The worlds of baseball and business have many similarities – money, dealing with the press, pleasing customers, etc. – but few jobs translate as well between both as the role of Manager.
Bruce Bochy, one of the longest tenured baseball managers (entering his 16th year in 2010) and the career leader in home runs by a player born in France, understands these parallels and has partnered with Ray Kroc Jr. to pen the management treatise ‘Bochy Ball: In The Vicinity’.
Here are some excerpts….
Secret to longevity as a manager in a quick-cycle business:
A manager’s most important job isn’t managing people, a product, or a place. It’s managing expectations. You cannot have longitude at a company unless your expectations allow for a certain degree of latitude. When you first take a job, you need to make sure the expectations are low enough that moderate success is considered palatable and a taste of considerable success lingers on both the organization’s and stakeholders’ tongues……For my first manager job, I inherited a team (the 1994 Padres) that had come off a .400 season where it’s 2nd best performer was forced into early retirement at 32 (Derek Bell) and their ace pitcher went 6-14 in a strike season. As long as I didn’t piss off the owner’s pet (Tony Gwynn) and I stayed classy, I just had to finish in first once every couple of years to keep management happy…..When I finished first two years in a row (2005 and 2006), I knew that I’d set expectations too high. I looked at another company in our space (San Francisco Giants) and saw two straight years of plummeting performance under a respected manager (Felipe Alou) as well as a volatile asset that had seen significant depreciation in recent years (Barry Bonds). That type of low expectation bar is well worth getting the occassional clam chowder bit stuck in your moustache.
Managing those with more natural talent:
Don’t fall into the trap where you think you have to be better at your employees’ job than they are. I managed to play 9 seasons in the big leagues and got in about as much ABs as Ichiro manages in one season. You know how much talent you need to ride the pine while guys like Alan Ashby and Terry Kennedy played in front of me? Not a lot. The fact I wasn’t as good at my job gave me the time to prepare to be a manager. You know how Malcolm Gladwell claims that practicing a task for 10,000 hours makes one a success in their field? Well, if you figure a game is about 3.5 hours long and that I rode the pine for about 1,000 games in my career, I got 3,500 hours of free practice. A part of me wishes I could’ve been a bench coach instead for the past 15 years so I could’ve accumulated the 10,000 hours of practice without the distraction of the job getting in the way.
The importance of never settling for 2nd place:
Finishing in first satiates. Finishing third, fourth, or fifth dulls. But nothing whets the appetite for success like being in second. You know what the chances are of a manager not finishing in 2nd for 15 straight years? 2.8%. That kind of thing doesn’t happen by accident. Whatever you do, don’t be Avis. Trying harder is for chumps. If you can’t be Hertz, be happy being Budget.
Using your head to get ahead:
Many managers quote statistics or wear glasses to appear smart. I never had to resort to shortcuts. Employers assume I’m smart because my head is naturally humongous. No joke. It’s bigger than Kevin Mench’s. I went through a whole career with one batting helmet that I’d re-paint each time I got traded. They used to call it a ’10 gallon helmet’. On days I’d catch Joe Niekro, he’d scuff up a case of balls and store them in my helmet. Nolan Ryan would fill my helmet 2/3 full of rice and use it for his hand strengthening exercises. That son-of-a-gun tried to bulldog me once in a fight and his hand couldn’t even reach my other ear. I wouldn’t be surprised if aspiring managers start taking HGH just to go head-to-head with me.
@Rudy: yea the pitching is struggling. All those guys are owned. It’s a weekly league and I want to maximize my IP, I’m hoping to be top 3-5 in Ks and all offense. I should be in the upper middle for saves…..but I guess bottom for WHIP and ERA….
“Bochy Ball: In The Vicinity” = 82 Google hits!
Hello all-
I’ve got Ian Stewart (2B/3B) on the bench backing up B. Phillips (2B) & Longo (3B). Should I trade Stewart for AJ Burnett? This is a 12-team H2H points league, where pitching depth is a big advantage (rotate through your stable of 2-start studs). Start 5 each week. Current pitching depth is:
B Sheets
C Billingsley
R Nolasco
R Halladay
W Rodriguez
B Matusz
E Santana
W Davis
Thanks for the insight!
