Silent Auction Draft League HOMEPAGE Topic

This will function as the base thread for the silent auction draft league. Feel free to post your rosters, strategies, and/or praises of the commissioner.


Monday
1) 1978 New York Yankees
2) Angels in the Outfield
3) 199 hit seasons
4) Slap-hitting hall of famers
5) Back end of the rotation pitchers

Tuesday
1) Run producers, first or last season
2) Better to burn out than fade away
3) Staff Aces
4) 30+ home run seasons, 1998
5) Switch-hitting infielders/platoon catchers

Wednesday
1) Award-winning relievers
2) 1915 Federal League Starting Pitchers
3) Switch-hitting bombers
4) Fireballing closers
5) Pirate winning pitchers

Thursday
1) Rookie of the year pitchers
2) Expensive Phillies Pitchers
3) Mash it or Miss it
4) 21st century Rookie of the Years
5) Speedy catchers

Friday
1) Flashing the leather
2) Controlled chaos
3) Thieving infielders
4) Last season, last name starts with Q
5) Talented relievers with gopheritis

1/15/2013 1:09 PM (edited)
Team name - I Bid, I Saw, I Conquered
Park - County Stadium

C - 1889 Buck Ewing (Speedy catchers)
1B - 1969 Reggie Jackson (Mash it or miss it)
2B - 1998 Jeff Kent (30+ HR/1998)
3B - 1996 Ken Caminiti (Switch-hitting bombers)
SS - 1981 Rick Burleson (Flashing the Leather)
LF - 1914 Benny Kauff (Run producers 1st/last season)
CF - 1992 Andy Van Slyke (199 hits)
RF - 2001 Ichiro (21st Century ROY)

SP - 2011 Justin Verlander (Staff aces)
SP - 1915 Fred Anderson (1915 Federal League Pitchers)
SP - 1953 Robin Roberts (Expensive Phillies Pitchers)
RP - 1979 Jim Kern (Award winning RP)
RP - 1978 Goose Gossage (1978 Yankees Draft)
RP - 1952 Joe Black (ROY Pitchers)
RP - 2000 Kaz Sasaki (Talented RP with Gopheritis)
CL - 2002 Arthur Rhodes (Fireballing closers)

Draft by draft results:
1. 1978 Yankees (#2) - 1978 Goose Gossage - RP
I tried and failed to bid for Ron Guidry, but this is an alright consolation prize. Based on how I bid in other categories I should have a solid bullpen. Gossage helps.
2. Angels in the Outfield (#15) - 1998 Darrin Erstad - OF
Erstad is a below-average hitter, but he has superhuman outfield defense and steals bases very well. A good addition to the bench.
3. 199 Hits (#9) - 1992 Andy Van Slyke - OF
Van Slyke is a solid hitter and will likely slot into the #2 hole in the lineup. He also provides an excellent backup plan should I fail to get a great defensive centerfielder in later drafts like I intend to.
4. Slap-hitting hall of famers (#11) - 1915 Miller Huggins - 2B
Not a great player whatsoever, but he gets on base at a good clip, so he may be useful as a pinch hitter.
5. Back-end of the rotation (#14) - 1937 Willis Hudlin - SP
6. Better to burn out than fade away (#4) - 1963 Cal McLish - SP

A total waste of money in a futile attempt to get Sandy Koufax. McLish may get some starts, but he will likely be a long reliever only.
7. Staff aces (#15) - 2011 Justin Verlander - SP
It turned out to be a frugal decision to bid only two credits on this category. This was a fairly homogenous category and Verlander is a terrific addition and will definitely be the ace of my staff.
8. 30+ HR seasons/1998 (#7) - 1998 Jeff Kent - 2B
I had initially hoped that Alex Rodriguez or Nomar Garciaparra would drop to me, but then I remembered that Kent has roughly equal offensive and defensive stats as those two (albeit with about 60-100 fewer plate appearances).
9. Switch-hitting IF/platoon catchers (#12) - 1904 Joe Sugden - C
Not much to write home about, but his defense is great and he gets on base some. He'll do a fine job spelling Buck Ewing for 10-15 starts.
10. Major run producers 1st or last season (#1) - 1914 Benny Kauff - OF
It was difficult deciding who to choose here, but I saw my team as needing a leadoff hitter, and Kauff's .444 OBP and good speed meant he was a logical pick here.
11. 1915 Federal League SP (#6) - Fred Anderson - SP
This is the category I bid the 2nd most in in the hope of netting a top-3 pick. I did not even crack the top-3 here, but Anderson is a good enough pitcher. Even then at this point I started to worry a bit about my starting pitching being able to hold up to what will likely be a very high cap league.
12. Switch-hitting bombers (#3) - 1996 Ken Caminiti
Good defense and middle of the order hitting at a premium position. Sure, I'll take that.
13. Award-winning RP (#5) - 1979 Jim Kern - RP
Will likely be the ace of my bullpen. Great normalized stats, though he does walk people at a high rate.
14. Fireballing closers (#10) - 2002 Arthur Rhodes - RP
Rhodes will make for a very good closer. I'm happy to get a player this good this late in the draft.
15. Winning Pirate SP (#15) - 2012 James McDonald - SP
Will compete with McLish for an occasional spot start, but will not receive much action.
16. Speedy Catchers (#7) - 1889 Buck Ewing - C

