League 3, Pick #8 (6th pick in the NL)
Division: NL Central
Cardinals 1944, 1967, 2019, 1920, 2000, 1930

Hey look, another 8th pick! What a stunner. The calculation was at least different here, with 5 teams already gone on the Cardinals side and the promise of not being in quite a division of death for a change. The Tigers just looked so much less appealing across the groups, so I decided pretty quickly it was going to be a Cardinals team.

There is an adage on this site that basically says, when in doubt take a wartime Cardinals team. Who am I to argue, as I've had some piece of that time period in every round thus far? Now one thing that becomes quickly apparent here is that there aren't that many really good pitching seasons available and that the best you can hope for is some depth there and then try to get an offense that outscores people more than not. The 1944 Cardinals have a lot of useful pitchers but no studs, but I felt like I had to go for the quantity of solid innings here first. Of course I'm not going to pass up a fine Musial, but then it's all arms: Mort Cooper, Ted Wilks, Max Lanier, and Red Munger. That's about 850 innings plus a 1.000 OPS Musial. A good start.

I was actually smack in the middle of this draft, unlike any of the others, so that added to the challenge of having to wait through a lot of picks after each one. I opted for 1967, another year I used in R3, to secure a few key guys. Dick Hughes is one of the best remaining SP though a bit homer-prone, but still you need arms somewhere. Tim McCarver can hit pretty well and threw out almost 60% of runners. In R3 for me, runners attempted only 32 SB all season off him, and he threw out 18; I'm thinking that's pretty important in a league with Vince Colemans, Willie McGees, Ozzie Smiths, etc. This pick also brought me a .335 hitter with A+ range in Curt Flood, a studly Orlando Cepeda (later replaced), and a useful RP in Joe Hoerner. Granted, Flood and McCarver underperformed badly offensively last round, but you've got to give defense its weight and also consider they were in a league with almost all 1960s pitching there. I expect better this time.

I was hoping 1989 would make it back to me, but njbigwig snagged them two picks ahead of me. I pivoted to one of the few remaining strong SP seasons in Jack Flaherty from 2019, and he also helpfully came with a couple excellent RP and a potential middle infield combo of A+ range guys in Kolten Wong and Paul DeJong if I needed either. Ultimately this was more of a hedge pick, getting a couple definites and a couple maybes based on what materialized among the later options.

As the draft snaked back to me, I realized that there was still a Hornsby season worth using that might come back to me. And sure enough 1920 was still on the board, and I grabbed it. It's not a big power season with just 9 HR, but .370/.431/.559 at 2B is still pretty darn good. Bye bye, Kolten. Thanks for being there, dude. There's no one else worth discussing who made the roster from this season.

I still had a big hole at 3B and a couple OF spots to address, so 2002 was a season I really hoped would fall to me. I could land a young Pujols, a solid Edmonds, and a strong Rolen. The only other owner left who could take it was pedrocerrano ... and of course he did. So I wound up with a coin toss between 1999 and 2000 in that group instead. The advantages of 1999 were a very good McGwire and a pretty useful Fernando Tatis to take that 3B slot, but I also had noticed I had a few possible 3B still in my final 1923-42 group. I went with 2000 instead for a ridiculous half season of McGwire, a superb partial Will Clark to fill in much of the remaining time at 1B, and a Jim Edmonds to fill one of the big gaps in my outfield.

I didn't need any pitching from these last two picks, so I was able to choose among a few good offensive groups in the remaining 23-42 squads. I decided on 1930 for a very studly Chick Hafey to fill out the outfield and a .346-hitting Frankie Frisch to man 3B, too. I also landed the monster Ray Blades (.396/.504/.614) for a great PH and an excellent backup catcher in Gus Mancuso (.366/.415/.551). Not bad for a last pick!

Other than the fact that the pitching staff is more about depth than star power and will probably get roughed up quite a bit, I'm happy with this team. A few guys can really hit, the defense is strong, and I didn't have to make many big compromises. I'm hopeful that the Central will be a more pleasant place to be than either East would have been. I think this should be one of my teams with a good playoff chance that should advance.

League 2, Pick #9 (5th pick in the NL)
Division: NL Central
Dodgers/Robins 1924, 2022, 1950, 1981, 1983, 1911

So I don't think I ever considered taking the A's here because let's face it, I'm a Dodgers guy. With 4 teams gone in each league, it was a no-brainer to start off a Central with my preferred team. I should know their history better than any other. If I can't assemble a winning team here, that would be a bad sign.

Unlike some of the other franchises in this round, the Dodgers of course have an embarrassment of pitching riches. So the question is where to go first and what the likelihood is of missing out on all the good versions of Koufax, Kershaw, etc. I decided to start with the 1924 Robins and take one of the two very good Dazzy Vance seasons with 325 innings and a great normalized K ratio. Of course, this also gets me some great hitting, including Zack Wheat's best season, a really solid Jack Fournier at 1B, and a 2B option in Andy High if needed.

All the best Koufax seasons were gone by my next pick, and also several of the best recent seasons. I opted here for 2022 to load up on pitching depth with a quality though low-inning Kershaw, a sparkling Tony Gonsolin, and two miniscule ERA bullpen pieces in Evan Phillips and Yancy Almonte. I had a lot of potential other SP choices here if needed too, with both Urias and Anderson under 2.50 ERC#. Offensively, I had to decide whether I liked Freddie Freeman's better glove at 1B over Fournier (final verdict: Fournier won out) and whether I'd have a spot for Mookie Betts in my outfield.

Between my two picks here, the 43-62 group had 3 more seasons taken, and I decided it was time to pounce on 1950 for a big offensive boost. I wound up with half my starting lineup and the entire middle of the defense here: Roy Campanella, Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson, and Pee Wee Reese. That took away any pressure to take a Piazza season if he didn't come with useful teammates, and if I didn't find an upgrade in the middle infield I'd be OK with Reese. It's not the best season of any of these guys, but cumulatively it's pretty solid depth.

I still wanted some more strength in my rotation, so I was plenty happy to pick up 1981 with my fourth pick. This brought me the depth I sought with Fernando Valenzuela and Burt Hooton taking the rest of the spots and freeing up those 2022 spots for other players. I'm not sure if Rick Monday will do much besides pinch hit, but he's got a fine bat. My final pick wound up being Ron Cey as a backup 3B because I had the extra salary available.

I knew I was leaving the deadball years for last, because as we all realized early on it's a talent desert. So the fifth pick was definitely coming from 83-02. I had my heart set on 2002 and had already built out my roster with those players in place, but alas Glowguy snatched them one pick before mine. I wound up deciding on 1983 to get a strong 3B season from Pedro Guerrero, two more ace relievers in Steve Howe and (shudder) Tom Niedenfuer, and a nice depth piece in Alejandro Pena. No worries about clones from '81 here, as it turned out.

The final pick is barely worth mentioning, but why not? From 1911 I got a long man in Elmer Steele, a backup catcher in Tex Erwin, and two defensive replacement outfielders. It's always nice to secure some studs at the end, but it's not so bad just taking filler and managing your cap space, though.

All in all, I'm happy with the pitching collection and feel the offensive is competitive. The defense is poor (never a Dodgers hallmark anyway), so I'll need these pitchers to rack up Ks and keep it out of play more than usual. I think we should be good enough to compete for a playoff spot and advance. I'll be disappointed if we don't.

(I had no team in League 1, so that's it. It's tough to say I see a 90-win team in the collection, unfortunately. It's really hard to know how these teams stack up, but I'm expecting generally some parity in these leagues. Should be a great round. Hoping to advance a few anyway.)

League 3, Pick #6 (2nd pick in the Tigers, 2nd pick in AL)
Division: AL East
Tigers: 1909, 1945, 1987, 1967, 1930, 2005

This was one of my early mistakes. Of the first five picks in league 3, four were Cardinals (1904, 1943, 1985, 1948). The only Tigers pick was 2001. The obvious choice here was the 1944 Cardinals, which I knew, since I had them in round 3. I was too worried about barracuda3. He already had his Cardinals team (1943) and had I selected the Cardinals here, I would avoid his division and be in the NL Central. But my 2nd pick in this league was at #12 and barracuda was at #11. So I figured I could be the second Tigers team and surely two other people between pick 7 and pick 11 would grab the Tigers, thus forcing barracuda into the AL Central. But that's not how it worked out. Three more Cardinals teams got picked (1914, 1944, 1968) forcing barracuda3 into my Tigers division. Crap.

The Tigers aren't known for having great pitching throughout their history. And when I think of their offensive players, I think of sluggers like Greenberg, Cabrera, Kaline. So this led me to draft 1909 Tigers with my first round pick. I get three SPs with 937 combined innings: George Mullin (1.11), Ed Summers (1.05) and Ed Willett (1.08). Although their whips aren't great, they don't allow HRs. This allows me more flexibility with the rest of my picks, knowing I've pretty much locked up my starting rotation. Oh, and I get a solid 1B, Sam Crawford (.314/.366/.452 A++) and a very good Ty Cobb who can't field (.377/.431/.517, D+/D+).

One of my favorite Tigers pitchers to use in the sim is Hal Newhouser (1.12). Imagine my surprise when one of his three good seasons was still available. So I immediately jumped on 1945 Tigers when it got back to me. This season also gives me another favorite of mine, Roy Cullenbine (.272, .402, .444). Hank Greenberg (.311, .404, 544) has a nice partial season and will fill in when needed.

With my other pick near the turn, it was tempting to grab some of those 1920's-30's hitting studs, but there are enough seasons left that I can wait. So instead I go with 1987 Tigers. This pick gives me Alan Trammell's best season (.343/.402/.551) and a couple of relievers. Doyle Alexander (1.01) will probably be my closer while Mike Henneman (1.20 whip) will each up some long innings. Chet Lemon will come in for defense for Cobb.

Going into the 4-5 turn, I have enough innings (drafting four 300+ IP pitchers help), although I could use a few more bodies. I need a starting catcher and another OF. 1967 Tigers was the perfect fit. I get Bill Freehan's best season (.282/.389/.447) and a really good Al Kaline (.308/.411/.541). Of course, just like all Kaline's seasons, he's a bit short on PA, which is where Greenberg gets to play (A+/D- in OF). I also get two very useful RPs, Bill Monboquette (1.03) and John Hiller (1.02).

