Thanks for reading, hopefully this will get me back into posting regularly. Don’t be surprised if the next one is about Kyle Orton.

johnmarkvenrick

Ryan Dempster appears to be completely back. I’m sorry I panicked.

Carlos Pena should sit against lefties, $10 mil. be damned (Jeff Baker should get these starts, and be sprinkled in wherever else we can get him in).

Tyler Colvin either needs to play or get sent down to Iowa. A platoon with Soriano wouldn’t be a terrible idea, or trade Byrd and slide Fukadome and Johnson to CF.

Justin Verlander might be the best pitcher in the majors. I find it easy to imagine a Halladay type dominance if he were pitching in the NL, but with more K’s.

Matt Garza is a lot better than I gave him credit for.

Mike Fontenot’s splits are very odd(.400/.512/.882 vs lhp and .137/.228/.275 vs rhp), particularly considering he displayed no platoon split in the minors and a normal albeit it not all that pronounced one to date in the majors.. His 3 year averages coming into this year were .241/.292/.345 vs lhp and .272/.341/.425 vs rhp. He has been an abysmal pinch hitter this season, which probably slants his rhp numbers downward. If we take his 0 for 12 in pinch hit appearances out of the mix his overall line of .206/.304/.426 becomes .250/.421/.518 and his line vs rhp becomes .179/.289/.359, which still isn’t great, but one assumes given his career numbers that he should see a bump in production vs rhp, and his lhp always encompasses a smaller sample size, so while regression is expected, it could end up being useful. Just stop pinch hitting him (on a historical side note, he historically bats well hitting 6th or 8th but not nearly as well batting 7th).

Dan Haren is very good at pitching.

Andrew McCutchen has been fairly awful.

Derrek Lee seems done. I’ve always liked him, but he should probably hang it up.

Aramis Ramirez seems like little more than a right handed Todd Helton this year.

How about the Rays since that abysmal start? They have been tearing things up, and James Shields is someone I should have bought into more.

I am not buying the Indians at all.

Who thought the Twins would be this terrible?

Jose Bautista is definitely legit.

Much as I would like it to be the case, I am not sold on Darwin Barney as a .300 hitter.

I never realized how infrequently Robinson Cano walks.

People I expect to see decline significantly: Ryan Howard, Lance Berkman, Michael Young, Todd Helton

People I expect to see pick it up: David Wright, Justin Upton, Jayson Werth, Aubrey Huff

Jair Jurrjens is the era leader?

King Felix and CC Sabathia are people I always thought were not as good as their perceptions would have suggested (especially Sabathia).

I would rather have C.J. Wilson than Sabathia and I would rather have Haren than Felix.

People I expect to see decline significantly, pitching edition: Franscisco Cordero (His whip is 1.08 at the moment, and I think it will be closer to 2 than that number when all is said and done), Fausto Carmona, Justin Masterson, Zach Britton, A.J. Burnett

People I expect to see pick it up, pitching edition: Ryan Dempster (Cheating here, he has already started to), John Danks, Jordan Zimmerman, Ted Lilly

AL Cy Young Predictions: 1st: Justin Verlander, 2nd: Dan Haren, 3rd: James Shields

NL Cy Young Predictions: 1st: Jamie Garcia, 2nd: Tim Lincecum, 3rd: Roy Halladay

AL MVP predictions: 1st: Jose Bautista, 2nd: Ben Zobrist, 3rd: Miguel Cabrerra

NL MVP predictions: 1st: Joey Votto, 2nd: Matt Kemp, 3rd: Ryan Braun

Go Mavs. Let’s get a title.

Ron Paul is running for president again. Does anybody care?

I hate blue dog Democrats.

I like the Daily Show, but let’s stop it with the segments where Jon Stewart raps.

I am really liking Sports Show with Norm Macdonald. Check it out, it’s hilarious.

I would very much like to see Mike Quade get fired. He is a terrible manager, and the Cubs deserve better.

I haven’t talked about Osama’s death, and I am going to keep this short, but while I am glad he’s not going to be planning any other attacks, it’s hard not to be ambivalent when I see people mindlessly cheer death under any circumstances. Seriously? Chanting USA? Let’s react to such things in a thoughtful manner, also let’s stop calling it justice. It’s revenge. It would be justice if it brought back all of the people who were needlessly slaughtered, but it doesn’t.

Sharp aged cheddars are just fantastic.

Thanks for reading. Peace out.

NowWhat Boghogs (2nd place 145 points, .5 points out of 1st place, Last week: 1st) [20 team mixed roto league, standard scoring]

Not a lot of change here, still lagging behind in power, still middle of the road whip and era, nice K’s and runs. I am still liking this team overall, though the offense could stand to start clicking more. Only 3 people on this team batted higher than .250 in the last 7 days (Starlin Castro has been scorching, with his .536, 7 runs, 1hr, 5rbi, and 2 steals in the last week). John Buck has been particularly brutal (.111, 2 runs, 1 rbi).  Dan Haren has continued to be every bit the ace I expected him to be, Hochevar and Gorzelanny were solid, and Dempster has continued to get K’s and allow hits in bunches. I am still expecting Dempster’s era and whip to come to 3.85 and 1.30ish levels. Jason Marquis is looking good as well, though Nathan losing the closer gig is going to hurt. A league this deep has most people with save potential already snatched up, but hopefully Soria can hold down the fort there until Nathan gets it back.

Tattoine Jawas (1st place 86.5 points, Last week: Tied 1st) [11 team roto mixed keeper league, net steals and obp instead of steals and avg]

I am still puzzled with the lack of anything good to say about this team in the net steals department. Excepting Aaron Hill of all people (who is starting to heat up and is inexplicably 7 ahead of Andrew McCutchen in the net steals category). He has 6 steals in 16 games this year while having a total of 8 in 296 games over the last two years. I have no idea what to make of this honestly. Pretty much everything is going fairly well here, and Randy Wells should start throwing soon and hopefully the pitching will improve when he gets back. Pablo Sandoval hasn’t been batting well over the last week, but half of his hits were home runs over the time period, so it could be worse.

Krikkit Kobolds (1st Place 75 Points, Last Week: 4th) [Standard 10 team roto mixed league]

Everything that was true of this team last week is still true, but none the less, things are going better. Drew Stubbs and Justin Upton are the resident hot bats here (Each hit 2 home runs and is batting .360 ish in the last week, Smoak is also heating up), and Mike Napoli didn’t manage a hit over the last week. Michael Bourn swiped 5 bags and scored 8 runs. Liriano and Helleckson have both been pretty bad in the rotation, but Danks was solid and of course Haren was a stud as noted earlier.

Generic Generics (4th Place overall, 3rd place division, 25-12-3, .5 games out of first, Last Week: 4th/3rd) [14 team mixed weekly head to head 10X10 league]

I played the first place team here, and was able to get a game closer, so it was a good week here. The top 4 teams in our division have better records than the first place team in the other division. The K to BB ratio is another area where having Dan Haren has been absurdly helpful (7 to 1 for the last week 13.5 to 1 for the season). James McDonald was very bad, and Ted Lilly has not been as good as I would have anticipated. This team may have been the most offensive (in a bad way) from a batting average perspective, with 5 people batting below .200 for the last week and another at .208. Jay Bruce is getting it together though.

Deathhill Deathmoles (2nd place, 818 points, 44.75 points out of 1st place, Last Week: 3rd) [14 team NL Only total season points league]

I am finding this league to be working out much better than I could have hoped. Marcum performed nicely in his lone start. Not much for me to add here.

Vogosphere Vogons (Tied 7th place, 92.5 points, 31.5 points out of first place, Last Week: 5th) [10 team AL only 9x9 roto league]

This is my one team that doesn’t look like it has the chops to compete. I am not sure where to begin, though getting some holds would be a nice start. I have the only team in this league without one. This team is just mediocre and I plan on looking at the waivers and maybe exploring some trades.

Thanks for reading.

NowWhat Boghogs (1st place 156.5 points) [20 team mixed roto league, standard scoring]

This team is actually doing a nice job in most categories with middle of the pack ERA and Home Runs, but overall I am feeling very good about the performance of this team thus far. Uggla and James Loney have been very cold to start the season (.176 and .161 avg respectively), Shane Victorino has been swinging a hot bat, but has yet to go long, and Pierre and Crisp have both provided some nice steals already. From the pitching side of things, Haren and Ian Kennedy have both been solid, and Dempster hasn’t been great, but he’s still getting nice K’s (Quade is leaving him in too long, but hopefully he’s learning his lesson and Dempster will only be in beyond the 6th when he’s being efficient with his pitches). Hochevar hasn’t been great, but that wasn’t expected anyway. Overall, I am feeling good about this team.

Tattoine Jawas (Tied 1st 81 points) [11 team roto mixed keeper league, net steals and obp instead of steals and avg]

This league is seeing my team suffer in the net steals category (we are the worst in the league), but with Bourn, McCutchen and Davis (when he’s healthy) we should make a run in that category. Once again we are middle of the pack in Whip and ERA, but like most of my teams, K’s are strong, and the saves have been good as well. Stephen Drew being in the lineup should help here and there, but again I am kind of liking this team.

Krikkit Kobolds (4th Place 67 Points, 9 points out of 1st place) [Standard 10 team roto mixed league]

Not surprisingly, this team is also first in k’s, and is middle of the pack in ERA and Whip. Wins have been a bit on the unlucky side, but the offensive side of things are going well here. I think some improvement from the likes of Dempster, Danks, and C.J. Wilson can be expected and this team will move up in Whip and ERA. Ryan Braun is killing the ball, and being every bit the top 10 player people could have hoped for, and Neil Walker has been playing well als0. I think this team could make a run, but the pitching has to improve.

Generic Generics (4th Place overall, 3rd place division, 16-4, 1.5 games out of first) [14 team mixed weekly head to head 10X10 league]

We got crushed in walks, quality starts and wins, but other than that this team performed very well, though some of that was just the match up. The saves came in bunches. Konerko and Zimmerman have been performing well, Ted Lilly has been brutal, but that should change. I am not crazy about this team, but it can be better than its numbers have been so far.

