2008 ECB Draft: A Retrospective

Another ECB draft is in the books and clearly everyone wants to know what JB thinks about it. First of all, I would like to express my extreme regret for my tardiness on Sunday, but god damn, apparently a dude's gotta be ready and chatting at least 25 minutes before the start of the keeper rounds to prove he's still alive, otherwise his cellie runs out of memory from all the texts and voicemail he receives. I've drafted before, boys. I know where the pre-rank button is. And if you must know, I was playing tennis, didn't draft from my own computer, and still had a better draft than Watts. What. Okay, on to the round-up.

The 2008 cast of keepers was a pretty solid group, but as always, some keepers' sole job was to remind their owners not to repeat their bad-to-fuckin'-terrible 2007 draft. We all love to jack with Yahoo!'s ADPs by picking sure-fire keepers like David Wright and Carlos Lee well before they would be taken in an average Yahoo! draft, but some players had no business being drafted in the Top 40. I guess what I'm trying to say is, in my opinion, the 2008 ECB draft was very important for New Haven and Marshall Street.

Watts led off the draft with a surprisingly strong pick in Jake Peavy. I'm too lazy to do the research, but I remember back when Watts' teams were better than average they had formidable pitching. It seemed like he was going to try to re-establish that persona until his third pick came around (Huston Street). Ffej literally had me thinking that someone had fucked up the keeper rounds when he took Brandon Phillips. I'm not sure what his thinking was there, but Phillips wasn't anywhere on my radar for the first few rounds. The rest of the first round went pretty true to form. Sitting in the eighth slot, I wasn't expecting guys like Magglio Ordonez, Manny Ramirez, and Justin Morneau to get to me. I kind of enjoy drafting at the end of the line because a lot of the decisions are made for me by the rest of the league. I was debating on whether I should take Alex Rios or my eventual pick of Nick Markakis. When Grashow took Rios, I got to spend the next three minutes pining over Vernon Wells.

My reasoning for taking Wells? He's usually on Rich's team. Speaking of Colonel Rice, he had a very Pimpy draft. In fact, almost every team in the league seemed to draft guys that fit the persona of their team. Half-crazies like Manny, K-Rod, and Rickie Weeks wound up in Woosta. Young'ns Alex Gordon, Jeff Francoeur, and Matt Cain went to the Wipes. Adler kept things in Chi-town with Paul Konerko, Carlos Zambrano, and Bobby Jenks. Personally, I look at my roster and seen n'an guys that make me think "why did I draft that douchebag?" Can the same be said for Watts when he sees Joakim Soria? I leave that to him.

Some picks I loved...

• Ryan Garko (Speedway, Round 22) - For some reason I got to see a lot of Garko games last year towards the end of the season. I think with a healthy and productive Hafner in front of him, Garko could put up some big power numbers. A good pick by Frieds as Garko would not have made it back to him in Round 23.
• J.J. Putz (Baltimore, Round 8) - Had he not finished 2007 on Adler's team, there's a good chance he would have been a keeper somewhere else.
• Brad Penny (Chicago, Round 17) - This dude carried my pitching staff last year, so I'm not sure why I let him slip this far. I have no problem with him playing in Chicago though, Penny would probably be 8-Ball's favorite player if he knew who Penny was.

... and some I thought were... well... bad.

• Brian McCann (Keeper, Marshall Street) - I still don't get why Watts needed to keep two catchers. I realize McCann scored only two less points than Melky Cabrera last year, but with only one C-spot to fill, questionable health for all catchers, and Joe Mauer already in tow, I think Watts should have kept a guy like Chris Young (the hitter) and let someone else have McCann. I just think it would have been a more efficient roster move. But that's just me...
• Chone Figgins (Round 11, New Haven) - I'm never going to like small-ball guys in this league. Never ever. "But JB, your team led ECB in Offense and steals last year, what are you talking about?" Shut up.
• John Lackey (Round 12, LA of A) - Sorry Bob, but I have a bad feeling that Lackey's going to put up B.J. Ryan-esque numbers this year.

So if no one were to make any moves all year, who do I think would win? Hell if I know, but I'll tell you who I think will join me in the playoffs...