I mentioned "going into the 4-5 turn", this team was really picking 2nd in the Tigers draft, but the other team had already filled their 1923-42 season, so I really made the 1967 pick and this pick at the same time. The other needs were filled with the selection of the 1930 Tigers. I got my stud Charlie Gehringer season (.330/.404/.534) and a surprisingly good Marty McManus (.320/.396/.475, A-B) to play 3B. I really don't need much of anything else, with one pick to go.

Like others I assume, when you have most of your roster covered, the last pick might be the best RP available or maybe a part time player who's really good. This is the case here and it's why I grabbed 2005 Tigers. I added Kyle Farnsworth (1.01) to a very strong pitching staff. Placido Polanco (.338/.386/461) fills some needed PA at 3B and can be a defensive replacement (A+/B+) at 2B. Even a partial season of Carlos Guillen (.320/.368/.434) could see some action at SS.

Outlook: Although I still think that I should have taken the '44 Cardinals with this pick, this Tigers team turned out better than expected. Although I don't have Justin Verlander on the roster, the pitching should be ranked fairly high as we should lead the league in fewest HRs allowed, even while playing in Tiger Stadium. The defense is decent enough. The offense is built around high average, high on-base guys, although I was hoping to draft a lot more than 137 HRs. I know just about every Tigers team will have some combination of Cobb, Crawford, Gehringer, Greenberg, Cabrera, Trammell, Kaline, so my offense will certainly end up around average-to-below average. With above-average pitching, it feels like a .500 team.

League 4, Pick #5 (2nd pick in the Cubs draft)
Division: NL East
Cubs: 1906, 1923, 2014, 1990, 1944, 1966

Three of the first four picks in league 4 were White Sox, so there was no way I was going to be team #4 in the AL East, so Cubs it is. The only Cubs team taken so far is 1907 (kstober), so I was thrilled to grab 1906, especially since my 1906 Cubs just won the Round 3 World Series. There are more than 5 usable players from this team, including Mordecai Brown (1.04), Ed Reulbach (1.01), Jack Pfeister (0.94), Jack Taylor (1.05), Orval Overall (1.16), Harry Steinfeldt (.327/.395/.430) and Frank Chance (.419 obp). I need to cut two of them. We'll figure it out later.

In retrospect, I really don't like my second round pick, and can't remember why I chose 1923 Cubs. Well, I know I had Pete Alexander (1.11 whip, 321 ips) ranked pretty high among available SPs. But I already have potentially over 1000 innings of '06 Cubs pitchers, so I really didn't need Alexander. I was able to add OF Jigger Statz (.319/.375/.440 A++), C Bob O'Farrell (.319/.408/.471) and part-time SS Charlie Hollocher (.342/..410/.423). I guess it's not a terrible pick, as it denies other teams from getting a good SP, but the three offensive pieces aren't super strong.

With my third round pick, I'm loaded with pitching and need more offense so of course, I added *more pitching*. I added 2014 Cubs, in order to get pitchers Jake Arrieta (0.99), Hector Rondon (1.06), Pedro Strop (1.07) plus my starting 1B, Anthony Rizzo (.286/.386/.527). What am I doing? Where is my offense? I have all the innings I need, I need to focus on getting some hitting.

I was all set to take '72 Cubs here, but there were only two good Ryne Sandberg seasons left and redcped grabbed one of the right before my pick. And kstober still had 1983-2002 available, so instead of getting the stud '72 Billy Williams, I grabbed 1990 Cubs specifically for Sandberg (.306/.354/.559) plus some backup ABs at catcher with Damon Berryhill (.509 slugging). The other two players are scrubs. Of course, kstober takes 1972 Cubs. Damn it! Bad decision by me, but maybe kstober takes 1990 and I'm not sure who I would've used at 2B then. Of course, had I spent 30 seconds reviewing his previous picks, I would have realized he already had 1935 Billy Herman to play 2B, Oh well... that's the downside of trying to draft 15 teams, simultaneously.

My next pick of the 1944 Cubs is actually a better alternative to 1972. Historically, the best Cubs hitters have been predominantly right-handed and I wanted some lefty batters. 1944 provides me two lefty outfielders, Bill Nicholson (.287/.391/.545) and Phil Cavaretta (.321/.390/.451) although their defense isn't very good. More importantly, I filled the platoon hole at SS with some dude named Roy Hughes (.287) who's primary position is 3B but is rated A-/B+ at SS, so it worked out ok.

With my last pick, I really don't need anything. My pitching is set, my offense is set, so who do I take. I have plenty of cap room, so I feel like a kid in the candy store... Forget about needs, what do I want? I decide to drop '06 Harry Steinfeldt (I already dropped '06 Frank Chance) and go with all five 1906 pitchers listed above. Instead, from the 1966 Cubs, I will be starting a stud Ron Santo season (.312/.412/.538, A+ range). I added a defensive replacement in the OF with Adolfo Phillips, some completely unneeded innings with Fergie Jenkins (1.09) and a third catcher (Randy Hundley, A+ arm).

Outlook: I fear this is going to be one of those teams that will lose a lot of close games, because I don't score enough runs. Lots of 3-2 and 4-3 losses. I have 1800+ innings of 1.03 whip (or 1550 ips of 1.01 whip if I exclude my 2 worst pitchers), so maybe the other Cubs teams will have worse pitching than me. But my offense might be a bit too HR heavy with four starters having over 30 HRs, playing in a division with all deadball pitchers. At least I can start 4 left-handed batters. It will be interesting to see how barracuda3 (his first pick was 1930) does in my division that includes Cubs pitchers from 1906, 1907 and 1909. I think juice's division alignment rule was both genius and evil. It really should help the teams drafting at the end.

Tournament Draft Strategy:
These drafts are much more challenging than they 1^st appear. Once they started I realized how difficult it would be to get teams with multiple options as it seemed everyone else was doing the same thing. I decided to stick to my original gameplan, build my pitching staff first and fill in offense in the later rounds.

I didn’t do much pre-draft research other than to determine where in the drafts the best pitchers were. With 6 different teams building my pool, I felt I should be able to cobble together a decent offense without making it a primary focus. So I focused on building my starting pitching staff with my first 3 or 4 picks and prioritized teams that had 2^nd or 3^rd pieces with a high likelihood of making the final roster. I decided to stay away from including platoons since getting specific teams to match up would be an even greater challenge than just getting the six rosters to match up. But that wouldn’t stop me from having one in the final build. Just didn’t want to count on it.

I only have 4 teams remaining out of the 12 I started with. My 4 picks were all in the late-middle rounds, 14, 15, 15, and 16. I think the era splits reduced the advantages of picking early more than the other tournaments and made the drafting a little more even. I was able to pick up ace starters in the 1^st round for all 4 teams and get near aces in the 2^nd round with ease. Division alignment also seems like it may have leveled the playing field a bit but I tried not to focus on that as much as building the most competitive team I could. I didn’t worry about the $125M salary cap. I could see that getting to that cap, although possible, would not be very likely using my draft methodology and as I completed my final builds, it proved to be true.

Enjoy!

Juice Tournament Round 4, League 2 – Dodgers Franchise
1914, 1939 Brooklyn Dodgers / 1962, 1972, 1995, 2014 Los Angeles Dodgers
Pick 15 - overall, Pick 9 - N.L. , Pick 1 - N.L. West
Dodgers Stadium 2 / -4 / -3 / -1 / -1 / 0.87

I knew right away I wanted a Dodger team so I focused my research on them. When my turn came to pick, 8 Dodgers teams had already been chosen. The obvious top two teams, 2015 and 1964 went one and two. 1924 was also gone as was 2020. There were a lot of good pitching prospects in the 2003-2022 group and the 1983-2002 group was the 3^rd strongest group in terms of pitching prospects. So I decided to focus on the 1963-1982 group 1^st. These have the best Koufax years and the best Sutton years. The 64 version of Koufax was gone but the others were all still available. This seemed like an obvious choice, But then I considered looking at who was available in the earlier eras and realized the pickings weren’t as good. There was a 62 version of Koufax that I had been playing with recently and have gotten decent results from. If I hold out for him, I could pick up the 1972 Dodgers. That gave me SP Don Sutton (285 IP, 0.95 WHIP#, .196 OAV#, 211 ERC+) and LHRP’s Doug Rau (35 IP, 0.92 WHIP#, .166 OAV#, 256 ERC+) and Jim Brewer (82 IP, 0.87 WHIP#, .164 OAV#, 256 ERC+) to build the pitching staff around. The 4^th spot would eventually go to OF Manny Mota (429 PA, .331 AVG#, .383 OBP#, 130 AVG+) who will pinch-hit and platoon in the OF.

When we got to my 2^nd round pick, only one of the late era Dodgers teams was selected so I decided to wait on them again. This brought me to the 1983-2002 group. The 85 Dodgers had already been taken but the rest were still available. I looked at the 1999 and 2000 teams before choosing the 1995 Dodgers. That team gave me SP’s Hideo Nomo (216 IP, 1.05 WHIP#, .181 OAV#, 191 ERC+) and Ismael Valdes (223 IP, 1.10 WHIP#, .228 OAV#, 157 ERC+), RP Todd Worrell (71 IP, 1.10 WHIP#, .221 OAV#, 164 ERC+), and C Mike Piazza (535 PA, .345 AVG#, .399 OBP#, 136 OPS+).

