Roberts is supposed to travel with the team on the first roadtrip, so it seems they are expecting him back in short order.
It looks like I will have to be active on the waiver wire and the trade market this season. I’d be thrillled if Jeter could repeat his 2011 numbers, but it’s just as likely that he blows up and misses half the season.
More bad news, Lamar - Chisenhall was just sent down, and it looks like Belt is going to be blocked again. That’s garbage - Belt’s a fantastic hitter.
Thanks for doing the write-ups, Munch.
BTW, there are no DL spots in the “Drag and drop” view, but if you swith to classic mode, they are there.
No, they’re there - they’re just not at the bottom for some reason. They appear once you start dragging.
I really hate being at either end in a draft this large (however being at the front end is preferable of the two).
Yeah, my strategy with being on the end was to pick the best available for my needed positions, and really almost ignore ADP after the third round. An example of this was my Matt Moore pick. He is not a huge reach at #82 ( I had him at #90), but I wanted a SP at this point, and didn’t want to risk who would be there 36 picks later.
I was really hoping Miggy would fall to me, but how can you complain about getting Pujols at #2. I’m still a little butthurt about him leaving, but I’m petty like that.
Volquez is a fly ball pitcher who is now in a huge park. If he can keep his control when runners are on he could be a minor steal.
My biggest concern (which you already mentioned) is I don’t, at this point, have a lot of position flexibility.
I am certainly pleased with the core of my lineup. I try to focus on slg and obp in the draft, as you can always increase counting stats by being active in substitutions. I was going to pick a pitcher in round 5, but none of the guys I wanted (Lester, Gallardo, Moore) made it back to me, so I grabbed Ortiz. I certainly have offensive question marks, but I don’t really see Kipnis, Duda, or Willingham as particularly risky. I was torn between Kipnis and Ackley, but went with Kipnis’s power over Ackley’s on base skills. Kipnis was very good in limited time last year, and the offensive bar for 2nd beyond the big three isn’t that high. Duda and Willingham put up solid rate stats and play every day which is about as much as you can ask for at that point in the draft. Now Morneau is risky, but I like his bounce back chances over say Chris Davis learning to lay off curve balls, who went at the same time. I don’t have much versatility, and could use an upgrade at short and quick learning curve for Harper, but I should be competitive in all offensive categories.
The pitching is not as strong, but amazingly enough I like the guys I picked. I almost took Latos a full round earlier. He has had a very minimal home/road split in his career, so I think the stadium change is a bit overblown. Plus he’ll finally have an offensive behind him. Beyond him it is matchup guys, but they all have their strengths. Hochover was a different pitcher down the stretch last year, Sale looks like the best of the reliever turned starters, Norris racks up k’s and Bedard uh isn’t broken yet. I got two closers too which is important in this league as it is very difficult to find closers on the waiver wire.
I’ll be interested in how your pitching staff turns out. Beyond wins and saves, I don’t see how you will get enough innings to be competitive in strikeouts without enduring a lot of mediocre starting pitching performances.
From Yahoo:
Aviles has won the starting shortstop job for the Red Sox with Jose Iglesias optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket, ESPN Boston reports.
You were saying?
Still waiting to hear if Broxton get’s the Royals closer role or not. Also, Chisenhall getting sent down bodes well for Hannahan.
Missed this when I skimmed it before, I’d say disregard the snark in the previous post but I wouldn’t mean it. 
Totally agree. That’s a wrinkle I quite haven’t figured out how to iron. I did this many years ago, but with 2 or 3 really quality SPs (Prior and Vazquez) for probably 40 wins. I had managed quite a handful of vulture wins to get in the middle of the pack. Can’t rely on more than 20 at the extreme end of optimism from my starters (more like 12). We’ll see.
Oh, it pretty much locks up his playing time. We’ll see if he can do better than become the Yuniesky of third base. But can’t argue with PT in this league.
I feel like I can look forward to another long season of King Felix throwing 8 innings, giving up 1 run, and getting a no decision. Still, hard to complain about a quality start and a HR on day one.
I had a lot of free time yesterday, so I decided to re-live the horror that was the draft.
