2007 Keeper League - Draft Recap
2007 Keepers Draft Recap
-------------------------------
This was a very tough year to draft mainly because of 3 reasons.
1) i had to handle wong's team and find meng#2 to handle eray's team;
2) for the first time, SPs were at a premium and SPs is my weakest area;
3) buc's and tey's crappy teams and buc's absence forced both teams to build for the future. there were very few sleeper picks available, thus causing a lot of teams to reach a couple of rounds early to fill out positions.
Typically, i recap by teams and Meng#2 recap by picks... but since Meng#2 isnt doing a recap this year, i will have to do both of our jobs and go with a different format while mentioning best/worst picks by round when they are warranted. and since so many keepers are kept this year and our draft started in the 9th, my analysis on offense will be infield vs outfield and take into account the quality of secondary positions (CI, MI, OF, UTIL) and how they were filled. Pitching will be SP and Bullpen.
I am planning to dismantle my team after this season because winning has become so mundane. So as a special bonus for reading my recap... i will be putting up "**NOTE**" thru out my analysis. These are important draft tips that you weaklings need to pay attention to and incorporate them (sooner better than later) into your fantasy baseball drafting philosophies if you are playing to win. These tips are 200% accurate and non-arguable. Willingness to follow it is up to you.
-------------------------------
Lick My Sack (jay)
Infield (C+): Balance overall offense. i am not high on kent/omar/aurilla/huff combo but they were worth the draft positions. all of these guys are over the hill and then some.
Outfield (B-): Good OF given the draft positions. BGiles at 21st and wilkerson in the 25th are steals. i like all the players here but its way to weak for a OF. When my IF can out-produce your OF plus Util, you have no chance.
SP (B+): two guys i didnt expect to be kept (zito and harangatang) in retrospect were good keepers. i would have taken zito 9th if he was there. Plus carpenter, this is a great 1-2-3.
RP (A-): Jenks is borderline keeper, but picked up saito, shields, broxton, and cla who meng#2 is really high on. extremely underrated and solid pen. may have invested too heavily on bullpen resulting in weak offense.
Comments:
Good top loaded list of keepers, bottom keepers were questionable but excusable, only problem is soriano and bay both playing LF. Pitching MUCH MUCH stronger than hitting. i dont understand how he could have asked to keep felipe on tuesday then not draft him 2 days later.
As some of you know, i am strongly against keeping more than one player with the same position. this team lucked out because Lou wants to play Soriano CF in a year where CF is so weak. in my opinion, jay made a huge, CHAMPIONSHIP KILLING mistake with his first pick in the 9th overkilling CF by taking corey patterson then wasting another on willy tavarez with 13th. CPat/willy as CF/OF is good, but they filling as OF/UTIL by the 13th round is game over. did you know that Soriano is gonna get a CF tag in a week? (**NOTE**: when you fill out your util by the 13th round with some weak hitting 35rbi crap, you can cross yourself off the contender's list if i am in your league.)
-------------------------------
Rockville Yellow Socks (insuk)
Infield (B): this is a very solid infield but i am not high on chavez at all. Ive watched too many A's and Giants game to count and Chavez is still k'ing on pitches that he k'ed on 5 years ago. Stephan drew at MI is pretty good but NL leadoff hitters rarely put up fantasy stats worth their talent. (**NOTE**: only exception to drafting leadoff hitters in the NL is if he is a lock score 110+R AND a lock for 40+ SB+HR. Otherwise pass or wait to draft later as a sleeper.) you might get 150 hrs w/out much speed outta the 7 IF positions which is a little weak.
Outfield (D): i dont know how to grade this outfield. I know insuk likes his young studs... but conceivably although unlikely, pujols/howard/teixeira alone can out-hr this entire OF considering alou and nomar's injury risks and delmon and chris b can be sent down to AAA.
SP (B+): Felix and Bonderman i like. Bonderman struggled early vs the Jays but grinded out a good start. Felix was dealing... but he pitches much better at home than away. Penny was a great pick at 20th. I really dont know much about Loewen but if insuk is so high on this oriole, then he is probably overrated.
RP (B-): Mike Gonzalez at 16th was a great pick definitely insuk's best pick of the draft. My Championship last year cost my 14th and 15th this year otherwise i would have taken him even earlier. Coco Cordero and Fuentes as the top 2 closers are a little weak but servicable as closers were hard to find.
Valverde is way to inconsistent as a closer. how many years did 'zona hand the closer job to him the last 3 years only to have him fail and regain it cuz the other guys suck even more. It's kinda like Torre's decision to bring in Javier Vazquez to relieve kevin brown in 2004 ALCS game 7 because he sucked the least. Anyone remember who torre brought in to relieved Vazquez? whoever it was, that yankee is analagous to brandon lyon who sucks the 2nd least.
Comments:
I was watching the yankees game and elijah dukes hit a solo shot off pavano to CF in da 5th. I think insuk picked him up before duke finished rounding the bases. on the scouting side, dukes seems to be a much more mature hitter than delmon and BJ.
My grades are rarely based on the quality of the player but more on the draft position they were taken. yeah you drafted some good players last year but at too high a cost in terms of draft position thus the poor grades. thats also why you finished like 10th and had no chance of contending.
insuk drafts for value as often as Tom Brady uses condoms. his draft style kinda reminds me of gong 3 years ago. i like how he over draft every single prospect worth drafting and makes himself as some kind of prospect guru as if no one else reads magazines. earth to insuk, you didnt go out on a limb and drafted bonderman, lackey, and felix last year, they were already on everyone's radar. i was high on lackey FIVE YEARS AGO and projected him as a solid #2 back in '02 even before his WS game 7 win. you only got him cuz you overdrafted him last year on a year i finally gave up on him. meng#2 can attest to that. you certainly didnt go out on a limb this year drafting all these guys so lets not pretend you are discovering gems considering the price you paid for them.
-------------------------------
Matrix (brian)
Infield (B): good IF anchored by 2.5 huge bats and all solid players. I am really high on beltre this year. he was one of my sleepers relative to draft position. batting 2nd should loosen him up a bit and make him a better hitter instead of the slugger his contract made him to be. Pedro feliz is a wasted pick. you owe me $1 for dropping feliz before i drop vidro. Ty should get his opportunities but he might be the only cleanup hitter not to reach 100 rbis. solid pick nevertheless.
Outfield (C): great list of players and names but i am not sure what brian is doing. No wonder me and Meng#2 were panicking over the fact that there were no OFs to draft by the 20th round. How many outfields do you need? you dont win fantasy leagues but stashing monroe/HGH jr/$3.29 per gallon on the bench or drafting guys like dellucci. you win by drafting flyers like papelbon as a SP/RP. Grade C reflects you overkilling.
SP (A-): Originally i knocked brian for drafting harden too early but again, in retrospect it was a good pick given the shortage of good SPs. when Johan anchors the staff, you can afford to take a risk with your #2. Escobar at 21 was a good pick if he gives anything more than 160+ip. Funny how me and brian were discussing black pitchers yesterday. (brian wanted to discuss it, i only played along to see what racist thing he will say next.) Ian Snell = black. From tuesday's 12k performance, i dunno if astro's lineup suck that bad or Snell is actually a decent pitcher. We wont know until he faces the likes of Luke Scott.
RP (A+): hands down the best pen in the league. Benitez looks good this spring although velocity is not there yet.
