2007 Dying Quails
Had our big fantasy baseball draft on Saturday at one of the guys' houses. He lives across the street from the entrance to the subdivision I lived in up in Dunwoody, just down the street from Austin Elementary. It's almost as creepy as last year, when the draft was in the same subdivision I lived in the last few of years of high school.
I don't think it looks good for the Dying Quails to defend our title. I'm not confident in my team at all, mostly because my starting shortstop is Rich Aurilia, but also because I had $17 left over at the end. That means I passed up on at least one quality player too many in the middle of the draft. More likely two.
meet the 2007 Dying Quails:
position, player, team, price, round
C Mike Piazza (oak) $6 (12)
C A.J. Pierzynski (cws) draft
1B Lance Berkman (hou) $33 (5)
1B Adam LaRoche (pit) $4 (10)
2B Brian Roberts (bal) $20 (5)
2B Chris Burke (hou) $5 (21)
3B Scott Rolen (stl) $11 (8)
3B Shea Hillenbrand (ana) draft
SS Rich Aurilia (sf) $1 (11)
SS Jason Bartlett (min) draft
CF Rocco Baldelli (tb) $17 (4)
CF Eric Byrnes (az) $1 (19)
OF Manny Ramirez (bos) $33 (1)
OF Bobby Abreu (nyy) $25 (6)
OF Corey Hart (mil) $5 (19)
OF Chris Duncan (stl) $1 (20)
DH Shane Victorino (phi) draft
DH Wilson Betemit (la) last draft pick
SP Brandon Webb (az) $21 (6)
SP Jeremy Bonderman (det) $15 (7)
SP Jason Schmidt (la) $10 (8)
SP Mike Mussina (nyy) $5 (14)
P Rich Hill (cub) $4 (16)
P Greg Maddux (la) $3 (18)
P Clay Hensley (sd) draft
P Dan Wheeler (hou) draft
RP Akinori Otsuka (tex) $17 (last auction pick)
RP Todd Jones (det) $5 (20)
RP Chris Ray (bal) $9 (11)
RP Chad Cordero (was) $9 (13)
So there they are. My offense is in trouble, but my pitching is pretty good, especially at the top of the rotation. We voted to add one more DH and another P to our starting lineups each week, so the extra pitching, especially the extra closer and vultures, is great to have.
Mussina is probably the best value pick, with Piazza a close second if he pans out the way so many people expect him to. Chris Duncan might be huge, especially for just a buck. Victorino (the "Flyin Hawaiian") is a huge sleeper for a reserve pick. Either makes for a good extra DH. "Corey Hart," by the way, is not a typo; that really is his name.
Yes, I got Abreu this year after having him stolen from me twice last year. He's a much better value at $25 than the $37 I missed out on. Only two players return from last year's team: Brandon Webb, who won last year's Cy Young and anchored my staff once Rich Harden made his annual DL stint, and perennial fantasy reserve guy Shea Hillenbrand, who comes in handy with his 1B/3B eligibility. Everybody else I wanted to return went for too much money this year, unsurprisingly - part of the reason I won last year was my ability to get them so cheaply at the draft (Jose Reyes $25/$40, Chris Young 6/10, Matt Holliday 16/28, Curt Schilling 7/13). Of course, had I known I'd be stuck with $22 for two players in the endgame, I'd have gone after Young and Schilling.
Four former Braves. No current Braves. Two Yankees. One Mike Piazza.
I'm still kicking myself over the shortstops. The best of them simply went too early for more than I had wanted to pay; but once I spent so much more for a 2B than I had intended, I couldn't pull the trigger on guys like Felipe Lopez for $11 or Michael Young for $20. I may just have to settle for a can't-hurt-you SS the way I had a can't-hurt-you 2B last year and hope Roberts comes through for me.
We'll see what happens. As one baseball sage once said, "It's a long season, and you have to trust it." But if it falls apart, I have plenty of saves to trade.