Deathhill Deathmoles (3rd place, 488.5 points, 21.75 points out of 1st place) [14 team NL Only total season points league]

This team is performing well despite Jay Bruce providing less points than Stephen Drew has in a weekend’s worth of days, and we should see his production tick up. Pitching has been solid, but not outstanding, Randy Wells actually turned out a nice amount of points but then went on the DL. I feel better about this team than I did initially, but I can’t see Montero keeping up his pace. This team has a nice chance of winning this thing, and I did not leave the draft thinking that.

Vogosphere Vogons (5th place, 102.5 points, 14.5 points out of first place) [10 team AL only 9x9 roto league]

This team leads the league in k’s from a batter’s perspective, and unfortunately it’s a counting stat. Waiting for 1b and grabbing Derrek Lee was a terrible call. This team has 7 people batting below .200. I can’t imagine that will stay that low. Aside from Haren, Wilson and Danks, the pitching is weak. Matt Thornton hasn’t been amazing (though Pierre is to blame for some of that). I hope I am wrong here, but my relatively limited AL chops have lead to this being a pretty bad team. Maybe I am wrong, but I believe this will easily be my worst team of this fantasy baseball season. Next week’s post should be fleshed out a bit more, but this is the basic format we will see this post undertake.

Don’t be too surprised to see another article this week, but no guarantees.

Catcher: Geovany Soto ($9), Kurt Suzuki ($1)

I have been harping about the depth of the catcher position, but sometimes I feel like grabbing someone other than John Buck (who I actually did grab for $5 in FAAB to replace Suzuki) and having someone more reliable, and Soto provides top notch obp, as one of the only Cubs with plate discipline. 5 catchers went for $13 or more, so it’s not like I didn’t get some value here (Mauer topping out at $22, both Posey [$17] and Santana [$16] went for more than McCann[$15] which I thought was odd). If Matt Wieters ever puts it together, he will be a fantastic value as a $1 catcher. There weren’t any amazingly bad picks here.

First Base:  Carlos Pena ($7), Ike Davis ($4), Derrek Lee ($5)

Carlos Pena is someone I really like here, because the obp categorie almost ensures he is a great value, assuming he plays even just well enough to not lose his job. Not to mention people went crazy buying 1B’s (Votto $42, Pujols $45, Gonzalez $31, Fielder $26) and even Adam Laroche went for $11. I had a lot of money to play around with based on my decision to wait on a first baseman. I really liked the Cabrera buy for $29, he is clearly more than $3 above Fielder, and there’s no way he’s $13 or $16 less valuable than Votto and Pujols respectively. Ike Davis slots as my middle infielder, and I’m fine with that.  I grabbed Lee with the intention of slotting him in my UTIL, but I moved my 6th OF there right after the draft. I do have a little Depth at 1B now though.

Second Base: Aaron Hill ($13)

I bought Aaron Hill for a decent price, and I feel like he’s going to get that avg (and by extension obp) up, but at the moment he’s killing me. I still believe he’s going to be fine, and he’s going to provide some nice power numbers when all is said and done. Canoe went for $40, which seems insane considering that no other 2B went for more than $20. I like Uggla at $20 and hate Kinsler there (when all is done Kinsler will probably play 100 games and end up around 15 home runs or so). Kelly Johnson at $12 is another nice buy for this position.

Third Base: Pablo Sandoval ($11)

I hate Pablo Sandoval. I realized I had made it far too late in the auction without a 3B, and got stuck with someone I think is honestly a below average hitter. I hope I am wrong for the sake of my team, but he sucks. Casey McGehee went for $11 as well, and I would much rather have him. Longoria $39, Zimmerman $29, and Wright $30 were all people I was in on but didn’t stay in. Bautista going for $24 seemed high, but if the power stays for the most part this will be a nice buy. I like Ramirez at $15, and considered going a little higher on him as well, even if his effort cost the Cubs a double play in the 1st yesterday that would have completely changed the complexion of their eventual loss.

Shortstop: Stephen Drew ($11)

The injury not withstanding, I thought Drew would provide some nice pop and average speed, particularly with one team appearing to crush on power (He has Pujols, Hanley, Tulo, Uggla, Bautista, Teixeira, and Howard, though his pitching is fairly suspect and he appears to be punting saves) so I found myself trying to play catch up, and I don’t see a lot of people who have more power upside than Drew from this position. Hanley and Tulo went for $38 and $32, which is a crazy amount to spend on short stops, but I suspect the owner will try to move one of them before too long to try and land a 3rd starter better than Josh Beckett.

Outfield: Ryan Braun ($38, LF), Andrew McCutchen ($21, CF), Nelson Cruz ($26, RF), Michael Bourn ($14), Raji Davis ($9), Raul Ibanez ($1)

I spent a lot of money on my outfield (More on the top two than I spent on every infielder on my roster), and I like the production I look to get here, though people like Bourn also were partially to blame for my looking specifically to power later. I might have overpaid on Braun, but I would do it again. He’s a tool, but he’s a great player. Crawford went for $40, and I would rather have Braun. BJ Upton at $14 is a nice buy, as is Jay Bruce at $16 (I was in on Bruce for a second). Cargo for $34 is fine if we assume last year is closer to the baseline than the ceiling, though I don’t necessarily believe that.

Starting Pitchers: Dan Haren ($17), Matt Cain ($15), Matt Garza ($11), Max Scherzer ($10), Ryan Dempster ($6), Randy Wells ($1), Tom Gorzelanny ($1)

I think my pitching is fine, and Haren and Cain are nice 1/2 combo. Garza is looking bad, and honestly his 12 k’s during the draft led me to overpay for him (I was watching the Cubs at the time). Dempster is a nice boost to K’s for the price, and I like Wells this year (DL stint not withstanding) and Gorzelanny figures to keep my k’s up in the event of needing to be put in because of an injury. Haren at $17 looks nice when we consider some of the other prices pitching went for: Lee $26, Halladay $37, Jiminez $17 (I don’t think Ubaldo is close to being Haren’s equal), Hernandez $32, Lincecum $35, and Lester $23. I feel like I got good value for my money spent here.

Relief Pitchers: Carlos Marmol ($13), Chris Perez ($8), J.J. Putz ($6), Joel Hanrahan ($1)

My original plan was to grab two closers and an elite setup man, but people weren’t biting on closers late, so I ended up with 4 of them. People by and large weren’t paying anything for saves, and two teams punted completely with a 3rd having only one closer and a 4th who drafted Rodney and League, but Rodney has already lost his job and League will when Aardsma returns in all likelyhood. Which means competing for saves for the other teams guarantees at minimum 5 points, at least until some waver magic or trades can be pulled off. I am giving strong consideration to trying to move Putz in a deal to one of the teams who isn’t completely punting saves to try and improve my offense slightly. I wish I had known how cheap saves would be going in… but given that this is a long term league, I will try to remember that for next year.

Here are the rosters as presently constructed.

http://games.espn.go.com/flb/leaguerosters?leagueId=176304

I like my chances of winning this league, I should be top tier in saves and k’s when all is said and done, and figure to compete in all of the offensive categories, I would like to upgrade here or there, but we shall see what savvy trades and waver wire work can do to help in that goal. Look for the week one article in the next day or two, maybe along with a general reaction to the first week of action with a fantasy slant but not relating specifically to any of my leagues.

Round: 1
(1) Team BALCO – Albert Pujols 1B
(2) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Hanley Ramirez SS
(3) Maryland Bigmen – Carl Crawford LF
(4) Team Yoakum – Evan Longoria 3B
(5) Winnemucca WTF’s – Joey Votto 1B
(6) Let Him Smoke – Ryan Braun LF
(7) NowWhat BogHogs – David Wright 3B
(8) Team Moody – Adrian Gonzalez 1B
(9) Team Picot – Robinson Cano 2B
(10) An Uproar of Penguins – Miguel Cabrera 1B
(11) Philly Fireballers 2 – Carlos Gonzalez LF
(12) A Favor House Atlantic – Troy Tulowitzki SS
(13) Who’s your Padre? – Matt Holliday LF
(14) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Roy Halladay SP
(15) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Tim Lincecum SP
(16) Team Sackett – Felix Hernandez SP
(17) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Alex Rodriguez 3B
(18) Slider Speed Chin Music – Ryan Zimmerman 3B
(19) Nearly Perfect Wood – Matt Kemp CF
(20) Team DeJesus – Mark Teixeira 1B

I wanted to address the shallow 3b position, so I took David Wright a touch early (was hoping Longoria would fall). I feel alright about this, his average should be solid along with the nice steals and home runs. I like Tulo at 12, and really like Miggy at 10. I conversely hate Gonzalez at 8 and Teixeira pretty much anywhere before 40. I know he’ll never fall that far, but I think he’s overrated.
Round: 2
(21) Team DeJesus – Jon Lester SP
(22) Nearly Perfect Wood – Nelson Cruz RF
(23) Slider Speed Chin Music – Josh Hamilton CF
(24) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Dustin Pedroia 2B
(25) Team Sackett – Kevin Youkilis 1B
(26) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Prince Fielder 1B
(27) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Cliff Lee SP
(28) Who’s your Padre? – Shin-Soo Choo RF
(29) A Favor House Atlantic – Ryan Howard 1B
(30) Philly Fireballers 2 – Joe Mauer C
(31) An Uproar of Penguins – Justin Upton RF
(32) Team Picot – CC Sabathia SP
(33) Team Moody – Ian Kinsler 2B
(34) NowWhat BogHogs – Dan Uggla 2B
(35) Let Him Smoke – Andrew McCutchen CF
(36) Winnemucca WTF’s – Jose Reyes SS
(37) Team Yoakum – Adam Dunn 1B
(38) Maryland Bigmen – Jose Bautista 3B
(39) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Victor Martinez C
(40) Team BALCO – Justin Verlander SP

