SDMB Baseball 18 Team Draft

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

First off, great draft. It was a blast to see all those flags up there, and to see so many people drafted. Someone at the end of the draft wanted a thread set up rating the teams, and I have a massive chunk of time before 5:00 rolls around, so I figured why not.

Jimmy Chitwood
1-3: A-Rod, Mulder, Vasquez. Very solid picks, can’t go wrong with those choices.
4-6: B. Giles, Lowell, Rhodes. Also excellent choices. Bastard took Giles when I wanted him. Lowell should be very good this year. There are a lot of question marks around Rhodes, but he should do well.
7-10: N. Johnson, Miller, Webb, Nen. This is the DL portion of Jimmy’s draft. It’s officially spring, so that means Nick Johnson is officially “sore”. Nen’s on the DL, Webb’s been on the DL, and Miller’s shaky in April. I liked Miller and Webb drafted here though, good value. Nick has something to prove.
11-15: Wilson, Hairston, Walker, Graves, Bay. Two more players on the DL here in Bay and Walker. Wilson’s a solid catcher option. Bay and Walker should come off the DL well, though.
16-20: Redmond, Burnett, Hafner, Estrada, Speier. Burnett rounds out Jimmy’s DL team. Estrada is a great pick. Speier may end up closing - so excellent value there. I don’t know who T. Redmond is.
21-24: Seo, Lieber, Olivo, Claussen. 3 catchers on your team? That’s a bit much. Seo’s a mystery right now, but Lieber and Claussen are good picks this late.
Conclusion: Needs SBs and Saves badly.

C-Town Demons
1-3: Pujols, Piazza, Bagwell. Very good. Piazza’s a bit early, but it’s tough to argue with at #36. Makes for a very good infield, and lowers the competition at 1B.
4-6: Moyer, Nomo, Batista. Batista’s early, especially before Young, Ensberg and Hinske. The pitchers are solid.
7-10: Kim, Finley, Encarnacion. I really like the outfielders. Kim could pan out and be a good value.
11-15: A. Gonzalez, Grudz, Washburn, Hasegawa, Hitchcock, Mient. In my opinion, there were better options at SS and 2B than Grudz and Gonzalez. Grudz is platooning, and I can never keep the Gonzalezes seperate.
16-20: Byrnes, Coco, Suppan, Zeile, Choi. I REALLY like Choi and Suppan here - extremely good value. Zeile was a mistake that he’s since dropped, and I also like Coco. Byrnes is streaky, but what are you going to do at #272?
21-24: Ausmus, R. Sanchez, Beck, Parrish. If Beck comes back, he’s a steal. Ausmus is fantastic value this low as well.
Conclusion: Other than Saves where he could end up with a zero, this team has fantastic balance.

Last Place - Kiros
1-3: Soriano, Renteria, Lopez. Great first 3 picks. If Lopez keeps it up, this could be the best top 3 of the draft.
4-6: Oswalt, Dotel, Cabrera. Ouch. 3 more fantastic picks. Oswalt could win the Cy Young, Dotel could compete for Fireman, and Cabrera is being touted as the next Pujols.
7-10: Nevin, Hinske, Everett. Power, power, power. Not to mention massive flexibility. Possibly a perfect 10 picks.
11-15: Contreras, Millar, Peavy, Harden, Bernie, Kolb. Fills out all his needs at this point. Contreras and Peavy could rock this year, Kolb has great stuff, Millar needs to be a shadow of last year to be of value this late in the draft, and Harden has great potential.
16-20: Konerko, D. Roberts, Soriano, Kotsay, Rueter. Konerko is boom or bust. His 2nd half last year points to boom. Good value everywhere else.
21-24: Carter, C. Guillen, Monroe, Munson. Kiros loves him some Tigers.
Conclusion: This team is dangerous.

East Lansing Boils
1-3: Beltran, Chavez, Sosa. Fantastic picks, I couldn’t have picked them better myself. Oh wait…this is my team.
4-6: M. Giles, Teixeira, K. Matsui. More good picks. Giles in Rd. 4 is really good value. Matsui may be a reach here, but his potential is unrivaled versus those left on the board.
7-10: Morris, Percy, Zambrano, Patterson. I really like these. Patterson was having a Beltranesque season before his injury last year, Zambrano is 23 years old and posted great numbers, Percy and Morris are healthy.
11-15: Hernandez, Cordero, Riske, Stewart, Crosby. I keep finding myself picking Bobby Crosby. He’s blasting the ball in Spring Training, so I’m excited for what he can do. Hernandez posted great numbers last year, and has been dropping down the draft boards. Cordero and Riske are average.
16-20: A. Sanchez, MacDougal, Pavano, Cliff Lee, Alvarez. Sanchez locks up a top ranking at Stolen Bases, MacDougal was a stretch, Pavano was an incredible value, and Lee and Alvarez are unknown.
21-24: Blake, Towers, LaRoche, Leskanic. Leskanic was great to back up MacDougal’s injury. Blake and LaRoche fill nicely as incredibly late 1B backups, and Towers could produce. Or not. We’ll see.
Conclusion: Pathetic. Simply pathetic. What moron picked this team?!?

Petelin
1-3: Sheffield, P. Wilson, Foulke. Good picks. Auto picked Sheffield a little early, but he won’t dissappoint.
4-6: Palmeiro, L. Gonzalez, L. Hernandez. More good picks. Livan is underrated. Gonzo’s an injury concern. Palmeiro is also underrated, but should perk right up (insert Viagra joke here).
7-10: Wolf, Payton, Winn, Worrell. Worrell is an unfortunate casualty of the auto-picks. The rest are very good value.
11-15: Sabathia, K. Wells, Lieter, Spiezo, T. Lee. Interesting picks. They could pan out, they might not. CC is a great pitcher, and should surprise.
16-20: E. Young, Guzman, Myers, G. Mota, Rogers. Couple good guys here this late in the draft. If Young gets the ABs, he’ll be good at Rd. 16.
21-24: Burkett, Anderson, Cedeno, A. Boone. For late in the draft, these are fantastic. Boone may be hurt, but as I said at the draft, he’s a perfect DL player.
Conclusion: Can compete, but will depend on several players stepping it up. Lots of LFs though.

High Tech Burritos
1-3: Bonds, Wells, Giambi. More good top 3 picks.
4-6: Nixon, O. Cabrera, Ramirez. Trot’s injured, but the rest are solid picks.
7-10: Pierz., Durham, Redman, Guillen. Bastard took Guillen from me! I hate you, Burrito! But excellent picks here - all are good value.
11-15: Durazo, Garcia, Lohse, Cruz, Kielty. More good picks that slip through the cracks.
16-20: Bradford, Lilly, Tomko, A. Gonzalez, Shields. Lots of question marks here, especially Lilly and Tomko.
21-24: Simon, Fick, Quantrill, Lidle. Great values here. With a little anger management, Fick could be one of the best late rounders of the draft.
Conclusion: It’s tough to judge because he doesn’t have his lineup set, but he drafted very well. He has lots and lots of power, but only 1 baserunner on his team. All of his SPs have 10+ wins.

