NFBC Content League

Gerry ScottoDiMarco · Post by **Gerry ScottoDiMarco** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 1:03 am

Well, it is Day 4, so it is my turn to post the draft strategy used by Team 4. The draft breakdowns to date have been very good, so hopefully I can continue that trend.

Pos Player Name Team Rd Pick

C Martinez, Victor CLE 4 57

C Bard, Josh SD 17 244

1B Swisher, Nick OAK 6 87

2B Uggla, Dan FLA 10 147

SS Hall, Bill MIL 3 34

3B Glaus, Troy TOR 8 117

MI Castillo, Luis MIN 15 214

CI Lowell, Mike BOS 20 297

OF Soriano, Alfonso CHC 1 4

OF Wells, Vernon TOR 2 27

OF Francoeur, Jeff ATL 9 124

OF Gomes, Jonny TB 23 334

OF Lane, Jason HOU 24 357

UH Helms, Wes PHI 22 327

SP Schmidt, Jason LA 11 154

SP Verlander, Justin DET 12 177

SP Capuano, Chris MIL 16 237

SP Davis, Doug ARI 18 267

SP Robertson, Nate DET 19 274

SP Washburn, Jarrod SEA 25 364

RP Papelbon, Jonathan BOS 5 64

RP Cordero, Chad WAS 7 94

RP Dempster, Ryan CHC 14 207

RP Dotel, Octavio KC 13 184

OF Hermida, Jeremy FLA 21 304

OF Langerhans, Ryan ATL 26 387

1B Garko, Ryan CLE 27 394

C LaRue, Jason KC 28 417

SP Towers, Josh TOR 29 424

RP Turnbow, Derrick MIL 30 447

Draft Strategy

I always plan to draft a fully balanced team going into a draft, since I normally participate in leagues that offer national prizes and leagues prizes, like the NFBC Main Event. I always know going into a league that there will be a few owners that try draft strategies oriented to win a league by tanking one category in an effort to gain advantage in the other nine categories, but those strategies aren’t perfect.

I wouldn’t recommend that a new fantasy baseball owner try a radical strategy, because they have to be executed flawlessly to win in highly competitive leagues. Also, by limiting yourself to a “tanking category” strategy before the draft even starts prevents you from taking advantage of players who slide during the draft. Not many players slid in the Content Panel League, but Greg Ambrosius grabbed a couple of bargains in Round 11 (Frank Thomas who lasted due to variety of factors, most importantly the Utility Hitter limitation and my need for a Starting Pitcher) and Round 12 (Tom Gordon who lasted due to 2 owners tanking saves and me having two closers in first 10 rounds). Later in the draft, some talented starting pitchers also slipped due to the “tanking wins and strikeouts” strategy employed by Team 3 (a strategy I have only seen work well in Auction and Salary Cap leagues).

Best Picks

Dan Uggla (Round 10)

Justin Verlander (Round 12)

Chris Capuano (Round 16)

Nate Robertson (Round 19)

Worst Picks

Chad Cordero (Round 7 – If I would have known 2 owners were tanking saves, I would have grabbed a hitter or starting pitcher here and grabbed an RP who like Tom Gordon who slipped to a much later round in the draft).

Troy Glaus (Round 8 - Should have drafted a guy with better Batting Average, and then drafted Joe Crede a few rounds later?)

Wes Helms (Round 22 - I thought Reed Johnson would slip 1 more round, I was wrong, and I needed an OF more than a Utility Hitter...)

Jonny Gomes (Round 23 - Another BA killer, plus TB has plenty of DH options!)

Jason Lane (Round 24 - Another Rob Deer type hitter. Probably could have drafted a better reserve for infield.)

Round 1 - I was struggling on whom to select, Santana, AROD, or Crawford. I was leaning toward Crawford, since it is the NFBC way, but when Johan went at Pick 2, my decision got a lot easier in my mind and I took Alfonso Soriano!

Round 2 - I was tempted to take ARAM in round 2, but knew 3B was deep in 2007. I decided on taking Vernon Wells, an impact OF.

Round 3 - I wanted Bill Hall in Main Event, and missed him. I like his NFBC flexibility, so I reached slightly according to the ADP Ranking. If he hits 35+ HR and Steals 15+ SB in 2007, he will likely become a first round pick in 2008.

