$250 TEAM Satellite Draft

[KJ Duke]

In thinking about this league and how I should set my KDS, I jumped to the conclusion that the Rockies hitters and the National pitchers were the top two choices. I really thought they separated from all of the other choices.

I think the advantage of playing half of your games in Coors Field is huge for hitters. I took a quick look at last year's stats in preparation for this league. The Rockies hit 186 homers last year with Tulo missing half of the year and very little contribution from Cargo. The next highest NL team was the Cubs with 157 homers. The Rockies hit .276 as a team. The Dodgers were the only other team over .260 (they hit .265 and now are weaker offensively). The Rockies scored 755 runs last year. Only three other NL teams scored more than 670 runs and the Dodgers were the only other NL team over 700 runs (718). Thus, in terms of advantages over the rest of the field, I thought the Rockies hitters were the best choice. They were my #1 choice at least.

In terms of pitching, the Nats' pitchers also are in a class by themselves. Hell, if you go 7 starters/2 relievers, you got 5/7 of your starters with Scherzer, Strasburg, Zimmermann, Fister and Gonzalez. With Storen, you now have 6/9 of your starting pitching staff and should be able to find two decent starters and the closer from any AL team and have a great staff. Also, by picking the Nats' pitchers early, you eliminated any chance of getting stuck with the Rockies or Diamondbacks pitchers, which I viewed as two of the three worst outcomes (the other being the Braves hitters).

Thus, in setting my KDS, I went 1, 2, and then started aiming toward the backend of the snake, to get a higher pick in Rounds 2-4. I got 13 (and then 3, 3, 3 in Rounds 2-4). When the Rockies' bats fell to Eric at 1.6, I was kicking myself big time for a shitty KDS.

Once I got to pick, I was pretty happy to get the Brewers' hitters in Round 1. I had them as the third best NL bats behind the Rockies and the Pirates. I also was happy with the Indians' pitchers in Round 2. Having gotten a strong NL hitting team, I decided to go pitching in Rounds 2 and 3 to try to get a decent staff, with the hope and expectation that there would be a decent AL hitting team left for me at 4.3. I liked the Mariners (who were taken) as the best AL pitchers, and after that I had the Indians, Rays and Angels grouped together. I was a little worried about the Rays winning games, although I think they have some upside starters and liked the idea of having McGee and Boxberger as relievers for most of the season. Ultimately, I went with the clear ace in Kluber, high upside arms in Carrasco and Salazar, and a solid closer in Allen. In Round 3, I went NL pitching. I did not want to leave NL pitching until Round 4 because I was afraid there might be a run on NL pitching in an effort to avoid getting stuck with the Rockies and D'Backs (or even the Phillies, who do have Hamels, Lee, Papelbon and Giles, but could lose Hamels and/or Papelbon at any point during the preseason or season). I was fairly happy with the SF Giants pitchers given what was left. While MadBum is the only sure thing in the starting rotation, there is talent among Cain, Peavy, Petit, Hudson, Lincecum, etc., and hopefully one or two will be a consistent, strong SP. I also think Bruce B. does a great job managing his pitchers, the home field is very favorable, and Casilla or Romo should be OK as my second closer.

Thus, after three rounds I really liked my team. Then you guys went ahead and screwed-up all my plans by taking any decent AL hitting team before my pick at 4.3. I thought maybe the Royals or Twins bats would fall to me and, while neither is a great hitting team, they have a few useful pieces that would have gone well with the Brewers bats. But, nooooooo. With 13 picks left in the draft, the only AL teams left for hitting were the A's and the Rays, my two lowest-rated AL hitting teams. I went with the A's but am concerned about the lack of power on that team. Thought about the Rays to get Longoria, but a healthy Reddick and Crisp (no sure thing there!) would fill out my OF nicely, and I think the A's have some useful MI options (Zobrist, Lawrie, Semien) that also give me a lot of positional flexibility.

Anyway, I'm moderately comfortable - but not thrilled - with my team. It would be interesting to hear how others in this league saw things and what their strategies were going into the draft. Given the unique strategy, and the fact that this should be a very easy league to manage during the year, I would do this one again.

Also, it will be fun for a change to win every FAAB bid I make for only $1.

Mike

Great write-up Mike. I'll try to do the same later on, and I agree on COL hitting ... if I knew either COL or TOR would've been there at #6 that would've been my target.

[KJ Duke]

•

[Roy's Outlaws]

Dan, As the draft unfolded , I was hoping for Mets pitching in the 2nd round (went right before me).Decided to load the offense and back fill pitching. Was hoping to push an offensive run for the 3rd round. Was hoping for Pittsburg Pitching to drop, almost made it(Taken last spot that could take NL pitching before me). Now only NL pitching left was Arizona , Milwaukee , Philadelphia or Colorado. Imo not much different between the 4 teams(when phil trades Hamels,Lee, Papelbon). So now look at available AL pitching, Bal, Bos, Hou, K.C., Minn, Tex, Yanks, Tor. Came down to K.C. , Tor, Yanks, Then went for a little more upside on Yankees starter than K.C. , Both bullpens can help with middle men, so don't need a lot (Hopefully) from Colorado staff. De La Rosa is safe and hope for something from Gray by mid-season. Try not to pitch Colorado pitcher at home if the Yankees can stay healthy( Big If). If I can get 40-45 points in pitching I should be good. Will be fun. Roy

[Roy's Outlaws]

In thinking about this league and how I should set my KDS, I jumped to the conclusion that the Rockies hitters and the National pitchers were the top two choices. I really thought they separated from all of the other choices.

