Did you get confirmation of that from Yahoo!? I’ve been a bit snowed under with work stuff the last few days and haven’t had a chance to follow up on it myself.
I changed it based on the feedback here.
From the Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Home Page:
The add-on is $7.95.
Alright, we’ve got eight slots filled so far out of sixteen, with interest expressed by two other parties. Here’s the deal: I’m opening up registration to anyone else who wants to participate, on the following terms:
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No whining about not being able to make the live draft date. So far, I have one player who’s not able to make the date (Monday, March 10 at 10:10 PM EST). If we’re able to find another time that works for everyone, we’ll change it. If not, we’ll leave it as it is. If you sign up, do so with the knowledge that we may not be able to accommodate everyone’s schedule, and you may have to allow the computer to draft for you using your pre-rankings.
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If you’re not sure you want to participate, or you don’t like the format, or you’re planning to start your own league, or you get bored if you’re not in first place by May 15, and will drop this league like Dick Stuart did to hot grounders down the line, don’t sign up – I expect that there’ll be at least a couple of people who’ll end up being shut out who’d be regular, committed players, and we don’t need deadwood taking up a slot. Don’t mean to be harsh, and of course it’s always possible for something unforeseen to come up that may prevent you from continuing, but that’s not what I’m talking about.
In order to join, just go to http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1 , click the Sign Up Now! button and choose to Join a Private League. Then, when prompted, enter the following information…
League ID#: 8275
Password: slug
See you there!
If you’re interested, join now. We have less than a week til the draft!
Just wondering what ever happened to looking for another draft time. I really don’t want to have to auto-pick this thing.
Is there anyone who has a problem with a non-Monday weeknight draft time?
Omni, check your e-mail. In a nutshell, by the time I got your latest message reminding me that you’d said you couldn’t make the Monday night time, there were no evening draft slots available at all on Yahoo – zero. Nothing between now and the start of the season, and only one day (this coming Wednesday) with any “late afternoon” slots (meaning 3 pm–6 pm PST, or 6 pm – 9 pm EST).
Short of trying to devise and implement an offline draft, I don’t see any way to avoid doing it tomorrow night. I’m really sorry; you did make it known early on you couldn’t do that time, but I wanted to get feedback from others about what would and wouldn’t work for them, and then I got distracted by other concerns and didn’t end up going back to deal with it until now.
On the other hand, if anyone else is interested, there are still slots available.
What email did you send it to, I haven’t gotten anything from you.
Anyways, if everyone seems capable of doing the Wednesday time slot it works great for me. Thanks.
I’d be available for a Wednesday night draft, if that helps. In fact, anything that’s not working hours for the eastern time zone (8:00-5:00 EST) will work. At least until daylight saving time switches everywhere but this godforsaken state (Indiana), when I won’t be available for working hours central time.
[sub]Lousy Smarch weather…[/sub]
I just signed up; that makes 13 teams so far. I’m doing autopick so I won’t be seeing you all tonight, but good luck to all. 
Here’s a little recap of my lineup. I was happy to report that I was able to swing the draft after all. Had to bribe a coworker to cover me for a couple hours, but it was worth it. However the bottom half of my draft is a little thin as a result, because it ran long and I had to bail at about round 16. I was drafting fifth, for reference. So, you can see that I’d queued up an awful lot of Cubbies. Without further ado, I present to you, the 2003 incarnation of Out On Waveland.
C - Posada, Jorge (C-NYY)
I tabbed this guy as my 5th round pick. Made him the second catcher drafted after Piazza when earlier, and I’m pleased to say that I triggered a brief run on catchers. As much as I hate Yankees, he’s a real nice addition in round 5 IMHO. Its tough to get production from the catcher spot, so I belive that having a good one counts more than other positions. Its a thin year at catcher too. He’s been productive in the HR category and puts up nice rate stats (FPCT, OBP and SLG in our league). I’m happy about this position.
1B - Casey, Sean (1B-Cin)
I was nervous that I wouldn’t get this guy where I was in round 8. First basemen went fast and I want to throw up in my mouth that I let Mike Sweeney slip to the 6th round which triggered a run on all my 1Bs. I was expecting to nab Konerko with my 8th pick, really was hoping to see him slide. I almost took him in the 7th round. but decided to wait on more pick. I waited too long. So, after seeing my guy drop, I had to crunch to find a 1B on the board. Casey might be a little of a reach, but then again he was the last reasonable 1B available on my board. I had Dunn as a middle round steal, but Shelby reached for his sleeper in round 6, had to settle for his teammate. I think he’s going to put up some really nice numbers this year, he slumped last year, but I’m hoping he’ll turn it around. I think I sacrificed 1B for C, but I’ve at least got a guy I think has potential and I didn’t get stuck with Big Mo.
2B - Kennedy, Adam (2B-Ana)
This is another spot where I feel I had to settle. The big 2Bs went early, and I was planning on grabbing Mark Bellhorn to fill this spot late in the draft. Imagine my surprise when Rackensack stole him right after me in the 9th round. I was going to pull the trigger on Bellhorn at in the 10th round, and again waited one pick too long. So, when my 10th pick came up and I was staring at a gaping hole at 2B, the World Series flashbacks started speaking to me. I have to confess that I don’t know much about this guy, but his numbers are good enough to warrant a 10th pick for a starting 2B.