• Chicago Tiger Army. Adler's hitting his stride with this league and he won the Frieds lottery this year. It'll be tough to screw up that lineup, but it's been done before.
• Woosta Pimp Roostas. I'd be a fool to think that a team with Pujols, A-Rod, and Papi would miss the playoffs two years in a row.
• Los Angeles Squatters of Anaheim. I don't think I'm the only owner who would like to see Bob's team make the playoffs. This team was really bad for years and Bob has stuck to his guns and put a lot of work into turning the franchise around.

Draft Recap '07 - Back in Blog Form

Thanks to some quick writing from some of our KFS stalwarts, here's the Draft Recap for 2007. Following the team capsules, check out the writers' predictions for this year's standings.

Potential Steal - Pedro Martinez
Too Soon! - In a normal league, Dice-K. In this league...Alex Rios.
Guy you were about to take - Carlos Zambrano
Guy you would never, ever take - Barry Bonds
Panic picks - Matsuzaka, Bonds, Rios
When the pre-rankings obviously ran out - After the first 6 redraft picks, when Rich's first 6 choices were gone
Highest pick cut during the season - Erik Bedard - I tried to make a case for someone before him, but was unsuccessful
Draft Strategy - Hitters that crush the ball and a couple of high strikeout pitchers
Humor Pick quality - Good to fair - bringing back memories of "The Package" qualifies for this slot
Overall hitting outlook - Ridiculous - Ortiz, Pujols, Morneau, Reyes...the list goes on and on
Overall pitching outlook - Improved quickly with Dice-K and Zambrano. Not that Rich cares about or likes pitching

Potential Steal - Rich Harden - Everyone after him is either hurt, already traded, or Coco Crisp.
Too Soon! - Alex Gordon - Best case scenario? 25 home runs. Real-life scenario? He's on the Royals.
I was about to pick - Michael Young
I would never, ever pick - Jim Thome
Panic picks - Alex Gordon, Delmon Young, Jered Weaver. Clearly scared of the Wipes.
When the pre-rankings obviously ran out - Right before Coco Crisp, I hope
Highest pick cut during the season - Gordon, especially if he heads for the minors
Draft Strategy - Young bucks with upside and high-risk pitchers with huge K potential
Humor Pick quality - 7 out of 10 - Delwyn Young is neither Muslim nor reminiscent of anyone from Keene. Still...
Overall hitting outlook - One steady star in Sizemore, with all-or-nothing threats looming behind him
Overall pitching outlook - Untouchable if healthy. Combination of depth and talent means a POTW candidate every single week

Potential Steal - Russell Martin - You try finding a 20-HR catcher long after the Great Backstop Heist ends
Too Soon! - Felix Hernandez - Adler should have at least waited until he was on Speedway to try and draft the King
I was about to pick - Felix Hernandez
I would never, ever pick - Scott Rolen
Panic picks - Stephen Drew, Tad Iguchi
When the pre-rankings obviously ran out - After Josh Beckett. When the beer ran out? after Derek Lowe.
Highest pick cut during the season - Adler = The Boy Who Did Not Love Tom Gordon Whatsoever
Draft Strategy - Take established superstars who can help win now. Please, help him.
Humor Pick quality - High to quite high - Worst Asian Available + Street Fighter reference = gold
Overall hitting outlook - Just a notch below Woosta, thanks to the best outfield in the league and The Office's Ryan Howard
Overall pitching outlook - Aging, but solid. Oswalt takes over as staff hoss.

