Season Preview: I Hate This Team

Coming into the draft, how do you feel your keepers stacked up to the rest of the league?

I honestly thought my keepers were one of the worst sets, if not the worst set in the league. That's why I went with I Hate This Team. I like Weaver and Lee a lot, and I think Dunn will love the homer-happy Cell. Buster Posey will (hopefully) be good sooner rather than later. I was meh (to use Baron's word) about the rest of them. I struggled to come up with six guys to keep.

What was your primary objective heading into the draft? And to that effect, did you accomplish it?

I guess my primary objective in the draft was to improve my offense from last year. I'm not entirely sure I was able to do that. I have a bunch of new faces, but they still seem to have all the same problems: they don't score runs, they don't drive in runs, they don't get on base, they don't steal bases, and they don't hit home runs. So, no. I didn't meet my objective. I really suck at baseball drafting.

You have a staff loaded with strikeout potential- but several WHIP liabilities. Do you feel that you can balance that or are the two inextricably linked?

I think strikeouts and WHIP are linked to a certain extent. Most of the big strikeout guys throw a lot of pitches, and they tend to walk a lot of guys as well. They are effectively wild. As it is, I was far more concerned about getting strikeouts than thinking about WHIP. Another reason I suck at drafting.

Brian Wilson was your 4th round pick, and your second closer. Knowing what we know now, would you make that pick again?

I'm kind of wondering what you mean specifically by what we know now. That he's a crazy SOB who is as likely to give up 7 runs in one inning as he is to strike out the side? Yeah, I'd do it again. If for no other reason than the beard.

What is your teams biggest deficiency and conversely, its biggest strength?

Biggest strength is pitching, while the biggest weakness is offense. Specifically, strikeouts are my biggest strength, and home runs are my biggest weakness.

Season Preview: POP POP!!!

According to Yahoo!, Nelson Cruz was the highest rated player available in the draft. He fell to you at pick 6, was that a huge surprise?

I was not expecting Nelson Cruz to even be available. I wanted to target a 2b due to positional scarcity, but he fact that hew as available as a power/avg/speed source trumped my plans and I jumped on him. I don't know why he was available, but adding him and rasmus to mccutchen made one of my weaknesses (OF) a strength for me.

You have one of the best lineups in terms of power in the league. You also have major SB potential on the bench with Rajai Davis. How do you balance playing to your strength (power) while addressing a weakness (speed)?

My top 4 outfield guys all have speed. in 2010 here are their SB numbers: McCutchen (33), Cruz (17), Rasmus (12), Davis (50). I'm not really worried about speed. I wont dominate, but I won't be paltry in those categories.

Who was your best draft pick?

I felt my best draft pick was either Aaron Hill or Rajai Davis. Hill had something like a .190 BABIP last year, and while he has started off slowly this year, I expect major improvement. I expect 25 HR,.350 OBP and perhaps a handful of SB. I was happy to pick him up late and address a positional need. In addition, getting elite speed with Rajai Davis that late was great. I targeted him early and was glad that he stuck around.

Who do you feel you reached for?

I reached for Cahill. I fell in love with his wins and era. However, he's not a strikeout pitcher and his BABIP last year was ridiculously low, so he should regress. I probably should have drafted Anderson at that spot since he's their best pitcher. I'm not upset, but that was my biggest reach. Any regrets from the draft? JR drafted Starlin Castro 3 picks before I did, and considering Stephen Drew's injury thus far, that would have been a huge pick at that point. I actually think that was the best pick in the whole draft. Castro is vastly underrated and think he'll have an outstanding year. To pick him up that late was tremendous.

You took Asian players in back to back rounds, both of whom were being targeted by Dave Tomke. How does that make you feel?

Any Asians that I can keep safely under the wing of my protection from Tomke's fantasy sweatshop is a victory for the children of Asia. I'm the fantasy UNICEF.

Season Preview: Chet Steadman

Coming into the draft, how do you feel your keepers stacked up to the rest of the league?

Like a raccoon versus a large truck

What was your primary objective heading into the draft? And to that effect, did you accomplish it?

I drafted like a champ...I'm Champ. Still being Champ is an accomplishment...and right now I feel thirsty.

You had the #1 overall pick. Was Tommy Hanson a slam dunk, despite you keeping 3 pitchers?

Pitching is important because I got owned there last year. Tommy Hanson seemed like the type of guy that could help this year and likely hang around the club for a few years...possibly even be my friend.

Jacoby Ellsbury and Shane Victorino represent good value in rounds 4 and 6 resp- but leave your team lacking in power. Do you plan to address run production either via trade or via the waiver wire?

Possibly...but I may lead the league this year in inside the park home runs, and that's important to me.

Who was your best draft pick? Conversely, who do you feel you “reached” for?