The Svengalis
1-3: Gagne, Berkman, Suzuki. If I remember right, spooje was late to the draft. Berkman reinforces that memory. Gagne shouldn’t dissappoint here if he builds around his pitching.
4-6: Guardado, Hoffman, Floyd. Yup, solid relief on this team.
7-10: Pena, Ibanez, Simontacchi, D. Wells. Pena? Simontacchi? Raul’s a great pick.
11-15: Hampton, Ortiz, Cameron, Wigginton, DeRosa. I can’t believe Ortiz dropped this far. GREAT pick. So was Hampton and DeRosa, who should surprise.
16-20: Perez, Hart, Lopez, Matheny, Eckstein. I have to be honest, I’m not quite sure who most of these guys are, so I’ll reserve judgement.
21-24: Jennings, F-Rod, Weber, Broussard. Broussard is a GREAT pick.
Conclusion: Several unfortunate autopicks, but a very good pitching staff in terms of Saves, WHIP, ERA, TB and Wins.

Rackensack Diamonds
1-3: Helton, I. Rodriguez, Zito. Very good, deliberate picks.
4-6: Colon, Reyes, Benitez. More of the same. Colon was a steal.
7-10: Hidalgo, Podsednik, Willis, Burroughs. Personally, I’m not sold on Podsednik. He has “Jerome Walton” written all over him. The others are great picks.
11-15: Loretta, Escobar, Mora, H. Ramirez, Kearns. Very good picks. Escobar may not survive the season, but Kearns, Mora and Loretta will make up for it.
16-20: Weaver, Erstad, BeltrAAA, Lugo, Hall. Good picks. I don’t like BeltrAAA, but you can’t argue with a starting 3B picked in Rd. 18.
21-24: Harang, Jordan, F. Vina, Arroyo. Nice hole fillers, backups.
Conclusion: Short on power and saves, heavy on balance and good pitching.

Dry Heaves
1-3: Delgado, Randy, Chipper. Excellent, deliberate picks.
4-6: Furcal, Beckett, Kendall. GREAT picks here.
7-10: Issy, Ensberg, Alomar, J. Gonzalez. I think Alomar and Juan Gone could have waited, especially Alomar. But he could revive this season.
11-15: Chacon, H. Matsui, Jenkins, Milton, Koch. Matsui was an absolute steal. Consistent picks, Milton was great.
16-20: Casey, Glavine, Feliz, Dreifort, C. Johnson. Very good value down here.
21-24: Lawton, Menechino, Fogg, Shuey. I know nothing about these guys.
Conclusion: Excellent team. Will compete very well.

The Cougars
1-3: Wood, Rolen, Edmonds. Cards fan here. Wood is the surprise pick of the draft, but could be justified mid-season.
4-6: Vidro, Ortiz, Rollins. More good value picks here. Rollins could be a stretch, but SS is a tough position.
7-10: W. Williams, J. Jones, Hawkins, Drew. Very good picks here. all of them could break out.
11-15: T. Walker, D. Miller, Cairo, Williamson, Farnsworth. I don’t like these picks. At all. Sorry!
16-20: Alfonzo, Byrd, Remlinger, Timlin, Hatteberg. Now these picks I like a lot! 'Zo and Byrd are fantastic values here.
21-24: A. Everett, Reese, Kapler, Lidge. Grumble, grumble, Lidge, grumble. Took my sleeper!
Conclusion: There are a couple holes on this team, but there’s also a lot of high risk/high reward here as well.

VORP
1-3: Thome, Schmidt, Wagner. Without Schmidt’s injury, these are very good picks.
4-6: Garrett, Clemens, R. Ortiz. More great picks. Ortiz is a ?, but you gotta take some risks.
7-10: Millwood, Hunter, Koskie, Mauer. I always undervalue Hunter. But he’s a great pick, as is Millwood and Koskie. Mauer’s too young for me.
11-15: Aurilia, Stairs, Gordon, Relaford, Edgar. All good picks except Gordon. He won’t be getting any saves unless something happens to Mariano Rivera.
16-20: J. Thomson, Bellhorn, Biggio, Tino Martinez, Cormier. Very consistent picks this late in the draft, especially Thomson and Tino.
21-24: Ayala, Redding, Cordero, DaVanon. I really like DaVanon and Ayala here.
Conclusion: Extremely consistent in nearly every category.

Winnowills Winners
1-3: Halladay, Posada, Abreu. Me likey.
4-6: A. Jones, Berroa, Urbina. Berroa and Urbina were taken too high, IMO. Urbina is fantastic, but he’s still playing for Detroit. I’m a Royals fan, but Berroa has been going too high this year.
7-10: Padilla, Marte, Randa, Crede. Interesting, a good pair of 3B, a solid SP, and a maybe at RP. Marte’ll probably get the job, but not until the Sox get another lefty in the pen.
11-15: Affeldt, Spivey, Gerut, Conine, Olerud. The backbone of a 1996 fantasy team, and the backbone of a 2006 fantasy team. All can still produce, though.
16-20: B. Anderson, Phelps, V. Martinez, R. Johnson, Davis. Phelps and Victor are great picks.
21-24: Harvey, Vizquel, Appier, Cornejo. What can I say, he likes the AL Central.
Conclusion: Very good team, a couple holes with aging players. If they produce, look out.

Baltimore Weirdos
1-3: Manny, Tejada, Sexson. Lots of power. LOTS.
4-6: Loaiza, Sanders, Julio. I’m buying into Loaiza’s new pitch as well.
7-10: D. Young, Ponson, Gibbons, Polanco. Wow - Polanco and Young are vastly underrated, and Ponson was good value.
11-15: Grissom, Phillips, Baez, Trachsel, Salmon, Santiago. Don’t know why Santiago was taken when he has Phillips, who was a steal.
16-20: Ainsworth, Castilla, Franklin, Ohka. Franklin and Castilla are fantastic, I’m iffy on the others. But this late, who’s to complain?
21-24: Tucker, Reitsma, Villareal, Long. Meh. Good backups this late, though.
Conclusion. Very powerful team. Not a lot of steals or OBP here.