Round 4/5 - I looked for value picks. Victor Martinez has great upside as a 4th rounder. He usually starts off slow, but his hot spring led me to believe this might be a career year for him. I took Papelbon in Round 5 to anchor my bullpen, and if he stays healthy, he could be a great value.

Round 6/7 - I wanted another power hitter, and Swisher fit the bill. Swisher had a great spring and has 1B/OF flexibility. Chad Cordero also had a great spring, and even a closer on a bad team can get 35+ Saves.

Round 8/9 - Looking for value, and I thought Glaus had slipped a little further than usual. In Round 9, I selected Franceour, who I missed out on in the Main Event.

Round 10/11 – Since, I am a value drafter, and my team was looking to be nicely balanced, I wanted a good 2B to complete my infield. Uggla seemed like a great 10th round pick, and likely slid because everyone expects a sophomore slump. Schmidt in Round 11 was a really good value in my rankings, as I thought he should go in Round 7/8. I could have done much worse for my first Starting Pitcher.

Round 12/13 – In order to continue drafting a balanced team, I needed another pitcher or two. I felt Verlander slipped, so I took him. Dotel was a strategy play, because I wanted to get the 15 league points in Saves.

Round 14/15 – I made two strategy plays at the midpoint of the draft. Dempster should keep job for a while and lock up my 15 points in Saves. If he falters, I’ll dump him when he loses the job. Luis Castillo is a good source of SB from MI position, and I was surprised he lasted so long in a league that valued speed.

Round 16/17 – With the core of my team drafted, I was looking to fill holes on my roster. Capuano is one of the pitchers who I think has upside, and Bard prevented me from needing a scrub catcher in round 28+.

Round 18/19 - I was happy with my offense, so I looked to get a few more starting pitchers with good Strikeouts and teams that could provide decent run support. Nate Robertson and Doug Davis must have been higher on my list than the rest of the league, because they were begging me to draft them.

Round 20/21 – I was looking to fill out my open hitter slots. Lowell is nice value in Round 20, and he is often underrated. Hermedia was hot in Main Event, but slid in this draft due to his poor spring and his spring training injury. Could be a decent value pick, if he can turn some of that potential into actual statistics.

Round 22/23 - Here is where my draft went a little south, in my opinion. I was looking for hitters to finish out my starting lineup, and I went for power over Average.

Round 24/25 - Just looking for reserves that could be useful. Washburn and Lane both had good springs, and I thought Washburn could go in for Dotel to start the year.

Round 26/27 - Looking for some guys with upside. Langerhans had a great spring and should get most starts in ATL outfield platoon. Garko could be huge, if he gets a chance to play on a regular basis.

Round 28/29 - Looking for players with good springs to increase my team depth. Larue is insurance at catcher, which never hurts in a very competitive league, and Josh Towers just had an awesome spring.

Round 30 - Turnbow had a great spring, and has a chance to close in the future, if an injury occurs, or if he gets traded.

My Projected Results

AB BA HR R RBI SB

7504 0.276 332 1159 1147 116

IP K W ERA WHIP SV

1545 1149 85 3.926 1.283 100

I think I drafted a nicely balanced team. In hindsight, I think an OF with good speed and batting average in Round 7 instead of Chad Cordero may have put me into a better position to win this league, but one draft pick doesn’t usually determine the final league standings, especially in a highly competitive league.

If some of my hitters improve their Batting Average in 2007 and my team stays relatively healthy, I should have a shot to remain competition for the league title.

Overall, I had a great time, and it should be interesting to see how everyone’s strategies play out.

[ April 04, 2007, 07:26 AM: Message edited by: Gerry Scotto Di Marco ]

Vander · Post by **Vander** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 3:36 am

I liked D. Davis too although I have him on a couple other teams and became more fearful of his come back from last years off year with his poor spring. since I have him I hope he works out for you this year. Benched him this week though. Playing wait and see especially with his start in Col.

Kimo · Post by **Kimo** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 7:01 am

I decided to let me two oldest kids draft the team. Paulina, 8 year old. Kimo, 6 year old. Were in charge of this league. They know enough about the players to do the first 8 rounds. Then old dad had to take over. A lot of San Diego flavor in this draft since Paulina and Kimo are more familiar with the San Diego players. Paulina and Kimo also got Rickie Weeks autograph at Spring Training, so they definitely had to get him. I gave them the goal to try and get 300 HRs, 160 SBs, with a .280 averages.