@Tony: Johan. You can always go SAGNOF for saves.
@GopherDay: You know what…read the comments on the other post. I’m stupid.
Grey, take a day off for Pete’s sake!
@Rudy Gamble: Did Grey take the day off today? Good for him! He deserves it!
@Tony: Johan…and it isn’t close. At all.
@nick m.: i wish i had your options for a fill in! hahah
what do you guys think about this jorge de la ROSA/dotel for JOHAN? too much, which side wins? deal is on the table……
@nick m.: I picked up Desmond with about those same guys available. Take out: Peraltra, Barmes, and JJ then flip a coin between Desmond and Cabrera and there you have it.
Who do you like for a fill in for Reyes and possible bench player thereafter – Ian Desmond, Johnny Peralta, Everth Cabrera, Barmes, Brendan Ryan, or J.J. Hardy?
@Awesomus Maximus: I don’t see how your conclusion follows from your premises. I could say the same about drafting a good team.
If I draft a good team and everyone else does as well, we’re all “even.”
If someone decides to draft a crappy team, I have the same chance of receiving that team as everyone else does.
What I’m trying to say is that you are assuming from the start that everyone would act as you. (And perhaps I am as well).
Here’s another game. 12 people mix drinks that the 12 will randomly be assigned to drink. Are you going to piss in my drink!?!?!?!?!?!?
I know you wouldn’t, or else you wouldn’t have the name Awesomus Maximus. Or is that how you got the name!?!?!
@BKK: hahahahah I just text him that i had JUST looked at him…. i’m telling you BKK you want a guy and you have him ready to grab, do it…. otherwise GONEEEEEEEEEE….
jordan schafer got his second hit in his first game last year? I run upstairs to grab him, already gone…. LOL
i love it.
@Tony: you should have grabbed aviles before sparrow did
@Awesomus Maximus: I have power in every position (Hanley at SS) and I could use the SB
@royce!: If I only have a 1:12 shot at getting my own team back? I’d draft pure crap. If everyone else does it too, then we’re all even. If anyone drafts seriously, then I have just as good a chance at getting their team as I do any of the crap teams (mine included).
@Awesomus Maximus: I agree that many owners would simply draft and/or be randomly distributed crap, and then would be unable to compete. It seems that would only occur, however, because some owners were not taking the game seriously enough. That’s what I meant by saying we should put people on an island. If the incentives were high enough to win (lots of $? 72 virgins?) or losing was painful enough (tarred and feathered? all 72 virgins were Rosie O’Donnell?) owners would think very seriously about how to approach the draft.
So lets say that the bottom 6 had to pay a progressive amount of thousands or millions or whatever is a scary enough number to those in the top 6, how would you as an owner draft? If it is made painful enough for the losers and pleasurable enough for the winners…well, I don’t know. That’s why I wish I had a better grasp of game theory.
I personally would try to draft the best team possible, in the hope that I would get that team. But maybe it has to do with the idea that I don’t think that I would necessarily draft the best team possible, insofar as baseball is replete with luck, and also I draft terrible teams while trying to draft good teams.
Assuming the stakes of losing and winning were high, what would you do?
@BKK: Agreed.
@I’m Keith Hernandez: You should get a huge boost in SB, but lose a bunch of HR and RBI… and nearly break even on Runs. I’d much rather have Greinke than Johan, though, so that might make it worth it, especially if you really have that much power to sacrifice.
@Awesomus Maximus: and it is not even close IMO.
@Tony: Ubaldo
@BKK: haha we are talking about hardy and a platoon player! lol.
funny stuff tho…. god and you’re not even in my RCL, i’ve got double stuff to worry about….
ubaldo or wandy?
OBP League
I give Johan, Uggla Pena for Zach, Utley, Rajai
I need speed have power. Been working on this for a bit. How’s this look?