At this point I saw Uggla here and decided to make a play at power. I c0uld have taken a look at McCutchen and strongly considered Dunn, but I thought Uggla would be slightly safer from an average perspective. I can’t fault Mauer at 30, but you’ll never see me with him as my catcher considering what else is available in the area of the draft that he’s going. Verlander at 40 strikes me as good value. I don’t like Reyes, and I feel like I talk about that no matter where he goes in a given draft. This value might be fine, but I wouldn’t take the chance.
Round: 3
(41) Team BALCO – Ubaldo Jimenez SP
(42) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Tommy Hanson SP
(43) Maryland Bigmen – Chris Carpenter SP
(44) Team Yoakum – Buster Posey C
(45) Winnemucca WTF’s – Brian McCann C
(46) Let Him Smoke – Adrian Beltre 3B
(47) NowWhat BogHogs – Dan Haren SP
(48) Team Moody – Andre Ethier RF
(49) Team Picot – Clayton Kershaw SP
(50) An Uproar of Penguins – Jayson Werth RF
(51) Philly Fireballers 2 – Ichiro Suzuki RF
(52) A Favor House Atlantic – Jason Heyward RF
(53) Who’s your Padre? – Brandon Phillips 2B
(54) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Alex Rios CF
(55) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Jacoby Ellsbury CF
(56) Team Sackett – Michael Young 3B
(57) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Carlos Santana C
(58) Slider Speed Chin Music – Hunter Pence RF
(59) Nearly Perfect Wood – Mike Stanton RF
(60) Team DeJesus – Brian Wilson RP

Everyone who has ever drafted with me and or read my work knows I love Dan Haren being the anchor of my staff (given the choice, 11 times out of 10 I’d take him over Ubaldo). Low whip, High k’s and I don’t sweat wins too much (though getting that win last night because he pitched an inning of relief was a nice bonus). I like the value of Ichiro at 51, and honestly Werth at 50 as well. I don’t like the Michael Young pick, or more accurately I don’t like the idea of him as my 3B when I could have Casey McGehee a round later.
Round: 4
(61) Team DeJesus – Rickie Weeks 2B
(62) Nearly Perfect Wood – Jay Bruce RF
(63) Slider Speed Chin Music – Cole Hamels SP
(64) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Yovani Gallardo SP
(65) Team Sackett – Justin Morneau 1B
(66) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Derek Jeter SS
(67) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Chase Utley 2B
(68) Who’s your Padre? – Josh Johnson SP
(69) A Favor House Atlantic – Mat Latos SP
(70) Philly Fireballers 2 – Jimmy Rollins SS
(71) An Uproar of Penguins – Roy Oswalt SP
(72) Team Picot – Aramis Ramirez 3B
(73) Team Moody – Elvis Andrus SS
(74) NowWhat BogHogs – Shane Victorino CF
(75) Let Him Smoke – B.J. Upton CF
(76) Winnemucca WTF’s – Casey McGehee 3B
(77) Team Yoakum – Matt Cain SP
(78) Maryland Bigmen – Kendry Morales 1B
(79) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Chris Young CF
(80) Team BALCO – Paul Konerko 1B

I started to think that maybe it would be nice to grab an OF, considering how deep the league runs along with the fact that across the league there are 100 of slots. It gets ugly later. I would avoid Jimmy Rollins under most scenarios, and Chase Utley under all of them. Some nice arms went in this round, and Konerko is good value if he comes close to what he did last year.
Round: 5
(81) Team BALCO – Curtis Granderson CF
(82) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Jered Weaver SP
(83) Maryland Bigmen – David Price SP
(84) Team Yoakum – Ben Zobrist 2B
(85) Winnemucca WTF’s – Martin Prado 2B
(86) Let Him Smoke – Zack Greinke SP
(87) NowWhat BogHogs – Joakim Soria RP
(88) Team Moody – Michael Bourn CF
(89) Team Picot – Heath Bell RP
(90) An Uproar of Penguins – Billy Butler 1B
(91) Philly Fireballers 2 – Mariano Rivera RP
(92) A Favor House Atlantic – Francisco Liriano SP
(93) Who’s your Padre? – Alexei Ramirez SS
(94) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Corey Hart RF
(95) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Carlos Marmol RP
(96) Team Sackett – Delmon Young LF
(97) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Stephen Drew SS
(98) Slider Speed Chin Music – Ted Lilly SP
(99) Nearly Perfect Wood – Colby Rasmus CF
(100) Team DeJesus – Pedro Alvarez 3B

What can I say here? I felt like I would need a top closer, and I like Soria more than Bell (believe him to be less of a trade risk as well). I would have liked Bourn’s speed, but I felt saves were a more pressing need. Alexi Ramirez is nice here, and I like all of the closers going here considering Brian Wilson went at the end of Round 3. Lilly is good here too (I don’t worry too much about his first few starts).
Round: 6
(101) Team DeJesus – Clay Buchholz SP
(102) Nearly Perfect Wood – Drew Stubbs CF
(103) Slider Speed Chin Music – Kelly Johnson 2B
(104) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Max Scherzer SP
(105) Team Sackett – Mike Napoli C
(106) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Pablo Sandoval 3B
(107) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Wandy Rodriguez SP
(108) Who’s your Padre? – Gordon Beckham 2B
(109) A Favor House Atlantic – Aaron Hill 2B
(110) Philly Fireballers 2 – Chad Billingsley SP
(111) An Uproar of Penguins – Jonathan Papelbon RP
(112) Team Picot – Brett Gardner CF
(113) Team Moody – Tim Hudson SP
(114) NowWhat BogHogs – Juan Pierre LF
(115) Let Him Smoke – Francisco Rodriguez RP
(116) Winnemucca WTF’s – Carlos Quentin RF
(117) Team Yoakum – Torii Hunter CF
(118) Maryland Bigmen – Adam Lind DH
(119) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – David Ortiz DH
(120) Team BALCO – Aubrey Huff 1B

Round: 7
(121) Team BALCO – Mark Reynolds 3B
(122) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Adam Jones CF
(123) Maryland Bigmen – Chone Figgins 2B
(124) Team Yoakum – Ian Desmond SS
(125) Winnemucca WTF’s – Nick Markakis RF
(126) Let Him Smoke – Shaun Marcum SP
(127) NowWhat BogHogs – Joe Nathan RP
(128) Team Moody – Brett Anderson SP
(129) Team Picot – Matt Garza SP
(130) An Uproar of Penguins – J.J. Putz RP
(131) Philly Fireballers 2 – Jonathan Sanchez SP
(132) A Favor House Atlantic – Neftali Feliz RP
(133) Who’s your Padre? – Geovany Soto C
(134) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Jonathan Broxton RP
(135) Panda’s  40 Pounds – John Danks SP
(136) Team Sackett – Bobby Abreu RF
(137) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Rajai Davis CF
(138) Slider Speed Chin Music – Hiroki Kuroda SP
(139) Nearly Perfect Wood – Adam LaRoche 1B
(140) Team DeJesus – Vernon Wells CF

Round: 8
(141) Team DeJesus – Carlos Pena 1B
(142) Nearly Perfect Wood – Daniel Hudson SP
(143) Slider Speed Chin Music – Chris Perez RP
(144) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Nick Swisher RF
(145) Team Sackett – Angel Pagan CF
(146) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Howard Kendrick 2B
(147) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Rafael Furcal SS
(148) Who’s your Padre? – Derrek Lee 1B
(149) A Favor House Atlantic – Miguel Montero C
(150) Philly Fireballers 2 – Brian Roberts 2B
(151) An Uproar of Penguins – Carlos Lee LF
(152) Team Picot – Ian Stewart 3B
(153) Team Moody – Josh Beckett SP
(154) NowWhat BogHogs – Starlin Castro SS
(155) Let Him Smoke – Vladimir Guerrero DH
(156) Winnemucca WTF’s – Gaby Sanchez 1B
(157) Team Yoakum – Colby Lewis SP
(158) Maryland Bigmen – Erick Aybar SS
(159) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Huston Street RP
(160) Team BALCO – John Axford RP

These rounds saw me taking Pierre because I figured he’s the next best thing after Bourn, solidifying my saves with Nathan and grabbing some average and probably runs with Castro. I wanted Montero at 154, but I didn’t get him. As you can see pickings are getting slim already, with Ian Stewart making it into round 8. Gardner is not someone I like for steals, because speed guys shouldn’t hurt your batting average. Vlad is nice, but I don’t like drafting people without position eligibility if I can avoid it. Nick Swisher sucks. No analysis here really, he just sucks.
Round: 9
(161) Team BALCO – Jose Valverde RP
(162) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Andrew Bailey RP
(163) Maryland Bigmen – Grady Sizemore CF
(164) Team Yoakum – Brett Myers SP
(165) Winnemucca WTF’s – Phil Hughes SP
(166) Let Him Smoke – Jeremy Hellickson SP
(167) NowWhat BogHogs – Ryan Dempster SP
(168) Team Moody – Travis Snider LF
(169) Team Picot – Brandon Morrow SP
(170) An Uproar of Penguins – Ryan Franklin RP
(171) Philly Fireballers 2 – Andres Torres CF
(172) A Favor House Atlantic – Alcides Escobar SS
(173) Who’s your Padre? – Madison Bumgarner SP
(174) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Jhoulys Chacin SP
(175) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Francisco Cordero RP
(176) Team Sackett – Neil Walker 2B
(177) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Matt Thornton RP
(178) Slider Speed Chin Music – Matt Wieters C
(179) Nearly Perfect Wood – Mitch Moreland 1B
(180) Team DeJesus – Jason Bay LF

Round: 10
(181) Team DeJesus – Trevor Cahill SP
(182) Nearly Perfect Wood – Sean Rodriguez 2B
(183) Slider Speed Chin Music – Ike Davis 1B
(184) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – C.J. Wilson SP
(185) Team Sackett – Ricky Nolasco SP
(186) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Michael Cuddyer RF
(187) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Johnny Cueto SP
(188) Who’s your Padre? – Edwin Encarnacion 3B
(189) A Favor House Atlantic – Carlos Beltran CF
(190) Philly Fireballers 2 – Manny Ramirez LF
(191) An Uproar of Penguins – Placido Polanco 3B
(192) Team Picot – Lance Berkman 1B
(193) Team Moody – Raul Ibanez LF
(194) NowWhat BogHogs – James Loney 1B
(195) Let Him Smoke – Chase Headley 3B
(196) Winnemucca WTF’s – Austin Jackson CF
(197) Team Yoakum – Jaime Garcia SP
(198) Maryland Bigmen – Denard Span CF
(199) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Asdrubal Cabrera SS
(200) Team BALCO – Yunel Escobar SS