Comments: Definite contender
Unspectacular, but solid draft. Looking at all the picks, not one pick stands out as good or bad. Downside is none of the players have much upside and few will surpass the production from last year. Thome at UTIL was a ballsy pick, i am glad he didnt drop to me for me to make that tough decision. Not knowing that you had tey's 10th was retarded but luckily you got carlos guillen outta it. Josh barfield is hitting 9th, you coulda used one of your OF picks to find a backup MI. This staff is cut from the same championship mold as my staff, more on this later.
-------------------------------
Ball Bags (Fred)
Infield (B): Kept only Rollins but did a GREAT job of drafting based on need. (**NOTE**: it is a GOOD IDEA to draft based on your need!!!) Helton, Teahan, Phillips, then drafted ensberg immediately to backup teahan, and punched AJ late. Picked up FA O-dawg to replace Cantu. Teahan at 11 is high. But Phillips at 13, hitting 3rd between dunn and Griffey is a steal. Swap their draft positions and both become very good picks.
Outfield (A): only team to keep all 4 outfield positions. Drafting Cameron at 12th is very questionable... but I cant give this any less than A since no other picks were wasted on OFs. (**NOTE**: it is a NOT a good idea to overkill your strength.)
SP (A+): well, pretty much i give fred an A+ every year. dropped harden and kept haren which was the right thing to do. You got too many starters but they were all in the late teen's and twenty's so they were worth the cost.
RP (C+): Putz was a great pick for this team despite his MRI. But everything went downhill from there. Salomon as a #2 closer is terrible. no clearcut #1 middle relief is also very bad. But with the league going on MR run around 15th-17th, i'll give you some credit for adapting and drafting gagne/salomon/weathers. They might not be the best choices, but it could have been a lot worse if fred didnt pick em.
Comments:
Saying that Fred sucks at building a bullpen is like saying Yankee announcer John Sterling is a retard. Both are under statements. This team looks good on paper but i am not sure if it has the offense to contend for the entire year. More than a couple of players are gonna have to breakout otherwise you will be short on Runs, HRs, and RBIs. Many candidates include phillips, helton, o-dawg, and cameron cuz all of them are in favorable hitting slots. I think its time to trade oswalt for someone like Utley.
-------------------------------
Buccos (Bucco)
Infield (C-): I like Fielder, Tulowitzki, Castillo, Edwin a lot and had them high on my list. The problem that it was my sleepers list. Prince Fielder was the best pick of the draft though. No fewer than 4 people simultaneously made fun of buc/fielder's weight. We can probably list them here and vote which was the best... mine was directed at insuk's brother "did you accidently sort buc's draft pick by weight???"
Outfield (C-): Sheff and Swisher are solid. I am extremely high on Swisher after watching him the last 2 years. hopefully the A's will come to their senses and hit him 2, or 3 or 4. Duffy, Edmonds, Kouzmanoff are garbage. iwamura looks like a professional hitter. good strike zone, good bat control but he is learning so look for a bigger 2nd half.
SP (B): solid SPs in webb, schmidt, and Jennings is a decent #3. Pitching Webb @Coors is ballsy. I am not so hot on Boof and Daniel Cabrera, or as i like to call him D-Train-Wreck. With Chucky and O-dawg AND Cliff Lee, this staff is quantity over quality, which i heard from gong is the way bucco likes his buffets.
RP (F): First F of the recap. Garbage Dumpster as your #1 closer and luiz/reyes does not cut it as your MR regardless of '06 stats. I should have told you pre-draft to load up on middle relief and closers and use em as trade chips. (**NOTE: if you are not contending, loading up on closers to trade is not a bad idea. Just dont get to greedy when you trade them.)
Comments:
Well, i cant really pick on buc's team too much cuz it wasnt much of a team to begin with. One serious flaw was buc trading his draft picks for potential keeper players such as konerko and webb. Webb i understand because he was top tier in a year every SP in my top 3 tiers were kept. But trading for konerko was an absolute disaster because i ranked him as the 9th-11th best 1b in the league, one notch ahead of #12/13-helton/prince. Instead of keeping only mauer and webb with 100% chance of daisuke, you went to 50-50 by keeping furcal with tey if he keeps 3, to 0% when you traded for konerko. So konerko, cost you a 3rd round keeper pick, a 10th round pick, and daisuke because you won the draft positioning vs tey. Had you done nothing and kept 2, you would have easily wound up with Mauer, Webb, Daisuke, Furcal, Konerko, Sheff, Swisher, Schmidt, Fielder, Kendrick in that order. That's why i hated the trade when it was announced. We might not see the likes of daisuke as a FA in the keeper rounds in some time. You let him get away by over manuvering.
(**NOTE**: Evaluate your trades not only by the player/picks you get but more importantly in terms of opportunity costs. I made this point in year #1 with Meng#2 keeping Vernon. Sure, vernon was a borderline keeper with star potential. But by keeping him, you lose the ability to choose at that position. in a lot of cases, CHOICE and flexibility has more value than the player you are keeping/getting. Think about buc trading for konerko again in terms of opportunity cost... what is he really giving up? there is no way in the blue hell does the cost justify the reward of getting konerko. i wouldnt trade for konerko if there is even a remote chance that it might drop my daisuke% from 100% to 50%.)
-------------------------------
Patsies (Jinwook)
Infield (B): i am lukewarm about this IF drafting-wise. Its solid but dont have much youth or speed. Tada has nada upside. I am not sure where peralta is at. I've seen the chisox ibb the guy in front of him to load the bases with 1 out and man on first twice already. Thats just a lack of respect, probably for a reason. Chipper could be a question mark, adrian seems a little high at 11th but very good as a CI. Best pick goes to Chad Tracy could be just as good stats in the 18th.
Outfield (B): again all solid players. I am not high on granderson, he K'ed 178 times last year. i dont see how anyone could succeed like that. Hawpe might be platooning with jeff baker but 15th is fair. Not enough HR/RBI pop. Josh Willingham looks good.
SP (B+): Invested heavily on SP but well worth it. This is the year Chris Young makes a Haren-like leap into the 2nd tier. I like Rich Hill as well. Seems like there are a lot of young lefties this year. Lowe will always eat up good quality innings. But any way i look at it, the SPs seems to be one man short. drop a bat and pick up a SP.
RP (F): Keeping Hoffman was good. Neshek was high on a lot of people's MR lists and getting him at 20th was a great pick. Lidge aint gonna cut it as closer or MR.
Comments:
Made some good pitching picks in a wife beater, one of the chris youngs, a lefty who was dominating for half a season, an old gambler who gambled on some pine tar, and a 2004 world champ. But offense just dont have enough bite and with no bullpen, there is no chance. But this is a top team among the 2nd tier.
-------------------------------
I'm in Myanmar (Wong, drafted by Meng#1)
Infield (A): This was a easy infield to draft. Considering Glaus and Billy Hall both of position flexibility. Chris burke is only a fill in until lopez gets his 2B tag. Then potentially wong can have Posada, Jiambi, Lopez, Glaus, Hanley, Hall, and Laroche. Great job of drafting by me to take advantage of position tags.
Outfield (B+): Wong kept no OF so i had to draft some early. Ibanez and Cuddzilla are good picks and will probably put up better stats than guys drafted a couple of rounds earlier. I decided to go late on CF because of Hall's eligibility. It might be be better to put Hall at CF and find a servicable MI. I thought kearns was a good pick at 20th since he is cleanup up and protecting ryan zimmerman. Hafner will balance out his %.
