West St Paul MN-- Today the Twins added another rookie to their team.  Rachel Hubly will be a fantastic addition to the team.  She has been playing fast pitch softball since 7th grade as well as playing for the D-III St. Thomas Tommies for college.  She will be helpful in bringing up top-prospect Leona Cronin as she has some coaching experience as well.  Co-Manager Joe Hubly said of the move, "I sense some real competition here!".  This move highlights a busy offseason for the Twins after they signed Tony and Kasey Thomspson a couple weeks ago.  Tony is an enthusiastic young wiffler who will turn heads also.  The Twins are looking like a pre-season favorite to win the championship at this point in the year.  The Twins roster is filling up fast, but don't forget about the other Hublys.  Joe has some other talent in the family that could get called up from the minor leagues (AAA Albert Lea or AA Faribault). Beware of the Twins!

West St Paul-- If you've checked our twitter recently @shedfieldwiffle, you have probably noticed some crazy stuff going on.  Let's recap how we got to where we are today:

Yesterday manager John Cronin of the Padres and manager Sam Essen of the Red Sox agreed to a trade as follows:
Padres receive: 2015 1st round pick and a bag of Skittles
Red Sox receive: Derek Dust, Cameron Dust, bag of Hot Tamales, and 2015 second round pick

Today at around 5:31 pm, that trade was reported to be a sham.  The league social media offices received a false report that the trade was signed off on by the commissioner and tweeted yesterday that the trade was official.  Sam Essen got cold feet at the last minute before it was to be announced official and backed out of it.  

Padres receive: 2 bags of skittles and a 2016 1st round draft pick
Red Sox receive: Andy Lehman

So to recap the moves, Derek and Cameron Dust are still on the Padres.  Andy Lehman is on the Red Sox. Also, yesterday the Padres signed Andrew Cronin and today signed Shehan Perera.  That is all. 

The league apologizes to anyone confused by the trade and especially Derek and Cameron Dust, who must have had some emotional hardships as they rode this dramatic trade rollercoaster to it's finish.

West St Paul MN-- Highly touted free agent Andrew Cronin chose today to spend the next 3 years in the Padres organization.  Andrew picked them over the Blue Jays.  It was the personal letter and contract sent to him from Padres manager John Cronin that sealed the deal.  Andrew responded "I will acept.  I can't wait!".  The signing was approved today in the commissioner's office.  Andrew joins Rose Cronin and Andy Lehman as teammates on Cronin's squad.  You can take a look at his contract by clicking the file below.  It includes payments of skittles, snickers bars, gummi bears, and kit kat bars. Andrew's agent did a poor job negotiating the deal. There was no negotiating period according to Manager Cronin.  All in all, this is a good move for both sides as Andrew will get his chance at a title.  Andrew is projected to be the #2 starter in the rotation.

West St Paul, MN-- There was a spring training game between the Padres and the Red Sox over the weeked.  The Padres looked very sharp behind the pitching of reigning Cy Young John Cronin.  It's looking like John may have added some pitches to his arsenal over the offseason.  The league media also got a first look at 3 rookies, Sam Essen, Seth Nilsen, and Andy Lehman.  Here is a quick scouting report on each player:
Sam Essen: He is the manager and presumed best player on the Red Sox, but don't be too quick to say that.  He was stellar at the plate, when facing anyone not named John Cronin.  Sam struggled on some pitches, but his left handed pull power will be perfect for the short right field fence.  He will live up to the hype at the plate.  His pitching was a challenge for him.  He has a couple quality pitches already, but his accuracy is a big problem. Just look out for his riser!

Seth Nilsen:  Seth will be a very important puzzle piece for manager Sam Essen. Seth came in with no wiffleball experience whatsoever, but he looked very good on the mound.  He has the accuracy down already, unlike Essen.  Seth will mix it up with a knuckleball every once in a while, which will be very entertaining to see.  At the plate, he will be a fine hitter.  Defense seems to be his biggest struggle right now, but that could easily change with better weather.

Andy Lehman:  The Padres slugger still needs some work.  He looked good batting, with a couple HR. Pitching will be a problem.  Manager John Cronin will need to take a closer look and see if he will fit into the rotation.  Cronin said, "We already have 1 of the 3 spots in the rotation full and already are talking with a free agent to take the 2nd spot.  That 3rd spot is up for grabs on our team and I am very open as to who will take it.  Andy is a candidate, but didn't make a good case today."  At this point, Andy looks like a middle-innings/spot starter.  

After the mud settled, the Padres won 3 out of the 4 games they played Saturday.  Opening Day is coming up fast on April 26th, we'll see you there!

The SFWL welcomes EXCURSIONS Journey to Health to the Shed Field family!  They will be supplying us with field equipment and wiffleballs this season.  They have the best selection of wiffle ball equipment online from bats to balls to fencing, strike zones, glow in the dark wiffleballs and more!  Shop at www.ejourneytohealth.com when purchasing wiffle ball equipment.

West Saint Paul, MN--  Today is the first day of free agency and the league is already a buzz.  Every team has made some big moves already, so let's recap the action so far team by team.

Padres: The Padres signed veteran wifflebaler Derek Dust.  Derek will bring a lot of experience and knowledge to the team as well as his son, Cameroon who will be sure to light up the basepaths with speed.  Manager John Cronin isn't finished with signings yet, but likes the makeup of his team so far.

Blue Jays:  Manager Howard Cronin signed Karen Cronin, a workhorse pitcher who fits in with any starting rotation.  Howard has hinted at other signings but will likely lay low until the dust has settled.

Red Sox:  The Red Sox made the biggest splash today signing Seth Nilsen, David Johnson, and Erik Essen, all rookies.  Manager Sam Essen is bringing in a lot of youth.  Sam is concerned about the lack of wiffleball experience on his team, but he is hopeful they'll pick up the game quickly in Spring Training.

Team 4:  The yet to be named team signed Thomas Randolph and Sarah Cronin (Nelson).  If Thomas gets in a full season, we will likely see huge numbers, but he hasn't done so yet.  Sarah is a former GIANTS Most Improved Player of the Year winner, who is coming of maternity leave.  She played in one game last year and impressed with a HR.  Hopefully she'll work hard this offseason.

Notable free agents still out there:  Andy Lehman, Pat Cronin, Andrew Cronin, Sarah Cronin (Malone), Rose Cronin

UPDATES
11:37 AM:  Padres sign Rose Cronin
1:23 PM:  Padres sign Andy Lehman