Half Way There

Joined five more leagues today, all auto pick. You can see what leagues I hopped on in the sidebar.

Team 12 Roster

The first of many live drafts with some people I know. I think I did pretty well and have a lot of trade value on my team. I had the 9th pick in a 10 team league. My #1 choice was Jimmy Rollins and I didn't draft a pitcher until the 3rd round (Jake Peavy)
It wasn't until right before the draft that I found out it was a keeper league. No bad considering who I drafted.
In parenthesis are the rounds I drafted the player in.

C - Russell Matin (5)
1B - Joey Votto (8)
2B - Ian Kinsler (2)
3B - Aubrey Huff (9)
SS - Jimmy Rollins (1)
2B/SS - Michael Young (7)
3B/1B - Jorge Cantu (16)
OF - Jason Bay (4)
OF - Andre Either (12)
OF - Jayson Werth (13)
OF - Pat Burrell (15)
OF - Kosuke Fukudome (20)
UTL - Rickie Weeks (21)
P - Jake Peavy, SP (3)
P - Francisco Rodriguez, RP (6)
P - Scott Kazmir, SP (10)
P - Joba Chamberlain, SP (11)
P - Edinson Volquez, SP (14)
P - David Price, SP (17)
P - Chein-Ming Wang, SP (18)
P - George Sherrill, RP (19)
P - Jair Jurriens, SP (22)
BENCH - Lyle Overbay, 1B (24)
BENCH - Freddy Sanchez, 2B (25)
BENCH - Jered Weaver, SP (23)

I've already made a move to drop Overbay an pick up Justin Duchscherer off the waiver wire.

Trade Proposal (Team 4)

FEB 22 UPDATE
The trade was declined, however he countered as well.
Now he offered Mark Teixeira, Milton Bradley and Chad Billingsly for Lance Berkman, Carl Crawford and Willy Tavares.
I accepted on the fact that I will improve a lot of stat categories while losing in one.
I would still have plenty of SB on my team so losing the three won't hurt. Tex and Bradley will bring in more power and batting average while Billingsly should help out in strikeouts and ERA.


FEB 20

So, I was offered Mark Teixeira and Milton Bradley for Lance Berkman and Carl Crawford.

Hell no.

I do need starting pitching, so I declined and countered with Lance Berkman and Carl Crawford for Mark Teixeira and Chad Billingsly. I have a lot of speed on my team and can sacrifice some SB for quality pitching.

Team 4 Roster

Waaaay too many relievers. Worst pitching team so far in my quest for 50.

10 team league

C - Joe Mauer
1B - Albert Pujols
2B - Mark Ellis
3B - Alex Gordon
SS - Michael Young
2B/SS - Troy Tulowitzki
3B/1B - Lance Berkman
OF - Ichiro Suzuki
OF - Carl Crawford
OF - Willy Tavares
OF - Coco Crisp
UTL - Geovany Soto
P - Dan Haren, SP
P - Jonathon Papelbon, RP
P - Brian Fuentes, RP
P - Bobby Jenks, RP
P - B.J. Ryan, RP
P - Justin Verlander, SP
P - Frank Francisco, RP
P - Ryan Dempster, SP
P - J.J. Putz
BENCH - Carlos Pena, 1B
BENCH - Pablo Sandoval, 1B
BENCH - Ryan Theriot, 3B

Team 3 Roster

Another league that needs improvement in the pitching department. I have plenty of offense and I may trade some bats for arms.

10 team league

C - Geovany Soto
1B - Justin Morneau
2B - Freddy Sanchez
3B - Chris Davis
SS - Michael Young
2B/SS - Orlando Hudson
3B/1B - Pablo Sandoval
OF - Grady Sizemore
OF - Carlos Lee
OF - Nate McLouth
OF - Magglio Ordonez
OF - Adam Dunn
UTL - Mike Napoli
P - Brandon Webb, SP
P - Zach Greinke, SP
P - Rich Harden, SP
P - Jose Valverde, RP
P - Francisco Codero, RP
P - Brian Wilson, RP
P - Ryan Dempster, SP
P - David Price, SP
J.J. Putz, RP
BENCH - Jorge Posada, C
BENCH - Carlos Gomez, OF
BENCH - Jered Weaver, SP

Rules to Draft By

1) Never take a pitcher in the first round. Pitchers will pitch 1-2 games per week, a position player will play five to seven games a week. I don't know, you do the math.

2) Grab two strong pitchers in the first 7 rounds. Two strong starters are better than four mediocre starters. You always want an ace and a #2 pitcher. Draft inning eaters with a decent ERA and WHIP to fil out the rest of your staff.

3) Relievers are overrated in fantasy baseball. Draft one after the 10th round. Few innings pitched, little affect on ERA, K, and IP. Only useful for saves. See tip #5 for the exception

4) If you find a pitcher that qualifies for both starter and reliever, won't sound like a bad idea to draft him. Especially if it's a big name pitcher (ahem Joba C.). Will help in all pitching categories.

5) Follow the draft. If you notice that one position is strong in one round, jump on the bandwagon and draft one before you are left with the scraps.

6) Take advantage of homers. If one player is drafting his favorite team, grab one of them and rob him in a trade. People like them exist.

7) Don't draft by name, draft by stats. Fantasy baseball does not care if Alex Rodriguez took steroids, they care about the numbers he puts up.

8) Always have a depth chart at least five players deep. Chances are, you won't have the best players from each position on your team. As a matter of fact, you won't...ever.

9) Don't stock up on one stat. Spread out your draft picks to cover all stats. If you draft for AVG, where will your HR and RBI totals come from?

10) Watch the weak positions. OF, 1B, and SP are very deep. 2B and C are two of the more shallow positions. Draft accordingly.

11) Pay attention to the latest injury reports. Hear about Ben Sheets?

12) Trade value. If you follow the first 11 rules, your team will have trade value that you can take advantage of.

13) Don't believe in the hype of sophomore seasons and contract years. That Varitek choice didn't pay out too well, did it?

14) Just because a player is ranked higher than another player does not mean they are statistically better. See #7.

15) Draft smart. Your #1 draft choice will not win you a title, but it can cost you one.

First Trade Offer of the Season

In my second team (2/50), I pointed out that my pitching needs work. The proposal I made may seem like suicide, but I have a decent SP core and was lacking in the relief department.
I decided to trade Carlos Zambrano, Aaron Harang, and Curtis Granderson in exchange for Brad Lidge, Joba Chamberlain, and Xavier Nady.

Even positional swap, no need to drop players or search the free agent market. Hopefully he accepts. Will you?