SP (A-): It was easy to draft for wong because he already had 2 top guns in Halladay and Smoltz. Since wong was so short in OF, I didnt have the picks to use on SP. So i went with value and picked veterans on good teams that could get wins and eat up some innings with decent ratios and Ks. Pettitte, Glavine, and Maddux were great picks in their respective rounds for what i was trying to do. (**NOTE**: If you wanna win, ALWAYS draft for value in your strong areas so you can afford to reach for a couple of players early to cover your weaknesses. If you dont make enough value picks in the mid and late teen rounds while reaching in 9th-11th, your team might look good on paper, but you aint gonna win.)
RP (A-): On paper, this is a top 3 pen in the league which is a huge advantage considering some of the crappy pens out there. So far this pen's performance is pretty dismal, i cant explain why other than bad luck. I was under specific instructions from wong to pick a #2 closer early (chris ray). Its not my fault ARod fluked out and Chris Ray loaded the bases with 2 outs. JoBo at #14 is a steal. Some questions why i chose linebrink over otuska (i drafted otuska for myself 2 picks after drafting linebrink for wong). First Wong had linebrink last year and he did well. Second, Otsuka could put up saves instead of holds and wong didnt need saves.
Comments: Contender
I probably prepared for Wong's draft more than my own. Pretty much everything went according to plan except i told wong i was gonna forfeit the 2B position and take a flyer later. But Felipe Lopez was too tempting to pass up at 10th. OF is a little weak but you cant complain since it was not easy to find FOUR good OFs at specific positions cuz Hafner took up the Util. Overall offense is very balanced in all 6 categories. Overall pitching is also very balanced. Wong couldnt draft a team as good as this one i drafted if you give him 10 tries. Top 3-4 team. Typical Wong to over manage and drop Mora for some crap in the combination of ethier, thomson, stanton, and greg norton just so he can fill his DL slots.
-------------------------------
idunnobaseball (Tey)
Infield (C-): Not the greatest of IFs. But lots of decent picks here. Contrary to almost all experts, i think uggla will do decent this year. Sophomore slumps or not, if you hit between hanley and upside, how badly can you do? i like a kinsler pick as well, although i expected him to bat higher than 9th. Freddy Sanchez is a steal at 15th, BoSox once traded Freddy Sanchez & mike gonzalez for... anyone know? Michael Barrett i hate. he is the type of hitter that will have 2x 10 rbi weeks and still end up with 50 rbis for the season.
Outfield (B+): Rios and Baldelli in the keeper rounds were good, but not great. I really hope rocco stays injury-free so we can see what he can do. I was expecting Rios to last to the 9th but it was unlikely he was gonna drop to me picking 11th. Trading for Dye was terrible because it was unnecessary. dunn, rocco, dye, and Rios make a great 4 with keeper potential. You should be able to scalp a Util if shealy fails.
SP (B+): Daisuke came as a result of a titanic blunder by buc. Great job drafting Lackey, who should have been kept, one pick ahead of Meng#2. I think Beckett will bounce back well. last year he was pavano-like in that he always got into that bad inning he couldnt get out of. Hopefully he learns and use his breaking stuff more. Funny how it seems like ages ago when he was considered a top young pitcher. I like Josh Johnson at 24th, hopefully he will be able to start pitching in 2 month. The B+ is for picking up not one but TWO(!!!) almost definite keeper SPs next year in DiceK and Lackey although both kinda fell into your lap.
RP (B+): Keeping nathan was good, so was drafting the underrated wickman. picked up a jamie walker as a solid 5th reliever. But Cordero at 9th is way too early. And i dont like the Ryan Madson pick at all. That guy is just a terrible, terrible pitcher. I am not surprised da braves cracked this guy like an egg. Just to throw a comparison, i would much rather have JC Romero and/or Joel Pinata than this guy and as you guys know, i am not a big fan of JC and joel pin.
Comments:
You guys have NO IDEA how hard i worked behind the scenes to get Alex Gordon drafted in the keeper rounds, aka 10 rounds too early. i deserve a lot of credit. If only i had a better draft position to take advantage... It was kinda weird seen Shealy on TV. My triple autograph of Hanley had shealy on it... they must've messed up the picture on the card because i thought he was black for the past 3 years. In my notes for beckett, i had "draft one round early, instead of one round late." i think he could be the yankee-killer the whole world wants him to be. Overall, i think tey did a really good job drafting and rebuilding AND getting a lot of chips (relievers) to trade at the deadline. His team is on the way up via some horredous gaffes by other GMs.
-------------------------------
Six Trick Pony (Meng#2)
Infield (B): This team is loaded at 1B with howard, teix, and berkman. But the IF is surprisingly "Week." There is no reason to draft Weeks that early at all. I am not sure how to project crosby, DeRosa, weeks, youk's hr/rbi, and piazza's games played. Youk is a good pick at 14 cuz he will probably score 100R and .400+obp, a rare combination. Piazza at 13th is the best pick. You gotta love those 1B/DH type guys with C tag. He will be great in oakland. That HR to right-center vs KRod of all people was truly amazing.
Outfield (D): Nick Markasis at 7th?? i had him going as a sleeper maybe 100 picks later. His current stats are inflated greatly by crappy ass yankees pitching. you better hope Berkman will retain his RF tag for next year. Markasis 7th, torri 12th, OF and Kotchman = Util from the FA, this outfield kinda sucks... wtf happened?
SP (A++): Zambrano and Cain are studs. Cain still has a lot of learning to do. Giants getting Zito thus pushing Cain as #2 will be great for him. He is not ready to be a staff ace just yet. His time will come. I was shocked to see Hamels going 6th. Then i was just as shocked to see how good he was in his first start vs the braves. i mean WOW(!!!), i havent seen SO MANY professional hitters that LOST since the yankees offense vs 1-pitch-derek-lowe in 2004 ALCS Game #7. seriously, its a fair comparison, this time is not a joke. Hamels is that derek-lowe-series-clinching good. Potentially 3 Ace keepers next year plus schilling and olsen, this is as good a starting staff as Meng#2's OF is bad. I dont know how Meng#2 does this every year... incredible staff again.
RP (B-): Ended the draft with Jorge Julio as the #1 closer which is a little on the ridiculous side, but had top setup guys rafael and crain. I like brewer relievers a lot, so Matt Wise was a Wise pick. Henry owens is decent pickup. i cant choose which pen is worse, the phillies or this one. all i know is that the phillies pen is all about HEART which is more than what i can say about Meng#2's RPs.
Comments:
i cant believe the 3 keeper picks were hamels, markasis, and WEEK-sauce. Also the choice of keepers was whack. It is really hard to keep essentially 3x 1B and 2x SP and put together a solid team without a 9th. First team ever to start the season with no closers. So many reaches on this team, i dont know where to start. (**NOTE**: Lesson as always... "You reach, I teach")
As I am writing, hamels is dueling John da Maine Event at Shea. Most lefties that use the fastball/changeup combo try to throw the fastball in to setup the changeup away to righties or vice versa. From the 2 starts so far, hamels has the ability to pitch normally and also the opposite with the fastball outside and the changeup in. The control on his changeup is impeccable so far. Hitter swing over it like a randy johnson slider half the time. Then i saw something i dont think i've ever seen before today's game... moise alou striking out looking while getting his KNEE BUCKLED on a Hamels changeup inner half. he was so ashamed that he looked straight down all the way back to the dugout. that was almost as funny as randolph pitching to howard and had Burgos challenge him with a fastball with 2 strikes.
