You would probably never know it by looking at this blog, but the anticipation for spring training is killing me. Every time I catch myself staring out the window (often during, but not limited to, class) I’m reminded of the profundity of Rogers Hornsby:
“People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.”
Of course, pitchers & catchers officially report on Wednesday(!) and you can rest assured I’ll be wearing red to honor the occasion.
This year I was coerced into joining a fantasy baseball league; one, I’ve never had strong interest in the fantasy stuff and two, the amount of work I get done during baseball season (without the fantasy component) is negligible when compared to what I can do in the offseason. Despite my better judgment I joined a league with some friends anyway; I tried to reverse-psychology someone into taking Jason Marquis early but someone still chose him as a reserve player. Honestly, in my league he’s not a terrible risk as a reserve – points are earned for wins & innings pitched with no deductions for home runs allowed & losses and minimal deductions for walks issued & hits allowed.
In case any interested parties are lurking about, here’s who I took over the course of 17 rounds:
- Johan Santana (SP MIN)
- Adam Dunn (OF CIN)
- Andruw Jones (OF ATL)
- Justin Morneau (1B MIN)
- Aramis Ramirez (3B CHC)
- Huston Street (RP OAK)
- Mike Piazza (C OAK)
- Bobby Jenks (RP CHW)
- Robinson Cano (2B NYY)
- Michael Young (SS TEX)
- Trevor Hoffman (RP SD)
- Michael Cuddyer (OF MIN)
- Dan Haren (SP OAK)
- Jake Westbrook (SP CLE)
- John Smoltz (SP ATL)
- Ivan Rodriguez (C/U DET)
and my six reserves:
- Brandon Phillips (2B CIN)
- Adam LaRoche (1B PIT)
- Kevin Kouzmanoff (3B SD)
- Jason Jennings (SP HOU)
- Joe Blanton (SP OAK)
- Alex Rios (OF TOR)
I think they’re pretty defensible picks considering the simple scoring (essentially fielding, offensive strikeouts, losses, blown saves, holds, and caught stealings are all rendered insignificant because they’re not scored. I used some historical stats and some projections to choose but it’s a relatively simple league and my philosophy was often “Hey, why not?” when it came to picks. Let’s see what happens, folks.
is it a 5 & 5 league? how many teams?
i like piazza, dhing for the a’s is going to boost his numbers. you might’ve gone a little early for him, but it’s defensible. how the heck was smoltz available in the 15th round?
Ten teams, two divisions, basic head to head scoring. I’m banking that Piazza is going to hit better as a DH than an everyday catcher and I had to take him early since everybody else decided to snap up catchers quickly. I wondered the same thing about Smoltz. I found him in the pile o’ pitchers and was like “Really?” *draft* He’s old but so far still steady.
I’m impressed you didn’t give in to your Cardinal loyalty and pick at least one of the boys. That was always my weakness when I played fantasy. Nice pick with Michael Young, too; I’ve always considered him an underrated ballplayer. I wouldn’t mind seeing him in Cardinal red some day..
cardsrul
I worry about Smoltz, he’s on my stay away from list.
I too think you bit on Piazza too early, but for a first time draft, you did fantastic. Your reserves alone would give you a B+ draft. Getting LaRoche, Kouz, and Rios in the reserve round is nothing short of fantasic.
I actually like your late rounds, BETTER than your early rounds. Andruw is overated and with Dunn, your batting average is gonna suffer.
You clearly did your homework and got some killer steals late. I like Westbrook and Haren, and there are worst moves than taking a reserve flier on Joe Blanton.
Like Rul said, Michael Young is an overlooked player. Getting him that late was another steal.