Here's their team:

C-Barrett

C-Schneider

1B-Helton

2B-Weeks

3B-Tracy

SS-Greene

MI-Barfield

CI-Nady

OF-C Lee

OF-Pierre

OF-Cameron

OF-J Jones

OF-Rios

DH-Hafner

bench-G Anderson

P-Zito

P-Escobar

P-Santana

P-Millwood

P-Wolf

P-Vargas

P-Colon

P-Gorzealany

P-Pavano

bench-made up of a bunch of other crappy pitchers

Overall, Paulina and Kimo did a good job. Also makes the season a lot easier on me and more fun for the family if you get the kids involved. Rest of the owners, please take it easy on the kids. Both of them are looking forward to finishing in the money so that they can buy their Slip'n'Slide.

Kids just saw the movie and decided to call their team, Wild Hogs.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:00 am

Nice Jim. Tell Paulina that Danielle wouldn't like it if she embarrassed her dad in this league!!

Good luck to the Ferrari clan.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:01 am

This league is now loaded in our team pages, but STATS just went off our top 23 starters for our Week 1 lineup. I've asked them to unlock each team today if possible and allow us to reset our starting lineups for Week 0 and Week 1. I'll let everyone know when this has happened. I trust every owner to start the players they intended to on Sunday night and that includes the owner who has Contreras as a starting pitcher. Hang tight for a bit and we'll give everyone a chance to set their starting lineup and backtrack the stats to Sunday's first game. Thanks all.

Edwards Kings · Post by **Edwards Kings** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 9:35 am

Sizemore. Another dinger.

Wish I had him in the NFBC!

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 9:39 am

Originally posted by Edwards Kings:

Sizemore. Another dinger.

Wish I had him in the NFBC! Wish I had him in the Content Panel League, but at least Miguel Cabrera is hitting .700 thus far!!

KJ Duke · Post by **KJ Duke** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:03 am

Greg - I'm not seeing this lge yet on the roster.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:40 am

Originally posted by KJ Duke:

Greg - I'm not seeing this lge yet on the roster. Okay, here's the latest update: Everyone please e-mail me your starting roster for Weeks 0 and 1 and I'll forward them to STATS. KJ and Perry have already done that. They will make any changes you need and update the standings this week. Then we'll be good to go with this league and run normally on Sunday.

[email protected]. Just sent it there. Thanks.

Vander · Post by **Vander** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 11:47 am

How bout that Torrealba guy? Better to be lucky than good? At least on April 4.

SluggoJD · Post by **SluggoJD** » Wed Apr 04, 2007 2:27 pm

Lineup sent via email, and PM lol

Pierzynski, Napoli, Nomar, Cano, Atkins, Hardy, Chavez, Burke, Bay, Cuddyer, Freel, Murton, Edmonds, Church, Santana, Sheets, Sabathia, Maddux, Lilly, Francis, McCarthy, Ryan, Jenks.

John

Edwards Kings · Post by **Edwards Kings** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 12:08 am

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

quote:Originally posted by Edwards Kings:

Sizemore. Another dinger.

Wish I had him in the NFBC! Wish I had him in the Content Panel League, but at least Miguel Cabrera is hitting .700 thus far!!

[/QUOTE]I know. It's Cabrera I have in the NFBC. I guess I want my cake and eat it too!

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 2:30 am

Okay, I received all of the lineup changes via e-mail from you guys last night. I sent over the last ones to STATS this morning and they are making those changes now. Sorry if they didn't all show up last night, but I wasn't working last night while I was watching my MLB Extra Innings Game Mix!!

The standings are through last night without some of the lineup changes, but we should be good to go from here on out. Thanks guys and let's keep the content going. This is definitely one league where we can analyze the draft, free agent pickups, strategies, etc., and maybe inform some newbies looking in for next year.

Oh, and The Commish Rules is off to a good start. Watch out for this team!!

Captain Hook · Post by **Captain Hook** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 5:05 am

Whose turn is it for draft writeup/analysis?

Chest Rockwell · Post by **Chest Rockwell** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 5:44 am

Originally posted by Captain Hook:

Whose turn is it for draft writeup/analysis? I think Lance but a few people have jumped so why not you Captain?

