My snarky remarks in regard to JR's keepers led him to call me a "biatch" and telling me to do a preview. Since he so thoroughly pantsed me in the grammar department, I must oblige. Unlike traditional rankings, I will instead try to predict the future, one category at a time. Here my projected finishes in each of our 10 scoring categories, based on rosters as of 3/25.
Runs Scored
1. Drew - This is a really good offense. Best IF in the league.
2. Eli - This team will score a lot. Probably eventually more than Drew, but not as is
3. Lincoln - Scott Podsednik scored fewer runs (80 in 162 games) than Placido Polanco in 2005. That's how you spark an offense, apparently.
4. JR - Mr. Radcliffe will think this (and all of his other) rankings are too low. He has a case here.
5. Ed - Rooting for the Rangers very hard
6. Viano - Peralta will see a spike; Joe Mauer could too
7. Baron - Two good leadoff men and Jason Bay lead the way
8. Tomke - Will want to get to know Chase Utley, as Jimmy Rollins' runs rely on him a good deal
9. Champ - 3 key OFs (Dye, Mench, Green) all get big at-bats and small run totals
10. Stem - No leadoff types that will constantly score runs. Depends on Bonds
Home Runs
1. JR - Lee, Jones set for a drop. Will Miggy Cabrera see pitches? Who cares- you'd envy his sluggers.
2. Drew - Soriano's numbers will dip, but getting Konerko where they did was a coup
3. Eli - Switching SS from Tejada to Reyes reason for significant drop
4. Viano - A-Rod, A-Dunn and Utley are tremedous. What will Casey Kotchman do?
5. Ed - Tex is a stud, Lee, Burrell, Cantu a good support in this category
6. Lincoln - Three machines, then...not so much
7. Champ - Needs more OF pop. Would be higher if they could play all of their 1B
8. Stem - Helton no longer a 40 HR guy. Depends a lot on Bonds.
9. Baron - Mike Jacobs's HR rate projects him for over 60 homers
10. Tomke - Like Dave, this team has puny arms.
Runs Batted In
1. Lincoln - OrtizPujolsOrtizPujolsOrtizPujolsOrtizPujolsOrtizPujols
2. Ed - Cantu is key here, providing great production from 2B spot
3. JR - I love Travis Hafner.
4. Eli - Could be much higher, pending Ryan Howard's response to a full-time role
5. Drew - Best two RBI men are 'roided up Yankees. How does Drew sleep at night?
6. Viano - Cliff Floyd sniffing 100 again? I don't see it.
7. Champ - Deep in competent RBI guys, but only two big timers; one of whom is on the bench
8. Baron - Morgan Ensberg is key here
9. Stem - Ramirez, Chavez= machines. A lot will depend on Bonds.
10. Tomke - No one broke 90 last year. Morneau, Fielder- possible future machines, but long shots for this year.
Stolen Bases
1. Drew - Abreu, Soriano, Furcal will all run wild
2. Eli - Reyes, Crawford = best 1-2 in the VUFSA. Will Joey Gathright be a factor?
3. JR - Juan Pierre is the clear leader, should get another 60 from his IF
4. Lincoln - Needs spots for Roberts, Roberts to complement Pods
5. Ed- Had Pierre, Reyes and Figgins last year. This year? Willy Tavares.
6. Baron - Chone Figgins is great. I fucking hate Baron for taking him from me, sort of.
7. Tomke - New add Ichiro a key pickup to complement Rollins
8. Viano - Better if Ryan Freel finds a starting spot
9. Stem - Julio Lugo, and that's it.
10. Champ - A healthy Torii Hunter will help, but no one on this roster should break 30
On Base Average
1. Drew - Soriano sucks, but Giles and Giambi over .400
2. Stem - Helton, Berkman, Bonds all over .400
3. Lincoln - Chipper Jones is really good at this
4. Viano - Adam Dunn's value skyrockets with the rule change
5. JR - Sluggers are great, others are adequate
6. Eli - Misses Jason Bay- Jose Reyes OBA is pitiful.
7. Baron - Sluggers Bay, Jacobs and Ensberg project well here. Tejada is average
8. Ed - CaLee, Cantu, Tavares all leave much to be desired.
9. Champ - Mench, Dye, Blalock and Hunter are all free swingers
10. Tomke - Best OBPers are worst players (Overbay, Shelton)
Wins
1. JR - JR thinks he's ranked too low in this category
2. Viano - So. Many. Starters.
3. Ed - Let's get this out of the way: Ed's rotation needs to stay healthy
4. Tomke - Beckett and Bondo will be in the 14-17 range