Potential Steal - Jason Schmidt - When healthy, I’ve always been a big fan of Schmidtty. Not that he needs the help, but Dodgers Stadium (ECHO BASE! WOOT! WOOT!) will get him more outs than Tel-Co Park in San Fran.
Too Soon! - Matt Cain - With Hamels, Smoltz, Bonderman, Verlander, and Harden still on the board, Frieds may have reached a bit for Cain.
I was about to pick - Jeff Francoeur - Mancrush #2 - "Will Francoeur swing at the first pitch" is the best bet in Vegas
I would never, ever pick - Tim Lincecum - Because I've never heard of him
Panic picks - Hank Blalock - "Crap, my pre-rankings just ran out...uhhh..Blalock, he's cool!" I've been there.
When the pre-rankings obviously ran out - Hank Blalock.
Highest pick cut during the season - Julio Lugo - I just can't wrap my mind around this guy being good enough to warrant a permanent spot on a roster in a league this small
Draft Strategy - The Frieds Strategy - Draft a couple of guys he always wanted/had and the rest need to be under 28.
Humor Pick quality - Tony F. Pena - Tied in well with his tendency of picking dudes born after 1980, and was also a Red Sox reference at the same time. Not bad.
Overall hitting outlook - Based on the draft, I'd say this lineup has the potential to do some major damage this year. Frieds always seems to put together a lineup that is imposing but not consistent. That being said, I think this team will absolutely destroy the rest of the league on certain weeks, as long as they can keep their team strikeout totals under 300.
Overall pitching outlook - Pitching will be the true strength of the 'Wipes this year. Any team in the league would love to have any of Peavy, Halladay, Schmidt, and Papelbon. Plus, the potential of Verlander and Cain is pretty impressive and daunting to the competition.

Potential Steal - Rich Hill - Normally we should be impressed that Bob got Chien Ming Wang in round 24. But, the dude's a Yankee. Rich Hill, however, could be the pitcher that Frieds kept thinking Mark Prior would turn into.
Too Soon! - (tie) Aaron Harang, Torii Hunter - The Reds "ace" and the new Garrett Anderson should not be in anybody's first five picks.
Guy you were about to take - Dan Uggla and Freddy Sanchez - Instead I got Ian Kinsler. D'oh?
Guy you would never, ever take - Lyle Overbay. Total league taboo, getting between Adler and his man like that.
Panic picks - Jason Bay. Bob was so worried he wouldn't get Bay back, he asked if he could change his keepers 20 minutes before draft time. And Chone Figgins, stupid Yahoo overranking him by our standards.
When the pre-rankings obviously ran out - After Jason Bay.
Highest pick cut during the season - See "Too Soon!"
Draft Strategy - Plan on taking Daisuke to dangle as trade bait over league full of Red Sox fans, then check last year's roster a half hour before the draft and realize you kept Brandon Webb over Jason Bay. Kick Daisuke to the curb, pick Bay, then draft for strikeouts and well-groomed East Bay DHs
Humor Pick quality - Pac-10ish. Bob's always gonna draft Cal, which is respectable.
Overall hitting outlook - Great keepers won't be getting much help from draftees
Overall pitching outlook - Many much strikeouts

Potential Steal - Brett Myers - Myers has always been a favorite of mine. His high strikeout totals, coupled with the fact that the Phillies could win a bunch of games this year, means that Myers has a good chance of outscoring the likes of Chad Cordero, Erik Bedard, and Chris Young, all of whom were taken before Myers.
Too Soon! - Juan Pierre - In this league, Juan Pierre is about as valuable as a Derek Jeter rookie card in Southie. The fact that stolen bases are in far less demand than home runs and extra base hits leads me to the conclusion that Pierre would have slipped several rounds, if he would have been drafted at all. In my opinion, there are only a handful of “small ball” type players worth drafting and J.P. is not one of them. Pierre has since been cut. Good pick, Watts.
I was about to pick - Carlos Lee - He was #1 on my list, I'm not gonna lie
I would never, ever pick - Pierre, Corey Patterson, Rocco Baldelli - These guys all sort of fall into the “small ball” category. Corey Patterson spent time in AAA last year, I believe. Once guys get to the bigs, I usually make it a point not to draft them if they get sent back down. Especially if they’re 28. I had Baldelli on my team once. Didn’t work out well. If you’re reading this, you can probably relate.
Panic picks - Can a computer panic? Was Watts even there? If he was, was he in such an altered state that he even could panic? I dunno. Chris Ray.
When the pre-rankings obviously ran out - Brian McCann - McCann was a good pick, and will probably be one of the highest scoring catchers in the league… but I think we’re all a little curious as to why Watts felt he needed 3 catchers by the start of Round 10.
Highest pick cut during the season - Juan Pierre - April 2, 7:41am.
Draft Strategy - The Bitch-About-How-JB-Thinks-I’m-Not-Dedicated-To-The-League-And-Then-Not-Show-Up Strategy. Maybe the All-Catchers-All-The-Time Strategy? I was one of several GMs who was scratching my head for a few picks until I figured/assumed that Watts didn’t show. Honestly though, he probably shouldn’t have even bothered to pre-rank anyone. Humor Pick quality - Morgan Ensberg - Not so funny.
Overall hitting outlook - I’m wondering where the power is going to come from. Glaus (if healthy) and Lee are really the only two guys Watts can realistically expect to hit 30 homers. Like every team, they’ll probably have their shining weeks, but over the haul of the season Watts is going to need to scour the waiver wire for some power. After the draft, Watts traded away two of his catchers… but for Dontrelle Willis and Jhonny Peralta. Hmmm…
Overall pitching outlook - Poor Watts fell into the Lidge Trap. 4… 3… 2… 1… did he cut him yet? How about now? Other than that, it wound up being a noticeably shallow staff, especially by Watts’ standards. Since the draft, Watts used his virtual plethora of catchers to beef it up a little bit, but I’m not so sure how well a post-draft assembled pitching staff can perform.