Round: 11
(201) Team BALCO – Brian Matusz SP
(202) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Jordan Zimmermann SP
(203) Maryland Bigmen – Kurt Suzuki C
(204) Team Yoakum – Ryan Raburn LF
(205) Winnemucca WTF’s – Ricky Romero SP
(206) Let Him Smoke – Tsuyoshi Nishioka 2B
(207) NowWhat BogHogs – Ian Kennedy SP
(208) Team Moody – Brad Lidge RP
(209) Team Picot – Luke Scott DH
(210) An Uproar of Penguins – Drew Storen RP
(211) Philly Fireballers 2 – Freddie Freeman 1B
(212) A Favor House Atlantic – David Freese 3B
(213) Who’s your Padre? – Edinson Volquez SP
(214) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Jose Lopez 3B
(215) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Chris Coghlan LF
(216) Team Sackett – Craig Kimbrel RP
(217) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Ty Wigginton 3B
(218) Slider Speed Chin Music – Dexter Fowler CF
(219) Nearly Perfect Wood – Frank Francisco RP
(220) Team DeJesus – Brandon Lyon RP

I like Dempster’s K’s, particularly when I try to build some whip protection into my early picks, and I generally will go for K guys to round out my staff. Usually even when they are off and allowing runs, the Dempsters of the world tend to give you solid K numbers. James Loney was taken because I needed a first baseman. Ian Kennedy was taken because Jordan Zimmerman went a few picks earlier. I like Neil Walker where he went. I would not take Brad Lidge before anyone who is getting saves right now, even someone like whip killing Fransisco Cordero.
Round: 12
(221) Team DeJesus – Jason Kubel RF
(222) Nearly Perfect Wood – Kevin Gregg RP
(223) Slider Speed Chin Music – Leo Nunez RP
(224) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Tyler Colvin RF
(225) Team Sackett – Jim Thome DH
(226) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Garrett Jones 1B
(227) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Hideki Matsui DH
(228) Who’s your Padre? – James Shields SP
(229) A Favor House Atlantic – Franklin Gutierrez CF
(230) Philly Fireballers 2 – Gio Gonzalez SP
(231) An Uproar of Penguins – Jair Jurrjens SP
(232) Team Picot – Bronson Arroyo SP
(233) Team Moody – Joel Hanrahan RP
(234) NowWhat BogHogs – Coco Crisp CF
(235) Let Him Smoke – Johnny Damon LF
(236) Winnemucca WTF’s – Jose Tabata LF
(237) Team Yoakum – Travis Wood SP
(238) Maryland Bigmen – Hong-Chih Kuo RP
(239) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Anibal Sanchez SP
(240) Team BALCO – Juan Uribe 2B

Round: 13
(241) Team BALCO – Alfonso Soriano LF
(242) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Mike Aviles 2B
(243) Maryland Bigmen – Jake Peavy SP
(244) Team Yoakum – Fernando Rodney RP
(245) Winnemucca WTF’s – John Lackey SP
(246) Let Him Smoke – Brandon League RP
(247) NowWhat BogHogs – Seth Smith LF
(248) Team Moody – Justin Smoak 1B
(249) Team Picot – Wade Davis SP
(250) An Uproar of Penguins – Gavin Floyd SP
(251) Philly Fireballers 2 – Ryan Theriot SS
(252) A Favor House Atlantic – Randy Wolf SP
(253) Who’s your Padre? – Nate McLouth CF
(254) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Scott Rolen 3B
(255) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Jake McGee RP
(256) Team Sackett – Matt Joyce RF
(257) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Jon Rauch RP
(258) Slider Speed Chin Music – Logan Morrison LF
(259) Nearly Perfect Wood – Jorge De La Rosa SP
(260) Team DeJesus – David Aardsma RP

Round: 14
(261) Team DeJesus – Jonny Venters RP
(262) Nearly Perfect Wood – Michael Pineda SP
(263) Slider Speed Chin Music – Jhonny Peralta SS
(264) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Alexi Casilla 2B
(265) Team Sackett – Joel Pineiro SP
(266) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Scott Baker SP
(267) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Chris Sale RP
(268) Who’s your Padre? – Marlon Byrd CF
(269) A Favor House Atlantic – Cameron Maybin CF
(270) Philly Fireballers 2 – Ryan Madson RP
(271) An Uproar of Penguins – Jon Garland SP
(272) Team Picot – Johan Santana SP
(273) Team Moody – Daniel Bard RP
(274) NowWhat BogHogs – Cody Ross CF
(275) Let Him Smoke – James McDonald SP
(276) Winnemucca WTF’s – Luke Gregerson RP
(277) Team Yoakum – Jake Westbrook SP
(278) Maryland Bigmen – Jonny Gomes LF
(279) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Chipper Jones 3B
(280) Team BALCO – J.D. Drew RF

Round: 15
(281) Team BALCO – J.J. Hardy SS
(282) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Julio Borbon CF
(283) Maryland Bigmen – Danny Espinosa 2B
(284) Team Yoakum – Dallas Braden SP
(285) Winnemucca WTF’s – Jason Bartlett SS
(286) Let Him Smoke – Evan Meek RP
(287) NowWhat BogHogs – Omar Infante 2B
(288) Team Moody – Rick Porcello SP
(289) Team Picot – Alexi Ogando RP
(290) An Uproar of Penguins – Javier Vazquez SP
(291) Philly Fireballers 2 – Chris Johnson 3B
(292) A Favor House Atlantic – Ervin Santana SP
(293) Who’s your Padre? – Nyjer Morgan CF
(294) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Octavio Dotel RP
(295) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Kila Ka’aihue 1B
(296) Team Sackett – Sergio Romo RP
(297) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Josh Willingham LF
(298) Slider Speed Chin Music – Rafael Betancourt RP
(299) Nearly Perfect Wood – Marco Scutaro SS
(300) Team DeJesus – Chris Iannetta C

It’s outfield time! I found myself trying to fill the my outfield with people getting regular at bats, and Infante was grabbed because Hardy wasn’t available. We are already to the point where picks aren’t all that bad, with the last two rounds going deeper than standard 10 team leagues do. In fairness, we’d see people like Gregerson and Romo drop out of the draft as opposed to people like Chipper or Hardy.

Round: 16
(301) Team DeJesus – Jonathon Niese SP
(302) Nearly Perfect Wood – Derek Holland SP
(303) Slider Speed Chin Music – Magglio Ordonez RF
(304) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – David Murphy LF
(305) Team Sackett – Rafael Soriano RP
(306) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Aroldis Chapman RP
(307) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Peter Bourjos CF
(308) Who’s your Padre? – Kyle Drabek SP
(309) A Favor House Atlantic – Mike Adams RP
(310) Philly Fireballers 2 – A.J. Burnett SP
(311) An Uproar of Penguins – Miguel Tejada SS
(312) Team Picot – Carlos Gomez CF
(313) Team Moody – Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B
(314) NowWhat BogHogs – Danny Valencia 3B
(315) Let Him Smoke – Kevin Slowey SP
(316) Winnemucca WTF’s – Jeff Niemann SP
(317) Team Yoakum – Edwin Jackson SP
(318) Maryland Bigmen – R.A. Dickey SP
(319) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Carlos Zambrano SP
(320) Team BALCO – Jorge Posada C

Round: 17
(321) Team BALCO – Ryan Ludwick RF
(322) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Lyle Overbay 1B
(323) Maryland Bigmen – Daric Barton 1B
(324) Team Yoakum – Michael Brantley CF
(325) Winnemucca WTF’s – Brian Duensing SP
(326) Let Him Smoke – David DeJesus RF
(327) NowWhat BogHogs – Brett Wallace 1B
(328) Team Moody – J.P. Arencibia C
(329) Team Picot – Pat Burrell LF
(330) An Uproar of Penguins – J.A. Happ SP
(331) Philly Fireballers 2 – Will Venable RF
(332) A Favor House Atlantic – Ben Francisco LF
(333) Who’s your Padre? – Desmond Jennings RF
(334) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Roger Bernadina CF
(335) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Reid Brignac SS
(336) Team Sackett – Tim Stauffer RP
(337) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Joaquin Benoit RP
(338) Slider Speed Chin Music – Alex Gordon LF
(339) Nearly Perfect Wood – Casey Blake 3B
(340) Team DeJesus – Jack Cust DH

Round: 18
(341) Team DeJesus – Brad Hawpe RF
(342) Nearly Perfect Wood – Aaron Harang SP
(343) Slider Speed Chin Music – Freddy Sanchez 2B
(344) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Michael Morse RF
(345) Team Sackett – Domonic Brown RF
(346) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Yadier Molina C
(347) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Mark Lowe RP
(348) Who’s your Padre? – Brandon Webb SP
(349) A Favor House Atlantic – Brett Cecil SP
(350) Philly Fireballers 2 – Carl Pavano SP
(351) An Uproar of Penguins – Derek Lowe SP
(352) Team Picot – Bill Hall 2B
(353) Team Moody – Mike Gonzalez RP
(354) NowWhat BogHogs – Xavier Nady RF
(355) Let Him Smoke – Joel Peralta RP
(356) Winnemucca WTF’s – Kosuke Fukudome RF
(357) Team Yoakum – Dan Johnson DH
(358) Maryland Bigmen – Jeff Francoeur RF
(359) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Felix Pie LF
(360) Team BALCO – Mike Pelfrey SP

Round: 19
(361) Team BALCO – Fausto Carmona SP
(362) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Alberto Callaspo 3B
(363) Maryland Bigmen – Kyle McClellan RP
(364) Team Yoakum – Wilson Betemit 3B
(365) Winnemucca WTF’s – Mike Minor SP
(366) Let Him Smoke – Matt LaPorta 1B
(367) NowWhat BogHogs – John Buck C
(368) Team Moody – Yuniesky Betancourt SS
(369) Team Picot – Matt Diaz LF
(370) An Uproar of Penguins – Erik Bedard SP
(371) Philly Fireballers 2 – Russell Branyan 1B
(372) A Favor House Atlantic – Scott Downs RP
(373) Who’s your Padre? – Jeremy Guthrie SP
(374) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Jay Gibbons LF
(375) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Matt Capps RP
(376) Team Sackett – Orlando Cabrera SS
(377) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Kenley Jansen RP
(378) Slider Speed Chin Music – Chris Narveson RP
(379) Nearly Perfect Wood – Cliff Pennington SS
(380) Team DeJesus – Clint Barmes 2B