After last year’s debacle, I tossed the formulas I’d used since the 2009 campaign, figuring that the excellent result I had in 2010 had about as much to do with them as the abysmal 2011 did – i.e. not much. This year’s formulas, rather than focusing on stats I wanted out of a particular position weighted each stat equally and used standard deviation(!) to rank players. This made it a little tougher to focus on individual stats, and, as Munch noticed, that sent my previously coveted balanced roster flying right out the window into my husband’s vegetable garden. But I hope it means more success in acquiring stronger stats rather than just being somewhere in the middle in all of them.
I drafted 17th. Just as a historical note, over the previous life of this league, I’ve drafted 16th of 18, 2nd of 17, 15th of 16, 7th of 19, and 10th of 20, 18th of 18, 14th of 17, and 12th of 18. The first year of the league, 2003, was before it really got deep. Average draft position: 12th. Average number of teams: 18. I’m blaming my historical failures on my worse-than-average draft positions in all but two years (three, if you count 10th of 20).
This draft was additionally interesting in that almost every pick was a consolation pick for the guy I had really wanted that was taken just before. I’m going to have to track the team made up of “The Guys I Would Have Taken,” to see whether I really would have been as happy with them as I think I would.
(17) Clayton Kershaw (LAD - SP) – I pre-ranked Kershaw at 16th, so took him pretty much where I expected him to go. Most of the players I had pre-ranked for the first round went within the range I expected them to, in fact. I was hoping for a 1st-class slugger or speedster in round 1, but settled for a 1st-class pitcher instead, as I usually wind up doing when I pick at the end. I think Kershaw can be even better than he was last year, and even if he’s just AS good, I have no regrets over this pick.
(24) Carlos Santana (Cle - C,1B) – As mentioned above, I always hope to have a strong catcher who plays every day. I love it when I get a position player who qualifies at C, or vice versa. As long as Santana doesn’t get hurt, he’s my guy, and I love him. I drafted him in round 3 last year, and I was pretty happy with the line I got out of him. But, if Hanley hadn’t gone with the previous pick, this would have been him, and my team would be infinitely better for it.
(57) Shin-Soo Choo (Cle - RF) – Totally did not mean to draft Choo. Truthfully, my intent was to draft SS and 3B early, because it seemed to me that those two positions are pathetically thin of real talent this year. So why didn’t I draft Lawrie instead? Dunno. I should have. It was between Lawrie and Choo, and I should have picked Lawrie, who was taken next.
(64) Craig Kimbrel (Atl - RP) – With Lawrie gone, this was kind of a no-brainer for me. I really, really, really wanted Kimbrel. Really. And, while this might be considered too early by some, considering that Rivera went six picks later, I’m standing by this one. I really wish my roster had looked more like Kershaw, H. Ramirez, Lawrie, Kimbrel here, which it could have with a little more foresight and marginal cooperation from Petelin. Even though such a roster would have left me catcherless after four rounds – I don’t know if I could have done that without hyperventilating.
(97) Brett Gardner (NYY - LF,CF) – This is where EVERYONE started reading my mind. As soon as I said to myself, “Okay, I’m going to pick so-and-so next,” he was taken, sometimes before I’d even finished moving him to the top of my queue. Starting with Bourn, then Alex Gordon, C.J. Wilson, Wainwright, and then Goldschmidt and Corey Hart RIGHT BEFORE I had to pick. I was sure I’d get one of them, but no. So I had to scramble, and wound up with Gardner. Basically, I’m going for steals here. Anything else I get out of him is gravy.
(104) Mark Reynolds (Bal - 1B,3B) – I really look at Reynolds as a three-tooler. If you can cover the OBP and SB holes he leaves (which, it turns out, I cannot), he gives pretty good value. And, actually, he’s not a HUGE hole at OBP - it could be worse. And the power numbers he puts up are nice for the 104th pick. He was the last acceptable 3B left, as far as I was concerned.
(137) Alexei Ramírez (CWS - SS) – He was supposed to be Heath Bell or Chris Young. But, failing them, I did need an SS, since, as remarked above, I really think it’s a thin position this year, so he was a little undervalued here. He puts up consistent numbers, and he’s solidly reliable. Which is a good thing, as I’ve just realized that I don’t have a backup for him.
(144) Carlos Quentin (SD - RF) – Speaking of OBP sinks… But, seriously, I think he has some huge power upside, and, with a little luck and prevailing winds, may hit 30 or 40 HRs. I hope so, anyway, or this pick is going to really suck, especially since I’m banking on the same result in the auction league. Would that he were Ryan Howard or Ubaldo Jimenez, though.
