I'm no GM, but

If I had a spot at the MLB winter meetings, there are a few players I'd be looking to add:

• Henderson Alvarez- Yes, the shoulder injury is scary, but this guy knows how to pitch. I'd be pitching a one year deal with a team option for a second year. Something like a $2.5 million first year, $8.5 million team option. Get him into the system, let him work his way back, and see if you can pick up a potential Ace on the cheap.
• Other names I'm keeping an eye on are Mat Latos and Justin Masterson, the former more than the latter.
• Garin Cecchini screams "post-hype sleeper" to me, and I'd be doing everything I could to get him onto my roster, deciding if he fits better at 3b or 1b (I see a more athletic Scott Hatteburg type here), telling him to get ready, and letting him compete for a roster spot out of spring training.
• Eric Stamets would be the top of my rule 5 draft board. He's a terrific defensive middle infielder, who can do a little pinch running. Whoever picks him up won't be disappointed.

Some other baseball thoughts:

• The Red Sox signed David Price to a HUGE contract. I'm sure they know what they're doing, and I'll happily root for the laundry on this one. But boy, if it were my money, I'd have split the cost in half and tried to pick up both Mike Leake and Wei-Yin Chen. I don't think Boston is one strong pitcher away from being a playoff team. I hope I'm wrong.
• I don't love the trend of athletes announcing retirement early or during a season. David Ortiz and Kobe Bryant (man, the Red Sox fan in me hates putting those two in the same group for anything), have both turn their last season into farewell tours of sorts, and while the Lakers don't exactly have anything to play for, the Sox signing of Price makes it look like they're panning to compete this year. Why build in a distraction to start the season?
• Also, David Ortiz is the most ferocious hitter I've ever seen in the batter's box. Thanks for all the memories David. You literally changed the outlook on life for millions of Red Sox fans.
• Fangraphs said it best about the Shark signing: Giants invest in Jeff Samardzija, Dave Righetti. I know that Rick Peterson is somewhat famous (infamous?) for talking about how quickly he'd be able to "fix" Victor Zambrano, but it's awesome to see an organization put tons of faith in a coach who's rewarded them over and over again.
• I think Orioles fans will be disappointed with the offseason as the team heads into spring training, but Dan Duquette is a smart GM who regularly finds under-the-radar talent. Don't be surprised to see the O's lose Chris Davis and Wei-Yin Chen, picking up a couple of draft picks to go along with a few quiet signings, and somehow ending up in the tick of things again next year.
• It may be Duquette's parting gift, after the way Peter Angelos has kept him from seeking promotions this offseason. Duquette deserves better, and hopefully can find a new role next year.

Recapping Mason vs Manhattan

Before Thanksgiving, I went to the George Mason vs Manhattan game. While I'm no expert, here are some takeaways and impressions I got from the game, offered in a good, bad, ugly sort of way.

The good

• This is not Paul Hewitt's Mason team. They played defense, they rebounded, and for the most part, there was a general sense of purpose in what was happening on the court. In Dave We Trust.
• Marko Gujanicic = Luke Walton- Marko played a fantastic game. In the first half, he'd hit 3's, grabbed boards, made terrific passes, and looked like he was one his way to a sneaky triple-double (he ended with 14 point, 10 boards, and 4 assists)
• Not quite Mason-related, but there is something nice about the gym the game was played in. I know this won't sound like a compliment, but there was a weird nostalgia for seeing a game played in a venue that felt like a high school gym (and had a crowd size to match). Later this year, I'll catch the Patriots in the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, which is a palace. This was far more intimate.

The bad

• It's tough not to compare Wednesday night's offense to the version that showed up against UVA, and find last the more recent approach lacking. Against Virginia (a game I caught on TV), it seemed, especially in the first half, as if there was a ton of motion. On Wednesday, the offense was far more stagnant, running mostly a high low set in which Gujanicic would set up at the foul line, flash up to a point now and then, or get the ball and try to dump it in to Shevon Thompson. In general, there was a huge number of ugly possessions, with guys standing around waiting for someone else to play hero ball. It wasn't what I expected, based on the UVA game.
• The depth on this team is going to be a challenge for the entire season, based solely on the fact that there's very little of it. I think Mason played 8 guys in the game, but DeAndre Abram and Danny Dixon only played for a few minute a piece, cutting the rotation down to really, 6 players. Holloway's suspension, and Isiah Jackson's transfer were both apparent in their impact. (note: Looking at the box score, I missed that Kameron Murell played 7 minutes... Mason played 9 guys in this one, but the point still stands)
• The depth thing go me thinking. I wonder if there are times when Coach Paulsen wants to press, push the tempo, or incorporate more motion into the offense, but literally doesn't have the ability to give his guys a breather after doing so.
• Shevon still really struggles with the double team.

The ugly

• They were up by as much as 16 and lost the game. (this deserves its own bullet point)
• Early in the 2nd half, Manhattan went to a trapping defense, and it seemed like none of Mason's players had ever seen a full court press. Ever. Not in video sessions, video games, high school or anywhere. Mason's 3 guards were generally flummoxed. You can argue the Freshman deserved a possession or 2 to figure it out, but neither Moore nor Gujanicic were helping much either. This is what turned the game around for Manhattan, and in my mind, why Mason took a long ride back to Fairfax.

For the first half, Mason played OK, and the score was more lopsided than the actual game was. There were times in this game (especially early), when it almost felt like watching a big brother play against a little brother. The older guy scores when he needs to, plays defense on occasion, and as soon as the younger kid scores a couple in a row, then takes interest and exerts energy to keep his distance. Unfortunately, by late in the 2nd half, it was like the Big Brother's overconfidence caught up, and when shots stopped falling (both due to Little Brother's defense and some odd decisions by Mason), the end felt inevitable.

That said, this game was a dramatic improvement from the Paul Hewitt days. There was a sense of purpose in the rotation; Mason's best players played the most minutes (a stunning difference from a year ago).

There's a theory in baseball that gets thrown around here and there regarding roster construction, that the easiest improvement to make is going from "awful" to "league average." Applied to this team, there are a couple of gaping holes (Mason's ability to beat the press, entry passes to Shevon, Shevon beating double coverage), but if the team can clean those things up and gets a boost from Holloway when he returns, it's not hard to imagine these guys being middle of the pack in the A-10, and making some noise in Brooklyn.

Given the holiday yesterday, that's the type of outcome Mason fans can be thankful for.

Continuing with the all time team

So, it turns out that the "month long" project I figured would be a breeze was actually... well... it took a lot longer and a LOT more effort than I thought it would. As such, I'm going to admit defeat, and quickly run through the entirety of the team in a very long-winded post.

Then, hopefully I can get back to posting here more regularly.

Without further ado.. here is the full roster of my all-time favorite team:

My starting lineup

• 2b- Luis Castillo- I wrote about him here.
• C- Jason Kendall- I wrote about him here.
• 1b- Scott Hatteburg- This one hasn't been published, and may take a bit of explaining. If you read Moneyball, you know the story. He was a quality catcher who blew out his arm. He learned to play 1b, and got pretty good at it. Also, he got on base. A lot. That makes him the perfect guy to hit in front of:
• SS- Nomar Garciaparra- Who else? There is only one player who personified Redsox baseball the way Nomar did (hint, that one guy is my staff ace). No one was more electric in Fenway, and the way he treated fans was amazing (He signed a ball for my kid cousin for me, and seemed generally happy to do it). The end of his Red Sox career was always a bit of a tragedy, with him getting run out of Boston, but seeing him start a second act as an announcer has been great.
• RF- Mark Kotsay- There is a little bit of Billy Beane bias in my choices, but Kotsay makes it for another reason. His throwing arms was a freaking cannon. On the MLB games on XBOX or Playstation, I always put this guy in RF, and hoped runner would try to run against him. Cannon aside, this was a guy who was good for a .800 OPS, double digits in steals and HR, defense around the field (including CF and 1b, which was a weird, but awesome thing if you fantasy team separated OF by where they play). I'm a fan.
• CF- Mike Cameron- Take everything I said about about Kotsay (except the Billy Beane thing), make him right handed. add in a few Gold Gloves in CF and an infectious love of the game, and you have my number 6 hitter.
• Bill Mueller- Dave Roberts stole the base... but it was Mueller who drove him in.
• LF- Coco Crisp- I love watching this guy play. Sense of humor? Check. Great name? Well yeah. He is a threat to hit a HR, steal a base, and on yeah.. the defensive outfield in 2007 with he and Ellsbury was absurd.

Please note, my pitcher would hit 8th in this lineup, putting Crisp and Castillo in front of Kendall. If you've read Kendall's book, you know two things: 1- Kendall has incredible bat control and can take advantage of these guys being on base. 2- Kendall may or may not be illiterate*.

Moving to the rotation.