@BigFatHippo: Meh… doesn’t seem like that huge of a deal. Grab either Castillo and Felipe and take whatever numbers they give you. In the meantime, your league mates will be wasting roster spots on 2Bs they won’t get any numbers out of. I’ll hoard closers if I know one or two owners left the draft with only 0-2 closers… but only because I know, even if they won’t take the trade bait, I’ll still get numbers out of them while I hold them ransom. Holding position players hostage doesn’t seem like a great plan.
Hey, I just got slotted in the 5 spot in a 10 team cbs draft.. I was thinking of going with conventional wisdom and taking Utley, but I’m now being tempted to take Prince and save 2B for another player (beckham/stewart). I’d love to hear everyones opinions on this. Thanks
@Tony: Don’t worry I would never do that, just thought it would be funny to imply. You are welcome to have them both if you like.
this is an april fools joke, right?
@BKK: HAHHAHAHAHA i need to change my damn name on here! this is ridiculous, i ask something and you can see? LOL
hey if you want hardy or guzman or whoever be my guest, it would probably be better for me to NOT play a SS til Reyes gets back than pick one of them up!!!
damn you!
@Smokey: Yeah, I thought so too, maybe Felipe, pardon my puke breath.
Urp, gotta go again…………..
Okay, so I just took Drunky Cabrera, Wright, Sizemore, and Reyes, and now it’s starting like I might be collapsing under the weight of the bounceback hopes of my top picks. Time for some boring but reliable players!
@royce!: This is exactly what I think would happen… and any owner who gets stuck with a full on craptacular roster isn’t going to stand a chance, so they probably will never look at the league. The guys with half-and-half might try with FA pickups, but they won’t have a decent shot, either. It would end up being a 3-5 team league… meaning no fun.
You’d have to do something to increase the odds of getting the team you drafted. That would increase the incentive to draft a good team. Maybe after the draft, each owner gets their team assigned via a random number generator… it’ll pick a number from 1-16. 11 of those numbers will be the teams they didn’t draft… the other 5 will all be the team they DID draft. That might be enough of an incentive to not draft crap, but still also give a relatively good chance that everyone ends up with someone else’s team.
@Tony: I am so tempted to pick him up just for spite. HA!
@Tony: and what about JJ hardy for a min? anyone rostering this guy?
Hey, I just got slotted in the 5 spot in a 10 team cbs draft.. I was thinking of going with conventional wisdom and taking Utley, but I’m now being tempted to take Prince and save 2B for another player (beckham/stewart). I’d love to hear everyones opinions on this. Thanks
just stashed reyes on my DL for a lil bit and i have RZep i can drop….. what are your thoughts on pedro alvarez and stashing him? Could he MAYBE come up earlier than expected and make an impact? with the other WW grab i need to get a SS for a week or so……
@Baron Von Vulturewins: Actually, what would probably happen is that a round would go by where people picked up sparky anklebiters etc. and then someone would be like, eff this shiz, and grab Pujols. Then all hell would break loose. Some would stick to their guns and draft the most razztastic teams of all time. Some would draft all ideal players. And others would ping pong between.
@BigFatHippo: castillo unfortunately
@Baron Von Vulturewins: I love the idea of drafting teams and then having them assigned at random. I wish I had a decent enough grasp of game theory to figure out 1. what owners should do; and 2. what owners would do. (As I understand it, 1 and 2 should be the same).
I could see how all teams would draft crap and then hit the wire, but I don’t think that would happen more than once, because as soon as one team drafted a good team everyone who didn’t get that team would be so screwed they would learn their lesson.
I think we should put all the owners on an island as well to make it serious. My strategy is going to be to draft a good team with booby traps that only I know how to defuse. Or is it???…If you ever create this league please let me know.
I’ve got a draft in 15 minutes, and I just found out I’ve got the 9th pick in an 11-team league. Any suggestions for best 1-2 combos to target?
I’m thinking Prince/Miggy/Howard/Tex + Wright or Tulo, depending on who’s available. Thoughts?
@Everybods…………
With Kinsler going on DL I have to grab a 2nd basemen, unfortunately my league know this and they’re got all the backups. I’m left with this……………
Felipe-yuck
Callaspo-Double yuck
O-Dog-puke
Luis Castillo-Ok, now i’m really gonna be physically ill, no really, i’m doing the technicolor yawns while you’re formulating your replies.
