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Subject: RIBC AAA International League DRaft Recaps
Posted by: mjd
- Sustainer [501381415] Fri, Mar 23, 2007, 15:27
International Managers: This thread is for overall comments on the draft. You may use the questions below as a guide, or simply say what you want to say.
1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
2. What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
Non-managers are also free to post comments or ask questions. |
| 3 | Mudge
ID: 13223138
Sat, Mar 24, 2007, 08:46
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On the offensive side of things, I am generally satisfied. This is the only league in which I participate that counts Runs and RBI, so I had to factor those catagories into my draft plan, which looking back, I think I did to a fault. Unfortunately, in so doing I neglected other key offensive areas--speed being chief among them (note my last-gasp selection of Joey Gathright in the 25th round). I suspect OBP suffered too in my quest for R/RBI, but a little less so than speed. However, I targeted, and got, a great deal of positional flexibility (V. Martinez, Wigginton, Aurelia, German). In addition to that, I also wanted and managed to get what I think is a good balance of veterans and youth (case in point: my catchers--V. Martinez, Ianetta, Zaun).
I am pleased with my starting pitching, and I have enough flexibility, I believe, to pick and choose starts for all of them, particularly since I've got so many who should pitch over 200 innings for the season. I'll definitely have to keep an eye on maximum innings pitched. My bullpen, on the other hand, is a mess, and every plan I had to bolster it was thwarted shortly before I picked (Best example: right before my 6.04 pick went Lidge at 5.16, Gagne at 6.01 and Jenks at 6.03. It was just one of those runs that depleted my queue and put me behind the eight ball with respect to relievers. By the end of the draft I was grasping at straws, so to speak, picking up Lindstrom, Bray, and Sherrill, in the (daft) hope that one of them might break through.
My favorite pick: Brad Hawpe (11th round). I was delighted when he came back to me as the 170th pick overall.
My riskiest pick: the 7th round pick of Delmon Young.
The pick I'd redo: Probably Jake Westbrook in the 18th round. I should have picked up a reliever (Howry, Julio, McClung) instead.
The pick I gave the least amount of thought to: Vladimir Guerrero at 1.13.
The pick that made me happiest after the fact: When I selected Chris Ianetta, and I heard Bandos groan all the way from Florida!
My proudest achievement (and the reason I'll probably finish in last place): I have no Yankees, Mets, Cubs, or Red Sox players on my team.
The draft itself started slowly--these kafenatid one always do it seems--but once we got into a groove and learned to know when things would move and when they would not, it became easier to manage. I had just come off a slow draft where we did 252 picks in 7 days, so I was a little spoiled by that.
If I could do the whole thing over, first thing is that I'd have taken Papelbon right before Bandos! (Man, does he have a bullpen, now--looks like it's trading time.)
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| 4 | Bandos
Sustainer
ID: 279492419
Sat, Mar 24, 2007, 09:45
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What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
With the second choice of draft position, I was feeling trapped into Soriano, who I loathe, or Reyes, who has that 60 SB potential but doesnt offer the OPS that I crave. Thus, neither was particularly attractive and I may have gone lower than 2 or 3 to nab a higher second round pick. It all became irrelevant when I had the option of taking Pujols at #1. I have never had the #1 pick in an RIBC (maybe ever?). My draft strategy evolved from this decision and the following were things I assumed because I was at the turn.
I would miss the top tier of closers which included Putz and Street unless I took Nathan at the 2/3 turn. That seemed like a stretch as a SP who would give me more innings would be more valuable so I resigned myself to life without a top closer.
I would fill my MI with Hall at the 4/5 turn and Freel at 8/9 turn, then target O Hudson in round 14/15. I got Hall and had to stretch bit for Hudson after missing out on Freel.
I would target the ratios as always.
I would stretch for Papelbon as he is a third round pick as a closer. And as Boston #4 would face a lot of puss #4 and #5 pitchers from puss AL east teams. I was taking the OVER on wins.
Other than that, use the PECOTA projections to draft for value, but try not to get to attached to those numbers and rankings. Since I have WAY too much time during these drafts, I tend to overthink and fall in love with certain players. I tried to avoid that but I'm not sure how successful I was.
2. What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
Dunn at 4.16. He still helped in OBP last year even though he hit .234. He gets that back to .260 and he is a monster at this point. I gave a legitimate WAYOO! When he was available here.
