I Took Pujols With My First Pick
March 20, 2008
Category: Fantasy Baseball Writers League (RotoRob)
Just drafted in my ‘pert 5×5 15 team league that was organized by RotoRob. I drafted 13th. Peavy was just taken and I took Pujols. I asked for comments. One comment was, “BALLSY,” another was, “I was gonna if you didn’t,” another was, “…A first rounder has to be no worries.” Pujols? Question marks? Well, I got him. Anyway, here’s the rest of my team:
1. (13) Albert Pujols
2. (18) Carlos Lee
3. (43) Troy Tulowitzki
4. (48) Nick Markakis
5. (73) Aaron Harang
6. (78) Jeff Francoeur
7. (103) Rich Hill
8. (108) Francisco Cordero
9. (133) Yunel Escobar
10. (138) Chad Cordero
11. (163) Corey Patterson
12. (168) Adam Wainwright
13. (193) Kerry Wood
14. (198) Kevin Kouzmanoff
15. (223) Carlos Ruiz
16. (228) Mike Jacobs
17. (253) Edison Vólquez
18. (258) Scot Shields
19. (283) Melky Cabrera
20. (288) Brian Fuentes
21. (313) Chuck James
22. (318) Jon Rauch
23. (343) Tom Gordon
These notes were jotted down during the draft. Cause that’s how I do:
1. I’m taking Pujols because I have balls. And I’m stupid.
4. Nick Markakis – The Greek God of Roto may just end up on every one of my teams and I’m not complaining. He’s going 30/20 and I’m going to douse myself in Ouza in October. Some schmohawks I didn’t want that went in this round: Mauer, Roberts, Byrnes, Kinsler (I like Kinsler but not this high) and Carlos Guillen.
5. I really need a pitcher. Please let Haren fall to me. Nope, just taken. Okay, come on Harang… Come to Papa. I don’t care if Dusty is gonna throw you out there for the twelth inning of a tie game…. Damn, it’s a pitching run and I don’t know if Harang’s falling to me…Got him. Now I don’t feel so good about it. Oh, well. Now I need another bat.
6. Just took Francouer and was seriously contemplating Josh Hamilton. Guess who got taken right after Francouer? Farkin’ hey. Oh, well. I think Hamilton is riskier than Franceour. Besides, he goes by Frenchy and he hit a crapload of doubles (40) last year.
7. I’m taking a 2nd basemen, unless Weeks, Kent and Johnson are still on the board. Then I’m taking a closer. BTW, there’s been very few closers taken. Guess everyone’s reading Matthew Berry. That’s sad. As I write that someone takes Lidge. I like Lidge. This is too high. Then Saito. Okay, here’s the closer run I heard about on ESPN messageboards. All the 2nd basemen are still on the board and I’m not folding to the closer run. Watch me zig while everyone else is zagging. Rich Hill!
8. Ok, I have to take a closer now. Otherwise, I’m punting.F-Cord. Eh. Nothing else to say. First pick of mine that I’m not crazy about, but I just couldn’t take Hoffman. He enters to Hell’s Bells, that was popular when Tim from RotoRob was young. Tim’s old. From what I hear. I don’t know.
9. Okay, really need a 2nd baseman now. Fo reals. Not to mention, my team is slow. I think I’m gonna reach for Yunel cause I don’t trust Matsui with his anus problems. Okay, that was a severe reach on my part, but I needed a 2nd baseman and Kent’s not doing it for this team I’m building.
10. And now I have both Cordero brothers and Hoffman’s still on the board. And as I type that, Hoffman’s gone.
12. I have a feeling I’m getting Wainwright on this team too. Hmmm… Maybe the Cards will be good this year. Yeah, I don’t believe that either. But got him.
13. In honor of IowaCubs, a frequent commenter, I took Kerry Wood. You’re welcome.
14. BTW, I really need a 3rd baseman. (BTW II, Everyone filled up on 3rd base so I was able to hold off for a long time.) It’s important to keep an eye on every other team’s needs. Okay, school’s out.
15. Guess who’s coming next? If Ruiz is there, he’s mine. Oddly enough, Varitek is still on the board again. And I’m not taking him again.
