Actually, a few have already happened (and we’ll talk about them a bit after the jump), but, just like the title alludes to, the table is set, the forks and spoons are in their right place, and hopefully there’s food ready and on the way. In terms of the RCL universe (since I’m hungry and if there are any more food metaphors, I’ll eventually end up eating my monitor), the “league” has taken shape and drafts are about to begin. (But that doesn’t mean you still can’t create and join your choice of RCLs!) And, I want to touch on this: when I say “league”, I mean league, not leagues. Because ef pluralization… I mean, what has it ever done for me? Regardless, you have to remember, this is one complete universal league. The Milky Way of Fantasy Baseball if you will, including Mike Trout, Saturn, and of course, Uranus. Don’t roll your eyes, you knew it was coming. I only mention this (not Uranus), because as teams fall out of contention later in the season, owners will begin to pay less and less attention to their roster, and soon, you’ll have a 12-team league that feels like a five-team league. This is actually quite common in free-to-play leagues and perfectly normal for our specific formats, so don’t feel scorned, abandoned, or betrayed. These owners aren’t there to entertain you, only themselves. I mean, that’s why I write, it’s only to entertain myself. And my mother. You guys are the crazy ones reading this. And sure, at the dawn of the season, everyone feels excited, bashful hope abound. Puppies and ice cream everywhere! But as the season moves past the All-Star break, you have to remember that you aren’t necessarily playing against your 12-team league. No, you are playing against 1,000+ teams in one universal league. For some neat prizes I might add, and most importantly, ultimate bragging rights. So don’t feel alone. Enjoy the long journey. Participate as best you can. Be one with the fantasy baseballs (and Uranus). I guess that’s my last bit of advice as the RCL Updates will now be handled by Matt Truss. He will be your in-season storyteller, and starting next week, he’ll begin to tell your story. The RCL story. And I can’t wait. (I’m talking about eating…)
Now, as promised just a paragraph ago (remember the good old days?), there actually have already been some drafts that have taken place (including a league hosted by yours truly) and we’ll take a look at some of what happened in these three leagues to give everyone a general idea of what a terrible idea it is to draft early. I swear, half my team will be injured midway through Spring Training…
Which Player was Selected First, After Mike Trout?
Myers Superfoods – Bryce Harper, WAS, OF – Team Bhatia. Obvious second choice is obvious. In fact, you may be wondering why I’d even be using a category that seems the opposite of useful. My answer? I’d just ask you to be patient, and wait for what a league run by our very own Tehol Beddict does in the same situation…
Enemies of Beddict – Josh Donaldson, TOR, 3B – Roswell Rollthembones. While I’d normally point out that Donaldson isn’t a terrible choice, I do find it odd that Bryce Harper wasn’t the second pick here. So odd, in fact, that after writing out the name of this topic, I thought it might be better to find out which player was selected first after Trout AND Harper. But alas, anything touched by Tehol probably requires immediate emergency services, as here’s the first five picks of this draft: Paul Goldschmidt – Josh Donaldson – Mike Trout – Clayton Kershaw – Bryce Harper. Look, the this top-5 isn’t crazy, but the order is somewhat… different I’d say. Yeah. Like how Tehol is different from you and I…
Take on the JayWrong 1 – Since Bryce Harper was selected second by We Are Ryan Brauns Thumb, as it should be in the majority of cases, the next picks were Paul Goldschmidt by the Sarasota Poopstains (I’ve been to Sarasota, he’s not wrong), and Anthony Rizzo by the Hannover Hotspurs.
Clayton Kershaw Watch
Ah, yes, the annual return of the “Clayton Kershaw Watch”. As many of you have figured out, Grey has never been a huge fan of drafting pitchers early, and ever since the emergence of Kershaw as a first round option by, like, the entire human race, well, everything that I could say doesn’t measure up to what that GIF above expounds upon us all. Here’s where Kershaw is going right now…
Myers Superfoods – Round 1, Pick 10.
Enemies of Beddict – Round 1, Pick 4.
Take on the JayWrong 1 – Round 1, Pick 5.
Which Player was Selected Last?
Myers Superfoods – Eddie Rosario, MIN, OF – Bag Boy.
Enemies of Beddict – Alexei Ramirez, SD, SS – The Great White. A man after my own heart…
Take on the JayWrong 1 – Nathan Karns, SEA, SP – Blithering Idiots.
TO JOIN A LEAGUE
Click the LINK in the ‘League Link’ column (see below grid) and enter the PASSWORD at ESPN. Emails are there for some leagues, but you shouldn’t need to email anyone. You can join as many leagues as you like.
TO START A LEAGUE
Please create a league in ESPN based on the league rules reference above. Step by step: Hit Create. Then Create ESPN Custom (middle option), Name League, Change to 12 Teams, Restriction Type: None, Open to All Users, Access: change to Private, create Password, leave as Roto and Snake, Make Draft Date and Time, Create. From Default settings all you have to do is change to TWO DL SLOTS and 180 Starts by pitchers. So, you go to ROSTERS and Click “Edit Roster Settings.” There, change to 2 DL Slots and 180 Starts (the counter will change to 20.0 per slot). Then SUBMIT Roster Settings. Finally, Create Your League! (Important Note: Make sure league is viewable to public but requiring a password to avoid non-Razzballers joining.) When that’s finished, click here. You will be permissioned shortly so you can add your league info to the Google Doc (the below grid cannot be edited from this page). On that Google Doc, you will need to enter your name, league link, password and please UPDATE the number of openings as your league fills up. That’s it. Oh, and don’t use your bank account password. (Here’s a video Jay made to help some noobs. Is noobs spelled with zeroes or oh’s? Hmm, that might make me a noob at spelling noob.) You can start as many leagues as you like. If you start less than ten leagues, again someone could mock you.
Want more of the Jay? Don’t we all folks? Don’t. We. All. Well, you, in fact, can have more. AMAZING. I know. You can find Jay enjoying his digs over at the Football side of Razz.