Tracy at 11.01, Hart at 17.01, Bard at 23.01
Least Favorite, but I wouldn't do them over: Beltre at 13.01 and Douche at 25.01. Simply, I hate these guys.
Do over: had I known Papelbon would close, I could have passed on Dempster and bolstered my SP.
Matt Kemp isn't projected to get enough PT to warrant a pick this high. This is why you write the rationale before the pick as I would have looked closer at his stats to write the rationale. While I believe in the kid, and he is a masher, Eithier stands to see the most time, unless Gonzo goes down. However, he did give me the pleasure of having mudge complain for the second time about one of my picks (Hudson as well).
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
While I have the all PECOTA team, as usual, the following teams did pretty well by my projections: Taxman, JK, BB, Bombers and Hubble. As always, teams have weaknesses (mine being SP depth obviously, and youth/risk) and strengths. Mudge has a ton of flexibility which is key with no DL and a 4 person bench. Taxman's team is real scary until I noticed that he has punted saves, at least that explains why he is so strong everywhere else. If Pettite returns to form, that is one deep SP staff.
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
A bunch of teams have either punted saves or will be scavaging. I was almost one of them. Other than that, things seemed pretty normal; the MI went quickly, closers went too high, and catchers are still largely irrelevant.
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
Ask me again in two months:)
Pecota says I will have 1224 R/1118 RBI/147 S/.362/.498. That's ridiculous. In last years RIBC that would be 16/16/10/15/16 points. But I am not very good as a Nostradamus (see my Papelbon rationale about how I doubted he would close!)
Thanks for a good draft, and after a bit of consternation, really being considerate and helping to speed things up a bit. After the 6th round, we did 32 picks a day, at least. Nice!
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| 5 | jumpball
Sustainer
ID: 33050298
Sun, Mar 25, 2007, 12:55
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1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
With the 12th and 21st pick, I planned to land two hitters; the best one available in the first round (probably an OF unless Ortiz or Wright slid down to 12) and Miguel Tejada. None of the mock drafts that I researched showed Tejada going earlier than 24. Of course, Mudge scrapped that plan when he took Tejada at 20. I took Carpenter there over Rollins/Furcal because I thought there was a chance that I could get Michael Young in the 3rd round. That didn't happen either. The rest of my plan was simply to get the best players available at the positions I needed to fill -- nothing fancy.
2. What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
I believe my best value picks were Markakis, Jennings, & Lowry in the 12th, 19th, & 22nd rounds.
Let me have my 10th rounder back though -- I should have taken Chris Young the OF, Ordonez, or Huff over Borowski.
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
There's a few teams that I like. Hubble's team is very balanced, but he's one IF short of a full team. If Robo can avoid injuries and play with a 2 man bench while waiting for Clemens and Pedro, he'll be strong at the end. I like Aggy's and Bando's (got a closer for trade?) teams too. With a no injury scenario, I'd probably have to choose Uptown as the favorite to win it all.
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
With this being my 4th year in RIBC, nothing surprises me any more. The closest thing to a surprise was how high the SSs, some of the 3Bs, and Prior were drafted.
Oh wait, there was one thing that surprised me -- there were a total of SIX players that were at the top of my queue that were taken 1 pick in front of my turn and TWO more that were taken 2 picks in front. There are always a few players that get stolen during a draft, but I can't remember having quite this many before. Mudge -- I never want to be next to you in a draft again!
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
The first thing I would have done differently is send a list of 16 random numbers so I could have maybe drawn a slightly better draft position. I've drawn a late number in all 4 years. I would have loved to be at 7 and start with Utley. The only other thing I would have done differently is take some time off work so that I wasn't rushed making some of the draft decisions and wasn't forced to use a queue for many of my picks.
I love the draft. Now let's get on to the season. I'm ready for the challenge!
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| 6 | mjd
Sustainer
ID: 501381415
Sun, Mar 25, 2007, 13:40
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First off, I’d like to thank Guru for providing this site and giving us a place to gather and a format for great competition. Over the past 3 years, the RI_C leagues have become my favorites. The qualifying tiers encourage players to finish out a season to the end even if they don’t have a chance to win it all. This past year, while searching for AAA qualified managers, I dipped as deep as 10th place + finishers in last year’s AAA to fill our league.