-------------------------------
DaGongsters (gong)
Infield (B+): Good IF on paper with a lot of big names. But Jacobs/Conor 1B combo is a little fishy. pudge at 19th was a good pick until i drafted martin right after. Plenty of guys that can steal but only Aramis with +35hr potential. Freel is a good fantasy player, but the impact on him on this team will be minimal, given the SB abilities of jeter, roberts, beltran and byrnes. In fact, his % might even hurt you.
Outfield (B): yeah, potentially this OF could be good. Banking on 2x unproven #2 hitters in Loserino and duncan sounds like a decent idea, until you realize you are also banking on bonds' health and byrnes' recklessness. There is a reason why byrnes has never played a full season. In addition to hideki's wrist, now he is got a gimpy leg. 5 slots and 4 question marks. If one goes down like matsui, you might be ok. If two go down, whats the backup plan? If three go down, your dream of beating me is over.
SP (A-): No one exceptional, yet much like my staffs in the past, this staff is BOTH quantity and quality. I like this staff a lot, because this is my style of SPs. I like all of his pitching picks for both SP and RPs, except dotel. Best pick is 11th Ervin Santana.
RP (B+): Street, Zumaya, and drafted todd jones at a fair price. Dotel is a wasted pick... Justin Speier is a great pickup but 4 games 6ip after 1 week? no way he can keep up the pace.
Comments:
Gong is your typical wishy-washy GM where his deals would hinges on him trading up a 20th pick to get a 19th, in other words draft 230th instead of 240th. Do you know how much extra work that is for da commish to handle? Remember 4-5 years ago, Gong used to draft crazy like insuk? But i think Gong has come a long way since we first started fantasy baseball. I have been training him to beat me for 3 years now including giving him my notes, telling him how to stash players to flip for picks to make a run, and persuade him not to trade present (beltran+pick) for the future (sizemore). This might finally be his year. Therefore, it is only fitting that i take at least 75% of the credit for the team he assembled this year. Look at the order of players he drafted, in particular his staff and the veteran positional players. its almost if pupil is ready to take down the master.
Ok, all the non-sense aside, gong's team still has a long way to go. I like how Gong trash talks me about whether if my offense can run with his after one week. Please, can you really beat me with only 2 35+ HR guys in your lineup? Outta 14 players you have, 9 of em probably wont hit 20 hrs. God forbid aramis, beltran, or bonds get hurt. Yeah you got a ultra superior team because of your extra 9th and 10th and i lost my 14th and 15th. I guess i have my work cut out for me to try to run with you. Thank goodness i am a superior GM because i always make the right moves and pressure my opponents to take unnecessary RISKEs.
-------------------------------
2x Defending Champ (Meng#1)
Infield (A++): Brian did not like my russell martin pick at 19th but i think that might be one of my better picks in the draft. Not one catcher was drafted in a better round than the 19th i took martin in, keepers included. He has the highest potential outside the top 3 C's. Vidro and Helms were questionable but they are my MI/CI. I turned my CI from a weakness to a strenth faster than you can say "KEVIN KOUZMANOFF" with pickups like Blake, Nady, and Edwin.
Outfield (B+): I had to invest a little heavier on SPs this year and without my 14th and 15th, my OF suffered quite a bit. Francoeur migth have been a reach at 9th but he was the best RF with the highest upside, 30/95 is almost a lock and he promised to show his SB skills this year. My weakest and thinnest position is CF coco crisp but 16th was not too shabby. anything in the neighborhood of 70/15/70/15 is good enough for me. I am just loaded at LF/RF with blake, nady, hart, and luke.
SP (B+): It is really hard to be impartial about my SPs when i used so many high picks on them. But i think overall it went according to plan. I was going to pick a RF no matter what in the 9th, then go with SPs until it was not worth it. Papelbon moving to closer really handcuffed me in this draft. i really didnt want to keep 2 closers. But CC, bedard, mousse, arroyo are realiable top 4. Gorzelanny has really good stuff. Anibal has sentimental value. I watched all 6's first starts, none pitched nearly as badly as the stats showed.
RP (A+): I would rank my RPs a small notch behind Brian's RPs. Papelbon was picked 20th last year. This year: 17th = rincon, 26th = turnbow, 13th = akinori. Timlin will be primary setup in 2 weeks tops. Drafting a bullpen is where i shine.
Comments: Top 2 team
Going back to my earlier point about drafting for value in the later rounds allows you to reach in the earlier rounds. Key to my success in both h2h and roto is that i know how to build a bullpen at a cheaper price infinitely better than anyone else in the league. Pretty much it gives me more bullets to fire to hit a stud in my other positions namely SP and OF. (**NOTE**: Figure out what you are good at drafting in terms of value ahead of time. Spend on your weak areas so you can lean on your strength later in the draft.)
Another thing i am good at is find that one or two players that no one has heard about and filling my roster with them. Funny how gong thinks my offense cant run with his when my 26th could hit more HRs than 70% of his roster. Homie dont play that.
-------------------------------
IntroToSml (Eray drafted by Meng#2)
Infield (B): Zimmerman is a rising star with his 47 doubles last year, too bad the Capitals are so bad. Kenji at 13th was a little high. Reneteria is a terrific 2nd hole hitter for the braves. Ray durham is a steal at any round as long as he doesnt leadoff. Cano i thought was a borderline keeper. he is not much better than uggla, weeks, lopez if he stays hitting 9th. atkins put up some monster numbers last year. should be good again this year.
OutField (A): two huge keeper sluggers in Lee and Andruw. Added "dont call him big skirt" Frank thomas 14th. normally i dont like Util only players but the 3 this year hafner, thome, thomas were all worth drafting. 3 big bats plus a underrated (but overdrafted in the 9th) jd drew and roberts for steals. very very very good OF. weird how meng#2 drafted 2 extremely opposite OFs. This OF is GREAT!
SP (A-): 3 power arms in sheets, kazmir, AJ. I've always like venti capuano. something about kazmir scares me though. Quality arm AJ burnett might be the 2nd biggest steal in SP trailing only jeff francis in the 25th. Check out Francis' home/away splits last year... his k/ip, bb/ip and hits/ip were nearly identical home and away. Given his good 4.00 era away equated to a 50-50 record given that the rockies cant hit. 4.30 home = 3-2 win -loss. pretty cool split. He is a great young pitcher. again, a great staff drafted by meng#2.
RP (D+): i cant believe meng#2 drafted two crappy bullpens, his had jorge julio as the only closer and this one has tom gordon. Qualls got lucky and got bumped to setup cuz lidge sucks so bad. fernando rodney i like. rest of the arms are replaceable. i have always drafted guys like ricardo rinco and da rheal deal cormier for their one out holds. enjoy it while it last before they blow up.
Comments:
Moving down to 6 keepers will probably suit this team better. it will be interesting to see where andruw goes for his FA. i dont get how meng#2 can draft 2x A SPs and 2x failing bullpens. although he probably drafted better for eray than for himself. guys like delgado, thomas, and thome is another reason why buc trading for konerko is so bad.