Potential Steal - Jason Giambi or Brad Penny. If this was before the season, I'd say Prior instead of Penny. What can I say, dude was awesome... like that one time...
Too Soon! - Barry Zito. As any impartial sports fan in the Bay Area has learned over the last several months, that dude's going to suuuuuuuck.
Guy you were about to take - Sooo many. Hanley, JD, Cole, Haren, Burnett, and Griffey Jr. And fine, Barry Zito. As any impartial sports fan in the Bay Area has learned over the last several months, that dude's awesome
Guy you would never, ever take - Besides all the Yankees, Michael Cuddyer. I keep thinking he's Geoff Jenkins.
Panic picks - JD Drew. A veteran like JB knows that one can only panic in the first few rounds of the draft, since they're the only ones that count. The rest is just for fun. When I jacked his Overbay (Nick Swisher), he struck back the only way he could, by taking the Red Sox shiny new outfielder.
When the pre-rankings obviously ran out - After Zito. JB would never rank Marcus Giles and AJ Burnett seriously.
Highest pick cut during the season - Eric Chavez. Remember when Peter Gammons would promise this would be the year Chavvy would hit 40 homers, like every year? For the last 7 years?
Draft Strategy - Take good players. Make fun of Adler. Repeat.
Humor Pick quality - Even as a humor pick, Sammy Sooser will still outproduce half of Watts' draft.
Overall hitting outlook - Solid, but keepers may finally start to show their age.
Overall pitching outlook - Also solid. Apparently Cole Hamels is cult-favorite awesome. Like Zito used to be, but isn't anymore.

Potential Steal - Jose Valverde
Too Soon! - Felipe Lopez. Unless Ffej is recruiting for St. Johns. Because that worked out real well...
Guy you were about to take - Howie Kendrick
Guy you would never, ever take - Mariano Rivera symbolizes all that is evil
Panic picks - Tom Glavine - This guy has NEVER saved even one game
When the pre-rankings obviously ran out - Round 24 - The last round he drafted a closer
Highest pick cut during the season - Howie Kendrick - He's already playing for Chicago, and everyone who went before him is either a closer or Carl Crawford.
Draft Strategy - The Pokemon Closer Strategy - Gotta collect 'em all!
Humor Pick quality - Poor, although Wigginton does SOUND kind of funny
Overall hitting outlook - Okay. Ramirez, Dye, and Delgado must carry this team.
Overall pitching outlook - Starters? Piss poor. Closers? Unrivaled.

Adler:
1. Woosta
2. Chicago
3. LA of Anaheim
4. Mile High
5. Baltimore
6. Speedway
7. New Haven
8. Marshall St

JB:
1. Speedway
2. Woosta
3. Mile High
4. LA of Anaheim
5. Baltimore
6. Chicago
7. Marshall St
8. New Haven

Ryan:
1. Baltimore
2. Woosta
3. Chicago
4. Speedway
5. Mile High
6. Marshall St
7. New Haven
8. LA of Anaheim

Rich:
1. Woosta
2. Baltimore
3. Mile High
4. Speedway
5. LA of Anaheim
6. Chicago
7. Marshall St.
8. New Haven

Everyone's Team Sucks

With a bottle of Grey Goose at my side, I sat down for another fantasy baseball draft, fully prepared to let my drafting policies follow my sobriety. The 2006 version of the annual meeting of NECBL2 owners had all the major surprises one would expect from an honest to god competitive fantasy league, not the least of which was that there were n'an surprises in the first five rounds. Still, I went to sleep last night, woke up this morning, and Adler still drafted Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens. I'll break the draft down in the following sections...