I think the advantage of playing half of your games in Coors Field is huge for hitters. I took a quick look at last year's stats in preparation for this league. The Rockies hit 186 homers last year with Tulo missing half of the year and very little contribution from Cargo. The next highest NL team was the Cubs with 157 homers. The Rockies hit .276 as a team. The Dodgers were the only other team over .260 (they hit .265 and now are weaker offensively). The Rockies scored 755 runs last year. Only three other NL teams scored more than 670 runs and the Dodgers were the only other NL team over 700 runs (718). Thus, in terms of advantages over the rest of the field, I thought the Rockies hitters were the best choice. They were my #1 choice at least.

In terms of pitching, the Nats' pitchers also are in a class by themselves. Hell, if you go 7 starters/2 relievers, you got 5/7 of your starters with Scherzer, Strasburg, Zimmermann, Fister and Gonzalez. With Storen, you now have 6/9 of your starting pitching staff and should be able to find two decent starters and the closer from any AL team and have a great staff. Also, by picking the Nats' pitchers early, you eliminated any chance of getting stuck with the Rockies or Diamondbacks pitchers, which I viewed as two of the three worst outcomes (the other being the Braves hitters).

Thus, in setting my KDS, I went 1, 2, and then started aiming toward the backend of the snake, to get a higher pick in Rounds 2-4. I got 13 (and then 3, 3, 3 in Rounds 2-4). When the Rockies' bats fell to Eric at 1.6, I was kicking myself big time for a shitty KDS.

Once I got to pick, I was pretty happy to get the Brewers' hitters in Round 1. I had them as the third best NL bats behind the Rockies and the Pirates. I also was happy with the Indians' pitchers in Round 2. Having gotten a strong NL hitting team, I decided to go pitching in Rounds 2 and 3 to try to get a decent staff, with the hope and expectation that there would be a decent AL hitting team left for me at 4.3. I liked the Mariners (who were taken) as the best AL pitchers, and after that I had the Indians, Rays and Angels grouped together. I was a little worried about the Rays winning games, although I think they have some upside starters and liked the idea of having McGee and Boxberger as relievers for most of the season. Ultimately, I went with the clear ace in Kluber, high upside arms in Carrasco and Salazar, and a solid closer in Allen. In Round 3, I went NL pitching. I did not want to leave NL pitching until Round 4 because I was afraid there might be a run on NL pitching in an effort to avoid getting stuck with the Rockies and D'Backs (or even the Phillies, who do have Hamels, Lee, Papelbon and Giles, but could lose Hamels and/or Papelbon at any point during the preseason or season). I was fairly happy with the SF Giants pitchers given what was left. While MadBum is the only sure thing in the starting rotation, there is talent among Cain, Peavy, Petit, Hudson, Lincecum, etc., and hopefully one or two will be a consistent, strong SP. I also think Bruce B. does a great job managing his pitchers, the home field is very favorable, and Casilla or Romo should be OK as my second closer.

Thus, after three rounds I really liked my team. Then you guys went ahead and screwed-up all my plans by taking any decent AL hitting team before my pick at 4.3. I thought maybe the Royals or Twins bats would fall to me and, while neither is a great hitting team, they have a few useful pieces that would have gone well with the Brewers bats. But, nooooooo. With 13 picks left in the draft, the only AL teams left for hitting were the A's and the Rays, my two lowest-rated AL hitting teams. I went with the A's but am concerned about the lack of power on that team. Thought about the Rays to get Longoria, but a healthy Reddick and Crisp (no sure thing there!) would fill out my OF nicely, and I think the A's have some useful MI options (Zobrist, Lawrie, Semien) that also give me a lot of positional flexibility.

Anyway, I'm moderately comfortable - but not thrilled - with my team. It would be interesting to hear how others in this league saw things and what their strategies were going into the draft. Given the unique strategy, and the fact that this should be a very easy league to manage during the year, I would do this one again.

Also, it will be fun for a change to win every FAAB bid I make for only $1.

Mike

Great write-up Mike. I'll try to do the same later on, and I agree on COL hitting ... if I knew either COL or TOR would've been there at #6 that would've been my target.

I targeted Toronto Bats with the #5pick for KDS, was off 1spot.

[DOUGHBOYS]

Dan, As the draft unfolded , I was hoping for Mets pitching in the 2nd round (went right before me).Decided to load the offense and back fill pitching. Was hoping to push an offensive run for the 3rd round. Was hoping for Pittsburg Pitching to drop, almost made it(Taken last spot that could take NL pitching before me). Now only NL pitching left was Arizona , Milwaukee , Philadelphia or Colorado. Imo not much different between the 4 teams(when phil trades Hamels,Lee, Papelbon). So now look at available AL pitching, Bal, Bos, Hou, K.C., Minn, Tex, Yanks, Tor. Came down to K.C. , Tor, Yanks, Then went for a little more upside on Yankees starter than K.C. , Both bullpens can help with middle men, so don't need a lot (Hopefully) from Colorado staff. De La Rosa is safe and hope for something from Gray by mid-season. Try not to pitch Colorado pitcher at home if the Yankees can stay healthy( Big If). If I can get 40-45 points in pitching I should be good. Will be fun. Roy

I've likened KJ'S contract league as being chess to checkers.
This format reminded me of pool or billiards. Each selection made in having the next shot in mind.
To me, the first round is not the most important round as it is in most drafts.
The third round in setting up last picks and even forced picks is every bit as important, probably more so.
Like said before, a great idea and exercise.