5. Stem - 38 wins from Carpenter + Leiber unlikely; Schmidt will improve upon 2005
6. Lincoln - Jon Garland wont' hit 18 again
7. Champ - No 22 from Dontrelle; Mussina and Clement look d-u-n.
8. Drew - Kenny Rogers not due for another 14 wins in Detroit
9. Eli - Even on a division winner, Jake Peavy only won 14 games.
10. Baron - Able to assemble some good arms, but not good enough.
Saves
1. Viano - Top 3 returning closers, 2 of which are young risers
2. Ed - Gap between 1 and 2: small. Between 2 and 3 is much bigger
3. Drew - Will rotate no-namers daily to scrounge up SVs
4. Eli - Going with four closers, mostly unproven
5. Lincoln - I love Joe Borowski so much. Seriously.
6. Stem - Two good ones is still just two good ones
7. Tomke - Two young, good ones is still just two young, good closers
8. JR - Brad Lidge! That's all. Literally
9. Baron - Two best are from awful teams
10. Champ - Closers notched a total of 14 saves last season. Needs Gagne to save about 100 alone.
Strikeouts
1. Ed - Carrie Wood is the wild card here, but even without her is a good bet for #1.
2. JR - Smoltz, Johnson; Old, but very good at Ks.
3. Eli - Felix Hernandez and Jake Peavy are about all you can ask for in K/IP
4. Lincoln - Brett Myers set to break out here
5. Viano - Ben Sheets will need to be healthy for this team to be in the top half
6. Stem - No one will domniate here
7. Champ - 3 aces are far from being known as strikeout pitchers
8. Tomke - Without Roger, it's Pedro and no one else
9. Drew - Desperately needs Curt Schilling to regain form. How does Drew sleep at night?
10. Baron - Not much here
ERA
1. JR - Kevin Millwood is due for a major raise (in ERA) in Arlington. Still, really good staff
2. Eli - Even the mostly sucky Derek Lowe has a sub-4 ERA
3. Ed - Livan Hernandez needs to realize he pitches in a giant ballpark
4. Lincoln - Solid.
5. Baron - Is Matt Cain real?
6. Stem - Hudson and Schmidt's impending revivals could move them up a bit
7. Tomke - Hinges upon Clemens. Bondo, ESantana are 4+ guys
8. Drew - Rotating closers usually give up a few runs
9. Champ - Quite a few AL arms here
10. Viano - Will get a lot of 8-6 decisions in the win column
WHIP
1. Ed - You want to be Johan Santana so bad, you ache
2. JR - Roy Halladay way ahead of a solid crew at WHIP
3. Lincoln - Rivera is so good at WHIP, it's not fair
4. Eli - Why do all his RPs look like big walkers to me?
5. Viano - Ace starters actually better than ace relievers here
6. Tomke - Chein-Ming Wang, motherfuckers
7. Drew - Mulder, Westbrook a little high here for 2nd tier starters
8. Champ - Clement known for long innings
9. Stem - Liriano will be a beast in this category
10. Baron- How the hell am I supposed to project WHIP, anyway?
Point Projections:
JR: 80. He's got a good team, but he won't get 80 out of 100. I should change some things to knock it down, but i've been writing long enough.
Ed: 75. Now I'm sure I made some mistakes.
Eli: 71. Great offense, some questions on the pitching staff. I didn't pick him to lead the league in anything? I'm an idiot. I still think this is the league's best team.
Lincoln: 71. This snuck up on me too. No lower than 6th in any spot. Drew drafted better for Lincoln than he did himself.
Drew: 68. Three 1sts in offense, but pitching is suspect to me.
Viano: 59. All over the place in pitching categories. Solid offensively.
Stem: 39. Apparently, this is where we draw the line for contention.
Tomke: 33. Eat it, Baron
Baron: 29. Get some pitching, son
Champ: 27. Doesn't have a single category likely to excel in.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Thursday, March 23, 2006
VUFSA 2006 Baseball Preview
In a lame and useless attempt to re-energize the VUFSA blog, I present to you an extended look at the 2006 baseball season, with a full recap of preseason poll results. A record 10 owners voted in the poll, crowning Eli Gieryna the pre-season favorite to defend his title. But with vetrans Dakota Brezinski, Madd Skillz and the adoringly-named ELENI KAMETAS! on the trail of Dusty's Lame Ducks, it could be an impressive season indeed.