• SP1- Yeah, it's Pedro. The right arm of God. The guy who legitimately had the best Fastball, Change up and Curve ball in baseball... all at the same time. The Yankees were his daddy for a bit, but this guy was a warrior, and between he and Nomar, kept me a Sox fan for a long, long time.
• SP2- Mark Buehrle- This guy just goes out, and gives his team a chance to win every game. The stories about his quick pace of pitching and how much his infielders love playing behind him have been written over and over and over again. Just like Buehrle has thrown 200 IP over and over and over again. Rumors circulated that he is considering retirement after this year. I know he's unlikely to be enshrined in Cooperstown, but man, I loved watching his guy work.
• SP3- Derek Lowe- The D Lowe Face become a meme before there was such a thing, but in reality, this guy was amazing. Nevermind the heroics of 2004 (thanks for winning every clinching game... kind of a big deal)... or the perfect pitch to Terrence Long a year earlier... This was a guy who can pitch for me any time.
• SP4- Scott Kazmir- It isn't because he was traded away in a deal that literally everyone in baseball mocked. It is because his stuff, when on, was some of the filthiest I've ever seen. Add on the fact that he managed to survive an injury, reinventing himself to come back effective, and I'm a fan.
• SP5- Tim Wakefield- I wrote about him previously.

Onto the Bullpen

• Keith Foulke is my closer. He (literally) gave his right arm for the 2004 Red Sox. That's all.
• Randy Myers-Somehow, Randy Myers will always be the guy who got me interested in the machination of baseball personnel movement... perhaps because he was dominant and literally given away all at once. A member of the Nasty Boys, and a flame thrower. I loved this guy.
• Scot Shields- This guy seems like a weird fit, but from 2004-2006, this guy rolled into games, throwing 2 inning every time, and shutting down everyone he faced. I like National League ball (notice there's no DH up in my lineup?), and think having a guy that can pitch 2 quality innings at a time out of the bullpen is worth its weight in gold.
• Let's get the All-Myers LHP out of the way. Mike Myers was an amazing pitcher. Yes.. he didn't throw a ton of innings, and yeah, he was only good against LHH... but my god... he was AMAZING against LHH!
• The 5th arm in my pen should be a guy who can throw a quality inning when called on, and Todd Coffey is my guy. Watching him come out of the bullpen was one of the greatest sites in baseball, and from a fantasy baseball perspective, it seemed like there was a period when he could steal the Wins category in pitching (this isn't exactly true... but he had a few seasons where he was vulturing a half dozen wins).
• Bronson Arroyo- This is cheating, but in terms of a long reliever, I feel like it should be a guy who was claimed off waivers, expected to be a bit of a contributor, and somehow ended up being better than expected. Curt Schilling named him Saturn Nuts, and yeah.. he's a guy I've always loved watching pitch (odd motion, throws slop... He's a craft righty... and it makes no sense... and I can't get enough of it).
• My final pitcher is Micah Owings. He is the last man out of the pen, hits the ball OK, and can be an important chess piece managers can use through the game. As the 25th man on a roster (especially in the Senior Circuit)... this guy is amazing).

Finally, the bench. A brief note here... Kotsay and Hatteburg may get platoon partners, which would make sense, and I also want to have a couple of bats who can play well as pinch hitters:

• Eli Marrero- Since Jason Kendall plays more than any catcher ever, I don't need a great backup catcher, meaning Marrero is a perfect fit. A near 800 OPS vs LHP for his career, (Hattebuerg Platoon), the flexibility to play anywhere in the field (and a seemingly unhuman ability to be unaffected by the lack of routine).. this guy deserves a spot on my roster.
• Erik Hinske- Told you I wanted a professional pinch hitter.. and this guy is that. And he's an amazing good luck charm (4 years in the playoffs as a bench player... with 2 World Series Championships).
• At this point, every position is already backed up... so it is on to finding specialists. Pokey Reese is one such guy. He's a gold glove caliber defender at SS and 2b (and I do have a ground ball pitcher in my rotation), and a quality pinch runner.
• This one may have Sox fansa asking me to turn in my Red Sox Nation membership card, but you know something... Akinori Iwamura was a heck of a player. I know he was a pest, but I always felt like his attitude (spiking Pedroia included) was helpful in making the Rays into the team that went from awful to great overnight. Throw in that he's a second LH hitter on my bench, and one that can play a couple positions, and I'm sold.
• Ryan Freel- There was a time when you'd log into the Yahoo Fantasy website, and Freel could be a LF, RF, CF, 2b and 3b. As a behch player who was always in, he could single-handedly win you the SB category, and while his splits were generally neutral, he can be a platoon partner for Kotsay.

So that's it... the list I've been meaning to write about for almost a year.

It's funny, because the players on the list have sort of become my archetype for each spot in a batting order... a leadoff hitter who gets on a ton and swipes bases (Ben Revere?) or a number 4 hitter who sprays liners all over the field (as opposed to hitting 40 HR's). Tons of athleticism (is there any doubt that roster above would lead the league in SB's?).

Same on the pitching front. A dominant number 1, coupled with a set of innings eaters, a guy with the potential to be a number one any time out, and an "old reliable." A bullpen with a guy who can throw more than 1 important inning (my Jeurys Familia man-crush grows every day), a Loogy, a quality RHP and LHP, a closer and a long man.

Heck, even the 25th man on the roster being a guy who can help in a variety of ways (I can't think of a current comp to Owings... so I'd probably put Pat Venditte in there if I were building a roster from active players).

Thanks for reading this. *Just kidding... sort of.

Sean Marshall and a Broken Strat

Sometimes as baseball fans, we get to see something strange.

Take, for example, this 2009 game in which relief pitch Sean Marshall came in to face a hitter, then went to the OF for a hitter, and then came back to get the next hitter.

This past year, I tried the same maneuver in a Strat-O-Matic game, and found that... well, I think I found a glitch.

Everything started off well. My left handed pitcher came in and got the first out (against a LH hitter). I then put him into the OF, bringing up a RH/RH matchup, which got the second out. Then, bringing the lefty pitcher back to the mound something weird happened. The Strat-O-Matic game decided he was tired*.

Later in the season, my team losing by a lot, my DH was hit by a pitch, and was going to miss the rest of the game. Rather than worrying about putting in a with any talent, I decided to sub in a pitcher to run (I was planning to roll him out to start the next inning anyway). When the next inning started, the pitcher who'd just pinch run was tired.

It got me thinking.

Does Strat-O-Matic baseball baby pitchers in ways that we hadn't considered? Does a hangnail place them on the DL? Is the long run from 1st to 2nd enough to tire them out?

More likely... did I discover a glitch in the programming (and would it have been the same if my strat league played by real rules National League rules?

I thought it was an interesting finding to share, and a possible oddity in Strat-O-Matic.

*For anyone who doesn't play Strat, tired pitchers don't do well. At all.

Deadline Post Mortem

If you're looking for my deadline coverage, this post is only half of it. My early impressions can be found here.

Upon review, I find that yes, the Mets had a killer deadline. They added Clippard, Johnson, Uribe, and then Cespedes. The easiest improvement in baseball is from awful to average, and the Mets went from awful to slightly above average at 2 positions, while adding length to their bench and adding a quality bullpen arm who's flourished in a set up role. More importantly, I can't get over their rotation for the next few years. I honestly can't come up with a fanbase or front office who wouldn't be envious of the Mets' rotation for the next few years.

To wit, here is a potentially dominant front four, along the the last year they're under team control:

• Matt Harvey (2018)
• Zack Wheeler (2019)
• Jake DeGrom (2019)
• Noah Syndergaard (2021?)

It's like the Oaklans A's big 3 of Mulder, Hudson and Zito... if you added current day Sonny Gray to the mix.

Quick... name a team that's better positioned for the 2016-1018 seasons.

I didn't think you could.

Lots of talking heads in the NY area have discussed how Sandy Alderson should have done more, and how the Mets should be sporting a higher payroll (I've seem terms like 'commensurate with the NY market' bandied about). However, the Mets kept their 4 most important assets, kept payroll flexibility for the next few years to build an offense, and are actually one of the most compelling stories of this year. Other than 1986, I can't remember a better time to be a Mets fan.

The Last Place Oakland A's (man, between Sandy Alderson and Billy Beane, I'm sensing a pattern) had a great deadline. Gone are:

• Scott Kazmir (FA at the end of the season)
• Tyler Clippard (FA at the end of the season)
• Ben Zobrist (FA at the end of the season)

In are:

• Jacob Nottingham
• Daniel Mengden
• Sean Manaea
• Aaron Brooks
• Casey Meisner

In addition, based on their last place standing they added Felix Doubrant and Danny Valencia, both of whom have the potential to be contributors next year.

Every fantasty league has that guy who revels in having the number one waiver claim, and makes everyone else around him pay. Billy Beane's that guy, and that's a reason the A's will be back after the division crown sooner rather than later. Doubrant and Valencia could play major parts in that revival.

Finally, I like what the Blue Jays did even less, now that they've give up Valencia for... actually.. nothing. You mean to tell me the Mets wouldn't have given up a bag of used balls to build a bench platoon that has Johnson and Valencia available to pinch hit? Excuse the baseball analogy here, but while swinging for the fences, the Jays managed to forget about moving the runner over.

Early Deadline Action

This post will be half shadow Padres, half real MLB.

For the Shadow team, if I'm the Padres, I'm jumping in on the Angels deal to pick up David Murphy, using Will Venable. As of now, both are .5 WAR Players this year. Venable is a little younger and is a FA at the end of the season, while Murphy has a $7 million team option next year, which I suspect the Angels will decline. As such, I'm dealing off Will Venable for Eric Stamets.