I’ll be back in a moment then when you tell me who to pick i’ll go puke the rest up then drink beer………………
@GopherDay: id maybe take a shot at a 2 start guy week one if its h2h.
@Maitland: @Smokey: @Awesomus Maximus: Open slot.
**Reyes to start the year on the DL**
(Hence the open slot)
@GopherDay: who would be the speculative drop?
@GopherDay: Who would you drop?
@Smokey: Heh… well, at least we both agree to avoid Frasor in that group. :P
@GopherDay: Depends on how deep the league is.
@Spaceman.Spiff: Like the Adrian Gonzalez, Reyes side.
Does anyone think Fausto Carmona is worth a speculative pick up?
@Spaceman.Spiff: id gamble and say the adgon and reyes side
@paulzone: Francisco and Franklin, screw the hype about him losing his job
@knighttown: win with either
A guy has posted that he’s looking to trade for speed. I can afford to lose Dexter Fowler but I’m not really in any hurry. Frankly, I’m looking for a flat out win if I’m going to trade him. Does acquiring either Carlos Quentin or Chad Billingsley make that happen and in what order?
@Spaceman.Spiff: Ignore pitcher for a moment, the side giving up Reyes/A-Gon is losing HUGE in R, HR and SB while only gaining a small boost in RBI and AVG. Now add in the pitchers and (obviously) Lincecum is a HUGE boost over Davis. If the side getting Lincecum needs an ace SP, and the side getting Reyes needs better bats, then they’re both winners.
@paulzone: Nunez and Dotel.
Sorry for the multiple posts! Accidentally messed up my e-mail and then it said “Waiting for moderator approval” or something like that. My bad!
Man, internet down this moring, gone all day/afternoon, comeback and I’m enlightened with brilliant posts. Thank you Razzball!
@Spaceman.Spiff: I would rather have A-Gonz and Reyes.
pick two closers out of:
franklin, francisco, frasor, nunez, dotel
Adrian Gonzalez, Jose Reyes, and Wade Davis
for
Tim Lincecum, Ben Zobrist, and Todd Helton
who wins?
@Smokey: i’m feeling mclouth is toast…but may be getting influenced by the spring and weaker 09. these young guys are so much more enticing…
@paulzone: I’m crushing on Franklin this year, but you couldn’t go wrong with McLouth.
who should i be starting at CF (cats: r, hr, rbi, sb, errors, gidp, avg, obp):
mclouth, stubbs, fowler, gardner, gutierrez, austin jackson, rasmus
don’t want to get killed in avg and obp.
@Maitland: me likey, although i hate the “dirt pig”
email me at [email protected] and i’ll send you an invite.
@john murn: how do I join?
sorry to crash this topic guys, but the filler i had for our razzball league hasn’t come through. we need one for the razzball 12 team roto draft tonight, 9 eastern,. reply to this message ASAP for league invite!
grey, might you stand in and draft the team in case we don’t find one?
Got offered this in a league with singles/doubles…
I would be giving up Dustin Pedroia and Adam Jones for BJ Upton, Carlos Lee and Gordon Beckham.
Any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks.
@Rudy: I wanted to get your opinion on my team. 12 Team H2H 5×5
C Bengie Molina
1B Albert Pujols
2B A. Hill
3B Youkilis
SS Evereth Cabrera
OF Sizemore
OF Ethier
OF Ibanez
Util Berkman
BN Rasmus
SP Verlander
SP Kershaw
RP R. Soriano
RP Street
P Hamels
P Sheets
P Kazmir
P R. Wolf
BN R. Franklin
BN M. Gonzalez
BN Lilly
BN F. Morales
Any areas that I should look to improve?
@Nate Marcum: Ha…yeah, that looks like a Point Shares team. When I do post-draft projections, my teams are always weak on AVG. I’d claim that as a flaw except my teams are almost always in the top 3. It seems that low AVG guys are the most undervalued.