16. And I got Mike Jacobs again. Okay, I’m done with hitting for a little while. Unless someone really falls.
17. Just looked at who is left out of the starters. Well… They are saying good things about Volquez, right? Pickins’ are slim. It’s between Garza, Marcum and Volquez. Gonna have to take the upside this late. Wow, I’m going to be watching a lot of Reds games this year. Some picks I liked this round: Accardo, Matt Diaz, Franklin Gutierrez, JD Drew and my pick. Some picks I didn’t like: Colby Rasmus and Homer Bailey.
18. I was between Okajima, Fuentes and Shields and I went for the track record. Not sure I don’t want this pick back. But Zumaya and Arroyo went right before him and I like my pick better than those two. Now I’m praying Manny Parra gets back to me. Wow, that was quick. Two picks later he went.
19. I was between Marcum and Melky. I really needed a starter but Melky was falling too far. Wouldn’t you know it, Marcum gets taken right after Melky.
22. I was between Shawn Hill and Jon Rauch. Briefly considered how awful it must be to be a Nats fan then went with Rauch.
23. All done in 2 hours. Phew, this league went really fast. Actually, thank God it’s over because I had to take Tom Gordon with my last pick. Well, I didn’t have to, but he is closing in Lidge’s absence. So maybe I can vulture some saves in the beginning of the year. It was between him and… I’m not saying because I might want to grab him off of waivers.
Overall thoughts:
This team feels really solid if my projections come to fruition. Unfortunately, I have a lot riding on Pujols’s elbow. I need 100/30/100 from him otherwise I might be scrambling. So what do you think of my team?
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Tags: Aaron Harang, Adam Wainwright, Albert Pujols, Carlos Lee, Carlos Ruiz, Chad Cordero, Edinson Volquez, Francisco Cordero, Jeff Francoeur, Jon Rauch, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Mike Jacobs, Nick Markakis, Rich Hill, Tom Gordon, Troy Tulowitzki, Yunel Escobar
March 20th, 2008 at 7:05 am
Well done Grey.
I noticed you got Hill. As you may recall I am in an NL-only 9 team league (drafting 9th). I was offered Hill for Chris B. Young. I have Howard, Fielder, Kemp and Loney as my other keepers. Would you recommend I go with Hill, just to balance my team out a bit? I am excited about what Young can do yet nervous at the same time. He whiffed quite a bit last year and the thought of pitchers knowing his weaknesses the second time around gives me restless legs syndrome. Is he just another Mike Cameron?
Hill I think is a stud on a great team and will win 16 games with about 200 k’s and a great whip plus being 4th in the rotation his mound opponents may not be so tough. So, would you go for Hill or hang on to Young with the hope his upside shines through this year? Thanks!
The NL Central called - they want their players back.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I was drafting a few spots before you with the 8th pick, and with Rollins still on the board, I couldn’t take a chance on Pujols, but he’s a great pick at 13 imo. My team finished strong on the offensive end. If McLouth or Justin Upton can be productive then my offense should finish tops across the board. I have bigger closer problems than you as Sherrill is my only one, and I also have a lot riding on Brett Myers.
SportsHubris’s last blog post..If You Don’t Know Rondo
Carl — I like Hill a lot. And Krispie Young, not as much. I would do that.
SportsHubris — You’re asking a lot of McLouth and Upton? I hope you don’t mind:
1. (8) Jimmy Rollins
2. (23) Curtis Granderson
3. (38) Derrek Lee
4. (53) Garrett Atkins
5. (68) Chris Young
6. (83) Adrian Gonzalez
7. (98) Rickie Weeks
8. (113) Brett Myers
9. (128) Chad Billingsley
10. (143) Yovani Gallardo
11. (158) A.J. Burnett
12. (173) George Sherrill
13. (188) Justin Upton
14. (203) Jose Guillen
15. (218) Randy Johnson
16. (233) Nate McLouth
17. (248) Jeremy Guthrie
18. (263) Jason Giambi
19. (278) Jason Varitek
20. (293) Ryan Church
21. (308) Ervin Santana
22. (323) Juan Cruz
23. (338) Zach Duke
Rollins’s high in homers was last year, Granderson Ks a lot, Lee’s overrated, Atkins I like, Young Ks more than Granderson, Adrian I like, when Weeks is healthy he’s an injury risk, Myers was closer last year, Billingsley I like but wild, YoGa could go either way (not meaning if you do yoga and you’re a guy, you might be bi-sexual), AJ just slammed his finger into Weeks’ DL history…. I think you get the point. You ‘re asking a lot of a few more players.
