Post here to discuss your team selection strategy and free agent selection.

I was thrilled when the 30s Yankees/Red Sox fell to my at #6. I thought seriously about taking the Pirates/Giants squad of the same decade, given their truly excellent pitching, good defense, and solid enough hitting. But I couldn't resist a squad where Bill Dickey and Joe Cronin, in two of their finer seasons, are the teams 6th and 7th best hitters. Williams/Ruth/Gehrig/Foxx/Dimaggio ... please, sir, may I have some more?

The pitching on this squad isn't awesome, but 30s Yanks at least had some good short inning pitchers who'll make up our set up crew, and it was a no brainer to take the best SP available - Bucky Walters - for the fourth free agent selected.

In the other league, with a relatively lower pick, we didn't have our choice of squads, of course. But the 70s Reds/Astros have the best catcher (Bench) and 2B (Morgan) of the decade, along with a solid lineup and strong team defense. We were sure we were going to grab 71 Hank Aaron to strengthen the hitting. He's one of the highest performing power hitters the past 60 years in the SIM, and would've slotted in great in the #5 slot at 1B.

Instead, though, we are letting an adequate but not spectacular Tony Perez play first, and we took ace 1972 Gaylord Perry, allowing us to grab the stunning 1980 J. R. Richard, instead of the 1979 version, and the split season 1977 Seaver instead of the full one, giving us a much better pitching staff than we had hoped for!

Just like last round's theme, my process was to build every single one of the 60 possible teams that could be selected and compare their respective stats (using standard deviations). The big difference between last round and this round was that I did NOT add in the free agent. Not being 100% certain on which 2-franchise combination in each division wouldn't be taken and also the impact each free agent selection would have on the other teams' choices, made it too hard. So, my pre-draft team rankings assumes no free agents. It can be argued that the free agent selection will not radically change the pre-draft rankings order, since every free agent will improve each team by some incremental amount. Obviously, somebody like '20 Ruth will have a significant impact. I hope to modify the team rankings once all the free agents have been selected.

The other thing I did differently this round was not explicitly include the defense in the final rating of a team. I'm still trying to figure out how to accurately turn defense into a single numerical score, and also how to merge that score into the offense/pitching score. Instead I have a defensive rating on the side. If two teams are close in the offense/pitching, then the defense will be used to break the tie.

And finally, I took what I learned from a couple of mistakes made last round. First, the standard deviation formula was calculated only from the teams within one side of a league (i.e., League 1 N.L.). Since 138 of the 162 games are intra-division, it doesn't make sense to include the opposite league's stats. This is especially important when the stats are very different (i.e., pitching heavy Lg 1 NL vs hitting dominant Lg 1 AL). The second thing I learned was to removed the worst teams in each division from the calculation. Once I calculated the standard deviation scores from each of the 15 teams in a league, I removed what I considered the worst team from each division. This changes the league average and as a result, slightly changes the team standard deviation scores. I was right on most of the un-selected teams I chose.

Pick #1, League #2
2001-10 Yankees / Giants (+1.5 hitting, -0.3 pitching, -0.1 defense)
Free Agent: 2007 Jake Peavy

I think I've mentioned this before, but I'll say it again. Having multiple teams in this tournament changes how I think and how I make my selections. If I only had one or two teams, I would simply select the best team available. But with 10 teams (5 in each league), I wanted to try and get as many teams advancing to the next round as possible. So, in a couple of instances, I picked a team over a slightly better team, due to the existence of a really good second team in that same division. This pick was an example of this.

Lots of pressure with the overall #1 pick... don't want to screw this up. I had my pick narrowed down to the 1901-10 Giants/Naps from League 1 or 2011-21 Dodgers/Brewers and the 2001-10 Yankees/Giants from League 2. After quite a bit of indecision, I went with a League 2 team b/c I felt there are a number of solid League 1 options and I have overall pick #5 (which I knew would be pick #3 in league 1). So now, which league 2 team should I take? The 2010-21 Dodgers/Brewers was clearly the best team (w/unbelievable pitching) as I had them rated +2.4 STDEV. In fact, my numbers show only 4 teams in that entire league are above average (the other three include the 2001-10 Yankees/GIants +1.2, the 2011-21 Indians/Nationals +1.1 and the 1991-00 Red Sox/Astros +0.9). But as you can see, those 2011-21 Indians/Nats are in the same division as those Dodgers/Brewers. That is one of the reasons I picked the 2001-10 Yankees/Giants. Also, I love the possibility that I could start 5 switch hitters on that Yankees team.

