Apolyton Fantasy Baseball DRAFT THREAD 2!

[Imran Siddiqui]

Yeah, everyone that drafted Bonds is regretting it. I guess no one paid attention to the fact that he's had 2 knee surgeries since Jan 1.

[Sava]

1.7 Pedro Martinez (SP - NYM)
1.8 Carlos Beltran (OF - NYM)
1.9 Miguel Tejada (SS - BAL)
1.10 Alfonso Soriano (2B - TEX)
1.11 Bobby Abreu (OF - PHI)

these picks I also have qualms about...

Frankly, I think the following 4 picks: Ramirez, Beltre, Ichiro, and Rolen are better than the five I listed.

Beltran is overrated, IMO. Look at his stats. He's not really worth the price the Mets paid for him. I could be wrong about this, however. But IMO, he didn't have that great a year. He hit what, .260 or so? Yeah, he should get 40-40, but his average will probably not be that great.

And Soriano? like .270 and 20some HR's? Why did he get taken so high?

Tejada? well, upon further review, his numbers were good (150RBI )... But I would have taken either Manny or Aramis Ramirez before Tejada.

Bobby Abreu? meh... not bad stats, not a first pick though

Pedro? career high ERA last year, and he's a year older. also, career high opp. BA, and opp. OPS last year... again, not a first pick IMO. Carlos Zambrano will have a much better year I think, yet he wasn't taken until the 4th round.

other things I noticed? Carl Crawford was picked kind of high. Unless SB's are valuable, I don't see why he was picked so high.

I don't mean to question everybody's picks or anything. Don't take offense. I'm just offering my 2 cents. It looks like you guys will have an interesting season.

I don't know about others, but I'm interested to see how things play out. So please update throughout the season.

thanks

[Lawrence of Arabia]

aahh, but you forget - pedro went from the AL to the NL - three less batters per game, 3 more strikeouts, 7 - 10 less pitches per 9 batters faced, plus hitters are unfamiliar with him.

[Berzerker]

Well Sava, theres just 1 thing left for you to do. Sign up next year and prove to everyone how good you are at this stuff.

Beltran and Abreu - ~30-30 guys are rare, Abreu was a 30-40 guy last year.

Soriano? True, he usually gets nabbed in the 2nd round but his value increases because he's in a nasty line up in a hitters park and the depth at 2nd wouldn't drown a flea.

Tejeda? Great numbers for a SS, plenty of OF so why bypass the king of SS for someone out of a deep position?

Pedro? Moving to Shea will be a boon. ERA in the AL is maybe a 1/2 point higher, Schilling went from a 2.70 guy to 3.26.

Crawford? Of course SBs count, and his power numbers are starting to climb. And for leagues that count triples? YUMMMM

[Sava]

Originally posted by Lawrence of Arabia
aahh, but you forget - pedro went from the AL to the NL - three less batters per game, 3 more strikeouts, 7 - 10 less pitches per 9 batters faced, plus hitters are unfamiliar with him.

true, but still, he has got to perform a lot better to give a guy like Zambrano a run for his money. Also, he goes from a World Series champion to the Mets, who were 71-91 last year. I think it's fair to project about 18 wins and an ERA in the low 3's... good, but not first-pick good.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Berzerker
Well Sava, theres just 1 thing left for you to do. Sign up next year and prove to everyone how good you are at this stuff.

hehe, I'm too lazy to pay attention to fantasy stuff. I just don't want to spend the time researching and following things day to day.

Beltran and Abreu - ~30-30 guys are rare, Abreu was a 30-40 guy last year.

I guess I would have to see how this league is scored.

Soriano? True, he usually gets nabbed in the 2nd round but his value increases because he's in a nasty line up in a hitters park and the depth at 2nd wouldn't drown a flea.

well Soriano wasn't as bad as I thought last year... .280, 28HR's... but his SB was low. Also, his OBP is poor. Too strikey outy and not enough walky for me.