March 20th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
1. (2) David Wright 3B
2. (29) Manny Ramirez OF
3. (32) Magglio Ordonez OF
4. (59) Dan Haren SP
5. (62) Joe Nathan RP
6. (89) Oliver Perez SP
7. (92) Brad Lidge RP
8. (119) Pedro Martinez SP
9. (122) Hideki Matsui OF
10. (149) Ivan Rodriguez C
11. (152) Ryan Theriot 2B,SS
12. (179) Rich Harden SP
13. (182) Julio Lugo SS
14. (209) Troy Percival RP
15. (212) Daric Barton 1B
16. (239) Casey Kotchman 1B
17. (242) J.D. Drew OF
18. (269) C.J. Wilson RP
19. (272) Milton Bradley OF
20. (299) Andre Ethier OF
21. (302) Justin Miller RP
22. (329) Rajai Davis OF
23. (332) Barry Bonds OF
I’m placing a lot of faith in Barton, Theriot and Lugo. Theriot was kind of a panic pick. If I was picking Wright 2, I needed to do something with steals, my list of prefered 2bers had just gone off the board….Harden and Pedro present some risk as well.
In this format - 15 team vanilla mixed, not a bad team IMO (but I would say that).
March 20th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
I need another starter too….
March 20th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
LoL!
Razzball > Rotoworld, Rototimes, Yahoo!, etc..
Carl — Thanks, now go paste our URL on their boards.
SteveP — Actually, I like your team a lot. Especially your hitting. I think you might have reached for Manny, but, shit, I reached for farkin’ Yunel Escobar, so I can’t badmouth that too much.
Your pitching looks a bit hit or miss — Haren was who I was taking if you read my play by play above, so I obviously like him.
Lidge was probably the only reach I can’t get fully behind. He’s got knee/head problems.
Ollie is a reach I don’t mind cause I like his upside.
CJ Wilson was an absolute steal that late.
And Harden… Well, you know his issues. Okay, an addendum to a question I asked earlier on this site. If Weeks, Barmes and Harden all get on your cross country flight, do you get off? I might have to make this a poll.
March 20th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Granderson K’s a lot is true, but his five fantasy catagories are what matters here. Derek Lee overrated..depends on who is rating him, but I like his chances being a whole year removed from that wrist injury. He’ll turn those doubles of last year into HR this year. My point behind McLouth and Upton was that I have no idea what to expect with either of them this season, and if one of them has a little success Giambi or Church can fill in the UTIL for the other.
SportsHubris’s last blog post..If You Don’t Know Rondo
March 20th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Good looking team. With Albert falling to number 13, you had to grab him. Was the Prince already gone?
You’ve convinced me to jump aboard the Carlos Ruiz train. I had the chance to go with Salty in a few leagues, but his job security is up in the air.
Herb Urban’s last blog post..The Brown Underbelly of the Evergreen State
4 of your top seven players are leadoff men. Offensively I think your team’s only strong in runs and I see a trade in your future.
Herb — Both fat 1st basemen were gone. I would’ve taken either them instead. Actually, every player that was taken before Pujols, except Rollins, I would’ve taken in his stead.
March 20th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
I don’t see how you can say my team is only strong in runs? If you mean it’s the only cat I’ll win outright then ok, but with this deep a league I have plenty in each catagory to dominate the offense, and don’t hate on Rollins so much it’ll come back to you.
SportsHubris’s last blog post..If You Don’t Know Rondo
You’re right; you should finish in the top half of the league in steals.
I’m totally jinxing myself, btw.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
yeah your either half joking or just not right in the head. How do you say your targeting Weeks in your commentary, but then in your comment say he is only an injury risk? It’s one thing to start a little friendly competion, it’s another to just comment on every player on my teams weakness, ignore potential, and if you cant find anything wrong with them just say “I like”
I’ll let the season play out and speak for itself, but I don’t see your offense beating me in anything except possibly BA. Steve is usually good about running the projected numbers…anything like that going on in this league?
SportsHubris’s last blog post..If You Don’t Know Rondo
I was targeting Weeks for my team, not yours. I could’ve afforded his risk for some steals/runs. You didn’t need to.
I’d love someone to run the numbers.
March 20th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Pujols 13th? I say that;s friggin great! His elbow’s been botherin him for a few seasons. He’s one of those guys where if you don’t take him he’ll have an incredible season that you’ll hate yourself for.