-------------------------------
This was a very tough year to draft mainly because of 3 reasons.
1) i had to handle wong's team and find meng#2 to handle eray's team;
2) for the first time, SPs were at a premium and SPs is my weakest area;
3) buc's and tey's crappy teams and buc's absence forced both teams to build for the future. there were very few sleeper picks available, thus causing a lot of teams to reach a couple of rounds early to fill out positions.
Typically, i recap by teams and Meng#2 recap by picks... but since Meng#2 isnt doing a recap this year, i will have to do both of our jobs and go with a different format while mentioning best/worst picks by round when they are warranted. and since so many keepers are kept this year and our draft started in the 9th, my analysis on offense will be infield vs outfield and take into account the quality of secondary positions (CI, MI, OF, UTIL) and how they were filled. Pitching will be SP and Bullpen.
I am planning to dismantle my team after this season because winning has become so mundane. So as a special bonus for reading my recap... i will be putting up "**NOTE**" thru out my analysis. These are important draft tips that you weaklings need to pay attention to and incorporate them (sooner better than later) into your fantasy baseball drafting philosophies if you are playing to win. These tips are 200% accurate and non-arguable. Willingness to follow it is up to you.
-------------------------------
Lick My Sack (jay)
Infield (C+): Balance overall offense. i am not high on kent/omar/aurilla/huff combo but they were worth the draft positions. all of these guys are over the hill and then some.
Outfield (B-): Good OF given the draft positions. BGiles at 21st and wilkerson in the 25th are steals. i like all the players here but its way to weak for a OF. When my IF can out-produce your OF plus Util, you have no chance.
SP (B+): two guys i didnt expect to be kept (zito and harangatang) in retrospect were good keepers. i would have taken zito 9th if he was there. Plus carpenter, this is a great 1-2-3.
RP (A-): Jenks is borderline keeper, but picked up saito, shields, broxton, and cla who meng#2 is really high on. extremely underrated and solid pen. may have invested too heavily on bullpen resulting in weak offense.
Comments:
Good top loaded list of keepers, bottom keepers were questionable but excusable, only problem is soriano and bay both playing LF. Pitching MUCH MUCH stronger than hitting. i dont understand how he could have asked to keep felipe on tuesday then not draft him 2 days later.
As some of you know, i am strongly against keeping more than one player with the same position. this team lucked out because Lou wants to play Soriano CF in a year where CF is so weak. in my opinion, jay made a huge, CHAMPIONSHIP KILLING mistake with his first pick in the 9th overkilling CF by taking corey patterson then wasting another on willy tavarez with 13th. CPat/willy as CF/OF is good, but they filling as OF/UTIL by the 13th round is game over. did you know that Soriano is gonna get a CF tag in a week? (**NOTE**: when you fill out your util by the 13th round with some weak hitting 35rbi crap, you can cross yourself off the contender's list if i am in your league.)
-------------------------------
Rockville Yellow Socks (insuk)
Infield (B): this is a very solid infield but i am not high on chavez at all. Ive watched too many A's and Giants game to count and Chavez is still k'ing on pitches that he k'ed on 5 years ago. Stephan drew at MI is pretty good but NL leadoff hitters rarely put up fantasy stats worth their talent. (**NOTE**: only exception to drafting leadoff hitters in the NL is if he is a lock score 110+R AND a lock for 40+ SB+HR. Otherwise pass or wait to draft later as a sleeper.) you might get 150 hrs w/out much speed outta the 7 IF positions which is a little weak.
Outfield (D): i dont know how to grade this outfield. I know insuk likes his young studs... but conceivably although unlikely, pujols/howard/teixeira alone can out-hr this entire OF considering alou and nomar's injury risks and delmon and chris b can be sent down to AAA.
SP (B+): Felix and Bonderman i like. Bonderman struggled early vs the Jays but grinded out a good start. Felix was dealing... but he pitches much better at home than away. Penny was a great pick at 20th. I really dont know much about Loewen but if insuk is so high on this oriole, then he is probably overrated.
RP (B-): Mike Gonzalez at 16th was a great pick definitely insuk's best pick of the draft. My Championship last year cost my 14th and 15th this year otherwise i would have taken him even earlier. Coco Cordero and Fuentes as the top 2 closers are a little weak but servicable as closers were hard to find.
Valverde is way to inconsistent as a closer. how many years did 'zona hand the closer job to him the last 3 years only to have him fail and regain it cuz the other guys suck even more. It's kinda like Torre's decision to bring in Javier Vazquez to relieve kevin brown in 2004 ALCS game 7 because he sucked the least. Anyone remember who torre brought in to relieved Vazquez? whoever it was, that yankee is analagous to brandon lyon who sucks the 2nd least.
Comments:
I was watching the yankees game and elijah dukes hit a solo shot off pavano to CF in da 5th. I think insuk picked him up before duke finished rounding the bases. on the scouting side, dukes seems to be a much more mature hitter than delmon and BJ.
My grades are rarely based on the quality of the player but more on the draft position they were taken. yeah you drafted some good players last year but at too high a cost in terms of draft position thus the poor grades. thats also why you finished like 10th and had no chance of contending.
insuk drafts for value as often as Tom Brady uses condoms. his draft style kinda reminds me of gong 3 years ago. i like how he over draft every single prospect worth drafting and makes himself as some kind of prospect guru as if no one else reads magazines. earth to insuk, you didnt go out on a limb and drafted bonderman, lackey, and felix last year, they were already on everyone's radar. i was high on lackey FIVE YEARS AGO and projected him as a solid #2 back in '02 even before his WS game 7 win. you only got him cuz you overdrafted him last year on a year i finally gave up on him. meng#2 can attest to that. you certainly didnt go out on a limb this year drafting all these guys so lets not pretend you are discovering gems considering the price you paid for them.
-------------------------------
Matrix (brian)
Infield (B): good IF anchored by 2.5 huge bats and all solid players. I am really high on beltre this year. he was one of my sleepers relative to draft position. batting 2nd should loosen him up a bit and make him a better hitter instead of the slugger his contract made him to be. Pedro feliz is a wasted pick. you owe me $1 for dropping feliz before i drop vidro. Ty should get his opportunities but he might be the only cleanup hitter not to reach 100 rbis. solid pick nevertheless.
Outfield (C): great list of players and names but i am not sure what brian is doing. No wonder me and Meng#2 were panicking over the fact that there were no OFs to draft by the 20th round. How many outfields do you need? you dont win fantasy leagues but stashing monroe/HGH jr/$3.29 per gallon on the bench or drafting guys like dellucci. you win by drafting flyers like papelbon as a SP/RP. Grade C reflects you overkilling.
SP (A-): Originally i knocked brian for drafting harden too early but again, in retrospect it was a good pick given the shortage of good SPs. when Johan anchors the staff, you can afford to take a risk with your #2. Escobar at 21 was a good pick if he gives anything more than 160+ip. Funny how me and brian were discussing black pitchers yesterday. (brian wanted to discuss it, i only played along to see what racist thing he will say next.) Ian Snell = black. From tuesday's 12k performance, i dunno if astro's lineup suck that bad or Snell is actually a decent pitcher. We wont know until he faces the likes of Luke Scott.
RP (A+): hands down the best pen in the league. Benitez looks good this spring although velocity is not there yet.