[KJ Duke]

My KDS was 11-15, then 10-1. I wanted to avoid low-end options in general, although the worst AL pitching isn't that bad since I didn't see a slam-dunk difference throughout the entire bottom half of AL pitching. The low-end hitting in each league, on the other hand, could be a draft killer ▬ Braves, Phillies, A's and Rays along with the bottom 3 in NL pitching.

Once I had the #11 slot, my draft plan became:

Round 1 • Take best available hitting. COL and TOR look like the class of the draft; I expected both to be gone Top 3 but they ended up going #4 and #6. Bargains. I would've been ecstatic at the #11 slot with either the WAS or PIT lineups who I had #2 and #3 in the NL. I settled for my #4 Cubs after those two went right in front of me.

Round 2 • My plan here was to go NL Pitching, balancing my 1st round hitting with some pitching and avoiding the NL pitching dead zone of PHL-ARI-COL in the final round. Philly seems better than the other 2 for now, but they might not win many games (killing one category) and how bad will it look once Hamels, Papelbon and Cliff Lee are traded?
I want to avoid all of them, and AL pitching is deep, so NL pitching is the play. The only AL pitching I'd consider here would've been the Indians who could be best in the AL, but Mager solved that by taking them 2 picks before me. I was hoping the Mets pitchers would be there, and they were ... but all of a sudden I see the Rangers hitters have fallen to me which makes me consider changing plans.

With the Cubs hitters I've got a lot of pop ... Rizzo, K Bryant, Soler, Baez and even Starlin Castro (for a MI), but not much speed and only 2 playable OFers in Soler/Fowler. With the Rangers I pickup Elvis Andrus and Leonys Martin for speed, Prince Fielder for my CI and Beltre for 3b pushing K Bryant down to the DH slot. Choo adds to my OF with a little more speed and pop along with [edit Rua/Smolinski]. That is just about an ideal fit that I can't pass up ... I'll roll the dice with a Top 5 offense on each side and hope to get get lucky on pitching.

Round 3 •Had I taken NL pitching (the Mets) last round, the best offense remaining would've been the Indians. But they're a bad fit with no plus players in the OF after Brantley, so I'm happy to have deviated and taken Texas in Round 2. Even better, the Tigers pitching is unexpectedly available in Round 3. They are clearly the best on the board - Top 5 in the AL for me, although no doubt a risky Top 5 that assumes Anibal is healthy and Verlander rebounds to at least a decent #2/3 starter. Joe Nathan is a low-end closer but if he starts poorly Soria and his better stats probably moves up to that role, and the Tigers should win a lot of games which helps for W's and Sv's, whoever is getting them.

The Tigers pitching here is a strategic risk too move because I expect many decent AL pitchers to be there in Round 4, while NL pitchers could be down to the 3 uglies that I wanted to avoid ... but I'll roll the dice again, and put off NL pitching 'til the last round. The Pirates and Marlins are the best remaining staffs in the NL, but the Brewers aren't far behind. If I miss all three I have the worst case scenario.

Round 4 •Of course, the Marlins and Pirates go almost immediately after my 3rd round pick, leaving the Brewers as the only decent NL staff remaining. One of the things I had my eye on last round ... among the final 10 picks from round 3 to round 4 in front of me, only 1 team can take an NL pitching staff --- Roy's Outlaws. Roy needs pitching on both sides, I thought him taking the Brew was almost a slam dunk after the Pirates and Marlins were taken since plenty of AL quality arms would make it to the final round. Instead, he went with the Yanks which meant I could enjoy the next 8 picks knowing I had a few quality arms in Fiers, Peralta, Lohse, Garza, Jimmy Nelson and the newly-signed K-Rod to close. Plenty good enough in combination with my Tigers staff for a respectable pitching staff. The end result ...

C • M Montero, Chirinos
1b • Rizzo
3b • Beltre
CI • Fielder
2b • J Baez/ R Odor
SS • Starlin Castro
MI • Elvis Andrus
OF • Soler, Choo, Leonys Martin, Dexter Fowler, Rua/Smolinski
DH • Odor/ Alcantara until Kris Bryast arrives

Top 4 SPs • D Price, Anibal Sanchez, Verlander, M Fiers
Matchup SPs • Shane Greene/Wily Peralta/Jimmy Nelson/ Matt Garza
Closer • K-Rod, Nathan/Soria

I agree with Dan's assessment that both the EA and Hayden teams look strong, but I think I can be right there with them if the DET rotation holds up.

[Navel Lint]

Sorry!!

