Tuesday March 23, 2004
The Twins got an 11-7 win yesterday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Luis Rivas was 4-5. Michael Cuddyer and Michael Restovich each homered. Johan Santana got shelled again, giving up four runs in three innings. It’s just spring! It’s just spring!
If you can, be sure to watch the Timberwolves/Spurs game tonight. It is a huge game for both teams!
Of course, the Minnesota Gophers women’s basketball team plays its second round game of the NCAA Tournament tonight against Kansas State. Despite the Gophers being rated 7th and the Wildcats being rated 2nd in the region, Minnesota’s Williams Arena hosts the game
And, of course, Week 2 of American Idol is one tonight.
Check back tomorrow for my thoughts on who should be eliminated.
For today, I participated in an online fantasy baseball draft. Below you will find the results of that draft, including every pick that was made. You will see the strategies of a couple of the participants in the draft before the draft and then how they did after the draft. Then Kirk Beller and myself discuss each of our picks in the draft. I think that you will enjoy reading this. You will especially enjoy reading Kirk’s writing style. As a matter of fact, you will probably hope that he would just write for this site full time and put me out of a job.
I am interested n hearing your thoughts on this. Feel free to e-mail me.
FANTASY TEAM #2
A couple of weeks ago, I discussed my Don’t Think Just Throw fantasy baseball roster, a 5x5 rotisserie keeper league. In that league, we have now completed two rounds of our ten run minor league draft.
Last night, I participated in my first live fantasy baseball draft this spring. It is The Hardball Fantasy on cnnsi.com. Ben Jacobs is the commissioner of this league and it is a twelve team league that includes some smart baseball people. Some have their own websites like this one. Others probably know more than us bloggers. So, I really am looking forward to this league.
Here are some of the rules, going into the draft for background. It also is a 5x5 rotisserie style league. The hitting categories are Batting Average, Runs, Home Runs, RBI and Stolen Bases. The pitching categories are ERA, Wins, WHIP, Strikeouts and Saves. The draft is 23 rounds. A starting lineup consists of these positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, Util, SP, SP, SP, RP, RP, P, P. There will then be seven players on the bench with two available Disabled
Here is a look at the players in the league (in draft order):
1. ) JD Arney - RedsDaily Buckeyes - The Ohio native writes Reds Daily , a great website for Reds information. I had a Conversation with JD last month.
2.) Ben Jacobs - Lake Effect Snowmen - Ben used to write Universal Baseball Blog, but now he writes fantasy baseball reports as part of the ensemble group at The Hardball Times.
3.) Vinay Kumar - Rob Deer Fan Club - Vinay is from San Diego and will be writing occasionally for The Hardball Times.
4.) Bryan Smith - Dusty’s Toothpick - Bryan writes Wait Til Next Year and also writes for The Hardball Times.
5.) Eugene Hung - San Jose’s Spawn - Eugene is a fantasy baseball veteran and expert gamesman who does computer science research on the side.
6.) Clifford Corcoran - Madison Ave. Mercenaries - Cliff writes Clifford’s Big Red Blog, a great Yankees site.
7.) Eric Justman Reichart - W8 GURUs - Eric writes The Baseball Boys, a great site for Twins and Pirates information. I had a Conversation with Eric last month as well.
8.) Seth Stohs - Seth’s Sluggers - That’s me. If anyone has a better name suggestion, please let me know. E-mail me.
9.) Kirk Beller - Jukebox Heroes - Those who come to my site frequently recognize his name. Kirk is a frequent contributor to the site with words or ideas for what to write about.
10.) Mike Labuda - Southside Hitmen - Mike writes the site ChiSox Daily, a great site for all Chicago sports, especially the Sox. He also covers many other topics.
11.) Todd Hildebrandt - Blake Street Bombers - Todd is a friend of Ben’s. He’s a 23 year old University of Rochester grad on his way to law school. He is a fan of the Rockies, Cubs and Red Sox at varying times throughout the season.
12.) Larry Mahnken - Primrose Stockings - Larry writes The Replacement Level Yankees Blog, another in a long line of great Yankees sites.So there you have it. A very strong group of knowledgeable baseball people. If you’re looking for a free fantasy baseball mock draft, look no further. This is the place.
I would like to thank Kirk Beller and JD Arney for taking some time to share their thoughts on their picks with us. Also, be sure to check out Clifford’s Big Red Blog today for his thoughts on the draft. To start out, we each wrote our plans or strategy heading into the draft.
Seth’s Strategy -
I don’t even want to look at position for the first 10 rounds. I want to focus on who I think is the best available player. I want at least 3 top hitters, guys who will help in multiple categories. I want at least two quality, top-of-the-rotation starters and one dominant closer. I don’t want a weak position and some depth. I want to be adequate at weak positions (2B, 3B, C), but don’t want to grab a player from those categories too early. And, I want to leave the draft feeling good about my team.