Comments: Definite contender
Unspectacular, but solid draft. Looking at all the picks, not one pick stands out as good or bad. Downside is none of the players have much upside and few will surpass the production from last year. Thome at UTIL was a ballsy pick, i am glad he didnt drop to me for me to make that tough decision. Not knowing that you had tey's 10th was retarded but luckily you got carlos guillen outta it. Josh barfield is hitting 9th, you coulda used one of your OF picks to find a backup MI. This staff is cut from the same championship mold as my staff, more on this later.
-------------------------------
Ball Bags (Fred)
Infield (B): Kept only Rollins but did a GREAT job of drafting based on need. (**NOTE**: it is a GOOD IDEA to draft based on your need!!!) Helton, Teahan, Phillips, then drafted ensberg immediately to backup teahan, and punched AJ late. Picked up FA O-dawg to replace Cantu. Teahan at 11 is high. But Phillips at 13, hitting 3rd between dunn and Griffey is a steal. Swap their draft positions and both become very good picks.
Outfield (A): only team to keep all 4 outfield positions. Drafting Cameron at 12th is very questionable... but I cant give this any less than A since no other picks were wasted on OFs. (**NOTE**: it is a NOT a good idea to overkill your strength.)
SP (A+): well, pretty much i give fred an A+ every year. dropped harden and kept haren which was the right thing to do. You got too many starters but they were all in the late teen's and twenty's so they were worth the cost.
RP (C+): Putz was a great pick for this team despite his MRI. But everything went downhill from there. Salomon as a #2 closer is terrible. no clearcut #1 middle relief is also very bad. But with the league going on MR run around 15th-17th, i'll give you some credit for adapting and drafting gagne/salomon/weathers. They might not be the best choices, but it could have been a lot worse if fred didnt pick em.
Comments:
Saying that Fred sucks at building a bullpen is like saying Yankee announcer John Sterling is a retard. Both are under statements. This team looks good on paper but i am not sure if it has the offense to contend for the entire year. More than a couple of players are gonna have to breakout otherwise you will be short on Runs, HRs, and RBIs. Many candidates include phillips, helton, o-dawg, and cameron cuz all of them are in favorable hitting slots. I think its time to trade oswalt for someone like Utley.
-------------------------------
Buccos (Bucco)
Infield (C-): I like Fielder, Tulowitzki, Castillo, Edwin a lot and had them high on my list. The problem that it was my sleepers list. Prince Fielder was the best pick of the draft though. No fewer than 4 people simultaneously made fun of buc/fielder's weight. We can probably list them here and vote which was the best... mine was directed at insuk's brother "did you accidently sort buc's draft pick by weight???"
Outfield (C-): Sheff and Swisher are solid. I am extremely high on Swisher after watching him the last 2 years. hopefully the A's will come to their senses and hit him 2, or 3 or 4. Duffy, Edmonds, Kouzmanoff are garbage. iwamura looks like a professional hitter. good strike zone, good bat control but he is learning so look for a bigger 2nd half.
SP (B): solid SPs in webb, schmidt, and Jennings is a decent #3. Pitching Webb @Coors is ballsy. I am not so hot on Boof and Daniel Cabrera, or as i like to call him D-Train-Wreck. With Chucky and O-dawg AND Cliff Lee, this staff is quantity over quality, which i heard from gong is the way bucco likes his buffets.
RP (F): First F of the recap. Garbage Dumpster as your #1 closer and luiz/reyes does not cut it as your MR regardless of '06 stats. I should have told you pre-draft to load up on middle relief and closers and use em as trade chips. (**NOTE: if you are not contending, loading up on closers to trade is not a bad idea. Just dont get to greedy when you trade them.)
Comments:
Well, i cant really pick on buc's team too much cuz it wasnt much of a team to begin with. One serious flaw was buc trading his draft picks for potential keeper players such as konerko and webb. Webb i understand because he was top tier in a year every SP in my top 3 tiers were kept. But trading for konerko was an absolute disaster because i ranked him as the 9th-11th best 1b in the league, one notch ahead of #12/13-helton/prince. Instead of keeping only mauer and webb with 100% chance of daisuke, you went to 50-50 by keeping furcal with tey if he keeps 3, to 0% when you traded for konerko. So konerko, cost you a 3rd round keeper pick, a 10th round pick, and daisuke because you won the draft positioning vs tey. Had you done nothing and kept 2, you would have easily wound up with Mauer, Webb, Daisuke, Furcal, Konerko, Sheff, Swisher, Schmidt, Fielder, Kendrick in that order. That's why i hated the trade when it was announced. We might not see the likes of daisuke as a FA in the keeper rounds in some time. You let him get away by over manuvering.
(**NOTE**: Evaluate your trades not only by the player/picks you get but more importantly in terms of opportunity costs. I made this point in year #1 with Meng#2 keeping Vernon. Sure, vernon was a borderline keeper with star potential. But by keeping him, you lose the ability to choose at that position. in a lot of cases, CHOICE and flexibility has more value than the player you are keeping/getting. Think about buc trading for konerko again in terms of opportunity cost... what is he really giving up? there is no way in the blue hell does the cost justify the reward of getting konerko. i wouldnt trade for konerko if there is even a remote chance that it might drop my daisuke% from 100% to 50%.)
-------------------------------
Patsies (Jinwook)
Infield (B): i am lukewarm about this IF drafting-wise. Its solid but dont have much youth or speed. Tada has nada upside. I am not sure where peralta is at. I've seen the chisox ibb the guy in front of him to load the bases with 1 out and man on first twice already. Thats just a lack of respect, probably for a reason. Chipper could be a question mark, adrian seems a little high at 11th but very good as a CI. Best pick goes to Chad Tracy could be just as good stats in the 18th.
Outfield (B): again all solid players. I am not high on granderson, he K'ed 178 times last year. i dont see how anyone could succeed like that. Hawpe might be platooning with jeff baker but 15th is fair. Not enough HR/RBI pop. Josh Willingham looks good.
SP (B+): Invested heavily on SP but well worth it. This is the year Chris Young makes a Haren-like leap into the 2nd tier. I like Rich Hill as well. Seems like there are a lot of young lefties this year. Lowe will always eat up good quality innings. But any way i look at it, the SPs seems to be one man short. drop a bat and pick up a SP.
RP (F): Keeping Hoffman was good. Neshek was high on a lot of people's MR lists and getting him at 20th was a great pick. Lidge aint gonna cut it as closer or MR.
Comments:
Made some good pitching picks in a wife beater, one of the chris youngs, a lefty who was dominating for half a season, an old gambler who gambled on some pine tar, and a 2004 world champ. But offense just dont have enough bite and with no bullpen, there is no chance. But this is a top team among the 2nd tier.
-------------------------------
I'm in Myanmar (Wong, drafted by Meng#1)
Infield (A): This was a easy infield to draft. Considering Glaus and Billy Hall both of position flexibility. Chris burke is only a fill in until lopez gets his 2B tag. Then potentially wong can have Posada, Jiambi, Lopez, Glaus, Hanley, Hall, and Laroche. Great job of drafting by me to take advantage of position tags.
Outfield (B+): Wong kept no OF so i had to draft some early. Ibanez and Cuddzilla are good picks and will probably put up better stats than guys drafted a couple of rounds earlier. I decided to go late on CF because of Hall's eligibility. It might be be better to put Hall at CF and find a servicable MI. I thought kearns was a good pick at 20th since he is cleanup up and protecting ryan zimmerman. Hafner will balance out his %.
