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December 2, 2007
Cosmic Baseball Teams
The Orchomena Dahlias, a new cosmic baseball team, announced that they have staffed their 15 player roster. The only requirement to be eligible for the Dahlias' roster is that the player be a female form, real or imagined. Six of the new Dahlias are from the wide open field of entertainment and these players include three contemporary actresses from the film/tv category and three from the euphemistic "adult entertainment" category. Two players are drawn from the crime field (one is a victim, the other a perpetrator.) Rounding out the roster is an opinionator from the conservative political category. |
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The Dragons beat the Beats in the 2005 CUS and the the Beats lost the next season to their longtime nemesis the Paradise Pisces.
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A distinctly visible light in the sky the planet was early on assocated with war, aggression and violence. But why? Because of its color ? Is Mars' distinctive red hue the reason the planet is infused with its martial metaphors?
By the time of Hammurabi (c. 1810-1750 BCE) the Babylonians had identified Mars with the god Nergal. Babylonian mythology tells us that Nergal descended into the subterranenan world and forced Eresh-ki-gal (the Greek Persephone) into submission.
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Mars represents the third terrestrial planet since late July to be on the list. Some think this might be an inauspicious sign for the new cosmic team. But this thinking might also be in error. The mistake, according to analysts at the Cosmic Baseball Research Alliance (COBRA), is in falsely identifying the Retrograde List with Major League Baseball's Disabled List.
MLB's Disabled Lists are designed to allow teams to keep their rosters full despite short and long-term injuries to players. The two Disabled Lists (15 and 60 day) allow active roster players to heal their wounds and injuries without having to leave the team permanently. CBA's Retrograde List is used 
exclusively for players on the Solar System Planets team. A member of the team is placed on the list when the planet appears to be moving backwards or in reverse motion as seen from planet Earth.
The origin of CBA's Retrograde List has to do with a perceived need to identify which planet players might not be able to perform at their potential. The origin of this notion has much to do with the astrological meaning of planetary retrograde. Astrology often identifies negative influences associated with a planet's retrograde behavior.
The origin and history of MLB's Disabled List is more complicated.
In July 1915, the National League created a Disabled List. Teams were permitted to place an injured player on this list for a period of at least ten days. This allowed the team to remove the player from their active roster without having to release him or sell him to another club. They could then add another player to their active roster until the injury had healed. This rule lasted only through the 1916 season, and was not revived until 1941. At that time, both leagues adopted a new disabled list rule, with each team being allowed to place two players on a DL as long as it was done before August 1 and the injured player remained on the list for at least 60 days. In 1949, the minimum stay was shortened to 30 days.Further research on the internet indicates that there is also an "Emotionally Disabled List" that applies to MLB players but groups outside the official Major League Baseball world maintain this list. (See Alex Rodriguez Placed On Emotionally Disabled List)
Beginning in 1981, there were four disabled lists: the regular 21-day list with a 3-player limit, the 15-day "supplemental" list for one non-pitcher, a new "special" 21 day list to be used when the prior two were full, and the "emergency" 60-day list. In 1984, the "special" list was changed to require a minimum 30-day stay and the supplemental list was increased to allow two players, including one pitcher. In 1990, the rules were changed once again. From then on, there were only two DL's, a fifteen-day and a sixty-day list. There were no limits on the number of players that could be placed on these lists. However, the 40-man roster had to be full before the sixty-day list could be utilized. ("Original Baseball Research" website).
Like retrograde CBA planets, MLB players on a disabled list are permitted to participate in pre-game activity and sit on the bench during a game.
Retrograde players, unlike their disabled list counterparts, may take part in any activity during the game such as warming up a pitcher, bench-jockeying, etc. , and retrograde planet players MAY participate in cosmic baseball games. MLB rules indicate that disabled players are not allowed to enter the playing surface at any time or for any purpose during the game. (See Official Rules: 3.00 Game Preliminaries, Rule 3.17 Comment)
In addition to the Disabled Lists MLB also has a "Bereavement List" that players may inhabit. Teams may place players on the bereavement list for deaths in the family and the like (or births of children, or just so they can add an extra reliever for 4 days). Players may be on the list for a minimum of three days and a maximum seven. (sonofsamhorn.net) CBA does not have anything equivalent to the bereavement list.
Mars will be off the Retrograde List before the start of CBA's 27th season on March 15, 2008. At that time the planet Saturn will be retrograde (@ 3 degrees Virgo).
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