This means I'm forgoing whatever deal gets offered in the next 2 hours on Will Venable, after all, you can't deal away an asset you don't control.

I've been on the Stamets bandwagon for a while. He's a ++ defender, who reminds me a lot of the guy who I'll introduce as the backup MI on my all time team in the next couple weeks. He's also exceptionally fast, making him a perfect punch runner. When the downside of a player reads something like "let's you carry a player like Dan Murphy as an offensive minded 2b, can slot in with a good D minded SS to for a terrific DP combo, and can also be a very good pinch runner"... we have a winner.

Remember, while most people think of quality platoons as LH/RH... there's also the option of Off/Def platoons too.

Long term, I'd like of Stamets as a guy who could end up starting a couple games per week (especially with a GB pitcher on the mound), giving regulars at 2b and SS a break, and also being a killer weapon off the bench in close and late situations where a team needs a pinch runner.

Also, given the reports out there that the Marlins could consider moving Marcell Ozuna, I'm keeping my eyes open. He's a young, cost controlled, 5 tool player, and he's only 24. If he gets moved, there's an excellent chance my fake Padres team will pounce to match the deal the Marlins get (remember, players like Max Fried and Jace Peterson are still in my system... I'm no AJ Preller).

Moves I like

Moving on to real life. I have to say, I really like what the Mets have done so far. I know they're getting killed for the Wilmer Flores debacle (as I said in a Facebook comment... People shouldn't be mocking Flores.. most players cry when they get traded TO the Mets), but I appreciate that the team stood by their doctor's recommendation, and made an unpopular decision. Also, they've added a quality 3b Platoon (with Johnson and Uribe, 3b is covered adequately) while also adding length to the bench. They added a quality pitcher in Tyler Clippard to extend their bullpen. Sandy Alderson is a smart guy, and I think he's playing things perfectly.

The Orioles held on to their best young players, but also added a quality OF who can play all 3 spots, and has hit out of his mind this year. While Toronto went All-In, Dan Duquette made a super smart pickup without mortgaging the future too much. (and yes, I WILL always be a Duquette apologist... Even if his media savvy could stand to improve, I adore the guy as a GM)

Kudos are deserved in Kansas City, where stat heads' least favorite GM, Dayton Moore, made a pair of aggressive moves to show his team and fanbase that he's serious. Cueto is a phenom, and Zobrist makes any lineup he's a part of better. If Alex Gordon comes back healthy in time for the final couple weeks and the playoffs... the Royals would be a super legit competitor to make their second straight world series.

As of this writing, the Cubs have simply added Dan Haren. A discussion I regularly have with people stems from something I learned at SOSH, the easiest improvement is moving from awful to league average. If the Cubs, now 2 games out of the wild card, make the playoffs, there's a great chance it will be because they have one of the better number 5 pitchers in baseball, in Dan Haren. Good move Theo.

Moves I'm on the fence for

I like that the Blue Jays went all in, but goodness, they've lost a TON of talent over the long term. Jeff Hoffman has potential-ace capabilities, and Matt Boyd is a personal cheeseball (H/T John Manuel from BA for the 'Cheeseball' title). I see a lot of Alan Embree there. That said, Toronto has proven in the past to be a baseball town, and the idea of waking a sleeping giant of a fanbase, with the goal of kicking off a sellout streak like the days of old and being able to add payroll was a good gamble.

Moves I don't like

If you're the Phillies, you needed to add young talent with every move. For Cole Hamels, they didn't get a single guy that, to my eye, will be a core member of the next great Phillies team. Getting Joey Gallo instead of a couple extra lottery tickets is something I would have tried to do.

Cincinnati- What are you doing kids? Walt Jocketty has a FAR more extensive resume than I do, so he deserves the benefit of the doubt. But, in total, he's dealt away Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake for Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb, Cody Ross, Adam Duvall and Keury Mella. It's a classic "quantity over quality" approach, and one I'm not smitten with. If the return is Finnegan and Mondesi from KC and Christian Arroyo from SF, I'm FAR more on board. I didn't love what he did here (I'm sure he'll bookmark this post and send me a nice note when 4 of those guys are all-stars).

As of this posting, it's 2:38 ET, and word on the street is that we'll see many, MANY more deal at the deadline. I'm sure there will be more to discuss.

Trade Deadline for the Shadow Padres

With the trade deadline looming, it seems like a good time to see if the Padres would be buyers or sellers. There have to be a million ways to figure this out, but for purposes of this exercise, I'm going to keep it simple.

I'm going to look at the WAR my team would have accumulated, and the WAR that the real Padres have accumulated. If I have more wins than they do, I'll add to their win total. If they have more, I'll subject.

That seems like a simply way to determine how many wins my team would have.

Players on both rosters				Players on my roster				Players on their roster
Player	War			Player	War			Player	War
Yonder Alonso	0.7			Yasmani Grandal	1.8			Clint Barmes	0.9
Jed Gyroko	0.0			Jung Ho Kang	2.5			Matt Kemp	0.5
Will Venable	0.4			Jed Lowrie	0.8			Craig Kimbrel	0.0
Ian Kennedy	0.1			Nori Aoki	1.7			Will Middlebrooks	-1
Cory Luebke	-0.1			Jace Peterson	0.5			Will Myers	0.5
Tyson Ross	0.2			Everth Cabrera	-0.8			Derek Norris	1.7
Andrew Cashner	-0.2			Cameron Maybin	0.7			James Shields	0.1
Odrasmer Despagne	-0.1			Jake Fox	0.0			Justin Upton	3.1
Joaquin Benoit	0.0			Jake Elmore	-0.7			Melvin Upton	0.1
Dale Thayer	0.0			Seth Smith	1.6			Brett Wallace	0.2
Shawn Kelley	0.0								0.2
Austin Hedges	0.1			Sum	8.1			Sum	6.1
Brandon Morrow	-0.1
Josh Johnson	0.0
Robbie Erlin	-0.5
Casey Kelly	0.0
Cory Spangenberg	0.9

In short, I'm 2 wins better than the real life Padres, which means instead of 47 and 52, I'm 49 and 50; 5.5 games out of the wild card, but still with 4 teams in front of me. Basically, I'm not terrible enough to blow it up entirely, but it's also safe to say this won't be a playoff season for me.

If it were me, I'd open up negotiations with Ian Kennedy right now. If we can strike a deal that keeps him here for a few years, I'm 100% in favor. if not, I'm looking REALLY hard at whether or not he is worth a first round tender at the end of the season. At $16.5 million, he'd be my highest paid player, BY FAR, and I'm not sure I'm OK with that.

I'm also putting Will Venable, Shawn Kelley and Joaquin Benoit on the block. Venable will probably be traded in real life, and since h's a FA at the end of the season, I'm wishing him well (note: I really love Will Venable... for years, he's just seemed like a guy who knows how to play). I suspect Kelley won't bring back a ton. For Benoit, If someone wants a "proven closer," even one who's signed for another year, well, there's probably a deal to be made.

Draft Signings post deadline

Player	Signing Bonus	Slot	Difference
Daz Cameron	$4,000,000	$2,962,100	-$1,037,900
John Aiello	NA	$1,506,400	-$1,506,400
Riley Ferrell	$1,000,000	$1,178,400	+$178,400
Rhett Wiseman	$554,100	$687,300	+$133,200
Justin Garza	$169,900	$484,000	+$314,100
Elih Marrero	NA	$362,300	$362,300
Joe Demers	NA	$271,300	$271,300
Riley Thompson	NA	$271,300	$271,300
Kyle Molnar	NA	$203,300	$203,300
Sutton Whitting	$100,000	$172,000	+$72,000
Chandler Day	NA	NA	NA
Cole Irvin	NA	NA	NA
Nick Madrigal/td>	NA	NA	NA
David Lucroy	$100,000	$100k	NA
Luke Willis	$100,000	NA	NA

In total, that puts me $27,600 over my slot value, which means I can close the deal with the players who signed. This draft will essentially be made or broken depending on how Daz Cameron turns out.

The All Time Favorite Team- 5th Starter

His fastball was, in a good day, in the low 70's. But that wasn't his bread ad butter. No, for Tim Wakefield, a 60 MPH butterfly-like knuckle ball was how he'd be successful. And while he wasn't drafted by the Red Sox, he will always be a member of Red Sox nation.

In 2003, after giving up the homerun to Aaron Bleeping Boone, he feared that he'd be treated like Billy Buckner in Boston.

12 months later, he'd volunteer to pitch in relief, giving up a start in the playoffs, and setting off the most magical run I've ever seen in Baseball.

Inside the numbers... the guy had 200 Wins (186 with the Sox). In his first year with the Sox, he rattled off 27 starts, put up 195 innings, and had an ERA of 2.95. It would be one of 2 seasons where his ERA was under 3 in more than 150 IP. He pitched more than 180 IP in a season 9 times, retired with 2 World Series rings, and covered every role imaginable on a pitching staff (evem notching 15 saves in 1999).

If you want to see what Red Sox fans thought of Wakefield, head over to the tribute thread on Sons of Sam Horn.

Tim Wakefield is my number 5 starter.

The Tals Hill Trajesty

Around a month ago, reports surfaced about the fact that the Astros were going to remove Tal's Hill, the oddball patch of grass in center field where Lance Berkman made this amazing catch:

Tal's Hill, like the Green Monster, the Ivy in Wrigley and the Factory in Baltimore, aught to be considered a baseball institution, and something that can't be removed.

