As we begin to prep for Opening Day, we begin with some draft recaps.
Up first, a look at the Hits and Misses - in one man's mind. Feel free to add your own in the comments section.
Hit: A smooth draft. No problems with losing picks and taking scrubs due to keeper rules, and an overall smooth process.
Miss: Rick taking the full 90 seconds to take Tim Lincecum, the most obvious pick in the first round after the top three.
Hit: Adam drafting Carl Pavano in Round 14. I consider this pick to be the steal of the draft. Pavano was not listed anywhere near the initial screen on the rankings when Adam took him, but it was a great pick. While I'm almost willing to bet he sorted starting pitchers remaining by the "CG" category in the draft and lucked into finding him, it was still a good time to take him at that point in the draft. I know at least two managers were not happy.
Miss: Shea and Dave not showing up. These two managers are usually in the bottom half of the league, and now they are saddled with two of the worst teams in the league. Other managers rejoice.
Hit: Rick wisely maneuvering around the draft to mold a team around his keepers. An obvious lack of power with Mauer and Ichiro and Rick realized it, drafting a team to compliment those two guys.
Miss: Andy not drafting a catcher OR a third baseman. Obviously, he will pick one up once the DL spots are assigned, but he is going into Week 1 without a 3B until Youkilis gets eligibility.
Hit: Mike finally getting a high first-round pick right and taking the obvious choice in Braun.
Miss: Ken drafting three Mets. When will he learn already?
Hit: Hal, late in the draft, grabbing pitchers who struggled in 2010 with potential for big rebound years: Burnett, Zambrano, Jackson
Miss: Chris waiting too long to pull the trigger on Rafael Soriano. Again, he went with the three-hold RP strategy but didn't get the guys he wanted.
Hit: Jack's initiation of politics chatter excited the Republicans in the room.
Miss: Jack's initiation of politics chatter annoyed the Democrats in the room.
THE BIGGEST HEADSCRATCHERS:
No loyalty from Joe and Andy
In Round 1, Joe passes on Mark Teixeira and Andy passes on Ryan Howard, both of whom were on those teams' rosters for the past few years. Where's the loyalty?
Bob's shocking play
Bob went away from past strategy, loading up on starting pitching early. He grabbed Clayton Kershaw AND CC Sabathia in back-to-back picks, meaning he went 35 picks without drafting a hitter to begin. Then, later in the draft, he made it known he'd be punting saves by drafting Daniel Bard extremely high in Round 12.
Shea and Dave's absence
No one knew they wouldn't be there. Maybe they're trying to replicate Adam's autodraft success from last year? Regardless, it will most certainly cost them.
Posts
Said I couldn't make it. My pitching should keep me in it. Not thrilled with the commish and the miscommunication.
ReplyDeleteOhhh shit is about to go down.
ReplyDeleteHaha as for my hit, was there really any possible chance I coulda messed that up?
I'll answer to first hater even though I'm B2B champ. I don't consider Bard a reach in the 12th when the closer run started ridiculously early again. I picked up the best setup man in game, don't you think that makes more sense than to reach for a 3rd rate closer and comprise the rest of my relievers with 3rd rate closers. Might as well take a top of the line setup guy who is guaranteed to finish top 3 in HLDs than a closer who might not crack top 15. Remember that saves and holds count as 1 category each. As for taking 2 pitchers, I figured I was taking best available and we'll see if that pays off because I got a pretty stacked staff.
ReplyDeleteTo Shea: Clearly a major, major miscommunication then because no one had any idea you wouldn't be there, and all four other Vegas guys knew about the draft with no reminder from me.... If you want to discuss, you know how to reach me. Not going to get into this further over the blog.
ReplyDeleteTo Bob: Wasn't questioning your strategy to take hold guys. Was questioning taking them so early. Only one other team historically takes hold guys, so even if you take 3 in the final 3 rounds, you'd still win it just about every week. Taking top-tier setup guy more important to those who go for saves and holds, not just one or the other. Also questioning it because it's not a strategy you've used in the past to win B2B titles. Not hating just pointing out facts based on the past.
For the record: I remember Shea saying in Vegas that he wasn't going to be able to make it. No complaints here though.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your input, Mike. Always nice to hear from a scholar.
Bob- Bard the best setup guy, even over Soriano? Gregerson? And what the hell man taking both CC and Kershaw! damn forced my hand having to take Verlander thought no way you take both those guys.
ReplyDeleteI get a miss for drafting mets with 2 of my last 3 picks and taking a legit closer earlier?
ReplyDeleteI would say so, the Sox are the current favorites to win the world series and he gets tons of chances. Also, I looked at the draft last year and some of the top HLDs guys wer taken around the 12th round so I just wanted to ensure I got my guy. I would say that Soriano is 2nd and I can't rank Gregerson at the top this year because that team has zero offense. As for my top 2 picks, remember that I have two guys I'm losing after this season so I wanted to draft two guys that are solid keepers and they both are. Kershaw is only 22 or 23 and can be counted on for a low ERA WHIP and 200k's.
ReplyDeleteI extend a hand of friendship for our rookie last year, and this is what I get in return?
ReplyDelete