3B - Beltre, Adrian (3B-LA)
Bellhorn falling cost me here too, was looking forward to shuffling him between 2B and 3B. With this my only position vacant, I really had to make a choice in round 11. Beltre wasn’t the highest rated guy on the board, but I felt he had the most potential…yeah, thats usually the kiss of death in fantasy drafts, but what the hell. If my #11 pick is a flop, I can deal with it. However, there’s real chance this guy could put up 25+ HRs and have a SLG in the vicinity of .460. We’ll have to wait and see.
SS - Garciaparra, Nomar (SS-Bos)
No real shock here. He was around for me in the 2nd round, #22 overall. At SS with the likes of A-Rod, Tejada and Nomar you only have a few chances for huge roto numbers. When you get the chance at the right spot, you take it. I have a similar theory here as with catcher, the scarcity makes the numbers even more valuable. I have a few concerns about his staying healthy, but you can say that about anyone. If it weren’t for him I’d be really worried about my infield. Its not often your core of the infield is C and SS, and you’re weak at 1B and 3B. However, I’m going to guess that if my picks flop, I’ll be able to find a solid 1B and 3B on the waiver wire…not so with C and SS.
LF - Gonzalez, Luis (LF-Ari)
I’m really happy I found this guy. He wasn’t really on my radar, but when I saw him lingering on the board in the 7th round I had to jump. Especially when you consider the rate stats he will put up. In the end it cost me my choice 1B, however the trade off to get a full deck in the outfield seemed worth it. It doesn’t hurt that he’s a former Cub.
CF - Jones, Andruw (CF-Atl)
This guy really gets on my nerves as a fan, but there’s no questioning his ability or his stats. At the 3rd round spot where I took him I think he’s a steal. The structure of our league where you actually need a CF and not a generic OF, he’s really nice to have. Those rate stats make me drool, getting a .500+ SLG out of a CF is a gold mine, not to mention the FPCT. This will be the first year where I don’t find myself begging that he botches one of his hot dog put outs.
RF - Sosa, Sammy (RF-ChC)
Can’t say that anyone was surprised with this. My #1 pick is Sosa! Who knew! There’s no reason to discuss this frankly, its was a no brainer. The 4 guys who I’d have taken ahead of him went, so I didn’t even need to think. Frankly, he seems to be less of a risk than Pedro and Barry. The fact that he seems to be taking to Dusty Baker and that he showed up early for Training Camp fill me with optimism. In past years, these were indicators of a complete performance, good fielding, doubles, walks, average along with the HRs.
OF - Patterson, Corey (CF-ChC)
This one was a consequence of lack of research and having to cut out early and let the computer take over. At the 20th pick, I’m not disappointed. I’m hoping Baker is smart enough to use the tools Corey has. He’s been expected to break out the last two years, and has simply been mediocre. He could put up great Run and SB numbers if the rest of the offense clicks. He will likely get all the starts this year, and we should know by May if he’s a bust or not. I’m hoping the changes in the clubhouse are all he needs to be a steal.
IF - Vina, Fernando (2B-StL)
I had to make a point of securing an additional infielder in case Kennedy turns out to be a bust, and while I can’t say that Vina is a rock solid addition, he should at least provide some consistency in the field and on the base paths, along with a solid OBP and run production out of a true leadoff hitter. I probably could have done better overall with the 15th pick, but I really wanted to play it safe at 2B. At the very least he could be a nice piece of a trade offer.
Util - Lieberthal, Mike (C-Phi)
This one could turn out to be a waste of a pick or a great decision. If Posoda gets hurt then its a no brainer, but it was a risk to take a second catcher with the 9th pick. He’s really good one, and with a couple of rosters sorely lacking at the catcher spot he could be part of a crucial trade. Regardless, the addition of a utility roster spot carrying and second productive catcher is a wise move IMHO. I probably should have used this pick to land a solid pitcher instead, but I was too surprised to see a guy like Lieberthal still in the mix. As long as he’s not gathering dust on the bench, I’ll see him as a asset.
Bench - Drew, J.D. (RF-StL)
I feel that this guy is a huge steal at the 12th round. When healthy he’s good for 30 HRs and a SLG approaching .500. He’ll start the season on the DL and with Patterson to fill in the extra OF spot and DL position on our roster, I feel like he may be the gem of the draft. Once he’s back in the line-up, I feel like I’ll have the strongest outfield in the league. Hopefully I’m not too biased by the fact that he always seems to kill the Cubs when they play.
Bench - Gonzalez, Alex S. (SS-ChC)
Here’s another Cub acquired due to my having departed the draft, and at the 17th pick he shouldn’t hurt me. He’s a solid back up for insurance if Nomar continues his trend of injury. Also his ability to hit the clutch homer and put up respectable rate stats at SS really make me feel comfortable at SS. I have to say I’m happy to be so strong at C and SS when they tend to be sinkholes in many a roto roster.
Bench - Mientkiewicz, Doug (1B-Min)
Well, one thing I know about this guy is that I’ll hear his name on SportsCenter alot. They just love talking about him and A.J. Pierzynski. Beyond that I can’t say I’ve seen him play much, but all the articles I’ve read about him talk about great upside. He should be on the climb statistically, and last season he showed potential by carrying a .400 average early in the season. I’m glad to get another 1B in case the Casey experiment falls apart, and he’s worth the gamble at the 19th round. The computer drafted this guy from my queue, and if I find a productive 1B that late I’ll feel pretty happy.