I consider myself fortunate to get what I consider to be the last good catcher in this draft. This category had more action than I thought, so I am very fortunate to have a solid offensive and defensive catcher.
17.  ROY Pitchers (#13) - 1952 Joe Black - RP
I was hoping to select higher in this category to get a RP with better normalized stats. But Black is still pretty good and choosing him cements my plan to go primarily with a 3-man rotation and lean heavily on the RP triumvirate of Black, Gossage, and Kern.
18. Expensive Phillies SP (#11) - 1953 Robin Roberts - SP
Roberts was a pretty good get this late in the draft. Since I wasn't getting good pitchers in two of the other 5 SP categories I knew a person like Roberts, who could provide 370+ innings would be helpful.
19. Mash it or miss it (#11) - 1969 Reggie Jackson - OF
I had this category pegged way ahead of time for my first baseman. A deep category meant a low bid netting me a player with a 1030 OPS#.
20. 21st century ROY (#8) -
2001 Ichiro - OF
I had originally thought I would be drafting a middle infielder in this category. But this was before I had any idea Ichiro would drop this far in the draft. I'm happy to snap him up here.
21. Flashing the leather (#11) - 1981 Rick Burleson - SS
I'm very happy with this pick. I thought I would need to get into the top half of the draft to get a player of Burleson's caliber, so I was upset when I ended up choosing 11th. But it turned out everything worked out fine.
22. Speedy infielders (#15) -
23. Last season, last name starts with Q (#15) -
24. Talented RP with Gopheritis (#12) - 2000 Kaz Sasaki
When a pitcher with a 170 ERC+ and over 10 K/9 is #5 on your relief pitcher depth chart, it means you have a pretty good bullpen.
25. Controlled chaos (#15) - 1950 Chuck Stobbs - SP

This league started off under unfortunate circumstances. The 3 categories I bid most on I was completely overbid against and ended up with okay to mediocre players in return. It continued with nothing but bad luck. In all the instances I bid the same amount as a fellow owner I was on the losing end of the tiebreaker. What could have been drafts where I selected, for example, 9th, 11th, 13th, and 13th; instead saw me selecting 10th, 13th, 15th, and 15th. When it all added up I was behind the 8-ball from the get-go.

All that said, given the draft slots I had, I couldn't be happier with how my draft turned out. I ended up getting pretty much who and what I expected at every draft slot. My starting pitching will not be that great (on account of bidding for and failing to get Ron Guidry or Sandy Koufax). But to counteract that I drafted a deep, talented bullpen that will be able to throw a high number of innings. I also have the makings of a great offense. My 1-5 slots in the order are downright deadly and all of my starters are above average hitters. I'll have to see how the other teams stack up, but I might have a chance to be good.

1/19/2013 9:55 AM (edited)

Team name - TBD
Park - TBD

C -
1B -
2B -
3B -
SS -
LF -
CF -
RF -

SP -
SP -
SP -
SP - 1987 Tommy John (Back End of the Rotation)
SP -
SP -
RP -
RP -
RP -
RP -
1/12/2013 9:27 AM (edited)
Team name - TBD
Park - TBD

C - 1885 Buck Ewing (Speedy Catchers)
C- 1998 Jorge Posada (Switch hitting IF/Platoon Catchers)
1B - 2005 Derrek Lee (199 hits)
1B- 2006 Lance Berkman (Switch hitting Bombers)
2B -  1913 Miller Huggins (Slap hitting HOFers)
3B -  2001 Albert Pujols (First/Last Run Producers)
SS - 2005 David Eckstein (Flashing the Leather)
LF -  1961 Mickey Mantle (Mash it or Miss it)
CF - 1998 Jim Edmonds (Angels in the Outfield)
RF - 1998 Sammy Sosa (1998 30HR+)
Util 1978 Reggie Jackson (78 Yankees)
SP -  1998 Francisco Cordova (Winning Pirate Pitchers)
SP -  1906 Tully Sparks (Expensive Phillies Pitchers)
SP -  1995 Hideo Nomo (ROY pitchers)
SP -  1985 Britt Burns (burn out/Fade Away)
SP -  1915 Chief Johnson (1915 Fed SP)
SP -  1947 Sam Zoldak (Back of the Rotation)
SP -  2004 Randy Johnson (Aces)
RP -  2008 Dan Wheeler (Gopheritis)
RP -  2011 Sergio Romo (Fireballing Closers)
RP - 2009 Yovani Gallardo (Controlled Chaos)
RP 1978 Rich Gossage (Award winning RP)
RP- 2010 Neftali Feliz (21st Century ROY)
1/17/2013 1:14 PM (edited)
Harbingers of Doom
(park TBD)