P Touch Em All Reese
1-3: Pedro, Hudson, Kent. Shocker! Good deliberate picks.
4-6: Varitek, Thomas, Pineiro. I think WL panicked with Varitek. But Thomas and Pineiro are good.
7-10: Borowski, M. Young, Griffey, Dunn. Definitely panicked on Griffey. Borowski may lose his job since he’s lost his velocity. M. Young was a fantastic pick.
11-15: Bradley, Nathan, Myers, Mesa, Sheets. Lots of good picks here, especially the last 2. Bradley’s in a bit of trouble today, but that should pan out. Sheets was excellent.
16-20: Catalanotto, B. Roberts, O. Hudson, Hammock, Garland. Good late round picks.
21-24: E. Wilson, Bautista, Marquis, Robertson. You picked a Yankee, you picked a Yankee!
Conclusion: Fairly well balanced, with an emphasis on pitching. Guys like Wilson, Bradley, and Kapler are iffy.

Omni Out on Waveland
1-3: Prior, Ordonez, Mussina. Too bad about Prior, but Ordonez was a steal in the 2nd round.
4-6: D. Lee, Blalock, Lieberthal. It seems early for Lieberthal, but the others are fantastic picks.
7-10: Cintron, Mantei, Baldelli, Buerhle. Cintron will deliver, Buerhle was a great pick, but I’m not sold on Baldelli.
11-15: Burnitz, Jimenez, Day, Ishii, Dye. Great picks here, across the board. Except Day.
16-20: F. Rodriguez, Eaton, White, Barrett, Baerga. I really like Eaton here. Others are decent late rounders.
21-24: Cruz, Guiel, Maroth, Greene. Other than Cruz, the best final four of the draft.
Conclusion: Lots of youth, but solid team.

Halos
1-3: Vlad, Glaus, Smoltz. Deb, we know you love the Angels, but Glaus at #21 before Rolen and Chavez?!?
4-6: Pettitte, Damon, Sweeney. Very good picks. Sweeney’s already hurt, but he’ll get better.
7-10: Mueller, O. Perez, Kennedy, Valentin. Valentin worked well for her last year, and will again. Kennedy was great value.
11-15: LoDuca, Alou, Meche, Molina, Fullmer. I like Meche and Molina. LoDuca was a stretch.
16-20: V. Zambrano, Donnelly, Higginson, Lackey, Rincon. Couple injuries here. Zambrano looks extremely good.
21-24: Mench, Ellis, Estes, Glanville. Good backups this late.
Conclusion: Not enough Angels! But a very good offense.

Wily Mo a Pena
1-3: Nomar, Pierre, C. Lee. Nomar is no more for most of April. Pierre was a stretch, but that’s a lot of steals to not worry about anywhere else in your lineup all in one players.
4-6: Rivera, Santana, Brown. Fantastic pitching core.
7-10: Maddux, Castillo, Wakefield, Hillenbrand. Solid picks here. More good pitching.
11-15: Radke, LeCroy, Byrd, Mondesi, A. Lopez. Filling more holes. I like Byrd here.
16-20: May, Matos, Lawrence, Rivas, Overbay. How’d Rivas fall so far?
21-24: Castro, Armas, Hentgen, Pena. Really good last four.
Conclusion: A fantastic pitching staff, and a well rounded offense.

E. Wilson All-Stars
1-3: Schilling, Boone, Jeter. Good middle infield, Jeter’s an early pick.
4-6: Huff, Clement, Green. Surprised to see Huff still here. Good picks.
7-10: Crawford, Lowe, Wilkerson, Penny. Lots of flexible offense, good pitching.
11-15: Burrell, Looper, Lofton, Klesko, LaRue. All very good value. Burrell is a risk, but very good value here.
16-20: Batista, J. Williams, Biddle, Helms, Valverde. Biddle and Valv could combine for 70 saves. Or 10.
21-24: Herges, Ventura, Nix, E. Jackson. Herges will crank out some saves now with Nen on the DL. Great value.
Conclusion: Very good team. Couple stretches, but it all panned out.

2

Okay, those conclusions are all pretty similar. Let me rate the teams 1-10:

Jimmy: 6.5 - those saves and SBs are gonna hurt so low.
C-Town: 7.5 - Very strong strengths, very questionable weaknesses
Kiros: 9 - very few weaknesses
Boils: 2 - just aweful, maybe an 8.5 if I’m feeling generous
Petelin: 8 - very strong
Burritos: 7.5 - would be an 8 or 8.5 with saves (you also can plug your lineup in - it won’t eat your games if there isn’t a game)
Svengalis: 7 - pitching is just too good here
Rackensack: 7.5
Dry Heaves: 8, if healthy
Cougars: could be a 5, could be a 9
VORP: 8.5 - SB only weak spot
Winnowill: 8.5 - consistency is the name of the game here (JJJJJJJJJJJJ)
Weirdos: 8.5 - so many players that are underrated and are really going to surprise
Reese: 6.5 - above average, but isn’t going to win any one category
Omni: 8
Halos: A healthy and running Vlad makes this team a 7.5
Wily: 6.5 - no power really hurts this team
Wilson: 7 - I’m rooting for this team because I have a lot of similar players on my other team

3

6.5, eh. Are you saying Sliding Larry Walker isn’t going to swipe 60 bags this year? Seriously, though, Tike Redman is my steals man. Better be, anyway.

It’s surprising to see that even in such a deep draft, real talent was available into the double digits. Tony Armas Jr. in the 20’s… I can’t believe I let that happen, since I’ve had some kind of bizarre man-crush on him for three years. As a pitcher, that is.

4

/stroke ego

:slight_smile:

-K.

5

Thanks for starting this thread, Munch, I was the one who asked. I am gratified to get an 8.5, considering I consider myself a casual fan at best…hehe, remember who kept saying FUCK! during the draft? I felt like Hugh Grant at the beginning of
4 Weddings and a Funeral.

Anyhow, 8.5, that’s good, right? You think I’m going to get lots of points when my batters hit the puck through the goalpoasts from behind the three point line?

6

What’cho talkin’ 'bout, Willis???
You know something about Berkman I don’t?

I think he’s a franchise-player-to-be whose gonna break out in a big way.
If he’s healthy, that is.

7

For those who haven’t noticed, Yahoo is, and I’m going to try to express this as technically as I can, completely fucked out the yin-yang. As such, I locked everyone’s teams until they sort the mess out.

8

Good times at Yahoo. Anybody lose anyone good?

9

I lost Bobby Crosby and Kaz Matsui, and possibly a few more.

10

OK, I took Wood first only because I wanted a front-line starter and knew the guys I wanted wouldn’t be around by my next pick. Rolen’s a solid 3B and is due for a great season. Same for Edmonds.

My 4-6 picks were based on getting my holes filled early, and getting the best guys I could. Same for 7-10 (Williams and Hawkins were the best pitching options I saw at the time.)

Personally, I’m happy with my 11-15 picks. Walker’s in there as my IF, Miller’s a good catcher, Williamson and Farnsworth are both top relievers on playoff contenders. Cairo was a bit of a lark (I knew he’d be gone soon, and he’s gonna get the chance to fill some holes for Torre.)