SP (A-): It was easy to draft for wong because he already had 2 top guns in Halladay and Smoltz. Since wong was so short in OF, I didnt have the picks to use on SP. So i went with value and picked veterans on good teams that could get wins and eat up some innings with decent ratios and Ks. Pettitte, Glavine, and Maddux were great picks in their respective rounds for what i was trying to do. (**NOTE**: If you wanna win, ALWAYS draft for value in your strong areas so you can afford to reach for a couple of players early to cover your weaknesses. If you dont make enough value picks in the mid and late teen rounds while reaching in 9th-11th, your team might look good on paper, but you aint gonna win.)
RP (A-): On paper, this is a top 3 pen in the league which is a huge advantage considering some of the crappy pens out there. So far this pen's performance is pretty dismal, i cant explain why other than bad luck. I was under specific instructions from wong to pick a #2 closer early (chris ray). Its not my fault ARod fluked out and Chris Ray loaded the bases with 2 outs. JoBo at #14 is a steal. Some questions why i chose linebrink over otuska (i drafted otuska for myself 2 picks after drafting linebrink for wong). First Wong had linebrink last year and he did well. Second, Otsuka could put up saves instead of holds and wong didnt need saves.
Comments: Contender
I probably prepared for Wong's draft more than my own. Pretty much everything went according to plan except i told wong i was gonna forfeit the 2B position and take a flyer later. But Felipe Lopez was too tempting to pass up at 10th. OF is a little weak but you cant complain since it was not easy to find FOUR good OFs at specific positions cuz Hafner took up the Util. Overall offense is very balanced in all 6 categories. Overall pitching is also very balanced. Wong couldnt draft a team as good as this one i drafted if you give him 10 tries. Top 3-4 team. Typical Wong to over manage and drop Mora for some crap in the combination of ethier, thomson, stanton, and greg norton just so he can fill his DL slots.
-------------------------------
idunnobaseball (Tey)
Infield (C-): Not the greatest of IFs. But lots of decent picks here. Contrary to almost all experts, i think uggla will do decent this year. Sophomore slumps or not, if you hit between hanley and upside, how badly can you do? i like a kinsler pick as well, although i expected him to bat higher than 9th. Freddy Sanchez is a steal at 15th, BoSox once traded Freddy Sanchez & mike gonzalez for... anyone know? Michael Barrett i hate. he is the type of hitter that will have 2x 10 rbi weeks and still end up with 50 rbis for the season.
Outfield (B+): Rios and Baldelli in the keeper rounds were good, but not great. I really hope rocco stays injury-free so we can see what he can do. I was expecting Rios to last to the 9th but it was unlikely he was gonna drop to me picking 11th. Trading for Dye was terrible because it was unnecessary. dunn, rocco, dye, and Rios make a great 4 with keeper potential. You should be able to scalp a Util if shealy fails.
SP (B+): Daisuke came as a result of a titanic blunder by buc. Great job drafting Lackey, who should have been kept, one pick ahead of Meng#2. I think Beckett will bounce back well. last year he was pavano-like in that he always got into that bad inning he couldnt get out of. Hopefully he learns and use his breaking stuff more. Funny how it seems like ages ago when he was considered a top young pitcher. I like Josh Johnson at 24th, hopefully he will be able to start pitching in 2 month. The B+ is for picking up not one but TWO(!!!) almost definite keeper SPs next year in DiceK and Lackey although both kinda fell into your lap.
RP (B+): Keeping nathan was good, so was drafting the underrated wickman. picked up a jamie walker as a solid 5th reliever. But Cordero at 9th is way too early. And i dont like the Ryan Madson pick at all. That guy is just a terrible, terrible pitcher. I am not surprised da braves cracked this guy like an egg. Just to throw a comparison, i would much rather have JC Romero and/or Joel Pinata than this guy and as you guys know, i am not a big fan of JC and joel pin.
Comments:
You guys have NO IDEA how hard i worked behind the scenes to get Alex Gordon drafted in the keeper rounds, aka 10 rounds too early. i deserve a lot of credit. If only i had a better draft position to take advantage... It was kinda weird seen Shealy on TV. My triple autograph of Hanley had shealy on it... they must've messed up the picture on the card because i thought he was black for the past 3 years. In my notes for beckett, i had "draft one round early, instead of one round late." i think he could be the yankee-killer the whole world wants him to be. Overall, i think tey did a really good job drafting and rebuilding AND getting a lot of chips (relievers) to trade at the deadline. His team is on the way up via some horredous gaffes by other GMs.
-------------------------------
Six Trick Pony (Meng#2)
Infield (B): This team is loaded at 1B with howard, teix, and berkman. But the IF is surprisingly "Week." There is no reason to draft Weeks that early at all. I am not sure how to project crosby, DeRosa, weeks, youk's hr/rbi, and piazza's games played. Youk is a good pick at 14 cuz he will probably score 100R and .400+obp, a rare combination. Piazza at 13th is the best pick. You gotta love those 1B/DH type guys with C tag. He will be great in oakland. That HR to right-center vs KRod of all people was truly amazing.
Outfield (D): Nick Markasis at 7th?? i had him going as a sleeper maybe 100 picks later. His current stats are inflated greatly by crappy ass yankees pitching. you better hope Berkman will retain his RF tag for next year. Markasis 7th, torri 12th, OF and Kotchman = Util from the FA, this outfield kinda sucks... wtf happened?
SP (A++): Zambrano and Cain are studs. Cain still has a lot of learning to do. Giants getting Zito thus pushing Cain as #2 will be great for him. He is not ready to be a staff ace just yet. His time will come. I was shocked to see Hamels going 6th. Then i was just as shocked to see how good he was in his first start vs the braves. i mean WOW(!!!), i havent seen SO MANY professional hitters that LOST since the yankees offense vs 1-pitch-derek-lowe in 2004 ALCS Game #7. seriously, its a fair comparison, this time is not a joke. Hamels is that derek-lowe-series-clinching good. Potentially 3 Ace keepers next year plus schilling and olsen, this is as good a starting staff as Meng#2's OF is bad. I dont know how Meng#2 does this every year... incredible staff again.
RP (B-): Ended the draft with Jorge Julio as the #1 closer which is a little on the ridiculous side, but had top setup guys rafael and crain. I like brewer relievers a lot, so Matt Wise was a Wise pick. Henry owens is decent pickup. i cant choose which pen is worse, the phillies or this one. all i know is that the phillies pen is all about HEART which is more than what i can say about Meng#2's RPs.
Comments:
i cant believe the 3 keeper picks were hamels, markasis, and WEEK-sauce. Also the choice of keepers was whack. It is really hard to keep essentially 3x 1B and 2x SP and put together a solid team without a 9th. First team ever to start the season with no closers. So many reaches on this team, i dont know where to start. (**NOTE**: Lesson as always... "You reach, I teach")
As I am writing, hamels is dueling John da Maine Event at Shea. Most lefties that use the fastball/changeup combo try to throw the fastball in to setup the changeup away to righties or vice versa. From the 2 starts so far, hamels has the ability to pitch normally and also the opposite with the fastball outside and the changeup in. The control on his changeup is impeccable so far. Hitter swing over it like a randy johnson slider half the time. Then i saw something i dont think i've ever seen before today's game... moise alou striking out looking while getting his KNEE BUCKLED on a Hamels changeup inner half. he was so ashamed that he looked straight down all the way back to the dugout. that was almost as funny as randolph pitching to howard and had Burgos challenge him with a fastball with 2 strikes.