$135.03M

 C - 1890 Buck Ewing (Speedy Catchers)
1B - 1998 Jeff Bagwell (30+ HR 1998)
2B - 1971 Sandy Alomar (Flashing the Leather)
3B - 1978 Graig Nettles (78 Yankees)
SS - 1992 Ozzie Smith (Slap Hitting HOFers)
LF -  2012 Mike Trout (Run Producers First/Last)
CF - 2000 Andruw Jones (199 Hit Seasons)
RF - 2009 Torii Hunter (Angels in the Outfield)
Bn - 1968 Marty Martinez (Switch Hitting Infielders/Platoon Catchers)
Bn - 2005 Ryan Howard (21st Century ROY)
Bn - 1964 Mickey Mantle (Switch Hitting Bombers)
Bn - 2012 Humberto Quintero (Las Name Q)
Bn - 1989 Kevin Mitchell (Mash It Or Miss It)
Bn - 1966 Don Buford (Thieving Infielders)

SP - 1966 Jim Bunning (Expensive Phillies SP)
SP - 1968 Luis Tiant (Staff Aces)
SP - 2011 Chris Carpenter (Better To Burn Out...)
SP - 1976 Mark Fidrych (ROY Pitchers)
SP - 1995 Denny Neagle (Winning Pirate Pitchers)
RP - 1988 Jerry Reuss (Back of the Rotation)
RP - 1915 George Kaiserling (Federal League SP)
RP - 1990 Randy Johnson (Controlled Chaos)
RP - 1998 Armando Benitez (Talented RP w/Gopheritis)
RP - 1986 Todd Worrell (Award Winning RP)
RP - 1991 Bryan Harvey (Fireballing Closers)
1/18/2013 9:41 PM (edited)
Team Name: TBD
Ballpark: TBD

C: 1888 King Kelly (Speedy Catchers, 1st, $81)
Hoping for top 3-5, surprised to get #1. I might have gotten Kelly with the 3rd pick anyway as he is not better than Ewing, but hasmore PAs, and is not better than I-Rod, but I have a bad history with him underperforming for me. I think I will regret this decision as the season goes on, but that's life.

C: 1996 Todd Hundley (Switch Hitting Bombers, 15th, $6)
Disappointed to see my targeted SS ('89 HoJo) go two picks before me, so I might as well get a backup C, since Kelly does not provide me with all the PAs I need. His 41 HRs on the bench may come in handy in late inning PH situations.

C: 1901 Duke Farrell (Switch Hit Platoon C, 11th, $2)
With Kelly and Hundley, this guy is extraneous, superfluous, and unnecessary.

1B: 1885 Dan Brouthers (Big Run Producers, 12th, $3)
It was between him and Heilmann. Heilmann was a great fielder, but Brouthers was so much better offensively, I figured I could hide him at 1B.

2B: 1892 John Ward (Weak hitting HOFs; 14th, $1)
Hopefully will just be a pinch runner/ pinch hitter. 88 SBs will serve well in late innings of close games.

2B 1981 Julio Cruz (Theiving IFs, 12th, $6)
Now I don't have to start Ward, thank goodness. Much better D makes my pitching all the better. Too bad the guy can't hit.

2B 1991 Luis Quinones (Las name ends in Q, 10th, $1)
It says something  when you bid $1 and get the 10th pick. This guy will not see the light of day. But not many players in this league whose name ends in Q will either.

3B: 2009 Chone Figgins (Angels in the Outfield, 3rd, $82)
Not great offense, but a decent leadoff hitter with great speed and good defense. Nabbing a 3B in an OF category gives me more flexibility with OF heavy categories coming later in the draft

3B 1966 Dick Allen (Mash It or Miss It12th, $3)
Unexpected bonanza late in this category makes me rethink my starter at 3B. Allen is a shoe in except I need a leadoff guy if Figgins does not start. A good problem to have.

SS: 2003 Angel Berroa (21st Century ROYs, 14th, $2)
I was desperate for a SS and he was the best available. Have to be happy to get him, but I am beginning to regret taking Ruth over Wagner in the 199 hits category.

OF: 1931 Babe Ruth (199 Hits, 2nd, $153)
Thought he would go 1st and planned on taking Boudreau.  Two great SS available, but I can't pass up the best hitter in draft. I just hope a SS falls to me later.

CF: 2000 Andruw Jones (Flashing the Leather, 2nd, $51)
Did not expect this bid to get me the 2nd pick. With 1B covered, and no good hitters at SS, I thought it a good time to get my CF.

OF: 1998 Manny Ramirez (30+ HR in 1998, 12th, $5).
Not excited about this pick, but he was as good as anyone else left.

SP: 1915 Pete Alexander (Expensive Phillies Pitchers, 1st, $222)
Getting this guy gives me a chance. May be the best P in the league, after 2000 Pedro.

SP: 1971 Vida Blue (Staff Aces, 8th, $23)
Happy to get a top 10 pick and thrilled Blue fell to me. Could be the best SP2 in the league.

SP: 1981 Dave Righetti (ROY Pitchers; 1st, $118)
Wanted top 3-5 and got the top pick. May regret not picking Gooden, but his 1 HR allowed in 160 IP give him deadball stats in modern era. In a HR rich league like this, that may come in handy.