Kirk’s Strategy -
6:41 PM Monday Evening---1:19 until draft start
i'm set up here in front of my computer with a freshly cracked coors light (gotta watch those carbs), my excel sheets up, and my lucky red tocque on my head. i'm in prime form, and i'm not even considering the usual pick anxiety i get each time i call a player's name. i'm always concerned that i made the pick that everyone is rolling their eyes at or is laughing about under their breath. not tonight! at least, i don't think i'll do that tonight. er, i hope not.
so here's the beller strategy for drafting: don't sweat the pitching early. grab a legit superstar outfielder or corner or else one of the premo middle infielders. keep filling in with those while everyone else fills up on the pitching. in the 3rd or 4th grab a high saves reliever, and don't wait too many rounds to grab a second one that will get 25+ saves. then start to worry about getting a starter or two. my weakness? i always want to hope that a ken griffey jr. or j.d. drew is over his injury and ready to provide me with some serious value for a lower pick. my goal tonight is to not succumb to that temptation. get some solid bangers, sneak in one 30+ steals guy so i don't get absolutely hosed in that category, try to build up the saves, and pick my pitching in the middle rounds. this is going to be so fun. then again, i say that before every draft and i usually end up shell-shocked afterward . . .
strategy part two: get some guys you like. don’t reach for them, but don’t be afraid to take them when they’re there. it’s a lot more fun to play this game when you have guys that you enjoy watching.
oh yeah, with seth picking right in front of me, i get the feeling i'm going to be saying "&(#^&% you, you *#^%*^ !!!" a lot. hopefully i can return the favor in the even numbered rounds.
JD’s Strategy -
Going into the draft I wanted to minimize my injury risk, and concentrate on getting superior production out of the more shallow positions. I also wanted my later picks to be primarily about upside, and not position need.
Not a revolutionary approach by any means, but I think its a sound plan.Let’s get to the draft. Here we go pick-by-pick:
1ST ROUND
1 - JD - Alex Rodriguez, SS, New York Yankees
2 - BJ - Alfonso Soriano, 2B, Texas Rangers
3 - VK - Albert Pujols, OF/1B, St. Louis Cardinals
4 - BS - Carlos Beltran, OF, Kansas City Royals
5 - EH - Todd Helton, 1B, Colorado Rockies
6 - CC - Vlad Guerrero, OF, Anaheim Angels
7 - EJR - Mark Prior, SP, Chicago Cubs
8 - SS - Manny Ramirez, OF, Boston Red Sox
I really don’t like Manny at all. But, I just felt he was the best overall player left at this point. I wanted a hitter, unless Prior was still available. Bonds was an option, but his walks hurt his RBI. I’m not happy about this pick, but he won’t hurt me.
9 - KB - Barry Bonds, OF, San Francisco Giants
was hoping that prior would slip to me here, though i doubt he would have gotten past seth. a no-show got him though, which sucks. my next guy was barry bonds, though i was tempted to take eric gagne there. seth grabbing manny opened the door for me, and i decided to take bonds.
10 - ML - Magglio Ordonez, OF, Chicago White Sox
11 - TH - Nomar Garciaparra, SS, Boston Red Sox
12 - LM - Pedro Martinez, SP, Boston Red Sox2ND ROUND
13 - LM - Javier Vazquez, SP, New York Yankees
14 - TH - Randy Johnson, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks
15 - ML - Eric Chavez, 3B, Oakland A’s
16 - KB - Eric Gagne, RP, Los Angeles Dodgers
i couldn't believe eric gagne was out there still. i grabbed him (contrary to the draft plan), which seemed to be a rather unpopular move. i'm confused--getting a guy that's should push 50 saves is a bad thing? guess we'll see . . .
17 - SS - Jason Schmidt, SP, San Francisco Giants
I wanted a top pitcher at this spot and I feel like I got one. Schmidt was pretty dominant last year, even at the end of the year when he arm hurt. In Pac Bell (or whatever it’s called this year), he should continue to dominate NL hitters, providing strikeouts with a good ERA and low WHIP, hopefully meaning some Wins.
18 - EJR - Miguel Tejada, SS, Oakland A’s
19 - CC - Curt Schilling, SP, Boston Red Sox
20 - EH - Edgar Renterria, SS, St. Louis Cardinals
21 - BS - Scott Rolen, 3B, St. Louis Cardinals
22 - VK - Roy Halladay, SP, Toronto Blue Jays
23 - BJ - Gary Sheffield, OF, New York Yankees
24 - JD - Hank Blalock, 3B, Texas Rangers3RD ROUND
25 - JD - Mike Mussina, SP, New York Yankees
26 - BJ - Carlos Delgado, 1B, Toronto Blue Jays
27 - VK - Bret Boone, 2B, Seattle Mariners
28 - BS - Kerry Wood, SP, Chicago Cubs
29 - EH - Brian Giles, OF, San Diego Padres
30 - CC - Jorge Posada, C, New York Yankees
31 - EJR - Ichiro Suzuki, OF, Seattle Mariners
32 - SS - Jim Thome, 1B, Philadelphia Phillies
Completely the opposite of Manny Ramirez, I really like Jim Thome. He’s a great guy. Oh, and I liked the fact that he’s pretty much going to hit 40 homers every year and drive in over 100. His batting average should increase some in his second National League season. His injury may have made him drop to this point. I just couldn’t pass him up.