10. Wily Mo's Wild Ride (18 points)
It is a well-documented struggle for an expansion team to thrive, though draft rules in the baseball league attempted to bridge the competitive balance gap this time around. Owner Baron Brendel cetainly started out on the right foot by taking Jason Bay and Miguel Tejada in the expansion draft, both cornerstone players for his team and BOTH members of the absurdly stacked Dusty's Lame Ducks team last year.
Brendel took potential blossoming youngsters such as Matt Cain, Scott Kazmir and Mike Jacobs to pad his keeper potential and he has plenty of players that will serve vital roles, such as Chone Figgins, Johnny Damon and, assuming a repeat performance of last season, Morgan Ensberg. But there isn't a single superstar on this team besides Bay and Tejada. Employing a non-traditional drafting strategy of taking pitchers late, Brendel smartly took advantage of the deep pitching pool but is nonetheless left with people such as John Lackey, AJ Burnett, Todd Jones ad Brian Fuentes shouldering the bulk of the big time categories. He will struggle this season.
9. ChamPeons (21 points)
The most puzzling aspect of Brent Whitlock's draft was his zealous selection of first basemen, taking Carlos Delgado, Richie Sexson, Lyle Overbay and keeping Mike Sweeney. As a result, he's certainly loaded at the position, but Sexson sits on his bench while players such as Kevin Mench and Jermaine Dye play elsewhere. He will have some dealing power, but he weakened the rest of his team by bulking up at one spot, where only two first basemen can play in the everyday lineup.
His pitching will rely on a lot of players with question marks. Dontrelle Willis and Bobby Jenks have had rough pre-seasons, Eric Gagne is coming off a near fatal arm injury, and Cliff Lee was a marginal keeper at best. He put a lot of stock in Hank Blalock when he traded Overbay and Ichiro for Blalock and Mench, and that's a big risk considering the Texas third baseman hasn't consistently shown he can live up to his potential. If Champ could add another outfielder, I'd feel more comfortable with his lineup.
8. Bondo and the Asians (28 points)
Easily the sleeper pick for the 2006 baseball season, owner Dave Tomke had a near-perfect draft for an expansion team. After he played homer and made an extreme reach in taking Jeremy Bonderman in the expansion draft (where players such as Mark Mulder and Randy Johnson were available), he deftly put together a pitching staff of Pedro, Beckett, Duke, Huston Street and Ervin Santana, meshing current talent with keeper potential. He took a risk with Roger Clemens and could be sweetly rewarded ... if Clemens pitches, this team is the best staff in the league.
His problem was drafting one less outfielder than he needed, but he addressed that by trading his infield depth for Ichiro Suzuki, who becomes the star of an outfield that also has Carlos Beltran and Magglio Ordonez. Craig Biggio as his "utility" player demonstrates that there is plenty of room to grow, and an infield relying on bench player Bill Hall and dwindling Justin Morneau will be tenuous, but I give Tomke lots of credit.
7. Father Abraham (38 points)
Five years ago, this team would have been terrifying. With Albert Pujols (terrifying in any generation), Jeff Kent, Chipper Jones, Edgar Renteria and Ken Griffey, Jr., most of Lincoln Souzek's offensive players are cut from the reliable-if-healthy veteran mold, and he has David Ortiz for added power and stolen bases coming from Randy Winn and Scott Podsednik. It was a smart build, if unspectacular.
His pitching staff will have problems, however. Most critics don't think Jon Garland will do what he did last season, Andy Pettitte had a great year last year but always has arm problems, C.C. Sabathia is an on-again, off-again star, and players such as Doug Davis, Greg Maddux and Brad Radke reflect the offense in its veteran concept. No "aces" on the staff, per se, though Sabathia and Pettitte sometimes pitch as such. Most likely a middle of the pack team.
6. Cellar Dwellars (45 points -- 1 first place vote)
It's hard not to like his pitching staff, which has both time-tested arms (Schmidt, Hudson, Wagner), keeper potential (Haren, Liriano), some potential one-year-wonders but simultaneously potential resume-your-breakout stars (Carpenter, Turnbow) and one completely useless pud (McDougal). There's a lot of wins on the table if the pitching pans out.