That sums up my offensive roster. I’m pretty happy with it, and I don’t have any gaping holes to fill immediately like some people. I’m going to make my hay in the HR and SLG category I think, and its obvious that the SB category is my Achilles. There very well could be some changes before my team is settled, but the core I’ve drafted in the OF along with my SS/C depth put me in a comfortable spot.
Now to the Pitchers:
SP - Burnett, A.J. (SP-Fla)
He’s the first pitcher I took, and I confessed that I panicked some. I was looking to grab two of the Cubs big 3 in Wood, Prior and Clement. I decided early that my lineup was going to be hitting geared with a narrow focus on Ks in the bullpen. So, when Prior and Wood went early in round 4 I went for the next big strike out guy left when my pick came up. I’m hoping that the addition of Pudge will make Burnett even better this year. If he puts up 225+ Ks and get 15 wins I’m calling this pick a gold mine. Also, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him finish the year on a contenders roster which could be great for his win totals.
SP - Clement, Matt (SP-ChC)
I already hinted at this pick above, and you’ll see he fits the same mold as Burnett. I didn’t want to take him as early as I did with the 6th pick, but quite a few players seemed to be interested in putting together stud pitching staffs. I’ve got the same expectations of him as Burnett, and if these two get me 30 wins and well over 400 Ks I’ll be right where I want to be. I’m hoping that both Florida and Chicago have better teams than last year and that these pitchers will benefit from some run support and momentum.
SP - Hampton, Mike (SP-Atl)
Yup, I’m that guy. The one who was willing to believe the apologists. The one who’s willing to accept that Atlanta’s system can save this guy. At the tail end of last season I was praying he’d get traded to the Cubs. I think a change of scenery could make all the difference. I’m not going to expect him to be the guy he was in NY, but he’ll improve enough anchor my pitching staff. And when my third pitcher selected came with the 13th round, I think he’s worth the risk. At the very least he should stay healthy and Atlanta’s offense should get him a few wins the Rockies didn’t.
RP - Farnsworth, Kyle (RP-ChC)
This is the pick I made right before running out the door, and I didn’t want to make it. I’d had him queued up for later, and clicked the away box. Then I noticed Pettitte was still available and before I could uncheck the box and draft Pettitte the computer nabbed Farnsworth. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted him on my team. I’m hoping he’s able to recover from last years issues, and that the new coaching staff can teach him how to be successful. He’ll be healthy and will have a better season numbers wise if he keeps his head on straight. But he’s a ridiculous choice in the 16th round. To make things worse, I asked the board if anything was wrong with Pettitte, tipping my hand of interest in him. Shockingly the upcoming round he was drafted right before my pick. I also was planning n grabbing Alfonseca before Farnsworth, and he also went on the 9 picks between mine after this botch up.
RP - Stanton, Mike (RP-NYM)
Having 2 middle relievers probably isn’t too bright. This guys was a big free agent, so we’ll see how much success he has away from the cushy Yankees lineup. The computer drafted this guy for me from my queue in the 18th round. There’s definitely better choices out there than this guy, however the TBA stat might make up the shortage of saves and the lack of a Hold stat. If he gets me 10 saves or wins I’ll consider it a windfall along with a solid WHIP and ERA.
P - Byrd, Paul (SP-Atl)
I took this guy using the same logic as Hampton, that in Atlanta he’ll grow into a great choice, and having taken him as my 14th pick he’s Hampton insurance. If one struggles the other will hopefully pick up the slack. If I get 17 wins from him again this year its a blessing. There’s not too much else to say, since he’s a pretty safe logical choice. Low risk, moderate upside.
P - Milton, Eric (SP-Min)
Computer drafted him. I know next to nothing about him, but I suppose he’ll be an extra reason to follow the Twins along with Mientkiewicz. At round 21 I can expect too much. Just looking at his stats and the fact that he plays in the Twinkle Dome, I’m hoping he’ll shave a few points off that ERA and keep me in the game.
P - Astacio, Pedro (SP-NYM)
Another computer pick that I don’t have much to say on. 22nd pick.
Bench - Karsay, Steve (RP-NYY)
Computer, could be useless depending on the Yankees pitching staff decisions. We’ll see. 23rd pick.
Bench - Haynes, Jimmy (SP-Cin)
Computer pick. 24th and last choice, not much input on him either.
As for the pitching staff, I’ve already confessed to hoping for a staff inclined to alot of Ks, and in the mix I might get lucky and find myself in the middle of the pack as far as Wins. Really have a big hole where saves are concerned, so we’ll see if I can make a deal to repair that. Stay tuned.
I hope a few other players will share their thought process and perhaps we can develop a bit of a peanut gallery to heckle and tease us.
Hmm…are my ears burning?
I now present to you the catcherless wonders of the 2003 draft (well, one of two, actually), the Saskatoon Yaksmen!
C - TBD
Plan #1: Coax Lance Parrish out of retirement. Plan #2: Sign Mike Matheny and promptly get addicted to painkillers.
1B - Jim Thome (Phi)
My second pick of the 2003 draft. Generally I avoid taking 1B this early. I took Thome hesitatingly, seeing as though he’ll probably take some time adjusting to NL pitching, but that gaudy OBP+SLG was too good to pass up.
2B - Brandon Phillips (Cle)
Catcher and second base are going to be my question marks. Phillips has definite potential, and based on that he’ll be my starter when the season commences. I too was hoping on snapping up Mark Bellhorn (and was four picks away from getting Roberto Alomar in round 10!), but settled on Phillips in round 17.
