Posted by thejuice6 on 12/18/2024 11:23:00 PM (view original):
Damn Mike - had no idea you had all of that going on. Best wishes for you going forward brother - and here's hoping you get in that experimental treatment and that it works wonders.

I second this. Thank you for the honesty FBD. I’ll be praying things miraculously improve for you. I’m glad this game can bring you at least momentary respite.

Pre-Draft:
I am always a fan of being on one end of a draft or the other. It often allows you to have a better idea of what players will still be there for your next pick (when it snakes) and be reasonably sure no one you're looking at will make it back to you when it moves on. I also find it makes it easier to avoid/ignore runs, though in this draft that isn't really a concern.

I had a list of position players I wanted who I thought might reasonably make it to my pick. I was looking for high average/position flexibility. I planned on covering everything but DH and pitcher with my first two picks.

Round 1: Pete Rose
This one seemed easy. A switch hitter who has good seasons at every position except catcher and short stop. Average and OBP. Tons of 700+ PA seasons. I was pretty sure there was no way he would make it back to me... but perhaps my other top choice would. With four choices before it comes back to me I figure Rains will go... maybe Mantle? a pitcher or two? Please leave me Molitor who would finish out my entire starting line-up other than catcher.

Round 2: Johnny Pesky
Well. I was partially correct. Rains did go. So did a pitcher. Unfortunately for me so did Paul. So now what? A catcher who can play first and DH? A fielder who can play short as well as some other places? I looked at Mookie. I looked at Tore. I looked at Machado. In the end I went with a guy with a great OBP and good D at both short and third. I liked what he had for partial and/or cheap seasons. With these two covering 8 of the 9 slots in the line up there should be lots of people on base.

Round 3: Mike Redman
I had a list of pitchers I was looking at. They all went before I could pick again. All of them. Oh well. I have a catcher that will fit in well and leave me in a place I like as far as payroll. He has 667 PA's hitting over .300 spread between four versions. He also has a $200K version. Three of them have A+ arms, one a B+. They all field at an A or B level as well. That leaves me with 8 guys who will play almost every game at their position and a catcher that will sub out every game... Now the LOOOONNNNGGG wait to draft my pitchers. Can I avoid looking too soon so as not to get annoyed?

Round 4: Vida Blue
Not at all sure about this one. I have used him a few times and the results have varied widely. Either crap results or Cy Young type seasons. I'll hope for 5 of the later. Two 300+ IP seasons for the first two rotation spots. 78' and 72' will use their 416 IP to pair for the final slot (72' will have some extra IP to use in relief later in the season).

Looking back at the batters chosen I am even more worried about the number of RH bats out there. This pick might sink the ship.

Round 5: Rob Nen
This guy was not on my radar until it was time for me to pick. I have never used him. Never. Prior to my Blue pick I had been looking at Peavy to bring both quality seasons and a ballpark. He didn't make sense after. Started looking for guys with the right number of IP that also brought the right park. Low HR. Great if it helps with hits, doubles and triples too. How about we play in San Fran? Gives me a +1 for hits, +3 for triples and -3 for HR's. None of my hitters really hit HRs so it should be fine on that side. Hopefully it helps my pitchers.

Line up:

Position	Name	AVG#	OBP#	Fielding
C	Composite Redman	0.322	0.362	B/A/A
1B	79 Rose	0.332	0.42	B+/C+
2B	66 Rose	0.317	0.359	B/B
3B	47 Pesky	0.328	0.391	A+/C-
SS	46 Pesky	0.339	0.401	B/B
RF	68 Rose	0.347	0.407	A-/C+
CF	73 Rose	0.343	0.405	A/B
LF	69 Rose	0.355	0.434	B+B-
DH	42 Pesky	0.334	0.375	Who Cares

68 Rose with 692 PA is the only starter with less than 700. More than half are 730 or more so there should be little need for the bench (beyond the Redmans). When one is needed there are just over 300 PAs from the 53 Pesky at .292/.353 with a C/A defense at SS. Depending on who needs a day off he might have to play OF but other than that no one should have to play out of position ever.

Pitching:

Role	Name	IP	ERC#	OAV#	HR/9#	WHIP#
starter	71 Blue	314	1.92	0.197	0.5	0.98
starter	76 Blue	301	2.53	0.242	0.29	1.13
tandum a	78 Blue	258	2.9	0.25	0.42	1.2
tandum b	72 Blue	158	2.73	0.227	0.67	1.16
reliever	96 Nen	83	1.99	0.225	0.17	1.06
reliever	98 Nen	89	1.51	0.181	0.31	0.94
reliever	00 Nen	68	1.28	0.16	0.38	0.81
reliever	01 Nen	79	1.99	0.203	0.49	1.03
reliever	02 Nen	74	2.26	0.234	0.19	1.15
reliever	70 Blue	39	1.18	0.158	0	0.84

Prediction:
My lefthanded starters get rocked consistently by the RH heavy lineups. My hitters do well individually but don't hit with men on so runs aren't scored. finish last in the AL 22 games back in my division.

Posted by Jtpsops on 12/19/2024 6:52:00 AM (view original):

Posted by thejuice6 on 12/18/2024 11:23:00 PM (view original):
Damn Mike - had no idea you had all of that going on. Best wishes for you going forward brother - and here's hoping you get in that experimental treatment and that it works wonders.