33 - KB - Richie Sexson, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks
seth made my choice easy--it was thome or richie sexson at this point. no complaints about sexson.
34 - ML - Jeff Kent, 2B, Houston Astros
35 - TH - Preston Wilson, OF, Colorado Rockies
36 - LM - Derek Jeter, SS, New York Yankees4TH ROUND
37 - LM - Marcus Giles, 2B, Atlanta Braves
38 - TH - Sammy Sosa, OF, Chicago Cubs
39 - ML - Jason Giambi, 1B, New York Yankees
40 - KB - Vernon Wells, OF, Toronto Blue Jays
hemmed and hawed about getting hudson or oswalt. kicked it back and forth and came to the only choice possible: skip them both and grab vernon wells. not sure about this pick. i know it's not popular to say it, but he's a good candidate for having gone through off-season desteroidification. is he going to put up mvp caliber numbers again? not sure. wish i would have grabbed abreu and his 20 steals at this point.
41 - SS - Roy Oswalt, SP, Houston Astros
I would have taken him in the 3rd Round had Thome not still been there. His groin injury kept him from being 100% last year, and he still performed great when he was in there. He is clearly the Astros ace and there’s no reason to think he won’t continue to be great. He is an elite pitcher.
42 - EJR - Mike Piazza, C, New York Mets
43 - CC - Jose Vidro, 2B, Montreal Expos
44 - EH - Tim Hudson, SP, Oakland A’s
45 - BS - Rafael Furcal, SS, Atlanta Braves
46 - VK - Bobby Abreu, OF, Philadelphia Phillies
47 - BJ - Lance Berkman, OF, Houston Astros
48 - JD - Jeff Bagwell, 1B, Houston Astros5TH ROUND
49 - JD - Ivan Rodriguez, C, Detroit Tigers
50 - BJ - Billy Wagner, RP, Philadelphia Phillies
51 - VK - Orlando Cabrera, SS, Montreal Expos
52 - BS - Derrek Lee, 1B, Chicago Cubs
53 - EH - Mike Lowell, 3B, Florida Marlins
54 - CC - Aubrey Huff, OF/1B, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
55 - EJR - Juan Pierre, OF, Florida Marlins
56 - SS - Kazuo Matsui, SS, New York Mets
Did I panic and take Matsui just because he was the last SS that I would have considered? Maybe. I had hoped that Wagner would fall to me. But, stolen bases are important in the 5x5 league, and Matsui can provide that. He should be decent in the other categories as well.
57 - KB - Mark Mulder, SP, Oakland A’s
thinking about cabrera, but i decided to see if he'd hang out there a bit longer. leagues are so hard to judge when you don't know your opponents well. oh well. grabbed mark mulder here despite the back troubles, and i'm pretty satisfied. hoping for zito or beckett on the backswing.
58 - ML - Javy Lopez, C, Baltimore Orioles
59 - TH - Kevin Brown, SP, New York Yankees
60 - LM - Johan Santana, SP, Minnesota Twins6TH ROUND
61 - LM - Mariano Rivera, RP, New York Yankees
62 - TH - Carl Crawford, OF, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
63 - ML - Bartolo Colon, SP, Anaheim Angels
64 - KB - Barry Zito, SP, Oakland A’s
still couldn't pull the trigger on cabrera and grabbed barry zito. pushing my luck too far at this point, but i really thought that a pair of zito and mulder is pretty freakin' good, especially for not cracking the starting pitcher market until now. i'm amazed at what a premium these guys are putting on starting pitching.
65 - SS - Chipper Jones, OF, Atlanta Braves
This may simply be a case of Jones being the best available in my mind. Chipper is so consistent, and his ‘consistent’ is .300 with 30 homers and 100+ RBI. Every year! I just couldn’t pass up on that.
66 - EJR - Josh Beckett, SP, Florida Marlins
67 - CC - Angel Berroa, SS, Kansas City Royals
68 - EH - Carlos Lee, OF, Chicago White Sox
69 - BS - Keith Foulke, RP, Boston Red Sox
70 - VK - John Smoltz, RP, Atlanta Braves
71 - BJ - Garrett Anderson, OF, Anaheim Angels
72 - JD - Octavio Dotel, RP, Houston Astros7TH ROUND
73 - JD - Hideki Matsui, OF, New York Yankees
74 - BJ - Matt Morris, SP, St. Louis Cardinals
75 - VK - Jason Varitek, C, Boston Red Sox
76 - BS - Brandon Webb, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks
77 - EH - Arthur Rhodes, RP, Oakland A’s
78 - CC - Eddie Guardado, RP, Seattle Mariners
79 - EJR - Luis Castillo, 2B, Florida Marlins
80 - SS - Mark Teixeira, 1B/3B/OF, Texas Rangers
With his potential, I thought he was the best pick for me at this time. He gives me some position flexibility. But the main thing is that he is such a good and such a natural hitter, that he could hit .290 with 35-40 homers and 100 RBI. Will that happen this year? I don’t know, but I figured it was worth the risk. At this point, I was hoping that Jose Reyes would still be available when the pick came back to me, but…
81 - KB - Jose Reyes, SS/2B, New York Mets
that sound? a sigh of relief from me. two seconds after the zito pick i realized that i had no steals and that jose reyes was a perfect fit. i sweated it out and he fell to me in the 7th. best part? seth telling me right away that he was hoping he'd drop to him in the 8th. the response: 'sorry man, you'll have to screw me over in the 9th!'
