Wednesday

Hey everyone. Welp, the Twins lost to Cleveland again last night. My cousin-in-law was at The Jake the last two nights, so hopefully he will be able to update me on any further thoughts or stories he had. But the Twins are in a very tough spot now. I have some Twins Thoughts as well as the Twins minor league story which last night included a playoff game. But just to be different today, I thought that I would post the results of my fantasy football draft here on the site and discuss it a little. I know, this is primarily a baseball site, but mixing it up is a good thing. Also, I know that about 17,000,000,000,000 people play fantasy football and a free mock draft is always helpful. And if you just don't care, scroll down to the Twins and Minor League notes.

Last night, I participated in a fantasy football draft. It is a ten team league. It is a points league with points for yardage and stuff. I'm sure you've all played it before. Before the draft, we drew cards for draft order. I was really hoping for the ninth or tenth pick, but I ended up with the #1 overall pick. That makes for a very simple first round choice, but a very long wait until the second pick meaning that there will not be another sure-thing running back available. Anyway, I will post each pick, and after each round, I will make my choice for Best Choice, Most Risky Choice and discuss my selection. Here you go... and thanks to those who e-mailed me their cheat sheets and draft thoughts:

Best Pick - Larry Johnson at #6? Are you kidding? I realize he held out and that he's had a lot of carries the last couple of years, but he has come through and he is about as sure a thing as their is in fantasy football.

Most Risky Pick - Frank Gore at #3. He is a very good running back, but can he do it again? Much of that is Alex Smith's ability to mix in a decent passing game.

Best Pick - Laurence Maroney - The former Gopher is the Running Back now that Corey Dillon has retired. He should have a big year.

Most Risky Pick - Travis Henry - Running in Denver has always been a good thing for a back, but Henry needs to prove health and more.

Seth's Pick - With no go-to, sure fire RBs left, I thought a sure-fire WR was the best way to go at this point.

Best Pick - Cedric Benson has the reigns as the Bears primary RB. The team will continue to grind, so Benson should get plenty of carries.

Most Risky Pick - Edgerrin James - He was horrible in 2006. That yards per carry was bad, and as the season went on, he got fewer carries. On the other side, you would think it would be important for the team to run, and if so James is the guy to do it.

Seth's Pick - Torry Holt is big time. He gets a lot of receptions. He is capable of making big plays. And in the last couple of years, he has become a touchdown catcher too.

Best Pick - Brandon Jacobs - Now that Tiki Barber is out of the picture, Jacobs should become an every down back to go with all the goal line carries.

Most Risky Pick - Randy Moss - Risky on so many levels. Certainly with Tom Brady, Moss is capable of a monster comeback season, but you just never seem to know what you'll get with him.

Seth's Pick - I wanted Brandon Jacobs, and Roy Williams was the top WR on my list. So again, went with the best available and I felt that Javon Walker was that guy.

Most Risky Pick - Ahman Green - Not only is he frequently hurt, but now he's playing for the Texans.

Seth's Pick - I was contemplating going with Andre Johnson, but a fourth WR didn't really seem like a priority, so I went with a QB. I went back and forth between Bulger and McNabb, but decided to go with the more consistent Bulger.

Best Pick - Easy Choice... Matt Leinart could put up some crazy numbers throwing to Fitzgerald, Boldin and Johnson.

Seth's Pick/Most Risky Pick - Adrian Peterson has to get past Chester Taylor. I think he will, but it's a matter of when and to what level. Will they essentially split carries?

Best Pick - Calvin Johnson - I know, rookie WR are ever too good, but Johnson just might be different

Best Pick - Julius Jones has always missed time he is capable of being a monster performer

Seth's Pick - Vernand Morency may not be the team's top pick in Week 1 because of injury, but he was great last year when he got the chance and should be starting soon.

Summary - I didn't want to go beyond the 8th round. That is when Kickers and Defenses start getting taken. I take no more than a glancing look at Defenses because you just don't know at this point. Strangely, no Vikings Wide Receivers were drafted! Others not drafted include Terry Glenn, Chad Pennington, Steve McNair, Warrick Dunn, DeShaun Foster, Joe Horn, Eddie Kennison and Matt Jones. You just never know how a draft is going to

Any thoughts? If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to e-mail me or leave Comments below.

Here are the game reports of the Twins and their minor league affiliates.

Tuesday SethSpeaks Player of the Day – Danny Berg, Beloit Snappers
Tuesday SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day – Tristan Crawford, New Britain Rockcats

ROCHESTER REPORT
Tuesday - Red Wings – No Game Scheduled. Kevin Slowey was named the International League Pitcher of the Year. Also, Tim Lahey was promoted to the Red Wings.

NEW BRITAIN NEWS
Tuesday - Rockcats 0, Binghamton 8 – Glen Perkins made another rehab start and it went really non-good. In just two innings, he gave up six runs on seven hits, two home runs. He walked one and struck out just one. Tristan Crawford came in and struck out seven in four shutout innings. Angel Garcia gave up two in the final two innings. The Rockcats were shutout on just six hits. Garrett Guzman went 2-4.

FT MYERS MEMOS
Tuesday - Miracle – No Game Scheduled.

BELOIT BITS
Tuesday - Snappers 4, Cedar Rapids 5 – Tyler Robertson struck out five hitters over the final three innings. However, on a two out strikeout with a runner on 3B, the ball was in the dirt and on a throwing error by the catcher, the go-ahead run scored. That was all Robertson allowed in his three relief innings. Cole DeVries started and gave up four runs over the first six innings. He allowed eight hits, walked three and struck out five. Danny Berg went 3-4. Steve Singleton was 2-5 with his 18th double. Matt Betsill went 2-5. Danny Santiesteban was 1-3 with a walk and his 11th double.

E-TWINS REPORT
Tuesday - E-Twins 6, Bluefield 1 – Steve Hirschfeld started and went four one-hit, no-run innings, striking out four. David Bromberg came in and gave up a run on three hits over two innings. He struck out four and improved to 9-0 with a 2.78 ERA. Loek Van Mil went 1.2 shutout innings, and Brad Tippett picked up his third save by getting the final four outs. Rene Tosoni went 2-4 with his 12th double. Wesley Connor was 1-2 with two walks and his 10th double.

GCL TWINS REPORT
Tuesday - GCL Twins 4, GCL Yankees 6 – This was the first playoff game for the GCL teams. Santiago Arias got the start. He went six innings and gave up three runs. He allowed eight hits, walked one and struck out five. Charles Nolte threw a shutout inning. Danny Rondon got a blown save and gave up three runs on three hits and a walk in his inning. Yangervis Solarte went 2-3 with a double.