More than any other sport, Baseball's home field advantage is truly that... a home field. When the Redsox look for lefty hitters who can go the other way, or the Padres pick up a fly ball starter, it's building to the place where they will spend 81 says or nights in the summer.

And the fall of Tal's Hill removes one of the unique oddities that makes home field home.

All Star Shananigans

There's a discussion happening about how MLB isn't happy about the way citizens of KC have stuffed the ballot, aiming to answer the question of "what happens if you out Mike Trout on our team?"

(By that, I mean KC has elected the entire starting roster of the Royals as starters in the All Star Game, and added Mike Trout).

MLB is apparently going to disallow many of the votes.

And that stinks.

I love what the fans in KC managed to pull off, and the only people who should be embarrassed are the fan bases for 14 other AL clubs.Seriously Red Sox Nation, we can't bother to go online go vote for Pedroia? Indians fans, no love for Jason Kipnis?Jays fans, Josh Donaldson?

Kudos to KC, and for everyone else, well, let's go root for our hometown team!

The All Start game is supposed to be about what the fans want to see.

Example A:

When MLB Decided this exhibition game needed to mean something, the took away the fun of the game.

Omar Infinte isn't going to turn around and bat opposite handed in this game.

Of course, if MLB has its way, we'll have no idea what Omar is doing, because the leading vote-getter at the Keystone will be watching the game on TV from the comfort of his own home.

The All Time Favorite Team- 2b

I already have my Catcher and number 2 hitter out there, so let me follow up with my lead off guy.

You would see him limping when he leaves the field, and all of a sudden, he's flying. That's the way he is and the way he's going to play. It's going to drive [Twins manager Ron Gardenhire] crazy because you think he's done, like when he's sliding into second base and all of a sudden he can't get up. But then the next pitch, he's gone -- stealing third.

Ozzie Guillen said that about Luis Castillo, second baseman on the All-Time, All-Mike team.

He was a 3 time all-star, and two time Gold Glove winner. He had more than 30 SB's four times, and got on base better than 37% of the time six times.

In the year 2000, he put up an OPS of over .800 for the only time in his career, getting on base nearly 42% of the time, and swiping 62 bags. No one noticed, as he didn't even make the all-star team.

Castillo was one of the most exciting players I've watched. The 2003 Marlins, with Castillo and Alex Gonzalez as the double play combo, is somehow etched into my mind as one of the most exciting SS/2b combos I've seen (although for the 2003 season, while Castillo saved 9 runs on the season, Gonzalez cost his team 3).

And he was part of the team that beat the Yankees in the World Series (bonus points awarded for that).

The All Time Favorite Team- Starting Catcher

I've been meaning to turn the "My Favorite Team" thing into a full blown series, and decided to start today.

Some of these guys are on this team irrationally. This isn't the "best I've ever seen" at any particular position, but more along the lines of "guys I'd irrationally draft a round or 2 early" in fantasy baseball, or guys who I somehow ended up really liked to watch, or even guys who I randomly hit well with in various baseball video games.

I'm also going to make a point of filling out the bench with bench players (my close 2nd in a lot of spots, like Catcher, wouldn't be OK with being on the bench).

Without further ado, the starting catcher on my all time favorite tea is: Jason Kendall-

First and foremost, Kendall was a gamer. For basically a dozen years (1997-2009), this guy had more than 500 PA's (to be fair, he missed the milestone one season in that 12 year period, with a broken ankle... considering the guy never had under 471 PA's.. it seems safe to say he'd have hit the mark). For reference, Jorge Posada and Jason Varitek each passed that number 7 times, and Pudge Rodgiruez was even (11 times).

Kendall was unique, earnings double digits SB's 9 times in his career (including as a 36 year old).

Kendall got on base too, putting up a .370 OBP or better 7 times, and ending his career with more BB's than K's.(721 BB's to 686 K's).

Those are numbers any position player strives to hit, and Kendall did it while catching.

That's absurd.

On the All-time, All-Mike team, Jason Kendall is my catcher, and my number 2 hitter.

Draft Postportem

Let's breakdown of players I'm (potentially) adding to my system:

Player	My pick	Real life spot picked	Real life team	Notes
Daz Cameron	1.13	1.37	Houston	Cameron looks like a bonus baby, but one that will sign
John Aiello	1.41	Not Drafted	NA	This has me frustrated. I was figuring someone would draft him... I was wrong
Riley Ferrell	2.51	3.79	Houston	As I said when I picked him, it was a bit of a reach. That said, this guy seems to ensure I get a major leaguer out of the draft.
Rhett Wiseman	3.87	3.103	Was	This pick made me happy. He wouldn't have been there had I waited another round, and I think he's got 20/20 potential
Justin Garza	4.117	8.244	Cleveland	It is nice that he got picked in the first 10 rounds, and Cleveland has had some success with pitchers like Garza (Hello Trevor Bauer). I'm cautiously optimistic that my reach and the idea that Cleveland knows what they're doign will have lots of people saying "how did he last so long?"
Elih Marrero	5.147	29.865	Cin	Pretty good chance this guy doesn't sign. It is going to be a rough drafted for me.
Joe DeMers	6.177	Not picked	NA	Another wasted early pick for me. Like I said early in the process... not having access to the same info as "those who know things" makes this a really tough exercise
Riley Thompson	7.207	1,105	Cin	As a team picking in Ohio, I love that the Reds took this guy late in a "boy, we have nothing to lose" sort of way....I can't imagine he signs
Kyle Molnar	8.237	761	Stl	I can't imagine there is a chance he signs, but at least a well respected GM and franchise took the stab.
Sutton Whiting	9.267	713	CHN	As I said a few times in my diary, the Cubs picked up a bunch of players I was excited about. Perhaps this is a good luck thing?
Ty Moore	10.297	867	SD	A real life Padres' player!!!! We agreed on one!!!
Chandler Day	11.327	904	Cle	Like I said about the Reds' pick of Chandler Day, I like that Cleveland drafted an Ohio guy... it's a pipedream, but perhaps one that could end up working out
Cole Irvin	12.357	967	Pit	I can't imagine he ends up signing... seems like a chance he ends up as a senior next year
Nick Madrigal	13.387	514	Cle	Someone to dream on.
David Lucroy	14.417	601	Mil	Jonathan's little brother, and a guy who had ups and downs... I suspect he might end up the last man in the bullpen. And at this spot in the draft, that's worth it's weight in gold.
Luke Willis	15.447	909	KC	I'm happy to see him drafted. He is a guy I'm going to root for, based on sharing an alma mater.

If we're being realistic, there is a TON of upside here, but a lot of these guys, based on where they were picked, seem likely to head off to college. I suspect that victory ends up looking like:

• Cameron
• Ferrell
• Wiseman
• Garza
• Whiting
• Moore
• Lucroy
• Willis

It is a high upside HS player (Cameron), a RHSP and RHRP who could be helpful at the major league level (Garza and Ferrell), two college outfielders with potential (Wiseman and Moore), a defensive SS who can make life easier for my minor league pitchers and may one day be an OK backup (Whiting), a longshot OF and RHSP (Lucroy and Willis).

And if all goes well, I can get one or 2 of the HS players to sign. Aiello and Demers are off the table (actually, they're now the top of my 2018 big board). However;

One of Riley Thompson, Elih Marrero, Kyle Molnar or Chandler Day make this draft FAR more interesting... so here's hoping one of them signs.

Cole Irvin is a complete X factor. He only moves the draft a bit either way in terms of how strong the class is, but as a guy who could reasonably have an Alan Embree-like career... he can improve the class.

Nick Madrigal has a great name.

Luke Willis will be a guy I root for throughout his career.

Round 3 of the draft

With my day 3 big board built, I'm sticking to the script.

• Pick 327- Chandler Day
• C.J Hinsjosa- Was once considered a first round talent.- Picked by the Giants.
• Pick 357- Cole Irvin- Quality LHP, who had a very inconsistent year, likely because of TJ recovery.
• Pick 387- Nick Madrigal
• Pick 417- David Lucroy- RHP from ECU
• Pick 447- Luke Willis- My binky pick... I'm picking a George Mason guy.

Lots of draft analysis and postmortem to come.

Thoughts and Big Board for Day 3

No Diary today, duty at the "real job" calls, so whatever order works out against the big board will have to stick.

The Baseball America recap of day 2 is a veritable who's who of guys I've already drafted, and doesn't exactly bode well for me.

The last player from my first big board available is Chandler Day, so he'll be the top of today's board. As for the rest of the board, well, keep reading.

• Chandler Day
• C.J Hinsjosa- Was once considered a first round talent.
• Cole Irvin- Quality LHP, who had a very inconsistent year, likely because of TJ recovery.
• Nick Madrigal
• David Lucroy- RHP from ECU
• Luke Willis- My binky pick... I'm picking a George Mason guy.