My ESPN keeper league (Jews for Jebus) drafted that same morning, but I'm not at all happy about that team. I also have public league teams on ESPN (Kosher for Baseball) and Yahoo! (Lokel Yokels). I might try a more serious league on either site, but I haven't decided yet.
I don't think it looks good for the Dying Quails to defend our title. I'm not confident in my team at all, mostly because my starting shortstop is Rich Aurilia, but also because I had $17 left over at the end. That means I passed up on at least one quality player too many in the middle of the draft. More likely two.
meet the 2007 Dying Quails:
position, player, team, price, round
C Mike Piazza (oak) $6 (12)
C A.J. Pierzynski (cws) draft
1B Lance Berkman (hou) $33 (5)
1B Adam LaRoche (pit) $4 (10)
2B Brian Roberts (bal) $20 (5)
2B Chris Burke (hou) $5 (21)
3B Scott Rolen (stl) $11 (8)
3B Shea Hillenbrand (ana) draft
SS Rich Aurilia (sf) $1 (11)
SS Jason Bartlett (min) draft
CF Rocco Baldelli (tb) $17 (4)
CF Eric Byrnes (az) $1 (19)
OF Manny Ramirez (bos) $33 (1)
OF Bobby Abreu (nyy) $25 (6)
OF Corey Hart (mil) $5 (19)
OF Chris Duncan (stl) $1 (20)
DH Shane Victorino (phi) draft
DH Wilson Betemit (la) last draft pick
SP Brandon Webb (az) $21 (6)
SP Jeremy Bonderman (det) $15 (7)
SP Jason Schmidt (la) $10 (8)
SP Mike Mussina (nyy) $5 (14)
P Rich Hill (cub) $4 (16)
P Greg Maddux (la) $3 (18)
P Clay Hensley (sd) draft
P Dan Wheeler (hou) draft
RP Akinori Otsuka (tex) $17 (last auction pick)
RP Todd Jones (det) $5 (20)
RP Chris Ray (bal) $9 (11)
RP Chad Cordero (was) $9 (13)
So there they are. My offense is in trouble, but my pitching is pretty good, especially at the top of the rotation. We voted to add one more DH and another P to our starting lineups each week, so the extra pitching, especially the extra closer and vultures, is great to have.
Mussina is probably the best value pick, with Piazza a close second if he pans out the way so many people expect him to. Chris Duncan might be huge, especially for just a buck. Victorino (the "Flyin Hawaiian") is a huge sleeper for a reserve pick. Either makes for a good extra DH. "Corey Hart," by the way, is not a typo; that really is his name.
Yes, I got Abreu this year after having him stolen from me twice last year. He's a much better value at $25 than the $37 I missed out on. Only two players return from last year's team: Brandon Webb, who won last year's Cy Young and anchored my staff once Rich Harden made his annual DL stint, and perennial fantasy reserve guy Shea Hillenbrand, who comes in handy with his 1B/3B eligibility. Everybody else I wanted to return went for too much money this year, unsurprisingly - part of the reason I won last year was my ability to get them so cheaply at the draft (Jose Reyes $25/$40, Chris Young 6/10, Matt Holliday 16/28, Curt Schilling 7/13). Of course, had I known I'd be stuck with $22 for two players in the endgame, I'd have gone after Young and Schilling.
Four former Braves. No current Braves. Two Yankees. One Mike Piazza.
I'm still kicking myself over the shortstops. The best of them simply went too early for more than I had wanted to pay; but once I spent so much more for a 2B than I had intended, I couldn't pull the trigger on guys like Felipe Lopez for $11 or Michael Young for $20. I may just have to settle for a can't-hurt-you SS the way I had a can't-hurt-you 2B last year and hope Roberts comes through for me.
We'll see what happens. As one baseball sage once said, "It's a long season, and you have to trust it." But if it falls apart, I have plenty of saves to trade.
My ESPN keeper league (Jews for Jebus) drafted that same morning, but I'm not at all happy about that team. I also have public league teams on ESPN (Kosher for Baseball) and Yahoo! (Lokel Yokels). I might try a more serious league on either site, but I haven't decided yet.