Entering the 3^rd round, I was feeling pretty good about where I was. Pitching wise I had 3 starters and the 62 Dodgers were still available as well as 5 good late era teams with solid SP’s. I was torn between the 2017, 2011, and 2014 teams. I decided on the 2014 Dodgers to pick up SP Clayton Kershaw (198 IP, 0.90 WHIP#, .203 OAV#, 232 ERC+) who is arguably the best pitcher on my staff. We also ended up drafting LHRP J.P. Howell (49 IP, 1.19 WHIP#, .190 OAV#, 157 ERC+), starting 2B Dee Gordon (650 PA, .296 AVG#, .771 SB%, B/C+), back-up 1B/3B Justin Turner (322 PA, .348 AVG#, 137 AVG+, 129 OPS+), and platoon OF Scott Van Slyke (246 PA, .305 AVG#, .395 OBP#, 131 OPS+). The pitching staff is coming together nicely…

When we got to the 4^th round I had to make a decision, do I stick with a 4 man rotation of Sutton, Kershaw, Nomo, and Valdes? Or do I draft one more SP? Their 922 combined IP/162 was sufficient if I had a dominant bullpen however, my bullpen to this point was not as dominant as you would think for a Dodgers team. And the early Dodgers teams don’t have a plethora of dominant RP’s. It made sense to draft a 5^th SP and so welcome the 62 Dodgers. We picked up SP Sandy Koufax (181 IP, 1.04 WHIP#, .198 OAV#, 187 ERC+), SS Maury Wills (746 PA, .300 AVG#, .889 SB%, C/B-), and OF’s Tommy Davis (699 PA, .347 AVG#, 133 AVG+, 126 OPS+) and Frank Howard (529 PA, .297 AVG#, .347 OBP#, 126 OPS+), who will both platoon.

Rolling into round 5, our pitching staff was nearly complete. But we needed starting 1B, 3B and CF as well as another platoon OF and one more RP. Pitching was getting really scarce so I decided to pick up the 1939 Dodgers and the best RP still available, RHRP Whit Wyatt (116 IP, 1.15 WHIP#, .219 OAV#, 159 ERC+). That also netted me starting 1B Dolph Camilli (725 PA, .285 AVG#, .406 OBP#, 129 OPS+), who gets replaced next round, starting 3B Cookie Lavagetto (718 PA, .295 AVG#, .383 OBP#, B-/B-), and back-up OF Jimmy Ripple (130 PA, .325 AVG#, .395 OBP#, 122 OPS+).

Our final pick of the draft went to the 1914 Dodgers. That allowed us to draft OF Zack Wheat (634 PA, .325 AVG#, 127 OPS+, C/A+) to patrol center, 1B Jake Daubert (571 PA, .336 AVG#, 131 AVG+, 124 OPS+) who replaces Camilli as the regular starter, hard-nosed, platoon OF Casey Stengel (509 PA, .322 AVG#, .410 OBP#, 127 OPS+), and strong armed C William Fischer (123 PA, A+ arm) will replace Piazza late in games.

This team has a top notch rotation, a decent bullpen, and should hit for a decent average and steal a few bases. Their defense isn’t the greatest but hopefully our pitching limits fielding opportunities. I like this team and feel like they have playoff potential. But we’re in a division that has the 1963 and 1965 versions of Sandy Koufax plus 3 Kershaws besides my own. That’s a lot of tough lefthanders!

Juice Tournament Round 4, League 4 – Cubs Franchise
1903, 1940, 1952, 1977, 1997, 2015 Chicago Cubs
Pick 15 - overall, Pick 8 - N.L., Pick 4 - N.L. Central
West Side Grounds 0 / 0 / 0 / -1 / 0 / 0.98

I didn’t really have a preference between the two Chicago teams. Neither have the type of pitching I like to use but I still wanted to build a solid staff. I decided to go with the Cubs and try my luck attempting to get a Mordecai Brown to build around. Picking 15^th, I wasn’t very optimistic…

By the time it got to my pick, all of the good Mordecai Brown years were gone. But the 2015 Cubs were available, and I swooped them up for SP Jake Arrieta (229 IP, 0.89 WHIP#, .190 OAV#, 249 ERC+) and RP’s Pedro Strop (68 IP, 1.03 WHIP#, .172 OAV#, 196 ERC+) and Hector Rondon (70 IP, 1.03 WHIP#, .217 OAV#, 180 ERC+). On the offensive side we chose 1B Anthony Rizzo (701 PA, .394 OBP#, 126 OPS+, B/A-) to start building around. We’re off to a decent start.

Coming into this pick I got a little confused and referenced the White Sox draft board rather than the Cubs and picked the 1992 team, only to be informed that they were taken and then discovering I was wrong about the draft boards not being updated. It was disappointing to learn the 92 team was gone but not surprising as they should have been. I considered the 1903 team for Jack Taylor but figured I could wait since there were only 4 of us left to draft from that era and one had already picked this round.

I ended up taking the other team I was considering, the 1952 Cubs, as they also had some decent pitching available. I picked up SP Warren Hacker (195 IP, 0.96 WHIP#, .217 OAV#, 182 ERC+), RP Willie Ramsdell (71 IP, 0.98 WHIP#, .178 OAV#, 185 ERC+), CF Frank Baumholtz (470 PA, .323 AVG#, .438 OBP#, C/A-), and power hitting RF Hank Sauer (683 PA, .364 OBP#, 128 OPS+, 6 HR/100#). Feeling pretty good so far, even though we are a little low on innings for 5 picks already. Hopefully Jack Taylor is still available…

When my 3^rd pick came up, 1903 was still available and there was one less owner left to pick from the era. I still needed two SP’s and Taylor was definitely one of them. But who would my 4^th be? And could I gamble and wait one more round for Taylor? I decided I would try and gamble. There wasn’t anyone I was particularly interested in for the 63-82 era or the 83-02 era. In the 23-42 era I found the 1940 Cubs and with them I gained my #4 SP (assuming I got Taylor), Claude Passeau (296 IP, 1.13 WHIP#, .236 OAV#, 152 ERC+). This pick also got me three more starters in 3B Stan Hack (722 PA, .316 AVG#, .397 OBP#, B/A-), 2B Billy Herman (648 PA, .292 AVG#, .349 OBP#, B-/A+), and LF Jim Gleeson (580 PA, .313 AVG#, .391 OBP#, 122 OPS+), all of whom provide both solid bats with good defense. The 5^th spot went to OF/1B Hank Leiber (517 PA, .302 AVG#, .372 OBP#, 121 OPS+). He’ll spend time pinch hitting and playing both positions against LH pitchers.

After sweating out the wait I finally got to make my 4^th pick and the 1903 Cubs were the ticket. With them I picked up coveted SP Jack Taylor (367 IP, 1.07 WHIP#, .232 OAV#, 165 ERC+) to go along with 3 offensive starters: C Johnny Kling (616 PA, .294 AVG#, 6 2B/100#, C/B+/A), SS Joe Tinker (600 PA, .288 AVG#, .344 OBP#, D+/A-), and 1B Frank Chance (624 PA, .323 AVG#, .438 OBP#, 129 OBP+), who replaces Rizzo as the primary 1B. Starting rotation complete. Starting line-up complete. It seems things are going as well as can be expected…

Going into my last two picks I only needed to complete the bullpen and add some depth on the bench for defense and pinch hitting. That was good since there weren’t many SP’s or stud hitters left in either the 63-82 era or the 83-02 era, which were my two remaining pools to pick from. Looking to bolster the bullpen I found the 1977 Cubs and RP extraordinaire Bruce Sutter (108 IP, 0.86 WHIP#, .183 OAV#, 279 ERC+) and added much needed LHRP Willie Hernandez (110 IP, 1.11 WHIP#, .234 OAV#, 143 ERC+). On offense, we added OF Greg Gross (280 PA, .322 AVG#, .398 OBP#, 123 AVG+) as a LH pinch hitter and SS Ivan Dejesus (695 PA, .266 AVG#, .329 OBP#, C+/A) as a defensive replacement for Tinker. I am really happy to pick up Sutter this late in the draft. I needed a stud closer and he would do just fine.

The last round and its nice to not really need anything. A back-up C would be good. Maybe another reliever. A RH pinch hitter, perhaps? Or a back-up CF? Those were the holes that it seemed I needed to fill. The 1998 and 1999 seasons both had nice Sosa years but were taken the two picks before mine. That left us the 1997 Cubs who provided us another much needed LHRP in Bob Patterson (60 IP, 0.95 WHIP#, .222 OAV#, 172 ERC+), RHRP Mark Clark (63 IP, 1.05 WHIP#, .227 OAV#, 163 ERC+), 1B Mark Grace (654 PA, .319 AVG#, .406 OBP#, A/C+), and OF Lance Johnson (454 PA, .307 AVG#, .368 OBP#, C-/B). The Grace and Johnson picks seem to be a bit of a waste as they are pretty much pinch hitters but I am happy with the two RP’s I got.

After I put the final team together and looked at it, I’m not as impressed as I felt while drafting it (not that I was that impressed to begin with). We don’t have a Mordecai Brown, Gabby Hartnett, Sammy Sosa, Ryne Sandberg, Rogers Hornsby, Hack Wilson, Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, or Bill Nicholson. We’re heavy on 1B and OF but we really don’t have much to drive in runs. We have only one catcher which means Chance may have to play some C in a few games. And, our starting line-up defense is not very good and will put pressure on Passeau, Taylor, and Warren. Hopefully playing in West Side Grounds will help them to keep hits down. This team will be hard pressed to make .500 and is a risk to not advance. Maybe the WIS gods will have pity on me…

Juice Tournament Round 4, League 5 – Indians Franchise
1912 Cleveland Naps / 1940, 1956, 1981, 2001, 2018 Cleveland Indians
Pick 16 - overall, Pick 9 - A.L., Pick 1 - A.L. West
Jacobs Field -1 / 0 / -2 / -1 / -1 / 0.97

I knew right away that I was picking an Indians team. Even though I was picking 16^th, I would still have better pitching prospects from the Indians than I ever could with the Pirates. The Pirates only had 21 SP’s I would consider and 10 of them were in the 1903-22 era. The Indians had 44 potentials which was more than enough to build a solid rotation. The question is, where do we start…

When I finally got to pick, 8 Indians teams were already gone. Amongst them, the top 4 SP teams: 2017, 1968, 2020, and 1908. The next best SP, Bob Feller, came out of 1940. But 1940 didn’t have much else that I would value as a 1^st round pick. I decided to go with a team that could get me two solid SP’s, the 2018 Indians. They presented me with two SP’s: Corey Kluber (215 IP, 1.01 WHIP#, .230 OAV#, 165 ERC+) and Trevor Bauer (175 IP, 1.11 WHIP#, .214 OAV#, 169 ERC+). On offense we ha quite a few options but ultimately decided on starting SS Francisco Lindor (745 PA, .284 AVG#, 119 OPS+, B+/C) and starting 3B Jose Ramirez (698 PA, .393 OBP, 128 OPS+, 5 HR/100#). Our starting P’s aren’t as dominant as Feller but starting with two who qualify as #2 pitchers is a good start.