Thoughts After 2 days of drafting

Well, the good news is I have added a TON of talent to my system. The problem is that much of it will be on college campuses next year and not actually on my rosters. After 10 rounds, I'm looking at:

• Daz Cameron
• John Aiello- wasn't drafted
• Riley Ferrell
• Rhett Wiseman
• Justin Garza
• Elih Marrero
• Joe DeMers
• Riley Thompson
• Kyle Molnar
• Ty Moore
• Sutton Whiting

When we start to break it down in presumed-signability, we can guess the following:

• Daz Cameron- Will sign
• Riley Ferrell- Will sign
• Rhett Wiseman- Will sign
• Justin Garza- Will sign
• Ty Moore- Will sign
• Sutton Whiting- Will sign

And the question marks:

• John Aiello- wasn't drafted (if he doesn't sign, I get an extra pick next year)
• Elih Marrero- wasn't drafted
• Joe DeMers- wasn't drafted
• Riley Thompson- wasn't drafted
• Kyle Molnar- wasn't drafted

Do I hope to land 2 of those guys? 3? Based on how things went, I'm not sure what success looks like. An 8 or 9 player haul that includes:

• - A college RHP who was at times dominant (Garza)
• - A college closer (Ferrell)
• - 2 advanced OF bats (Wiseman and Moore)
• - A very good defensive middle infielder (Sutton)
• - A potentially exceptional CF with tools to drool over (Cameron)
• - A potentially great hitting 3b (Aiello)
• - A potential number 3 with upside (DeMers, Thompson or Molnar)

All together, that would be a pretty good haul. Anything on top of that would be gravy. More to come.

Draft Day Diary- Day 2

The big board for day 2 is updated. I have a bunch of picks today (just like everyone else). Today's goal will be to attempt to round out this draft class with a mix of college and HS.

The first, and perhaps most interesting question of the day is whether, if he's available, Michael Matuella being available at 87 changes the calculus for me. I don't think so. I do like Wiseman better than Matuella. However, if Matuella was there at 117, I'd probably have to pounce... And alternatively... if Wiseman is gone... I think Matuella would be a late addition to the second spot on my draft board. In the 3rd round, if he doesn't sign, I get a compensation pick next year... there's no such luck in the 4th. Yup... just talked myself into it.

Here is the revised big board:

• Rhett Wiseman
• Michael Matuella
• Jake Lemoine
• Justin Garza
• Elih Marrero
• Joe DeMers
• David Berg
• Riley Thompson
• Kyle Molnar
• Chandler Day
• Benton Moss
• Sutton Whiting
• Garret Cleavinger
• Ty Moore

1pm And here is a wide range of stream of conscience thinking:

• Looks like my fretting over Matuella was for nothing, as the Rangers picked him before I had the chance.
• Nice to see Riley Ferrell come off the board at 79 to Houston, so my pick of him yesterday doesn't look like a huge stretch.
• 87th- Rhett Wiseman The real Padres took Jacob Nix, which makes sense to go after the boom/bust potential given that they didin't have nearly as many picks as my shadow team. Me? I'm thrilled to pieces to add Wiseman. Now, it's time to go find some pitching.
• Pick 102- Wow, the Orioles jumped up and took Cleavinger. I figured he'd be around about 3 rounds later. Dan Duquette. Nice pick.
• Pick 103- Wiseman went 103rd, so my pick wasn't as much of a reach as I thought it would be. That's encouraging.
• Pick 108- The Rangers may have identified the newest market inefficiency. Injured Pitchers. Can't believe they took Lemoine
• 117th Justin Garza, come on down!
• Pick 134, I'm glad to see Rivera Jr ended up somewhere besides the Yankees. Would have been an impossible legacy to live up to. Also... happy to no longer see a "Rivera" closing games at Yankee Stadium.. That guy tormented the Red Sox for years.
• 147th- Elih Marrero, Come on Down!

In previous years, I've done shadow drafts, and they seem to come off the rails right around here. There is SO much info I (or really, anyone who doesn't work for a team) don't have with regards to signability. The way things look, I'm probably going to snag a HS pitcher or 2 in the next couple rounds. Given where the picks are falling, I'm guessing they go off to school... and there's no way I can know that in advance.

• Pick 169 just happened and it's now looking like there is a good chance Demers falls to me. Kind of excited about that, but also feeling like this is becoming a very HS heavy draft for me. When I put the board together, I assumed at least a coupel of these guys would be gone before I got around to picking them... now it looks very realistic that I end up with 5 or 6 HS picks in the first 10 rounds, which wasn't really the plan coming in.
• Pick 173- And there goes another one to Theo. Dave Berg will be a major leaguer.
• 177th Joe Demers- Come on Down!
• Pick 178- Benton Moss goes off the board, and suddenly, I'm looking at a VERY HS heavy draft.
• 207th- Riley Thompson, Come on Down!
• Pick 228- I am SO disappointed in myself for leaving Colin Welmon off my big board. He was in an earlier version, and somewhere along the way, just fell off. Ugh
• 237th- Kyle Molnar, Come on Down!
• Pick 244- Garza finally comes off the board.
• Pick 261- Tucker Tubbs is a fantastic name.
• 267th I'm going off the board here, given that my last 3 picks were HS Pitchers. I'm going to grab Ty Moore.
• 297th- I'm going to stay off script with this pick, and nab Sutton Whiting.

Lots more thoughts to come in the next couple days, but based on the number of HS players I drafted who aren't drafted in the real world, either this draft is going to end up being a big mess, or I will set the record for "most guys drafted in a shadow draft who get picked in the 11th round in real life" ever.

Draft day 2 Big Board

Coming into this morning, I'm making a few changes ot my big board, based on how the draft has gone. After thinking it through, I'm going to move Rhett Wiseman to the top of my board today, because of the hitters I'm after, he's in a tier of his own, and I see a lot of parallels between the rest of the pitchers. I'm going to move LeMoine up ahead of Garza, because the ceiling is higher, but in honesty, I'm hoping to end up with both.

Board going into today is as follows:

• Rhett Wiseman
• Jake Lemoine
• Justin Garza
• Elih Marrero
• Joe DeMers
• David Berg
• Riley Thompson
• Kyle Molnar
• Chandler Day
• Benton Moss
• Sutton Whiting
• Garret Cleavinger
• Ty Moore

Actual Draft Diary

This is the big board in action, done diary-style:

• Pick 1.1- Swanson- Makes sense. I like the pick.
• Pick 1.2- Bregman- As I said, I'm feeling good to not be the guy who ended up with Bregman
• Pick 1.9- Happ- Totally a Theo pick. Grrrr... I knew he wouldn't make it to 13. This is like in fantasy baseball when you hvae the one guy who always managed to grab your player about 2 picks earlier than you.
• Pick 1.13-Daz Cameron is on the board!!!!! My best player available in the draft made it. Sweet!

With Cameron falling to me, there is a chance I'm going to lean away from Aiello. I already have a high upside HS player out of this one, and I really like to balance things out. Right now, the perfect situation for me is something like Funkhouser or Kapriellian available at 41, Aiello falling to 51, and then a Garza/LeMoine/Wiseman trio in the 3rd, 4th and 5th rounds.

That would give me 2 high upside HS position players, a college OF, and three college pitchers. Fingers crossed at this point.

• Pick 1.16- There are no words to describe how much I hate that Kap. is going to the Yankees. Just... ugh.
• Pick 1.17- Well, we knew Aiken wouldn't last too long, and as expected, he didn't make it to a point where I was happy to go after him.
• Pick 1.18- Man, Brian Sabean is one of the smartest GM's available. In my fantasy league (it's a keeper league), Phil Bickford just became a target for me.

Around Pick 20, I'm starting to wonder if Daz's $ request is off the charts. I'm not alone:

Local mystery as draft unfurls, 6 spots from Detroit's pick: Will Tigers decide Daz Cameron is worth all the $$ that are causing his slide?

— Lynn G. Henning (@Lynn_Henning) June 9, 2015

Will report back if we hear something

• Pick 22- The Tigers didn't pick Cameron.. Given they're usual comfort with Scott Boras, I'm starting to feel like Daz Cameron will end up being an extra first round pick next year....
• Pick 24- Sad to see Buehler go off the board. At this point, I was starting to think (hope against home?) he'd be there at 41.
• Pick 31- Of course Brian Sabean picked up Shaw. Of course he did. Shaw and Bickford in the first round make it feel an awful lot like the Giants are going to have amazing letter grades when this is over and the pundits speak. Oh yeah, they're also going to have a new 1b of the future and a quality number 3 pitcher. In fact, I'd rather have the Giants draft going than the Astros draft (hashtag "early over reaction").
• Pick 33- Nolan Watson just went off the board, and now I'm 8 picks away from a really good situation for my draft... Fingers still crossed.
• At pick 35, I was walking around and singing (under my breath) "We Want the Funk, Gotta have the Funk." A little while ago, Brian Sabean was having the best possible draft... now, well, Andrew Friedman is (metaphorically) tapping me on the shoulder, point out that he landed 2 of my top 6 players, and I'm realizing that in picking the Padres, I have run into a buzzsaw of super smart GMs.

Pick 36 just went off the board, and now it's looking like, assuming nothing crazy, I'll end up with Daz Cameron and John Aiello as my first two picks. It's nothing if not high upside. It's problematic, especially given how unlikely it looks for Cameron to sign. I'm going to double down on Aiello, assuming he is there, with the hope I can sign one of these guys (would prefer both), and tomorrow's board will have to change to incorporate a few more safe bets and college guys.