Secondly, I’d like to thank each individual manager in our league for making this a very fun draft. As usual, we hit a few bumps, but we swiftly worked around them and proceeded with the task at hand. Very well done.
Lastly, thanks to Bandos and the other managers for helping to carry the load with the rationales. This is probably the most time consuming job of any RI_C commish and I really appreciated it.
Draft Plan
I was lucky enough to grab the 9 hole to put me right smack dab in the middle of the draft. As commish, I planned to follow this thing very closely anyway, and I wanted to land a position where there was the least number of picks between my picks. This also helps to not miss individual player runs and makes leaving a queue less complicated.
I followed my usual plan, getting a 5 tool player in the first round. For the 3rd consecutive year, I chose Carl Crawford. I had hoped (but not counted on) Chase Utley falling to me and also considered David Wright, since I had a feeling that MI would be at a premium in this draft, but 3B was the deepest position. So Crawford it was. I’ve got good team speed with him, in addition to Felipe Lopez, Mike Cameron, and Cory Patterson. Later on, during the season, I may trade one of these guys for the power bat that I lack. Same thing happened last year, but I traded Crawford for Miguel Cabrera at the break and parlayed that to a 5th place finish in AA.
I don’t usually adhere to a strict draft plan, but try to let the draft come to me, and as usual, I did not go to great measures to avoid players who are injury risks. I also don’t take great comfort in stat projections, like some managers do, but I do take particular note of OBP, SLG, and OPS stats in this league. I think I was able to follow my plan, for the most part, but then my drafting skills are a work in progress and I think I’m a better in-season manager than drafter, at this point in m fantasy career.
Favorite Picks
My back to back Yankee picks (a first for me) of Giambi (5.09) and Robinson Cano (6.08), followed up by RJ at 7.09. First time I’ve ever had any Yankees on any team of mine and I’m kind of looking forward to it. Also, Ervin Santana (11.09), Chuck James (15.09), and Jorge Julio (18.08). I also like my roster flexibility with Chris Burke, Mark DeRosa, and Casey Blake.
Do Overs
Zambrano and Solomon Torres are 2 that may haunt me all year. I wish I had started writing my rationales before making these picks. I could have easily talked myself out of Z. He’s got a ton of wear and tear on his arm and his overall stats have declined over the last 3 years despite only being 25 years of age. This tells me that he’s getting by on talent alone and not smarts. He also led the league, last year, in walks and pitches thrown. And if he gets, as rumored, his long term fat contract, this could be a recipe for disaster, as I think he’ll get lazy and lose his fire.
The Torres debacle is one I’m still losing sleep over. I had successfully targeted Jonathan Broxton in all my other drafts. For whatever reason, I chose Torres at 12.08 and TD followed by grabbing Broxton. One thing I should have learned by now playing in this format is to not wait too long on your targeted players. To add insult to injury, I was TD’s DP and made the Broxton pick for him. This pick of Torres also forced me to handcuff Matt Capps. I was fortunate to grab Capps when I did, because, I know at least mudge had him all queued up and he would have never made it back to me.
Probably should have played it safe with Hanley Ramirez as my 2.09 pick.
Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
With such a strong group of managers, I think anything can happen. I don’t have delusions of winning it all this season, but my goal is to finish high enough to stay in AAA next year and definitely compete for the RIBC in ’08. Each individual team has strengths and weaknesses. Toss in a few key injuries and who knows?
What surprised you most about the draft?
One thing perhaps, there are 2 teams with 2 catchers and one team with 3. No offense to those managers, but after the first tier and a half came off the board, I became totally disinterested and picked a catcher in round 24. Not saying I wouldn't love to have VMart or Mauer on my team, but it just never panned out that one of those guys was the best pick at the time it was my turn. Perhaps I have a lesson to learn, here.
If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
Undoubtedly, forgo Zambrano in round 2 and opt for a MI or a power bat and grab Broxton instead of Torres in round 12. Pass on Bartolo Colon, as RJ probably won’t be ready to start the season either. Get a quality #2 closer to pair with Wagner.
Biggest lesson learned: write up my rationale prior to making the pick.
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| 7 | Uptown Bombers
Donor
ID: 35616416
Sun, Mar 25, 2007, 23:28
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1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
Overall, I planned on loading up on infielders early, grab two closers with my first 10 picks, take one stud starting pitcher but otherwise wait to fill up my staff, and to mix in enough proven players and younger players with potential.