I second this. Thank you for the honesty FBD. I’ll be praying things miraculously improve for you. I’m glad this game can bring you at least momentary respite.

Well said. My sentiments exactly. All the best Mike.

First, my thoughts go out to FBD54 who has been a valued competitor in countless leagues I've entered through the years. So sorry to hear abut his health difficulties and I sincerely hope all goes well with the treatments.

Like Mike, I am also a huge sucker for clone leagues. And like Mike, I don't use spreadsheets and fancy research but tend to draft with my heart and based on who's done well for me in the past. Unlike Mike, I'm tragically still too close to 250 lbs...

Before the draft I planned that I'd end up with Eppa Rixey as a low cost, low-hr starter; Rob Nen as a low hr reliever; John Valentin in the infield; Rudy York as my catcher/1B and Babe Ruth as my outfielder. More than most around here, I love the high home run offence, low hr pitcher strategy and attempt it way too often for the mixed results it brings. Looking back, I wonder if I should have stuck with this strategy.

Instead, I ended up with the 9th pick. I would have taken Maddux or Kershaw or Foxx and likely Pedro if they had made it to me. But, of course, they didn't. I considered Ruth here as I don't know if I've been in a draft ever where he lasted to the 9th pick (and, in the end, he wasn't even selected here!). The 120 cap was a factor but Ruth does have a lot of lower cost seasons. Anyways, I was surprised to see Lou Boudreau was still available and I grabbed him. IMO, catcher & shortstop are the hardest positions to fill effectively in this type of clone league and Boudreau fills both. What I didn't fully realize until later is that Boudreau doesn't have any cheap seasons so I ended up having to use him out of position at second and I have a couple of Boudreaus platooning at DH which is kind of a waste. I also couldn't afford Boudreau's 48 season in the end which was the original thought.

In the second round I was still thinking Ruth. Again, I probably should have pulled the trigger on that. Instead, Bob Gibson stood out to me. He provides enough innings by himself to survive the season and, more importantly, his secret advantage is that he is good to go 8-9 innings or 120+ pitches every single start.

Third round, I was still thinking Ruth but a run on relief pitchers started to go. With Gibson's high ip/g I only needed a relief pitcher available to pitch the occasional 8th or 9th inning so I was looking at a few lower whip/lower ip options. I've never used Koji Uehara and would normally be scared away by some of his higher hr/9 seasons but by now it was apparent that power wouldn't be too prevalent in the league. Yeah, there were a few Foxxes, Aarons, etc but overall people seemed to be staying away from homers. Uehara certainly has five plus seasons of super low whip so I grabbed him and finished off my pitching. I spent more than I originally planned (61.4m) but am pretty certain I don't have to worry about any fatigue.

The fourth round was the biggest decision. I tried hard to fit Ruth in but even with his lower priced seasons I was having some difficulty getting under the cap and the team defense was awful. I ended up building three possible 58.5m offences. One used one of my favourites, Wally Berger, and had A+ range at 1B and all three outfield positions but was completely righthanded. One used George Brett at 1b/3b and all three outfield positions. It allowed me to use Royals stadium and emphasize Brett's and Boudreas doubles and XBH. I probably should have gone with either of those options.

Instead, I wanted a little more punch and tried different configurations of Ron favourites - Kevin Mitchell, Dick Allen, Darryl Strawberry, etc. I ended up with a combination of Pedro Guerrero and Willie Stargell at 3b/OF/1B that fit under the cap and ended up with minimal wasted plate appearance. However, it has worse team defense than the Ruth option I gave up on. Oh well. I was swayed by looking at the teams in my division and thinking their pitching staff was somewhat susceptible to power so went ahead with Pedro/Pops. Of course, the flaw in that thinking is that my own pitching staff is also susceptible to homers and so I didn't feel completely comfortable taking a heavy home run stadium. It wasn't a great fit but I went with Gibson's Sportsman Park III to help with doubles and allow the hitters to crank a few dingers.

Lots of regret looking back at the assembled roster so I'm not confident at all in this team. But it was an enjoyable draft and yet another season with lots of the same great owners that regularly trounce me.

Posted by Jtpsops on 12/19/2024 6:52:00 AM (view original):

Posted by thejuice6 on 12/18/2024 11:23:00 PM (view original):
Damn Mike - had no idea you had all of that going on. Best wishes for you going forward brother - and here's hoping you get in that experimental treatment and that it works wonders.

I second this. Thank you for the honesty FBD. I’ll be praying things miraculously improve for you. I’m glad this game can bring you at least momentary respite.

100% agree.

Love reading all the strategy writeups. Where is barracuda?

I would love to try this theme again. To keep things fresh and unique, you could do a 6-round, 6-player x 4 clone draft. Also, different cap levels would change things a bit. I wouldn't do a blacklist, because we all want to use the stars, plus it's hard enough as is.

Someone did a theme a couple years ago where you drafted one hitter and one pitcher and that was it. Can't remember who it was.

I would even suggest a $140M 4-player draft. Force people to be unconventional and play some players out of position.

Posted by Jtpsops on 12/19/2024 12:38:00 PM (view original):
Someone did a theme a couple years ago where you drafted one hitter and one pitcher and that was it. Can't remember who it was.

I would even suggest a $140M 4-player draft. Force people to be unconventional and play some players out of position.

I played a league like that. I used George Davis and Ed Morris. Davis really worked out well with his versatility.