It's a mixed bag on offense, but overall the lineup is unspectacular. Aging veterans Todd Helton, Ivan Rodriguez, Lance Berkman and Steroid Bonds will be needed heavily, with temper-tantrum prone Aramis Ramirez as the only young-ish star in the bunch. Julio Lugo might amount to something very positive, and then again he's the only player on this team with double digit steals last year. Aubrey Huff is coming off a down year, Jeff Francouer swings at everything, and Placido Polanco, to everyone's surprise, is still in baseball. Edwin Encarnacion could be a dynamite keeper potential pick.
5. Carl's Moon Men (47 points -- 1 first place vote)
Tadano's Fluffer has changed its name, for the worse if you ask me, but the team remains the same. I thought Andy Viano made a bold reach when he took Joe Mauer in the first round, but on the other hand his catcher position could be shored up for the next forever. If Casey Kotchman pans out, an infield of Utley, Rodriguez and Peralta is stellar and an outfield of Adam Dunn (power), Ryan Freel (speed), Curtis Granderson (keeper potential) and Cliff Floyd (kidney failure) addresses everything a team should want out of an outfield, even if there are no slam dunk superstars of the lot without flaws.
Viano went for quantity on the pitching end, with plenty of arms to supplement aces Rich Harden and Ben Sheets. But there isn't much here aside from numbers. Chris Capuano won 18 games last year but won't do it again, and I'm not sure anyone quite knows what to expect out of Erik Bedard, Freddy Garcia, Javy Vazquez or Gustavio Chacin. Chad Orvella was a strange pick, considering the Devil Rays haven't named him the closer, but K-Rod, Chad Cordero and Wickman will keep Viano near the top in saves.
4. ELENI KAMETAS! (54 points -- 2 first place votes)
Like, oh my god! Drew Wolf caught a break when Gary Sheffield fell to him in the first round of the draft, and he supplements a team that will hit its share of homers across the board without a single superstar in that regard. Bob Abreu had a mild second half last year but is still considered a fantasy stud, Brian Giles has silly on-base numbers, Alfonso Soriano will obtain more flexibility with a move to the outfield, David Wright is amazing and Victor Martinez is perhaps the most prolific catcher available. Throw in a host of stolen bases from Rafael Furcal, Soriano, Abreu, Wright and others, and you have a very well-rounded team that can afford to sit players like Moises Alou and Brad Wilkerson, who will come in handy later.
The pitching is okay...outside of Bartolo Colon, nobody is really striking anyone out, and the staff of Mulder, Schilling, Westbrook and Kenny Rogers won't strike fear into the hearts of too many hitters, although none of those names are bad pitchers exactly. Isringhausen and Foulke are injury question marks on the saves end, though Jose Valverde is blossoming in that regard. It's a good team with good depth.
3. Madd Skillz (65 points)
No first place votes for Ed Schillinger but lots of people picked him for second and third, and he's definitely one of the top three teams in the league. The problem right now is that his team is a hospital with its injury question marks, most notably Willy Taveras, Scott Rolen, Carlos Lee, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood.
Cubs aces aside, the pitching on this team is very good. Nobody needs to be told what Santana and Zambrano can do, and Joe Nathan might be the best closer in baseball, with Trevor Hoffman as no slouch either. Livan Hernandez is a horse (everyone calls him that), and Joe Blanton has keeper potential.
On the offensive end, Skillz will get a lot of consistent production from dudes like Michael Young, Jorge Cantu, Mark Teixeira, and most likely Rolen, which could be one of the draft's better steals. Grady Sizemore fell into his lap in the first round, probably because nobody ackowledges the sheer fantasy stud-dom he brings to the table by being well better than average in every category. He's baseball's Andrei Kirilenko. Lee and Pat Burrell each drove in more than 100 runs last season, and Taveras swiped 30-odd bases. Not too many holes.
2. Dakota Brezinski (65 points -- 2 first place votes)
By virtue of first place votes, settles tie with Madd Skillz for second place. Was extremely fortunate to thread Randy Johnson through the expansion process, leaving JR Radcliffe with a superb pitching staff that includes Oswalt, Halladay, Smoltz and upstart Noah Lowry, with Brad Lidge (a good value in the third round) and Armando Benitez (an injury question mark) serving as closers.