Edwards Kings · Post by **Edwards Kings** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 5:45 am

Mr. Turbes...Mr. Turbes?! You are up, Lance. Put the drink down and type.

Nutty Scrats · Post by **Nutty Scrats** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 6:32 am

Ok! I'll bite and jump in here. The ole' Scrats had the number 11 pick. I'm not very good in analysis but please bear with me as this may turn out to me a hack job! LOL

I went in thinking this is going to be fast and very challenging draft. Which I was right. I hope to have somewhat of a balance line up with everyone pitching in with a little with speed and home runs. Thought hitting was ok but not real confident with the pitching. So here it is:

Pick

1 - OF Vladimir Guerraro (1st round pick as long as he stays healthy will definitely contribute in all catagories)

2 - 1B Derreck Lee (Same a Vlad with less stolen bases but for 1B with stolen bases.

3 - 2B Brian Roberts (Stolen bases with double digit homeruns.

4 - OF Hideki Matsui (Expext big rebound year after being hurt last year)

5 - P Jeremy Bonderman (Needed an ace with decent numbers)

6 - CL Trevor Hoffman (Didn't want to get shut out in closers)

7 - SS Edgar Renteria (Should put up double digit hr's and steals)

8 - CM Adam LaRoche (Kind of a flyer not totally convinced he can get 25 hr's)

9 - CL Brian Fuentes (Wanted a 2nd closer)

10 - OF Magglio Ordonez (Steady every year hr's and rbi)

11 - 3B Joe Crede (Decent power should pitch)

12 - OF Scott Podsednik (Wanted more steals)

13 - P Mike Mussina (Need 2nd start and with Yankees should get wins)

14 - C Johnny Estrada (Didn't want to get stuck with bottom of barrel of catchers)

15 - C Bengie Molina (See above)

16 - P Anibal Sanchez (Flyer he stays healthy and should give good numbers)

17 - UT Mike Jacobs (Hr's and rbi's)

18 - MI Jhonny Peralta (Looking for rebound year)

19 - OF David Delluci

Here's where I think it went bad for pitching

20 - P Vincent Padilla (Kind of a panic pick because I couldn't decide what to do. LOL)

21 - P Jon Garland

22 - P Zack Duke (Could be a good late round pick)

23 - P Scott Linebrink (Hoffman back up)

Bench

Dustin Hermanson (Don't Ask) LOL

Jorge Cantu (Hoping he will get traded and become useable)

Marcus Thames

Brian Wilson (Hoping when he's trough touring and playing his Beach Boys music he'll close with San Fransico. LOL)

Mike Maroth

Melky Cabrera (Always seems to play at some point in he season for a extended period of time)

Juan Rivera (Hopefull will be able to stash away for mid to late year available)

Well there it is tear it up as need be! LOL

P.S. Dan (aka Doughboys) please be easy as I'm still getting over the lashing I took the last time I posted a line up! LOL

Edwards Kings · Post by **Edwards Kings** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 7:24 am

I guess I am the only one in the NFBC who is actually kind of high on Padilla(I would have taken him in the 21st if you hadn't). Miss just one or two of his blow-ups, and you have good numbers, sometimes great numbers. On the road, he gave up three ER or less in 11 out of 16 starts. At home, 10 out of 17. Four of his last six starts were of the greater than three ER variety, so he got a little tired late in the season.

Basically, two thirds of the time he can get you some quality starts. You cannot plug him in and leave him, but very few pitchers at the round you got him will.

[ April 05, 2007, 01:25 PM: Message edited by: Edwards Kings ]

Edwards Kings · Post by **Edwards Kings** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 7:29 am

Originally posted by Edwards Kings:

Sizemore. Another dinger.

Wish I had him in the NFBC! Another day, another dinger...OK...I'll shut up about this now! :rolleyes:

Captain Hook · Post by **Captain Hook** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 7:29 am

Since we are not going in order, I will post my thoughts here with permission from www.FantasyBaseball.com

One Last Draft – NFBC Style

By Perry Van Hook

FantasyBaseball.com

I should have been through with any more straight drafts and just enjoying the first game of the year, but it WAS April Fool’s Day last Sunday so there I was logging in and getting ready for my first pick at 1-9.

