Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Fantasy Baseball Team

I recently completed my fantasy baseball draft. I've been in one league for five prior seasons and finished fairly well. Hopefully I can continue my little lucky streak. We play 5 x 5 (AVG, HR, RBI, R, SB and ERA, W, S, K, WHIP).

Here's the result of my draft:

C - Paul Lo Duca (Florida)
1B - Phil Nevin (San Diego)
2B - Jorge Cantu (Tampa Bay)
SS - Miguel Tejada (Baltimore)
3B - Troy Glaus (Arizona)
OF - JD Drew (Los Angeles)
OF - Johnny Damon (Boston)
OF - Carlos Lee (Milwaukee)
OF - Jose Guillen (Washington)
OF - Matt Lawton (Pittsburgh)
CI - Ben Broussard (Cleveland)
MI - Derek Jeter (NY Yankees)
DH - Erubiel Durazo (Oakland)

SP - Carlos Zambrano (Chicago Cubs)
SP - Mike Mussina (NY Yankees)
SP - Odalis Perez (LA Dodgers)
SP - Kris Benson (NY Mets)
SP - Tom Glavine (NY Mets)
SP - Horatio Ramirez (Atlanta)
RP - Tom Gordon (NY Yankees)
RP - Joe Nathan (Minnesota)
RP - Chad Cordero (Washington)

Bench - Rafael Palmiero (Baltimore)
Bench - Bobby Madritsch (Seattle)
Bench - Greg Aquino (Arizona)

My analysis:
It's a fairly balanced team, where everyone is capable of at least 15 HR's on offense and the starters should all gain 10+ wins.

On the down side, a lot of catchers were available after the draft, and while Lo Duca's decent, he's not a big power guy, and some catchers on the wire are of equal quality to him. My first transaction was to get rid of Aaron Miles, the Colorado 2B, and pick up Jorge Cantu, the hotshot 2B of Tampa. Miles was projected in something I read to steal 30+ bases, but last year he was inconsistant in Colorado and only stole 12. I don't know where they got that prediction from. Cantu is popular enough and a bit of a risk.

Injuries could be a huge problem for this squad. JD Drew, Troy Glaus, Erubiel Durazo and Horatio Ramirez are all guys who worry me in that sense. I don't know how effective it will be to have a middle reliever like Gordon, but he will get low ERA / WHIP numbers that could help the team a little bit.

I've been basing much of my information on fantasy "experts." What makes a person a fantasy sports expert? Near as I can tell, it's amassing a ton of information from various sources. Here's how I envision the resume of a fantasy sports guru.

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Fantasy Sports Awards & Distinctions

Old Home Baseball League 2000-2003
10 teams, First Place '01, '03
Who's Your Daddy Basketball 2001-2003
8 teams, First Place '01, Second Place '02-'03
I Got Game Hockey 2003
8 teams, Most Improved Team (2nd Half)
Joe's Football League 2004
8 teams, Second Place, playoffs
ESPN Fantasy Games AL Only Baseball League 2004
6 teams, Third Place
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You will be hearing a lot about my fantasy team as the season progresses.

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