I think the team looks strong overall. Really good depth to have Everth and Fowler as bench potential. I’d look to see if any team is particularly weak in power and dangle Stewart or Headley as they’re similar players. Getting Everth in the MI slot or Fowler at OF/UTIL will solidify your speed. Perhaps a Baker + Stewart/Headley could net closer to an Ace (and reduce the risk on Target Field)?
@Baron Von Vulturewins: those options sound dreadful…
Well, maybe the auto-draft league…
@Sean: That’s an awesome trade… if I’m the guy on the other end. Seriously, that’s crazy. I can’t imagine that it would get past a league vote if even half the owners are competent and present.
@Baron Von Vulturewins: The idea of drafting teams and then assigning them randomly is very interesting. Problem is, with only a 1:12 chance of getting the team you drafted, it would be worth taking the chance and drafting crap. If everyone does that, it’s a waiver-wire clustercuss. If all but a few do this, the few who get those teams are the only ones with a shot at the title (and vice-versa if the opposite happens).
Thanks, guys. You’re probably right. Too much to give up. I’m simply blinded by JUpton’s long-term upside (40/40?).
@Sean: I wouldn’t unload Kershaw in a keeper league.
@Sean: Miggy is only 27 and Kershaw is under 25….how does that make any sense?
I’m in a keeper league. Call it a future investment…
@Sean: Whoa! Wait! Your offering Kershaw and Miggy Cabrera for JUpton? Miguel Cabrera? Tigers guy? Problem with the liquor?
You must be really jonesing for JUpton, given that, in most drafts I’ve seen, Miggy goes before JUpton.
As they say on NPR, please explain.
@Awesomus Maximus: I had a similar (well, more serious) idea this year. I want to participate in an Auto-Draft League. Everyone gets to set draft priorities etc but no one gets to draft. You just wake up and find out your teams.
I think this would be a fun secondary league to other more normal pursuits.
Other alternate ideas: A league in which you draft someone else’s team. Like Secret Santa. Or, better yet, a league in which 12 owners draft 12 teams, but then the teams are assigned randomly.
Oh… and this is a 12-team, 5×5 mixed league that counts OBP and QS.
Rudy: Quick question… I’m trying to trade for Justin Upton. What do you think of Kershaw + M-Cab for Upton? Too much to give up? Or would you prefer M-Cab + BJ Upton for JUpton? Thanks.
@Rudy Gamble: I used your point shares during the draft and felt I was gonna suffer at Ave more than anything else, but I also plan on Target Field playing as a pitcher’s park, so hopefully my Twins’ staff might get a boost in value.
@Rudy Gamble: I can imagine. Maybe you can handicap yourselves by drinking 1/5 of Jack Daniel’s 15 minutes before the draft starts.
I’m trying to get some friends to participate in a “12-Pack Auction Draft) next year. The idea is, instead of $260 to spend, you’ve got a 12-pack of beer (144 oz.) to spend. So if you purchase Pujols for 26 oz. and A-Rod for 22 oz., you’ve got great corners, but now you’re 4 beers worth of impaired and the draft has just begun. Could be fun… could be ugly.
12 team 5×5
@I Am The Liquor: Yeah. It doesn’t really change Davis’s value – maybe a few less ABs against lefties will get his AVG above .250.
@Nate Marcum: How many teams? 5×5?
Thanks! I did just that. I have Grey’s opinion of that team, what do you think?
Hernandez
Towles
Pujols
J Lopez
S. Drew
Zimmerman
I. Stewart
P Konerko
G Sizemore
A Jones
D Span
J Werth
C Headley
E Cabrera
Lester
Nolasco
Baker
Slowey
Aardsma
Capps
Madsen/Lidge
Liriano
Niemann
Bench…Fowler, C Santana, Motte, Fowler
Garko gonna platoon with Davis?
@Nate Marcum: It sounds like your catching situation isn’t that bad for a 2 catcher league. I’m not completely sold on Clement just yet though I think he’s a great late round gamble. Try $5 and, in the spare chance you get him, it’s costing you next to nothing…
@Cookie’s Monsters: Your offense looks okay for that deep of a league. Good mix of power, speed, avg, and upside.