(177) Huston Street (SD - RP) – I love a closer. ‘Nuff said. I should have taken Morales here, though.
(184) Danny Espinosa (Was - 2B) – Another OBP sink for now. But he has the skills to be elite. I’m not looking forward to the pain it’s going to take to get him there, though – I just hope he’ll get there this year, since he’s another guy I have in the auction league.
(217) Scott Baker (Min - SP) – I knew I needed an SP here or Clayton Kershaw was going to have an awfully big load to carry. I’d hoped for Scherzer or Cueto, or even Lilly here, and I’d just put Peavy in my queue when he was taken, too. I’ve said for a long time that Scott Baker is the second coming of Brad Radke. He’s a solid workhorse, and about as exciting as one.
(224) Joaquín Benoit (Det - RP) – Holds. Maybe a save or two, or a vulture win here and there. I kind of ignored relief pitchers except for closers in my prep – just didn’t have the mental fortitude to sift through them carefully. But I’m glad to have Benoit. This time, I actually managed to get the guy I had at the top of my queue, which was rather remarkable.
(257) James Loney (LAD - 1B) – The note on my spreadsheet says, “Consistently modest value.” Yep. That about sums him up. I am heartbroken that I missed Chris Sale.
(264) Nate Schierholtz (SF - LF,RF) – I see I had Nate last year, too. No idea why. Ron Shandler (or the people who work for him) thinks he has 20-HR upside. I hope Ron Shandler (or the people who work for him) is correct in this surmise.
(297) Jarrod Saltalamacchia (Bos - C) – Round 15. Backup catcher time. JUST MISSED Kurt Suzuki, dammit. The biggest of OBP sinks. But, hopefully, I won’t need to use him much (see Carlos Santana, above). On a sidenote, am I the only one who thinks Carlos Santana ought to be required to use his namesake’s music as his at-bat music? I am? Okay. Just checking.
(304) Ryan Madson (Cin - RP) - Insert the sound Charlie Brown makes when Lucy yanks the football here How did I miss that? I HAD the Injury Report sitting in front of me. I’d referred to it earlier in the draft. I pre-ranked “Do Not Draft These Injured Players,” and somehow, missed Madson altogether. If I’d known, he would have been Daniel Bard.
(337) Glen Perkins (Min - RP) – Making up for the holds I expected from Madson. No real choice here. I was bummed to see Danks go, but I wouldn’t have picked him here, anyway.
(344) Ian Stewart (ChC - 3B) – Seriously, the Madson pick just destroyed the rest of my draft. It totally threw me off my rhythm, such as it was. I don’t know why I wanted these guys, I was just picking randomly. My note for Stewart said, “Profit potential if healthy.” THAT’S a ringing endorsement.
(377) Rick Porcello (Det - SP) – I don’t mind Porcello. I think there’s more than meets the eye there, and, given the improved offense in Detroit, he might pick up a few more wins, which can only help, since I punted the category once again.
(384) Orlando Hudson (SD - 2B) – I said it when I picked him that I hated the pick, and I still do. He has zero value without steals, and I don’t see him coming through with a whole lot of them. I cannot believe that my entire middle infield consists of Alexei Ramirez, Danny Espinosa, and this guy. Good thing we don’t have a slot for MI, or I’d be screwed.
(417) Juan Nicasio (Col - SP) – Honestly, I don’t even know who he is. Never heard of him before (but there were plenty of guys going I’d never heard of – he was just the first one I actually picked). My note says “High upside pick.” Well, I sure hope so. By this point, I was drafting based on whether my notes were positive or negative, with only marginal reference to the points scores I was tracking.
(424) Roger Bernadina (Was - LF,CF,RF) – I’ve tried Bernadina before. Hoping I get more out of him this time. He does have some pretty good speed upside. If he starts – and if he gets the opportunities – he should be good for a nice string of SBs. That said… I should have grabbed Plouffe here.
(457) Chris Resop (Pit - RP) – Another guy I’ve never heard of. I was totally desperate. But he had a good note, something about “Elite bullpen skills,” whatever that means. I hope to get some holds out of him.
(464) Josh Tomlin (Cle - SP) – There was nobody left I wanted, including Tomlin. I scanned my lists repeatedly, and nobody – NOBODY! – was even remotely appealing. Including Tomlin. I only picked him because I had to pick someone.