Round: 20
(381) Team DeJesus – Daisuke Matsuzaka SP
(382) Nearly Perfect Wood – Brian Fuentes RP
(383) Slider Speed Chin Music – Takashi Saito RP
(384) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Bud Norris SP
(385) Team Sackett – Skip Schumaker 2B
(386) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Juan Rivera LF
(387) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Carlos Ruiz C
(388) Who’s your Padre? – Maicer Izturis 2B
(389) A Favor House Atlantic – Melvin Mora 3B
(390) Philly Fireballers 2 – Todd Helton 1B
(391) An Uproar of Penguins – Travis Hafner DH
(392) Team Picot – Chris Heisey CF
(393) Team Moody – Jordan Walden RP
(394) NowWhat BogHogs – Randy Wells SP
(395) Let Him Smoke – Jayson Nix 2B
(396) Winnemucca WTF’s – Bobby Jenks RP
(397) Team Yoakum – Michael Saunders LF
(398) Maryland Bigmen – Matt Guerrier RP
(399) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Mark Buehrle SP
(400) Team BALCO – Joe Blanton SP

Everyone pay attention. Catcher is deep. Even in a 20 team league, I was able to get an everyday starter in round 19. This is why I will never own someone like Joe Mauer. Edwin Jackson is looking like he will make the person who took him at 317 a great value for his pick. I know I said value is harder to find here, but that’s looking like it will be a fantastic pick, much as I hate Edwin Jackson. I might well end up being wrong about him this year (and certianly I am so far).
Round: 21
(401) Team BALCO – Alex Gonzalez SS
(402) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Kyle Farnsworth RP
(403) Maryland Bigmen – Clay Hensley RP
(404) Team Yoakum – Ryan Spilborghs LF
(405) Winnemucca WTF’s – Ryan Perry RP
(406) Let Him Smoke – Nick Hundley C
(407) NowWhat BogHogs – Yorvit Torrealba C
(408) Team Moody – Melky Cabrera CF
(409) Team Picot – Miguel Olivo C
(410) An Uproar of Penguins – John Jaso C
(411) Philly Fireballers 2 – Homer Bailey SP
(412) A Favor House Atlantic – Jon Jay RF
(413) Who’s your Padre? – Nick Masset RP
(414) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Dustin Ackley 2B
(415) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Clayton Richard SP
(416) Team Sackett – Brandon Allen LF
(417) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Carlos Carrasco SP
(418) Slider Speed Chin Music – Eric Young Jr. 2B
(419) Nearly Perfect Wood – Ivan Nova SP
(420) Team DeJesus – Brandon Inge 3B

Round: 22
(421) Team DeJesus – Milton Bradley LF
(422) Nearly Perfect Wood – Mike Leake SP
(423) Slider Speed Chin Music – Grant Balfour RP
(424) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Mark Trumbo 1B
(425) Team Sackett – Juan Miranda DH
(426) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Eric Hinske LF
(427) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Russell Martin C
(428) Who’s your Padre? – Tyler Clippard RP
(429) A Favor House Atlantic – Nelson Figueroa SP
(430) Philly Fireballers 2 – Ryan Doumit C
(431) An Uproar of Penguins – Orlando Hudson 2B
(432) Team Picot – Edgar Renteria SS
(433) Team Moody – Justin Masterson SP
(434) NowWhat BogHogs – Tom Gorzelanny SP
(435) Let Him Smoke – Ronny Cedeno SS
(436) Winnemucca WTF’s – Brandon Belt 1B
(437) Team Yoakum – Mark Ellis 2B
(438) Maryland Bigmen – Phil Coke RP
(439) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Rick Ankiel CF
(440) Team BALCO – Barry Zito SP

Round: 23
(441) Team BALCO – Jason Hammel SP
(442) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Nolan Reimold LF
(443) Maryland Bigmen – Rod Barajas C
(444) Team Yoakum – Kyle Blanks LF
(445) Winnemucca WTF’s – Brennan Boesch RF
(446) Let Him Smoke – Alex Avila C
(447) NowWhat BogHogs – Sean Marshall RP
(448) Team Moody – John Bowker RF
(449) Team Picot – A.J. Pierzynski C
(450) An Uproar of Penguins – Scott Sizemore 2B
(451) Philly Fireballers 2 – Jason Motte RP
(452) A Favor House Atlantic – Daniel Murphy 1B
(453) Who’s your Padre? – Conor Jackson LF
(454) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Chris Dickerson CF
(455) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Jesus Montero C
(456) Team Sackett – Kameron Loe RP
(457) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Chris Capuano SP
(458) Slider Speed Chin Music – Brandon Beachy SP
(459) Nearly Perfect Wood – Brad Penny SP
(460) Team DeJesus – Blake DeWitt 2B

Round: 24
(461) Team DeJesus – Andruw Jones RF
(462) Nearly Perfect Wood – Bartolo Colon SP
(463) Slider Speed Chin Music – Chris Volstad SP
(464) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Sean Burnett RP
(465) Team Sackett – Hisanori Takahashi RP
(466) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Jake Arrieta SP
(467) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Ramon Hernandez C
(468) Who’s your Padre? – Lorenzo Cain CF
(469) A Favor House Atlantic – Zach Braddock RP
(470) Philly Fireballers 2 – Marcus Thames LF
(471) An Uproar of Penguins – Ryan Sweeney RF
(472) Team Picot – Matt Dominguez 3B
(473) Team Moody – David Hernandez RP
(474) NowWhat BogHogs – Jeff Baker 2B
(475) Let Him Smoke – Vicente Padilla SP
(476) Winnemucca WTF’s – Scott Kazmir SP
(477) Team Yoakum – Scott Podsednik LF
(478) Maryland Bigmen – Carlos Guillen 2B
(479) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Jason Frasor RP
(480) Team BALCO – Mark DeRosa LF

Round: 25
(481) Team BALCO – Corey Patterson LF
(482) N.W.P. Catchy ain’t it – Kerry Wood RP
(483) Maryland Bigmen – Craig Breslow RP
(484) Team Yoakum – Aaron Rowand CF
(485) Winnemucca WTF’s – Josh Thole C
(486) Let Him Smoke – Jeff Keppinger 2B
(487) NowWhat BogHogs – Luke Hochevar SP
(488) Team Moody – Koji Uehara RP
(489) Team Picot – Cory Luebke SP
(490) An Uproar of Penguins – Emilio Bonifacio CF
(491) Philly Fireballers 2 – Manny Acosta RP
(492) A Favor House Atlantic – Brayan Pena C
(493) Who’s your Padre? – Josh Outman SP
(494) Petaluma Paste Eaters – Adam Kennedy 2B
(495) Panda’s  40 Pounds – Chris Young SP
(496) Team Sackett – Brent Morel 3B
(497) Crazy  Hazy 8ths – Lucas Duda LF
(498) Slider Speed Chin Music – Wes Helms 3B
(499) Nearly Perfect Wood – Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
(500) Team DeJesus – Chris Snyder C

Here we are at the end of all things. Jason Hammel could be a nice value where he was taken, while Scott Kazmir likely is done. Maybe he can reinvent himself as a middle reliever, but he’s terrible. I rounded out my staff with Marshall (nice numbers, might vulture the occasional save here or there) and Gorzy (more k’s) and Hochevar. Aaron Rowand being owned is another nice way of illustrating just how many outfielders need to be rostered here. I like this team quite a bit, and I feel like I have a strong chance of ending up on top here.

If you want to take a look at what the rosters currently look like, click the upcoming link.

http://games.espn.go.com/flb/leaguerosters?leagueId=71438

Thanks for reading. Look for more articles in the next few days.

The first draft occurred a week ago, and it was a  14 team NL only total points league. I am not crazy about the format, and had I been paying attention I probably wouldn’t have enrolled in this league. I also think this ended up being my worst draft of this year so far. Without further ado, let’s get going. The second will get its own post, likely tomorrow.

Round: 1
(1) Bon Temps Hawks – Albert Pujols 1B
(2) Doylestown Destroyers – Roy Halladay SP
(3) The Team – Hanley Ramirez SS
(4) Carolina Cubs – Ryan Braun LF
(5) N.L.East SucksYeast – Troy Tulowitzki SS
(6) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Joey Votto 1B
(7) Team Skin – Carlos Gonzalez LF
(8) Deathhill Deathmoles – Ryan Zimmerman 3B
(9) Bay Area World Champs – David Wright 3B
(10) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Tim Lincecum SP
(11) PineTar Juicers – Matt Holliday LF
(12) Team Staconis – Ryan Howard 1B
(13) PIttsburgh Pirates – Cliff Lee SP
(14) Team Smith – Matt Kemp CF

Anyone who keeps up with me knows that I like me some Ryan Zimmerman, and in a points league categories don’t matter so just getting solid production will benefit me here. I thought Halladay at two was laughably early. Starting pitchers score more than hitters, but they also go a lot deeper.

Round: 2
(15) Team Smith – Prince Fielder 1B
(16) PIttsburgh Pirates – Justin Upton RF
(17) Team Staconis – Andrew McCutchen CF
(18) PineTar Juicers – Jose Reyes SS
(19) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Clayton Kershaw SP
(20) Bay Area World Champs – Dan Uggla 2B
(21) Deathhill Deathmoles – Jayson Werth RF
(22) Team Skin – Casey McGehee 3B
(23) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Jason Heyward RF
(24) N.L.East SucksYeast – Brian McCann C
(25) Carolina Cubs – Buster Posey C
(26) The Team – Chris Carpenter SP
(27) Doylestown Destroyers – Brandon Phillips 2B
(28) Bon Temps Hawks – Tommy Hanson SP

Round: 3
(29) Bon Temps Hawks – Chase Utley 2B
(30) Doylestown Destroyers – Jimmy Rollins SS
(31) The Team – Shane Victorino CF
(32) Carolina Cubs – Rickie Weeks 2B
(33) N.L.East SucksYeast – Hunter Pence RF
(34) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Ubaldo Jimenez SP
(35) Team Skin – Cole Hamels SP
(36) Deathhill Deathmoles – Jay Bruce RF
(37) Bay Area World Champs – Andre Ethier RF
(38) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Brian Wilson RP
(39) PineTar Juicers – Mat Latos SP
(40) Team Staconis – Zack Greinke SP
(41) PIttsburgh Pirates – Aramis Ramirez 3B
(42) Team Smith – Mike Stanton RF

Round: 4
(43) Team Smith – Josh Johnson SP
(44) PIttsburgh Pirates – Matt Cain SP
(45) Team Staconis – Roy Oswalt SP
(46) PineTar Juicers – Heath Bell RP
(47) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Chris Young CF
(48) Bay Area World Champs – Martin Prado 2B
(49) Deathhill Deathmoles – Stephen Drew SS
(50) Team Skin – Drew Stubbs CF
(51) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Yovani Gallardo SP
(52) N.L.East SucksYeast – Wandy Rodriguez SP
(53) Carolina Cubs – Ian Desmond SS
(54) The Team – Aubrey Huff 1B
(55) Doylestown Destroyers – Colby Rasmus CF
(56) Bon Temps Hawks – Corey Hart RF

Here, I began trying to fill my outfield as fielding 5 in a fairly deep format can be tricky. Werth and Bruce both look to be productive, and Stephen Drew is not bad at all given the format. I wouldn’t mind having him at SS in most instances given that it gets shallow quick. I will take him over Jimmy Rollins a round earlier.