3B - Scott Spiezio (Ana)
I had hoped on taking Edgardo Alfonzo, whom I perceived as being ranked ridiculously low by Yahoo! and whom I assumed would slip through to the later rounds. I took Spiezio for his OBP and for his flexibility. It can’t hurt to have 5 players eligible for 1B duty.
SS - Jose Hernandez (Col)
Someone mentioned, during the draft, that I had pulled the trigger too early with Hernandez, snapping him up in the seventh round. However, I thought the dropoff after the Big 4 (Jeter, Nomar, A-Rod, and Tejada) was pretty steep, and I like Hernandez’s potential at Coors, what can I say?
LF - Manny Ramirez (Bos)
Normally, I avoid injury prone players. But no matter what, they seem to get injured anyways, so I thought that maybe if I took the league leader in hamstring pulls for the past seven years he’d suddenly develop Ripkenesque durability. That and I couldn’t believe he made it out of the first two rounds unclaimed.
CF - Bernie Williams (NYY)
I don’t remember my rationale for this pick in round five. I just saw him, thought “Hey, I need a CF,” and took him. Maybe I was answering e-mails and didn’t have time to research properly, who knows. Anyways, I’m not too disappointed.
RF - Jermaine Dye (Oak)
I’m going with the assumption that Dye’s fully recovered from the leg injury he suffered in the 2001 playoffs and is ready to return to the levels of production he had with Kansas City. A good steal in round thirteen.
OF - Tim Salmon/Jeremy Giambi (Ana/Bos)
I swear, I actually heard jaws dropping and shattering into little pieces on the floor when I drafted Giambi in round sixteen. And I’d like to say that waiting until the final moment to snap up Giambi was part of a great, megalomaniacal strategy, but it was a case of stumbling over him, shouting “Holy Fuck!” and picking him without thinking twice. He’ll platoon with Salmon; one might be dealt, possibly for a catcher.
IF - Erubiel Durazo (Oak)
I’m concerned about his potential for injury, but if he stays healthy I’m predicting around 30 HRs, with an OBP around .380. He’s one of my favorite players, too, and I’m glad he’s finally getting a chance.
Util - Mike Sweeney (KC)
Yet another 1B that I have to work into my lineup somehow. The thing I like about Sweeney is he’s pretty consistent…I’m expecting about .330, 25 HRs, 90 RBI’s from everyone’s favorite fundamental Christian baseball player.
Bench - Luis Rivas, Alex Sanchez, David Bell, and Marlon Byrd (Min/Mil/Phi/Phi)
Rivas and Sanchez provide me with my only real SB threats, though Rivas only stole nine last year. Bell is a handy backup for Spiezio, and Byrd was a crapshoot I made with my last pick.
** SP - Barry Zito** (Oak)
I like Barry. I really like Barry. However, I would’ve loved Vladimir Guerrero like my only child. Unfortunately, Guerrero went 7th overall, so I had to “settle” for Zito.
** SP - Tim Hudson** (Oak)
Maddeningly inconsistent last year, but I think that was primarily due to some shody run support from Oakland in the first half of 2002. Getting the top two Oakland hurlers means wins probably won’t be a major worry.
** SP - Joel Pineiro** (Sea)
Qualifies as both a SP and an RP, which could be very useful. I have a very young staff, so hopefully this isn’t the year when they either all get tired arms from too much work, or when opposing hitters finally figure them out. I actually predict a breakout year from Pineiro, something like 16-18 wins with an ERA under 3.00.
** SP/RP - Byung-Hyun Kim** (Ari)
The wild card. I was quite happy with this pick in round twelve; depending on how Bob Brenly employs him, he’ll either be my top reliever or my fourth starter. The only thing I worry about is Kim getting shellacked as a starter, getting sent back to the bullpen, and never really finding his groove.
** RP - Jason Isringhausen** (Stl)
As long as I don’t have to physically watch Isringhausen allow a single and two walks before closing the door, I’ll be happy. In truth, I’m really not too happy taking him in the eighth round, which seemed a little early, but I (mistakenly) thought that most of the decent closers were already gone.
** P - Braden Looper** (Fla)
Coming into his first full year as a closer. I was impressed by his 16-for-16 rate in closing after the all-star break last year. Picked him in the fourteenth.
** P - Mike Dejean** (Mil)
Assuming the Brewers win a game this year, I thought choosing Dejean in the eighteenth round was pretty savvy. What with Dejean, Izzy, Looper, and the possibility of Kim reverting to a closer, I’m actually pretty satisfied with my pen.
** P - Ted Lilly** (Oak)
I’m not too high on Lilly, as his BB/K ratio is really nothing special, but taking an Athletic pitcher as a late-round choice is never a bad idea, in my humble opinion. Could snap up 12 wins or so anchoring the Oakland rotation.
** P - Oliver Perez** (SD)
I picked up Perez on the waiver wire in a couple of my leagues last year, and was nicely surprised by the 20-year-old. Though I don’t doubt that he might blow up early and be wasting away in Triple-A come May, I like his strikeout potential, and who else was I going to choose in the second last round? A catcher? Pshaw.
So, in conclusion, I need some catching. Certain California redwoods have more baserunning prowess than my starting nine. But I think I’ll be top three in the run-producing categories, and if I can avoid injuries I’m pretty happy with my pitching. Considering my strategy amounted to not spilling my iced tea on the campus computer, I think I drafted pretty well.