16-24 were simply my “names I’ve heard of” picks. Timlin got shipped off for Danny Bautista to give me a better option at OF, and Kapler was drafted solely to be traded (I believe in Jason Marquis.)

I think, with a little luck and some cooperation from the Baseball Gods, I can do better than 5th. Definitely gonna be higher than 9th, I’m sure. And besides, any holes I might have right now can be filled in the first couple weeks when the surprise breakouts happen.

11

First off, this is the first post since they added the new subscription thing…talk about a surprise.

Thanks for taking the time to do this thread, I enjoyed it. I’m going to chime in with a personal analysis and explain some of my thoughts regarding the players I drafted and why. Hopefully later I’ll have time to do everyone elses team, or at least highlight some of the picks and teams that stood out as being real good or real bad. When you’re done reading remember, as always, i’m a idiot, so don’t make too much of it.

Here’s my team Omni Out on Waveland

Pos Batters
C M. Lieberthal(Phi - C)
I’ve always been a fan of this guy. He seems to preform consistently throught the season and stays healthy for a catcher. He was at the top of the middle tier Cs in my rankings, so I felt real good about snagging him in the 6th round drafting as late as I did. Plus there weren’t any must-haves left on my board at other positions either. I always feel that C is one of the positions you don’t want to be scraping together all season. Average and a little power there is really valuable. In retrospect the odds are good that he’d have still been there in the next round, but I felt a possible run coming on after WL reached for Varitek.
1B D. Lee(ChC - 1B)
I’m thrilled about getting him here. He’s going to be awesome in Wrigley, and there aren’t many 1Bs that get steals to boot. He was high on my 1B rankings, and the added bonus of getting a Cub without reaching is always fun for me. In years past I’ve always taken a 1B late since they are somewhat plentiful, this year thats less so. Shouldn’t have another year like last with Konerko as my starter.
2B D. Jiménez(Cin - 2B)
This was the last starter I picked, and I got him in the 12th round. He was also high on my set of second tier 2B, so I feel like I got what I wanted. He’s a bit of a risk after being up and down last year, but he probably won’t be platooning, and that alone makes him a valuable 2B. At the very least he’ll put up stats in all categories. He’s also young enough to not be a imminent injury risk.
3B H. Blalock(Tex - 3B)
Now, this was probably my second most nervous moment as I saw this pick coming up. I knew he was what I wanted, I had him as the top 3B this year. 3B is also one of those positions that I hate to pick late since theres a huge drop off after the top 8 or so. He is not a 5th rounder, and with Lowell going early in that same round I really feared a second run on 3B that’d take him from me. Aramis as a backup plan wouldn’t have been too disappointing, but I was giddy after this pick.
SS Á. Cintrón(Ari - 3B,SS)
This is probably my first real gamble, I think Cintron will be a star, and I’m wagering that it’s going to happen this year. Drafting 15th took me out of position to shoot for one of the first tier guys (not Jeter!) and I missed that second round run as a result. I had really hoped to take O. Cabrera in the spot where I took Lieberthal, but he was nabbed early in the 5th. Looking at my list of available guys, he was the last left not named Gonzalez. He’s probably a bit of a reach, but I didn’t want to be left with a rookie or bottom rung guy as my top starter. I had Crosby pegged as a back up/insurance policy late in the draft but I waited one pick too long. The dual qualifier certainly helps matter alot too.
IF K. Greene(SD - SS)
I’m real glad to get him as the last pick, it’s a ridiculous steal in a 18 team draft. With the news that Ordonez cut out of camp making him the full time starter, I’m thrilled with him there. He could always sink instead of swim, but spring training number say otherwise.
LF J. Burnitz(Col - LF,CF,RF)
Here’s another guy that I was sweating about for a while there too. I knew he’d be around in the middle rounds since he tends to fly under the radar since leaving Milwaukee. I kept waiting and waiting, and seeing sexy-OFs that are going to preferm worse than him go off the board. I expected that someone would see his 3 position versatility and the Coors boost and think like me. He had a bad last half moving to LA last season, but that won’t be the case with that swing in Coors. The only question is his health, but with the 11th pick…I’ll take that gamble for 40 HRs.
CF R. Baldelli(TB - CF)
I just have a hunch about this guy. He’ll steal pleanty of based and put up above average numbers for a CF in all categories. If the D-Rays lineup is as improved as I think it will be, he’ll be a part of alot of scored runs. He’s not a steal in the 9th round, and I might have buyers remorse if Patterson (a guy I just love to watch at Wrigley) plays like he did before the injury, but he felt just right at this spot.
RF M. Ordóñez(CWS - RF)
This is a no brainer. The fact that he’s stil there after 21 picks is insane. He’s a top 10 pick in alot of experts drafts. If the hype is justified, I think I’ll run away with the HR crown in this league on his shoulders. The news that he’s moving in the Hurts number 3 slot was total gravy.
OF J. Dye(Oak - RF)
I gotta tell you, modesty aside, this is the pick of the draft. He had a piss-poor year last season, we all know that, but Yahoo had him ranked obscenely low for some reason and everyone overlooked it. Reports have been out all spring talking about how great he’s looking so far and how good of shape he’s in. I took him in the 15th round, 257th overall if my math is right. Right after Ben Sheets and before Brad Fullmer. I was sweating that someone else would notice him, since I had forgotten about him for about 12 rounds myself. When I was able to click that button, I felt like my draft was a success.
Util R. White(Det - LF)
This could go either way, but if he’s healthy (a question of Griffey like proportions) it could be great. He’s got no competition for playing time in Detroit and when the team is losing he should be swinging for the fences regularly. Those two factors alone made him attractive as an 18th rounder. I’d have rather had a infielder in this spot, but I don’t think there were any.
BN C. Baerga(Ari - 1B,2B)
I have no explaination for this. I panicked and was poorly informed. God knows how much he’ll play. Wasted pick, no doubt about it. I panicked when I saw that I had no infield backups on the right side and couldn’t find a soul worth drafting in the queue.
BN M. Barrett(ChC - C)
This isn’t a great pick, but I needed a back up catcher. The Cubs will be using him as the primary catcher and the speculation is that he’ll be able to hit fairly well in this lineup. I took him 19th, but he’d have probably been there later. So far his spring training looks haven’t been great, but lets hope the Wrigley atmosphere and that fact he isn’t Todd Hundley bring him around. With luck, I’ll never even need to play him.
BN A. Guiel(KC - RF)
I think this is a terrific late pick. I’m deep in the outfield, so he’s expendable, but he’ll be a really productive 22nd rounder. If Dye or Rondell fall apart, I think he’ll be plenty servicable.