Miguel "Thunderballs" Montero was the best pick. Montero is like a stronger, well-developed, more-talented, more-respected and more hispanic version of Tyler Lowell -- Valpo's catcher during the WVUR golden era. Ian Stewart was a reach...no Stewart was "a panic." I remember I was looking for Neil Walker on the roster of third basemen, and for some reason I couldn't find him at that moment. I was running out of time when I drafted Stewart...so I cut his ass. Thankfully, I was able to draft Walker in the next round thanks to a little device called search bar...but Walker crapped on the Cubs in the season opener. What a dick.

Season Preview Bob Hamelin

Coming into the draft, how do you feel your keepers stacked up to the rest of the league?

Not good. I had every intention of keeping Adam Wainwright, and his preseason injury naturally put a crimp in my plans. Then again, I wasn't sure who to NOT keep and so that crystallized the decision for me. I have some enviable quality at scarce positions with Kinsler and Reyes, and though Ichiro is unsexy, he is a multi-category standout. My concern is that I don't have a dominant player at any position coming into the year and a weak pitching staff comparitively with Gallardo and Price.

That in mind, what was your primary objective heading into the draft?

I wanted to get a big bat or two -- possibly at first base -- and was very pleased to get Morneau where I did. That made me feel better about what else I had, which is a bunch of quality guys without a dominant power bat.

And do that effect, did you accomplish it?

Loved my draft. Loved the late pickup of Matt Wieters, which allows me to use Victor Martinez as a DH or 1B bat when needed. You made Heath Bell the first closer taken, in the second round. Would you do that again, knowing what we know now? Sure, why not? In a league where you start three closers, I think it's nice to have at least one stud, and Bell is by many accounts the best in the draft. With six keepers, we're really talking about the eighth round, which is squarely like someone of Bell's caliber should go. Saves are one of the easiest stats to get throughout the year, but you don't want all three of those RP slots to be patchwork. I'm very happy with my stable of relievers.

Did you anticipate Corey Hart being available in the 8th round? Do you feel that is your best value? If not, then who?

I'm happy to get him there, but I'm nervous about where this oblique injury will leave him. Even if he's 100 percent healthy, we're still talking about one great year after a year and a half of horror, so it's still unclear who the real Corey Hart is. I didn't really ponder taking him earlier but saw his availability in the 8th as a must-grab...probably my best value, yes. I also think I made a sneaky good pick with Carlos Lee late, particualrly because I needed power and an outfielder desperately. I feel I was able to upgrade other areas and still get the OF need covered with Hart on DL by taking Lee that late.

Justin Morneau in the 3rd round- it's obviously a high risk pick, any hesitation when you saw him there?

No way, because I had thought about him in the first round before ultimately thinking that was too early, and REALLY thought about him in the second round but measured that he would get back to me based on what was off the board and who was picking. I knew most teams were set at 1B with keepers, so if there's any hesitation it would be that guys might have continued to look at other positions for another round, but I love my pick there. The concussion is weird -- but if it's truly gone, it should have zero impact on his abilities, and I would thus have a bona fide MVP candidate with a ninth-round value.

Any draft regrets? What does your team need to work on and what is it's greatest strength?

I really regretted not taking Lidge earlier and got sniped, but that was before I learned his injury situation was going to be much longer. I think he was really undervalued on cheat sheets this year. My pitching is pretty weak, so I'm banking on some under-the-radar type players having strong years. Also, I regret that I root for the Milwaukee Fucking Brewers.

Season Preview: Bip Roberts

-Coming into the draft, how do you feel your keepers stacked up to the rest of the league?

I liked some of my players but felt I was lacking the dominant superstar of certain positions. Several of my guys were drafted in the first two rounds of this year's draft and are really good players. Guys like Tommy Hanson, Nelson Cruz, and Carlos Santana were all close cuts, but were they really that much better than Adrian Gonzalez (coming off injury and a wealth of power available at first base), Frank Lirano (who strikes out a lot of guys, but is not considered a dominant pitcher), or Shin Soo Choo (who does nothing wrong but also nothing spectacularly well)?

-That in mind, what was your primary objective heading into the draft? And do that effect, did you accomplish it?

I honestly don't have a draft strategy and rarely do I even target a single guy. I usually go into a draft with a few players in mind but am always trying to pick the best available player, regardless of position. If mockdraftcentral would have let me, I was not going to draft a catcher. Once Carlos Santana was off the board, I didn't feel as if anyone was worthy of using a draft pick that couldn't be picked up later on waivers. In previous years, I've been short in the runs/steals category, so I did attempt to get a few guys who would help out there (Gardner).

-You were able to get Chris Young, a 25-25 guy, in the fifth round- was that your best draft pick?

If I could remember the order of who I picked, I would be better able to comment on the value of the Chris Young pick. That said, I think he's a good player. I think he'll play better than last year and doesn't have a statistical weakness (re: Shin Soo Choo). I was also pleased to get Rickie Weeks in the first round, as I debated between him and Dan Uggla, but that decision was made for me and I like how it turned out. I think Clay Buchholz is going to win a lot of games and that Brett Myers was undervalued, so I was also pleased with those two. And I was able to sprinkle a couple of prospects in there that have potential but won't cripple me if they don't turn out in Tyler Colvin and Freddie Freeman.