With no real weaknesses in the starting lineup (Posada/Posey, Giambi/Teixiera, Cano/Kent, A-Rod/Sandoval, Aurilia/Jeter, Bonds, B.Williams, Winn, M.Alou), I knew I would be adding a starting pitcher and there are a number of available starting pitchers, including '04 Randy Johnson, '04 Pedro Martinez, '05 Roger Clemens and the guy I took, 2007 Jake Peavy.

I don't think I screwed this pick up.

BATTERS
C: 2007 Posada (S) - .338/.426/.543 or 2010 Posey (R) - .305/.357/.505
1B: 2002 Giambi (L) - .314/.435/.598
2B: 2010 Cano (L) - .319/.381/.534 or 2002 Kent (R) - .313/.368/.565
3B: 2007 A.Rodriguez (R) - .314/.422/.645
SS: 2006 Jeter (R) - .343/.417/.483 or 2001 Aurilia (R) - .324/.369/.572
OF: 2002 B.Williams (S) - .333/.415/.493
OF: 2004 Bonds (L) - .362/.609/.812
OF: 2005 Winn (S) - .306/.360/.499 or 2005 M.Alou (R) - .321/.400/.518
DH: 2009 Sandoval (S) - .330/.387/.556 or 2009 Teixeira (S) - .292/.383/.565

PITCHERS
SP: 2003 J.Schmidt (R) - 208 ip, .200 oav, 0.95 whip, 0.61 hr/9
SP: 2009 Lincecum (R) - 225 ip, .206 oav, 1.05 whip, 0.40 hr/9
SP: 2001 Mussina (R) - 229 ip, .237 oav, 1.07 whip, 0.79 hr/9
SP: 2007 Peavy (R) - 221 ip, .208 oav, 1.06 whip, 0.52 hr/9
SP: 2009 Sabathia (L) - 230 ip, .232 oav, 1.15 whip, 0.70 hr/9
RP: 2008 M.Rivera (R) - 71 ip, .165 oav, 0.67 whip, 0.51 hr/9
RP: 2004 T.Gordon (R) - 90 ip, .180 oav, 0.88 whip, 0.50 hr/9
RP: 2001 F.Rodriguez (R) - 81 ip, .188 oav, 1.00 whip, 0.56 hr/9
RP: 2001 R.Nen (R) - 78 ip, .203 oav, 1.03 whip, 0.70 hr/9
RP: 2008 S.Romo (R) - 34 ip, .138 oav, 0.71 whip, 0.79 hr/9
RP: 2008 B.Bruney (R) - 34 ip, .153 oav, 0.99 whip, 0.52 hr/9

Pick #4, League #2
1961-70 Orioles/Braves (+1.7 hitting, +0.6 pitching, -0.4 defense)
Free Agent: 1968 Luis Tiant

I will write about all my league 2 picks first. After I selected the 2001-10 Yankees/GIants, nocomm999 was very happy to select the 2010-21 Dodgers/Brewers. Also, ronthegenius tells me he also would have also selected that same team with the top pick. Now, maybe I am second guessing myself a bit. I was a bit surprised that with pick #3, joerat1 selected the 1961-70 Tigers/Dodgers. I had that team above average, but way behind the team, I selected. There are actually three teams in the 1961-70's division that are above average, so the division race will be tough, but I can't pass up the team I have ranked #1 in the N.L. Now, I even get to move up one spot in the free agent draft. I am also thinking about my next two picks at #9 and #10. I am hopeful that two of 2011-21 Indians/Nationals, 1991-00 Red Sox/Astros or 1981-90 Mets/Royals will be left when I pick again.