Pos Pitchers
SP M. Mussina(NYY - SP)
I hate the Yankees, but this guy will probably win 25 games this year. In the 3rd round of this draft, thats a steal. I hated picking two pitchers in the top three picks, but I don’t think it was a mistake looking at the rest of that round. Though, after that showing in Japan I’m wishing I’d have grabbed Zito.
SP M. Maroth(Det - SP)
Yeah, he’s a pitcher for Detroit and he lost 21 games. But as 23rd rounder, he’s not a bad option. GHe’s got good stuff, and the team has improved. At the very least he should post 10 wins with Urbina’s help and he’s been good in spring training. We also know what Pudge can do for a young pitching staff.
RP M. Mantei(Ari - RP)
Here’s a hole. Mantei doesn’t fill me with confidence, and who knows what he’ll do as a closer this year. That team could go either direction in a hurry. However the 8th round was the right place to take him I think.
RP F. Rodríguez(Ana - RP)
I think I picked him a little early due to my lack of depth at RP and lack of confidence in Mantei. He’ll definately be good for my rate stats, but its a question mark as to whether or not he steals any saves from Percival. I’m thinking he will later in the season.
P M. Buehrle(CWS - SP)
He’s an absolute steal in the 10th round. The Sox should be pretty good in that weak division, and there’s no way a quality #1 starter should be around 180 or so picks into this thing. I think my core starters should put me close to the top of the W column.
P Z. Day(Mon - SP)
Definately an oops here. He was hot to start the season last year before getting hurt, and he saved my ass on the waiver wire when my entire pitching staff’s arms fell off. I was remembering those days, and not looking at the big picture and other arms still available. I definately should have pegged a second closer with this pick. With Meche, Kolb, Koch, May and other pitchers out there, this was a mistake. I do think he’ll be valuable, and I think he’ll post some decent stats, but he’d have been there 5 rounds later.
P K. Ishii(LA - SP)
This one sorta made up for the Day pick when I made it. He’ll be a good choice I think and will round out those rate stats nicely. I could run into trouble with total innings pitched if I’m not careful though.
BN M. Prior(ChC - SP)
This was a heartbreaker. I love the fact that he was still there 15 picks in, and I wanted him on my team, but the injury is ominous. At the time there was still a chance he’d only miss one start, so I felt good about this pick. I still feel pretty good about it since a healthy Prior in May will make my pitching numbers look great, but there’s a big if involved there. To complicate things further, I’ve always been a proponent of the theory that you don’t pick pitchers early. But before the injury he would have been a top 5 pick, I got him at 15 and he may only miss 3 starts. I can live with that, hell Pedro will miss more than that.
BN A. Eaton(SD - SP)
I like this guy in the 17th round. A much improved Padres squad will boost his win totals and he can be flat out dominating, especially in a dramtically weakened division. Needless to say I think I’ll survive the Prior injury with these backup starters. This is the best I’ve felt about a fantasy pitching staff ever.
BN R. Wagner(Cin - RP)
This was Juan Cruz, he was part of the RP panic that I had around the 13th round. I needed another one, and this was the day of teh trade so he was in the news. Part of me thought he’d get turned around by Leo Mazzone, but the last half of spring training made it look unlikely. So, I dropped him and got a hot rookie who many think will be the Reds closer before the start of May. At the very least he’ll help my K totals in middle relief.

12

Game on, folks. Turns out it was just a mild case of Over-Active Commissioner. Once I unlocked everyone, all the players were pushed back in.

13

I am already in love with Zambrano, who couldn’t be, he knocked off the Yankers in game 1.

I figure my team should be ok, I just don’t think I was at a personal "Full Draft Strength™ when it happened, it seems that I did a much better job on Willow’s league, that extra few days allowed me to stretch my mind more.

I have already lost Ellis for the year (note though I got him in the last round) and replaced him with Tino Martinez, so I should be ok in the IF category.

I don’t like that Yahoo waits so long to put players on DL status. I could be out rustling up some replacement players for those who have already got a hangnail.

Oh, my cat still hasn’t truly forgiven me for firmly removing her from my lap (remember round 1). I don’t remember EVER treating her that way and she is making sure I don’t forget it. For a 10 year old cat she has had a very cushy life until that round 1 episode, poor baby. :slight_smile:

14

OK, what the hey, I’ll chime in my two cents as well.
For me, this was the first of two “deep” drafts I was in - Winnowill’s AL only league with 9 teams being the other. I love these deep drafts!

I didn’t come into this draft with any particular plan - my general rule is you can never have too many good SPs, and this year I’ve been paying more attention to SBs.

I’ll do my self-analysis in drafting order. I was 18th out of 18 - last in the odd rounds, first in the even. Since my picks were always in pairs, I’ll group them that way.

The E. Wilson All-Stars

  1. Curt Schilling and 2. Bret Boone - As the draft started, I queued up 18 names. When it got to me, I think there were three left on my board - Schilling, Ordonez and Boone in that order. Since in Zev’s keeper league I have Schilling and Ordonez, I decided to go for Schilling and Boone. Schilling I feel was a no brainer at the 18th pick, clearly the best SP on the board. Boone may have been slightly early.

  2. Derek Jeter and 4. Aubrey Huff - I was sure Jeter wasn’t going to last to me here. For those who don’t know, I’m a Yankee fan - but I hardly ever draft a lot of Yankees. I remember I had Jeter, Huff, Teixeira, and Rivera in my queue. In retrospect, I should have taken Huff and Teixeira here. But I don’t think Jeter was a reach as the 54th pick. Even last year he put up a solid OBP - and if he’s healthy he should be a lock for 120 runs. The question is whether he’ll run much. Plus it was nice to get 2B and SS taken care of so early. All I needed at this point was a 3B for a complete infield. As you’ll see, that didn’t work out too well.

  3. Matt Clement and 6. Shawn Green - as these picks came close, I was eyeing Hank Blalock - but Omni took him three picks before me. I wanted a power hitter and a pitcher here - Shawn Green was I felt my best bet for power. At pitcher, I was debating between Matt Clement and Kevin Brown - not sure why I decided on Clement to be honest. I’m not disappointed in him - but Brown would have been better. Well I guess not having two old SPs is good.

  4. Carl Crawford and 8. Derek Lowe - again, coming toward this pick in round seven I knew I wanted a third SP. I was hoping that Millwood would fall, but he went to VORP. I was debating between Brandon Webb and Lowe here, and decided to go with Lowe. Two Red Sox starting pitchers - ugh! I was shocked that Carl Crawford lasted this long, IMO he could be the steal of the draft. He’s Juan Pierre lite, 100 picks later. If he matures just a little, and the TB offense keeps improving, he could be better than Pierre.

9 and 10 – a pair of Brads – Wilkerson and Penny. Here I was just looking to fill holes, of which I still had a few (CF, 3B, C). Brad Wilkerson was the highest rated CF I had on the board, and I liked the fact that he is eligible at all three OF positions as well as 1B. Brad Penny is another solid SP to give me four in the first 10 picks, which is my general drafting strategy.

