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Okay, Shawn Childs and myself have plenty of baseball stories to tell about our trip to Phoenix this weekend for the LABR League drafts. We're both going to be online on Wednesday at 6 ET for a Live Chat about the two auctions we participated in. There was also a mixed draft that weekend that maybe I can find the results for. Come and join us tomorrow and feel free to ask plenty of questions in advance.



Shawn won't reveal any of his sleepers, but he certainly needs to be here to explain why the hell we spent $190 on six players in the NL Auction League!!



Here's one of the questions from USA Today that they are using for the article: Which player do you wish you had gone the extra buck for?



My answer: I think we did go the extra buck for every player!!!



See ya tomorrow night for a fun, fun chat.

Shawn,

After each and every draft, I beat myself up for one thing or another. Makes me wish I had the bravado of a Gekko .

How do you usually feel after a draft, be it an auction or a serpentine?

Do you look at the possible holes as soon as the draft is completed?

Go back and see where you may have improved?

Have you ever looked back, and said, "That was the best I could have done."

I'll post a couple of my stories here so that folks know what we're talking about:



Shawn may have posted our NL-only LABR team this morning, but he didn't reveal the details. I'll do that here:



We had discussed before going to the auction that we were going to be aggressive and get four of the top stars because we both agreed that the NL was top heavy with stars early and then there were a lot of $15-$20 guys who all had issues. We felt if we took some of the stars out early that it would push inflated values on the next tier of players, especially if we grabbed the top infielders.



Early on we let Pujols go to Perry at a good price of $41, Hanley go for $42, then Wright went for $36 and Fielder for $37 and Kemp for $38 and we thought we were in trouble. Our plan to be aggressive was being trumped by others and we didn't have a player through about 8 bids. Shawn turned to me and said "I have a bad feeling. This isn't going well."



We both laughed and then he proceeded to spend my LABR money luck a drunken sailor!! My blood pressure went through the rough!!



We spent $190 of our $260 in the next 30 minutes on SIX PLAYERS!! That left us with $70 for EIGHTEEN PLAYERS!!! We didn't get all of our targeted players, but we moved when we had to and came out with:



Ryan Howard $35

Tim Lincecum $36

Matt Holliday $32

Rickie Weeks $16



I was okay so far, but then out of the blue Jose Reyes was at $25 and Shawn jumped in at the last second and said "$26." I turned to him with a cold stare and said "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" By then the auctioneer said SOLD!!



So we got Weeks and Reyes back-to-back and everyone was hootin' and hollerin' about that. Tulowitzki comes out next and Wolf & Colton -- who also like to go with many top stars -- had him at $30 with the auctioneer going "ONCE, TWICE" "THIRTY ONE" shouts Shawn!!!



I couldn't believe we were adding him too!! Sure enough they let him go to us and we now have $70 left with 18 open spots to go. I couldn't believe it.



During the break Rick Wolf of NBC Sports came over to me and said "wow, you got some sun today. Your face is all red." I told him it rained all day and we never got outside. The red was from my blood pressure!! And that was the truth.



We then sat for about two hours and added Chris Young for $14, leaving us with $56 for 17 players. It was a battle but we were patient, saw how many second tier players went for $2-$4 higher each and eventually we had as much money as everyone else. In fact, we were disciplined enough to be at $22 for 11 players and still finished with only three $1 players. Having that extra buck down the stretch really helped us fill in this roster.



Now I have no idea how this is going to play out, but I now like this NL team better than the AL team. Remember, it's a trading league and we should be able to trade steals for saves or power for more pitching later. Obviously we need Weeks, Reyes and others to stay healthy and we need Lincecum to perform like he has before. But I now see the madness in this strategy and it was fun to watch it unfold -- except for in the beginning. What a crazy night, but what fun.



Shawn, you almost killed me there. $70 with 18 spots left was something I've never done before. But I can see us doing it again next year if this works.



[ March 09, 2010, 07:31 PM: Message edited by: Greg Ambrosius ]

Greg,

What will be your guys team name? I like "Straight Butter".

Shawn must be tring to get Reyes out of his system before the real drafts begin.

Originally posted by FFBL23:

Greg,

What will be your guys team name? I like "Straight Butter". I hadn't thought of that one. But we're going for maximum exposure for the NFBC, so it will likely be NFBC. Seeing that on the top of the standings looks much better than Straight Butta.

Will you guys go with this team name?





Superchildsbuysfragileplayerandticksoffgregambrosius

ROFL classic Quahogs!

Originally posted by Quahogs:

Will you guys go with this team name?





Superchildsbuysfragileplayerandticksoffgregambrosius One of the funniest things I've read in a very long time.



You are my idol!

Does LABR have insurance?



[ March 09, 2010, 11:04 PM: Message edited by: DOUGHBOYS ]

Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:

Does LABR have insurance? No, but Shawn almost needed it after he said "$26" on Reyes!



But one thing to remember about LABR is that nobody cares who finishes second or third or is even close in points. The goal of LABR and Tout Wars is to WIN YOUR LEAGUE. Nothing else. And to win in this league, you have to take chances, so I'm starting to warm up to this team. In fact, now that we're done, I like this NL team more than the AL. We'll see how it plays out, but I like it now.



But as Shawn can tell you, I didn't like it when we had $70 for 18 players. Wow, that was a rough feeling.

Remember, we're going to have a fun chat tonight. I see there are 91 people on the boards today, so let's get to 100+ tonight for our Live Chat. See ya there.

Okay, I'll ask a few questions for Shawn and give him time to prepare his answers. I want to see these answers at 6:00 sharp, buster!!