Obviously I knew I was getting AL Pitching today.
I'll be honest, I didn't think it would be Boston, which is my pick.
Not that Boston is good, but I did have them ranked as my 11th best AL pitching squad as they currently stand, and I gotta believe that they will make a move to pick up another pitcher somewhere along the line.

I'll take the Boston Red Sox

Now I have to go back and read the last two pages, I see some people did some write-ups. I'm interested to read what people thought and I will probably post one later myself. Sorry again for the delay and thanks KJ for running this league.

[ctmbaseball]

C - T. d'Arnaud
C - B. McCann
1B - L.Duda
2B - D. Murphy
3B - D. Wright
SS - W. Flores
OF - J. Ellsbury
OF - B. Gardner
OF - C. Beltran
OF - C. Granderson
OF - M. Cuddyer
CI - C. Headley
MI - Didi
UT - M. Teixeira

SP - S. Strasburg
SP - M. Scherzer
SP - J. Zimmermann
SP - G. Gonzalez
SP - D. Fister
SP - C. McHugh
SP - D. Keuchel
RP - L. Gregerson
RP - D. Storen

[Teufel Hunden]

My KDS was 11-15, then 10-1. I wanted to avoid low-end options in general, although the worst AL pitching isn't that bad since I didn't see a slam-dunk difference throughout the entire bottom half of AL pitching. The low-end hitting in each league, on the other hand, could be a draft killer ▬ Braves, Phillies, A's and Rays along with the bottom 3 in NL pitching.

Once I had the #11 slot, my draft plan became:

Round 1 • Take best available hitting. COL and TOR look like the class of the draft; I expected both to be gone Top 3 but they ended up going #4 and #6. Bargains. I would've been ecstatic at the #11 slot with either the WAS or PIT lineups who I had #2 and #3 in the NL. I settled for my #4 Cubs after those two went right in front of me.

Round 2 • My plan here was to go NL Pitching, balancing my 1st round hitting with some pitching and avoiding the NL pitching dead zone of PHL-ARI-COL in the final round. Philly seems better than the other 2 for now, but they might not win many games (killing one category) and how bad will it look once Hamels, Papelbon and Cliff Lee are traded?
I want to avoid all of them, and AL pitching is deep, so NL pitching is the play. The only AL pitching I'd consider here would've been the Indians who could be best in the AL, but Mager solved that by taking them 2 picks before me. I was hoping the Mets pitchers would be there, and they were ... but all of a sudden I see the Rangers hitters have fallen to me which makes me consider changing plans.

With the Cubs hitters I've got a lot of pop ... Rizzo, K Bryant, Soler, Baez and even Starlin Castro (for a MI), but not much speed and only 2 playable OFers in Soler/Fowler. With the Rangers I pickup Elvis Andrus, Leonys Martin and Alex Rios for speed, Prince Fielder for my CI and Beltre for 3b pushing K Bryant down to the DH slot. Choo fills out my OF with a little more speed and pop. That is just about an ideal fit that I can't pass up ... I'll roll the dice with a Top 5 offense on each side and hope to get get lucky on pitching.

Round 3 •Had I taken NL pitching (the Mets) last round, the best offense remaining would've been the Indians. But they're a bad fit with no plus players in the OF after Brantley, so I'm happy to have deviated and taken Texas in Round 2. Even better, the Tigers pitching is unexpectedly available in Round 3. They are clearly the best on the board - Top 5 in the AL for me, although no doubt a risky Top 5 that assumes Anibal is healthy and Verlander rebounds to at least a decent #2/3 starter. Joe Nathan is a low-end closer but if he starts poorly Soria and his better stats probably moves up to that role, and the Tigers should win a lot of games which helps for W's and Sv's, whoever is getting them.

The Tigers pitching here is a strategic risk too move because I expect many decent AL pitchers to be there in Round 4, while NL pitchers could be down to the 3 uglies that I wanted to avoid ... but I'll roll the dice again, and put off NL pitching 'til the last round. The Pirates and Marlins are the best remaining staffs in the NL, but the Brewers aren't far behind. If I miss all three I have the worst case scenario.

Round 4 •Of course, the Marlins and Pirates go almost immediately after my 3rd round pick, leaving the Brewers as the only decent NL staff remaining. One of the things I had my eye on last round ... among the final 10 picks from round 3 to round 4 in front of me, only 1 team can take an NL pitching staff --- Roy's Outlaws. Roy needs pitching on both sides, I thought him taking the Brew was almost a slam dunk after the Pirates and Marlins were taken since plenty of AL quality arms would make it to the final round. Instead, he went with the Yanks which meant I could enjoy the next 8 picks knowing I had a few quality arms in Fiers, Peralta, Lohse, Garza, Jimmy Nelson and the newly-signed K-Rod to close. Plenty good enough in combination with my Tigers staff for a respectable pitching staff. The end result ...

C • M Montero, Chirinos
1b • Rizzo
3b • Beltre
CI • Fielder
2b • J Baez/ R Odor
SS • Starlin Castro
MI • Elvis Andrus
OF • Soler, Choo, Leonys Martin, Alex Rios, Dexter Fowler
DH • Odor/ Alcantara/ Rua until Kris Bryast arrives

Top 4 SPs • D Price, Anibal Sanchez, Verlander, M Fiers
Matchup SPs • Shane Greene/Wily Peralta/Jimmy Nelson/ Matt Garza
Closer • K-Rod, Nathan/Soria

I agree with Dan's assessment that both the EA and Hayden teams look strong, but I think I can be right there with them if the DET rotation holds up.