Round: 5
(57) Bon Temps Hawks – Pablo Sandoval 3B
(58) Doylestown Destroyers – Carlos Marmol RP
(59) The Team – Tim Hudson SP
(60) Carolina Cubs – Francisco Rodriguez RP
(61) N.L.East SucksYeast – Ted Lilly SP
(62) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Michael Bourn CF
(63) Team Skin – Pedro Alvarez 3B
(64) Deathhill Deathmoles – Shaun Marcum SP
(65) Bay Area World Champs – Kelly Johnson 2B
(66) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Geovany Soto C
(67) PineTar Juicers – Chad Billingsley SP
(68) Team Staconis – Matt Garza SP
(69) PIttsburgh Pirates – Adam LaRoche 1B
(70) Team Smith – Jonathan Broxton RP

Round: 6
(71) Team Smith – Hiroki Kuroda SP
(72) PIttsburgh Pirates – Jonathan Sanchez SP
(73) Team Staconis – Chipper Jones 3B
(74) PineTar Juicers – Angel Pagan CF
(75) Jersey Crime Donkeys – J.J. Putz RP
(76) Bay Area World Champs – Rafael Furcal SS
(77) Deathhill Deathmoles – Miguel Montero C
(78) Team Skin – Jason Bay LF
(79) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Starlin Castro SS
(80) N.L.East SucksYeast – John Axford RP
(81) Carolina Cubs – Neil Walker 2B
(82) The Team – Ricky Nolasco SP
(83) Doylestown Destroyers – Gaby Sanchez 1B
(84) Bon Temps Hawks – Carlos Lee LF

Round: 7
(85) Bon Temps Hawks – Huston Street RP
(86) Doylestown Destroyers – Ian Stewart 3B
(87) The Team – Daniel Hudson SP
(88) Carolina Cubs – Carlos Beltran CF
(89) N.L.East SucksYeast – Brett Myers SP
(90) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Ryan Dempster SP
(91) Team Skin – Dexter Fowler CF
(92) Deathhill Deathmoles – Drew Storen RP
(93) Bay Area World Champs – Carlos Pena 1B
(94) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Jhoulys Chacin SP
(95) PineTar Juicers – Francisco Cordero RP
(96) Team Staconis – Freddie Freeman 1B
(97) PIttsburgh Pirates – Chase Headley 3B
(98) Team Smith – Johnny Cueto SP

Round: 8
(99) Team Smith – Ryan Franklin RP
(100) PIttsburgh Pirates – Madison Bumgarner SP
(101) Team Staconis – Craig Kimbrel RP
(102) PineTar Juicers – Lance Berkman 1B
(103) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Andres Torres CF
(104) Bay Area World Champs – Placido Polanco 3B
(105) Deathhill Deathmoles – Jordan Zimmermann SP
(106) Team Skin – Ike Davis 1B
(107) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Brad Lidge RP
(108) N.L.East SucksYeast – Raul Ibanez LF
(109) Carolina Cubs – Chris Coghlan LF
(110) The Team – Scott Rolen 3B
(111) Doylestown Destroyers – Jose Tabata LF
(112) Bon Temps Hawks – Jaime Garcia SP

I wanted to start grabbing some pitching at this point, but once you see my staff, you will likely agree that I waited too long. Not much else to say about that. I dig the Montero pick though. I am quite worried about Zimmerman as my #2 pitcher, I wanted Dempster where I got Storen, but he went two picks before I planned on taking him. It was frustrating to see it play out like that.

Round: 9
(113) Bon Temps Hawks – James Loney 1B
(114) Doylestown Destroyers – Bronson Arroyo SP
(115) The Team – Edinson Volquez SP
(116) Carolina Cubs – Brandon Lyon RP
(117) N.L.East SucksYeast – Leo Nunez RP
(118) He’s Got Under the Boat! – David Freese 3B
(119) Team Skin – Anibal Sanchez SP
(120) Deathhill Deathmoles – Travis Wood SP
(121) Bay Area World Champs – Ian Kennedy SP
(122) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Jose Lopez 3B
(123) PineTar Juicers – Jair Jurrjens SP
(124) Team Staconis – Tyler Colvin RF
(125) PIttsburgh Pirates – Garrett Jones 1B
(126) Team Smith – Hong-Chih Kuo RP

Round: 10
(127) Team Smith – Seth Smith LF
(128) PIttsburgh Pirates – Randy Wolf SP
(129) Team Staconis – Alfonso Soriano LF
(130) PineTar Juicers – Joel Hanrahan RP
(131) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Johan Santana SP
(132) Bay Area World Champs – Nate McLouth CF
(133) Deathhill Deathmoles – Ryan Theriot SS
(134) Team Skin – Ben Francisco LF
(135) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Logan Morrison LF
(136) N.L.East SucksYeast – Danny Espinosa 2B
(137) Carolina Cubs – James McDonald SP
(138) The Team – Cody Ross CF
(139) Doylestown Destroyers – Joe Blanton SP
(140) Bon Temps Hawks – Evan Meek RP

Round: 11
(141) Bon Temps Hawks – Cameron Maybin CF
(142) Doylestown Destroyers – Carlos Ruiz C
(143) The Team – Omar Infante 2B
(144) Carolina Cubs – Marlon Byrd CF
(145) N.L.East SucksYeast – Juan Uribe 2B
(146) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Ty Wigginton 3B
(147) Team Skin – Bill Hall 2B
(148) Deathhill Deathmoles – Nyjer Morgan CF
(149) Bay Area World Champs – Jon Garland SP
(150) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Ryan Madson RP
(151) PineTar Juicers – Jake Westbrook SP
(152) Team Staconis – Alex Gonzalez SS
(153) PIttsburgh Pirates – Jonny Gomes LF
(154) Team Smith – Jorge De La Rosa SP

Round: 12
(155) Team Smith – Javier Vazquez SP
(156) PIttsburgh Pirates – Jonny Venters RP
(157) Team Staconis – Freddy Sanchez 2B
(158) PineTar Juicers – Sergio Romo RP
(159) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Carlos Gomez CF
(160) Bay Area World Champs – Luke Gregerson RP
(161) Deathhill Deathmoles – Carlos Zambrano SP
(162) Team Skin – Miguel Tejada SS
(163) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Aroldis Chapman RP
(164) N.L.East SucksYeast – Roger Bernadina CF
(165) Carolina Cubs – Pat Burrell LF
(166) The Team – Domonic Brown RF
(167) Doylestown Destroyers – R.A. Dickey SP
(168) Bon Temps Hawks – Jason Bartlett SS

Round: 13
(169) Bon Temps Hawks – Matt Diaz LF
(170) Doylestown Destroyers – Jonathon Niese SP
(171) The Team – Casey Blake 3B
(172) Carolina Cubs – Will Venable RF
(173) N.L.East SucksYeast – Lyle Overbay 1B
(174) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Chris Iannetta C
(175) Team Skin – Chris Narveson RP
(176) Deathhill Deathmoles – Brett Wallace 1B
(177) Bay Area World Champs – Rafael Betancourt RP
(178) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Chris Johnson 3B
(179) PineTar Juicers – J.A. Happ SP
(180) Team Staconis – Ryan Doumit C
(181) PIttsburgh Pirates – Brad Hawpe RF
(182) Team Smith – Mike Adams RP

Round: 14
(183) Team Smith – Ryan Ludwick RF
(184) PIttsburgh Pirates – Scott Mathieson RP
(185) Team Staconis – Yadier Molina C
(186) PineTar Juicers – Jay Gibbons LF
(187) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Tim Stauffer RP
(188) Bay Area World Champs – Kyle McClellan RP
(189) Deathhill Deathmoles – Ryan Spilborghs LF
(190) Team Skin – Nick Hundley C
(191) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Xavier Nady RF
(192) N.L.East SucksYeast – Yuniesky Betancourt SS
(193) Carolina Cubs – Russell Branyan 1B
(194) The Team – Kosuke Fukudome RF
(195) Doylestown Destroyers – Chris Heisey CF
(196) Bon Temps Hawks – John Buck C

Round: 15
(197) Bon Temps Hawks – Skip Schumaker 2B
(198) Doylestown Destroyers – Michael Morse RF
(199) The Team – Clint Barmes 2B
(200) Carolina Cubs – Melvin Mora 3B
(201) N.L.East SucksYeast – Todd Helton 1B
(202) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Eric Young Jr. 2B
(203) Team Skin – Matt Dominguez 3B
(204) Deathhill Deathmoles – Randy Wells SP
(205) Bay Area World Champs – Aaron Harang SP
(206) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Brandon Allen LF
(207) PineTar Juicers – Juan Miranda DH
(208) Team Staconis – Bud Norris SP
(209) PIttsburgh Pirates – Jon Jay RF
(210) Team Smith – Rod Barajas C

I filled out the majority of my rotation here, if Zambrano can pitch like he did in the second half of last year, he jumps to being my #2 and my rotation looks a lot better. I think Randy Wells is going to have a good year, and am not at all dissatisfied with having him. I wish I had known Morgan was going to lose his job, but given how deep drafting the OF goes anyway, and my other two are likely part time players, I think the outfield will end up looking fairly weak as well.