Fuentes over Shields? Did I read that right? Not sure about that.
13 teams is a lot and changes the dynamics a lot from my usual 10 team league.
FFB’s last blog post..Five Ways Fantasy Baseball is Like Personal Finance
March 20th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
a little more perspective..based on last year’s stats
Steve’s team!
.292 BA, 844 R, 171 HR, 844 RBI, 114 SB
(not Bonds’s numbers, cause he ain’t playing & Barton & Davis, since they’d be benched based on last year’s stats)
Grey
.290 BA, 818 R, 192 HR, 866 RBI, 105 SB
SportsHubris
.280 BA, 968 R, 246 HR, 840 RBI, 159 SB
(not including Giambi & Upton, who would be on the bench based on last year’s stats)
SportsHubris’s last blog post..If You Don’t Know Rondo
Phew, glad I didn’t draft this team last year.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
LoL I love it.
Anyway, Grey your advice tipped me over the edge. I swung the deal Hill for Young AND got his 3rd pick for my 4th. I convinced him Young was more valuable and I needed the pick to even the deal. I think I have hypnotic trading skillz.
Well played, Carl.
March 20th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Holy crap Grey. Rich Hill walked 6 guys in 1.1 IP today. Let’s hope there’s no injury on the horizon.
Here’s what I have based on 2008 projections….
Steve
.285 BA, 821 R, 169 HR, 771 RBI, 101 SB
58 W, 80 SV 3.64 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 858 K
Grey
.286 BA, 851 R, 215 HR, 875 RBI, 114 SB
66 W, 88 SV, 3.79 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 917 K
SportsHubris
.279 BA, 909 R, 235 HR, 833 RBI, 145 SB
79 W, 6 SV, 4.08 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 1108 K
March 20th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Rich Hill is hurt.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Thanks for letting us know Rich. Get well soon!
There’s your scoop!
Rich Hill has been messin’ with his delivery in the spring. He’ll be fine. And if not we’ll cross that bridge together Carl.
Thanks, Rudy. Those projections are coming from here:
http://razzball.com/2008-fantasy-baseball-player-rater-%e2%80%93-%e2%80%9cpoint-shares%e2%80%9d/
Hubris, wanna trade some speed for some saves?
March 21st, 2008 at 4:41 am
We’ll see Grey…let’s just hope I traded Hill for the next Mike Cameron and not the next Eric Davis.
If he ends up in the bullpen or Triple A I’m a be pissed.
actually, the projections are from a blend of several sources that help support the Point Shares in that link.
i couldn’t estimate which of your teams would come in higher in the standings (which point shares would allow) b/c it’s league-rule specific and i don’t have one for a 15 team league…
March 21st, 2008 at 3:50 pm
The only speed I’d be looking to move this early would be McLouth or Upton. I couldn’t possibly deal Rollins, Granderson or Young for a closer. Weeks is probably someone in the middle, but I probably value him too high for you to be able to pry him away from me. Rudy’s projections look to be on the conservative side? I’d imagine I’d do better in SB as compared to last year, and only 6 saves for Sherrill?
SportsHubris’s last blog post..If You Don’t Know Rondo
The Cordero Bros. for Rollins?
hey sportshubris -
most projection systems tend to be low b/c of regression. it’s fair to give sherrill more than 6 saves since he’s since ‘earned’ the oriole closer position. personally, i don’t trust closers with girly last names as i grew up watching lefty Bob Shirley blow leads for the Yankees…
on speed, it depends on how bullish you are with some of your picks.
the best source for free projections - in my eyes - is fangraphs.com which shows ZIPS, Marcel, and CHONE. good place to check out…
grey -
cordero brothers for rollins. that trade’s funnier than any joke i can make about it.
rudy
March 21st, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Just an imo comment on my steals compared to the projections;
There’s no reason to believe Rollins Granderson and Young won’t post similar numbers. Then my other SB threats Weeks, Upton and McClouth combined should produce 400 (conservative estimate imo) more AB’s then they had combined last year. If I was a betting man, I’d go with more total SB’s for this bunch then they had last season. Sherrill I agree on completely…I’d project him for 15 though!
Grey-
You must really hate Rollins…here ya go this should make you smile
http://ilovebubbadogs.com/bubbapress/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/rollin.jpg
Well, I don’t hate him for the Cordero Bros.
re: pic — that’s what happens when you face Daniel Cabrera.
April 17th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
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