Tejeda? Great numbers for a SS, plenty of OF so why bypass the king of SS for someone out of a deep position?

good point

Pedro? Moving to Shea will be a boon. ERA in the AL is maybe a 1/2 point higher, Schilling went from a 2.70 guy to 3.26.

he will probably have better stats, but even with that, I still can't justify taking Pedro before a guy like Carlos Zambrano

Crawford? Of course SBs count, and his power numbers are starting to climb. And for leagues that count triples? YUMMMM

I must admit, he does bring a lot to the plate (pun intended ), but again, he was picked awfully high... I guess it would boil down to how the league is scored. I have no idea how you guys are scoring this so I'm in the dark on this one.

Good discussion guys. I hope I'm not polluting your thread.

[Berzerker]

Just a couple points, Pedro and the Mets will improve with the addition of Beltran and David Wright will get a full season under his belt along with Piazza who was sidelined for a good chunk of the year, so Pedro should have decent offense backing him. And even though he had the Sox behind him, he was in a very tough hitters league with Baltimore, NYY and even Toronto. He'll still have to face the Marlins and Philly, but the offenses he'll face will be weaker even without the DH as a factor. Besides, we had an early run on starting pitchers and Pedro may not have lasted to a second round. Abreu in the 11th was a good pick, I actually like him more than Beltran cuz he hits for better average and his OBP and K's to BB ratio is very nice.

Zambrano lost Sosa and Alou for run support and he's in the same division as the Cards and Astros even though the Stros will be weaker. And facing the Reds in their park aint a picnic.

Btw, this league is a weekly roster change league so you dont have to watch it day to day. Just set your line up for the coming week on Sunday and you're set.

[asleepathewheel]

1. City Hobgoblins - Stuie
2. Georgia Granies - Imran
3. Columbus Interns - Guynemer
4. The Arcade Fire - asleepatthewheel
5. Revenge of the Nerds - jdd
6. Berzerker - Berzerker
7. Your World Champions - LoA
8. Ramsey's Whiffers - gjramsey
9. Vancouver Isle Bears - vlad
10. Boston Rebels - The Emperor Fabulous
11. Houston's Owls of Rice - vlad anterkov
12. Apocalypses - Apocalypse

1.1 Albert Pujols (1B - STL)
1.2 Alex Rodriguez (3B - NYY)
1.3 Randy Johnson (SP - NYY)
1.4 Johan Santana (SP - MIN)
1.5 Barry Bonds (OF - SF)
1.6 Vlad Guerrero (OF - LAA)
1.7 Pedro Martinez (SP - NYM)
1.8 Carlos Beltran (OF - NYM)
1.9 Miguel Tejada (SS - BAL)
1.10 Alfonso Soriano (2B - TEX)
1.11 Bobby Abreu (OF - PHI)
1.12 Jason Schmidt (SP - SF)

2.12 Adrian Beltre (3B - SEA)
2.11 Manny Ramirez (OF - BOS)
2.10 Ichiro Suzuki (OF - SEA)
2.9 Scott Rolen (3B - STL)
2.8 Carl Crawford (CF - TB)
2.7 Mark Prior (SP - CHC)
2.6 Todd Helton (1B - COL)
2.5 Jim Thome (1B - PHI)
2.4 Eric Gagne (RP - LA)
2.3 Jim Edmonds (CF - StL)
2.2 Curt Schilling (SP - BOS)
2.1 Adam Dunn (1B/OF - CIN)

3.1 Melvin Mora (3B - BAL)
3.2 Miguel Cabrera (OF - FLA)
3.3 Derek Jeter (SS - NYY)
3.4 Mark Teixiera (1B - TEX)
3.5 Ben Sheets (SP - MIL)
3.6 Roger Clemens (SP - HOU)
3.7 David Ortiz (1B - BOS)
3.8 Aramis Ram?rez (3B - CHC)
3.9 Tim Hudson (SP - ATL)
3.10 Carlos Delgado (1B - FLA)
3.11 Keith Foulke (RP - BOS)
3.12 Brad Lidge (RP - HOU)