After landing the 7th overall pick, I targeted Utley and was happy to build my team around him, as it fit in well with my overall strategy. I spent 3 of my first 4 picks taking infielders, and filled my CI and MI earlier than most other managers as well. The last few years of RIBC have taught me that IF is the toughest spot to find help in via trade or the waiver wire, so I wanted to be as deep as possible here. With regards to my other strategies, I feel I did a good job. I ended up with Sheets as my SP1, so decided to take another SP early as insurance against injury. Otherwise I waited until later in the draft to fill in my SP slots. I thought that SP was even deeper than years past, and there is always young pitchers acquired via the wire who can make or break a season. I waited a little longer than in years past to draft my closers, but may have caught a break with Izzy in round 10. It's certainly no guarantee, but that may end up being a great value pick. Lastly, I like my mix of vets (Delgado, Abreu, Young, Utley) and youngsters (Chris Young, Encarnacion, Bonser).
2. What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
My favorite pick is Edwin Encarnacion in round 11. I though that 3B was pretty deep this year, so figured I could afford to wait. Encarnacion was the 17th third baseman drafted, yet I believe he will be just as good as the 7 or 8 ones drafted before him, going all the way back 4 rounds. I also like a few picks because of potential. Oliver Perez (18th round) and Jonny Gomes (17th round) have the talent to exceed their draft spots.
I have a few do overs. If I knew I could land Bard in round 22, I would passed on V-tek in round 20 and Andre Ethier or Griffey instead. Maybe this would have meant that I don't get Punto, who I like, but who knows. While I am not unhappy with Javier Vazquez as my 3rd SP, I was nervous at the time that my pitching staff would be in trouble. It wasn't until I got Boonser in round 15, and Perez in 18, that I feel more comfortable with my staff as a whoel and Vazquez in particular. Also, Qualls is a wasted pick, IMO, though I'm not sure who else I could have taken in round 24.
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
Being a superstitious person and baseball a superstitious sport, I will do my best to counter the hex jumpball placed on me and say that his team is the favorite to win it all. ;)
But more seriously, superstition aside, I do like jump's team. I think he has a good balance of pitching and hitting, though I suspect he'll need a little boost in power at some point. I also like Aggy's team and Roboguru's, though I'm not sure if having both Pedro and Clemens will work out with the bench being so short in this format. I would have said Bandos, except that he now has a weaker SP staff than I would like thanks to Papelbon switching back to the closer role. Clearly though, he now has a bullpen that is probably too strong and gives him some nice trading chips.
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
I'll second some of the things already mentioned. The 2nd round run on SS surprised me, although since almost everyone at the top of the draft seems to have mentioned that they were hoping to grab a SS in that round, the managers at the bottom clearly had it right. Still, some big bats slipped into the latter part of round 2 (Abreu, Holliday, both Lee's). Also, I've never been a fan of carrying multiple catchers in this league. I just don't think the bench situation is deep enough to justify it. But that's just me.
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
Honestly, not much. I like my team and its chances of doing well this year. Like other managers, I too set goals for the stats used in the league, and my draft reached those numbers for the most part. Of course, there are variabel every year, and this drafted team won't be the team I end up with, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy with the draft's outcome. I'd go so far as to say that this is the most excited I've been about my team post-draft in my 3 years in RIBC.
Lastly, I'd just like to say thanks to mjd for organizing the league and keeping the draft going. After a slow start, everything turned out really smooth. Thanks to Bandos for helping with the rationale threads. And thanks to the other managers in the league for being considerate and stepping up after that slow start. Good luck on the season everyone.
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| 8 | JKaye @Work
ID: 458212116
Mon, Mar 26, 2007, 14:17
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1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
I wanted to solidify my infield spots first since there are clearly fewer starters there than OF and pitching. Odds are that half or more of my OF/P will end up being FA/WW signings anyway, so I definitely wanted to get stars in the IF I could pencil in and forget about. Landing DWright, Furcal and Mauer in the first 3 rounds meant that my execution was on point early on
2. What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
My first 6 rounds were solid to me. After the 3b, ss, c combo to start, I landed my stud RP (Putz), and 2 young star SP (Bedard and Hamels). With that core of 6, I was happy. Somehow, my picks after that left something on the table. I hate having Frank Thomas (injury risk and no flexibility on roster) and didnt get any bullpen depth. I landed 2 closers but really needed to get some of the high tier set up men to have more potential saves on my roster. Back on the good side of things, I liked tabbing Olsen and Snell. I feel like at least one should be a legit star this year, although I won't be selfish and expect them both to avoid road bumps young SP will have.