This wasn’t any ordinary league either. Greg Ambrosius of Krause Publications, and the Father of the National Fantasy Baseball Championship had promised members of his NFBC message board “Content Panel” (a die hard group of experienced NFBC players who submitted rankings and articles to keep the baseball talk flowing), a free entry to win an entry for a $500 satellite league for 2008. Actually to make it even more fun when scrambling to get the draft scheduled and filled, Greg had decided to play himself.

I suspected that some of the veteran competitors of this group might digress from the straight and narrow of “NFBC style drafting” in an all out effort to win this league. Surely someone would try an all reliever strategy I reasoned – while not good for competing for the overall, it was certainly effective to win a fifteen team league. Perhaps someone would try an all starter lineup and not use some valuable early and mid round picks chasing saves. While I decided against either of those, I did want to try something slightly different and if Vladimir Guerrero or Carlos Beltran were there for the ninth pick my intent was to pair them with Ichiro at 2-7 effectively duplication the Rollins/D. Lee strategy to start the draft with 50+ HR and 50+ SB and a heavy base in Runs scored and Batting average. (This presumed that Jimmy Rollins or Grady Sizemore would not slip back to me in the second round – a fairly safe bet) This would also start to put some immediate pressure on the outfield pool which has a very top heavy distribution curve. After the first two rounds I would draft for value more than need while still attempting to hit my category targets, but would not be adverse to taking a third OF right away should he be able to contribute to both categories. I suspected this disregard for positional scarcity would create some interesting choices later – BUT, I did have a plan.

Somewhat surprisingly Beltran did in fact fall to 1-9 (only a surprise because of a heavy base of East Coast drafters). Here is the first round:

Pick Player Pos Team Drafter

1-1 Jose Reyes SS NYM Kent Stermon

1-2 Johan Santana P MIN John Dean

1-3 Albert Pujols 1B STL Mike Konemann

1-4 Alfonzo Soriano OF CHC Gerry Scotto di Marco

1-5 Carl Crawford OF TB Greg Morgan

1-6 Ryan Howard 1B PHL Lance Turbes

1-7 Alex Rodriguez 3B NYY Dan Kenyon

1-8 Chase Utley 2B PHL Glenn Schroter

1-9 Carlos Beltran OF NYM Perry Van Hook

1-10 David Ortiz UT BOS David Van Der Stuyf

1-11 Vladimir Guerrero OF LAA Ed O’Donnell

1-12 Travis Hafner UT CLE Jim Ferrari

1-13 David Wright 3B NYM Kevin Dukesherer

1-14 Jimmy Rollins SS PHL Greg Ambrosius

1-15 Mark Teixeira 1B TEX Wayne Edwards

Not really any huge surprises. Teixeira was immediately paired with Sizemore, and even if I had wanted to shift gears, Hanley Ramirez was taken at 2-3 (by the only NFBC drafter who took Rollins earlier than Todd). Ichiban – my choice to lead the team in bags had arrived.

In the second round however, there was a noticeable pause before Greg Morgan selected Cardinal Ace Chris Carpenter at 2-11. This became transparent when he selected Roy Oswalt at 3-5 and we were off to the races. Little did he know that Jim Ferrari drafting from the twelve hole would also draft no closers – of course Jim waited until the tenth round to draft a pitcher which may not bode as well for the strategy. Mike Konemann waited until the ninth round to draft his first pitcher, closer Takashi Saito, the first of ten relief pitchers although it’s not clear that Saito, Wickman, Torres and Julio can hold up long enough to get him the saves he needs. He missed on Broxton but did get potential closers behind the other three. Of course only Morgan’s plan was immediately obvious.

Back to my plan, the choices in round three were Damon, Dye, B. Roberts and Pierre. Actually I thought it was a tough call between Damon and Dye and chose Johnny D. Ironically the others were the next three drafted. At 4-7 my highest ranked hitter was Carlos Guillen. I might well have tried for another 20/20 hitter at 5-9, but as the NINTH starting pitcher to be drafted and 69th overall, there was just too much value to pass on Roy Halladay. My hitting targets (Lugo, Delmon Young and Alexis Rios) all disappeared on the turn, but I was happy to add Brett Myers as my second SP.