While researching for the 2^nd round I had another one of those brain farts and was extremely happy with my discovery of an “available” 1917 team. I was ecstatic with my “mighty fine pick” for all of 3 minutes, until I was informed of my little snafu. Damn, back to the drawing board. The good news, 1940 was still available but so were the 1956 Indians who gave me up to 3 SP’s if I chose to do so. I knew I was drafting Herb Score (263 IP, 1.13 WHIP#, .187 OAV#, 170 ERC+) and ultimately decided on Sal Maglie (207 IP, 1.05 WHIP#, .226 OAV#, 150 ERC+) over Early Wynn. I also received a great RP in Ray Narleski (63 IP, 0.89 WHIP#, .171 OAV#, 245 ERC+). Unfortunately, 1956 didn’t have a lot of offensive weapons and we settled on OF Rocky Colavito (400 PA, .366 OBP#, 123 OPS+, 5 HR/100#) to be a RH pinch hitter off the bench. Pretty happy that I have 4 SP’s after 2 rounds. Now we can concentrate on some offense…

The initial plan for round 3 was to look for teams with offense and RP’s. But imagine my surprise when I saw the 1940 Indians were still available. Now I know I could survive without Feller but he would be the best pitcher on this team. So I pulled the trigger and drafted Bob Feller (337 IP, 1.08 WHIP, .205 OAV#, 182 ERC+) to be our ace, giving us 5 SP’s with nearly 1200 innings. I eventually added Johnny Allen (146 IP, 1.20 WHIP#, .239 OAV#, 148 ERC+) to the bullpen but I don’t suspect he’ll see many innings. The last two picks went to 1B Hal Trosky (640 PA, .290 AVG#, 123 OPS+, 6 2B/100#) and CF Roy Weatherly (647 PA, .298 OAV#, 5 2B/100#, C/A).

Half way through the draft and we really needed to start focusing on offense. We needed a 2B, C, and 2 OF’s along with one or two RP’s. I am a glutton for pitching and the 2001 Indians had 3 RP’s I could definitely use. So I picked up Steve Karsay (44 IP, 0.84 WHIP#, .186 OAV#, 333 ERC+), Danys Baez (51 IP, 1.06 WHIP#, .196 OAV#, 195 ERC+), and Ricardo Rincon (54 IP, 1.19 WHIP#, .221 OAV#, 168 ERC+) to complete my pitching staff. The last two spots went to the offense: 2B Roberto Alomar (677 PA, .333 AVG#, .412 OBP#, 125 OPS+) and LF Juan Gonzalez (595 PA, .323 AVG#, .367 OBP#, 126 OPS+). Unfortunately I didn’t have enough room to roster Jim Thome but he would have made a fine upgrade at 1B. Oh well…

Now all we need is a C and a RF and we have 2 rounds to find them. I had the 1903-22 era and the 1963-82 era left to choose from and when it got to my turn I found I was able to make both picks at the same time. That helped since I could patch together a platoon if needed. I narrowed down my options to 1910 or 1912 and 1981 or 1971. I like 1910 as it gave me a fantastic Lajoie season and Easterly could platoon at C. I would also get a couple of pinch hitting extraordinares. But the 1912 team offered another Lajoie season, not quite as good, but all star level, an all-star level Shoeless Joe, and Easterly in a platoon. The 1971 team offered a nice Ray Fosse and a very good Steve Mingori in relief, to go with some fill-ins. The 1981 team would bring Diaz in to platoon at C and 3 strong bench players. I really liked Mingori but I didn’t need another pitcher. I liked Diaz at C a lot and felt he paired well with Easterly. It made sense to pair the 1981 team with the 1912 team to close out our draft.

The 1981 Indians gave me platoon C Bo Diaz (313 PA, .317 AVG#, 10 2B/100#, C-/B/A+) and bench players 1B Mike Hargrove (626 PA, .320 AVG#, .428 OBP#, 124 AVG+), 3B Toby Harrah (672 PA, .294 AVG#, .386 OBP#, 114 AVG+) and OF Miguel Dilone (455 PA, .293 AVG#, 113+ AVG+, .744 SB%). Diaz was the prize here. Hargrove, Harrah, and Dilone will provide good PH option but none are good for defensive replacements.

And that brings us to our final pick, the 1912 Naps. I was really torn between them and the 1910 team but I liked the idea of getting OF Joe Jackson (692 PA, .394 AVG#, .455 OBP#, 152 OPS+) and 1B Nap Lajoie (530 PA, .367 AVG#, .412 OBP#, 139 AVG+) to go with C Ted Easterly (271 PA, .310 AVG#, 118 AVG+, D+/B+/A). Unfortunately, Easterly didn’t have enough PA’s to cover the rest of the platoon so our final pick went to C Fred Carisch (77 PA, .274 AVG#, 104 AVG+, D/A/A+). The addition of Lajoie at 1B put Trosky on the bench in a back-up/pinch hitting role as well as defensive replacement.

I was starting to worry about this team and was going to rearrange to add Thome but the late addition of Lajoie and Jackson made that totally unnecessary. The pitching staff isn’t like the Dodgers but then again, I’m not sure any of the Indians teams will be. But offensively, we should score some runs. I think this team can finish above .500 and advance to the next round. A playoff birth, although not out of the realm of possibilities, will be a tough stretch.

Juice Tournament Round 4, League 6 – Braves Franchise
1911, 1923 Boston Braves / 1958 Milwaukee Braves / 1969. 1994, 2009 Atlanta Braves
Pick 14 - overall, Pick 6 - N.L., Pick 2 - N.L. Central
Braves Field -1 / -1 / -2 / -1 / 0 / 0.89

So typically I would be taking the team with the best pitching. Between the Red Sox and Braves, that would be the Red Sox. Besides Greg Maddux, most Braves pitchers will be average in this league. The Red Sox have Martinez, Clemens, Sale and Lowe just to name a few. But my issue with the Red Sox are their ballpark choices, Fenway or Huntington Ave. Both are hitters parks and I prefer to play in pitchers parks. So we’re going with the Braves. My 14^th pick is the earliest pick I have this tourney. Turns out, the Braves weren’t that popular early on and I ended up with the 6^th pick in the N.L. and a 2^nd seed in the N.L. Central. Not the most ideal spot but with decent odds for a wild card. We’ll see how that plays out…

When it got to my pick I was shocked to find that only two Maddux teams had been taken, the 97 and 98 versions. The 94 and 95 versions were both still there. I decided to draft the 1994 Braves although in hind sight, I think I should have just gone 1995. But I’m fine with this. The 94 Braves give me my ace SP Greg Maddux (288 IP, 0.89 WHIP#, .204 OAV#, 263 ERC+) and nothing else for the pitching staff. Offensively, we picked up starters 1B Fred McGriff (680 PA, .316 AVG#, 135 OPS+, 6 HR/100#) and RF David Justice (603 PA, .310 AVG#, .425 OBP#, 128 OPS+). The 4^th pick went to 2B Mark Lemke (560 PA, .292 AVG#, .362 OBP#, A/B-). Glad I got a good Maddux. McGriff and Justice will drive in some runs. Lemke plays good defense and I can live with his bat.

When the 2^nd round finally made it back to me I had my eye on 1953, 1956, and 1947, But when I checked the 1963-82 pool I saw very few options. I decided to gamble that I could get a Spahn later and went ahead and selected one of the few teams in the 63-82 era that had any pitching, the 1969 Braves. From this team I picked up SP Phil Niekro (285 IP, 1.05 WHIP#, .228 OAV#, 157 ERC+) and RP Hoyt Wilhelm (78 IP, 0.95 WHIP#, .189 OAV#, 211 ERC+) for the pitching staff. On offense we added CF Hank Aaron (639 PA, .306 AVG#, 146 OPS+, 7 HR/100#) and LF/PH Rico Carty (339 PA, .349 AVG#, .407 OBP#, 138 OPS+). Even though Niekro is not elite, he is in the top 20 of Atlanta SP’s. Wilhelm is a dominant reliever and Aaron and Carty will both drive in runs, although Carty leaves a lot to be desired on defense. 2 rounds, only 3 pitchers. It is over 600 IP’s though…

Well, so much for 1953 or 1956. 1947 was still available. But now the best available SP to me came from the 2009 Braves. I added SP Javier Vazquez (219 IP, 1.02 WHIP#, .225 OAV#, 171 ERC+), RP Rafael Soriano (76 IP, 1.05 WHIP#, .196 OAV#, 190 ERC+), 3B Martin Prado (503 PA, .309 AVG#, .357 OBP#, 118 AVG+), and SS Yunel Escobar (604 PA, .301 AVG#, .376 OBP#, A-/B-). The latter two are starting at their respective positions and will provide solid defense and bats. Vazquez is a top 10 pitcher and should benefit from the run support from Aaron and Co.. Soriano is another solid RP who doesn’t allow a lot of hits. Having two top 10 pitchers in the rotation is encouraging…

I really wanted to finish my rotation this round. I was disappointed that all my previous targets for Spahn were gone. After going through the last remaining pitchers available to me, I ended up deciding on another Spahn season. Welcome 1958 Braves. Besides SP Warren Spahn (306 IP, 1.15 WHIP#, .237 OAV#, 137 ERC+), we also picked up two RP’s, Joey Jay (102 IP, 1.06 WHIP#, .177 OAV#, 185 ERC+) and Humberto Robinson (44 IP, 1.03 WHIP#, .203 OAV#, 168 ERC+). Offensively we were able to add starting C Del Crandall (511 PA, .272 AVG#, .348 OBP#, 5 2B/100#) and OF/PH Wes Covington (341 PA, .330 AVG#, .381 OBP#, 137 OPS+). Although this version of Spahn is most likely my worst SP of all my teams, I still like this pick as it filled some key holes. Crandall has a decent bat and plays decent defense. Jay and Robinson are both tough to hit. And Covington pairs up with Carty in the OF to make a formidable offensive (and horrendous defensive) weapon.