Rounds 1-5: Keepers Kept

For once, the keeper rounds went smoothly. It turns out that Stanley wasn't kidding when he said he was keeping Chone Figgins and I was kidding when I said I was keeping Jonny Gomes. I love how the draft starts and it's hard to keep up with the chat line, then as the final round of the re-draft starts people start to disappear a little bit. I'll admit I was scrambling up until the first pick... but we're not there yet.

Worst Keeper: Chone Figgins (New Haven Traffic Cones)
Riskiest Keeper: Ryan Howard (Baltimore Devil Jays)

Rounds 6-10: Hello... Again...

The rounds following the keeper rounds saw many familiar faces walk across the stage. Some players shook hands with familiar owners, while others are going to try on new team colors in 2006. Carlos Beltran openly wept as he was drafted #1 overall by Steve Adler's Tiger Army, officially ending his chances of ever making the playoffs. Yahoo!'s rankings and draft guesstimates were completely thrown out the window by NECBL2 owners, which I love. Here are some examples of why our league is awesome: Bonds and Sizemore going in Round 6, Jeff Kent going to New Haven, and Watts essentially drafting the same guy twice (Brian Giles & J.D. Drew). Funston be damned, I say!

Weirdest-Looking New Uniform: Hank Blalock (Mile High Mackerel)
Most Obvious Pick: Jeff Kent (New Haven)

Rounds 11-15: Adolescence

Is it just me, or are rounds 11 through 15 a pretty good representation of years 13 through 18 in life? It seems like some of us don't know what we're doing, we wind up making bad decisions, and we try to hang-out with "the cool kids" even though they'll be working at K-Mart in 5 years. What the hell was up with these picks? Round 11, Livan Herandez. Round 12, Cliff Floyd. Round 13, Jeremy Hermida, Jason Giambi, and Randy Winn. Round 14, Trevor Hoffman and Julio Lugo. Round 15, Placido Polanco and Eddie Guardado. And I've already stated that I'm refusing to believe that Adler took Andy Pettitte even though he tried to hide it by taking Jason Varitek 2 seconds later. I'm not saying those were all bad picks, mind you, but I know I hate looking at my cheat sheet and saying to myself "damn, I have to draft Livan Hernandez, don't I? This sucks."

Most Likely To Be Done By May: Tie. Josh Beckett (Chavez Ravine Squatters), Cliff Floyd (New Haven), & Ken Griffey, Jr. (Woosta Pimp Roostas)
Quietest Pick: Mark Prior (Woosta)

Rounds 16-20: The Plot Thickens

Like Adler at a bar at 2am, most owners seem to loosen their standards as to who they are willing to take chances on as the evening progresses. Rookies and old-timers alike were given chances to play in the big show and owners around the league thanked Stanley for only pre-ranking 125 players. There was a good mix of age in almost every round of this group, and I commend owners around the league for making some shrewd picks. There was a rookie or a second-year player drafted in every round as well as veterans with upside such as Roger Clemens, Jim Thome, Armando Benitez, Javy Lopez (who was later cut, for some reason), Torii Hunter, and Pudge Rodriguez.

Pick That Signaled Stanley Was Done: Scott Podsednik (New Haven)
Man-Crush Of The Year: Steve Adler on Lyle Overbay (Chicago Tiger Army Of New York)

Rounds 21-25: I Don't Care Anymore

Rounds 21 through 25 are a lot like rounds 16 through 20, except they're not as good and the last one doesn't count. Frieds drafted a guy who in currently in AAA, Rich drafted Rocco Baldelli, and I hit that Bong... hahahahahahahahahahahah!

Best Chance To Not Get Cut: Freddy Garcia (Marshall St. Menace)
2006 Best Name Pick: Yorman Bazardo, who will probably win the Cy Young this year (Woosta)