Daz Cameron! Pick 37! Is there a deal in place? Does this mean he's going to sign? What just happened?

Pick 41 means I am ending up with Aiello. I mentioned it above as a scenario I wasn't hoping to have happen, but I'm going to stick to my board, and go with best player available.

Given how things are going, it feels like time to put together a more rounded approach to this draft, and I feel like I need to diversify my risk portfolio. If he is there at 51, I'm going to take Riley Ferrell, and then start fresh tomorrow with a revision to the draft board.

11:15- Ferrell is there, and it seems to make sense to end up with one guy who feel like a sure fire major leaguer at this point. I'm hoping he can provide a few solid seasons as a set up guy of closer. Real Padres select Austin Smith

• Pick 55- Cody once went off the board, and as we're closing in on the 3rd round, I'm feeling oddly OK without a case of buyer's remorse over grabbing the first reliever taken in the draft.
• Pick 65 came and went, and as of now, there needs to be some reordering on the big board, but I have 2 guys who have star potential, and a reliever, all in the first 75 picks in the draft.

Here are the actual results from my picks:

• Pick 13- Daz Cameron
• Pick 41- John Aiello
• Pick 51- Riley Ferrell
• Pick 87-

As a reminder, here is my big board.

• Daz Cameron-Pick 13
• Alex Bregman-
• Dansby Swanson-
• Walker Buehler-
• Ian Happ-
• Kyle Funkhouser-
• James Kapriellian-
• Chris Shaw-
• John Aiello-Pick 41
• Justin Garza
• Jake Lemoine
• Rhett Wiseman
• Elih Marrero
• Joe DeMers
• David Berg
• Riley Thompson
• Kyle Molnar
• Riley Ferrell Pick 51
• Chandler Day
• Benton Moss
• Sutton Whiting
• Garret Cleavinger
• Ty Moore
• Brady Aiken-

***There may be an edit or 2 after draft day 1 is over. It's to clean up speeling and grammer errors.

Shadow Padres Big Board

Coming into the draft, here is my big board:

• Daz Cameron- Mike Cameron has a spot on my all time favorite team, and if we assume his kid will be just a little bit better, he'a a perennial all start, going 15/15 or 20/20 every year while winning gold gloves. He's player I most want in this draft.
• Alex Bregman- I feel obligated to have Bregman high, because the ceiling is crazy. But, I don't know what he will become. Troy Glaus? Brandon Wood? I just don't know. With the 13th pick in the draft, I'm guessing he won't be available to me, and I'm sort of relieved about it.
• Dansby Swanson- He isn't going to be the next Derek Jeter, but he is going to be a very good hitter who plays a quality SS. Jhonny Peralta with a bit of a better glove?
• Walker Buehler- I'm a fan of a guy who starts out in the bullpen, earns his innings, and then dominates when he is supposed to do so. That's Buehler in a nutshell.
• Ian Happ- The best college hitter in this draft, and possibly the player I'm most hoping ends up on my roster.
• Kyle Funkhouser- Like Buehler, with a higher floor, but a lower ceiling
• James Kapriellian- More than a 9 K/9, right around 3:1 K/BB, a proven warrior. Sign me up
• Chris Shaw-Kyle Schwarber without the hype? A Northeast bat? Sign me up.
• John Aiello-This is my "out of whack pick," but here is a switch hitter who could end up somewhere between a Jed Lowrie and Carlos Beltran. I'm on board with reaching to make sure this guy ends up in my system
• Justin Garza-I'm probably higher on Garza than most, but if his downside is that of his brothers, that's one heck of a pitecher.
• Jake Lemoine- Lemoine was going to be a top 10 pick. He's had an awful season, making me think there s an injury issue. Like the Bluejays (Jeff Hoffman) or Nationals (Lucas Giolito), I have no problem picking up a player who's looking at TJ surgery
• Rhett Wiseman- WIseman would have been a Northeast bat I was all about previously (in fact, he was when I added him to my strat team). I'm hoping to pick up Wiseman
• Elih Marrero-His dad is one of my all time favs. This kid has some serious potential
• Joe DeMers- Potential for 3 above average pitches
• David Berg- When I wrote about my draft tiers, I discussed how I'll usually reach for a college reliever. His numbers are absurd.
• Riley Thompson-
• Kyle Molnar- Ground ball pitcher with some upside
• Riley Ferrell-
• Chandler Day-
• Benton Moss-College Senior with pinpoint control. He'll move quickly, but may top out as a long man in the pen (and that's OK).
• Sutton Whiting- Elite defense, very good speed. He's probably not a starter, but as a defensive sub in the Poor Man's Pokey Reese mold, I'm on board.
• Garret Cleavinger- I'm a sucker for a power LHRP later in the draft
• Ty Moore- He's a gamer who walked 30 times and struck out 19. The ~.430 OBP works for me.
• Brady Aiken-There is no way he slides until late... but if he is there in, for example, the 6th round, I'd have to move up and pick him up.

Shadow Padres Draft Picks

Based on the shadow offseason, I didn't lose my first round pick. Here are my picks, with the associated slot values:

Roound	Pick	$$ Value
1	13th	$2,962,100
1A	41st	$1,506,400
2	51st	$1,178,400
3	87th	$687,300
4	117th	$484,000
5	147th	$362,300
6	177th	$271,300
7	207th	$203,300
8	237th	$172,600
9	267th	$161,400
10	297th	$150,600
11	327th	$100,000

The total value I've got going into the draft is $8,139,700.

The Offseason

I meant for this series to be an entire exercise in showing off that I knew more than a major league GM. Since I waited so long to post an actual offseason... well... there is the opportunity for a TON of (unfair) hindsighting. As such, I'm only going to claim credit for moves I can prove I was going to make... which means moves I either made in my fantasy baseball league or my Strat league (after all... if it is actually written in the interweb's ink, it has to count, amirite?).

For starters, my Padres team isn't going to make any of the deals that AJ Preller made. He was bold, but I'm going to be reserved.

I have a team with quality pitching, and a few gaps on offense.

I need help on the left side of the infield, so as you can imagine.... I'm starting HERE.

Once I've got Jed Lowrie, I'm going to finish up the left side of the diamond, picking up Nori Aoki.*

The starting lineup vs RHP is:

• C- Grandal
• 1b- Alonso
• 2b- Gyorko
• 3b- Lowrie
• SS- Kang
• LF Aoki
• CF- Venable
• RF- Smith

It is lefty heavy, but that's OK. Based on the roster, there is also a very good chance that Cabrera could have bee the starter at SS or 2b, Lowrie at one of 3 spots, and well, there was versatility built in. Lots of it.

It is also a team that will need to carry at least 3 platoons.

A pair of them are in the OF, where Maybin is a RHH half of a platoon with Venable (and also a offence/defense portion/defensive sub).

Sean Rodriguez or Jeff Baker would have been ideal partners, but I can't prove that was my thinking, so I end up with a whole to fill.

In the IF, Alonso is an easy guy to platoon, but based on depth, a RHH needs to play multiple positions.

I need a bench, so that means:

• C- Austin Hedges
• CI-
• MI- Everth Cabrera
• OF- Cameron Maybin

On the pitching front:

I came into the season with:

• Andrew Cashner
• Ian Kennedy
• Tyson Ross
• Odrisimar Despagne
• EMPTY Spot

For my 5th starter, I love both the Josh Johnson signing and the Brandon Morrow signing, so both of those guys will be on my 40 man roster and/or in my minor league system.

In the bullpen:

I'm making the deal to add Shawn Kelley (He was on my strat team previously, and I'm a sucker for a BP arm with a high K rate). It means I have:

• Joaquin Benoit
• Dale Thayer
• Shawn Kelley
• Brandon Maurer
• Kevin Quackenbush
• Frank Garces
• LHP to be determined later (Note... I'm kind of a fan of WTF is his name....

In terms of players I want to have on my roster... I see a few gaps, so my minor league invites are:

• Jake Fox- can play all over the field, and hit HR's
• Jake Elmore- Literally players every position except catcher
• OF TBD- I wanted this to be Nolan Reimold, but he resigned with Baltimore, so I'll assume he wasn't an option
• SP- I love me some Casey kelly

*I said I wouldn't pick up a player I couldn't prove I was excited about... here is what my 3rd grade math teacher would call "showing my work":

• I blogged about Lowrie
• Aoki is on my fantasy team, signed to a 2 year deal.
• I drafted Kang in my Strat League.
• Everth Cabrera is on my fantasy team
• Jake Fox has been on my strat team for 2 years.
• Elmore was on my strat team last year.
• Casey Kelly is on my fantast team
• Nolan Reimold in on my fantasy team

There is more to come here in future years, but since the draft is coming up, I really felt like I needed to post this.

Welcome Aboard Mr. Manfred

There's a new sheriff in town in MLB, and according to this report by Ken Rosenthal, he's open to exploring virtually any change that might benefit the game.

That's great news. However, it comes with a concern in my book.

Those of us who have played any fantasy sports (football, baseball, etc), especially in leagues that have been around for a while, all know the "new guy with ideas" who joins an established league.

• Hey, what is we change the number of keepers?
• Why don't we make it more expensive to keep a player?
• What if the rule is, you can't keep a player drafted before the 6th round?
• How come we can only carry 12 minor league players? Wouldn't it be better if it was limitless?