For the last two rounds we just needed to fill a couple of RP spots and improve on the positions I already had filled. Ideally I would find an upgrade at 2B, another upgrade in the OF, a back-up C and back-up 3B. That leaves two spots for defensive upgrades or pinch hitters.

For the 5^th round, the 1911 Braves could fill a few of those items. We picked up one pitcher, RP Ed Donnelly (40 IP, 1.15 WHIP#, .203 OAV#, 142 ERC+) and 3 offensive players: 2B Bill Sweeney (658 PA, .315 AVG#, .400 OBP#, 121 AVG+) who replaces Lemke, OF Doc Miller (679 PA, .334 AVG#, .376 OBP#, 128 AVG+) who takes the starting duties in LF, and 3B Buck Herzog (382 PA, .311 AVG#, .394 OBP#, 124 OPS+). That checked 4 of 6 boxes. Sweeney and Miller will bat 1 and 2, setting the plate for our big 3. Donnelly adds another pitcher who is tough to hit. And Herzog gives us the extra PA’s at 3B without a sacrifice in offense.

Now I just needed to find a back-up C and one more RP. There was only one team in the 1923-42 era that had a pitcher that I liked, the 1923 Braves. I added LH Johnny Cooney (104 IP, 1.13 WHIP#, .234 OAV#, 151 ERC+) to the bullpen which gave us a much needed LH. On offense we brought on C Earl Smith (228 PA, .357 OBP, 7 2B/100#, A+ Arm) to back up Crandall and provide late inning defensive support, SS Bob Smith (428 PA, C/A-) who provides a defensive back-up for Escobar, and OF Al Nixon (377 PA, A-/A-) who provides late inning defensive support.

I actually hated this team while I was building it. I was struggling with my rotation and felt I missed out on the Spahn I really wanted when I took Niekro and the 69 Braves. But I did get a decent Hank Aaron for it and the offense is actually not that bad. All but one starter hits above .300 and Justice, Aaron, and McGriff should knock in runs from the 3,4,5 spots. Maddux should be able to win games as should Vazquez. Niekro will need to step up and if he does, this team very well could make a run for the wild card. Playing in Braves Field will hopefully help with that.

Round 4 Outlook: Ideally we would get all 4 teams to advance to the next round but I’m having a rough time seeing a path. My draft placement says I’m right on the edge of advancing and odds are I only get one of them. I think a good goal to shoot for would be advancing 3 teams and getting two into the playoffs. Seems feasible… or not. Good luck everyone!

League 5, Pick #4 (2nd pick in the Pirates draft)
Division: NL East
Pirates: 1903, 1928, 1987, 2012, 1970, 1944

What was I thinking? I really screwed up in this Pirates/Indians league. barracuda has 1st choice and selects 1909 Pirates. Then two Indians teams gets selected (1917, 1995) and neither team has Addie Joss. barracuda's next pick is at #15. My two picks in this league are at #4 and #9. Seems pretty obvious that I should take an Indians team at #4 and a Pirates team at #9 and then I can avoid barracuda in both leagues. For reasons that I cannot fathom, I select a Pirates team here. And guess what, my Indians team at pick #9 ends up in the same A.L. division as barracuda's Indians team. I'm an idiot.

Anyway, I chose the 1903 Pirates due to the success I had with that team in round 3. Same Leever (1.11) and Deacon Phillipe (1.03) provide 665 innings of solid deadball pitching which normalize well since 1903 is a bit more offensive than 1905-1910. Just as important, I get two very good hitters, with Honus Wagner (.355/.414//.518 A+ range) and Fred Clarke (.351/.414/.532). Ginger Beaumont didn't make the final cut.

Not a shock, but the next two Pirates teams off the board are 1908 and 1905, so the NL East will be the "Honus Wagner Deadball Division". Again, great decision by me to go Pirates instead of Indians. Excluding the deadball years, the Pirates don't have a history of great starting pitching, so anytime I can grab a solid SP while improving my offense, it's a no-brainer pick. So when my SP search for years 1923-2022 showed Burleigh Grimes (1.17, 353 ips) from the 1928 Pirates among the top available options, I researched a bit more and found I could also add starting 3B Pie Traynor (.337/.370/.462) and 1B/OF Paul "Big Posion" Waner (.370/.446/.547). I added 1B George Grantham (.323/.408/.486) at the last minute, since I had the cap space.

So with just two picks, I have over 1000 innings of starting pitching and half my starting lineup. During my last search, another SP popped up that I really liked, and I decided to add 1987 Pirates because I wanted Rick Reuschel (1.10). I have no problem using a 200+ inning SP as a reliever. Heck, give me a SP with a 1.10 whip who can pitch 3-4 innings of relief over a modern day closer with a 0.88 whip who gets shelled when he hits pitch #15. I also get a short-inning Jeff D. Robinson (0.98) plus platoon catcher Mike LaValliere (.300/.377/.365) and backup 2B Jose Lind (.322/.358/.434, A+/A+). Andy Van Slyke (1B/OF) was on the original roster, but I bumped him off due to an unexpected addition later in the draft.

I made a tactical error on my next pick. I was thinking of taking 1945 for the bullpen help (Boom-Boom Beck, 1.10 whip) and the other half of the catcher platoon (Bill Salked, .967 ops), but I also really wanted 2012 Pirates' Andrew McCutcheon (.327/.400/.553, A/A-). barracuda had both groups available. I went with McCutcheon and barracuda3 grabbed 1945 so quickly, it was like "whew, I thought schwarze was for sure going to take them - I better take them before he changes his mind". I was able to add a couple of mediocre RPs in Tony Watson (1.13) and Jason Grilli (1.14) - both who are a bit HR prone. I also have my starting 2B, Neil Walker (.280/.342/.426) who is the weakest starting offensive player on the team. But he's a switch-hitter and can field (B/A).

After losing 1945, I start searching for teams with decent RPs and also a good catcher. I find the perfect team with the 1970 Pirates. Mudcat Grant (1.06) turns out to be my team's best RP and John Lamb (1.11) is another warm body to use. But more importantly, I get my catcher, Manny Sanguillen (.325/.344/.444 A+ arm). Oh, and as an unexpected bonus, I get this random outfielder with a .352/.407/.556 slash line, some guy named Roberto Clemente. See you later Andy Van Slyke. With extra cap room, I later add 1B, Bob Robertson (.287/.367/.564). I got more 1B and OF than I know what to do with.

I really don't need anything with my last pick. Extra RPs wouldn't hurt, but that position has been picked clean. I end up selecting 1944 Pirates, and am able to upgrade(?) my 3B from Traynor to Bob Elliott (.297/.383/.465). I add another decent OF option, with switch-hitter Jim Russell (.312/.399/.460) and get s a couple of $1 million dollar pinch hitters.

Outlook: Although I have 1550 pretty good innings, I am only carrying 9 pitchers, so I need to make sure I check the boxes to let my SPs pitch in relief when necessary. I don't have any dominant pitchers so it won't surprise me if I end up with a long losing streak at some point. I have a high-average hitting team that doesn't walk (nobody with 80+ walks) and doesn't hit for power (less than 100 HRs in starting eight). We should be a good defensive team which will help the pitching. We are playing our home games in Exposition Park III (-2 for HRs), so hopefully we can win enough low-scoring games to play around .500 ball.

League 6, Pick #6 (5th pick in the Red Sox draft)
Division: AL Central
Red So>2018, 1908, 1991, 1941, 1958, 1964

Of the top five picks in league 6, four were Red Sox (1914, 2002, 1999, 1912) and one Braves (barracuda's 1916). Hmmm.... so I can be the first team in the AL Central or join barracuda in the NL East? Tough call. I was 100% going with the Red Sox here. Now, with most of my other early picks, I have gone with a deadball pitching staff (1906 Cubs, 1903 Pirates, 1905 Giants, 1909 Tigers). Since there are a number of reasonably decent Cy Young seasons available, I figured I would wait on that. Similarly, there are a number of great Ted Williams seasons to choose from. I considered 2000 Red Sox, but there are a ton of great SP options in the 83-02 range, so that's when I landed on the 2018 Red Sox. I get studs Mookie Betts (.346/.438/..640) and J.D.Martinez (.330/.402/.629). Of course, I picked this team to also get Chris Sale's best year (0.86) plust a couple of solid RPs, Craig Kimbrel (0.99) and Ryan Brasier (0.77). It's a good start, but I'm not used to having so few IPs after one pick.

When it got back to me in round 2, five teams have selected their deadball season including two of the four teams in front of me. I had my choice narrowed down between the 1907 and 1908 seasons. 1907 had more quantity while 1908 had better quality. I made the decision to go with quality and selected 1908 Red Sox and got Cy Young (0.89), Elmer Steele (0.83) and Frank Arellanes (0.99). No hitters worth taking so my fourth player is a scrub. In retrospect, I should have taken 1907. You will see why later.

I made a huge error with this next pick. 1944 was the obvious choice: They have three really good players. SP Tex Hughson, OF Bob Johnson and 2B Bobby Doerr. I already had 2 right-handed OFs (Betts/Martinez), and wanted to save a spot for lefty Ted Williams. I also wanted either '90 or '91 Roger Clemens (1.05). But of the two, only the 1991 Red Sox also gives me a good Wade Boggs (.332/.421/.460), so that's where I went. I also get a HR-prone Jeff Gray (0.79) plus a nice backup OF Phil Plantier (.331/.420/.615). Imagine how ticked I was when 1990 Red Sox went in round 5. WTF?

By my next turn, all the good Ted Williams seasons were selected except for his expensive season. So, I did some back-of-the-envelope math and decided I could draft the 1941 Red Sox. Besides Ted Williams (.406/.551/.735), I also get SS Joe Cronin (.311/.406/.508) and 1B Jimmie Foxx (.300/.412/.505). I didn't know it at the time, but I also needed the part time catcher, Johnny Peacock (.284 avg).