82 - ML - Troy Percival, RP, Anaheim Angels
83 - TH - Esteban Loaiza, SP, Chicago White Sox
84 - LM - Morgan Ensberg, 3B, Houston Astros8TH ROUND
85 - LM - Luis Gonzalez, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
86 - TH - Miguel Cabrera, OF/3B, Florida Marlins
87 - ML - Carlos Zambrano, SP, Chicago Cubs
88 - KB - Andruw Jones, OF, Atlanta Braves
the pick was cabrera all the way. sure enough, he goes the spot before me. i wasn't pleased. i'm still not pleased. can't . . . think . . . or . . . type . . . grabbed andruw jones because losing cabrera that close to my pick wiped my brain clean. crap.
89 - SS - Hideo Nomo, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers
Every year, Nomo is overlooked and not drafted until late. But, especially in Dodgers Stadium the last couple of seasons, he has been great. He gets strikeouts, and has a strong ERA and a great WHIP. His only problem last year was no run support, meaning he didn’t get a lot of wins. Any run support and he could win 15-18 games.
90 - EJR - Mike Sweeney, 1B, Kansas City Royals
91 - CC - Greg Maddux, SP, Chicago Cubs
92 - EH - Shawn Green, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
93 - BS - Richard Hidalgo, OF, Houston Astros
94 - VK - Johnny Damon, OF, Boston Red Sox
95 - BJ - Troy Glaus, 3B, Anaheim Angels
96 - JD - Jim Edmonds, OF, St. Louis Cardinals9TH ROUND
97 - JD - Austin Kearns, OF, Cincinnati Reds
98 - BJ - Randy Wolf, SP, Philadelphia Phillies
99 - VK - Roger Clemens, SP, Houston Astros
100 - BS - Ray Durham, 2B, San Francisco Giants
101 - EH - Jason Kendall, C, Pittsburgh Pirates
102 - CC - Aramis Ramirez, 3B, Chicago Cubs
103 - EJR - Scott Podsednik, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
104 - SS - Jose Contreras, SP, New York Yankees
I wanted Ramirez, but he was taken. I thought about Podsednik, and even though he can’t duplicate his 2003 season, he could provide some stolen bases. But, then I saw that Contreras was still available, and I am more than happy to select him! I think that he showed at times last year that he could be dominant for a few years. He just needs to show that he can be consistent, and healthy, but if he is, this could be a steal.
105 - KB - Corey Koskie, 3B, Minnesota Twins
corey koskie. the bad news first--i can anticipate a month where he doesn't play this season because he's got back trouble. the good news--he's my favorite twin. well, that's not justification enough to get him, but he also features 10-15 really sneaky steals from a position where you don't expect that. maybe a bit early, but he was a nice fit for my roster.
106 - ML - Corey Patterson, OF, Chicago Cubs
107 - TH - Frank Thomas, 1B, Chicago White Sox
108 - LM - David Ortiz, 1B, Boston Red Sox10TH ROUND
109 - LM - Mike Lieberthal, C, Philadelphia Phillies
110 - TH - Michael Young, 2B, Texas Rangers
111 - ML - Jose Valentin, SS, Chicago White Sox
112 - KB - Jimmy Rollins, SS, Philadelphia Phillies
grabbed jimmy rollins for some extra speed. problem is that's dropped off the last couple of years. oh well, he'll fill the spot at short once i move reyes over to second. feel like this one is a major 'ehhhhhh' pick
113 - SS - Rocco Baldelli, OF, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
I know he struggled in the second half of the season last year, but he should only improve. And there are not many faster than him in the game. Maybe that can translate into more steals. He gets a lot of hits just from beating out grounders. So again, maybe this is another pick on potential, but I think he has done enough to warrant the pick. Kevin Millwood and Andy Pettitte were also under consideration.
114 - EJR - Wade Miller, SP, Houston Astros
115 - CC - Bernie Williams, OF, New York Yankees
116 - EH - Kevin Millwood, SP, Philadelphia Phillies
117 - BS - Nick Johnson, 1B, Montreal Expos
118 - VK - Andy Pettitte, SP, Houston Astros
119 - BJ - Matthew Lecroy, C, Minnesota Twins
120 - JD - Joel Pineiro, SP, Seattle Mariners11TH ROUND
121 - JD - Rich Harden, SP, Oakland A’s
122 - BJ - Jamie Moyer, SP, Seattle Mariners
123 - VK - Trevor Hoffman, RP, San Diego Padres
124 - BS - Derek Lowe, SP, Boston Red Sox
125 - EH - Joe Borowski, RP, Chicago Cubs
126 - CC - Matt Clement, SP, Chicago Cubs
127 - EJR - Braden Looper, RP, New York Mets
128 - SS - Joe Mauer, C, Minnesota Twins
I was set to take Borowski until he was picked. I was actually deciding between four Twins. Mauer, Shannon Stewart, Torii Hunter and Jacque Jones. I debated and debated, then I finally decided that I thought Jacque Jones would be the best pick. By the time I went to make the pick, my time had run out and because Mauer’s name was the last I had touched, I got him. So, he’s not who I really wanted at that time, but I’m still happy with the pick. Pierzynski may have been better, but I think Mauer could hit .285 with 10 homers and 60 RBI.
