Mic Check, 6 - 4 - 3

Consider this a 2nd open invitation to critique a fantasy baseball draft.  Flay it open, rip into it, and do not hold back.  But…before you do any flaying, ripping, or holding, consider the rules of etiquette.

• Avoid the low-hanging fruit.  No references to anyone’s mom or a basement.
• Try to omit words like “idiot”, “moron”, and “clueless”.  You will only receive the “I know you are but what I am” classic retort.  Welcome to the baseball kindergarten playground.  My Tonka truck is over there in the corner of the sand box.  Leave it alone.
• Just assume that I’m aware of my mental health state, and I’m considered competent to drive a Segway on the sidewalks in my neighborhood.

When I wrote the original “Open Mic” piece, I was in the middle of a slow draft on Twitter for a 5×5 fantasy league.  Now seems like a good time to revisit that draft and bare my baseball soul for all to see.  Here is the end result for all 25 rounds along with a defense for some (if not all) of the picks.

1. Robinson Cano (2B) – 104 runs, 28 hr, 118 rbi, 8 steals, .882 ops
2. Jered Weaver (P) – 18 wins, 2.41 era, 0 saves, 198 strikeouts, 1.010 whip
3. Clayton Kershaw (P) – 21 wins, 2.28 era, 0 saves, 248 strikeouts, 0.977 whip
4. Asdrubal Cabrera (SS) – 87 runs, 25 hr, 92 rbi, 17 steals, .792 ops
5. Alex Gordon (OF) – 101 runs, 23 hr, 87 rbi, 17 steals, .879 ops
6. Shin-Soo Choo (OF) – 37 runs, 8 hr, 36 rbi, 12 steals, .733 ops
7. Ben Zobrist (OF) – 99 runs, 20 hr, 91 rbi, 19 steals, .822 ops
8. Aramis Ramirez (3B) – 80 runs, 26 hr, 93 rbi, 1 steal, .871 ops
9. David Freese (CI) – 41 runs, 10 hr, 55 rbi, 1 steal, .791 ops
10. Josh Beckett (P) – 13 wins, 2.89 era, 0 saves, 175 strikeouts, 1.026 whip
11. Jose Valverde (P) – 2 wins, 2.24 era, 49 saves, 69 strikeouts, 1.189 whip
12. Ricky Romero (P) – 15 wins, 2.92 era, 0 saves, 178 strikeouts, 1.138 whip
13. Alex Avila (C) – 63 runs, 19 hr, 82 rbi, 3 steals, .895 ops
14. Ryan Vogelsong (P) – 13 wins, 2.71 era, 0 saves, 139 strikeouts, 1.252 whip
15. Nick Swisher (1B) – 81 runs, 23 hr, 85 rbi, 2 steals, .822 ops
16. Jhonny Peralta (MI) – 68 runs, 21 hr, 86 rbi, 0 steals, .824 ops
17. Jaime Garcia (P) – 13 wins, 3.56 era, 0 saves, 156 strikeouts, 1.320 whip
18. Vance Worley (P) – 11 wins, 3.01 era, 0 saves, 119 strikeouts, 1.230 whip
19. Allen Craig (OF) – 33 runs, 11 hr, 40 rbi, 5 steals, .917 ops
20. Josh Willingham (OF) – 69 runs, 29 hr, 98 rbi, 4 steals, .810 ops
21. Jason Motte (P) – 5 wins, 2.25 era, 9 saves, 63 strikeouts, 0.956 whip
22. Jair Jurrjens (P) – 13 wins, 2.96 era, 0 saves, 90 strikeouts, 1.224 whip
23. Matt Joyce (OF) – 69 runs, 19 hr, 75 rbi, 13 steals, .825 ops
24. Russell Martin (UTIL) – 57 runs, 18 hr, 65 rbi, 8 steals, .732 ops
25. Melky Cabrera (UTIL) – 102 runs, 18 hr, 87 rbi, 20 steals, .809 ops

In my own defense, I am just a huge Robinson Cano fan and think he could actually improve on last year.  On the other hand, I am putting a lot of faith in guys like Choo and Freese who lost significant time last season due to injury.  I admit to trying a catch a flyer (or three), but I believe I am taking chances on the right kinds of players.

Post-mortem:

• I am already on record as stating that Cano is a stretch at the #1 pick.  However, I went with my philosophy that creating a substantial differential by stocking up on players at positions I deem shallow will help me success in the long term.  I consider Cano and Zobrist to be 2 of the top 8 guys at 2B.  Since snagging both also impacts the pool of available middle infielders (MI), I believe I may have given myself an advantage.
• In theoretically giving myself an advantage, did I give up too much by not taking a top 3 guy at 1B.  Probably.  Possibly.  Dunno.  Though he is currently listed as an outfielder by Yahoo, Alex Gordan will be the man 1B for my team.  I truly expect him to be a top 10 guy at 1B, and I do not believe that the distinction between top 3 and top 10 at that position is enough to worry me.
• I am to blame for starting a bit of an early run on starting pitchers, but Roy Halladay and Justin Verlander were both drafted early.  Actually, Halladay went at the end of the first round, and Verlander went in the middle of round 2.  The next two on my list were Kershaw and Weaver, so I took both.  Honestly, I do not regret the move at all, because the pitching staff could very well be the strength of this team.
• Combining closers Valverde and Motte may be a bit of a gamble, but I tend to favor closers on teams that I believe will win a lot of games.  Drew Storen was a very tempting choice over Motte, but I just do not know what to expect from the Nationals this year.