With my next pick, 1978 would be the perfect fit, but footballmm11 sniped them from me one pick away. My team is turning into a clusterf*ck. I only have about 640 innings of SP and no catcher and no second baseman yet. Just two picks left. And that $19 million Ted Williams salary is messing with my salary cap. I should have drafted 1907 instead of 1908, which would have resolved my SP innings issue. With this pick, I take 1958 Red Sox, which gives me two RPs, Bob Porterfield (1.09) and Leo Kiely (1.17), plus a good Pete Runnels (.332/.416/.438). I end up cutting J.D. Martinez and adding OF Jackie Jenson (.286/.396.535). Now, I really wish I had taken 1944 instead of 1991. I would've had Bob Johnson and Bobby Doerr over Jenson and Runnels, plus had a really good SP, Tex Hugson, and still could have drafted 1990 Clemens in round 5.

With my last pick, there just isn't any good SP innings left, so I take 1964 Red Sox in order to get Dick Radatz (157 innings, 1.03 whip). I get my catcher platoon partner, the legendary Bob Tillman (.278 avg). Carl Yastrzemski (.289/.374.451) gives me additional PA at 3B and OF, which I needed. And RP Jay Ritchie is another body to use up meaningless innings.

Outlook: I hate this team. Just about every decision I made when deciding between two choices was the wrong decision. Managing the SP innings is going to be a headache all season long. The defense is below average. Ted Williams may win the MVP, but this team won't even sniff .500. I have 15 teams in round 4. I expect at least 5 won't advance to round 5... this is one of those 5.

League 6, Pick 3 in Sox Draft (4th in League)

Initial Decision: I looked through the Braves teams and decided NOPE. Go with the Sox.

First Pick: 1999

Sooo many tempting options in the early years. Soooo much crap in the second group. Good players on every roster in the last time period. In my mind those three (after a couple of teams) would offer similar rewards so winning would come from what I got in 43-62, 63-82 and 83-2002. I have had way more success with Pedro than Clemens so I take 1999. That obviously rosters Pedro (.92 Whip) and Nomar (.357 AVG). I also rostered Lowe (1 Whip), Saberhagen (1,12 Whip), and Garces (1.07 Whip). That's 484 IP and a great SS that will need a backup. I feel good knowing that it will be almost impossible not to get 700 IP from the 1903-22 section and there should be plenty of bats laying around,

Second Pick: 1947

Time for a Ted. I wanted to get a 10M range version. Some of the available teams might have offered better secondary players (Doerr's or Domigio's) but I was looking at the 47 Pesky (.324) who can play both third and short. Perfect. Now I need to find either a back up SS or 3B. There were other usable pieces here but I ended up with Pesky, Williams (.343), and 313 PA catcher Hal Wagner (.273) making the cut along with John Murphy (1.27 Whip) to sit in the bullpen.

Third Pick: 1967

The last of the first three groups I wanted to draft. I have Ted. I have Pedro. Now I need a Yaz (.326). When I made this pick I imagined George Scott and Jerry Adair joining the team. They didn't. Instead Tony C (.287) will help out in the outfield as a pinch hitter/sub for the lefties in the outfield. A low PA/low average Elston Howard will be a very nice defensive replacement at catcher. Sparky Lyle (1.09 Whip) will pitch from the bullpen.

Now I need to really start looking at the last three groups. I had options i could have used at every position except a platoon catcher and last outfielder so it's more about getting upgrades and the rest of my pitching.

Fourth and Fifth Picks: 2007 and 2016

When it got to me I knew I was picking from the 2003-22 period because both owners after me already had their deadball team. Since I was really picking two teams here I could work out how they would fit together. I crunched the numbers for pitchers, found the teams with the most good innings and then ignored them. There were teams with more good innings that 1916 but they didn't have that BABE (341 IP/ 1.08 Whip). I also pick up an upgrade at second with Pedroia (.317) and first with Ortiz (.332). Manny (.296) will bat 8th and finish off the outfield. Larry Gardner (.308) will play third when Nomar has to sit. Carl Mays (1.15 Whip), Dutch Leonard (1.13 Whip), and Okajima (.97 Whip) will add the final 602 IP to the roster.

Last Pick: 1937

After waiting for garbage I got mostly garbage. Rick Ferell (.244) might platoon at catcher with Wagner. McNair (.292) will help on the bench and Melilo will sit on the bench. The big question is Foxx. How bad really is a D-/D-/D- catcher? Or will he be a platoon 1B with Ortiz? Or a supper inning pinch hitter?

Outlook:

I like this team. I don't know how they will match up... My only concerns are catcher and pitching depth (guessing that there will be MANY games in Fenway... Hoping to be in the running for a playoff spot.

League 2, Pick #7 (4th pick in the A's draft)
Division: AL East
Athletics: 1930, 2003, 1914, 1981, 1994, 1947

The seventh overall pick in a league was the lowest of my first picks. And of course, three Dodgers seasons (2015, 1964, 1941) and three A's seasons (1909, 1910, 1931) were selected, so I'm stuck in a division with the top 3 picks regardless of which team I choose. Interestingly, my second pick (#23) in this league is also the lowest of my second picks, so the question is "Do I want to pick very low with the Dodgers or with the A's?" The Dodgers franchise has more pitching, and I certainly didn't want to be in a division with 2015, 1964 & 1941 Dodgers, so I went with the A's. I selected the 1930 A's in order to get a very strong Lefty Grove season (1.14) and three really good offensive players, C Mickey Cochrane (.357/.424/.526), Jimmie Foxx (.335/.429/.637) and Al Simmons (.381/.423/.708).

I was thrilled to death when the 2003 A's made it back to me. Tim Hudson (1.08) always seems to do well for me. Barry Zito (1.18) ended up making the team as a part time SP4 and long-reliever. Keith Foulke (0.89) will give up HRs, but hopefully they are solo shots. And what I didn't expect when I drafted this team, is that I got my starting shortstop, Miguel Tejada (.472 slug, B/A). This franchise really never had many strong offensive shortstops.

I noticed my team was tilted to right-handed bats, so I needed some lefties. The 1914 A's provided some a couple of very good offensive players, specifically 2B Eddie Collins (.344/.452/..452), 3B Frank Baker (.319, .380, .442) and backup C Wally Schang (.371 obp). Pitcher Rube Bressler (1.14 whip, 158 ips) is a useful bullpen piece. I was very happy this team fit well with the rest of my roster.

I still need a SP, and two OFs, plus you never have enough bullpen arms. The perfect team fell to me in round 4... the 1981 A's. I get my SP Steve McCatty (1.08) and two really solid OFs, Rickey Henderson (.319/.408/.437 A++ range) and Dwayne Murphy (.369 obp, A++ range).

For this next pick, I could have gambled and won, but I wimped out. I only needed relief pitching. The best option in the 1943-62 group was 1944 Joe Berry. The best options in the 1983-02 group was '85 Steve Ontiveros or '94 Steve Ontiveros. I wanted both Berry & Ontiveros, but didn't think I could get both. Only two teams behind me needed a team from this group, but I thought these were the two obvious choices for teams needing RP. Meanwhile, just about every team still needed a 1943-62 team and most of these teams were crap, so there was 0% chance 1944 would make it back. So logic dictates I take 1944 and hope either Ontiveros makes it back. But '94 Ontiveros has 164 innings (1.03), compare to Berry's 118 innings. Neither team offers much of anything else, so I went with 1994 A's. Naturally, 1944 went a couple of picks later. Meanwhile, 1985 A's / Ontiveros (0.86 whip) went undrafted!

So, now it's my last pick and there is nothing left. I drafted 1947 A's because I get OF Barney McCoskey (.328/.395/.399) which is an upgrade offensively compared to Dwayne Murphy. Eddie Joost (C/A+) gives me a defensive replacement for Eddie Collins (and his D- range) at 2B. And Russ Christopher gives me 85 innings of 1.28 whip to throw in the mop-up role.

Outlook: Considering I don't have any deadball pitchers, this pitching staff isn't terrible. The offense (besides Tejada) is decent and the defense (besides Collins) is pretty good. Hmm, "not terrible + decent + pretty good"... sounds like a .500 team to me.

League 1, Pick #8 (6th pick in the Yankees draft)
Division: AL Central
Yankees: 1937, 1978, 2017, 1919. 2002, 1945

I already had my Giants team, so I had to take a Yankees team here. The five seasons already taken are 1904, 1928, 1939, 1927, 1910. And yes, I am stuck in a division with barracuda with 1910 Russ Ford and ronthegenius with 1921 Ruth. I already don't like my chances. The two choices I was debating was 1934 Yankees (which did well in round 3) or the team I ultimately went with, the 1937 Yankees. Lefty Gomez (1.17) normalizes well, and I get three stud hitters with Bill Dickey (.332/.417/.570), Lou Gehrig (.351/.473/.643) and Joe DiMaggio (.346/.412/.673, A+ range).

I'm a sucker for teams with one stud and not much else. I also used 2nd round picks on '22 Hornsby (Cardinals), '28 Hornsby (Braves). The 1978 Yankees certainly qualify. I knew I could get enough offense later in the draft, but I wanted one of the top SPs in Yankees history, Ron Guidry (0.95). Goose Gossage (1.09) will blow a lot of saves, but he's got 134 innings, so he gets lots of chances to blow saves. I had Craig Nettles penciled in for 3B but ended up replacing him later. Instead I have two sub-300K scrubs. Great 2nd round pick, eh?

There's still a lot of great options for the 1980-90's and 1940-50's, so I went with 2017 Yankees with my next pick. Besides adding slugger Aaron Judge (.284/.422/.627), this season provides me four pitchers: Starter Luis Severino (1.04) and three RPs: David Robertson (0.85), Chad Green (074) and Adam Warren (0.87). I can't wait to complain when these sub 0.90 whip guys combine to go 0.1 innings, allowing 7 hits & 5 runs in the 9th to lose 6-5, blowing another Guidry gem. We all know this is going to happen.