129 - KB - Armando Benitez, RP, Florida Marlins
decided i wanted my second closer and managed to nab armando benitez. worst case: he sucks and gets me only 20 saves. well, that's not true. worst case is that he chokes to death on a ham sandwich and gets me no saves. but assuming he's alive, i can pencil him in for 20. if he rebounds, which should be very possible with the way he throws, i've got a front-line closer out of round 11. word to my mother.
130 - ML - Sidney Ponson, SP, Baltimore Orioles
131 - TH - Jason Isringhausen, RP, St. Louis Cardinals
132 - LM - Trot Nixon, OF, Boston Red Sox12TH ROUND
133 - LM - Adam Dunn, OF/1B, Cincinnati Reds
134 - TH - Matt Mantei, RP, Arizona Diamondbacks
135 - ML - Bobby Crosby, SS, Oakland A’s
136 - KB - Rafael Palmiero, 1B, Baltimore Orioles
rafael palmeiro. strictly a value pick for my utility spot. i'm sorry, but until he stops clubbing 35+ homers a season, i'm going to be happy to take him in a draft, especially in round 12.
137 - SS - Joe Nathan, RP, Minnesota Twins
I started looking like a “homer” at this point, but I had no Closers on my roster and Saves are one of the pitching categories. I felt that Nathan was the best option still available and he wouldn’t be around with my next pick. I think he’ll be fine in the Closer role. Given the opportunities, I can see him getting 35 saves of so.
138 - EJR - Eric Hinske, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays
139 - CC - Francisco Cordero, RP, Texas Rangers
140 - EH - Odalis Perez, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers
141 - BS - AJ Pierzynski, C, San Francisco Giants
142 - VK - Joe Crede, 3B, Chicago White Sox
143 - BJ - Mike Cameron, OF, New York Mets
144 - JD - Russ Ortiz, SP, Atlanta Braves13TH ROUND
145 - JD - D’Angelo Jiminez, 2B, Cincinnati Reds
146 - BJ - Danny Kolb, RP, Milwaukee Brewers
147 - VK - Randy Winn, OF, Seattle Mariners
148 - BS - Jorge Julio, RP, Baltimore Orioles
149 - EH - Larry Walker, OF, Colorado Rockies
150 - CC - Torii Hunter, OF, Minnesota Twins
151 - EJR - Tim Worrell, RP, Philadelphia Phillies
152 - SS - Bill Mueller, 3B, Boston Red Sox
I still needed a 3B. I figured the 13th round was late enough to make last year’s AL Batting Champion my pick. I was surprised he was still around. Now, can he duplicate the .326/20/85 numbers he put up last year? Maybe not, but in the Red Sox lineup, he could come close. His health is probably the lone concern. This was actually a pretty easy pick.
153 - KB - Ramon Hernandez, C, San Diego Padres
needed a catcher and thought i was going to get AJ but Dusty's Toothpick (the only other team with 0 catchers after round 10) decided to grab him in the 11th. not cool. i ended up taking ramon hernandez. this one just doesn't do it for me. well, at least it's a body, and it's not michael barrett or anything.
154 - ML - Damaso Marte, RP, Chicago White Sox
155 - TH - Paul LoDuca, C, Los Angeles Dodgers
156 - LM - Brad Wilkerson, OF, Montreal Expos14TH ROUND
157 - LM - Byung-Hyun Kim, SP, Boston Red Sox
158 - TH - Woody Williams, SP, St. Louis Cardinals
159 - ML - Moises Alou, OF, Chicago Cubs
160 - KB - Mike Hampton, SP, Atlanta Braves
well, i only had two starting pitchers at this point and i'm not sure if i really improved that group at all. i mean, mike hampton could be a really nice player this late, or he could really end up being woefully bad. i feel like he'll split the difference and be stunningly mediocre.
161 - SS - Jacque Jones, OF, Minnesota Twins
I was thinking of taking him four rounds earlier, so taking him now was great for me. Last year, he struggled because of a groin injury, yet still hit .300. Two years ago, he hit 27 homers. This year, he will be in the middle of the Twins lineup, meaning more RBI opportunities, and if he’s healthy, I think that 30+ home runs are a very realistic possibility. Other options here were Cliff Floyd and Dmitri Young, but I’m happy with Jacque.
