Grey and Rudy are letting me run a team for Razzball, and I’m totally pumped about it. See, this is my first venture into the realm of expert leagues or writer’s leagues or whatever the hell you wanna call them and the pressure on a rookie like me is enormous. Grey told me I can only cover White Sox prospects if I don’t finish in the top eight. I feel like Andrew Luck or something… probably bigger than that, actually. Anyway. The auction happened a couple Thursdays ago and my strategy was simple: don’t look stupid. I’m not quite sure if I’ve succeeded in that regard. You tell me. Click here to see the complete auction results.
Format: 14 teams, mixed, roto, 5×5 – C, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, CI, MI, OF, OF, OF, OF, OF, Util, SP, RP, P, P, P, P, P, P, P, BN, BN, BN, DL, DL, DL, DL, DL
C – Joe Mauer $14
C – John Buck $1
1B – Ike Davis $12
2B – Ian Kinsler $34
3B – Mark Reynolds $10
SS – Asdrubal Cabrera $14
MI – Daniel Murphy $4
CI – Mike Carp $3
OF – Ryan Braun $43
OF – Michael Bourn $23
OF – Yoenis Cespedes $7
OF – Carlos Beltran $7
OF – Nick Markakis $8
U – Colby Rasmus $3
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SP – Matt Cain $20
RP – Joe Nathan $8
P – Stephen Strasburg $20
P – Matt Thornton $7
P – Ted Lilly $4
P – Justin Masterson $3
P – Colby Lewis $3
P – Edinson Volquez $4
P – Gavin Floyd $2
Bench – Sergio Romo $1
Bench – Phil Hughes $3
Bench – Vance Worley $2
My goal was to stay on budget. I targeted a $180/$80 split between hitting and pitching and I ended up at $183/$77. Not bad. I also wanted to make sure I had some dough left near the end in order to ensure I could buy a few of my favorite sleepers for $2 or $3. This plan backfired. Not that I didn’t have money near the end – I had plenty – but rather, there was literally no one left who I wanted for two bucks. That’s the reason you see purchases like Phil Hughes for $3 and Vance Worley for $2. Spend it if you got it, right? Hell yeah I’ll bid you up on an injured Mike Carp – I still have twelve bucks left to spend on three negative-value players. No point in leaving dollars out there.
Favorite Buys
I was pleased to get Braun at $43, especially when six guys – Tulo ($49), Miggy ($49), Kemp ($46), Bautista ($46), Pujols ($45), Cano ($44) – went for more. I thought I got great value across my entire outfield, actually. Beltran is a health risk, sure, but I’ll take on that risk for $7 – upside is worth twice that, at least. I also love the flexibility Daniel Murphy provides in a deep CI/MI league like this. I’ll take him for four bucks any day.
Least Favorite Buys
Ted Lilly and Mike Carp are on the DL and I spent a combined $7 on the two. The league has five DL slots, so this isn’t a killer, but I’m certainly not thrilled. I knew Lilly was having issues when I bought him, but I was hopeful he wouldn’t end up on the DL. I’m also growing increasingly skeptical on Volquez. He was one of those I’ve-got-a-lot-of-money-left-so-I-might-as-well-pay-for-the-upside guys near the end of the auction.
Most Important Thing To Note
This is just the beginning. Drafting is certainly the most exciting component of the fantasy baseball season, but it’s not the most important. Any winning team I’ve had in the past has been based on in-season management. I enjoy the grind of the baseball season and I’m sure that by mid-season my team will look quite different from how it appears at this moment. Of course, I’ve never been up against such a knowledgeable group of competitors. I’m looking forward to see how my skills stack up. I’ll be sure to keep you posted.
