5.19 total.

Predicting the season mark for Ireland this season is difficult. It depends on GM Tony Blake pulling the trigger on some trades and shipping out a great young player or two, and if Beckett and Brownlie show that last year was a hiccup and not a sign of old age. If everything goes right, anywhere up to 2nd place is possible. The Euro isn't easy so Blake will have to be on his toes.

Season Preview: Kyoto Bushido

2017 Record: 75-85, 2nd in Far East
Key Additions: RP Hack Bubser, SP Daisuke Matsuzaka, OF Grady Sizemore, C Tony Montana
Key Losses: P's Roy Oswalt, Jason Jennings, Runelvys Hernandez, CF Josh Hamilton
2018 Prediction: 87-73

Last year's Bushido scored a woeful 635 runs, second fewest in SLB. Finishing just a game out of the playoffs, you'd expect that the Kyoto pitching staff dominated, right? You'd be correct, with GM Darin Keesing's squad putting up a nice 4.13 mark. But instead of grabbing just speed or thunder for the lineup, Keesing appears to be upgrading a strength, signing ace Matsuzaka for 11.25M per season and then picking up some cheap, run-of-the-mill arms to fill out the bullpen and provided depth at AAA. But unless Dice-K can really swing the bat, this team still has obvious flaws. For a team that didn't hit for enough power (second worst slugging percentage), hit into the 4th most double plays, didn't show enough speed (9th in stolen bases, 2nd fewest triples), will Montana, Sizemore and a rookie be enough to improve the offense?

New CF Sizemore (career .299) is the writing on the wall for veteran Andruw Jones, who may not make another appearance in SLB. Sizemore is 34, doesn't handle CF too well anymore and has lost a step or two but is still considered an upgrade. Rookie Dave Meijas, who charmed Keesing in spring with his .302 average, is being handed the starting 2B spot and will bat leadoff. If Meijas can handle the pressure and show some baserunning smarts, that may help make up for the mediocrity of RF Jeremy Reed and SS Bobby Crosby in the bottom of the order. Manager Bobby Valentine had to like what he saw out of 22 year-old LF Cray Boggs this spring, who hit .302 with some power and speed. If Keesing can find a taker for the 8M mistake Jeremy Reed, look for Boggs to get called up. The key to the offense will be Montana, who hit 69 bombs last year in Osaka but now has to the same in Kyoto, where good catchers go to die.

Batting Order
2B D Meijas
CF G Sizemore
LF A Mule
C T Montana
1B M Hamilton
RF J Reed
3B E See
SS B Crosby

With a bench of C K Thibault, 1B R Howard, 3B B Hawpe, OF S Smitherman and CF A Murphy, there are some excellent pinch-hitting options and short-term injury fill-ins. Noone Valentine will want to play for a long period of time but his GM still has plenty of cash to spend when and if a serious injury occurs.

Pitching Rotation: Jordan Auerbach, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jake Peavy, Hank Daniels, Jeremy Affeldt
Closer: Tim Gudex

Matsuzaka makes any rotation look good, doesn't he? The 24 year-old Auerbach gets the Opening Day nod though. 35 year-old Jake Peavy shows no sign of slowing down and Daniels was league average. That's a nice 1-4. Affeldt in the 5th spot? He hasn't pitched in SLB in two years and I can't see him making it through the first month of the season, unless Valentine hides him on the bench going with a 4-man rotation. Look for some tweaks to the pitching staff with Affeldt and Rule 5 pickup Bubser vanishing. Tim Gudex, only 26, dominated last year and if he repeats his success should be looking at a huge payday after the season. Kyoto should be able to afford it, because with the additions of Matsuzaka and Montana, they'll be in the playoffs this fall.

Season Preview: Chiang-Mai Kwaan

2017 Record: 76-84, 1st in Far East
Key Additions: 3B David Wright, SS Adrian Cardenas, SP E Krueger
Key Losses: SP Michael Pelfrey, 1B Ken Ryu, SP Mark Prior, LF Walt Coon
2018 Prediction: 75-86