1. Why did you laugh after I gave you that staredown when you said "$26" for Jose Reyes? Was laughter appropriate after we just bought Rickie Weeks for $16?



2. Explain why you went $31 for Tulowitzki right after we got Reyes for $26? I'm not asking why we took Tulo, just asking you to explain to the group why we didn't want the Rotoworld.com team to get him at $31. There was logic to this one and I'm all for it, but it will be good to explain to the masses what Rotoworld.com was doing and how we didn't want them to beat us at our own game.



I have other questions, but I need to get my aggressions out at hoops right now. Someone else is paying for your dirty deeds this past weekend!!

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

just asking you to explain to the group why we didn't want the Rotoworld.com team to get him at $31. There was logic to this one and I'm all for it, but it will be good to explain to the masses what Rotoworld.com was doing and how we didn't want them to beat us at our own game.I believe that was the final clause of the NBC/Rotoworld-NFBC partnership agreement.

I was fortunate enough to be in the draft room on Sunday night while Greg and Shawn were bidding on their NL team. I don't think I've ever seen Greg as stressed or concerned as he was after they drafted Reyes and then subsequently got Tulo as well. Greg, I hope you were able to put a smile on your face before the draft/night was over.

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

Okay, I'll ask a few questions for Shawn and give him time to prepare his answers. I want to see these answers at 6:00 sharp, buster!!



1. Why did you laugh after I gave you that staredown when you said "$26" for Jose Reyes? Was laughter appropriate after we just bought Rickie Weeks for $16?



Now isn't this like the Detroit Lions organization poking fun on why the Patriots wasted a pick drafting Tom Brady?

Shawn,



1. Would you have drafted different if Greg was not sweating profusely next to you?



2. Was there a particular team that you were impressed with both AL and NL?



Greg,



1. What player or players would definitely not have been on your team if you were going it alone?



2. When you walked into those Draft rooms, did you get the feeling those guys were thinking.............



1) Ya high stakes my arse!

2) Man, that is a sweet mustache.

3) Oh crap, these guys mean business

4) Did Greg bring his son with him?



All in fun Greg.

Originally posted by Quahogs:

quote:Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

Okay, I'll ask a few questions for Shawn and give him time to prepare his answers. I want to see these answers at 6:00 sharp, buster!!



1. Why did you laugh after I gave you that staredown when you said "$26" for Jose Reyes? Was laughter appropriate after we just bought Rickie Weeks for $16?



Now isn't this like the Detroit Lions organization poking fun on why the Patriots wasted a pick drafting Tom Brady? [/QUOTE]Ouch. Well played, Mr. Jupinka.



I don't think even the Lions felt the Patriots had pulled a fast one on the league when they drafted Brady, but they look like geniuses now. I sure hope we have the ring when this season ends as well.



Don't get me wrong, I'm a Reyes fan. I've had him in the XFL for five years and have him on that keeper league team today. I've picked him in the second round in a couple of magazine drafts. I think he can bounce back, and if you're playing to win this prestigious league title, you need a guy like Reyes to come through for you. It was just the timing of the pick after Weeks and when I knew we had talked about a shortstop we wanted to still get. I didn't realize he was still going to go get him after we won this bid.

ahh.. you know im just bustin'. This will be a fun one to follow this year.

Childs - Who closes in Minny?

Childs - How much concern do you have for Pujols's back condition?



Pujols has been left out of the Cardinals' spring lineups since Monday and was scratched at the last minute this afternoon. He told reporters that his back is weak.

shawn- the yankees have said it is an "open competition" for the 5th starter role between joba and hughes. with joba now having given up 503 runs in 5 innings how many more shellings before hughes is named the starter? if joba continues to get shelled and is named the starter was the competition as "open" as the bidding for government contracts is with the city of chicago?

I'm looking at the USA Today Mixed Draft League that will also be unveiled in the special fantasy baseball issue, two weeks from now. It's a bit surprising, but interesting. We have yet to have a pay league with Albert Pujols NOT going first overall, but he went second in this league. Lawr Michaels of Mastersball.com and an NFBC competitor this year, took:



1. Hanley Ramirez

2. Albert Pujols

3. Ryan Braun

4. Alex Rodriguez

5. Matt Kemp

6. Chase Utley

7. Miguel Cabrera

8. Tim Lincecum

9. Mark Teixeira

10. Evan Longoria

11. Prince Fielder

12. Kevin Youkilis



Thoughts?

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

I'm looking at the USA Today Mixed Draft League that will also be unveiled in the special fantasy baseball issue, two weeks from now. It's a bit surprising, but interesting. We have yet to have a pay league with Albert Pujols NOT going first overall, but he went second in this league. Lawr Michaels of Mastersball.com and an NFBC competitor this year, took:



1. Hanley Ramirez

2. Albert Pujols

3. Ryan Braun

4. Alex Rodriguez

5. Matt Kemp

6. Chase Utley

7. Miguel Cabrera

8. Tim Lincecum

9. Mark Teixeira

10. Evan Longoria

11. Prince Fielder

12. Kevin Youkilis



Thoughts? Invite team 12 to come to Chicago.

Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:

Shawn,

After each and every draft, I beat myself up for one thing or another. Makes me wish I had the bravado of a Gekko .

How do you usually feel after a draft, be it an auction or a serpentine?

Do you look at the possible holes as soon as the draft is completed?

Go back and see where you may have improved?

Have you ever looked back, and said, "That was the best I could have done." Which of the above described your feelings best, after your draft with Greg?