No one likes this guy. You wanna know how I know that?

I've been this guy.

Some of the ideas that Rosenthal kicks around in his article are good (enforcing the pitch clock is a great place to start). But there are a few that I think have the potential to hurt the game. Eliminating the shift? As Ken points out, we don't even know if the shift is as effective as everyone seems to think it is. Lowering the mound? Guys like Marcus Stroman would actually look like a little leaguer out there.

And let's not open the DH vs non-DH thing. I like the rule as it is. To everyone who says "wouldn't you rather see a professional hitter than a pitcher flailing away?"... I have two responses:

1. You're obviously not a fan of schadenfreude.
2. You've never been part of the unencumbered joy that comes when a pitcher gets an RBI (or better, a HR). The feeling can only be described as Christmas Morning meets the feeling when you use a new toothbrush for the first time (I almst called this 'Christmas Morning on Steroids'... but I didn't want to be the first post to show up under Google searches for 'Manfred and Steroids.' It's a lot harder to have Christmas Morning meet something in a positive way than you'd think).

Finally, comes what I think is the most interesting part of the challenge here.

In order to add offense, you almost, by design, have to add length to a game. Walks are a key component to scoring runs, which means AB's take longer. As such, you really can't "add offense" and "speed up the game" all at once without something drastic.

7 inning games? 2 strikes you're out and 3 balls a walk?

Eek.

Small ball adds excitement, so maybe the goal isn't to find new ways to add offense. Maybe the goal is to make the offense in a game more exciting, and perhaps, by virtue of the cycle* we're in, it's going to take care of itself. A 4-3 victory, with quality pitching that features a suicide squeeze as the winning run can be really darn exciting:

In fact, that's one of the most exciting games I've ever seen live.

To be fair, Rosenthal ends his column with something like "don't get up in arms yet... many of these are spitballing and may never see the light of day" I hope he's right. I'm happy that the new fearless leader of MLB is open to discuss any possible way to make the game greater. I just hope he's patient enough to realize that not every rule change is a good one.

Wrapping up the 2014 draft

***Let me start by saying... ugh! Occasionally, you see a name, and somehow manage to think he is someone else. In my last post, I mentioned Chanlder Shephard as a SS/RHP guy drafted by the Reds... and yeah. I wasn't in the ball park. I was thinking of Cory Thompson, drafted a year earlier (hindsighting is a pain). My apologies for the mistake. Won't happen again, because I'll be posting these in advance of drafts. For starters my 11th round pick: I don't have a player. Some years, there is an obvious choice (or 2), but in 2014, I don't have one. Tuem in during the 2015 draft, and Ill hopefully be doing a John Sickels like shadow draft. For 14... I am out. For the rest of the draft, I'm desperately hoping that some of my Binkys, guys who won't be drafted until later but, you know, may have a chance migt be available. To be honest, Kevin McAvoy and Grant Kay (referenced here) started out as binky players, and in truth, may have only been promoted to tier 3 because one of them (McAvoy) was drafted far earlier than expected (Kay could have stayed a binky pick). Anyway, on to players who I would have included:

1. Jared Ruxer- This guy, an RHP from Louisville, may become a work horse... or he may falter entirely. Ruxer is big (he was also a tight end in highschool) and went through some injury concerns, but at his best, he is a big guy with good stuff, and potentially the ability to throw 200+ innings. He's worth the shot.
2. Benton Moss He was a college workhorse. Sign me up.
3. Richard Prigatano- When I played little league, the best players from every team joined up to form an all star team, and play against other all stars across the city. There was a second team, those who weren't quite all stars, but were "pretty ok," called "Best of the Rest." Prigatano could have been captain of the college "Best of the Rest" team. He's got an R/R profile. hasn't hit for as much power or gotten on base as much as you'd like. Heck, he plays a corner position, but no one knows which one. However... I can absolutely see this guy grinding out a career, Trot-Nixon-style (muinus platoon issues), as a valuable contributor to a winning team.

Anyway. that's all for the 2014 draft. Lots more Padres, MLB, and other sports info to follow.

2014 draft tier 5

This is the second to last post in my 2014 draft series. ICYMI, here are the first, second, third and fourth articles in the series.

As I said previously, the goal is to mix and match throughout the draft, finding a combination of safe picks and lotto tickets, guys who will sign quickly an inexpensively, along with more expensive players.

Tier 5 is where I am looking to save some money, first by looking for college seniors, and then identifying college relievers. My perfect college senior in the draft was Jake Stinnett, who went in the 2nd round (probably mush earlier than I would have grabbed him, so I'll leave him off the board here.

1. Jeff Gardner & Cole Sturgeon- Louisville teammates, I'm going to group them together as very similar players. Both left-handed hitters, both solid OBP, both pretty good defensively. I suspect neither ends up as a regular, although one of them could end up the bigger half of a platoon at the major league level. I see more of a 4th OF role for these guys, but I'd happily try to find out if there is more there with either one.
2. Joey DeNatto- Never mind that he shut out Louisville in the college world series, DeNatto is simply a workhorse college pitcher who deserves to see if his game can transition. Quality starts are important to me, and as a senior, 14 out of his 16 starts made the cut.
3. Dave Berg- He's a submarine pitcher who sits in the 80's with his fastball. So was Chad Bradford, and he deserved his own chapter in Moneyball. Sign me up.
4. John Dezse- In 2012, as a sophomore, Dezse started 58 games, got on base more than 40% of the time as a hitter, and earned 7 saves. He missed 2013 with a back problem, and 2014 was a rougher season (hitting numbers down, and no pitching), presumably in part because of the back surgery he had in 2013. That said, I can't help but think of Micah Owings every time I hear his name (or every time I bring his name up, since he's pretty darn obscure). In the national league, a guy who can both not embarrass himself as a pinch hitter and can occasionally take a turn in the mound is worth his weight in gold. I'm adding Dezse, and seeing what is left.
5. Hassan Evans- He was a pitching prospect who ended the year in the outfield. Somewhere along the way, I read an Edwin Jackson comp on Evans, and it has always stuck with me. Jackson never became a stud, but he had a few seasons as a quality starter.
6. Ian Tompkins- A left handed closer from Western Kentucky. In 17 innings on the Cape, he K'd 27 (and walked 11). I see Alan Embree here.

So, go Buckeyes?

When I started this blog, it was with the idea of borrowing Joe Posnanski's approach. Write lot's about baseball, but throw in some other stuff too.

Last night, Ohio State won a national championship in college football, based largely on the Herculian effort of Zeke Elliot (250 yards and 4 TD's... the last of which felt a little bit like a big brother running up the score on his little brother in Madden).

The Buckeyes were the best team on the field, and Elliot + his blockers really carried the day.

Watching early, it felt an awful lot like the Giants against the Bills all those years ago (Bills fans still cringe when they hear the words 'Wide Right' and refer to their kicker as 'Scott NorWouldn't'). Congrats to the Buckeyes, and the city of Columbus, which must be in a frenzy.

2014 draft tier 4

I may have done myself a small disservice in numbering these tiers, since in a hypothetical draft, it's possible I'd go out of order. For example, if my pick is coming up, and all of my tier 3 (guys I think will make it to MLB) players are available, but there is only one tier 4 guy there, I might pick the tier 4 player, hoping to catch a tier 3 when the draft comes around again.

This continues my 2014 MLB draft tier articles (tier 1 here, tier 2 here, and tier 3 here)

As a reminder, Tier 4 is my lotto ticket: A guy who has intriguiing potential, and if he hits, could become a star for me. One other thing. This particular group is very heavy on pitching. In this draft, I seemed to be heavy on hitters in the first few tiers, so if I can add some upside pitching, it will help me round out my draft class.

That said, here is the small group of players I had in my tier 4 heading into the 2014 draft:

1. Cameron Varga- I might as well spill the beans. When I look at high school pitchers, there are a few things that impress me. The first is athletic ability, which I have somehow equated with "ability to play the field as well." Varga fits this, extremely well (he was a highly sought after SS in Florida). His season was up and down, because of an injury (meaning he may fall for an explainable reason), and his stuff has the ability to get big leaguers out. The red flag I have on him is that he's old for his draft class (apparently he moved around as a kid), and generally speaking, this is a challenge. But if he falls to me, I'd be a happy camper
2. Austin DeCarr- He's a New England kid, a player with athleticism (he's apparently quite a good QB), with 2 quality pitches right now (meaning the bull pen might be his downside). I'll take it.
3. Zach Shannon- Shannon fits the profile of athletic pitcher who plays 2 positions, but interestingly, he hits with power. Lot's of it. If he falls to me, I'm leaving it up to my baseball ops people to see what we have on our hands.
4. Tate Blackman- A poor man's Christian Arroyo. That's how I've seen him described. The guy has a quality contact swing, and if he makes it onto my roster, he is going to get every chance to stick at SS.
5. Lane Thomas- He's an athlete, first of all. He played on Team USA's Under 18 squad, looks like a tweener between SS and CF, and has the kind of tools one can dream on.
6. Chandler Shepherd-Everything I said about Varga above holds true here. As a side note, Shepherd was drafted by the Reds as a SS. I think he'd be a pitcher in my organization. ***
7. Marvin Gorgas-He's a little guy, at 5'9, but that's OK with me. Something about his background is super intriguing for me (he's from Puerto Rico), he played in the field and on the mound with Team USA Under 18, and at worst, I somehow have ideas of a BH Kim usage (they're different pitchers, but a multi-inning relief ace might just be what Gorgas becomes).