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
Hard to say. After doing AA last year, I can say that it is IMPOSSIBLE to pick a winner at this stage. I think my team is a middle of the pack team at the moment, but a little luck, some savvy trading and constant FA monitoring could easily vault mine or any team into the top 3 or better.
4. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
I would like to pick up in round 7 again. Somehow I lost my focus and made too many reaches after a really solid first 6 picks. However, I am past the draft now and while my OF is weak and I need more depth to beef up the MI/CI slots, I am confident players will emerge and if I am sharp, I can fill out my roster to compliment what I feel is a solid core(albeit too small of a core).
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| 9 | Hubble
ID: 23233218
Thu, Mar 29, 2007, 00:31
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1-Plan/Strategy
With my situation (new dad) i didnt have time to make any research at all and i joined the league real late... Last year i did extensive research and was rewareded with crappy result... so i figure i would play it safe and go with player i'd be confortable with even though i had to reach a little. I also chose to pick 16th so i'd be at the end of the snake wich also makes it a little easier.
I did want to secure good hitting and some cheaper saves. I wanted to stay away of injury prone player and not overpay my SP. I was willing to take 2 big risk in first 15 rounds. I would give myself a 85% for the first 15 round and a 60% for the last 10. If Gagne and Garciaparra plays more than 60% of season, i think i could get good result and contend for 1st place... So i tried to build the rest of my team covering my few weeknesses (Figgins's SLG + injury prone dudes, lack of dept in SP) One thing i learned with SP, is to not invest too much in them... i went with 3 reliable guys (Schmidt, Harang and Penny) and a young cheap prospect 18th rounder John Maine) and i'll wait few months (time to see the trends and more importantly time to let the pitchers get their game)before being aggresive on the FA to get good match ups and get my 5th SP from the FA. In teh mean time i'll have some MR and CL that will hopefully give me some good # while filling slowly my IP.
2-Favorite/worst picks
I'd say Lidge/Gagne/Otsuka with 5th,6th and 14th pick could turn out real good if they perform like i think they will and they should put me near top in saves without investing a 3rd or 4th rounder. I wanted to get Wheeler to handcuff Lidge too, and that would have been real real good... i was 8 picks late :( I also like Suzuki at 3.16...
Worst... Weather at 16.01 (lost his job) Tavarez at 21.16 (lost his job)
3-Other team?
Sadly i didnt even have time to deeply analyse mine, so i guess my opinion worth sht. But i have to say Bandos has to be favorite (both good draft and active manager) Jeffaggy, Uptown Bombers, Jumpball... also seems to have good team.
4- Start over
Well, i just read that Figgins is out for 5 weeks ... that really sucks. Twice i read (an up-to-date paper)that some1 had closer job locked, before i picked (Weather in 16th and Tavarez in 21th) and both won't be closer... It could have been awesome, but now that i know better, getting more depth in OF or IF would have been better. Not being able to secure Wheeler also suck... But i guess i have to have faith in Lidge.
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| 10 | Electroman
ID: 372412215
Thu, Mar 29, 2007, 14:03
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1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
I wanted a balanced team. I looked for players that could contribute is a lot of areas. Starting pitching wasn't as much of a must factor as a lot in the draft. I figured that there are a lot of pitchers that have good years, and can be picked up of the WW. Also trades come into play also. Closers were a must in the first few rounds. Took a chance on some guys that were in the running for jobs later. All in all, I think that I stuck to the plan, but would have maybe liked a real stong base stealer and pitcher with high K's.
2. What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
Sizemore was a favorite pick. With where I was picking, I wanted him. For what was left, Lugo. Very versatile. Do overs. Aaron Rowand and Pineiro and Owens. Owens I really think now was a waste pick. Jose Castillo also, lost his job, and the future looks bleak for him in Pittsburgh.
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
MJD, Jeff Aggy, Bandos, Hubble. These teams have parts that I really like.
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
Starting Pitching was going fast. People had a real hard on for them. I think that maybe affected certain peoples stratagy, but I kept to mine. Hope that I didn't get screwed.