Since round 2, I had been contemplating adding 1920 Ruth, but decided I didn't need the salary cap headache and this team should score plenty of runs with a Ruth-less offense. Instead, the 1919 Yankees proved to be a great fit, because I get to add Roger Peckinpaugh (.305/.390/.404, A++ range), Frank Baker (.293, .346, .388) and SP Carl Mays (1.14). Baker is a slight downgrade offensively (OPS) from Nettles, but Nettles is low OBP HR-dependent while Baker is higher AVG, more doubles. Del Pratt was originally penciled in at 2B, but I found an upgrade later in the draft.

Now, it's time to add some relief pitching and one more OF. I haven't hit the 1990's yet so you pretty much know I will be getting Mariano Rivera (1.00 whip) and Bernie Williams (.333/.415/.493). I wanted 1996, but barracuda3 took them right in front of me. So I went with 2002 Yankees. I also added Ted Lilly (1.06 whip) to help in the pen.

With my last pick, I didn't really need anything, but I found an upgrade at 2B and some pinch hitting parts. 1945 Yankees gives me Snuffy Stirnweiss (.309/.385/.476, A++ range). Charlie Keller (.301/.412/.577, A+/A-) is a nice part-time OF who will get some playing time (207 pa). Aaron Robinson is a fine backup catcher (.281/.368/.481) who may get 5-6 starts for Dickey.

Outlook: I actually kind of like how this team turned out. It has multiple defensive wizards which will help a pretty good pitching staff. Although there is no Ruth or Mantle on the roster, Dickey, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Judge, B.Williams is a pretty decent offense with a couple of .390 obp guys to set the table (Stirnweiss, Peckinpaugh). I know all the Yankees teams probably look very strong, so who really knows how this team will fare, but I will be disappointed if they don't at least contend for a playoff spot.

League 3, Pick #12 (8th pick in the Cardinals draft)
Division: NL Central
Cardinals: 1942, 1922, 1953, 2006, 1987, 1972

It's quite remarkable how one little mistake sometimes snowballs into multiple bigger mistakes. This team is Exhibit #1 on how not to build a team. Had I simply taken 1944 (instead of the Tigers), none of this would have happened. Anyway, at the time of my Tigers pick, I liked 1944 Cardinals but also liked the 1942 Cardinals, so I was happy when they slid to me at pick #12. I get a great SP in Mort Cooper (0.99), a passable SP4 in Johnny Beazley (1.18), a solid RP in Clyde Shoun (1.08) plus Enos Slaughter (.318/.412/.494). They also have a sub-par Stan Musial, who was upgraded later in the draft. So far, I felt good about this team.

Prior to my second round pick, it dawned on me that although 1944 and 1942 are close in years, the 1942 group came from the offensive years 1923-42, and by choosing this team, I lose out on all those great Rogers Hornsby years or even the Dizzy Dean led Gashouse Gang teams. Why didn't I think of that sooner? That's when it hit me I could still take 1920, '21 or '22 Rogers Hornsby. 1921 was preferable because he played multiple positions, but ronthegenius grabbed that season one pick before my turn. The 1920 version is a better fielder and much cheaper and he did well for me in round 3, but I decided to go for the gusto and select 1922 Cardinals, knowing that the 2nd round is pretty early for a one-stud-and-nothing-else season. I just felt that I wouldn't have enough offense if I missed out on both Hornsbys. Of course, little did I know that 1920 would last until late in the fourth round (nice pick, redcped)!

So here it is now in the third round, and I have one decent SP, one RP and 2 full-time hitters. What the hell am I doing? My SP search turns up a bunch of Bob Gibsons so I can wait on that year. I find that the 1953 Cardinals have a very-usable SP Harvey Haddix (1.14). And I can now replace my mediocre Stan Musial with the much better 1953 version (.337/.437/.609). And this team also gives me 2B Red Schoendienst's best season (.342/.405/.502). Wait - don't I already have a 2B? Didn't I just use a 2nd round pick on a season with just one usable player? Yes. Yes I did. This team was just too good to pass up, so I will figure it out later.

The next pick made sense, because it actually filled holes instead of duplicating a position. 2006 Cardinals gives me a stud Albert Pujols (.331/.431/.671, A+), a very good Chris Carpenter season (1.07) plus a couple of much needed RPs, Adam Wainwright (1.15) and Josh Kinney (1.00). I originally penciled in 3B Scott Rolen, who I ultimately cut.

With just two rounds to go, I still need a starting C, SS, OF, plus a lot more pitching. The 1987 Cardinals gives me Ozzie Smith's best season (.303/.392/.383), a very usable Terry Pendleton (.286/.360/.412, A+ range) an on-base machine with 1B Jack Clark (.286/.459/.597) plus RP Pat Perry (1.05). Wait, did I just roster another 1B? Yep, I now have two 1B (Pujols & J.Clark) and two 2B (Hornsby and Schoendienst).

Well, it's clear I am not going to get enough bullpen innings with my last pick, so I select 1972 Cardinals just to get my fifth 200+ inning SP in Bob Gibson (1.13). I also get a decent Ted Simmons (.303/.336/.465). I wanted to grab Simmons' best hitting season, but his D+ arm could be problematic against all these speedy Cardinals teams.

Outlook: With two 1B, two 2B and only two full-time OF, I will have to play guys out of position. Maybe Red Schoendienst can play a little 3B. Albert Pujols can move to the OF when Jack Clark starts at 1B. Or maybe Red Schoendienst (B/A-) can stay at 2B for defense, and I can move Hornsby (C/C+) to 1B? Anybody ever try that? My pitching staff consists of 5 RPs (300 IPs) and 5 SPs (1300 IPs), so managing that will be fun. This team should score score some runs though.

League 1: Pick 13 (8th for the Yankees)

Approach to start: I am a Yankee fan. I am not necessarily a fan of them in WIS. I haven't had much success with players other than Bernie Williams and Rivera. I also ended up having to choose between playing a Giants team and being in a division with Barracuda, Schwarze and Ronthegenius... I decided to go big or go home. Likely I will be going home pulling up the back of the division.

My first goal in drafting teams was to get left handed pitching to start and in the bullpen. I figured everyone would have Ruth and Gehrig sitting 3-4 in their lineups (until I read Shwarze's writeup... not going to help my division wins at all).

First Pick: 1981

Combed through teams for lots of innings from the left side. Settled on 1981 with 257 IP from the left and another 71 right handed bullpen innings. Welcome Guidry (.99 Whip), Righetti (1.08 Whip) and Gossage (.78 Whip). I really thought Ron Davis was going to come along for the ride but instead I ended up using more innings (though not quite as good) from a latter choice and used pinch hitter Aurelio Rodriguez (.346 BA). That choice was made largely because I lost track of getting a real third baseman...

Pick Two: 1958

Looking for more lefties. Why not Ford (1.08 Whip)? I originally thought Duren would also be rostered (even though his high walk rate is always a little scary) but he didn't make the cut. Instead I get way more PA's than I need on both sides of a catcher platoon with Yogi (A+/A/A) and Howard (A/B+/A), an $8M Mantle (1.035 OPS). Up to 488 left handed innings.

Pick Three: 1929

Ok. I need my Ruth/Gehrig 3/4 batters. 1929 doesn't have the greatest versions of both but they are both good. Gherig (1.015 OPS) made the cut but surprisingly the Ruth did not. Earle Combs (.345 Avg) and Tony Lazzeri (.354 Avg) will switch between lead-off and 6 or 7th in the line-up depending on pitcher. Ben Paschal will smile on the bench, wash the real players laundry and drop as many flyballs as he hits if he ever gets into a game.

Pick Four: 2001

I don't really remember what I liked about this team. I think there was not much left at short? When I made it I figured Jeter (.311 Avg, no range) would make the team. He did. He will hit 8th or 9th depending on where the pitcher slots in. I figured Williams (.307, A/B+) would slot in to the outfield with Ruth and Mantle (spoiler alert.. he might not). I also looked at Velarde off the bench (good D at 1st, 2nd, 3rd and in the of) as well as Posada. When I dumped the 1929 Ruth I also left Posada off to take the other catcher from 29. For arms I planned on only taking Rivera (.9 Whip) and Choate (L, swing and miss, 0.00 HR/9) but ended up also taking Mussina (1.07 Whip) instead of one of the 100+ IP guys from earlier in the draft. He will pitch in long relief/spot starter and should be able to eat up a ton of innings there, especially as only one of my starters has more than 200 IP...

Picks Five and Six: 12016 and 1920

As all four teams after me had their last grouping I could take my last two teams. The 2016 pick was easy as I had eyed them from the start. If you want lefties in the bullpen it's hard not to want Miller (.69 Whip) and Chapman (.86 Whip). I also looked at the Beltran partial and the STELLAR Sanchez (remember when he was going to be a stud?) but had to leave both of them off when I took 1920 for the expensive Ruth (1.377 OPS). There were some better pitching in the early seasons, but why not go big? Stuck in a tough group I might as well be aggressive here, right? I expect to lose so I have nothing to lose! Also rostered Tanaka (1.08 Whip). Funny. Just noticed Ford, Righetti and Tanaka have the exact same Whip. I also added one of two pitchers with a higher Whip than them, Betances (1.12 Whip, damn those walks). Duffy Lewis (.271 Avg) might spell some people in the outfield. I have three other guys from 1920 that will sit the bench and should be completely irrelevant.

End Thoughts:
If you were paying attention you will notice full time Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, Williams, and Combs on the roster. All of them well over 600 PA. That's five guys for 4 positions. I also don't have a guy who is a real third baseman. Solution? The Ruth is bad defensively so he will get first. Combs and Mantle have range but average fielding so they stay in the outfield. That leaves Gehrig and Williams for third and the last outfield spot... Am I better with a first baseman's B+/B- at third with the A/B+ outfielder in his rightful position or the outfielder at third and the first baseman in a corner outfield spot? No, really, someone tell me. I think I am going with Gehrig at third (leaving HUGE gaps between he and Jeter) but giving me good range in the outfield.

Again, I expect to lose this division given the competition. Anything better than last place would be a surprise. Here's to hoping my lefty pitchers dominate...