SP: 1915 Ed Reulbach (Calling Feds 1915, 4th, $226)
My largest bid came in a category with 3 good Ps, and I get the 4th pick. But I targeted two stud Ps and got one of them, so I can't complain.

RP: 2001 Juan Moreno (Talented Relievers, 13th, $1)
For the minimum bid, I guess I should not complain. He will pitch some meaningful innings for me.

RP: 1948 Cliff Fanning (Controlled Chaos, 13th, $1)
He will pitch mostly meaningless innings

RP: 1980 Rollie Fingers (Award Winning Relievers, 16th, $1)
I get what I expect for a $1 bid. Really did not think there was much talent in this pool, so I got an inning filler.

RP: 1978 Sparky Lyle (1978 Yankees, 13th, $1). Just will fill some, hopefully meaningless, innings.

RP: 1988 Jeff Russell (Back end of rotation, 15th, #1) Hide on bench and hope he does not pitch in any close games

RP: 1999 Kris Benson (Pirate Winning P, 12th, $1) Ditto.

CL: 2012 Jake McGee (Fireballing Closers, 9th, $8)
If he is as good as he has been the first few times he has been used, he will become one of the favorite plays in the sim. Excited to have him playing for my team.

Team Strengths: Great starting pitching, maybe the best in the league. Great hitting in the middle of the lineup, though the overall lineup may not turn out to be better than some other teams. Great team speed on the bench. One bench guy has 88 SB. Another has over 50 SB and a great SB percentage. I almost got Maury Wills and his 94 SB but realized it was a luxury I could not afford. Problem is, I think we will face an A arm at C in every game this season.

Team Weaknesses: Poor relief pitching. Got one ace closer, but even he was leftovers after the best were taken. After that, nothing good. One of my SPs will have to be a primary inning filler at RP. Poor hitting in the middle of the infield.  

Good fortune: Getting four #1 picks, and especially getting Pete Alexander. I bid more to get Plank and ended with the 4th pick. If that had happened here too, I would not have a competitive team.

Second guessing: (1) Not taking Honus Wagner, who will be a top 3 SS in this league. My SS might be bottom three. But Babe Ruth is not a bad door prize. (2) Taking King Kelly over I-Rod. Kelly should have overall better hitting stats but I-Rod will not be far behind and his defense is off the charts. Plus he has more PAs. I would like to have this one back. (3) Taking Righetti over Gooden. Numbers may not be much differnt and Gooden has a lot more IP. (4) Not bidding more in categories with good middle IF. My 2B and SS are good fielders, but neither one can hit a lick. I wish I had Jeff Kent.
1/19/2013 11:59 PM (edited)
Team Name: TBD
Ballpark: TBD
Salary: $134,931,630

C:  1985 Mark Bailey (SH IF/C)
1B: 2012 Joey Votto (Run Producers First/Last)
2B: 1978 Willie Randolph (1978 Yankees)
3B: 1998 Chipper Jones (30+ HR in 1998)
SS: 1948 Luke Appling (Slap-Hitting HoFers)
OF: 2007 Vladimir Guerrero (Angels in the OF)
OF: 1977 Lyman Bostock (199 Hits)
OF: 1958 Mickey Mantle (Switch-Hitting Bombers)
UT: 1890 King Kelly (Speedy Catchers)
UT: 2012 Carlos Quentin (Last Name Q)
UT: 2001 Darin Erstad (Flashing the Leather)
UT: 1967 Harmon Killebrew (Mash It or Miss It)
UT: 1975 Davey Lopes (Thieving Infielders)

SP: 1950 Early Wynn (Controlled Chaos)
SP: 1967 Jim Bunning (Expensive Phillies)
SP: 1915 Gene Packard (Federalist Pitchers)
SP: 1966 Juan Marichal (Staff Aces)
RP: 2007 Rafael Soriano (Gopheritis)
RP: 2011 Craig Kimbrel (ROY Pitchers)
RP: 1981 Rollie Fingers (Award-Winning RP)
RP: 2004 Billy Wagner (Fireballing Closers)
RP: 2009 Andrew Bailey (21st Century ROYs)
P: 1990 Kevin Brown (Back End of the Rotation)
P: 1983 Fred Breining (Better to Burn Out)
P:  2000 Kris Benson (Winning Pirate Ps)

Comments: I never play high-cap leagues, so I have no idea how this team is going to do. My SP is pretty weak in comparison to other rosters I've seen, but I have arguably the best bullpen IMO.

p.s. How many mop-up innings can one team use? Answer: No idea how many one team can use, but this team is going to have 601 of them.

p.p.s. 2135 IP. Wow...