On the pitching side, your staff drops off the face of the earth after your top 2 SPs. is it a weekly or daily change league? if daily, i’d drop some of the SP dead weight for MRs that can help with K’s and ratio. I’d drop Cahill for someone like Madson, Downs, Guerrier, Chamberlain, or Mijares….
That book sounds amazing….
Yesterday I drafted in an excruciatingly deep mixed league with 15 teams, 14 hitters, 9 pitchers, 1550 IP max, weekly rosters
thoughts on this team?
Mauer, Joe C MIN
Molina, Yadier C STL
Fielder, Prince 1B MIL
Stewart, Ian 2B COL
Sandoval, Pablo 3B SF
Furcal, Rafael SS LA
Velez, Eugenio MI SF
Figgins, Chone CI SEA
Brantley, Michael CF CLE
Hunter, Torii CF ANA
Jones, Adam CF BAL
Rasmus, Colby CF STL
Rios, Alex CF CHW
Maybin, Cameron CF FLA
Reserve Batters
Alvarez, Pedro 3B PIT
Encarnacion, Edwin 3B TOR
Jennings, Desmond CF TB
Active Pitchers
Johnson, Josh SP FLA
Gallardo, Yovani SP MIL
Latos, Mat SP SD
Arroyo, Bronson SP CIN
Pavano, Carl SP MIN
Davis, Wade SP TB
Cahill, Trevor SP OAK
Soriano, Rafael RP TB
Francisco, Frank RP TEX
Reserve Pitchers
Gregg, Kevin RP TOR
Strasburg, Stephen SP WAS
Velez is a stop gap who I realized I need to drop for Punto (probably the last available guy with a starting gig) as I wait for Figgins to play 10 games at 2nd and become my MI at which point Encarnacion becomes my CI
In my NFBC league, Jeff Clement has C elig. (he was not supposed to have it, only 1B, so he wasn’t drafted). It is FAAB style, we start with $1000, and I have Ramon Hernandez, Jr Towles, and Carlos Santana. I know it’s stupid to have 3 C’s, but whatever. How much should I bid in order to get him with the possibility of him losing his C status if the governing body (not Jesse Ventura), decides to take it away? Would $50 be too little or not enough?
@Awesomus Maximus: I’ll be honest….we get so stretched by commitments for ‘expert/blogger’ leagues that we barely have enough coverage b/w the two of us to cover them all. Maybe next year we’ll see if we can grab separate teams in the same draft….
I’ll say this – Fantasy Razzball is a great complement if you play in AL-only or NL-only leagues. Grey and I know way too much about 5th starters, 4th OFs, and “well, at least they might get me a couple runs and RBI” 2B/SS….
Hilarious stuff… takes me back to the golden years of Padres baseball, 2005-2006, when being a few games over .500 in the NL West could propel a team into the playoffs! Somehow I don’t see that happening this year.
@Rudy Gamble: That makes sense, judging by what I’ve seen of your respective publishings. Maybe worth putting together a last minute 16-Teamer to find out for sure. :P
I love that you guys battle it out in Fantasy Razzball. To me, that shows a deep knowledge of the fantasy aspect of the sport, as well as the sport itself. I’ve seen guys auto-draft, make less than 20 moves in a season and finish in the money in a regular league. Fielding a team that will suck, but not suck enough for players to lose their jobs, and suck in just the right way… well, that’s an artform. I’m looking forward to joining one next year. I didn’t even find out about it until recently, and I don’t like to compete unless I’ve done my homework.
@ThreeFingersBrown: I remember reading that Latos will be kept under 150 innings. If you grab him now and he does well, you might be able to trade him off to a less knowledgeable owner before the innings limit becomes an issue.
Rangers claimed Ryan Garko off waivers. Report says Garko figures to share playing time with Chris Davis. NOT good goddamn news for us Davis owners. Branyon, Wood, or Kouz better full-time gig options?
