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Pre-Draft
Diamond Notes
(March 10, 2009)
Draft Date Set
The
date for the 2009 draft has been confirmed. The draft will occur on Friday evening,
March 20 at Perry’s apartment. The first pick is set for 7:30PM, and owners
may arrive as early as 5PM for the annual draft get-together. As a reminder,
you have between now and 7PM on March 20 to resign any free agents you wish to keep.
After that they return to the draft pool.
TRADES
The
hot stove has been heating up over the past couple weeks. The New Market
Mallers have been active, as usual, acquiring five players and two draft choices in four
trades. In three separate deals with the Nature Boys they picked up OF Matt Holliday and SP Scott Kazmir, as well as a third round pick.
In exchange, the defending champions acquired SS J. J. Hardy, first and second round picks next year and a third round
choice in 2012. Then, the Mallers swung a large deal with The Mooninites
in which they hauled in 3B Alex Gordon, OFs Adam Dunn and B. J. Upton and a third round
pick next season. The Mooninites received 2B Ian Kinsler, OF Alex Rios and pitchers
Matt Cain and Carlos Zambrano. The Mooninites also completed another deal, receiving
powerful slugger Ryan Howard and pitcher CC Sabathia from The Regulators in exchange
for SS Stephen Drew, pitchers Matt Cain and Chein-Ming Wang and pick 1-9.
Introducing
With the dawning of another new season, we often see some turnover in league franchise ownership. This year will be no exception as Mason takes the place of Mike as the overseer for Dragz’ Dinger Droppers. The team, formerly known as the Ball
Busters, is coming off their worse finish since 2002, so hopefully Mason can breathe some new life into the franchise. In addition to the new owner, you can probably expect a name change in the next few
weeks as well.
Where’s Homer Simpson?
While
it seems likely that Mason will make a team name change, we know for sure that one team went ahead and made a change over
the winter. The team known for years as Temple Guard has gone in a new direction and will now
be known as The Stonecutters. Tyler got the name from an episode of The Simpson’s.
Free Agent Watch
As is often the case, there are a number of excellent free agents on the board as we enter the build-up to the draft.
The West Bend Gravediggers have already
announced their intentions to resign OF Vladimir Guerrero, but here is a sampling of other players that could potentially
be available when the draft kicks off next month. The Nature Boys are looking at the prospect of resigning OF Bobby Abreu and SP Jake Peavy. Or both. The New Market
Mallers will likely be hanging onto SP Scott Kazmir, but have a handful of other decisions to make. Royal Flush will almost certainly keep SS Jose Reyes, but have
given no indication about their intentions on SP Rich Harden. Substantial Wood will most likely hang on to SP Johan Santana. The Mooninites just acquired the rights to SP Carlos Zambrano, but it remains to
be seen whether they will use a pick to keep him. Rounding out the AL, The Stonecutters have already announced they will be parting with all
of their free agents. In the National League, Dragz’ Dinger Droppers is loaded with decisions to make. C
Victor Martinez, 1B Justin Morneau, 3B Chipper Jones and RP Brad Lidge could all be resigned, but we’ll see what Mason
decides to do in his first draft. Greg’s
Goofoffs have a collection of Lee’s to decide upon in 1B Derrek and OF Carlos, as well as SS Orlando Cabrera. Hord’s Horrors has SS Michael Young,
3B Alex Rodriguez and OF Carlos Beltran to consider, as well as OF Andruw Jones who will certainly not be retained. The Dominators are one of few teams without any concerns, as
their only free agent is SP Doug Davis, who will not be kept. The Regulators, the defending NL champs, face a tough call on OF Johnny Damon.
A Look Back
The 2009 draft will mark the twelfth draft in league history. The twelfth
pick is a good one to hold, because it goes to the league champion, although that team is rarely the one making a selection
in that spot due to trade. Anyway, here is a look back at the players selected
with the final pick of the opening round over the years. In the first draft there
were only ten teams in the league, so pick 12 went to The Stonecutters, who used
the pick to select SP Kevin Brown. In 1999, the Pillsbury Doughboys, an expansion team, took 1B Andres Galarraga. No
wonder the franchise folded after one year. At the turn of the Century, Substantial Wood picked SP Mike Hampton. Greg’s Goofoffs called OF Gary Sheffield’s name in 2001 with the first pick of the second round in
that season. SP Curt Schilling was the pick of the Nature Boys in 2002. The
Dominators joined the league in 2003 and selected SP Jarrod Washburn. OF
Dmitri Young was the name on the index card for the Goofoffs in 2004. Substantial Wood, fresh off of a World Series title, picked OF Jason Bay in 2005. The best pick of the lot came when the New Market Mallers hit a homerun with the selection of 1B Ryan Howard in 2006.