So, y’all wanna know what my strategy was? Basically, I got the “projected” numbers for players from John Bensons’s book. I decided what my goals were going to be for all of the stats. And, I’m happy to say, I got them.
My big categories - the ones I wanted to do REALLY well in - were steals and saves. But I still knew what I needed for homers, slugging, wins, and others.
Without further ado, my starting lineup:
Catcher - Michael Barrett (MON)
I drafted him with my tenth pick. Early on, I decided that Catcher wasn’t going to be one of my strong offensive areas. I was going with stronger players, and, when the time came, go with the best catcher available. Barrett was it. He’s solid, if not spectacular.
1B - Carlos Delgado (TOR)
I wanted Thome - he’s my boy - but he was already gone. But Carlos is, I feel, a very capable substitute. 30+ homers, and plenty of runs scored. Fifth pick.
2B - Luis Castillo (FLA)
I really like this guy. His hitting streak last year indicates that he’s consistent, plus he’s good for a WHOLE BUNCH of steals. Not much power, but that’s taken care of with other guys. Sixth pick.
3B - Corey Koskie (MIN)
There were several other 3Bs I wanted. Eric Chavez was taken the pick before mine in round 2 - he WOULD have been my second pick. As it was, I’m pretty happy with Koskie. I had him last year, and, while he did have some injury problems, he was, overall, pretty good for me.
SS - Alex Rodriguez (TEX)
I had the first pick in the draft. 'Nuff said. How can you argue with a guy who could potentially hit 60 dingers? If he gets hurt, my power goes straight down the tubes.
LF - Jacque Jones (MIN)
I was amazed that he fell to the twelfth round. He had a breakout season last year, is good for better than 20 homers and pretty good average overall.
CF - Johnny Damon (BOS)
Fourth pick. I was kind of surprised he lasted as long as he did. I love Johnny. Between him and Castillo, with some help from some other players, I think I’ve got steals locked up.
RF - Danny Bautista (ARI)
I had Danny last year - he was my best player until he got injured. I’m hoping he’ll bounce back. If not, I have a glut in right field, and he can be replaced without much ado. 16th pick.
Util - Josh Phelps (TOR)
I think Josh was off most players’ radars, because he only qualifies at DH, which was why he, his 30 homers, and .310+ batting average fell to round 17. I’m hoping he was a steal at that level.
IF - Cristian Guzman (MIN)
I drafted a hell of a lotta Twins, it seems. He’s got the speed, the glove, and a decent average. 14th pick.
OF - Juan Gonzalez (TEX)
Please, please, please - let him be over his injury problems and ready to produce the big numbers again. But, again, I have the glut in right field, so he can’t really hurt me if bad things happen. Ninth pick.
Bench - Jason LaRue (C - CIN)
Always a good idea, I think, to have a backup catcher (or a catcher at all! ;)). I usually prefer that they be in opposite leagues (different off days), but LaRue was the best available in the 19th round. He’s actually fairly equivalent to Barrett. We’ll see.
Bench - Karim Garcia (RF - CLE)
The last two months of the season, he was one of the best hitters in the game. He may become one of my starters if he keeps up the pace - which he shows every indication of doing, based on his performance this spring. Not bad for 20th pick.
Bench - Jay Gibbons (RF, 1B - BAL)
He’s going to be more my backup 1B than anything else - God knows, I don’t need him in right. But I like his numbers, and I like a lot of other things about him.
Bench - Ramon Vazquez (2B, 3B, SS - SD)
First, he qualifies at three positions, meaning he’s my backup in all three. Second, I think he’s going to have a big year. I hope so, anyway. If he doesn’t, well - he was my 22nd pick. Not much lost there.
Bench - Gary Matthews, Jr (RF, CF, LF - BAL)
Last pick of the entire draft. Got him because he qualifies at all three OF positions, meaning he can be my LF and CF backup (I’m a firm believer in backups.) And his numbers are acceptable - he’s got some power, and he’ll be good for some steals, as well.
Them’s my offense. Pitching, I’m quite pleased with.
SP - Bartolo Colon (CWS)
Twenty game winner last year. Maybe he won’t quite get there this year with the White Sox, but he’ll still put up good strikeout numbers and a darn good ERA. Third pick.
SP - Hideo Nomo (LA)
Excellent strikeout pitcher (I was looking for Ks when I drafted him). Good for a fair number of wins with LA. I really think he’s turned his career around. Even if he does have one of the oddest windups I’ve ever seen. Eighth pick.
SP - Vicente Padilla (PHI)
A steal in the 15th round. Given Philadelphia’s offseason spending spree, I think he’s good for fifteen wins, at least. Not a great strikeout pitcher, but he gets outs.
RP - John Smoltz (ATL)
He set up my “get saves” strategy nicely. I was going to take Eric Chavez in the second round, but I’m glad to have Smoltz, instead. While I can’t expect that he’ll save another 55 games, I don’t thing 40-45 is beyond the realm of possibility.
RP - Scott Williamson (CIN)
I’m pleased with this pick. He’d been rated very low by Yahoo - I really had to hunt to find him. But he’ll get saves, even in Cincinnati. 13th pick.
P - Danys Baez (CLE)
Danny qualifies as both SP and RP. He’s going to be closing for Cleveland with Bob Wickman out for the season, but he was rated by Yahoo as a setup man, so he was way down the list. Another one I had to hunt for. Got him almost immediately after CC Sabathia was taken.
P - Jay Witasick (SD)
With Trevor Hoffman out, he’ll be closing games for the Padres. Hoffman may be out for half the season - even then, he may need some time to get back in the swing. 18th pick.