4.12 Johnny Damon (CF - BOS)
4.11 Mike Young (SS - TEX)
4.10 Mariano Rivera (RP - NYY)
4.9 Jake Peavy (SP - SD)
4.8 Gary Sheffield (OF - NYY)
4.7 Francisco Rodriguez (RP - LAA)
4.6 Carlos Zambrano (SP - CHI)
4.5 Oliver Perez (SP - PIT)
4.4 Carlos Guillen (SS - DET)
4.3 Aubrey Huff (1B/3B/OF - TB)
4.2 Nomar Garciaparra (SS - CHC)
4.1 Jimmy Rollins (SS - PHI)

5.1 Francisco Cordero (RP - TEX)
5.2 Roy Oswalt (SP - HOU)
5.3 Eric Chavez (3B - OAK)
5.4 Juan Pierre (CF - FLA)
5.5 Hank Blalock (3B - TEX)
5.6 Armando Benitez (RP - SFG)
5.7 Edgar Renteria (SS - BOS)
5.8 Rafael Furcal (SS - ATL)
5.9 John Smoltz (SP - ATL)
5.10 Josh Beckett (SP - FLA)
5.11 Matt Clement (SP - BOS)
5.12 Paul Konerko (1B - CWS)

6.12 Lance Berkman (OF - HOU)
6.11 Corey Patterson (CF - CHC)
6.10 Chipper Jones (3B/OF - ATL)
6.9 Sammy Sosa (OF - BAL)
6.8 Billy Wagner (RP - PHI)
6.7 Marcus Giles (2B - ATL)
6.6 Jose Reyes (2B/SS - NYM)
6.5 Hideki Matsui (OF - NYY)
6.4 Victor Martinez (C - CLE)
6.3 Ivan Rodriguez (C - DET)
6.2 Travis Hafner (1B - CLE)
6.1 Chone Figgins (All sorts of stuff - LAA)

7.1 Carl Pavano (SP - NYY)
7.2 Trevor Hoffman (RP - SD)
7.3 Kerry Wood (SP - CHC)
7.4 Mark Loretta (2B - SD)
7.5 Joe Nathan (RP - MIN)
7.6 Jason Isringhausen (RP - STL)
7.7 Jason Varitek (C - BOS)
7.8 Mike Mussina (SP - NYY)
7.9 Rich Harden (SP - OAK)
7.10 Barry Zito (SP - OAK)
7.11 Jorge Posada (C - NYY)
7.12 Juan Uribe (2B,3B,SS - CWS)

8.12 Jaret Wright (SP - NYY)
8.11 Justin Morneau (1B - MIN)
8.10 Javy Lopez (C - BAL)
8.9 Joe Mauer (C - MIN)
8.8 Jeff Kent (2B - LA)
8.7 Mark Mulder (SP - STL)
8.6 Mike Piazza (C - NYM)
8.5 Scott Podsednik (CF - ChW)
8.4 Matt Morris (SP - STL)
8.3 Shawn Green (1B/OF - ARI)
8.2 Aaron Rowland (CF - ChW)
8.1 Carlos Lee (OF - MIL)

9.1 Jeremy Burnitz (CF - CHC)
9.2 Johnny Estrada (C - ATL)
9.3 Octavio Dotel (RP - OAK)
9.4 Roy Halladay (SP - TOR)
9.5 Bret Boone (2B - SEA)
9.6 Guilermo Mota (RP - FLA)
9.7 Mike Lowell (3B - FLA)
9.8 Derrek Lee, ChC (1B - CHC)
9.9 Ken Griffey Jr. (CF - CIN)
9.10 Orlando Cabrera (SS - LAA)
9.11 David Wright (3B - NYM)
9.12 Pedro Feliz (1B,3B,SS - SF)