The Nature Boys were in the 12 spot again in 2007 and acquired 3B Garrett Atkins.
Finally, SP Erik Bedard was the choice of The Mooninites last spring.
Paying for Past Mistakes
It seems as though the New Market Mallers have a limitless supply of
draft picks every year, and with good reason. They make a number of trades to
stockpile picks, but along the way also end up with some players that Perry decides to release prior to a new season. As a result, they often burn a pick to get rid of those players. However, over the past couple years that has come back to bite them, as SP Zach Grienke and Ervin Santana
have rebounded from rough years, and enter 2009 among the top available pitchers in the game.
Right now, they could have that duo anchoring the rotation in addition to the extra picks they wouldn’t have
used to release those players.
Online Access
Many of you have
asked in recent seasons what the easiest way to communicate with other owners about potential trades is. The answer is probably online. Most league members have either
a facebook or myspace account, and several have both. Trying there could be a
good first step. There is also the option of email, which virtually everyone
in our league utilizes frequently. And if all else fails, there is the trusty
phone call method. So, if you need to get in touch with a fellow league member,
let me know and I can help you in this process.
Trade Block
All season long
this space will be reserved for teams looking to make trades, either seeking a player or looking to move a player to another
team. If you are looking to make a deal let me know and I will gladly post what
owners are looking to do in the trade market right here in the Diamond Notes.
All-Star Break Diamond
Notes
(July 22, 2008)
Clearance Sale
There has been a big-time
sale for the New Market Mallers over the first half of the season as the defending
champions look toward next season. They began by dealing SS Jose Reyes to Royal
Flush for a first round pick next year. Then
they moved SPs Roy Halladay and Chris Young, taking on Zach Duke in exchange for SS Troy Tulowitzki. Last month they dealt OF Bobby Abreu to the Nature Boys in exchange
for RP Rafael Soriano’s expiring contract to get a third rounder in 2011. The
dealing continued this month, as they moved OF Grady Sizemore and a third in 2011 to the 6-time champs for SP Carlos Zambrano
and a first next year. Finally on Saturday, they traded SS J.J. Hardy and 3B
Miguel Cabrera to The Dominators for OF Alex Rios and a second round pick. So the haul is Tulowitzki, Rios and Zambrano and their normal slew of draft choices as they play for 2009
and beyond.
After Further Review
Remember back on
draft night when there was a lot of shock when The Dominators selected 2B Ian
Kinsler with the first pick of the draft? It was generally assumed that OF Ryan
Braun would go first. Four months later and it appears that Kinsler was the proper
choice. Both players made the all-star team, and have put up pretty similar stats. The difference is that Kinsler plays 2B instead of the deeper position of the outfield. This is the second consecutive year that the team selected a player earlier than anticipated
and the pick turned into an instant success. In 2007 they acquired C Russell
Martin. Perhaps next year others will notice the players they have stock-piled
and follow suit instead of scratching their heads!
Catching a Bad Break
When the season began,
it was generally assumed that Dragz’ Dinger Droppers would set the standard
at catcher with the combination of Victor Martinez and Jorge Posada. The duo
have been injury prone and ineffective. With Martinez already having spent more than half the season on the Disabled List and Posada making another trip there as well,
production behind the plate has plummeted for the first-year owner. In the three
years the franchise has had them together prior to 2008, they have batted .301 with 456 runs scored, 123 homers, and 541 RBI,
with the numbers increasing each year. That makes this year so inexplicable,
as their combined numbers have plummeted to a .275 average with 34 runs scored, 3 dingers and 43 RBI.