And finally,
P - Franklyn German (DET)
A potential closer for Detroit, and an all-around strong prospect. For the 23rd round, I’m happy with him. He really intrigues me, and I’m predicting great things for him.
That’s my roster. Overall, I’m pretty happy with it.
And now, for my anylsis of my draft…
You gotta be shitting me! 
I’m not that much of a rotogeek, 
but if someone else wants to rate the Weirdos or me, I’d be interested to see.
FOR me, that is. I’m not sure I could handle having someone rate me!
I’ll analyse my players in the order in which I drafted them.
Here’s Rickey’s Residue:
Rd 1. Giles, Brian (LF-Pit) – He shows up as my first round pick because I had the last spot in Yahoo!'s serpentine draft, which meant I had the last pick in the first round and the first pick in the second, etc. I took Giles first simply to give others the brief hope that my second pick would slip through. This guy is money in the bank – power, some stolen bases – he fits every one of out league’s offensive categories. I actually wanted Beltran, but Weirddave snatched him just before I could. But I think Giles OBP and power make it a push with Beltran’s speed.
Rd 2. Giambi, Jason (1B, DH-NYY) – What is there to say? I am definitely not a Yankees fan, but this guy is simply the absolute best first baseman in fantasy baseball (unless Todd Helton is completely healthy – which he isn’t – and even then it’s Coors that makes the difference). Giambi hits for power, gets on base, and scores runs. I couldn’t believe he fell all the way through the first round.
Rd 3. Kent, Jeff (2B-Hou) – I couldn’t believe this either: the best powerhitting second baseman fell to the bottom of the third round! And he just moved to the Juice Box in Houston – I gotta be dreaming. He should’ve gone early to mid-second.
Rd 4. Rolen, Scott (3B-StL) – I didn’t set out to do a positional draft; my strategy is almost always to take the best player available for the first six or seven rounds. But I lucked out and got what I felt to be the best available and filled two traditionally weak positions with very good hitters very early.
Rd 5. Millwood, Kevin (SP-Phi) – Once again, position and player available coincided nicely. There were 15 starting pitchers taken in the first five rounds – and there were still some top-15 starters out there. I got the best of what was left in Millwood. He returned to form last year. The Braves threw him away this winter. And now he has that formidable Phillies lineup to give him even more chances to win.
Rd 6. Klesko, Ryan (1B, RF-SD) – He was the best player available. Sure the Padres have an anaemic offense, but he’s the man who drives it. And he qualifies at first base, which gives me trade options as the season wears on. He even steals a base now and then.
Rd 7. Foulke, Keith (RP-Oak) – Seven closers had already gone. In roto baseball, giving up on a category makes it tough to compete. I was sure Foulke would last through the first few rounds, considering the few saves he had last year as a result of Jerry Manuel’s idiotic handling of him, so I grabbed my first sleeper. In Oakland, Foulke moves to both a pitcher’s park and an organization which understand how to get tremendous results from pitchers. He was a steal where I got him.
Rd 8. Wilson, Preston (CF-Col) – My second sleeper, hot on the heels of the first as I had the first pick in this round. This guy has 40-40 potential at Coors field. I’d settle for 30-20, or 25-20 and still call him one of my best picks in this draft.
Rd 9. Pierzynski, A.J. (C-Min) – Yes, the afore-mentioned catcher run. It was brief. I stayed out of it and still got this guy at the end of round nine. He was the best catcher left on the board – there’s a real drop-off after him – and I was now into the position filling portion of my draft. He won’t hurt me.
Rd 10. Aurilia, Rich (SS-SF) – The best shortstop left. He’s no A-Rod, but he’ll score runs in that refurbished Giants lineup.
Rd 11. Pierre, Juan (CF-Fla) – This guy should not have been still on the board. In a league that counts stolen bases, Pierre alone can make a team contend in that category. Added to the speed I already had, I should lead or be very near the top in stolen bases.
Rd 12. Julio, Jorge (RP-Bal) – Jorge who? He’s just a young pitcher with nasty stuff who happens to be the closer for a team with a weak offense. That means that most of the games the Orioles win should be close games. Jorge will bring me some saves. And it was time for another closer; I had only one, and saves are harder to come by than steals.
Rd 13. Ramirez, Aramis (3B-Pit) – A gamble, maybe, but not much of one, especially this late. His numbers were bad last year, but he hurt an ankle badly early in the season and it bothered him most of the season. He seems to be healthy and hitting for power this spring. I wasn’t letting him slip any lower.
Rd 14. Brown, Kevin (SP, RP-LA) – Another gamble, a real one this time, but I needed pitching. Millwood was my only starter to this point. So I took Brown because word is that he’s healthy and throwing well, finally, after a couple of years of breaking fantasy owners’ hearts. We’ll see. The rewards if he is healthy outweighed the risks this late in the draft. I didn’t want to let him go by again.
Rd 15. Lawrence, Brian (SP-SD) – A solid pitcher for a weak team. He won’t bring me a lot of wins or K’s, but he should help keep my ERA and WHIP low.
Rd 16. Benson, Kris (SP-Pit) – Another pitcher with ace stuff, another piching gamble. Two years removed from Tommy John surgery, he should be ready to bust out.
Rd 17. Cedeno, Roger (LF-NYM) – Another speed demon. Could not let him drop any farther. He and Pierre in a 13-team league with a utility spot and an extra outfield spot on our rosters? This was outright theft.