Round: 16
(211) Team Smith – Kyle Blanks LF
(212) PIttsburgh Pirates – Takashi Saito RP
(213) Team Staconis – Armando Galarraga SP
(214) PineTar Juicers – Orlando Hudson 2B
(215) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Matt Guerrier RP
(216) Bay Area World Champs – Clay Hensley RP
(217) Deathhill Deathmoles – Tyler Clippard RP
(218) Team Skin – Derek Lowe SP
(219) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Clayton Richard SP
(220) N.L.East SucksYeast – Mark DeRosa LF
(221) Carolina Cubs – Eric Hinske LF
(222) The Team – Nick Masset RP
(223) Doylestown Destroyers – John Mayberry Jr. RF
(224) Bon Temps Hawks – Mike Pelfrey SP

Round: 17
(225) Bon Temps Hawks – Kameron Loe RP
(226) Doylestown Destroyers – Chris Dickerson CF
(227) The Team – Ivan Rodriguez C
(228) Carolina Cubs – Blake DeWitt 2B
(229) N.L.East SucksYeast – Barry Zito SP
(230) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Jason Hammel SP
(231) Team Skin – Carlos Monasterios RP
(232) Deathhill Deathmoles – Marcus Thames LF
(233) Bay Area World Champs – Ramon Hernandez C
(234) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Edgar Renteria SS
(235) PineTar Juicers – Ronny Cedeno SS
(236) Team Staconis – Kerry Wood RP
(237) PIttsburgh Pirates – Daniel Murphy 1B
(238) Team Smith – Aaron Rowand CF

Round: 18
(239) Team Smith – Jeff Keppinger 2B
(240) PIttsburgh Pirates – Wilton Lopez RP
(241) Team Staconis – Scott Olsen SP
(242) PineTar Juicers – Jeff Baker 2B
(243) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Kenley Jansen RP
(244) Bay Area World Champs – Nelson Figueroa SP
(245) Deathhill Deathmoles – Mike Fontenot 2B
(246) Team Skin – Jose Guillen RF
(247) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Livan Hernandez SP
(248) N.L.East SucksYeast – Homer Bailey SP
(249) Carolina Cubs – Vicente Padilla SP
(250) The Team – David Hernandez RP
(251) Doylestown Destroyers – Cory Luebke SP
(252) Bon Temps Hawks – Tom Gorzelanny SP

Round: 19
(253) Bon Temps Hawks – Jonathan Lucroy C
(254) Doylestown Destroyers – Zach Braddock RP
(255) The Team – Peter Moylan RP
(256) Carolina Cubs – Chris Capuano SP
(257) N.L.East SucksYeast – Ryan Hanigan C
(258) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Joe Saunders SP
(259) Team Skin – Matt Lindstrom RP
(260) Deathhill Deathmoles – Sean Marshall RP
(261) Bay Area World Champs – Logan Ondrusek RP
(262) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Chris Snyder C
(263) PineTar Juicers – Rick Ankiel CF
(264) Team Staconis – Craig Counsell SS
(265) PIttsburgh Pirates – Jamey Carroll 2B
(266) Team Smith – Mat Gamel 3B

Round: 20
(267) Team Smith – Jorge Cantu 3B
(268) PIttsburgh Pirates – Ross Ohlendorf SP
(269) Team Staconis – Willie Bloomquist RF
(270) PineTar Juicers – Brooks Conrad 3B
(271) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Chris Volstad SP
(272) Bay Area World Champs – Matt Belisle RP
(273) Deathhill Deathmoles – Troy Glaus 1B
(274) Team Skin – Brandon Beachy SP
(275) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Jerry Hairston Jr. SS
(276) N.L.East SucksYeast – Jason Motte RP
(277) Carolina Cubs – Pat Misch SP
(278) The Team – Emilio Bonifacio CF
(279) Doylestown Destroyers – Matt Reynolds RP
(280) Bon Temps Hawks – J.D. Martin SP

Round: 21
(281) Bon Temps Hawks – Scott Hairston LF
(282) Doylestown Destroyers – Edward Mujica RP
(283) The Team – Brian Sanches RP
(284) Carolina Cubs – Josh Thole C
(285) N.L.East SucksYeast – Luis Castillo 2B
(286) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Jordan Schafer CF
(287) Team Skin – Manny Acosta RP
(288) Deathhill Deathmoles – Jason Marquis SP
(289) Bay Area World Champs – Willie Harris LF
(290) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Mike Leake SP
(291) PineTar Juicers – Sean Burnett RP
(292) Team Staconis – Manny Parra SP
(293) PIttsburgh Pirates – Geoff Blum SS
(294) Team Smith – Jenrry Mejia RP

Round: 22
(295) Team Smith – Chris Resop RP
(296) PIttsburgh Pirates – Casey Coleman SP
(297) Team Staconis – Chris Denorfia CF
(298) PineTar Juicers – Bill Bray RP
(299) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Ross Gload 1B
(300) Bay Area World Champs – Santiago Casilla RP
(301) Deathhill Deathmoles – Wes Helms 3B
(302) Team Skin – Dan Runzler RP
(303) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Jason Michaels LF
(304) N.L.East SucksYeast – Fred Lewis LF
(305) Carolina Cubs – Mark Melancon RP
(306) The Team – Juan Francisco 3B
(307) Doylestown Destroyers – Chad Qualls RP
(308) Bon Temps Hawks – Mike Minor SP

Round: 23
(309) Bon Temps Hawks – Nate Schierholtz RF
(310) Doylestown Destroyers – Tyler Greene SS
(311) The Team – Antonio Bastardo RP
(312) Carolina Cubs – Doug Slaten RP
(313) N.L.East SucksYeast – Chris Young SP
(314) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Kevin Correia SP
(315) Team Skin – Joe Thatcher RP
(316) Deathhill Deathmoles – Travis Ishikawa 1B
(317) Bay Area World Champs – Allen Craig RF
(318) Jersey Crime Donkeys – John Bowker RF
(319) PineTar Juicers – Ronny Paulino C
(320) Team Staconis – Nick Evans LF
(321) PIttsburgh Pirates – Jesus Flores C
(322) Team Smith – Burke Badenhop RP

Round: 24
(323) Team Smith – Everth Cabrera SS
(324) PIttsburgh Pirates – Julio Teheran SP
(325) Team Staconis – Barry Enright SP
(326) PineTar Juicers – Xavier Paul LF
(327) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Paul Janish SS
(328) Bay Area World Champs – D.J. Carrasco RP
(329) Deathhill Deathmoles – Jonathan Herrera 2B
(330) Team Skin – Javier Lopez RP
(331) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Mike Dunn RP
(332) N.L.East SucksYeast – Mark Kotsay 1B
(333) Carolina Cubs – Jarrod Parker RP
(334) The Team – Wilson Valdez SS
(335) Doylestown Destroyers – Brandon Belt 1B
(336) Bon Temps Hawks – Jeremy Affeldt RP

Round: 25
(337) Bon Temps Hawks – Reed Johnson LF
(338) Doylestown Destroyers – Ramon Ramirez RP
(339) The Team – Jason Giambi 1B
(340) Carolina Cubs – Jerry Sands RF
(341) N.L.East SucksYeast – Kyle Lohse SP
(342) He’s Got Under the Boat! – Ernesto Frieri RP
(343) Team Skin – Brad Emaus 2B
(344) Deathhill Deathmoles – Paul Maholm SP
(345) Bay Area World Champs – Eric Patterson LF
(346) Jersey Crime Donkeys – Aaron Miles 2B
(347) PineTar Juicers – Dillon Gee SP
(348) Team Staconis – Jose Contreras RP
(349) PIttsburgh Pirates – Chris Valaika 2B
(350) Team Smith – Diory Hernandez SS

Here during the rest of the draft, I was just trying to patch the holes in my lineup and cobble enough people with playing time to get some points here. I think Marquis will be somewhat underrated, and I have always had a soft spot for Mike Fontenot. If he were an everyday player he would end up on most of my benches. Thames might generate some nice power numbers. I am not happy to be relying on Paul Malholm for any reason, even if it’s just rotation insurance. We shall see how it goes, but I think this team is going to finish in the bottom half of the league, if not worse. If you’re curious, the positional breakdown of the roster follows.

DEATHHILL DEATHMOLES
SLOT	PLAYER, TEAM POS	ACQ
C	Miguel Montero, Ari C	Draft
1B	Brett Wallace, Hou 1B	Draft
2B	Ryan Theriot, StL SS, 2B	Draft
3B	Ryan Zimmerman, Was 3B	Draft
SS	Stephen Drew, Ari SS	Draft
2B/SS	Mike Fontenot, SF 2B, 3B	Draft
1B/3B	Troy Glaus, Atl 1B	Draft
OF	Jayson Werth, Was OF	Draft
OF	Jay Bruce, Cin OF	Draft
OF	Nyjer Morgan, Was OF	Draft
OF	Ryan Spilborghs, Col OF	Draft
OF	Marcus Thames, LAD OF, DH	Draft
UTIL	Wes Helms, Fla 3B	Draft
P	Shaun Marcum, Mil SP  DTD	Draft
P	Drew Storen, Was RP	Draft
P	Jordan Zimmermann, Was SP	Draft
P	Travis Wood, Cin SP	Draft
P	Carlos Zambrano, ChC SP, RP	Draft
P	Randy Wells, ChC SP	Draft
P	Tyler Clippard, Was RP	Draft
P	Sean Marshall, ChC RP	Draft
P	Jason Marquis, Was SP	Draft
Bench	Travis Ishikawa, SF 1B	Draft
Bench	Jonathan Herrera, Col 2B	Draft
Bench	Paul Maholm, Pit SP	Draft
DL

I am not crazy about the offense and I kind of hate my pitching. My relievers shouldn’t hurt me, and I honestly didn’t care much about saves. I think most of the other teams have #2 starters that could be better than my #1, so I am definitely thinking it’s going to be grim here.

Catcher: Miguel Olivo ($2), A.J. Pierzynski ($1), Yorvit Torreabla ($1)

Given the reasonably deep bench and the fact that you only need to be playing one catcher at a time, I thought the best strategy would be to draft a few catchers with regular playing time and rotate them based on hot streaks and whatnot. I may not have ended up with Joe Mauer ($28) or Victor Martinez ($25), but I had a lot more money to play with at the other positions, so I think I came out ahead.