1/17/2013 6:42 PM (edited)
Team name - TBD
Park - Wrigley Field
Salary - $133,988,761

Hitters:
C - 1999 Ivan Rodriguez (199 Hit Seasons) - I really wanted a top 2 pick for the SS, but figured anything in the top 8 would be a decent pick, so I slowly cut my bid down until I felt it was high enough that I could sneak in but not low enough that would see me on the outside looking in.
1B - 2007 Barry Bonds (Productive First/Last) - Bonds is a beast, just a little short on PA, so he'll split time with:
1B - 2007 Ryan Braun (21st Century ROY) - who is also fairly beastly, just a little short on PA. Both were excellent pick ups for a combined bid of 3. The two of them will hit HRs, BB, and drive in runs by the bunches.
2B - 1909 Fred Clarke (Flashing Leather) - I am playing out of position here, but with his A/A+ defense and it normalizing well from 1909, I'm satisfied. Especially with how good of a bat he has (and it also normalizes well). Another amazing value from a last pick and a bid of 1.
3B - 1983 Mike Schmidt (Miss or Mash) - I had the last pick here, as well, and again, I got great value and someone who filled one of my needs exceptionally. I Can't believe Schmidt was still available at my pick. I fully expected to be playing someone out of position here and I got very lucky.
SS - 1965 Maury Wills (Thieving Infielders) - Another pick I was surprised to be able to make with the last pick in the draft. I thought for sure I'd be either playing out of position here or taking Mike Bordick in Flashing Leather. Huge upgrade from expectations and a great value for a bid of 1.
LF - 1956 Mickey Mantle (Switch Hitting Bombers) - I didn't really anticipate getting #1 here, but I'm not complaining. I was shooting for a top 10 pick and figured this category would be a little more competitive in the middle picks, so I didn't want squeezed by a bid in the 70-80 range. Mantle is right along Ruth as the best hitter.
CF - 2010 Torrii Hunter (Angels in the OF) - I had the last pick here, also, but with 17 available players, 16 teams, and only one bad pick in the bunch, I had no reason to bid more than 1. That said, I'm still surprised I got Hunter. I was totally expecting to be stuck with one of two other players, so total win here.
RF - 1998 Ray Lankford (30+ HRs 1998) - Another category with more good picks than teams, so I wasn't too concerned with a good draft spot. Lankford is a solid 3rd OF. Good OBP, steals bases at a good rate, good defense.... depending on how my few remaining categories go, may play him OOP at 2B.

Bench:
2B - 1885 Bid McPhee (Slap Hitting HOF) - Solid choice in the category, though there were a few guys I was hoping might slip through based on teams getting other positions filled in other drafts, but no such luck. McPhee likely won't start, but that'll ultimately depend on how my remaining drafts go.
C - 1918 Wally Schang (SH Platoon C/IF) - With Pudge, I had no real catching needs, took Schang to fill in behind Bonds in the OF before I took Lankford. Now he'll be my ultimate utility filling in as needed at C, 1B, 2B, 3B, and OF.
C - 1982 John Wathan (Speedy Catchers) - Again, had no need here, so just took the best bat left with the last pick. Doubt he'll see any action unless it's the occasional game to rest Pudge.
1B - 2009 Robb Quinlan (Last Season Q Last Name) - I took Quinlan because he had relatively good defensive value at multiple positions, including two that I plan on playing guys OOP at. Bid one, but still picked relatively high because several others also bid 1.

Hitting Stats: 7,287 PA, .291 AVG, .378 OBP, .472 SLG, 251 HR, 301-141 SB-CS, B-/B- (prolly more like C/C with my OOP players)

Pitchers:
SP1 -  2000 Pedro Martinez (Aces) - There were 6 must have pitchers in this league, with two in this draft, and I tried to get three of them. This was my only success, and the only one I was willing to settle for #2 ('04 Randy Johnson). He'll be one of the best pitchers in the league.
SP2 - 1901 Al Orth (Expensive Phillies Pitchers) - This is the result of my failed attempt at Pete. I started to slowly adjust my starting bid of 270 downward as I moved a couple others up and once I dropped below 200 I should've just called it and thrown in a token bid and raised some of the others more, but alas, Orth is a great #2.
SP3 - 1915 Alex Main (Federalist SP) - This was my failed attempt at Plank or Davenport. Main isn't a bad settling pick, but he's a big drop off from what I would've expected from this high of a bid.
SP4 - 2008 Brandon Webb (Better to Burn Out...) - I should've gone higher here or backed out of the bidding here... this was a fairly non committed high bid. Webb wasn't worth the value it took to acquire him.
LNG - 1998 Kerry Wood (ROY Pitchers) - Great value for a bid of 1. There was too much value in this pool to waste a bid any higher than that.
SUA - 1984 Bruce Sutter (Award Winning RP) - While there was a distinct drop off after the top 2-3, there was still enough overall talent that I wasn't too concerned where I picked, I just didn't want to be the last one or two guys, so I made sure to throw a few credits this way. I'm very happy with this pick up for where I picked.
SUB - 1991 Brian Drahman (Gopherball RP) - There wasn't much to love at my draft position, but Dahlman had the lowest WHIP# and BB/9# out of the remaining pitchers that also had a HR/9# below 1.50 (1.03), which made him one of the more valuable options anyhow. He won't pitch often (if at all), but if I can control his appearances, he'll be a decent pick up.
CLA - 2001 Arthur Rhodes (Fireball Closers) - Best 1 bid possible. I had the last pick in the draft and I still ended up with Rhodes. Couldn't go wrong there, especially for a bid of 1.