Beyond Average
Recently, The Mooninites mentioned that its low team batting average might prove to be the difference between capturing
a second AL title and coming up short. While
every year is different, two teams have finished last in their league in average on gone on to win the pennant. Hord’s Horrors accomplished the feat in the NL in 1999
and the Nature Boys matched that in the AL
in 2006. However, it does not appear that posting the top batting average is
all that important by itself either. Of the 18 teams to capture a division crown
in the divisional play era, the team with the best average has won the AL title three times, while it has only happened twice
in the NL. The team with the best average has combined to finish second in their
respective division 7 times, first five times, and three times.
We’re Contenders Now
Very early in the
season Royal Flush predicted that the team would be a contender in the AL this season. While nobody doubted the team’s pitching credentials,
even with Cris Carpenter out all season thus far, it is the offense which has been surprisingly effective. 1B Adrian Gonzalez has carried the offense since opening day, and picking up SS Jose Reyes has been a factor
as well. The team is off of a franchise-best fifth place finish last season and
is well-positioned to finish higher that that this year.
Back on Top
Another team enjoying
one of the best seasons in franchise history is The Regulators. They moved into first place in the NL a few weeks ago and haven’t looked back. The team captured the league championship back in 1998 with a roster that included Mo Vaughn and Larry
Walker among others. However, there have been some rough times since then, with
the best finish since coming in 2002 when the team captured second led by John Olerud, Edgardo Alfonso and Barry Larkin.
End of the Line
It seems as though
every year a few players look like father time has caught up with them and they have lost a step or two, or a mile or five
off the fastball. The 2008 edition of that list includes Substantial Wood SP Pedro Martinez, Temple Guard SS Juan Uribe, Dragz’ Dinger Droppers RP Trevor Hoffman, Hord’s Horrors OF
Andruw Jones, and West Bend Gravediggers C Kenji Johjima.
Trade Desk
As July comes to a close, the
trade waters are boiling over. The New
Market Mallers have been quite active in the first several months of the season, but other teams are looking to make deals
as well. The $lick Ones are said
to be looking for pitching, and 1B Lance Berkman might be available. Upcoming
free agents that might be available for the right price are Dragz’ Dinger Droppers
3B Chipper Jones and a few players from Greg’s Goofoffs, including 1B
Derrek Lee, SS Orlando Cabrera and OF Carlos Lee. It is mere speculation that
these free-agents-to-be players might be on the market, but all are older players that might be tough calls when it comes
time next spring to decide if it is worth a pick to keep them in the fold, but all are having good seasons. All season long this space will be reserved for teams looking to make other owners aware of which
players are available. If you are looking to make a deal let me know and I will
gladly pass the word along in this space in Diamond Notes.
Owner’s Gathering(s)
If anybody is interested in getting together
and possibly talking trades during this season with so many teams in contention, I am proposing going to a Brewers game in
early August. If anybody is interested in this idea, please let me know. Also, many of you have asked about the date of the 2008 fantasy football draft. It will be held in late August, with the date, time and location to be determined
in the next week or so and included in the owner’s manual.
Look For Diamond Notes
Diamond notes will be posted
on a regular basis throughout the 2008 fantasy baseball season. If you have suggestions
for the future please feel free to contribute feedback by email.
Opening Weeks Diamond Notes
(April 27,
2008)
Fast Start
The season is a marathon
to be sure, but that is no reason not to look at the standings and take note that our league’s newest owner is right
in the mix in the National League. Mike has guided Dragz’ Dinger
Droppers to a fast early start and has them back in contention after their worst finish
in 5 years last season. The trade for Ben Sheets has certainly helped early on,
and if his strong catching duo can heat up, the team might be in it for the long haul and challenge Hord’s Horrors, three-time defending league champions.
Trade Laments
While Sheets has
helped the Dingers vault in the NL standings, a couple other pitchers acquired on draft night have not been quite as helpful
for their new teams. The Nature Boys picked up John Lackey and Roy Oswalt in
separate deals. While they knew Lackey was injured, Oswalt’s first few
starts back with the team were pretty brutal. However, he turned it around in
his last two outings. Another pickup on draft night has been just plain brutal. The Regulators addressed the starting rotation woes of recent years with the acquisition
of C. C. Sabathia. The lefty has been getting pounded thus far.