In the seventh round the value on Scott Rolen was off the charts – in fact third base in general was ripe and since he wasn’t coming back to me, I took Alex Gordon at 8-7. At this point you are wondering what the heck I am going to do at 1B and 2B. The answer is somewhat tied together – while the first base pool is top heavy for production, it is also very deep for the 20HR, high BA types and I felt I could do well there. I had not counted on the second base targets going so quickly (Kendrick 7-3; Barfield 7-12; Kinsler 8-1; Kent 8-3), but my backup plan for either was Tampa Bay’s Ty Wigginton whose likely at bats have risen with all the Devil Ray’s roster moves. I skipped him once at 9-9 because the value for Brad Lidge was ridiculous, but grabbed him at 10-7 to make sure he could fill either the 2B or 1B slot later. Really, for 30+ HR, especially at a middle infield slot if I played him there this was a fine pick.

At 11-9 I took the Dodger’s Russell Martin, a catcher who will add double digit SB and at 12-7, rostered Arizona’s Conor Jackson for the 1B slot, making sure Wigginton’s production could stay at 2B. I would try and replicate that middle infield production value if I could get Rich Aurilia who qualifies at SS later in the draft.

Temporary (at LEAST) Ranger’s closer Akinori Otsuka was drafted in round thirteen and Aurilia way my choice at 14-7 for the MI slot. The gamble and one of many surprises for me was that Roger Clemens then slid all the way back to me at 15-9.

This was for the most part a very tight draft. Yes, there were some divergent strategies as expected, but what few minor league hopefuls that were drafted were well into the late rounds and no one’s sleepers were safe in this crowd.

Here is the team I drafted by position and (round)

C – Martin (11) & Zaun (21)

CI – C. Jackson (12), Rolen (7) & Gordon (8)

MI – Wigginton (10), C. Guillen (4) & Aurilia (14)

OF – Beltran (1), Ichiro (2), Damon (3), Blake (17) & S. Hairston (22)

UT – Kouzmanoff (20)

Reserves – T. Buck (23), N. Cruz (25), R. Braun (27), & Gload (30)

SP – Halladay (5), Myers (6), Clemens (15), Hensley (18), Pelfrey (19), & Mitre (24

RP – Lidge (9), Otsuka (13), & Weathers (16)

Reserves – MacDougal (26), Ryan Braun II (28), & Edgar Gonzalez (29)

I was miffed (stronger word appropriate, but this is a family site) that Stermon took Dan Wheeler, Lidge’s setup man and insurance policy in round 18, as I would have rostered him on my next pick even though earlier than he was usually drafted.

Sure I would rather have a stronger group of starters, but drafts like relationships are full of compromises and I like all the pitchers I drafted. Given it is only a fifteen team mixed league, the one thing plentiful in the FA pile is pitching. The hitting should be top third of the league across the board and could do better. I have a lot of flexibility and upside with the reserves I was able to get.

One of my few regrets during the draft was that Ambrosius (Iola, Wisconsin) missed the draft room comment – “this pick is for you cheesehead” that proceeded my pick of the Brewers Ryan Braun. At least he noticed RBII on the flip side.

It was a great draft – we finished in three hours for the 450 picks and had some great banter between the drafters. I can hardly wait to see each drafter’s write-ups and the season long smack.

[ April 05, 2007, 01:31 PM: Message edited by: Captain Hook ]

sportsbettingman · Post by **sportsbettingman** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:16 am

Originally posted by Edwards Kings:

Mr. Turbes...Mr. Turbes?! You are up, Lance. Put the drink down and type.

I must have missed team 5. OK...I'm on it! (But the drink stays on the table!)

~Lance

sportsbettingman · Post by **sportsbettingman** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 9:51 am

Drafting out of the 6 hole, I had dreams of a Carl Crawford led team crash when "the other Greg" drafted him from the 5 spot. I then was debating between Big Papi and Howard to captain my squad...figuring either of these two could pop 50+ HR's and 120+ RBI's, while keeping their avg. respectable. That to me would be a nice start...almost like having a killer 40HR/100RBI guy...and lopping those other 10 HR's/20RBI's onto someone like BJ Uptons numbers! I went with Ryan Howard due to his 1B eligibility.

I'd have loved for Carlos or Derrek Lee, or Ichiro to fall to me in round 2, but settled for another masher in Manny Ramirez. I rounded out my trifecta of 40+ HR potential hitters in round 3 with Paul Konerko.