The RBI totals might be hard to come by, with only four players on the entire roster clearing 100 last year and one of them, Miguel Cabrera, now playing on a team decorated with youth. Derrek Lee will need to duplicate what he did last year in that regard. Went young, taking Jeremy Hermida, Ryan Zimmerman, Rickie Weeks and Johnny Gomes -- the latter probably too early -- to expand his keeper portfolio considerably. With Travis Hafner sliding to him in the first round, his offense is solid and polished, though not poised to blow the league away. That said, plenty of depth, with Barmes, Loretta and Guillen all likely to be starting on other teams in the league.
1. Dusty's Lame Ducks (69 points -- 4 first place votes)
The dawn of expansion has leveled the playing field somewhat...even Eli Gieryna's runaway champ team from last year has holes on the pitching staff that make it beatable. But just look at his outfield -- his godforsaken ohmygod that can't be real outfield -- and you'll see why people were impressed with his team.
Just think, Gieryna didn't have room to keep players like Miguel Tejada, Jason Bay, Chris Carpenter, Jason Isringhausen, Pedro Martinez, Ichrio Suzuki, Joe Mauer and Carlos Delgado. OH MY FUCKING GOD. Instead, he'll have to settle for Manny Ramirez, Vlad Guerrero and Carl Crawford, the perfect fantasy outfield. Hideki Matsui is a nice fourth and Chad Tracy has a heapful of upside. On the infield, Jose Reyes will conspire with Crawford to help Eli win stolen bases, Ryan Howard could emerge into an absolute superstar at first base with Jim Thome as a fine backup (irony), and Melvin Mora is one of the better third basemen in the league, even without the high profile to boot.
The pitching is fine with Jake Peavy as a stud and plenty of solid guys like Webb, Patterson, Lowe and Heilman. Felix Hernandez was kept because most people think he will own the game in two years, but he's still very, very young and MIGHT have a great season this year (his numbers last year would indicate that he's going to be just fine) but he could succumb to the "playing in the Major Leagues before you turn 21" thing. Gordon, Ryan, Ray and Reitsma are an uninspiring set of closers.
Furthermore, Eli Gieryna was chosen fifth in last year's preseason poll, before running away with it all. If that list of players that he had to give back is any indication, he's capable of fielding and cultivating the best team in the league, with a savvy capability to trade and enhance. It's hard to bet against him this time around. Even if he's a bitch.
Oh yes, while you're considering the merits of this preseason glance, check out what was written in the basketball preseason.
10. Wily Mo's Wild Ride (18 points)
It is a well-documented struggle for an expansion team to thrive, though draft rules in the baseball league attempted to bridge the competitive balance gap this time around. Owner Baron Brendel cetainly started out on the right foot by taking Jason Bay and Miguel Tejada in the expansion draft, both cornerstone players for his team and BOTH members of the absurdly stacked Dusty's Lame Ducks team last year.
Brendel took potential blossoming youngsters such as Matt Cain, Scott Kazmir and Mike Jacobs to pad his keeper potential and he has plenty of players that will serve vital roles, such as Chone Figgins, Johnny Damon and, assuming a repeat performance of last season, Morgan Ensberg. But there isn't a single superstar on this team besides Bay and Tejada. Employing a non-traditional drafting strategy of taking pitchers late, Brendel smartly took advantage of the deep pitching pool but is nonetheless left with people such as John Lackey, AJ Burnett, Todd Jones ad Brian Fuentes shouldering the bulk of the big time categories. He will struggle this season.
9. ChamPeons (21 points)
The most puzzling aspect of Brent Whitlock's draft was his zealous selection of first basemen, taking Carlos Delgado, Richie Sexson, Lyle Overbay and keeping Mike Sweeney. As a result, he's certainly loaded at the position, but Sexson sits on his bench while players such as Kevin Mench and Jermaine Dye play elsewhere. He will have some dealing power, but he weakened the rest of his team by bulking up at one spot, where only two first basemen can play in the everyday lineup.
His pitching will rely on a lot of players with question marks. Dontrelle Willis and Bobby Jenks have had rough pre-seasons, Eric Gagne is coming off a near fatal arm injury, and Cliff Lee was a marginal keeper at best. He put a lot of stock in Hank Blalock when he traded Overbay and Ichiro for Blalock and Mench, and that's a big risk considering the Texas third baseman hasn't consistently shown he can live up to his potential. If Champ could add another outfielder, I'd feel more comfortable with his lineup.