Quality Pitcher Stats: 1,402 IP, 2.47 ERA, .216 OAV, 1.04 WHIP, 0.46 HR/9 $48,123,908

RP - 1978 Jim Beattie (1978 NY Yankees) - I threw a few credits this way hoping to get lucky on the thought most people would punt this category and I could sneak in a top 3-5 pick and I could steal Gossage, Munson, or Nettles...Nope, Beattie won't see much, if any, action.
RP - 1898 Jack Fifield (Back End Pitchers) - This was my category, and in retrospect I would change it, however, at the time, I thought this league was going to shape up very differently. The pitchers were clones of each other (by design), so any bid was a waste. That said, I had 3 targets and I got one. Still doesn't mean he'll pitch.
RP - 1974 Don Wilson (Controlled Chaos) - Another pitcher who likely won't pitch. I honestly don't remember why I grabbed him.
RP - 1999 Jason Schmidt (Pirate Pitchers) - Again had one of the last picks, took the best pitcher remaining, but he's just another among many mop up starters for me in this one.


Mop Up Stats: 734 IP

I bid one (1) on 14 categories and had token 2's on three others... I'm pleased with my pickups in each of them. I just wish I'd been a little smarter about my big bids. I got the 2nd-5th pick in three distinct categories where I should've put in either more effort for #1 or not tried at all.

1/19/2013 1:13 AM (edited)
Team - Cupid's Love Childs  
Stadium - TBD
Salary - $150,798,844 , but I have 2482 innings and way too many PA's

C - 1885 Charles Bennett (Speedy Catchers)
1B -  1961 Jim Gentile (Mash It or Miss It) - toughest decision in the draft, almost grabbed my 2nd Mantle here, but needed a 1B
2B -  1890 Cupid Childs (Run Producers 1st/Last) - very important piece to this draft as I didn't really say anywhere else I'd grab a decent 2B
3B -  1998 Vinny Castilla (30+ HR Seasons 1998) - another tough one, as I had to give up Griffey here
SS -  2006 Hanley Ramirez (21st Century ROY)
LF -  1955 Mickey Mantle (Switch Hitting Bombers) - felt lucky that he felt to 4th spot
CF - 1954 Larry Doby (Flashing the Leather)
RF - 1894 Joe Kelley (199 Hit Seasons)
Bench - C 1917 Wally Schang (switch-hitting IF/Platoon catchers
                SS 1968 Bert Campaneris (Thieving Infielders) will have to play out of position all over the IF when the starters need rest
                2B 1907 Miller Huggins (Slap-Hitting HOF) will help out Campaneris
                OF - 2002 Garret Anderson (Angels in the OF) - 2 bid points short of 98 Edmonds which would have been better, but this isn't bad for a 4th OF'er

SP - 1915 Eddie Plank (1915 Federalist SP)
SP - 2004 Johan Santana (Staff Aces)
SP - 1908 George McQuillan (Expensive Phillies Pitchers) - should have spent more to get a top 2 pick
SP - 1984 Dwight Gooden (ROY Pitchers) - not bad for a #4/Spot Starter
RP - 2006 JJ Putz (Fireballing Closers) Set up man
RP - 2009 Dan Wheeler ( RP with gopheritis) set up man
RP - 1980 Dan Quisenberry (Award Winning Relievers) set up man by necessity
RP - 1893 Bill Quarles (Last Season with Last Name starting with Q)
RP - 1948 Phil Marchildon (Better to burn out...) mop up
RP - 1994 Mark Clark (Back-end Pitchers) - long relief
RP - 1978 Dick Tidrow (1978 NY Yankees) - long relief or mop up...at least I hope he's not any more important 
RP - 2001 Todd Ritchie (Winning Pirate Pitchers) - long relief...wow I have a lot of wasted innings 
RP - 1958 Bob Turley (Controlled Chaos) - more wasted innings
1/18/2013 11:11 PM (edited)
Team name - TBD
Park - TBD

C - 1995 Brad Ausmus (speedy catchers)
Backup C - 2008 Victor Martinez (S-H INF/platoon catchers)
1B - 2010 Albert Pujols (flashing the leather)
2B -
3B - 1980 Mike Schmidt (mash it or miss it)
SS - 1998 ARod (30-plus homers)
Backup SS - 1981 Ozzie Smith (weak-hitting HOF)
OF - 1961 Mickey Mantle (switch-hitting bombers)
OF - 2005 Vlad Guererro (Angels in the OF)
OF - 1924 Goose Goslin (199-hit seasons)
OF - 1975 Fred Lynn (big run producers) (great value with #11 pick)
SP - 1916 Pete Alexander (expensive Phillies pitchers)
SP - 1966 Sandy Koufax (aces) (didn't come close to getting him for $111 in "Better to Burn Out," but got him with a $12 bid here)
SP - 1915 Nick Cullop (1915 Feds) 
Spot Starter - 1968 Stan Bahnsen (ROY pitchers)
RP - 2003 John Smoltz (fireballing closers)
RP - 1982 Dan Quisenberry (award-winning RPs)
RP - 2011 Craig Kimbrel (21st century ROY)
RP - 2005 Justin Speier (RPs with gopheritis)
The pitching staff also has 5 others (almost 1,000 innings) not even worth mentioning.
1/17/2013 10:48 PM (edited)
Team name - TBD
Park - TBD
Salary - $126,544,688

STARTING LINEUP

C - 2008 Geovany Soto (21st Century ROY, $3, 13th pick)   
    .285, .364, 504, A+/A+/C-  $4,153,137

1B - 1997 Jim Edmonds (Angels in the OF, $12, 10th pick)      .291, .368, .500, A/A+,  $5,653,105
I may still move him to the OF.  But his got an A++++ range at 1B, so I may keep him here. 