Good write up. Guess now would be a good time for you to find out Rios does not play for Tex

[KJ Duke]

Good write up. Guess now would be a good time for you to find out Rios does not play for Tex

Oops! Well, he's old so ... Rua or Smolinski will be just as good!

[KJ Duke]

Complete 4-Round TEAM Draft
1. Matt Modica • WAS Nationals Pitching • NYY Yankees Batting • NYM Mets Batting • HOU Astros Pitching
2. Thomas Warner • LA Dodgers Pitching • HOU Astros Batting • TOR Blue Jays Pitching • ATL Braves Batting
3. Russel Wyatt • SD Padres Pitching • BAL Orioles Batting • SF Giants Batting • BOS Red Sox Pitching
4. Ted Cohan • TOR Blue Jays Batting • ATL Braves Pitching • SD Padres Batting • TEX Rangers Pitching
5. Roy Ericson • CWS White Sox Batting • ARI D'backs Batting • NYY Yankees Pitching • COL Rockies Pitching
6. Eric Albright • COL Rockies Batting • NYM Mets Pitching • KC Royals Batting • MIN Twins Pitching
7. Rick Hayden • BOS Red Sox Batting • STL Cardinals Batting • PIT Pirates Pitching • KC Royals Pitching
8. Zola/Perry Van Hook • SEA Mariners Pitching • MIA Marlins Batting MIA Marlins Pitching • TB Rays Batting
9. Ken Gill • PIT Pirates Batting • SEA Mariners Batting • LAA Angels Pitching • ARI D'backs Pitching
10. Jason Duponte • WAS Nationals Batting • TB Rays Pitching • CLE Indians Batting • PHL Phillies Pitching
11. KJ Duke • CHI Cubs Batting • TEX Rangers Batting • DET Tigers Pitching • MIL Brewers Pitching
12. Jay Lyons • DET Tigers Batting • CWS White Sox Pitching • CIN Reds Pitching • PHL Phillies Batting
13. Mike Mager • MIL Brewers Batting • CLE Indians Pitching • SF Giants Pitching • OAK A's Batting
14. Scott Butterworth • STL Cardinals Pitching • LA Dodger Batting • OAK A's Pitching • MIN Twins Batting
15. George Kleemann • LAA Angels Batting • CHI Cubs Pitching • CIN Reds Batting • BAL Orioles Pitching

[KJ Duke]

And here is your Fantasy World Series based on Team ADP:

AL East ▬ Toronto ... Tampa • Boston • NY Yanks • Baltimore
AL Central ▬ CHI WhSox, wildcard Detroit ... Cleveland • Kansas City • Minnesota
AL West ▬ Seattle , wildcard LA Angels ... Rangers • A's • Astros

NL East ▬ Washington ... Miami • NY Mets • Atlanta • Philly
NL Central ▬ CHI Cubs, wildcard St Louis ... Pittsburgh • Milwaukee • Cincinnati
NL West ▬ LA Dodgers, wildcard San Diego ... Colorado • San Francisco • Arizona

World Series ▬ Washington over Chicago White Sox ... Who saw that coming, the Sox?

[ctmbaseball]

Great job guys & thanks again KJ for making this concept a reality. Good Luck everyone!

[fozzie]

I've likened KJ'S contract league as being chess to checkers.
This format reminded me of pool or billiards. Each selection made in having the next shot in mind.
To me, the first round is not the most important round as it is in most drafts.
The third round in setting up last picks and even forced picks is every bit as important, probably more so.
Like said before, a great idea and exercise.

Dan's thoughts were pretty close to my own as I came up with a draft plan. I didn't see any squad that I could rely on entirely -- my lineup would have to be some of this team and some of that. (Love the Nats' starters; hate their bullpen, for instance.) So I was okay with missing out on top-tier squads just as long as I didn't get team-killers from the bottom tier forced on me.

Here was my thinking as it went:

First round: I'd figured on taking hitting, but geez, more bats are going than I predicted and we're into the second quarter of my list. Okay, my pick is coming up. I like the Cardinals pitching and the Angels hitting ... St. Louis is rated much higher on my sheet, and the Angels have big holes in 2B, 3B and LF. Maybe they'll scare George off, and I can get Trout & Co. on the turn. I take the Cards.

Second round: Argh, he took the Angels! Okay, okay ... new plan: Dodgers batting or Rays pitching. I love love love that Rays rotation. But bats are going so quickly. If I go for arms now, I'm probably screwed on getting two respectable hitting squads. (I notice at the end of the round that no one went pitcher-pitcher.) Sorry, Rays. I take the Dodgers: a good excuse to stay up late listening to Vin Scully call games.

Third round: Come on, Astros -- keep sliding! But they go at 2.14. I see nothing but doom among the likely AL pitchers in the fourth round. I would have risked it for the boom-or-bust Astros, but now I've got to take pitchers. I don't need much to fill out the staff -- just a couple of solid starters and a couple of strong relievers. Unfortunately, there is no great option. Toronto has the starters but no pen. Angels are the opposite. Yankees are hurting. I end up with the A's, a pick I don't love but can live with. I just hope they don't become sellers in July.