@ThreeFingersBrown: Thanks. Assuming your league is 10 or 12 team MLB, neither of these guys is making or breaking your team. They are borderline rosteredz/FA guys. I’d take my chances with Latos and dump him if he gets injured…
@Rudy: Great post. You had me going for a while.
Hammel or Latos? I drafted Latos, then dumped him with the arm issues, now I’m having third thoughts. He’s cleared waivers and he’s winking at me…
I’m sure Latos will be on a limit, so he won’t have much use down the stretch when I’ll need him (H2H). My gut says Hammel, but Grey can’t stop talking about Latos.
@Mr2Bits: with halladay and lester, not seeing a dire need to trade for peavy. your OF seems weak for a 10-team league and LaPorta probably isn’t that valuable of a keeper. i’d hold off for now unless you think you can then flip lester for a top 15 OF (doubtful)
Or Rudy for questions above as I didn’t see this was your topic. You both have crazy afro sig pics
@Awesomus Maximus: Hey A.M. It’s been a while since we’ve competed against each other except in Fantasy Razzball where I edged him out for the crown in 2008 and he edged me out in 2009.
In the last couple years we competed against each other, Grey generally beat me. He’s a better day-to-day player than me and the format we competed against each other (12 team mixed league) played to his strengths.
I think I’m better in deep leagues where free agency plays a limited role in success (and drafting plays a greater role). But we haven’t competed against each other in this format to say who would be better….
Grey:
One last question. 10 team keeper league and a guy has offered me the following.
His
Peavy (4th Round)
My
LaPorta (24th round)
Soriano (6th Round)
This is my current pitching staff
Roy Halladay
Jon Lester
Rafael Soriano
Joakim Soria
Matt Garza
Octavio Dotel
Franklin Morales
C.J. Wilson or Dice-K
Hiroki Kuroda
Jorge De La Rosa
Justin Duchscherer
Wandy Rodríguez
My OF (only play 3 with a util)
Michael Cuddyer
Josh Hamilton
Denard Span
Nyjer Morgan
Kyle Blanks
Matt LaPorta
Garrett Jones
Deal or no deal
Thanks
Thank you for this mildly inspiring article. I was almost motivated to come up with a witty post here, but I thought, “ehh.”
Rudy, I’m curious… do you and Grey compete against each other in any leagues (past and/or present)? If so, do you have a tally of your records/placings?
Goddammit this was pure genius.
@Denys:
Bochy Ball: In the Vicinity
That should answer it. The anecdote about Nolan Ryan was amusing.
@Denys: This post actually exists… you’re not hallucinating, if that’s what you’re asking. If you’re asking if these are actual excerpts from a forthcoming book co-authored by Bruce Bochy and Ray Kroc Jr., well…
Grey
Whats your thoughts on C.J. Wilson? FA sleeper good for 12-15 QS and 150k’s or should I stick to the Dice-K and his possible upside?
10 Team Keeper league
7 Matt Kemp, LAD OF K
17 Robinson Cano, NYY 2B K
27 Joey Votto, Cin 1B K
37 Troy Tulowitzki, Col SS K
47 Adam Lind, Tor OF K
57 Adam Wainwright, StL SP
64 Curtis Granderson, NYY OF
77 Ubaldo Jimenez, Col SP
84 Matt Wieters, Bal C
97 Wandy Rodriguez, Hou SP
104 Ian Stewart, Col 2B
114 Chad Billingsley, LAD SP
117 Carlos Quentin, CWS OF
124 Carlos Marmol, ChC RP
137 Denard Span, Min OF
144 David Aardsma, Sea RP
157 Stephen Strasburg, Was SP
164 Leo Nunez, Fla RP
177 Octavio Dotel, Pit RP
184 Alfonso Soriano, ChC OF
197 Kevin Slowey, Min SP
204 Garrett Jones, Pit 1B
217 Chase Headley, SD 3B
224 Clint Barmes, Col 2B
What do you think? Should I try and Trade one of my pitchers + a closer for either Youk or Zimmerman to upgrade third?
Is this for real?
So true about going somewhere expectations will be low. Just ask Conan O’Brien how much fun it is taking over a #1 franchise.
*SLOW CLAP*