2B - 

3B - 1979 Mike Schmidt (Mash or Miss, $2, 13th pick)               .253, .386, .504, B-/A-  $6,726,221
Very happy to get Schmidt with the 13th pick.  Missed Dick Allen by one pick though.  Could've taken '83 Schmidt instead (higher OBP), but wanted the better defense.

SS - 1905 Honus Wagner (199 Hits, $132, 3rd pick)                 .363, .427, .505  C/A+, $8,386,968
I targeted this category right from the start, intending on getting Boudreau or Wagner.  Got third pick, but was lucky Ruth went 2nd.

OF - 1885 Pete Browning (Run Producers, $2, 14th pick)         .362, .393, .530, D+/A-  $8,436,476
This was a deep category, so it didn't make sense to bid a lot.  I was more than happy to get a .362 hitter with the 14th pick.

OF - 1998 Juan Gonzalez (30-HR 1998, $2, 15th pick)             .318, .366, .630, B-/D+   $5,919,170
Same thought process as above... deep category, why waste bid dollars to upgrade a .996 OPS guy to 1.050 OPS guy?  I thought about taking Bagwell here instead (I like his .420 OBP), but I wanted to keep my flexibility with 1B/OF Edmonds. 

OF -  1960 Mickey Mantle (Switch Bombers, $42, 9th pick)        .275, .399, .558, A/B+,  $7,447,963
I made an efficient bid in this category as the difference between 42 and 39 was the difference between picking 9th and 13th.  That being said, I missed getting a Chipper Jones 3B season by one pick.  The best player left when I picked was '64 Mantle, but the '60 version had 100+ more PA.  I thought about taking Berkman (1B0 here, but wanted the OF. 

RESERVES
SUB - 1978 John Stearns (Speedy Catcher, $17, 13th pick)        .264, .364, .413, C+/B/A $4,734,338
I was lucky to get Geovany Soto in the 21st Century Rookie category, so Stearns only plays against teams with speed.

SUB - 1933 Joe Sewell (Slap Hitting HOF, $2, 12th pick)             .273, .361, .323, B+/D   $3,282,379
I didn't expect Sewell to start for me, but drafted a 3B, just in case I missed out on Chipper or Schmidt.  His OBP will be useful as a pinch hitter.

SUB - 1901 Sport McAllister (SH Platoon IF C, $1, 13th pick)    .301, .344, 386, D-/D/D+  $2,279,217
I drafted McAllister as a backup to Stearns, but the addition of G.Soto means McAllister is a pinch hitter only.

SUB - 1978 Jim Spencer (78 Yankees, $1 bid, 16th pick)
I wasn't wasting any bid money on this category.  Spencer will never play.

Batting Stats (Starting Lineup):
  .307, 386, .544, B-/A-,  $46,723,040

PITCHING
SP - 1915 Dave Davenpot (1915 Federalist $307, 2nd pick)    414 IP, 2.20 ERA, .215 OAV, 1.01 WHIP, 0.11 HR/9, $13,775,171
It was either bidding big or bidding $1 bid for this category.  With 2-3 studs available, I felt it was worth taking a shot.  I wanted Plank but am fine with Davenport's 400+ innings.

SP - 1966 Sandy Koufax (Better to Burn Out, $415, 1st pick)  323 IP, 1.73 ERA, .205 OAV, 0.98 WHIP, 0.53 HR/9, $11,456,000
Getting first pick in this category was an absolute must.  Other than "Staff Ace" category and "Expensive Phillies SP", there weren't a lot of great starting pitcher categories available.  I started with a bid of 300 and kept bumping it up till I felt comfortable.  I couldn't afford to be 2nd best with this bid.  Thank God fooolishfool didn't take that 501 bid for Guidry and move it to this category.

SP -  1972 Catfish Hunter (Staff Ace, $3, 13th pick)                309 IP, 2.04 ERA, .189 OAV, 0.91 WHIP, 0.64 HR/9, $11,071,529
I knew I was going to get a stud, even with a late pick.  My decision was between J.Schmidt, Verlander, Marichal and Hunter.  I wanted the 300 innings and Hunter's HR/9 was better than Marichal.  I'll pit my starting pitching staff against anybody.

Long - 1951 Robin Roberts (Exp Phillies SP, $2, 15th pick)     332 IP, 3.03 ERA, .237 OAV, 1.10 WHIP, 0.57 HR/9,  $9,848,114
Had I not spent for Koufax, my money would've gone here to grab 1915 Alexander (and I would've gone over $300).  Buit I determined that I could get somebody reasonably good with a late pick.  I was more than happy to get a relateively low HR/9 version of Roberts.  He'll get 150-200 innings of long relief for me and shouldn't hurt me too much.