Fourth round: Right after the A's pick, I set my sights on KC hitting. The Royals are a very good match for the Dodgers, and only four teams can take AL hitting in the 3rd round. Unfortunately the fourth team takes the Royals and I end up with the supremely boring Twins. If Sano comes up in May, this pick pays off. More likely, I spend the season cursing Joe Mauer as I finish middle of the pack, competitive in pitching categories but unexceptional at the plate.

C: Grandal, Pinto
Infield: A.Gonzalez, Dozier, Rollins, Plouffe, Mauer (CI), Santana (MI)
Outfield: Puig, Pederson, Crawford, Arcia, Hunter
Utility: K.Vargas

Starters: Wainwright, Gray, Lynn, Wacha, Kazmir, Lackey
Relievers: Rosenthal, Clippard, C.Martinez

Reserves: Kendrick, Uribe, Suzuki ... er, four guys who've never been in my kitchen

KJ, this was a lot of fun. I'm glad to hear you intend to do it again next year, cuz I'm in.

[GoCrazyFolks]

Well FWIW,

For KDS purposes I wanted to be near middle to avoid having to "settle" at some point and also because I really had no idea how a draft like this might play out, so better to play it safe.

Round 1-- I planned on taking whichever of the highest of my personal rankings were left whether it was hitting or pitching and then alternate back and forth from there. With the Nats and Dodgers pitching gone I looked at hitting. Probably in the minority but I had Boston ranked as my number 1 offense and they were there so that solved round 1. So I started to look toward pitching for round 2 with my hopes set on STL.

Round 2- STL pitching was gone by the time it go back to me, as was my "sleeper" White Sox staff, but STL hitting was still there and they were my second ranked NL squad. I expect a noticeable uptick in the offense department for the Redbirds this year so I changed gears and went with another batch of hitters instead of sticking to my plan of drafting a pitching staff. I felt the Bos/Stl combo made for a solid and fairly flexible hitting lineup. Plus they always make for a good World Series combo as well.

Round 3-- Obviously no choice but pitching now. Detroit was my top remaining but they went before it got back to me. Narrowed it down to Pittsburgh and Miami in that order and when the Marlins went right before my turn the choice was made.

Round 4- Needed an AL staff. Was mildly shocked that KC was still out there as I had even considered them in round 3. I like them for all the reasons Doughboy gave earlier. Noticed George was the only other drafting before me that needed AL pitching so formulated the plan of KC with Baltimore as a backup plan. George took the O's and I was more than pleased with KC.

One minor surprise for me was how high I wound up ranking the MIL pitching staff. They have what I now consider a solid staff without having what one would consider a top ace starter and if I had just went off what I thought I knew would have ranked them unrealistically low.

Very interesting and fun draft. Well done KJ !!!!!!

[KJ Duke]

fyi - draft results copied to start of thread if anyone needs to refer back

[DOUGHBOYS]

In-season Management should be fun with this concept.
On face, the category where most will be similar is Saves.
After all, every team has two Closers. Nobody with three. Nobody with one.
Enter in-season Management.
Some weeks, there are going to be match ups for pitchers that are so juicy that giving up a Save or two will be enticing.
But, with every team being so equal with Saves, one or two Saves could make a difference of 5-7 league points in the standings at the ending of the year.

It'll be fun riding team hot streaks as well. We bench players such as a Luis Valbuena or Matt Dominguez on our normal fantasy teams. A hot week from players like these will be a Godsend and they'll probably be starters here.
I can also imagine some weeks being brutal. Both teams out of town against hot-hitting or good overall teams and starting pitchers go from 'going for Wins' to 'lessening the peripheral blows'.
There'll be many challenges. It's part of what makes this a wonderful concept

[TOXIC ASSETS]

Excellent concept and looking forward to playing out the season even though the draft didn't exactly go as I would have liked.

Round 1: Pirates hitting: Love the pick and surprised still available at 1.9 Possibly above average at every position except catcher. They have plenty of average, and power and speed to go along with it.

Round 2: Mariners hitting: thought about going pitching here but just didn't see a sure thing as we're already too late in the draft, so I decide to gamble here and take an improving Mariners offense with Cano, Nelson Cruz, etc. Cruz won't hit 40 bombs again but 25 looks like sure thing.

Round 3: I'm hoping that one of the following staffs is still around: Mets/Braves/Reds. Nope. I get the Angels. Bullpen is good, always liked Huston Street. I can live with this pick.

Round 4: I know I'm going to get a bottom barrel NL staff and I'm hoping it's the Phillies. Nope - they go one pick before me. It's the D-Backs. Are Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling still playing? I hope so.

Bottom line -- if the Mariners hit this team has a chance. If not, it's wait till next year.

[KJ Duke]

In-season Management should be fun with this concept.

... and this may be the first fantasy league we've ever played where it matters how many games our team wins (at least the pitchers), what they do at the trade deadline and whether they stay in contention.

We can watch games and actually root for ..... a team !