Painful Start
Speaking of pitching
decisions that haven’t worked out, the New Market Mallers probably lead the league in that category in the early going. Last year the defending champions released SP Zach Grienke, who has been mowing down
hitters through the opening month. Then, this off-season, they acquired Ervin
Santana. Coming off a very rough year, it was a high-risk, high-reward gamble. It would be paying off quite well, except for the fact that he was released following
the draft. For a team currently last in the American League Grienke and Santana
would look pretty good right now.
Painful Start
It seems to be an
annual rite of spring that one team gets decimated by the injury bug out of the box.
This season Temple Guard has drawn the short straw and been hammered by injuries to usher in
the 2008 campaign. OF Curtis Granderson just returned to the lineup, SPs Chris
Capuano and Bartolo Colon have yet to play, SP Dontrelle Willis was injured in his second start of the season, and RP J. J.
Putz was injured on the second day of the season and just recently joined Granderson on the active roster.
Rocky Draft Night
On the day of the
draft, The Regulators made a few trades and in the process reconfigured their situation at first base. They left the draft with Ryan Howard and Adam LaRoche. Over
the course of the full season they should prove to be very potent, but for the second consecutive season, they are both off
to a slow start.
Pitching Success
The early season
always provides an opportunity for teams to boast about the all the success they intend on having this season. One of the best examples was provided by Royal Flush discussing how good their pitching is going to be,
and the impact it will have on the rest of the AL. So far, Steve’s premonition has been proven correct, as the Flush rank at the top of the division
in pitching and currently sit in fourth place, despite the team’s admitted offensive shortcomings.
No Joking
Last season Greg’s
Goofoffs provided Hord’s Horrors with the closest competition during their current three-year reign atop the NL. It appears as though that was no fluke as the Goofoffs have vaulted to the top of
the heap to begin 2008. In addition to seeing a resurgence of power-hitting Derrek
Lee, they have found some free agent gold with Pat Burrell and Javier Vazquez. With
three teams already bunched up at the top of the NL standings, this could be an even better race than last year, and rival
some of the great fights for first place we’ve seen in the American League over the past few seasons that have gone
done to the season’s final weekend.
Red Hot
While he may be at sea defending our country,
or on a cruise as I like to joke with him, Gregory and the West Bend Gravediggers may have found what was lacking from SP
Cliff Lee the past couple seasons. The lefty had a respectable 14 wins and 4.40
ERA in his first season with the team in 2006, but dropped off dramatically last year, scuffling along with a 6.29 ERA and
just 5 wins last year. However, he is back on to the 18 win ways he enjoyed in
’05 with a 4-0 record and 0.28 ERA over his first four starts this season.
Trade Desk
The draft is over, the opening
pitch has been made, and the season is well into it’s opening month. And,
of course, that also means that trade rumors have been circulating, as well as other owners putting some of their players
on the block. Heading that list are the New Market Mallers. After suffering through a slow start, Perry has decided to listen to offers for several of his players. Miguel Cabrera and Grady Sizemore, among others, are reportedly not available, but
many of the other players can reportedly be had for the right price. All season
long this space will be reserved for teams looking to make other owners aware of which players are available. If you are looking to make a deal let me know and I will gladly pass the word along in this space in Diamond
Notes.
Look For Diamond Notes
Diamond notes will be posted
on a regular basis throughout the 2008 fantasy baseball season. If you have suggestions
for the future please feel free to contribute feedback by email.
Pre-Draft Diamond Notes
(February 2, 2008)
Draft Date Tentatively
Set
A tentative date for the 2008 draft has been established. The draft is
currently scheduled to occur on Friday evening, March 21, at Aaron and Steve’s apartment (9152 W. Dixon St. Apt. #102). The first pick is set for 7PM, but owners may arrive as early as 4PM for the annual draft
gathering. As a reminder, you have between now and 6:45PM the night of the
draft to resign any free agents you wish to keep, otherwise they return to the draft pool.
Owner’s Get-together
Each year prior to the draft we hold a get-together prior to the draft for owner’s to meet, discuss potential
trades, and attend to any other business related to their team. As per usual,
we will once again have a pre-draft gathering. It will occur on Sunday. February
24. For anyone interested, the meeting will be held at 1pm at the Buffalo Wild Wings
across from Mayfair Mall.