-------------------------------
DaGongsters (gong)
Infield (B+): Good IF on paper with a lot of big names. But Jacobs/Conor 1B combo is a little fishy. pudge at 19th was a good pick until i drafted martin right after. Plenty of guys that can steal but only Aramis with +35hr potential. Freel is a good fantasy player, but the impact on him on this team will be minimal, given the SB abilities of jeter, roberts, beltran and byrnes. In fact, his % might even hurt you.
Outfield (B): yeah, potentially this OF could be good. Banking on 2x unproven #2 hitters in Loserino and duncan sounds like a decent idea, until you realize you are also banking on bonds' health and byrnes' recklessness. There is a reason why byrnes has never played a full season. In addition to hideki's wrist, now he is got a gimpy leg. 5 slots and 4 question marks. If one goes down like matsui, you might be ok. If two go down, whats the backup plan? If three go down, your dream of beating me is over.
SP (A-): No one exceptional, yet much like my staffs in the past, this staff is BOTH quantity and quality. I like this staff a lot, because this is my style of SPs. I like all of his pitching picks for both SP and RPs, except dotel. Best pick is 11th Ervin Santana.
RP (B+): Street, Zumaya, and drafted todd jones at a fair price. Dotel is a wasted pick... Justin Speier is a great pickup but 4 games 6ip after 1 week? no way he can keep up the pace.
Comments:
Gong is your typical wishy-washy GM where his deals would hinges on him trading up a 20th pick to get a 19th, in other words draft 230th instead of 240th. Do you know how much extra work that is for da commish to handle? Remember 4-5 years ago, Gong used to draft crazy like insuk? But i think Gong has come a long way since we first started fantasy baseball. I have been training him to beat me for 3 years now including giving him my notes, telling him how to stash players to flip for picks to make a run, and persuade him not to trade present (beltran+pick) for the future (sizemore). This might finally be his year. Therefore, it is only fitting that i take at least 75% of the credit for the team he assembled this year. Look at the order of players he drafted, in particular his staff and the veteran positional players. its almost if pupil is ready to take down the master.
Ok, all the non-sense aside, gong's team still has a long way to go. I like how Gong trash talks me about whether if my offense can run with his after one week. Please, can you really beat me with only 2 35+ HR guys in your lineup? Outta 14 players you have, 9 of em probably wont hit 20 hrs. God forbid aramis, beltran, or bonds get hurt. Yeah you got a ultra superior team because of your extra 9th and 10th and i lost my 14th and 15th. I guess i have my work cut out for me to try to run with you. Thank goodness i am a superior GM because i always make the right moves and pressure my opponents to take unnecessary RISKEs.
-------------------------------
2x Defending Champ (Meng#1)
Infield (A++): Brian did not like my russell martin pick at 19th but i think that might be one of my better picks in the draft. Not one catcher was drafted in a better round than the 19th i took martin in, keepers included. He has the highest potential outside the top 3 C's. Vidro and Helms were questionable but they are my MI/CI. I turned my CI from a weakness to a strenth faster than you can say "KEVIN KOUZMANOFF" with pickups like Blake, Nady, and Edwin.
Outfield (B+): I had to invest a little heavier on SPs this year and without my 14th and 15th, my OF suffered quite a bit. Francoeur migth have been a reach at 9th but he was the best RF with the highest upside, 30/95 is almost a lock and he promised to show his SB skills this year. My weakest and thinnest position is CF coco crisp but 16th was not too shabby. anything in the neighborhood of 70/15/70/15 is good enough for me. I am just loaded at LF/RF with blake, nady, hart, and luke.
SP (B+): It is really hard to be impartial about my SPs when i used so many high picks on them. But i think overall it went according to plan. I was going to pick a RF no matter what in the 9th, then go with SPs until it was not worth it. Papelbon moving to closer really handcuffed me in this draft. i really didnt want to keep 2 closers. But CC, bedard, mousse, arroyo are realiable top 4. Gorzelanny has really good stuff. Anibal has sentimental value. I watched all 6's first starts, none pitched nearly as badly as the stats showed.
RP (A+): I would rank my RPs a small notch behind Brian's RPs. Papelbon was picked 20th last year. This year: 17th = rincon, 26th = turnbow, 13th = akinori. Timlin will be primary setup in 2 weeks tops. Drafting a bullpen is where i shine.
Comments: Top 2 team
Going back to my earlier point about drafting for value in the later rounds allows you to reach in the earlier rounds. Key to my success in both h2h and roto is that i know how to build a bullpen at a cheaper price infinitely better than anyone else in the league. Pretty much it gives me more bullets to fire to hit a stud in my other positions namely SP and OF. (**NOTE**: Figure out what you are good at drafting in terms of value ahead of time. Spend on your weak areas so you can lean on your strength later in the draft.)
Another thing i am good at is find that one or two players that no one has heard about and filling my roster with them. Funny how gong thinks my offense cant run with his when my 26th could hit more HRs than 70% of his roster. Homie dont play that.
-------------------------------
IntroToSml (Eray drafted by Meng#2)
Infield (B): Zimmerman is a rising star with his 47 doubles last year, too bad the Capitals are so bad. Kenji at 13th was a little high. Reneteria is a terrific 2nd hole hitter for the braves. Ray durham is a steal at any round as long as he doesnt leadoff. Cano i thought was a borderline keeper. he is not much better than uggla, weeks, lopez if he stays hitting 9th. atkins put up some monster numbers last year. should be good again this year.
OutField (A): two huge keeper sluggers in Lee and Andruw. Added "dont call him big skirt" Frank thomas 14th. normally i dont like Util only players but the 3 this year hafner, thome, thomas were all worth drafting. 3 big bats plus a underrated (but overdrafted in the 9th) jd drew and roberts for steals. very very very good OF. weird how meng#2 drafted 2 extremely opposite OFs. This OF is GREAT!
SP (A-): 3 power arms in sheets, kazmir, AJ. I've always like venti capuano. something about kazmir scares me though. Quality arm AJ burnett might be the 2nd biggest steal in SP trailing only jeff francis in the 25th. Check out Francis' home/away splits last year... his k/ip, bb/ip and hits/ip were nearly identical home and away. Given his good 4.00 era away equated to a 50-50 record given that the rockies cant hit. 4.30 home = 3-2 win -loss. pretty cool split. He is a great young pitcher. again, a great staff drafted by meng#2.
RP (D+): i cant believe meng#2 drafted two crappy bullpens, his had jorge julio as the only closer and this one has tom gordon. Qualls got lucky and got bumped to setup cuz lidge sucks so bad. fernando rodney i like. rest of the arms are replaceable. i have always drafted guys like ricardo rinco and da rheal deal cormier for their one out holds. enjoy it while it last before they blow up.
Comments:
Moving down to 6 keepers will probably suit this team better. it will be interesting to see where andruw goes for his FA. i dont get how meng#2 can draft 2x A SPs and 2x failing bullpens. although he probably drafted better for eray than for himself. guys like delgado, thomas, and thome is another reason why buc trading for konerko is so bad.
posted by Number 1 at 4/04/2007 06:03:00 PM
1 Comments:
good god how long did you spend on this?
Post a Comment
<< Home