  1. Pat Burrell and 12. Braden Looper I’m noticing a trend here. I’m hoping for a lot of players to revert to 2002 form – Schilling, Green, Jeter and Burrell. If 2 out of 4 do, I should be good – 3 out of 4 and I’ll be in great shape. I felt I needed a closer here, and the dropoff after Looper is pretty steep. In retrospect, I should have passed on Burrell and taken a catcher – Jason Phillips and Matt LeCroy were still on the board. By this point, I’d pretty much written off third base.

  2. Kenny Lofton and 14. Ryan Klesko. Klesko’s another comeback candidate who I think was good value this far down. Lofton’s a gamble, because of his age and the competition for playing time on the Yankees – but gambles are what you should be taking at this point in the draft. Besides C and 3B, my batting lineup was complete.

  3. Jason LaRue and 16. Miguel Batista. As a wise man once said, if you don’t have a catcher, you’ll have a lot of passed balls. I think LaRue was the best of the lot that was left. Miguel Batista was too good to pass up here.

  4. Jerome Williams and 18. Rocky Biddle - Biddle saved (pun intended) my team last year in the predecessor to this league. Yeah, he’s not that good, and he may not keep his job – but there wasn’t much left out there for closers at this point. I’m surprised Jerome Williams lasts so long in the drafts I’ve been in – he put up decent numbers last year and has a world of potential. His rough spring worries me though.

  5. Wes Helms and 20. Jose Valverde - Helms filled my hole at 3B. I would be thrilled if he just matches last years numbers. I doubt he will, though. Jose Valverde is one Matt Mantei injury away from closing. And what do you know, Mantei’s already hurt this year!

  6. Matt Herges and 22. Robin Ventura – Herges will get some saves till Nen is back, and if Nen doesn’t come back, he’s a steal. Ventura – well, I wanted a backup 3B.

  7. Laynce Nix and 24. Edwin Jackson – Nix looks like he has won the Ranger CF job – let’s see what he can do in a full season. Edwin Jackson is a great keeper pick – unfortunately this isn’t a keeper league. I’ve already dropped him for Michael Cuddyer, who I dropped for Brandon Larson who I then stashed on the DL, freeing me to pick up Jeff Nelson, who’ll probably be cut before long when I find a new shiny object.

Well, those are my reflections. My team skews a little old, and counts too much on key players coming back from injuries or off years, which is never a good plan. I should be near the top in SBs and in good shape in Ks. If Green and Burrell come back most of the way to 2002 form, then I’ll be all right in HRs and RBIs. My starting pitching depth is very good as well.

The two other rosters that worry me the most are Munch’s and Last Place – Kiros. And of course there is my undying hatred toward White Lightning for daring to take my team’s namesake! My season will be complete as long as I finish ahead of him! (Although to be honest I’ll be shocked if Wilson is starting at the end of May).

Anyway, for what it is worth, that’s my thoughts. Here’s to an enjoyable league!

15

A lot of compliments on my computer made choices, not so much after I took over :slight_smile:

I did a lot of rearranging on my team. Kim and Beck are gone, as I don’t see either one of them coming back anywhere near their potential. I don’t know if Kim will ever come back to form.

And once again, I deeply apologize for Todd Zeile. I forgot it was my pick, and I needed a 3rd baseman. So, time was low, I rushed and picked him for his versitality. I have corrected this oversight, however.

Oh, I’m trying to trade Suppan for Hoffman. Suppan is a lot of innings, but as has been noted, I need some saves, dammit!

16

Also, I have plenty of first basemen to trade for middle infield, in particular. And sorry if you don’t like Grudz and Gonzalez, but I’ve been a Cubs fan since I was three, so I have a bit of a soft spot for them.

17

I’ve completed my annual statistical analysis of the teams in the league. Basically, I took last year’s stats and added up the totals for each team (or the average, in the case of the rate stats). I didn’t try to make any adjustment for starters vs. bench players – the totals are the totals for all the players on the team. Obviously, if you’ve got six outfielders who have 30 HR apiece, you’re only going to get credit for the four that’re in your starting lineup at any given time, meaning that you’re likely to get 120 rather than 180 HR out of them officially. This ranking ignores that. First, I ran the numbers without adjusting anything, and it came out like this:
Ranking (raw)


Rank	Team		R	HR	RBI	SB	OBP	SLG	W	SV	K	TB	ERA	WHIP	Points
1	MB - Petelin	17	15	17	16	16	13	14	16	17	12	16	14	183
2	High Tech Burritos	18	18	18	7	17	18	15	1	15	2	2	12	143
3	Last Place - Kiros	13	16	14	17	6	12	3	8	1	17	13	16	136
4	East Lansing Boils	4	7	6	15	10	16	2	17	7	16	17	18	135
5	VORP		7	11	11	2	12	11	18	13	18	10	12	9	134
6	Baltimore Weirdos	15	17	16	2	8	17	9	14	3	9	11	3	124
7	E. Wilson All-Stars	10	12	9	14	7	8	8	15	9	14	10	5	121
8	Dry Heaves		14	14	13	4	15	14	1	10	2	15	9	7	118
9	Halos		9	9	10	11	13	7	13	7	16	5	3	10	113
10	Rackensack Diamonds	12	6	8	13	14	6	12	4	10	6	5	11	107
11	The Cougars	11	9	12	5	4	3	3	3	6	18	15	15	104
12	Jimmy Chitwood	1	4	1	1	18	15	6	2	14	7	18	13	100
13	P Touch Em All Reese	2	3	2	9	11	5	17	12	12	8	7	8	96
14	C-Town Demons	5	5	4	10	1	1	9	8	5	13	14	17	92
15	Omni Out on Waveland	3	8	7	7	2	10	11	5	13	11	8	4	89
16	Winnowills Winners	16	13	15	6	9	4	5	6	4	4	4	1	87
17	The Svengalis	6	1	5	12	3	2	16	18	11	1	1	6	82
18	Wily Mo Pe a Stars	8	1	3	18	5	9	7	11	8	3	6	2	81

Interesting, in that I’m not sure any of us quite gave Petelin or High Tech Burritos credit for being that strong. Petelin gets at least 12 points in every single category – that’s the definition of strong (even though he’s not in the top slot in any category either), while High Tech Burritos punts the Saves, TB, and ERA cats and *still/i] manages to come out second, thanks to leading most of the offensive categories and having strong results in the rest.