Setup - 1986 Dave Righetti (Award Winning RP, $34, 8th pick) 107 IP, 2.45 ERA, .226 OAV, 1.15 WHIP, 0.34 HR/9, $3,435,300 
I wanted one of the big three (Sutter, Fingers, Quiz), but didn't bid nearly high enough.  I'm ok with Righetti.  His whip is worse than my long reliever (Robin Roberts), but his low HR rate makes him better suited for a setup man.

Setup - 1989 Gregg Olson (ROY Pitchers, $13, 15th pick)           85 IP, 1.69 ERA, .188 OAV, 1.21 WHIP, 0.11 HR/9, $3,319,177
Wasted $11... I could've bid $2 and got the same draft pick.  I hate that.  Needed to be in the high $30's to get a difference maker. Oh well.  With a HR/9 of 0.11, and a .188 OAV, it's going to take four baserunners to score a run off Olson.  I still have to pick my "fireball closer".

Closer - 1972 Dennis Eckersley (Fireball Closer, $1, 14th pick)   80 IP, 1.91 ERA, .211 OAV, 0.91 WHIP, 0.56 HR/9,  $3.040,016
I can't complain about getting a 0.91 whip reliever for $1.  Was debating between A.Rhodes, Papelbon or Eck.  Wanted Eck's 15 extra innings.

Mop Up - 1984 Moose Haas (Back End Pitchers, $1, 12th pick)               
A wasted category. Stats irrelevant. He might get some mopup innings, but I doubt it.

Mop Up - 1997 Jon Lieber (Winning Pirate P, $1, 16th pick)
Another wasted category. Stats irrelevant. He'll never pitch.

Mop Up - 1958 Mudcat Grant (Controlled Chaos, $1, 16th pick)
Seriously, why would anybody bid more than $1 on this category.

Pitching Stats (excluding mopup pitchers):
1650 IP, 2.21 ERA, .212 OAV, 1.02 WHIP, 0.42 HR/9,  $55,945,307
1/18/2013 8:41 AM (edited)
Tomorrow is a snoozer for me: two of the drafts I've already selected, and the other three I have the next-to-last (1) or last (2) picks.

C - 1987 Benito Santiago.  18 HR, .300 AVG, B Arm: solid, but not outstanding
1B - 1978 Chris Chambliss.  Had to pick a Yankee, probably will be bench.  Good defense though.
2B -
3B -
SS -
O - 2000 Darin Erstadt. .355 avg, 20 HR, 28/36 SB, A/A, 747 PA.  Pretty happy.
O - 1984 Puckett.  Former cookie, A/A+ fielder and solid hitter.  A little short of PAs, but not much.
O - 1986 Ed Delahanty.  .407 avg in 700+ PSAs and A range makes up for D+ fielding.
B - 1903 Sport McAllister.  Defensive replacement to rest Benny (A+ Arm),and  emergency utility man (D ratings all around).
B
B
B
B

SP - 1917 Pete Alexander.  417 IP/162 of greatness.
SP - 1964 Sandy Koufax.     223 IP/162 of greatness.
SP - 1915 Mike Prendergast. 271 IP/162 of solidness.
SP - 1957 Bob Turley.  186 IP/162 of solidness.
S/R -  2003 Kip Wells.  Spot starter/Long B.
S/R - 1976 Brent Strom.  Spot start/Long B, lefty out of the 'pen.
S/R - 1899 Nig Cuppy.  Spot Start/Long B.
RP - 2009 Andrew Bailey.  Awesome 89 IP/162.
RP - 2007 JJ Putz - Awesome 71 IP/162.
RP - 2006 Pat Neshek.  Absolutely incredible numbers, but only 37 IP/162.
RP - 1978 Rollie Fingers.  Awesomely fills that LR need.

Thoughts so far:  Love my OF, but have no infield (literally).  Feel generally good about my rotation and very good about my late-inning relievers, but have a bit of a weakness with long relief (as I think we all will).
1/15/2013 2:49 PM (edited)
I'm going to need a lot of proxy help on Wednesday. I will be out of town for a funeral. Who's willing to help me out? 2 categories should be easy, but the other 2 might have to be long lists
1/14/2013 10:21 PM
Posted by DCSquires on 1/14/2013 10:21:00 PM (view original):
I'm going to need a lot of proxy help on Wednesday. I will be out of town for a funeral. Who's willing to help me out? 2 categories should be easy, but the other 2 might have to be long lists
I can help you out, DC. I've made 3 of my 5 picks for Wednesday already, and you'll pick in Switch Bombers before I will. The only potential conflict is Fireballing Closers, where I won the coin toss with you.
1/14/2013 10:44 PM
Could you put the what drafts what day list in the first post please :)

I'm going to need proxy help in both the 30+HRs '98 thing and the Run producers first or last season thing. Picking 5th in both cases, which is like... 3am here.
1/14/2013 11:02 PM
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