Rd 18. Rhodes, Arthur (RP-Sea) – He pitches every second game, at least, strikes people out, vultures wins and even a few saves. What’s not to like?
Rd 19. Sheets, Ben (SP-Mil) – A young strikeout pitcher for a weak team. Ace potential. (Do you see a theme?) He should have been long gone.
Rd 20. Vizcaino, Luis (RP-Mil) – Nasty, nasty stuff. And will probably take the closer’s job from Dejean this season. I still needed starting pitching though. Duckworth went soon after. I should’ve taken him first.
Rd 21. Hall, Toby (C-TB) – There were teams still without catchers, why was I allowed to steal this guy this late? I have no answer. Prime trade bait. Could potentially be better than the catcher I took in the ninth round.
Rd 22. Penny, Brad (SP-Fla) – See rd 19 note.
Rd 23. Carter, Lance (RP-TB) – The most likely candidate to close in Tampa Bay. Worth a pick in the second-last round.
Rd 24. Pena, Carlos (1B-Det) – No idea why he was still out there. A 13 team league, a first baseman with legitimate power. Won’t score a lot of runs in the Detroit lineup, but too good to leave behind.
My draft was very strong offensively, strong enough, I think, that if my pitching doesn’t all come through (and it won’t, barring a miracle) I’ll be able to do a couple of fine-tuning trades to shore up the rotation. I have a good chance of winning this league.
Here’s my team: WL’s Blue Sox. I also started on an in-depth draft analysis that will be forthcoming.
C: TBD.
I told Treviathan that if he left the draft without a backstop, I would too. I almost caved with the penultimate pick and took a sleeper candidate but took the league’s worst closer instead.
1B: Richie Sexson.
Taking this guy in the 11th was highway robbery. He’ll provide decent power numbers, and the cool thing about this league is that star players from weak teams perform really well because nobody bothers to pitch to them. Offensive Ks don’t count.
2B: Ray Durham.
Apparently nobody likes this guy this year but me. The knock would be that his power numbers will be cut down by the spacious greens at PacBell. But I like his speed and his hustle, and at the top of the Giants’ front-loaded lineup he should score like crazy.
3B: Eric Chavez.
2nd round. It’s gratifying to hear Winnowill mention (twice!) that I snuck this guy out from under her. He’s easily the best player (after Pujols) at a very thin position.
SS: Jimmy Rollins.
I don’t think I jumped the gun on him in 9. Another guy that I’ve been watching for a couple of years. I think he can return to 40-steal form. Unsurprisingly, my middle infield is going to be the source of most of my steals.
LF: Pat Burrell.
Solid. Good power, good lineup. Good pick.
CF: Torii Hunter
If he comes close to replicating last year’s numbers I’ll be happy. He’s an all-around producer.
RF: Ichiro Suzuki.
My feeling about this guy is tainted by the fact that taking him in early 3 was wretched judgement. Other than that he’s a fine player and should contribute in 4 of 6 categories.
OF: Vernon Wells.
A guy who has put up decent numbers in the past and is primed for a breakout season. I feel fine with him as my 4th OF.
IF: Aubrey Huff.
The first D-Ray taken in the draft, and rightfully so. He’s going to put up gaudy numbers this year. I’m projecting .300 and 30 slugging over .500. Also see the note for Sexson – Huff’s OBP will inflate because he’s almost the only threat in the Tampa lineup.
Util: Scott Hatteberg.
Not well regarded, I guess. But he’s a rock-solid producer in the middle tier who will contribute to the counting stats while pulling my cumulative stats upwards. I’ll take him as my last batter every day and twice on Sundays. If only he still qualified at catcher!
Bench: Travis Hafner.
My prospect pick. Here’s hoping none of my offensive starters slump early because Hafner’s my only backup and may not produce for several weeks. He could end up putting up some serious numbers, but it may take some fortitude to get there.
That’s my offense. If I had a startable catcher to go with the other 11 guys I’d feel really happy about my draft. Another weakness, though, is its lack of versatility. Not a single one of my guys qualifies at any positions other than the one he’s assigned to, and my IF, Util and only bench player are all first basemen (though Hafner doesn’t even qualify there yet). I hope to bring in a catcher and maybe another offensive guy in a trade before the season starts (‘Hey ho, Mariano Rivera’s got to go!’), but if not I’m reasonably satisfied with this squad as a nucleus to build around.
I’ve got to leave work now. I’ll post the first 4 rounds of draft analysis and then do my staff later.
Draft order (serpentine draft): 1 Winnowill, 2 White Lightning, 3 Blakes Bears, 4 Isotopes, 5 Omniscient, 6 rackensack, 7 E. Wilson All-Stars, 8 Treviathan, 9 deb2world, 10 Lake Merritt Marlins, 11 Munch, 12 Weirddave, 13 Fatwater Fewl
Round 1: Arod, Pedro, Bonds, Randy Johnson, Sammy, Alfonso Soriano, Vlad, Barry Zito, Troy Glaus, Curt Schilling, Albert Pujols, Carlos Beltran, Brian Giles. My pick: Pedro Martinez. I took him earlier that morning with the #1 pick. Every top draft pick I’ve ever had in fantasy ball I’ve picked Pedro. He’s a monster. Strongest Pick: Hard to say. Pretty much all these guys are legit first-rounders and you typically don’t see a lot of surprises in round 1. I’d say I was surprised to see Pujols (munch) fall to 11th overall; that may qualify as a steal. Reaching: Beltran (Weirddave) at 12th overall is questionable. Giles and Ordonez were similar players still available that I think are likely to produce better than Beltran. Misc.: Some may be surprised to see Zito (Treviathan) go before the Big Three (Randy, Pedro, Schilling), but he’s worth it.
