HarleyQuinn

Just saw Boodle Clark... that name wins it for me hands down. Solely on the first name obviously.

He's listed on Yahoo so I'd assume he's legal... RP Pat Neshek

If the Sox can go year to year with different closers... does that really mean not having a closer to enter the season is going to make or break them? They can always trade for a closer or wait for somebody to grab the role as the season goes on. 2002: Ugueth Urbina has 40 Saves (3.00 ERA). Sox miss the playoffs but finish 93-69. 2003: Byung-Hyung Kim has 16 Saves (3.18 ERA). Sox lose ALCS in 7 games. Lyon had 9 saves with a 4.12 ERA and only one other player had 3 saves or more (Chad Fox). 2004: Keith Foulke has 32 Saves (2.17 ERA). Sox win WS in 4 games. 2005: Foulke and Timlin combine for 28 Saves. Sox lose ALDS in 3 games. To note, Timlin had a 2.24 ERA on the season. 2006: Papelbon has 35 Saves (0.92 ERA). Sox miss the playoffs but finish 86-76. I'd rather take the "risk" of turning a stud closer into a SP (see also Derek Lowe) and going bullpen by committee until a closer emerges rather than trying to find a bonafide closer and keeping a guy who could be a very valuable #3 SP in that role just because there's no better option at the time.

There's a pinned draft thread at the top where MJ usually posts the next round after anyway. Utilize it *had a Round 14 keeper* so mistakes don't happen.

Especially this late... it's almost better to go with boom/bust guys over the solid guys.

Well, at least you can take solice in the fact that some of us know (or like to think we know) what we are doing in terms of value and such. You can always look for "Saber" friendly leagues too where competition might be higher. I joined one and the draft was one of the most difficult I've had in terms of 3/4ths of the owners throwing out their draft plans because guys kept getting stolen, etc. My draft in that league (12 Teams) with pick 8. Scoring is 10x9 with H/HR/SB/BB/K/GIDP/TB/OBP/SLG/OPS vs. HA/HRA/BB/K/GIDP/ERA/WHIP/K to BB/K/9 1: Miguel Cabrera 2: Joe Mauer 3: Miguel Tejada 4: Ben Sheets 5: Scott Kazmir 6: John Lackey 7: Ray Durham 8: Barry Bonds 9: Adam LaRoche 10: Erik Bedard 11: Rocco Baldelli 12: Brad Hawpe 13: Takashi Saito 14: Justin Duchscherer 15: Andy Pettitte 16: Mike Gonzalez 17: Carlos Quentin 18: Kiko Calero 19: Ryan Shealy 20: Dustin Pedroia (my only homer pick) 21: Brad Penny 22: Pedro Feliciano 23: Matt Murton 24: Wilson Betemit 25: David DeJesus 26: Joe Blanton 27: Matt Thornton 28: David Ross 29: Rich Aurilia

... Yeah, we're all disagreeing just to be "cool" *eye roll* What exactly do you mean by fantasy novices? As far as I could tell, only 5 teams had never played in a Yahoo baseball league prior to 2005. That doesn't mean that they didn't play in leagues elsewhere (ESPN, CBSSportsline, etc.) If anything, many of the teams have been in leagues since 2004 at the least. Unless you meant rotisseries novices?

Awww

I'm calling the over/under on 1 run games in my series at 3...

Yeah, I had dropped out due to college stuff IIRC. Kinda wish I had stayed though, looking back. Although I'm glad to be back in now... and quickly trying to rectify my team while I still can of course.

The suspense is killin' me...

The Gotham Harlequins are pleased to see this OF still remain. A guy who has consistently hit 20-25 HRs each of the last few seasons. OF Jacque Jones

Here are some numbers for Prior over his "stint" under Dusty... 2003: Averaged 7.0 IP per start with 113 pitches per start. He had 19 starts with 110+ pitches and 9 starts with 120+ pitches including his final 6 games = 131, 129, 109, 124, 131, and 133 pitches. 2004: Averaged 5.2 IP per start with 98 pitches per start. He had 5 starts with 110+ pitches and 1 start with 120+ pitches (his 2nd to last start). 2005: Averaged 6.1 IP per start with 104 pitches per start. He had 10 starts with 110+ pitches and 5 starts with 120+ pitches (including 2 starts over his last 4). 2006: Averaged 4.2 IP per start with 93 pitches per start. He had 0 starts with 110+ pitches (Season high was 109).