10.12 Kelvin Escobar (SP - LAA)
10.11 Brad Radke (SP - MIN)
10.10 Moises Alou (OF - SF)
10.9 Bartolo Colon (SP - LAA)
10.8 Richie Sexson (1B - SEA)
10.7 Dan Kolb (RP - ATL)
10.6 Magglio Ordonez (OF - DET)
10.5 Jason Kendall (C - OAK)
10.4 JD Drew (OF - LAD)
10.3 Sean Casey (1B - CIN)
10.2 Chris Carpenter (SP - StL)
10.1 Paul Lo Duca (C - FLA)

11.1 Greg Maddux (SP - CHC)
11.2 Brian Giles (OF - SD)
11.3 Jeremy Bonderman (SP - DET)
11.4 Jason Marquis (SP - STL)
11.5 Livan Hernández (SP- WAS)
11.6 Troy Glaus (3B - ARI)
11.7 Trot Nixon (RF - BOS)
11.8 Javier Vazquez (SP - ARI)
11.9 Jason Bay (OF - PIT)
11.10 Odalis Perez (SP - LA)
11.11 Ray Durham (2B - SFG)
11.12 Ryan Freel (2B,3B,CF - CIN)

12.12 Mark Buehrle (SP - CHW)
12.11 CC Sabathia (SP - CLE)
12.10 Vernon Wells (CF - TOR)
12.9 Austin Kearns (OF - CIN)
12.8 A.J. Burnett (SP - FLA)
12.7 Yhency Brazoban (RP - LOS)
12.6 Garrett Anderson (CF - LAA)
12.5 Shingo Takatsu (RP - ChW)
12.4 Larry Walker (OF - StL)
12.3 Freddy Garcia (SP - ChW)
12.2 Jose Vidro (2B - WAS)
12.1 Danny Graves (RP - CIN)

13.1 Pat Burrell (OF - PHI)
13.2 Troy Percival (RP - DET)
13.3 Brian Roberts (2B - BAL)
13.4 Aaron Boone (3B - CLE)
13.5 Tom Gordon (RP - NYY)
13.6 Chase Utley (2B - PHI)
13.7 Lew Ford (CF - MIN)
13.8 Jose Mesa (RP - PIT)
13.9 Scott Kazmir ( SP - TB)
13.10 B.J. Ryan (RP - BAL)
13.11 Bob Wickman (RP - CLE)
13.12 Jake Westbrook (SP CLE)

14.12 Michael Barrett (C - CHC)
14.11 Phil Nevin (1B - SD)
14.10 Dave Roberts (CF - SD)
14.9 Tadahito Iguchi (2B - CHW)
14.8 Brad Penny (SP - LAD)
14.7 Jose Guillen (OF - WAS)
14.6 Derek Lowe (SP-LA)
14.5 Steve Finley (CF-LAA)
14.4 Braden Looper (RP -NYM)

[Imran Siddiqui]

Beltran and Abreu were picked in a good spot. Abreu, like said before was a 30-40 guy. Steals count as well, and a guy who can steal and hit HRs is very valuable. If Abreu played for the Yanks instead of the Phils, and had the same stats, he'd be a Top 5 pick in everyone's league. He's a HUGE fish in a small pond.

Beltran is just as good (and getting better because he is moving into his prime). ALSO, we seperate CF from OF. Therefore the depth at CF is thin and Beltran's value goes up. Though he'll put up good numbers in front of Piazza.

Tejada also had amazing stats and had moved well beyond the other big SS's of the late 90s, early 00's (Jeter and Garciaparra). The addition of Sosa to the O's Lineup will only improve Tejada's numbers.