8. Bondo and the Asians (28 points)
Easily the sleeper pick for the 2006 baseball season, owner Dave Tomke had a near-perfect draft for an expansion team. After he played homer and made an extreme reach in taking Jeremy Bonderman in the expansion draft (where players such as Mark Mulder and Randy Johnson were available), he deftly put together a pitching staff of Pedro, Beckett, Duke, Huston Street and Ervin Santana, meshing current talent with keeper potential. He took a risk with Roger Clemens and could be sweetly rewarded ... if Clemens pitches, this team is the best staff in the league.
His problem was drafting one less outfielder than he needed, but he addressed that by trading his infield depth for Ichiro Suzuki, who becomes the star of an outfield that also has Carlos Beltran and Magglio Ordonez. Craig Biggio as his "utility" player demonstrates that there is plenty of room to grow, and an infield relying on bench player Bill Hall and dwindling Justin Morneau will be tenuous, but I give Tomke lots of credit.
7. Father Abraham (38 points)
Five years ago, this team would have been terrifying. With Albert Pujols (terrifying in any generation), Jeff Kent, Chipper Jones, Edgar Renteria and Ken Griffey, Jr., most of Lincoln Souzek's offensive players are cut from the reliable-if-healthy veteran mold, and he has David Ortiz for added power and stolen bases coming from Randy Winn and Scott Podsednik. It was a smart build, if unspectacular.
His pitching staff will have problems, however. Most critics don't think Jon Garland will do what he did last season, Andy Pettitte had a great year last year but always has arm problems, C.C. Sabathia is an on-again, off-again star, and players such as Doug Davis, Greg Maddux and Brad Radke reflect the offense in its veteran concept. No "aces" on the staff, per se, though Sabathia and Pettitte sometimes pitch as such. Most likely a middle of the pack team.
6. Cellar Dwellars (45 points -- 1 first place vote)
It's hard not to like his pitching staff, which has both time-tested arms (Schmidt, Hudson, Wagner), keeper potential (Haren, Liriano), some potential one-year-wonders but simultaneously potential resume-your-breakout stars (Carpenter, Turnbow) and one completely useless pud (McDougal). There's a lot of wins on the table if the pitching pans out.
It's a mixed bag on offense, but overall the lineup is unspectacular. Aging veterans Todd Helton, Ivan Rodriguez, Lance Berkman and Steroid Bonds will be needed heavily, with temper-tantrum prone Aramis Ramirez as the only young-ish star in the bunch. Julio Lugo might amount to something very positive, and then again he's the only player on this team with double digit steals last year. Aubrey Huff is coming off a down year, Jeff Francouer swings at everything, and Placido Polanco, to everyone's surprise, is still in baseball. Edwin Encarnacion could be a dynamite keeper potential pick.
5. Carl's Moon Men (47 points -- 1 first place vote)
Tadano's Fluffer has changed its name, for the worse if you ask me, but the team remains the same. I thought Andy Viano made a bold reach when he took Joe Mauer in the first round, but on the other hand his catcher position could be shored up for the next forever. If Casey Kotchman pans out, an infield of Utley, Rodriguez and Peralta is stellar and an outfield of Adam Dunn (power), Ryan Freel (speed), Curtis Granderson (keeper potential) and Cliff Floyd (kidney failure) addresses everything a team should want out of an outfield, even if there are no slam dunk superstars of the lot without flaws.
Viano went for quantity on the pitching end, with plenty of arms to supplement aces Rich Harden and Ben Sheets. But there isn't much here aside from numbers. Chris Capuano won 18 games last year but won't do it again, and I'm not sure anyone quite knows what to expect out of Erik Bedard, Freddy Garcia, Javy Vazquez or Gustavio Chacin. Chad Orvella was a strange pick, considering the Devil Rays haven't named him the closer, but K-Rod, Chad Cordero and Wickman will keep Viano near the top in saves.
4. ELENI KAMETAS! (54 points -- 2 first place votes)
Like, oh my god! Drew Wolf caught a break when Gary Sheffield fell to him in the first round of the draft, and he supplements a team that will hit its share of homers across the board without a single superstar in that regard. Bob Abreu had a mild second half last year but is still considered a fantasy stud, Brian Giles has silly on-base numbers, Alfonso Soriano will obtain more flexibility with a move to the outfield, David Wright is amazing and Victor Martinez is perhaps the most prolific catcher available. Throw in a host of stolen bases from Rafael Furcal, Soriano, Abreu, Wright and others, and you have a very well-rounded team that can afford to sit players like Moises Alou and Brad Wilkerson, who will come in handy later.