Okey dokey, here's my "1st" official pick. Seeing as how I'm in need of a catcher and some pop... C Gregg Zaun

I'd be willing to take the team if you guys still need somebody to fill the role.

Well for comparison... The '31 Yankees scored 6.88 RPG when the average was 5.14 for the AL (1.74)! The '30 Yankees scored 6.90 RPG when the average was 5.41 for the AL (1.49) The '27 Yankees scored 6.29 RPG when the average was 4.92 for the AL (1.37) The '13 Athletics scored 5.19 RPG when the average was 3.93 for the AL (1.26) The 2003 Red Sox scored 5.93 RPG when the average was 4.86 for the AL (1.07) The '99 Indians scored 6.23 RPG when the average was 5.18 for the AL (1.05) The one thing the '27 Yanks have going for them is power (They hit 36% of the AL's HRs) and discipline (15.8% of the AL's walks). They also had 11.20% of the SB in the AL and 18.10% of the strikeouts. I would call the 1913 Athletics more impressive offensively simply because of the scoring era they were playing in, where teams were scoring a full run less. The Athletics themselves accounted for 20.75% of the HRs in the AL that season, 14.26% of the walks, 11.70% of the strikeouts, and 13.20% of the Stolen Bases.

Those poor, poor Astros fans...

I'll be cheering for the '04 and '46 Red Sox and I find it oddly disturbing that the '75 Red Sox have to face the '86 Mets...

Here are some "fun" stats out of boredom... - 400 players will be drafted including at least 60 OF (15%). OF will make up 33% of the offense. - The 20 teams combined have won 126 Yahoo trophies (average of 6.3 per team). The most trophies won was 20 by Raza. - Only 7 SP had a 1.10 or less WHIP in 2006. In 2005, 9 SP reached that mark (minimum of 100 IP). - The only other catcher to post a .400+ OBP (Josh Bard) ranked 413 last season. - Jamey Carroll posted the 5th best OBP among SS and ranked 300 last season. - Juan Pierre tied Carl Crawford for 2nd with 58 SB and finished ranked 104th last season. - Raul Ibanez ranked 6th in RBI and finished 48th last season. - Aramis Ramirez ranked 9th in RBI and finished 50th last season. Top 100 Breakdown Last Year (Most to Least) *Note: Some players may cover multiple positions and 'skew' the numbers* - 36 SP (10 in Top 50. 01 in Top 25) - 21 OF (15 in Top 50. 08 in Top 25) - 14 RP (09 in Top 50. 05 in Top 25) - 10 1B (06 in Top 50. 05 in Top 25) - 10 SS (04 in Top 50. 03 in Top 25) - 09 3B (05 in Top 50. 03 in Top 25) - 03 2B (01 in Top 50. 01 in Top 25) - 01 C (00 in Top 50. 00 in Top 25)

IIRC, it was "down" to something like 138 pitches compared to 144 in 2005.

I also enjoy seeing AAA and other minor league players get a chance at 'national' or local exposure. In the Braves/Pirates game, Eldred and Bixler both have HRs for the Pirates. Neil Walker is now up to bat

Holds would be nice for the relievers who are valuable but don't rack up saves (ala Chad Bradford).

Poor Thomas Diamond and John Danks... TD has struggled a bit in 2 seasons at AA (17-9, 4.80 ERA, 198.1 IP, 170 HA, 22 HR allowed, 213 K vs. 116 BB). He'll be 24 years old and can bounce back into the Top 100 if he can get his BB rate down. Danks hit AAA last year at age 21 and b/w AA and AAA put up a season of 9-9, 4.24 ERA, 140 IP, 141 HA, 22 HR allowed, 154 K vs. 56 BB. Frisco is a bit of a hitter's park (1.06 R, 1.03 H, and 0.95 HR) although Oklahoma is a pitcher's haven (0.82 R, 0.92 H, and 0.68 HR).

*has been scouting the way Al and Raza have set up their teams from leagues past... will now dominate*

I'm in as Gotham Harlequins and looking forward to this one since I missed out on the other.