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
I would hand in a different set of numbers to see if I could draft earlier. Also, I don't think I would have taken McCann when I did. Would have also asked to change the pick that the instructions weren't followed. I would have taken Beckett or E.Santana(hope I can say that). Think that I could have gotten a 3B I would have been happy with, maybe even Crede would have fallen to me.
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| 11 | RoboGuru
ID: 261542621
Thu, Mar 29, 2007, 22:28
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1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
I came into the draft planning on not having a plan. I wanted to take the best available player, while keeping in mind my position needs. Draft position also played a big role since who you take in the first round affects who u take subsequently. Lastly, I wanted to remain flexible enough to respond to any position runs that occurred.
2. What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
I really liked getting Matsui in the 6th. I felt like it was too early to take a second OF but had to obey my "best available player" rule.
Another pick that I really like is Garko in the 21st round. If he can approach the pace he was on at the end of last season, this is a great pick this late.
Do overs? Ill take 2.
First I think I would undo Huff in the 10th. I kinda panicked when my targeted pick went off the board just before my turn. It could work out okay if he has a decent year.
Second, would be Johjima in the 12th. I like him but he isnt 3 rounds better than Hernandez, who I agonized over on this pick. I was worried that I may miss out on the catcher run if I didn't get one here. Unfortunately the run never materialized.
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
It felt like quite a few owners were reaching for prospects instead of taking the proven players.
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
I would probably figure out a time to get a 2nd closer. Hoffman is solid but I think I am going to need help there at some point in the season. Otherwise I feel that I had a pretty good draft.
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| 12 | Taxman
SuperDude
ID: 029463114
Fri, Mar 30, 2007, 23:57
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First..thanks to mjd for serving as commish and mjd and bandos for monitoring/re-posting of the rationals thread.
1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
I didn't have plan per se, but after having the #2 slot fall to me I devised a murky plan highlighting power in the rnds 1-3, then 4-7 look for SP and MI and Steals, 8-13 more SP and best hitters available, remainder of draft picks based on position scarcity and potential break out players. I doubted that I would draft a meaningful Closer from the 2 hole, sacrificing a category that sees best closers gone by the 6th round, in hopes of selecting Hitters/Pitchers that would each be + players in 3 or more categories. No, I didn't execute plan as drawn after round 3. But generally, was able to follow the plan of gettinng SP tied down earlier in the draft.
2. What were your favorite picks? What picks would you like to do over?
Favorite Picks were Holliday @ 2.15 (31st pick) and Greg Maddux at 16.15 (255th). Do over... my 8.15 Tavares (I'm OK with the pick, but I wanted Papelbon ..taken @ 8.16..and thought he would slide through Bandos who had just drafted two relievers and I could get him at 9.02..foolish me.) and Lo Duca @ 15.02 plus 17.02 Orvella, (now in the minors) with many good 3 category hitters and good MI available.
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
In no particular order: airallnight (solid SP and Hitting, seems short on Steals), jumpball (stud hitters at each position..how did he do that..with good potential pitching, no glaring category problems) and Bandos (1 of his 2 turnaround picks was usually the top name in my queue of which Anthony Reyes, Pat Neshek and Pabelbon were all painfull...he may be short on W).
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
I was surprised at the number of quality players available after the 12th round. Most surprised by how even this league appears at the starting gun. Based on Draft analyzer by The Talented Mr. Roto (which appears to weight entire roster) the top 8 projectred finish:
............Hitting Pitching Total
..Jeffaggy.....46.....58.........104
UpT Bmbrs..52.....51.........103
.Jumpball.....56.....46.........102
...Taxman.....61.....41.........102
...Bandos.....42.....59.........101
RoboGuru...56.....44........100
........TD.......40.....58..........98
airallnight...42.....43...........85
(After 18 picks Taxman, jeffaggy, Bandos and air allnight were running between 100 and 118)
5. If you could start the whole thing over, would you do anything differently?
I would have chosen the 7 or 8 slot (just to get away from Bandos). Actually, with Abreau falling to the 2nd round 7 hole and Hanly Ramiriz falling to the 2nd round 6th hole, I could have changed my draft strategy. I took 4 tool players with 6 of first 7 picks, forcing a pick for Steals on pick # 8. If I could have drafted a 1 or 2 five tool players in the first two rounds, I would have had a better shot at a balanced roster (drafted for saves).
However, I have to admit I am pleased with my picks going into the season.
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