The pitching is okay...outside of Bartolo Colon, nobody is really striking anyone out, and the staff of Mulder, Schilling, Westbrook and Kenny Rogers won't strike fear into the hearts of too many hitters, although none of those names are bad pitchers exactly. Isringhausen and Foulke are injury question marks on the saves end, though Jose Valverde is blossoming in that regard. It's a good team with good depth.
3. Madd Skillz (65 points)
No first place votes for Ed Schillinger but lots of people picked him for second and third, and he's definitely one of the top three teams in the league. The problem right now is that his team is a hospital with its injury question marks, most notably Willy Taveras, Scott Rolen, Carlos Lee, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood.
Cubs aces aside, the pitching on this team is very good. Nobody needs to be told what Santana and Zambrano can do, and Joe Nathan might be the best closer in baseball, with Trevor Hoffman as no slouch either. Livan Hernandez is a horse (everyone calls him that), and Joe Blanton has keeper potential.
On the offensive end, Skillz will get a lot of consistent production from dudes like Michael Young, Jorge Cantu, Mark Teixeira, and most likely Rolen, which could be one of the draft's better steals. Grady Sizemore fell into his lap in the first round, probably because nobody ackowledges the sheer fantasy stud-dom he brings to the table by being well better than average in every category. He's baseball's Andrei Kirilenko. Lee and Pat Burrell each drove in more than 100 runs last season, and Taveras swiped 30-odd bases. Not too many holes.
2. Dakota Brezinski (65 points -- 2 first place votes)
By virtue of first place votes, settles tie with Madd Skillz for second place. Was extremely fortunate to thread Randy Johnson through the expansion process, leaving JR Radcliffe with a superb pitching staff that includes Oswalt, Halladay, Smoltz and upstart Noah Lowry, with Brad Lidge (a good value in the third round) and Armando Benitez (an injury question mark) serving as closers.
The RBI totals might be hard to come by, with only four players on the entire roster clearing 100 last year and one of them, Miguel Cabrera, now playing on a team decorated with youth. Derrek Lee will need to duplicate what he did last year in that regard. Went young, taking Jeremy Hermida, Ryan Zimmerman, Rickie Weeks and Johnny Gomes -- the latter probably too early -- to expand his keeper portfolio considerably. With Travis Hafner sliding to him in the first round, his offense is solid and polished, though not poised to blow the league away. That said, plenty of depth, with Barmes, Loretta and Guillen all likely to be starting on other teams in the league.
1. Dusty's Lame Ducks (69 points -- 4 first place votes)
The dawn of expansion has leveled the playing field somewhat...even Eli Gieryna's runaway champ team from last year has holes on the pitching staff that make it beatable. But just look at his outfield -- his godforsaken ohmygod that can't be real outfield -- and you'll see why people were impressed with his team.
Just think, Gieryna didn't have room to keep players like Miguel Tejada, Jason Bay, Chris Carpenter, Jason Isringhausen, Pedro Martinez, Ichrio Suzuki, Joe Mauer and Carlos Delgado. OH MY FUCKING GOD. Instead, he'll have to settle for Manny Ramirez, Vlad Guerrero and Carl Crawford, the perfect fantasy outfield. Hideki Matsui is a nice fourth and Chad Tracy has a heapful of upside. On the infield, Jose Reyes will conspire with Crawford to help Eli win stolen bases, Ryan Howard could emerge into an absolute superstar at first base with Jim Thome as a fine backup (irony), and Melvin Mora is one of the better third basemen in the league, even without the high profile to boot.
The pitching is fine with Jake Peavy as a stud and plenty of solid guys like Webb, Patterson, Lowe and Heilman. Felix Hernandez was kept because most people think he will own the game in two years, but he's still very, very young and MIGHT have a great season this year (his numbers last year would indicate that he's going to be just fine) but he could succumb to the "playing in the Major Leagues before you turn 21" thing. Gordon, Ryan, Ray and Reitsma are an uninspiring set of closers.
Furthermore, Eli Gieryna was chosen fifth in last year's preseason poll, before running away with it all. If that list of players that he had to give back is any indication, he's capable of fielding and cultivating the best team in the league, with a savvy capability to trade and enhance. It's hard to bet against him this time around. Even if he's a bitch.
Oh yes, while you're considering the merits of this preseason glance, check out what was written in the basketball preseason.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
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