[Red Sox Nation-]

C Ramos Wilson
C Gomes Yan
1B Santana Carlos
2B Rendon Anthony
SS Desmond Ian
3B Zimmerman, Ryan
CI Moss Brandon
MI Kipnis Jason
OF Harper Bryce
OF Span Denard
OF Werth Jayson
OF Brantley Michael
OF Bourn Michael
UT Chisenhall-Swisher-Murphy

P Cobb Alex
P Smyly Drew
P Archer Chris
P Odorizzi Jake
P Hamels Cole
P Lee Cliff
P Papelbon Jonathan
P Mcgee Jake
P Boxberger Brad

Round 1- Pick #10. Was hoping to land the best offense in baseball, Boston, with my first pick but Rick squashed those hopes. I expected them to be long gone by pick #7. I would have taken them #2 which was my second KDS preference. I was happy to get Washington who I had ranked as my #2 NL offense. I liked the strength at weak positons- Rendon, Desmond, Zimmerman, Ramos. I thought they'd pair well with many AL teams. Rendon/Zimmerman also have mutli which is a plus fitting in the right match.

Round 2- I was looking pitching and took my #1 AL staff in TB. I liked the depth having 4 guys I can roll out every week. I thought there were other great staffs like CHW but they lacked a solid 4th option. I also liked the McGee/Boxberger duo along with other closer.

Round 3- I had my eye on CLE offense as soon as I made my second pick. I sweated out them making it back to me but they did. I feel its an underrated offense without a lot of flashy/young players. More importantly the players matched up with what I needed.

Round 4- NL staff to go. I knew this was going to be a brutal wait afraid to land one of the cesspools in PHI, AZ, and COL. I thought I had a slight chance that MIL would slip. Of course MIL went right in front of me and I selected PHI. They look good on paper today with the Hamels,Lee, Papelbon trio but of course trades can happen. My best chance here is Ruben Amaro continues to be Ruben Amaro and make or not make Ruben Amaro moves. I'd be happy with 1 full season between Hamels and Lee. Maybe 1/2 per? Papelbon getting dealt is no impact with Giles ready.


Fun draft. Really enjoyed it and thank you for putting this together

Jason

[Teufel Hunden]

Few thoughts on this format:

1) Since most owners cannot agree on the value of one player, knew that predicting the placement of groups of players was fruitless. So, #2 slot was my first choice. Had Washington and Dodger pitching close to even, so wanted #2 slot to have position on #1 slot the next three rounds.
2) This is a rare format where all teams will have the same number of closers the entire season. IMO the result will be a far greater value on saves, as the entire league will probably be separated by no more than 20-25 saves. So, I wanted 90+ saves between two teams.
3) Knew that selecting hitting until pick #29 meant that I would never catch up to most teams in hitting. Decided my best chance was to use an auction studs and duds approach and dump BA. Houston fit this approach perfectly and thought there was a good chance they would slide to #29. My teams hitting ceiling is probably 45-50 points.
4) Selected Toronto pitching in round three because of the upside young arms and ability for front four to win 55+ games. Also like the fact that they will probably be buyers all season. Additionally,felt that their bullpen is very underrated and suited perfectly for this format where handcuffing is not an issue. Between the two pitching staffs ceiling is probably 65-70 points.
5) Figured going into draft that PHI or Atlanta would be my #59 pick. Both suck, but actually fit very well with plan, good SB and the low BA does not matter. This format also lends itself to teams in flux like the Braves. No need to speculate on who emerges in OF/2B when you have them all $1 away.
6) I am looking forward to the bitching when players get traded away. Wonder who the first owner will be that has a player traded from one of their teams to the other?

Very interesting format and should only improve as owners learn from their mistakes and evolve going forward.

[Bronx Yankees]

Really interesting reading about what different owners thought going into and during the draft. I definitely feel like I'd tinker with my approach having one of these under my belt.

Seems like there is/was more agreement on the half-teams to avoid than on some of the best half-teams to target. Where some saw separation, others saw equivalents and vice versa. The non-traditional snake order also added some additional strategy that helped some and hurt others.

Also interesting to think about and see how some half-teams meshed really well - or really poorly - with other half-teams. Depending on your situation, a team with just a few big time studs either can be better or worse than a team with fewer studs but more solid contributors.

Mike

[Red Sox Nation-]

I think the draft order you chose - 1-15, 15-1, 15-1, 15-1 was perfect. I think everything evened out in the end no matter where you drafted.

[Captain Hook]

In thinking about this league and how I should set my KDS, I jumped to the conclusion that the Rockies hitters and the National pitchers were the top two choices. I really thought they separated from all of the other choices.

I think the advantage of playing half of your games in Coors Field is huge for hitters. I took a quick look at last year's stats in preparation for this league. The Rockies hit 186 homers last year with Tulo missing half of the year and very little contribution from Cargo. The next highest NL team was the Cubs with 157 homers. The Rockies hit .276 as a team. The Dodgers were the only other team over .260 (they hit .265 and now are weaker offensively). The Rockies scored 755 runs last year. Only three other NL teams scored more than 670 runs and the Dodgers were the only other NL team over 700 runs (718). Thus, in terms of advantages over the rest of the field, I thought the Rockies hitters were the best choice. They were my #1 choice at least.