***Please see the post recapping this exercise... I acknowledge being a bonehead of Shephard's inclusion.

2014 draft tier 3

Continuing my 2014 MLB draft tier articles (tier 1 here and tier 2 here):

As a reminder, Tier 3 is "safe" colleague guys who I think will end up having an MLB career.

1. Mark Zagunis- He comps to Jason Kendall, who I absolutely adore as a player (at some point, I'll review his book, which had some very interesting pieces of info in it). I love the idea of a catcher who can be a number 2 hitter, because it allows me to have an extra position player who hits for power somewhere in the lineup.
2. Daniel Gosset- There are a few things I like about Gossett. First of all, I think it was a bold decision to sit out of summer leagues (I understand entirely that I mentioned how much I value competition against one's best peers in these ranking, so bear with me, because this is really counter intuitive). I think, having never spoken with Gossett, it means the guy knows his arm, and knows when to lighten up the load (the alternative is that he's lazy, but I'm sticking to the positive on this one). Second, I think that so called "short" pitchers are undervalued. SUre, Tim Lincecum seems to be done after "only" a couple Cy Young season. Marcus Stroman just put up a 4:1 K/BB, and won 11 games as a rookie. Seriously? A draft pick gives me those seasons, and I'm doing cartwheels.
3. Sam Travis-Power hitting doesn't grow on trees, and while "Mike Napoli" is the upside here, Mike Napoli is a darn good player... in fact, he was the clean up hitter on a world champion. I know that scouts rarely love the "righty/righty" profile, because it means a guy is going to hit. I think Travis will.
4. Kevin McAvoy-A confession here. While I can't prove it, and I know how it looks that I've had 2 Redsox picks on my list here, I was in on McAvoy early. My actual note on his was something like: "What's better than a kid from Upstate NY who pitched in New England, and has gotten better every year?" I said previously that I think New Englanders are under-rated, because they simply don't get as much exposure, or playing time, as players in the south or in California. Essentially, McAvoy fits the profile here to a T, and his arm hasn't used a ton of bullets yet.
5. Austin Cousino- He won Freshman of the Year, got on base in 59 out of 62 games, and looked like he was going to become a consensus first overall pick. His sophomore year, well, he regressed. Last year, heading into the draft, he played spectacular defense, got on base at 36% of the time, and stole 19 bases in 20 attempts. His downside here? 4th OF who plays great D and is a pinch runner. Upside? Well, his upside is whoever coaches him gets him back to doing the things he proved he could do as a Freshman, and the team that drafts him gets a quality leadoff hitter.
6. Grant Kay- He's little, and went to JuCO, so he really only has one year playing against top quality competition. However, he can basically play any spot on the field, and somehow manages to hurt the baseball every time he hits it. He's a line drive machine. Upside might be something like Mark McLemore, who is stunningly underrated, or Ben Zobrist with a few less HR's and a few more 2b's.

2014 draft tier 2

Continuing the draft tier set of posts I started previously (part 1 can be found here), here is the second tier of my 2014 MLB draft board:

1. Brandon Finnegan- For starters, the comp I saw thrown around on Finnegan most often is that of Scott Kazmir, who has a spot on my all time favorite list (I've referenced it a few ti and promise to post it soon). High K lefties don't grow on trees, and at the time of the draft, I thought his downside would be power reliever (I know how much is sounds like I am calling this in hindsight).
2. Luke Weaver- Guys with a power sinker are always welcome.
3. Derek Fisher- in my Tiers Preview, I mentioned that sometimes, a player will fall because his numbers are down based on a very logical, very fixable issue. Fisher, widely considered a top 10 or top 15 prospect heading into the year, broke his hamate, and struggled with power numbers. Of COURSE he struggled with power numbers, the guy had a broken bone in his hand. Every player who has broken his hamate has struggled with power until around a year after the injury has healed (Big Papi is one of dozens of examples). If Fisher fell to me in the draft, I'm as happy as can be.
4. Nick Howard- make no mistake, I'm generally not in favor of grabbing college relievers early, but Howard is very interesting for a couple reasons. First, he has the arsenal to start. Second, since he was a reliever, there are presumably more bullets left in that arm. IN my mind, a guy who's been brought along throughout the college ranks as a reliever first (ideally a long reliever), may stay more healthy as he builds to a bigger workload, assuming his coach isn't a lunatic.
5. Isan Diaz- his scouting report essentially says he is a lefty hitting 2b with great bat control, fantastic defense, and the chance to be very good. I can't prove this, but I think that HS guys from the northeast maybe undervalued in general, since scouts may not get to see them as much. So, Diaz is in my second tier.
6. Michael Gettys-if all of the players above, who I think are much safer bets to make the majors, are gone, then it is time to swing for the fences. Think of Gettys as my "what the heck, I've been dealt hands I didn't love all night, let's go all in" option. Almost every scouting report said this guy might have the best tools in the draft.

2014 draft tier 1

As promised, here is my breakdown of my top tier for the 2014 draft:

1. Trea Turner*- here is what we knew about Turner going into the season- he is likely to end up at SS (a premium position), but if that doesn't work, he has the arm strength to play 3b. He is going to get on base (he always has). He is going to fly around the bases (30+SBs with a high success rate). Even if those numbers are at 3b (which obviously means we need to find power from other sources), this is an elite lead off hitter, and there are few of those around.
2. Carlos Rodon- everything you need to know in one sentence: he could be David Price. Yes, he seemed to have a dead arm period and lost velocity. Also, if you want to hit pick, he throws too many sliders, making TJ surgery more likely (I don't know if this is proven entirely, but on an anecdotal level, it seems to be correct)
3. Kyle Schwarber- I know that I'm posting this months after the draft so it is easy to call me a Johnny come lately on this one. However, 30HR players that seem to have a .380 OBP upside don't grow on trees. At the time I created this list, I was fairly sure Schwaeber would fall to the middle of the first round. So was basically every draft guru.
4. Jeff Hoffman- as I said previously, guys who play against their top peers and do well tend to score very highly for me, and Hoffman's stint in the Cape Cod league qualifies.
5. Michael Chavis- everywhere you look, he was referred to as the best hitter in the high school ranks.

*Earlier in the GM thought experiment (more coming on that soon), I said I wouldn't have dealt Turner in the Wil Myers deal. It's because I think Turner was the best player available in the 2014 draft.

Congrats fellas

So, it's the biggest Hall of Fame class in 60 years. In the coming days, there will be plenty of time for vitriol and disgust over those who should be in there. However, today belongs to Pedro, Johnson, Biggio and Smoltz. I'm thankful that I got to see Pedro in his prime, Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling take over a World Series, a rotation with 3 (now bonafide) Hall of Famers, and a guy like Craig Biggio who somehow seemed like a dirt dog and the best athlete on the field (a rare mix). Congrats guys.

My Fictional HOF vote

I'm not a member of the BBWA, but if it ever happens, here is the list I'd be sending in as my ballot this year:

• Pedro Martinez- Pedro gets spots on my all time favorite, all time greatest I've ever seen, and all time dude I'd like to grab a drink with lists. Oh yeah: Jonah Keri called him a "rich man's Sandy Koufax." We good? Cool.
• Randy Johnson- I mentioned on Twittter that Jonah Keri's article about the Big a unit is amazing. And Johnson makes 2 of the 3 lists above. He is in
• Barry Bonds- He knocked off the Bambino (whether through cheating or not), and oh yeah, he may have been the best player of an era before he cheated. He is in.
• Roger Clemens- As a Red Sox fan, I appreciate the 20k game, think he left on crummy terms, and then became a scum bag. Good news... Lots of talented scum bags are in the hall. Welcome aboard. Hope you trip walking up to give your speech, and pray you "misremember" something.
• Tim Raines- Raines is a hall of famer. "Ricky was better" is a terrible answer to keep him out. Raines also has an argument for best LF I ever saw live... Though I suspect Manny Ramirez has a word or three to share with me over it.
• John Smoltz- 150 wins, 150 saves, and a truly unique career. Welcome here Mr. Smoltz.
• Jeff Bagwell- the peak is phenomenal, and the career numbers hold up. He won lots of people fantasy baseball titles, and will always be the cautionary tale of trading away prospects (I almost think Larry Anderson deserves a plaque underneath Bagwell's, just because).
• Mike Piazza- I know there is an Internet troll who said Piazza's back was ugly. However, the guy might be the greatest offensive catcher of all time, and Roger Clemens once threw a bat at him. I hope they give back to back speeches, just so we can see the, exchange pleasantries.
• Curt Schilling- the bloody sock, a postseason record that is such an outlier that it makes saber folks question the existence of clutch, and a K:BB that is simply freaky. He is in for me
• Craig Biggio- this one is tough. It means that Edgar Martinez and Nomar Garciaparra (all time fav, all time best I ever saw lists for me) miss the cut. However, his uniqueness holds up (Catcher, 2b, CF) along with the stats