Having my heart crushed with no real closers in the main...I planned on jumping on a couple closers early and be done with that damn "SAVES" category...like there's no pressure in the 8th inning with a 1 run lead...or there's no pressure on the pitcher in the 9th or 10th inning of a tie ball game...but those categories aren't tracked. Did I just go on a Rant? I really hoped to grab F "K" Rod and Papelbon...but "settled" for Billy Wagner and Huston Street in the 4th and 5th rounds. I liked the guys I got, and won't have to waste roster space grabbing their unclearly defined backups.

I was pleased to grab a couple "Aces" to anchor my staff to in Rich Harden and Cole Hamels in the 6th and 7th rounds. Seemed to have healthy springs...and I'm not one to shy away from the highly talented players the majority label as risky...THAT'S for sure.

Van Der Stuyf upset me again (first time with K-Rod) when he selected Mark Teahen a few spots before me...I decided to grab BJ Upton in the 8th, and hope he qualifies all over the place by the All-Star break (2nd base???) so I can maximize my UTI slot. The speed was needed.

I then went after my OF in round 9, 10, 11 and 13 with slugger Barry Bonds (looked healthy for the first time in 3 years), Kenny Lofton (speed), Ken Griffey Jr., and Jose Guillen (Nice when they play...and if on the DL...I can "stream" in some other players...and when combined...hope for some solid production!) I'll be using that DL Fri-Sun lineup do-dad plenty in '07.

To fill my MI...I had planned on a couple guys who wouldn't hurt avg., and had speed. I grabbed Omar Vizquel in the 12th, but waited too long on targeted Luis Castillo (who di Marco got a couple spots before me in the 15th).

Filling in my SP holes I grabbed John "shelled" Patterson, and Daniel "2008 NFBC top 10 SP" Cabrera, and James Shields in the 14th, 16th and 18th rounds. I grabbed targeted C Chris Iannetta in the 15th, but missed out on my boy Napoli later in the draft.

I added a player I think will shine in 2007 in Kaz Matsui in the 17th, and old pimple-back himself...Sammy Sosa in the 19th.

I'll wait a few weeks for my man Matt Garza, but secured his services in the 20th round. I then grabbed De Aza for his speed potential in the 21st, and Mike Sweeney for his spot in the Royals batting order in the 22nd.

My "free agent money savers...aka...bench filler-uppers" Pedro Martinez, Mark Prior, and Josh Johnson were my 23rd, 24th and 26th round selections. I grabbed SP Edwin Jackson as a live/breathing body for my staff...remembering his touts words of days gone by of his vast potential...maybe he's matured in the years that have passed?

I drafted Jose...I mean Javier Valentin as catcher #2 in the 27th, and my boy Mark Ellis (forgotten man) in the 28th.

Homer Bailey and Hunter Pence in the 29th and 30th (along with my benched wounded) will keep my eye on rotoworld for signs of life...a very happy eye indeed!

Great league! I get a chance at sweet revenge on my man Chesty...we all get to show "The Greg" what's what...I get to face off against a fellow Pirate, some message board monsters, and some past champions...as well as getting a rare glimpse into the minds of some talented fantasy baseball players! (via their free agent bidding!!!)

Cheers to this league...may you all come in 2nd!

~Lance

sportsbettingman · Post by **sportsbettingman** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 5:33 am

You're up Danny Boy!

Edwards Kings · Post by **Edwards Kings** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 5:57 am

Originally posted by sportsbettingman:

Drafting out of the 6 hole, I had dreams of a Carl Crawford led team crash when "the other Greg" drafted him from the 5 spot. I then was debating between Big Papi and Howard to captain my squad...figuring either of these two could pop 50+ HR's and 120+ RBI's, while keeping their avg. respectable. That to me would be a nice start...almost like having a killer 40HR/100RBI guy...and lopping those other 10 HR's/20RBI's onto someone like BJ Uptons numbers! I went with Ryan Howard due to his 1B eligibility.

~Lance Great write-up Lance, but one question. During the draft I was surprised when A-Rod made it to seventh. It looks like it was Crawford, Howard, Papi, or bust for you.

You must really be down on him...and in your write-up it made it sound like you never even considered him. Why?

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 5:59 am

Originally posted by sportsbettingman:

You're up Danny Boy! Thanks Lance, I'll try to post it this evening, gotta run.