162 - EJR - Dontrelle Willis, SP, Florida Marlins
163 - CC - Ryan Klesko, OF/1B, San Diego Padres
164 - EH - Cliff Floyd, OF, New York Mets
165 - BS - Dmitri Young, OF, Detroit Tigers
166 - VK - Jeromy Burnitz, OF, Colorado Rockies
167 - BJ - Alex Cintron, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks
168 - JD - Mark Buehrle, SP, Chicago White Sox15TH ROUND
169 - JD - Shannon Stewart, OF, Minnesota Twins
170 - BJ - Craig Wilson, OF/1B/C, Pittsburgh Pirates
171 - VK - Brad Penny, SP, Florida Marlins
172 - BS - Al Leiter, SP, New York Mets
173 - EH - Vicente Padilla, SP, Philadelphia Phillies
174 - CC - Tim Wakefield, SP, Boston Red Sox
175 - EJR - Milton Bradley, OF, Cleveland Indians
176 - SS - Shea Hillenbrand, 3B, Arizona Diamondbacks
Shea Hillenbrand may not walk, but he can really hit. He hit about .280 last season splitting time with the Red Sox and D-Backs. He also hit 20 homers and drove in 97. Those are pretty good numbers at this point, and he provides position flexibility as well.
177 - KB - Pat Burrell, OF, Philadelphia Phillies
i was the sucker that decided to take pat burrell. no one else really intrigued me here. well, geoff jenkins kinda did, but he's the same sort of player--could produce, might spend half the season on the DL. at any rate, if he sucks, he can stay on my bench all year. if he comes back like he could, i put him in the lineup somewhere. i don't think it's all that risky in the 15th.
178 - ML - Paul Konerko, 1B, Chicago White Sox
179 - TH - Carl Everett, OF, Montreal Expos
180 - LM - Danys Baez, RP, Tampa Bay Devil Rays16TH ROUND
181 - LM - Reggie Sander, OF, St. Louis Cardinals
182 - TH - Carl Pavano, SP, Florida Marlins
183 - ML - Brad Radke, SP, Minnesota Twins
184 - KB - Kelvim Escobar, SP, Anaheim Angels
with only three starters, i figured it was time to get my butt moving on some backups. looking over my list, kelvim escobar and brett myers were the guys i was debating over. i had escobar projected to have more Ks, so that made the decision easy. that and the fact that myers has an unforgivable unibrow. as my grandma would say: 'oh, ish!'
185 - SS - David Riske, RP, Cleveland Indians
If Kirk had not taken Escobar, I probably would have taken him. However, I needed a second relief pitcher, and with Bob Wickman out for a few months, David Riske is the closer for the Indians. Since he has pitched in the AL Central, I have seen him pitch on numerous occasions and he is nasty! I think he could thrive as the closer. The question, of course, is how many save opportunities can he get in Cleveland? Even if there aren’t a lot, he can be good in the ERA and WHIP categories.
186 - EJR - Jarrod Washburn, SP, Anaheim Angels
187 - CC - Rafael Soriano, RP, Seattle Mariners
188 - EH - Ben Sheets, SP, Milwaukee Brewers
189 - BS - Geoff Jenkins, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
190 - VK - Brett Myers, SP, Philadelphia Phillies
191 - BJ - Jake Peavy, SP, San Diego Padres
192 - JD - Kevin Millar, 1B, Boston Red Sox17TH ROUND
193 - JD - Danny Graves, RP, Cincinnati Reds
194 - BJ - Kip Wells, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
195 - VK - Kenny Lofton, OF, New York Yankees
196 - BS - CC Sabathia, SP, Cleveland Indians
197 - EH - Adam Kennedy, 2B, Anaheim Angels
198 - CC - David Wells, SP, San Diego Padres
199 - EJR - Melvin Mora, 3B, Baltimore Orioles
200 - SS - Livan Hernandez, SP, Montreal Expos
Hernandez is another pitcher who drops every year in drafts, but the last few years, he has been very good, with very low ERAs, some wins and a decent WHIP. I needed another pitcher and thought this was a good pick here. I was starting to think about Griffey Jr at this point, also Edwin Jackson.
201 - KB - Placido Polanco, 2B/3B, Philadelphia Phillies
i am so smug about getting placido polanco at this spot that my chest hurts. he qualifies at second, he bats .300, and he'll steal 10. last year he all of a sudden adds 14 bombs to that. how could you not like him as a backup 2nd baseman. the best part is that he'll probably qualify at 3rd pretty quickly. actually, i think he might already. i'm very happy with this pick.
202 - ML - Jimmy Anderson, SP, Cincinnati Reds
203 - TH - Ken Griffey Jr, OF, Cincinnati Reds
204 - LM - Rob Nen, RP, San Francisco Giants18TH ROUND
205 - LM - Ugueth Urbina, RP, No Team Yet
206 - TH - Alex Sanchez, OF, Detroit Tigers
207 - ML -Edwin Jackson, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers
208 - KB - Shawn Chacon, RP, Colorado Rockies
i'm not a big shawn chacon fan, but he's supposed to have the inside track on colorado's saves, so that means he's got some value. if benitez struggles or something, i've got a guy to plug in, and even if i don't use him, i'm taking some saves off the market. i'm not thrilled about this pick, but i think it makes sense.
209 - SS - JD Drew, OF, Atlanta Braves
I saw that he was still available, and even though I’m loaded up in the OF, I couldn’t pass on Drew at this stage. The way he is hitting the ball this spring. No one has ever questioned his talent. He just gets hurt so frequently, so there is risk in this pick. I chose to look at the potential reward!