Round 2: Jason Giambi, Roy Oswalt, Magglio Ordonez, Lance Berkman, Mark Mulder, Jim Thome, Todd Helton, Miguel Tejada, Nomar Garciaparra, Shawn Green, Derek Lowe, Eric Chavez, John Smoltz. My pick: Eric Chavez. As the round went on and both Nomar and Tejada kept falling, my mouth started watering. Of course they both got snapped up 4 picks before mine. I also had my eye on Kent and Piazza, and I was surprised to see that both of them lasted out the round. Chavez will hit 45+ HRs this season. Strongest Pick: Again this one’s hard to identify. Giambi (Fatwater Fewl) in early 2 is pretty good, but not a shock. Reaching: Not to single out Weirddave but I was surprised to see Oswalt go at #15 overall. He’s got a lot of potential and upside but may not be reliable. Weirddave could easily get the last laugh here though. Misc.: After 2 rounds, 8 teams had one pitcher and one batter, 5 had two batters, and none had 2 pitchers. Closers broke in Round 2, which I think is terrible, but that’s just my personal view on their role in fantasy ball.
Round 3: Bartolo Colon, Ichiro Suzuki, Eric Gagne, Bobby Abreu, Andruw Jones, Mark Buehrle, Mike Mussina, Manny Ramirez, Garret Anderson, Mike Piazza, Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, Jeff Kent. My pick: Ichiro Suzuki. This is a terrible pick. What happened was this. As I said above, I had my eye on Kent and Piazza in round 2, figuring to take one of them and Chavez in my 2 picks. Then after I took Chavez I thought about taking Colon with my next pick, but Winnowill used one of hers to take him instead (I drafted Pedro, Colon, Chavez in my first draft this year, with 12 teams, so I’d have been happy to take the same three guys here). Suddenly it was my turn again and both Kent and Piazza were available. I panicked. I couldn’t decide which to take (I even asked my girlfriend, who was watching American Idol or some other drivel. She recommended taking Kent because Piazza’s name sounded like ‘pizza’), and having just thought of taking Colon and then having him snatched away really threw me off my game. It was one of the worst draft-day collapses I’ve ever suffered. With about 20 seconds left to pick I suddenly thought that I should take this league’s different categories into account and take an OBP guy. Ichiro came to mind and I just grabbed him. I should have just taken Kent as I originally intended to, or if I had to deviate from my strategy I should have taken Abreu who beats Ichiro in pretty much every stat. I still feel embarrassed talking about this round. My pick was cover-your-eyes bad. Strongest Pick: Manny falling to mid-3, # 34 overall, is a nice take. Kent at 39th overall, last pick of this round, is a solid steal. Reaching: Ichiro, as outlined above. Garret Anderson (deb2world) is doubtful to repeat last year’s success, but it can be excused as a homer pick (I’d have taken a few of those myself in this draft if Blake’s Bears didn’t keep reaching past me to take them himself). Misc.: Catchers broke in Round 3. The rate at which this position was drafted proved to be one of the main dramas of the day. It seemed that people were hesitant to open it up early in the draft.
Round 4: Scott Rolen, Roy Halladay, Mark Prior, Robb Nen, Troy Percival, Tim Hudson, Kerry Wood, Greg Maddux, A.J. Burnett, Chipper Jones, Aaron Boone, Torii Hunter, Johnny Damon. My pick: Torii Hunter. I didn’t like taking him because I think he’s overrated, but as he fell to late 4 I felt taking him was appropriate. In 5x5 roto he’s a 5-stat guy. I’m not confident that he’ll repeat his success of last year, but as was pointed out to me he’s in a contract year. Strongest Pick: Scott Rolen (Fewl) is an intriguing pick because of the radically thin options at 3B this year. The 11th-hour elimination of Phil Nevin from fantasy consideration makes taking Rolen this early (40th overall; Fewl builds himself a nice strong infield with Giambi in 2 and Kent and Rolen with consecutive picks) a good plan, as after Pujols, Chavez, and Rolen the dropoff is huge. I also like Tim Hudson (Treviathan) and Greg Maddux (rackensack) with # 45 and # 47 respectively. Hudson gets underrated in the Oakland rotation but he should win 20 this year. I guess people think Maddux is getting old, which explains his fall to mid-4 here, but that’s never stopped him from being a first-rounder the last few years. To my mind he’s a steal here. Reaching: Halladay (Weirddave) won 19 last year… can he do it again? Better bets were still available. Aaron Boone’s (Blake’s) positional flexibility (eligible at 3B, SS, and soon 2B) bumps his value up somewhat, but round 4? Before last year he had only played in more than 103 games and stolen more than 17 bases once in his career. Even in that previous career year (1999), he only hit 14 HRs in 472 ABs. I think he’s a stretch here. Robb Nen (Lake Merritt) at # 43 overall looks to me like a peer pressure pick; closers were starting to heat up but I think there are a lot of questions about Nen’s arm right now. Misc.: Prior (munch, # 42) before Wood (Wilson #46) is interesting. If anyone can avoid a sophomore slump you’d think it would be Prior.
Well, keep going, WL, I want to know all of the other mistakes I made.