In terms of pitching, the Nats' pitchers also are in a class by themselves. Hell, if you go 7 starters/2 relievers, you got 5/7 of your starters with Scherzer, Strasburg, Zimmermann, Fister and Gonzalez. With Storen, you now have 6/9 of your starting pitching staff and should be able to find two decent starters and the closer from any AL team and have a great staff. Also, by picking the Nats' pitchers early, you eliminated any chance of getting stuck with the Rockies or Diamondbacks pitchers, which I viewed as two of the three worst outcomes (the other being the Braves hitters).

Mike I am surprised by your thought that Colorado was the best hitting team - yes they his 186 home runs (less than ten more than the Blue Jays) but that is the only category where they were better than the Tigers.

And you are right about the Nationals pitching staff but seem to have forgotten about the Dodgers with the best SP in baseball along with Greinke, Ryu when healthy, some other potential decent starters and one of the best closers when Jansen returns.

I thought the first two picks would go exactly as they did which is why my first two choices were spots 1,2 but after that I thought it would be better to pick at 15 and thus 16 and have the first pick in the next two rounds. But after that I thought the best spots would be in the middle of the draft so I ended up with my 5th KDS spot of #8.

(note I wrote an earlier post about this which vanished into cyberspace and I think it may have been better written with more information but a little tired now)

[Bronx Yankees]

In thinking about this league and how I should set my KDS, I jumped to the conclusion that the Rockies hitters and the National pitchers were the top two choices. I really thought they separated from all of the other choices.

I think the advantage of playing half of your games in Coors Field is huge for hitters. I took a quick look at last year's stats in preparation for this league. The Rockies hit 186 homers last year with Tulo missing half of the year and very little contribution from Cargo. The next highest NL team was the Cubs with 157 homers. The Rockies hit .276 as a team. The Dodgers were the only other team over .260 (they hit .265 and now are weaker offensively). The Rockies scored 755 runs last year. Only three other NL teams scored more than 670 runs and the Dodgers were the only other NL team over 700 runs (718). Thus, in terms of advantages over the rest of the field, I thought the Rockies hitters were the best choice. They were my #1 choice at least.

In terms of pitching, the Nats' pitchers also are in a class by themselves. Hell, if you go 7 starters/2 relievers, you got 5/7 of your starters with Scherzer, Strasburg, Zimmermann, Fister and Gonzalez. With Storen, you now have 6/9 of your starting pitching staff and should be able to find two decent starters and the closer from any AL team and have a great staff. Also, by picking the Nats' pitchers early, you eliminated any chance of getting stuck with the Rockies or Diamondbacks pitchers, which I viewed as two of the three worst outcomes (the other being the Braves hitters).

Mike I am surprised by your thought that Colorado was the best hitting team - yes they his 186 home runs (less than ten more than the Blue Jays) but that is the only category where they were better than the Tigers.

And you are right about the Nationals pitching staff but seem to have forgotten about the Dodgers with the best SP in baseball along with Greinke, Ryu when healthy, some other potential decent starters and one of the best closers when Jansen returns.

I thought the first two picks would go exactly as they did which is why my first two choices were spots 1,2 but after that I thought it would be better to pick at 15 and thus 16 and have the first pick in the next two rounds. But after that I thought the best spots would be in the middle of the draft so I ended up with my 5th KDS spot of #8.

(note I wrote an earlier post about this which vanished into cyberspace and I think it may have been better written with more information but a little tired now)

Perry - What can I say? You called the first two picks better than I did. I really thought it would go Rockies hitting and then Nats pitching. I had the Dodgers as my second best pitching team, and I probably would have taken them third if I had that spot and my top two choices were taken.

I hear what you're saying about the Tigers being better than the Rockies in most hitting categories, but, honestly, I did not look at the teams in that way. I was looking for the half-teams that had the biggest advantages within their leagues. For instance, in the AL, you had the Tigers, Red Sox, and Blue Jays as arguably the best hitting teams, with the White Sox, Angels, and possibly some other teams not that far behind. Plus, with the DH, most of the AL teams have a number of attractive players. On the NL side, however, I thought the Rockies were head and shoulders above the other teams in terms of hitting, and with a little health from Tulo and Cargo (hey, you never know, miracles do happen from time to time), the Rockies' offense could be even better than last year. I figured - maybe wrongly - that the Rockies offense with an average AL offense would be better than the best AL offense and an average NL offense. With the Rockies, I could see every hitter, with the possible exception of LeMathieu, being good enough to make the starting lineup. With every owner needing a half-team from each league, I focused on the Rockies bats as the half-team that provided the biggest advantage over the competition (and by taking the Rockies' hitters, you also could not get stuck with the Braves' hitters, who arguably are the worst half-team, along with the Rockies' pitching).

It's very interesting how folks approached this draft with different strategies and different rankings of teams. Believe me, I don't profess to be right about anything I've said here - I was just throwing my thoughts and strategies. I definitely made some misjudgments along the way. Still surprised that at 4.3 I only had two AL bats to choose from. If I had, say the Royals offense (my 11th ranked AL bats) instead of the A's offense (my 14th ranked bats), I'd feel very good about my team. Now, I feel like I'm kind of in the middle of the pack, but we'll see.

Mike