League 4, Pick #11 (6th pick in the White Sox draft)
Division: AL Central
White Sox: 1964, 1919, 2014, 1927, 1958, 2001

The White Sox have lots of pitching and not much hitting. I was going to take 1917 with Ed Cicotte, but thought I could gamble, by grabbing 1964 White Sox this round and maybe get 1920 White Sox in the next round. 1964 gets me 3B Pete Ward (.282/.348/.473, A++ range), SS Ron Hansen (.261/.347/.419, AA++ range) plus pitchers Joe Horlen (0.94), Juan Pizarro (got cut), Hoyt Wilhelm (0.94) and Eddie Fisher (0.94).

Of course, 1917 went with the very next White Sox pick, and 1920 went two picks later, so it looks like another season of 1964 White Sox not scoring runs and losing a bunch of 2-1 games. I need some offense, so I grab 1919 White Sox with my next pick. Joe Jackson (.351/.422/.506) will be the team's best hitter. Eddie Collins (.319/.400/.405) is decent, but I also add two more starting pitchers, Ed Cicotte (0.99) and Lefty Williams (1.09) replaces Juan Pizarro.

Continuing my general strategy of drafting a teams with a great SP with a very good offensive, player I select 2014 White Sox, to get SP Chris Sale (0.97) and 1B Jose Abreu (.317/.383/.581). I know this pick will mean I don't end up rostering Frank Thomas, but most of his decent defensive seasons have already been selected. Oh, I also get an ok RP in Zach Putnam (1.08).

I need some lefty bats and not only does 1927 White Sox give me lefties Bibb Falk (.327/.391/.465) and Alex Metzler (.319/.396/.429), but I also get another decent SP with Ted Lyons (1.16). Oh, and Harry McCurdy (.286/.366/.393) is a lefty-platoon at catcher.

I drafted 1958 White Sox next, because I really wanted Barry Latman (0.92), Every time I read his name, my brain says "Larry Batman". This season also gives me my other catcher, Sherm Lollar (.273/.367/.454). Nellie Fox was close to making the team. His defense is better than Collins, without that much of an offensive downgrade, but I went a different direction. Johnny Callison (.297/.352/.469) is a pinch hitter.

For my last pick, I needed more RP innings, so I grabbed 2001 White Sox, mainly to get Keith Foulke (0.98), but since I had the cap room, I also added OF Magglio Ordonez (.305/.382/.533) and 2B Ray Durham (.267/.337/.466). Durham's performance history is fairly decent and he may even start over Eddie Collins.

Outlook: Why do I always torture myself with this 1964 team? I am fairly confident predicting that this team will finish top 3 in pitching and bottom 3 in hitting. I mean, just take a look at some of these offensive numbers, Pathetic. I should have drafted 1920 White Sox first, just to get some bats and worry about the pitching later. Unless this team get very lucky in 1-run games (yeah right), I don't expect them to advance to round 5.

League 4: Overall pick 10, Cubs pick 5

Initial thoughts: Ehhh. At least I miss the first division of the Cubs. Guessing everyone will have low BA high power guys in their lineup and be trying to combat that from the mound. Ok, lets get some quality OPS rather than just SLG.

Pick 1: 1929

The first thing I did was open up a hitting search and looked to see what players had an #OPS of 1 or better. The list had a total of 11 reasons. Eight of them were more than 100 PA seasons. Three of those were Sammy Sosa. That left: 2005 Derrek Lee, 1972 Billy Williams, 1929 and 1930 Hack Wilson and 1929 Rogers Hornsby. Only four total players in their entire history? Two of them on the 1929 team? Ok. That's my pick. Hornsby (1.138 OPS) and Wilson (1.043 OPS) should perform well at the plate, though Hornsby is better suited for DH than second. Earl Grace (A+/C/A-) will spell my starting catcher. Kiki Cuyler (.360 Avg) will hit at the top of the order and add to the questionable defense Riggs Stephenson (1.117 OPS) will play in left and hit somewhere in the top to middle of the lineup. Good thing most of the Cubs hit for power without average. I hope this pick ends up being an advantage.

Pick 2: 1993

While looking around at rosters I noticed that there wasn't a ton of catching. Is it worth taking a roster for mostly just a starting catcher who isn't a true franchise one? Hopefully? Especially like the fact that I am getting some lefty bats worthy of playing key roles in the line-up. Wilkins (.303 Avg, A/A/A+) will get most of the AB's behind the dish. Grace (.324 Avg) will likely spend most of the time out of position because I need lefties in the lineup but his A/A defense should allow him to handle it. Sandberg would have been a defensive upgrade over Hornsby but not worth the bat downgrade. For most of the draft I pictured him playing second about half the time with Hornsby sliding over to first but it didn't work out. Not sure how many .300 hitters were left off rosters by others but guessing not many. I ended up taking the 93 PA Glenallen Hill (1.157OPS) and what ended up being way too many PA super utility player Jose Vizciano (.287 Avg, can play all over the infield). Is it bad that I have 9 batters and not a single pitcher?

Pick Three: 2008

The best dead ball pitchers are already gone. It looks like I will get something similar no matter what team I get from what's left so I will save them for last. That means I will need some modern pitching to supplement. This group looks better than many from the cubs left... I guess. Harden (149 IP, 1.06 Whip), Ryan Dempster (207 IP ,1.21 Whip, Carlos Marmol (87 IP, .93 Whip) and Kerry Wood (66 IP, 1.09 Whip). At least I have some pitching now.

Pick Four: 1955

I have to have a Banks (1.151 OPS) if I am playing the Cubs, right? I do need a short stop. Not one of the best hitting versions but I will gladly take the B+/A- fielding over some of the others available. I also like that I am not relying on his bat so whatever I get will be a bonus from the 8 hole. He ends up being one of my only two starters hitting below .300. Bob Rush (1.18 Whip) will pitch but have a quick hook. Walker Cooper will catch in the bullpen. Gene Baker will be a ton of PA's on the bench to work as a defensive replacement at 2B because I had too much $ left. I hope other Cubs owners have similar problems...

Pick Five and Six: 1976 and 1913

With every team picking after me already set with the first time period I get to take 1976 and follow immediately with 1913. I feel like I am set everywhere but third and I still need a PILE of IP. For the arms I roster Larry Cheney (323 IP, 2.57 ERA), George Pearce (173 IP, 2.31 ERA), Hippo Vaughn (60 IP, 1.45 ERA), Bert Humphries (192 IP, 2.69 ERA), and one guy from 76, Bruce Sutter (84 IP, 1.07 Whip). Rick Monday (.272) will be the LH platoon end of a first and third platoon with Mark Grace and Bill Madlock (.339 Avg). Later in the season I will probably sit Monday when we are far enough along that Madlock won't have to rest anymore.

Parting Shots:

I kind of hate this team. The pitching looks bad. The defense looks bad. The hitting looks good-ish. I am hoping to hit my way to something decent but more than likely I will end up fighting to get to .500.

League 6, Pick #16 (7th pick in the Braves draft)
Division: NL Central
Braves: 1996, 1928, 1974, 1918, 2010, 1948

I figured when I selected the Red Sox with pick #6 in this league, that one of the good Maddux seasons would be left for me at pick #16. I was right, as I had a choice between 1995 and 1996 Braves. I went with the season with two solid starters of Greg Maddux (1.03) and John Smotz (1.00) over the one stud '95 Maddux season (which actually went 10th among Braves picks)... maybe a mistake? Is quality better than quantity? 1996 provided me 1B Fred McGriff (.295/.365/.494) and SS Chipper Jones (.309/.393/530). Yep, I'm playing Chipper at shortstop - defense be damned.

I was so thrilled that 1953 Braves (Warren Spahn's best season) got all the way back to me, that I decided to not take them. I also strongly considered 2008 with Teixiera and Chipper's high average season at 3B. But no. I felt that the 1923-42 Braves teams offered so little, that I went for the stud and selected the 1928 Braves. Hornsby (.387/.498/.632) should win the MVP and he gives my team the league's best middle-of-the-infield offense. 1928 also provided a decent OF whom I never used before, Lance Richbourg (.337/.399/.439). I had enough salary to add backup 1B, George Sisler (.340/.380/.434) who may get to start if McGriff gets off to a bad start. I guess this wasn't a terrible pick.

When 1953 and 2008 went back to back only a few picks later, I immediately had buyer's remorse. OK - we need to regroup. I need some pitching. I regretted missing out on this team in round 3, so I wasn't going to miss out this time and happily drafted 1974 Braves with two usable SPs, Phil Neikro (1.11) and Lee William "Buzz" Capra (1.14). Tom House (0.98) adds 103 innings of solid relief. And finally, Ralph Garr (.353/.383/.503) gives me another all-offense terrible defense batter. I feel like I hit the jackpot with this selection, as I got four not just usable, but very good players, in the third round! Things are looking up.

The 1918 Braves also filled some key needs. I got a fifth SP in Dick Rudolph (1.13), some long-relief innings with Dana Fillingim (1.12), a top-of-the-line closer with Jake Northrop (0.73) plus a much needed defensive replacement at SS, Zeb Terry (.305 avg, A/A). Another 4-for-4 pick. I don't feel so bad about the Hornsby pick now.

My last two picks can be made simultaneously, which is nice. I still need a catcher, a third baseman and an outfielder plus more bullpen help never hurts. 2010 Braves provides me a platoon catcher combo of Brian McCann (.269/.375/.453) and David Ross (.289/.392/.479) plus key bullpen pieces of Billy Wagner (0.87) and Takashi Saito (1.07). Another 4-for-4.

And though I really wanted to add 1945 Tommy Holmes' fantastic season, the 1948 Braves provided so much more depth. In fact, I commented that this pick might be the only sixth round pick among all 16 franchises that provided 5 players. Nels Potter (1.00) adds another bullpen piece. Tommy Holmes (.325/.375/.439) is not 1945-great, but still a pretty good OF. 3B Bob Elliott (.283/423/474) will probably lead off in front of my sluggers. Part-time OF Jeff Heath (.319/.404/.582) may start over Richbourg. And Eddie Stanky (.320/.455/.417, B/A-) will pinch hit and/or sub in for Hornsby for defense.

Outlook: Despite all the jokes I made about this team during the draft, I secretly love this team. The defense is terrible (based on my normal standards), but the offense is really good, the starting pitching is deep and the bullpen might be the team's real strength. I am cautiously optimistic that this could be a playoff team.