Blech. After finishing 12 games under .500, the lucky Kwaan team managed to backdoor their way into a playoff appearance and put some more money in their coffers. They should have refused that cash infusion from the league just on principle. How embarrassing. The Kwaan finished 14th in the league in runs scored despite a "where have you been?" performance from 2B Cap Jackson, who hit .311 with 110 steals. Outfielder Walt Coon is taking his power to division rival Taipei, leaving just power-hitting catcher Thurman Murman and RF Joe Belinda from a short list of last seasons contributors.
The Kwaan didn't score much last year and the pitching staff delivered just a 10th best ERA ranking (4.71). Gone from last year's staff is Mark Prior to Scotland, and Michael Pelfrey to Philly, leaving a rotation that is suspect with the retirement of Dan Haren.
With Taipei in his division, GM Ben Royer is obviously unconcerned with finishing last and taking the cap hit. It appears he's attempting to stay competitive while adding some picks and prospects for a serious run at a title down the road. Pelfrey went as a rental to Philly for a nice bounty, SS A Cardenas, who will be groomed in the minors for a season or two. It isn't necessarily a bad plan, with no Far East team making you say, "wow!" So if things go right and luck is on his side, Royer could repeat last year's playoff appearance. Or he could finish third, resign Jackson after the season, and hope that CF T Bayne, 2B C Jackson, RF J Belinda and Cardenas are his foundation for the future.

Batting Order
2B C Jackson
SS B Willemburg
RF J Belinda
C T Murman
3B D Wright
1B D Callahan
LF N Swisher
pitcher
CF T Bayne

Yeah, it looks like Royer wants to get tricky and bat his pitcher 8th. We'll see how that goes. Can David Wright show anything for the 4M per Royer's paying him? 1B Callahan had a serious case of "teh suck" last season and you can't ever have first base being a black hole in your lineup. Chiang-Mai has never been shy about making a move so we'll be patient.
Bench spots go to C J Egan, who has some pop but can't seem to see the ball, LF O Lord, 3B H Sloat, LF B Swope (who must have Egan as his hitting coach) and hey, a Rocco Baldelli sighting!

Pitching: Eddie Krueger, Eddie Degerman, Mark Rogers, Dan Brauer, Curt Wilson.
Closer: Cole St. Clair.

Kwaan fans won't see a lot of sock from their guys, but when the other team bats - lookout! Degerman had an ERA over 4 while in pitcher's mecca Scotland, Dan Brauer was just under 6 in Scotland and Rogers is mediocre. That leaves the unproven Wilson (4 appearances last season) and Krueger to hopefully lead the way. I can't see a dominating arm in the bunch just yet but they are young. The underwhelming Cole St. Clair will attempt to be the shutdown guy in the 9th, he'll need a ton of luck to be and average closer.
I can't see this team making the playoffs this season and if they do, Osaka and Kyoto should do serious jail time. There isn't enough power or depth, and the pitching staff is short on experience. The Kwaan are tough to play against, pinning their ears back and scampering around the bases, but unless Nick Swisher and David Wright go off, Chiang-Mai will be coming up short more often then not.

Spring TrainingTrade

(AP) Thursday, April 25, 2018
Fatigued and over-caffeinated, GM's Ben Royer and Bri Boitano? finally agreed to a multi-player swap during spring training. "I've never spent that long on the phone in my life," said Royer. "What a battle. I think we both get what we want and we're glad it is finally over with."
SP Michael Pelfrey, who had been told he was involved in trade talks last week, was relieved to finally get it over with. "I've had my bags packed for a week. I've passed 2 physicals. I've had my agent looking for apartments for me, then stop, then start again. I am looking forward to pitching this season in Philly, however. I'm used to the hot and muggy stuff and I heard Philly and Thailand have the same climate in the summer."
Also moving to Philly are 1B K Ryu, SS A Cannizaro and RP R Quinonez and $5M US. Fever GM Bri B sent 25 year-old P P Connick, 24 year-old P R Delmas, 37 year-old LF N Jackson and SS Adrian Cardenas, Philly's 1st round pick last season out of Auburn. "We didn't want to part with this guy at all," said Bri B. "But we want to take a shot at the North this year. We dragged our heels a little bit I guess, but we like to be certain. There's the physicals, private detectives, Department of Homeland Security investigation, and we even like to speak to a possible new player's grade school teachers - it helps us out with our character assessment."
Noted GM B Royer, "I dealt with the delivery of our new child, sold our house, bought a new house and moved during the time it took to do this trade. It had better pay off."
A few things that don't take as long as a CHNG-Royer/PHI-BriB trade discussion:
A 7 player game of Risk.
Summits between world superpowers.
Winter.
Presidential primaries, nominations and elections.