This type of ranking is particularly misleading for pitching categories, since there’s a cap of 1250 IP. So I also ran the numbers again and adjusted the counter pitching stats proportionally – if you had more than 1250 IP, I adjusted the totals downward, upward if you had less than 1250 IP. The results weren’t a lot different, but some of us shifted around a bit:
Ranking (adjusted)


Rank	Team		R	HR	RBI	SB	OBP	SLG	W	SV	K	TB	ERA	WHIP	Points	Rank
1	MB - Petelin	17	15	17	16	16	13	14	16	16	14	16	14	184	1
2	Last Place - Kiros	13	16	14	17	6	12	15	13	15	16	13	16	166	2
3	East Lansing Boils	4	7	6	15	10	16	4	18	17	17	17	18	149	3
4	VORP		7	11	11	2	12	11	18	11	14	15	12	9	133	4
5	The Cougars	11	9	12	5	4	3	17	5	18	18	15	15	132	5
6	High Tech Burritos	18	18	18	7	17	18	6	1	6	4	2	12	127	6
7	E. Wilson All-Stars	10	12	9	14	7	8	9	15	10	13	10	5	122	7
8	Baltimore Weirdos	15	17	16	2	8	17	10	14	2	5	11	3	120	8
9	Dry Heaves		14	14	13	4	15	14	5	12	8	3	9	7	118	9
10	Halos		9	9	10	11	13	7	12	7	12	7	3	10	110	10
11	Rackensack Diamonds	12	6	8	13	14	6	8	3	7	9	5	11	102	11
12	Jimmy Chitwood	1	4	1	1	18	15	3	2	11	8	18	13	95	12
13	C-Town Demons	5	5	4	10	1	1	13	9	4	11	14	17	94	13
14	P Touch Em All Reese	2	3	2	9	11	5	16	10	9	12	7	8	94	13
15	Omni Out on Waveland	3	8	7	7	2	10	11	4	13	10	8	4	87	15
16	Winnowills Winners	16	13	15	6	9	4	1	6	1	2	4	1	78	16
17	Wily Mo Pe a Stars	8	1	3	18	5	9	2	8	3	6	6	2	71	17
18	The Svengalis	6	1	5	12	3	2	7	17	5	1	1	6	66	18

Burritos drop a bit, Cougars jump a few places, but otherwise fairly close.

Of course, we’ve all got guys on our rosters who we expect to put up very different numbers from last year – guys who were hurt or were only in the majors briefly. Munch’s team (E Lansing Boils) in particular has two guys (Crosby and Kaz Matsui) in his starting lineup who have no or nearly no numbers for last year.

Anyway, I wouldn’t attach too much importance to any of this, but I find it an interesting exercise every year.

18

I love it, rackensack. It’s just the kind of thing I would waste all my time doing if I knew my way around a computer.

The first thing I notice is that, despite the aspersions cast by Munch towards my MASH unit, if I had this roster last year I’d have finished low-middle in the overall standings- even at dead last in three counting categories, and around the bottom 5 in all the the other counting stats. Which means that even if my guys miss as many games as they missed last year, my team can be viable. But if I get full seasons out of at least a few of’em, Katie bar the fuckin’ door- I might actually finish in the top ten.

I like the looks of my rate stats. My OPS numbers, in particular, are unimpeachable. No, I’m not drunkenly trying to convince myself of anything.

I think I’ll do a little breakdown of my own squad. I was the left bookend to Wilson’s right one, so I’ll go in pairs too after the first round.

1.A-Rod Yep.

  1. and 3. Mulder/ Javier Vazquez- I’m not used to roto leagues, it’s been awhile. I’m thinking maybe I went pitching too early, but I wasn’t in love with anybody else. Vazquez is better than the 10th starter, I think.

  2. and 5. B. Giles and Lowell- I liked this part. Giles was undervalued. Yeah, they were both hurt last year. Bite me.

  3. and 7. A. Rhodes and Nick Johnson- Maybe a little early for Rhodes, but saves were getting scarce. Johnson could be OK; do we have a stat category for pickin’ it? Also, he’s hurt. Bite me.

  4. and 9. W. Miller and B. Webb- Meh. Good value where I got’ em, but I’m not in love with either. I’m trying to move Miller as we speak.

  5. and 11. R. Nen and C. Wilson- I was doing so well, too. Taking Nen was a fucking jackass maneuver- if he gets fifteen saves I’ll light some candles or burn a sacrifical lamb. Craig Wilson’s all right.

  6. and 13. Hairston and Larry Walker- And my meltdown continues with Hairston. I swear, at the time I couldn’t find a better option at second. He’s hurt. Walker’s hurt. I can stomach Walker, though, because he’s a major league hitter. Hairston… I have no excuse. Too long in between picks, maybe.

  7. and 15. D. Graves and J. Bay- People forget how good Graves has been as a closer. I’m sticking by this one, he went way too low. Bay’s hurt. At least I have his backup.

  8. and 17. T. Redman and Burnett- These two I like. Tike Redman’s going to make or break me here, because I need him to be top-five in the league in steals. I think he just might. Considering it’s Round 17, Burnett’s worth the gamble if he’s learned to throw strikes. He’s hurt.

  9. and 19. Hafner/ Estrada- I like Estrada. Hafner, I know nothing.

20-24 Speier, Seo, Lieber, Olivo, Claussen- Speier could help me out. Seo’s got upside, Olivo’s gone already, I took a shot at Claussen but he’s in AAA and I can’t save the spot. Lieber is hurt.

Bottom Line

If I can field a full team on a regular basis, I like my chances. I’ll probably end up pretty low in steals, yeah, but it’s an 18 team league, and I’ve got expendable pitching if it comes to it. Saves, on the other hand, I actually feel OK about. If I get 60 out of Rhodes and Graves combined, which is possible, and then either Nen or Speier does anything, I can compete. Like I said before, I like my rate stats on the hitting end. This is the kind of team that can be fun to manage, if by fun you mean that there’s a 20% chance you’ll be buried by May, and a 10% chance you can win the league.

19

A (very) brief self analysis:

(picks in pairs for the most part because, going third, after the first round it was pick, wait 4, pick again)

  1. Soriano - The only one of the Universal Top Three Picks still left here, he was a no-brainer really. Incidentally, I was very happy with picking third, because I have no IDEA how I’d have gone if I was 4th instead.

2-3. Renteria and Lopez - both of these picks were taking the last of the “top tier” of player left at their position (and sorry, no, I don’t count Jeter in the top tier at SS :stuck_out_tongue: ). I expect Lopez to drop off a little but not a ton, and definitely prefer him to most of the catchers at large. Both of these picks were about in line with how I had them valued, and at this point I’ve got some of the generally weaker positions filled well.

4-5. Oswalt and Dotel - Here’s to the Astros. Oswalt has been very strong, including last year when he hasn’t been injured, and is a dark horse Cy Young candidate. Dotel is a little bit of risk/reward - he’s got the job in Houston right now and he could pick up a BUNCH of saves if he can handle being a closer. Right now all signs point to him handling it, so I’m very happy with this pick. Like the last round, all of the closers I had ranked higher than Dotel were already gone, and I was happier with Oswalt than I would have been with a number of the starters picked before him in the same round.