We have Trades
to Announce
One of the fun things about our league is that it essentially runs 12 months out of the year. Savvy owners are always on the lookout for moves that might improve their team. Thus far, the Nature Boys and New Market Mallers have struck a pair of deals. The defending champs have acquired C Joe
Mauer, SP Ervin Santana and a 3rd round pick next year in the two deals.
The Nature Boys acquired RP Rafael Soriano and second round picks this year and next in return.
Position Changes
As you will no doubt notice when you look at the returning players roster pages, a number of players have had their
position eligibility change. However, in case you failed to notice, here is the
rundown. Substantial Wood sees Bill
Hall go from SS to OF, with a move to 3B likely next year, while free agent Nomar Garciaparra goes from 1B to 3B. Temple Guard’s Chone Figgins, one of the best in-season acquisitions last season, moves from OF to 3B this year. B. J. Upton moves to 2B this year, a move that may benefit The
Mooninites. In the National League, Felipe Lopez returns to SS after a year
at 2B for the Ball Busters. Finally,
the West Bend Gravediggers will now have Jorge Cantu at 1B instead of in the OF.
Free Agent Watch
As is often the case, there are a number of excellent free agents left on the board as we enter the build-up to the
draft. One thing we do know is that the New
Market Mallers have retained the services of 1B David Ortiz, per the terms of a deal struck with the Nature Boys last year. Two other players have been retained as well. The defending champs also resigned SP Roy Halladay, and Temple Guard kept OF Magglio Ordonez. Here is a sample of
the bigger name players that remain on the free agent watch ahead of the March draft.
While the defending champs have Ortiz back in the fold, they still have a pair of players (Roy Halladay and John Smoltz)
unsigned. Substantial Wood has a
few bigger names with expiring contracts, including 3Bs Nomar Garciaparra and Scott Rolen.
Temple Guard resigned Ordonez, but 1B
Richie Sexson will be a tougher call. The
Mooninites have indicated former standout SP Mark Prior will not be resigned. The
Bal Busters have a number of free agents, with Torii Hunter and Kevin Millwood
topping the list. C Jason Varitek will be a tough call for The Dominators, much like SP Derek Lowe figures to be for The Regulators. Greg’s Goofoffs has a trio of talented
players to resign. C Ivan Rodriguez, 3B Adrian Beltre and OF Carlos Lee are all
on the free agent block. Let’s see if he’s willing to pull the trigger
on all three. The West Bend Gravediggers
have tough calls to make on OF Gary Sheffield and SP Mark Buehrle. Finally,
the defending NL champ Hord’s Horrors has a pair of 1B on the market in
Carlos Delgado and Mark Teixiera.
A Look Back
The 2008 draft will mark the 11th draft in league history. Last
year before the draft we discussed the number one picks over the years. Now we
will take a peek at ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ (the last pick). The Stunners,
now known as the New Market Mallers,
took 1B Mark Grace. The next year they took RP Tom Gordon with that pick. After a plethora or resignings, Hord’s Horrors took OF Carl Everett in 2000. 2001 was the first
time a team earned a fourth round pick after a player they previously had lost to free agency was redrafted by another team,
giving the Mallers the chance to take Freddy Garcia. 2002 ended with Greg’s Goofoffs picking 2B Bret Boone. In 2003, X 1, now known
as Royal Flush, came away with 1B Erubial Durazo.
The Nature Boys acquired one the cornerstones to their back-to-back titles
in 2005 and 2006 when they snagged OF Carl Crawford in ’04. The Goofoffs
rounded out the draft in 2005 again, with another 2B, taking Junior Spivey. The
Mallers wrapped up the festivities in 2006 with SP Bartolo Colon. Finally, last
year, The Mooninites landed SS Stephen Drew with the final pick in 2007. Who will go last in 2008? Probably not
Ryan Braun!
Trade Desk
All season long, space in Diamond Notes is reserved for teams looking to promote players they have that are available
for trades. If you are looking to make a deal let me know and I will gladly post
what owners are looking to do in the trade market right here. To kick start this
year’s Trade Desk, the New Market Mallers are known to be actively shopping
2B Josh Barfield. It also sounds as though The
Mooninites are pondering moving a couple of their older players, but nothing has been made official.
Look For Diamond Notes
Diamond notes
will be posted on a regular basis throughout the 2008 fantasy baseball season. If
you have suggestions for the future please feel free to contribute feedback by email.
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