Stealing Late:

• There are several definitions of a “steal” in fantasy drafts.  My definition is picking up a player 2 or more rounds later than you expected OR drafting a player so late that you celebrate with a “man giggle”.  (NOTE: It is technically possible for both men and women to “man giggle”, but it is way funnier when a woman does it.)  Maybe I am wrong about Worley, but I was sure shocked to see him still on the board for my 18th pick.  He only started 21 games in 2011 and threw 131 2/3 innings.  If he gets another 8-10 starts, he projects to be a top 30 starter.  The fact that he was still available in the 18th round may only be slightly less surprising than Jurrjens being available in the 22nd round.
• Melky Cabrera in the 25th round?  At that point most people are looking for a guy who maybe excels in one stat category or had a really off year.  Not this time.  Cabrera is coming off a season in which he posted a .809 ops, and his move to San Francisco does not scare me off at all.   His power numbers might suffer a little, but he may simply fill the stat sheet everywhere else.

That is it.  Have at it, but try to be kind.  If not for me, then do it for the children’s sake.

Open Mic

Consider this an open invitation to critique a fantasy baseball draft.  Flay it open, rip into it, and do not hold back.  But…before you do any flaying, ripping, or holding, consider the rules of etiquette.

• Avoid the low-hanging fruit.  No references to anyone’s mom or a basement.
• Try to omit words like “idiot”, “moron”, and “clueless”.  You will only receive the “I know you are but what I am” classic retort.  Welcome to the baseball kindergarten playground.  My Tonka truck is over there in the corner of the sand box.  Leave it alone.
• Just assume that I’m aware of my mental health state, and I’m considered competent to drive a Segway on the sidewalks in my neighborhood.

Here is the draft information for round 1:

1. Player1 – Robinson Cano
2. Player2 – Adrian Beltre
3. Player3 – Miguel Cabrera
4. Player4 – Troy Tulowitzki
5. Player5 – Matt Kemp
6. Player6 – Albert Pujols
7. Player7 – Justin Upton
8. Player8 – Roy Halladay

For round 2, we flipped the script and snaked back through the players.

1. Player8 – Jose Bautista
2. Player7 – Adrian Gonzalez
3. Player6 – Carlos Gonzalez
4. Player5 – Joey Votto
5. Player4 – Justin Verlander
6. Player3 – Evan Longoria
7. Player2 – Chris Carpenter
8. Player1 – Jered Weaver

Round 3:

1. Player1 – Clayton Kershaw
2. Player2 – CJ Wilson
3. Player3 – Cliff Lee
4. Player4 – Prince Fielder
5. Player5 – Felix Hernandez
6. Player6 – Curtis Granderson
7. Player7 – Andrew McCutchen
8. Player8 – Tim Lincecum

Round 4:

1. Player8 – Jose Reyes
2. Player7 – Cole Hamels
3. Player6 – Zach Greinke
4. Player5 – Jacoby Ellsbury
5. Player4 – Dustin Pedroia
6. Player3 – Dan Haren
7. Player2 – Ian Kinsler
8. Player1 – Asdrubal Cabrera

Round 5:

1. Player1 – Alex Gordon
2. Player2 – Hanley Ramirez
3. Player3 – on the clock

If you follow me on Twitter (@gr33nazn), then you already may know a bit about this draft.  Hint:  I am “Player1″.  Defense of the first 3 picks begins right here.

1. Robinson Cano – Overvalued here as the first overall pick?  Most definitely.  The logic behind this is that 2B may be the weakest position in the draft, and this league also requires a middle infielder (MI) position.  If I can get a premier 2B and a 2nd tier 2B to play that MI position, then I may be denying someone else good production at 2 positions.  Also, Cano could very well be due for better season than he had in 2011, and that would make him well worth the pick.
2. Jered Weaver – A pitcher in the 2nd round of a small draft?  Well, there may be a first time for everything, and this certainly was a first for me.  Having never taken a pitcher so early, you might call this a panic pick.  It was.  Weaver made my top 5 for starting pitchers, and Roy Halladay and Justin Verlander were already off the board.
3. Clayton Kershaw – With so many great position players remaining, it seemed like a no-brainer to take a 3B or SS here.  Nope.  More pitching, please.  The point here was to put a bit of panic into the competition.  If the back-to-back selections of Weaver and Kershaw start a run on starting pitching, then I can use my next set of consecutive picks on position players.
4. Asdrubal Cabrera – Finally snagged a SS to start finishing off the infield.  Still no outfielders, though.  Weaver and Kershaw better keep the ball in the infield a lot.
5. Alex Gordon – He qualifies at 1B and as an OF.  I have him in the 1B slot for now, but that could change.

So, the microphone is now unattended, and anybody with an opinion may step up and leave some suggestions, recommendations, and/or constructive criticism in the comments section.  Have at it.

Also, keep checking back here for updates to the draft selections, because I have two turntables and a microphone (not really, but that would be cool).