-Just two of your first ten picks were allocated to Starting Pitchers. Are you confident in rebound years from Jake Peavy and Carlos Zambrano?

No, I'm not. Again, I don't recall the order of the draft, but I'm pretty sure that I had Lincecum, Liriano, Buchholz, and Myers before I drafted Peavy or Zambrano. I'm hoping they make for bottom of the rotation mediocrity. I honestly feel Brian Duensing is going to have as competitive of a year as either of the two injured fellows. But, Peavy is a DL guy who isn't taking up a roster spot and I have no issue finding a guy or two on the waiver wire.

-Did you “miss” on any of your draft targets? Any draft regrets?

Probably because he's an Indian, Carlos Santana was sad to see go. I also thought Victor Martinez would have been an asset since he's doing the DH thing and could have filled the catcher position. I also loved my team at the end of last year and would have liked to have back Nelson Cruz and Tommy Hanson, but that was not feasible.

-What do you feel is your team’s biggest deficiency?

Starting pitching. I'm not in love with Liriano. You've pointed out the Peavy/Zambrano Chicago-land mess. Living in Minnesota, I think I've heard way more about Brian Duensing than anyone else, but he's largely unproven. And is any draft really that good when you utter the words "I'm excited about Brett Myers?" Oddly enough, the position I didn't want to draft at all, catcher, has turned out to be my best position through the first week of the season. I'm willing to trade Russell Martin for any Cy Young contenders if anyone is interested.

Also, I hate drafting closers. Just throwing that out there.

Season Preview: Smooth Like Quade

Coming into the draft, how do you feel your keepers stacked up to the rest of the league?

Well, it's hard for me to answer this without sounding like a jackass, but I feel like they're pretty awesome. Halladay and Pujols are arguably/probably the best pitcher and hitter in the game, while Carlos Gonzalez is young and coming off an MVP-caliber season. Ryan Howard is getting older, but still provides plenty of help in the power categories. Justin Upton regressed a bit last year, but still managed to help a bit in every category; there's plenty of upside there with his age and pedigree. And Jon Lester is just entering his prime, strikes out 700 guys per year and has a good offense behind him.So yeah, I guess I liked my keepers.

What was your primary objective heading into the draft? And to that effect, did you accomplish it?

My objective with a big draft like this is just to get as many good players as I can, without worrying too much about categories or positional scarcity. There's usually enough help available on the waiver wire that the positions tend to sort themselves out and I can target categories as needed when it gets later in the season. I also try to get a balance of younger guys with upside and then some veterans who I know don't have too low of a floor (the Bobby Abreu and Derek Jeter picks, for example), which usually helps me balance out some inevitable failures from the upside guys. Also, why am I giving away my approach to drafting to the rest of you idiots?

Carlos Santana fell to you at the end of the fifth round. Was that a target for you or did it just work out?

That definitely was NOT on my radar going into the draft. First, I figured he'd be gone by the time I wanted to draft a catcher because 1.) He's a really good young player and/or 2.) Drew Wolf is in our league. But by the time it got to that round, he was the last of the elite-level catchers left and it was too good of a value to pass up. I liked the idea of having a catcher who could actually help me in OBP rather than trying to find one who won't submarine the category for me.

Do you have any regrets with the way your draft worked out?

[JR Radcliffe]I didn't prepare a whole lot for the draft this year[/JR Radcliffe], which didn't really seem to be a problem in the first 8-10 rounds because most of those guys are familiar. But later in the draft, I probably didn't have a very good grasp on a few sleeper-type guys and maybe some closer situations around the league. I don't love the way my fake bullpen shook out, which is why I'm currently using too many roster spots on Potential Closer guys in hopes that one of them will eventually break through and give me some saves.

Your draft did not yield a lot of power hitters. Confidence in your keepers or the way things worked out?

A little bit of both, actually. Keeping Pujols, Howard, Gonzalez and Upton's Untapped Upside gave me a fair amount of power going into the draft, so I didn't feel the need to go after power immediately. Though as the draft went on, I realized I hadn't really addressed the category -- but most of the guys with big power numbers were too flawed in other ways for my liking. There's always a Jack Cust type of guy out there if I feel the need to add some power to my lineup. Speaking of, I probably should go add him right now. Thanks for reminding me.

What is your teams biggest deficiency and conversely, its biggest strength?

From a quick glance, I'd probably say my starting pitching is my biggest strength. I'm a little worried about Mat Latos to start the year, but if he gets his arm sorted out and puts together another year like 2010, I'll be in good shape. I also feel like I have a pretty well-balanced offense, though maybe a little light on steals. Biggest weakness would probably be the bullpen and, again, not having a standout speed guy who's a lock for 40-plus steals.