210 - EJR - Jeff Conine, 1B/OF, Florida Marlins
211 - CC - Edgar Martinez, DH, Seattle Mariners
212 - EH - Jeremy Affeldt, SP/RP, Kansas City Royals
213 - BS - Adam Eaton, SP, San Diego Padres
214 - VK - Vinny Castilla, 3B, Colorado Rockies
215 - BJ - Freddy Garcia, SP, Seattle Mariners
216 - JD - Jason Bay, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates19TH ROUND
217 - JD - Ryan Wagner, RP, Cincinnati Reds
218 - BJ - Aquilino Lopez, RP, Toronto Blue Jays
219 - VK - Rich Aurilia, SS, Seattle Mariners
220 - BS - Marlon Byrd, OF, Philadelphia Phillies
221 - EH - Brad Fullmer, DH, Texas Rangers
222 - CC - LaTroy Hawkins, RP, Chicago Cubs
223 - EJR - Juan Gonzalez, OF, Kansas City Royals
224 - SS - Kyle Lohse, SP, Minnesota Twins
Another ‘homer’ pick, but one that I think could be good. Lohse won 14 games last year and had an ERA in the mid-4’s. If not for a bad stretch of 6 starts at midseason, that ERA could have been drastically different. I think he’s a solid #3 pitcher for the Twins, and I’m fine with him being my 6th pitcher.
225 - KB - Gil Meche, SP, Seattle Mariners
strictly a hunch pick on gil meche. the guy crapped it down his leg in the second half (6.08 ERA after the break). i figure it was fatigue after not stretching his arm for that many innings in a few years, and that he's going to rebound and be a nice starter in seattle's rotation. if not, i don't think it will kill me. plus, no one else really stood out as the guy to get at this point. i figure meche will be somewhere in the range between serviceable and a nice surprise. i think gil is in need of a nickname. maybe 'flounder' or 'jub-jub' or something like that. i don't know. anything that's less bland than 'gil'. gil doesn't bring a knee-buckling 12-6 curveball--gil sells you term life insurance. let's spice it up a little buddy!
226 - ML - Steve Finley, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
227 - TH - Raul Ibanez, OF, Seattle Mariners
228 - LM -Miguel Batista, SP, Toronto Blue Jays20TH ROUND
229 - LM - Josh Phelps, DH, Toronto Blue Jays
230 - TH - Jose Cruz Jr, OF, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
231 - ML - Bobby Kielty, OF, Oakland A’s
232 - KB - Eric Milton, SP, Philadelphia Phillies
eric milton. yawn
233 - SS - Mark Loretta, 2B, San Diego Padres
Loretta had a great year in 2003, hitting .314 with 14 homers and some RBI. He gives me a quality 2B who could start or come off my bench. I was just looking for solid picks, guys who won’t hurt m if I have to play them for a few weeks.
234 - EJR - Erubiel Durazo, 1B, Oakland A’s
235 - CC - Roberto Alomar, 2B, Arizona Diamondbacks
236 - EH - Luis Ayala, RP, Montreal Expos
237 - BS - John Thomson, SP, Atlanta Braves
238 - VK - Craig Biggio, OF, Houston Astros
239 - BJ - Mark Bellhorn, 2B, Boston Red Sox
240 - JD - Ted Lilly, SP, Oakland A’s21ST ROUND
241 - JD - Jody Gerut, OF, Cleveland Indians
242 - BJ -David Eckstein, SS, Anaheim Angels
243 - VK - Raul Mondesi, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
244 - BS - Brian Roberts, 2B, Baltimore Orioles
245 - EH - Jerome Williams, SP, San Francisco Giants
246 - CC - Joe Randa, 3B, Kansas City Royals
247 - EJR - Phil Nevin, 1B/OF, San Diego Padres
248 - SS - Chad Cordero, RP, Montreal Expos
The closer situation in Montreal is anything but certain. Last year, Rocky Biddle was unspectacular but did record a lot of saves. Luis Ayala was 10-2 out of the pen. This spring, Chad Cordero has been great, so he may be given a shot at the job. Having a 3rd relief pitcher isn’t a bad thing in my opinion either.
249 - KB - Jay Payton, OF, San Diego Padres
again, maybe it's me valuing players differently than the rest of these guys, but jay payton seems like a pretty good deal at this spot. he seems to be a nice source of power while not letting you down in any other categories. he's just a nice player that will fill the spot admirably when a regular goes down.
250 - ML - Jon Garland, SP, Chicago White Sox
251 - TH - Juan Encarnacion, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
252 - LM - Dave Roberts, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers22ND ROUND
253 - LM - Tony Batista, 3B, Montreal Expos
254 - TH - Jose Guillen, OF, Anaheim Angels
255 - ML - Lance Carter, RP, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
256 - KB - Johnny Estrada, C, Atlanta Braves
johnny estrada. figured i needed a backup catcher. my theory with guys that you take strictly as backups is that you draft a guy that has lots of upside so that if he performs well, you can deal him for something you need more. estrada has been talked about as a pretty sweet prospect. makes sense to take a shot on him i think.