6-7. Cabrera and Nevin - Cabrera is getting huge hype, and at this point I was sort of surprised he was still here; tons of hitting potential, and flexibility with LF and 3B, as well as RF eligibility expected early in the season. Nevin is coming off an injury, but if he’s healthy he’s got a great power/RBI track record, and he also has some flexibility. Cabrera was good value, and Nevin was about where I had wanted to take him.

8-9. Everett and Hinske - Everett has huge RBI potential this year hitting cleanup behind some guys who always get on base in Montreal, and he gets to play 22 of his games in a little league park in Puerto Rico, which should help his HRs. He’s also eligible at all three outfield slots, though I had him pegged as my CF when I picked him. I wasn’t quite sure on Hinske when I picked him - I was wavering between him and Corey Koskie, and in retrospect I think I might have picked Koskie. Not unhappy with the pick though, I should still get plenty of power out of that spot, and those were the best two 3B on the board at the time. At this point my IF is done except for 1B, which is the easiest to handle, and I have a very good start on my OF, a front line pitcher, and a top save man, with a lot of flexibility.

10-11. Contreras and Millar - I had noticed beforehand that Contreras was nowhere to be seen anywhere near the top in the Yahoo rankings, so I dug for him and had him ready, and this is about where I wanted to take him. He’s the number four starter on a team that should give him between 5 and 7 runs every time out, and he’s been unhittable in spring training. He’s a bit of a risk, but I’m quite happy with him as my second starter, and I think with a little luck he could easily be the better of half of the starters picked before him, if not more. I needed a 1B still, and I’m a Sox fan, though I don’t let it influence my draft when possible. I’m hoping for more first half Millar and less second half Millar, but in the middle of that lineup, he’s bound to get SOME stats regardless.

12-13. Peavy and Harden - Peavy has looked great the last year or two in WHIP and strikeouts and very decent in IP and ERA, but he’s been playing for the Padres and the support hasn’t been there for the W’s. Well, he’s got a new offense behind him now and he’s got a shiny new park to pitch in that will by all reports be a pitcher’s park. Was very happy with his value here. I had noticed in the middle of the past round that no one had picked Harden yet, and it took me a good five minutes to dig his name up. Everyone knows his story - I think he’s a little overrated personally, but he’s a no brainer in the 13th.

14-15. B. Williams and Kolb - I still needed another outfielder this point, and was planning on taking Shannon Stewart, but Munch stole him off my board, so I had to scramble, and Bernie was all I could come up with in the 90 seconds. I’m not really unhappy with the pick though - he’s in the middle of the Yankee lineup, will get his playing time if he isn’t injured, and he WAS a batting title contender for a number of years running. Kolb was a steal at this point. Even playing for the Brewers, he’s got serious save potential, and at this point we were starting to get into the drafting setup men and hoping closers get injured part of the draft.

16-17. Konerko and Roberts - Munch gets me for the second pass in a row - Alex Sanchez was under my mouse when my turn came around, and I was scrambling again. Came up with Konerko, which isn’t so bad, because there’s SERIOUS turnaround potential here, plus he gives some insurance for Millar. Then I went searching for a Sanchez replacement type, and pulled out Roberts. He won’t hit homers, and he won’t have a good SLG or OBP, but he could get a ton of steals and a good number of runs at the top of that Dodger lineup. Good value on him considering he was the last serious steal guy on the board at the time and I still had an OF slot to fill.

18-19. R. Soriano and Kotsay - I didn’t have any middle relief types yet, and others had started to go off the board in the last round or two. Soriano was the obvious choice for me - nasty stuff, can pitch in pressure situations, will post great rate stats and is the likely successor to Guardado if he falters in Seattle. Into “best player left that I can find in time to draft” from here on out, and I came up with Kotsay, who’s probably going to hit at the top of the Oakland lineup. He should have some value at least, in one manner or another.

20-21. Reuter and Carter - Reuter gives me a veteran starter; for Contreras, Peavy, and Harden, I’m not quite sure what I’m going to get, but for Reuter, I know I’m looking at 10-15 wins, a 4-4.5 ERA, etc. With Schmidt out, I’m getting an Opening Day starter for a contender in the 20th round, I was pretty happy with that. Carter is more quality middle relief when a bunch of it was starting to go, and backup closer to Baez in Tampa (who has serious implosion potential, and more value to Carter because of it). Had kind of wanted to take Valverde in this set of picks, but he went off on the other end of the board.

22-24 - it’s Tiger time - Guillen, Monroe, Munson - despite the order, Munson is the pick I’m happiest with here. If he can stay at 3B the whole year for Detroit he could hit 30 home runs. Guillen is a not-horrible SS backup and another pick I’m pretty happy with. Monroe was a result of a scramble - I had Guillen and Marlon Anderson queued up, and Petelin took Anderson a couple picks before my 22nd. Monroe had nice enough stats this year, but he doesn’t really fit into their lineup this year and may not get serious playing time; of course, Anderson now has PT issues in St Louis, too.

This was actually my first live draft. I’ve done a bunch of fantasy leagues before, but it’s always been with friends in different time zones with different schedules, so it’s involved a lot of setting up Yahoo’s list beforehand to pick the right people when the time comes around. I had a general idea of who I wanted in the top rounds coming in, but I was very happy with how I came out of everything I really had no clue how to prepare for (i.e. after the 7th round or so). I may want to upgrade to another front line starter and OF later on, but I’m willing to be patient and see how my boys start the season - and I think I got sufficient depth and flexibility to save me most places if I can’t pull off any trades. The only thing that would completely destroy my lineup would be Lopez getting injured.

Then again, that’s why we play the games… a month from now I’ll be trying to trade Cabrera because the Astros team bus got into an accident and my elite pitchers are out for the year, while Eric Munson’s 40 HR, 140 RBI pace makes one of my third basemen expendable.

-K.

20

What was described as “unfortunate auto-picks” were actually the guys I really wanted. Gagne, Berkman and Suzuki are the guys I like to build around.

I expect Berkman to have a much better year. Ichiro will give a high average with a lot of steals. And Gagne is lights out. He, along with **Everyday Eddie ** will give me plenty of saves and allow me to try to trade **Trevor Hoffman ** for another bat.

**Floyd, Ibanez and Cameron ** round out a good outfield.

My infield in unproven. But I am hopeful they will break out. **Tye Wiggington, Carlos Pena, Mark DeRosa and Brian Brousard ** are young and have something to prove. **David Eckstein ** is a scrapper I’ve always liked.

With Wells, Hampton, Ortiz and Jennings, my strting pitching should be strong. I think **Lopez and Simontachi ** are dark horses that will surprise.

I am weak in catching.

All in all, I think I’ll be in the hunt all year long.