Soriano had a down year last year and got hurt at the end. At the same time, though, 2B is VERY weak. Outside of him, the talent level drops greatly. Marcus Giles may get up to his level and Bret Boone may return to that level, but both aren't as good. Oh, and he's in an explosive offense at Texas... good protection.

Pedro, as pointed out, is moving from the AL to the NL. He strikesout a TON of guys still. If you look at the stats, he didn't have that bad a year last year. His ERA+ was 125 (to compare Roy Oswalt was a 123 last year), which has been his lowest since '96, but the year before (2003) was one of his greatest years as a pitcher. Also he is moving to a very good defensive team.

I would take him over Zambrano. Zambrano is a Cubs pitcher. Dusty will blow out his arm soon enough.

Crawford is one of those SB stars. And he hits pretty well. I also was surprised how high he was picked in this league and others, but, in this league at least, he is also a CF.

Manny Ramierz is just as good as anyone here, I agree. Beltre? He could be a fluke. It was his only really good year so far, and he's moving to a pitcher's park. Ichiro? Nope, he's got no power whatsoever. I wouldn't take a first round pick with him. Rolen is a 3B, where there is a lot of talent. You can miss Rolen and still get a good 3B, like Aramis Ramierez or Hank Blaylock in the later rounds.

Oh, and don't worry about it. Free bump!

[Imran Siddiqui]

Guy is up!

[Lawrence of Arabia]

whats ERA+?

[Imran Siddiqui]

whats ERA+?

[taken from another forum]
"ERA+" (really adjusted ERA+) is ERA relative to the league, adjusted for the ball park you play in. 100 is average. So, if you're 20% better than league average, after adjusting for ballpark, your ERA+ will be 120. It's particularly useful for comparing pitchers across eras (eras, not ERAs.). It demonstrates, for example, how out-of-this-world Pedro was during his peak years.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

oh yeah i knew that.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Berzerker
Zambrano lost Sosa and Alou for run support and he's in the same division as the Cards and Astros even though the Stros will be weaker. And facing the Reds in their park aint a picnic.

well, losing Sosa was "addition by subtraction", his numbers were soured by his lack of clutch hitting and his constant striking out in important situations. I'd say the Cubs win 10 more games last year if Sosa didn't strike out in key situations. As for Alou, his production was good, but there was no way he was going to repeat last year's numbers. Plus, his defense was horrible and his baserunning alone cost the Cubs at least 2 games. Also, both were cancers in the clubhouse.

The Cubs offense will be better this year than last year. They won't hit as many homers, but their lineup will be more consistent and effective. They have Nomar for the full season (if he stays healthy obviously). Corey Patterson should continue to improve. Todd Walker is the number 1 guy at 2B, meaning he has the chance to consistently produce. And Dusty now has the freedom of constructing a proper lineup since he doesn't have to worry about Sosa and Alou sulking. Plus, Jeremy Burnitz is a fine replacement for Sosa. Better defense, similar power production, and NOT a pain in the ass disturbing chemistry. Also, look for Derrek Lee to improve upon last year's numbers. Lee was slow to start last year and was not good at the end of the year (.226 in Sep, and .111 in Oct). Look for Lee to be more consistent. I project 35 HR, over 100 RBI, and about .300 for Lee. The one thing the Cubs need is a leadoff man. Patterson might get the job, would do a decent job, but really isn't a leadoff man.

In addition to this, Carlos Zambrano improved from 2 years ago to last year, and should improve just as much if not more this year. He's a year older... more mature. Last year he was 10-2 at Wrigley and 6-6 on the road. He most certainly will improve on the road this year.

But the Cardinals aren't going to be tough this year... neither will the Astros. The Cubs should win the division, barring any injury problems.

[Imran Siddiqui]

But the Cardinals aren't going to be tough this year

Yer dreaming. They may have lost some big time players, but the Cards will definetly be tough. They added Mark Mulder as a #1 starter (something they lacked last year). Larry Walker will be there for the entire year. And they have the best corner infielders in the league.