257 - SS - Jason Phillips, 1B/C, New York Mets
When I saw Dave Roberts get drafted this late, I was upset at myself for not knowing he was there. He is a great stolen base option. However, I wanted a second catcher as a little insurance for Mauer, and just because having a second catcher is a good idea. Phillips came up to the Mets last year because of the Mike Piazza injury and got a chance to catch and played a lot at 1B too. He hit .298 and should be a regular in the Mets lineup. Pretty safe risk at this position.
258 - EJR - Jay Gibbons, OF/1B, Baltimore Orioles
259 - CC - Mark Redman, SP, Oakland A’s
260 - EH - Jerry Hairston Jr, 2B, Baltimore Orioles
261 - BS - Francisco Rodriguez, RP, Anaheim Angels
262 - VK - Tim Salmon, OF, Anaheim Angels
263 - BJ - Jeff Weaver, Los Angeles Dodgers
264 - JD - Ramon Castro, C, Florida Marlins23RD ROUND
265 - JD - Travis Lee, 1B, New York Yankees
266 - BJ - Hee Seop Choi, 1B, Florida Marlins
267 - VK - Marquis Grissom, OF, San Francisco Giants
268 - BS - Victor Martinez, C, Cleveland Indians
269 - EH - Jose Valverde, RP, Arizona Diamondbacks
270 - CC - Julio Lugo, SS, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
271 - EJR - Edgardo Alfonzo, 3B, San Francisco Giants
272 - SS - Kris Benson, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
The former #1 overall pick keeps teasing us with strong performances, so maybe he will be a decent starting pitcher. The other option is that he is traded by Opening Day to the Yankees or Red Sox or another contender and gets lots of Wins. I was willing to take the risk here. Zach Day and Tony Armas were guys I was also considering here, although there were a lot of players not drafted that are decent.
273 - KB - Adrian Beltre, 3B, Los Angeles Dodgers
adrian beltre. ditto the estrada thing. yeah, the guy has sucked royally the last few years, all while showing flashes of the player that a lot of people thought he'd become. sitting this deep on my bench he doesn't kill me, and i can afford to be patient with him. if he comes through this year, i've got a guy to slip into the lineup or deal. my other option here was scott spiezio, but i thought it would be better to take a player that could show lots of improvement rather than call a .280/15/80 season a 'good year'.
274 - ML - Sean Burroughs, 3B, San Diego Padres
275 - TH - John Olerud, 1B, Seattle Mariners
276 - LM -Cristian Guzman, SS, Minnesota TwinsPOST-DRAFT ANALYSIS
So there you have it, 276 picks in 23 rounds. It was a lot of fun and the competition is very knowledgeable. It took just over two and a half hours to complete the draft.
So, let’s take a look at our goals heading into the draft and see how I did:
Seth’s Thoughts on his Results-
I think I did alright. I really don’t think I reached for anyone too badly. I had two dominant starters and two who are right at that next level. I have three sure-fire boppers and a few guys who have potential to put up big numbers. I didn’t get a dominant closer, and I am not overly strong at the weak positions, but I am happy with what I have. The draft happened so much faster than I thought it would. I thought I would think much more clearly, but especially the first few rounds, it was difficult to keep up. I think I overcame that and did alright.
Kirk’s Thoughts on how his draft went-
Post-Draft 11:21 PM about an hour after the draft is done:
well, like i mentioned before i was really surprised at the number of pitchers going early. i took advantage of that to get the best closer out there and a few nice bats. the pitching came together ok, and i think that i'll manage to not get killed. i reached a little on wells i think, and the consensus is that gagne was definitely a reach. oh well. that's going to happen. i think i should do well in HR, RBI, R, and AVG, and fair in steals. pitching totals will probably be lower for me in every category except saves. i take that back. i don't think my ERA or WHIP will be awful or anything. finishing middle of the pack in those two categories is certainly possible. we'll see.
the important thing is that this was a fun experience and the competition, aside from autodrafter guy, was really good. i really enjoyed the draft and want to thank seth and ben for getting me in. good luck to the rest of the guys in the league!
JD’s Thoughts on how he drafted -
I did about as well as could be expected in achieving those goals. I filled the positions of SS (A-Rod), C (Ivan Rodriguez), and 3B (Hank Blalock) in the first five picks. I also tried to make my "marquee" players as injury proof as possible, and managed to avoid risky players for the most part. I drafted Mike Mussina to anchor my pitching staff largely because of his reliability and his Yankee-ness. I also managed to pick up quite a few younger players with upside in the final rounds such as Jody Gerut, Jason Bay, Ryan Wagner, and Ted Lilly.
I'm pretty pleased with the draft. Usually I'm kicking myself after these things for one reason or another, but I felt good about this one. Having the first pick definitely helps in that regard!So, there are some thoughts following my first live draft of the year. It was a lot of fun, and I too want to thank Ben Jacobs for organizing and setting up this league.
I hope you have enjoyed seeing the results of this mock fantasy baseball draft. Maybe it will help you in your upcoming drafts. I have two more live drafts to participate in in person. I didn’t feel prepared for this one, but I hope to be much more prepared for them!On that note, I am calling it a day! If you have any questions or comments, please send me an e-mail.