First Base: Derrek Lee ($12), Daric Barton ($5)

I am hoping that Lee bounces back to the point where I don’t look silly for not having spent on a top tier first baseman (plus I spent quite a bit on the other corner) and he should at least provide a decent average and power. Barton won’t provide much (though he does walk a fair bit so obp should see a nice boost here), but he shouldn’t hurt much either, and anything he does provide will be more valuable than having one of my corner infield spots essentially empty. 1b is certainly not a strength of the team, but I think it could be worse.

Second Base: Aaron Hill ($19), Chone Figgins ($13), Alexi Casilla ($5), Chris Getz ($1)

This time I was able to get Aaron Hill for a price I liked, and I am always a fan of getting 20 plus HR from my second baseman. I don’t think he was a great value, but I wasn’t shelling out money for Cano ($35), terrible Ian Kinsler ($21) or Pedroia ($28). Hill should see a bounce back for his avg and hitting 30 bombs isn’t out of the question. Figgins was picked up for one reason, which was that I felt like I hadn’t grabbed much in steals to that point. He should be an easy 40 to that category, maybe more. Casilla is slotted at my second middle infielder spot and figures to provide some cheap steals. Getz is bench fodder, and I hope I don’t have to use him.

Third Base: Evan Longoria ($37), Brent Morel ($2)

Longoria is going to be the best 3rd baseman by a healthy margin, and I felt okay overpaying for him. I certainly wasn’t going to overpay for ARod’s ($30, side note: pretty much every Yankee seemed to be going for too much) declining skills or settle for someone like Michael Young ($19). Morel is someone I picked up because he figures to get playing time, but probably won’t even be as valuable to this team as Barton.

Shortstop: Cliff Pennington ($3)

I waited far to long and spent far too much money by the time I grabbed Pennington but he will provide some cheap steals. I was looking for J.J Hardy ($7), but I needed to save money for starting pitching (which we’ll see later was still not as good as I hoped). This was easily the worst part of my draft, and I hope Pennington stays healthy because I don’t have any alternatives. I am definitely not paying for the possibility of Jeter’s ($19, really?) resurgence.

Outfield: Nelson Cruz ($26), Shin-Soo Cho0 ($25), Rajai Davis ($17), Austin Jackson ($6), Alex Gordon ($1), Conor Jackson ($1)

Outfield gets shallow pretty quick when 60 have to be rostered from 14 teams. Platoon guys will definitely be in the mix even more than in other spots, but I think Cruz and Choo set up a good foundation for my outfield. Davis will bolster the steal numbers, and the others at least figure to be productive on some level (Conor Jackson maybe less so than the others, but if he gets healthy he should be more than useless at least). I don’t recall anyone in particular going for a lot more than I expected to here.

DH: Jack Cust ($1)

Cheap home runs and obp. I needed a util player and didn’t feel good about any of the people who were eligible for positions as well. Could do worse for a buck.

Starting Pitchers: Dan Haren ($22),  John Danks ($16), CJ Wilson ($12), Gio Gonzalez ($6), Luke Hochevar ($1), Carlos Carrasco ($1), Mitch Talbot ($1), Kyle Davies ($1)

Haren is once again my anchor (and people who have been in leagues with me in the past know that I like rostering him, and Danks and Wilson are also both on my other team. I like those three a lot. By the time it got to Gio, I felt like I needed some K’s because most of the remaining pitchers were people like Scott Baker ($5) who aren’t bad pitchers, but they are just a couple notches over someone like Zach Duke. Hochevar is someone I am hoping starts to live up to his potential, and Carrasco looked good in the last part of 2010. Talbot and Davies are people I will plug in if I feel like I need help getting to the 1000 minimum ip mark for ratio categories, but I hope to not have to use either of them.

Closers/Relief Pitchers: Matt Thornton ($12), Frank Francisco ($6), Kyle Farnsworth ($3), Jon Rauch ($1)

I hope that amongst these four I have a good amount of holds and saves, but I have limited knowledge of the AL closer situations, so I am not really sure how well I did here. I still employed the strategy of only throwing out closers in the early going, but at some point in an AL only league you have to pay, and Thornton was the person I chose to pay for ( I spent most of the draft assuming it was going to be Kevin Gregg ($10), but I ended up jumping on Thornton for whatever reason. I can;t believe Soriano ($7) went for as much as he did.

I feel like this team can compete, but I don’t feel as good as I did about my mixed auction. I hope injuries are kind to me because my team has a couple of obvious weaknesses. Until next time…

johnmarkvenrick

Catcher: Geovany Soto ($7), Mike Napoli ($6)

I feel very good about my catcher situation, with Soto’s improved plate discipline from the last year, and the fact that I got a top 10 fantasy catcher for  cheaper (in most cases quite a bit cheaper) than the people who paid for Mauer ($26), Martinez ($24), McCann ($18), Posey ($13), or even the relatively unproven Carlos Santana ($9). Side note: The same team drafter McCann, Posey, and a third catcher (though I believe the third has since been dropped). As for Napoli, he’s cheap power when he plays, and provides insurance should my corner infielder or Soto get hurt, though at the moment he’s penciled in as bench depth unless his playing time looks to take an up tick (though with daily lineups I should be able to get him in most of the time when he starts).

First Base: Paul Konerko ($9), Justin Smoak (FA)

I was a little more iffy about taking Konerko, but he went relatively cheap to me, and I was committed to not overpay for a 1b, as it’s a deep position. He should provide a decent amount of power, and once again much more cheaply than  the bulk of the competition. I got him for less than Carlos Pena went for, which makes me feel good about how things went down, and I certainly wasn’t going to pay the $47 for Pujols. 6 other 1b went for at least $22 and I wasn’t the guy stuck with Gaby Sanchez. Smoak was an afterthought, as I decided I didn’t need two starting pitchers on the bench (sorry, Jordan Zimmerman). I initally had Napoli penciled in at the corner infielder, but I decided I would grab Smoak’s upside and hope he does something with his regular playing time. If he doesn’t I still have Napoli.

Second Base: Dan Uggla ($22), Neil Walker ($8)

I was actually looking to buy low on Aaron Hill in this spot, but his price went higher than I was willing to pay ($14) and I decided to go with Uggla’s power (also he apparently has a career avg  which is 33 points higher outside of the home park of the Marlins, a place he no longer will be playing half of his games). I might have over payed, but I feel alright about it, and I only paid $1 more than the owner who ended up with lousy Ian Kinsler. Walker should be fine for the middle infielder slot.

Third Base: Ryan Zimmerman ($25)

I was very happy with this price, as Zimmerman is a top 3 third baseman and it’s a shallow position. I would have probably gone up to 30 had I needed to, but it turned out to be unnecessary.

Shortstop: Stephen Drew ($8)

I was in the bidding for Tulo, but his $33 final price tag was a good $5 more than I wanted to pay. Once I lost out on him, I decided I would get a cheap producer who might get 20/10 with a decent average (though 15 HR are much more likely than 20), and while I’m not wild about it, it’s not like he’s killing me here.

Outfield: Ryan Braun ($34), Andrew McCutchen ($19), Justin Upton ($17), Michael Bourn ($10), Drew Stubbs ($9), Andres Torres ($4), Jason Bay ($1)

I was hoping to make up for steals in the outfield and I think I did well in that regard, with only Braun looking like at least 20 isn’t a possibility, and B0urn should get 50 by himself. Braun could well hit 30 HR and will hit over .300, so he serves as a good anchor, and I think I ended up with a good amount of depth considering that every team has to start 5 outfielders, meaning the top 50 outfielders should be starting, I feel good that I have 3 projected in the top 10 and another two in the top 30. Torres is slotted to be my util player, and if he’s terrible I should be able to find someone who isn’t easily enough considering the util can come from any position. Jason Bay is here for bench depth.

Starting Pitchers: Dan Haren ($17), Fransisco Liriano ($10), Matt Garza ($7), Ryan Dempster ($4), John Danks ($2), CJ Wilson ($2), Jeremy Hellickson ($2)

In ESPN standard leagues there is a 200 start cap over the course of a season, meaning if your top 6 starters each make 33 or so which mine all did, there’s really only enough starts to distribute amongst 6 arms. Hellickson is depth and injury insurance, because what’s the probability that none of my top 6 gets hurt again (particularly when one of them is Liriano). Haren is a good front line starter, who can be penciled in for 200 k’s and a nice whip and era. I feel like my whole rotation provides similar era and whip (though Dempster doesn’t have the best whip) and solid k’s (with Dempster and Liriano probably being right around 200 as well). I am really liking my rotation, and with Hellickson there I can pull someone out of a bad matchup should I feel like it. I was surprised how little I had to pay for my pitchers, because most of the big money seemed to be spent on offense and a select few pitchers (this was the main reason I ended up with money left at the end of the draft, because my expectation was to need to pay more for starting pitching). Haren’s value at $17 seemed much better to me than Halladay ($37), Carpenter ($21), Sabathia ($22), Lester ($35), Wainwright ($30), Cliff Lee ($26) or Hernandez ($29). I only paid $7 more for my 7 starters than Halladay’s owner paid for him alone (he by far spent the most on starting pitching [$108] and I think his offense is going to be fairly terrible.

Closers/Relief Pitchers: Carlos Marmol ($13), Drew Storen ($5), Craig Kimbrel ($3)

Oh, remember that team that spent $108 on starting pitchers? Punting saves. Anyway, despite what I ended up spending on closers, they were integral to my auction strategy, as I tend to throw out a top tier closer at 60% of their value just to see who will end up either paying or overpaying for their services, and if no one does, I get myself a cheap closer. I did go for Marmol because of his elite k’s, but beyond that I was willing to take a chance on people new to the job and quite cheap. I should end up middle of the pack here, because a couple of teams only ended up with one closer, one had none, one had 4 and one had 5. Which means I won’t finish 1st, 2nd, 8th, 9th, or 10th in saves.

Overall I feel like it was a good auction, though had I known going in that starting pitching was going to be as cheap as it was, I probably would have tried to grab a second ace and a better corner infielder, but I feel like this team could win the league. If you hated this, I’m sorry because I’ll probably do it for my other drafts/auctions.