The first two free agents selected were '61 Mantle and '64 Horlen. I was a bit surprised glowguy drafted the 61-70 Giants/Pirates over the 61-70 Yankees/Twins Phillies. My free agent choice was between '68 Luis Tiant and '69 Rico Petrocelli (a big improvement over Mark Belanger). I already had an offense that I had ranked way above average so I decided that the stud starting pitcher was too good to pass up. When I first selected this team, I assumed I would add '64 Dean Chance to cut down on opposing HRs but Tiant's whip advantage was too much to pass up.

The big downside of this team is it is very right handed. Gentile and Mathews are the only everyday lefty bats, although I will mix in Buford (S) in the OF and B.Powell (L) at DH. The pitching is very strong though. I would be extremely disappointed if this team missed the playoffs.

Pick #9, League #2
1981-90 Mets/Royals (-0.3 hitting, +1.1 pitching, +0.2 defense)
Free Agent: 1984 Ryne Sandberg

More shocking than joerat1 picking the 1961-70 Tigers/Dodgers with pick #3 was SteveIzzy picking the 1961-70 Reds/Cardinals with pick #5. That's three of the top five picks all in the same division. That's crazy. Yes - all three teams are rated as above average, but one will miss the playoffs, which means there's a very small margin of error for advancement into the final round. Anyway, with one pick before my #9 and #10 turn, all three teams I mentioned above that I hoped would get to me are still around. But then at #8, Jtpsops selects the 1991-00 Red Sox/Astros. So now I have my next two picks locked in.

I love this Mets/Royals team and figured they would fly under the radar and I could get them this late. I even have them rated ahead of redcped's 1981-90 Cardinals/A's team that he took at #6, although that team has great defense and fantastic bullpen. If you queried the top starting pitchers (190+ ips) in the entire 1981-90 decade, 4 of the top 17 appear on my roster. In addition, I knew it was be fairly easy to replace the weakest hitter on the team. '84 Ryne Sandberg is a huge upgrade over Frank White.

This should be a competitive division and it wouldn't surprise me if three teams end up with 85-88 wins.

Pick #10, League #2
2011-21 Indians/Nationals (0.0 hitting, +1.1 pitching, -0.7 defense)
Free Agent: 2020 Dinelson Lamet

My strategy of passing on the 2011-21 Dodgers/Brewers paid off with this pick as I correctly guessed I would get this team later in the draft. But with the dominant Dodgers/Brewers in this division, this team is hoping for the Wildcard bid. The good news is that the other two teams in this division are terrible (they were picked 22nd and 23rd for a reason). And like I said previously, this is one of just four teams in the A.L. that are above average. Like most pitchers in the recent years, the pitching staff is a bit HR-prone, but all have really low whips. The defense for this team is a bit worse than I like, but hopefully, the high strikeout rate by the pitching staff (11.4 K/9) will help offset the balls put into play. I love the high number of lefty and switch hitting players.

The free agent decision for this team is a bit weird. Normally, my free agent player is somebody who can offset a weakness. So based on that logic, I should have taken somebody like Joey Votto or Paul Goldschmidt at 1B (replacing Carlos Santana). But, this era always has issues with having enough innings. Sure, I could downgrade the talent to add innings, then add a free agent 1B. Or I could keep all the low-inning stud relievers and add Dinelson Lamet. I was hoping to get Arrieta or deGrom but not surprisingly, they went 1-2. Love the rotation of Bieber, Kulber, Scherzer, Lamet, Strasburg, Bauer.

Pick #12, League #2
1991-00 Yankees/Blue Jays (0.4 hitting, -0.7 pitching, -0.2 defense)
Free Agent: 1996 Kevin Brown

This is my last pick in league 1. With picks 9, 10 & 12 and with DarthDurron picking at 11, I wanted to maximize my chances at getting the three teams I really wanted. At 9/10, I was definitely taking the 2011-21 Indians/Nationals. But I really wanted to take the 1971-80 Dodgers/A's with the other pick (I wasn't expecting them to last this long) and hope that the '81-90 Mets/Royals makes it to me at pick 12. But based on my research on previous drafts, I felt that DarthDurron was going to take the best pitching option and if I removed the 71-80 Dodgers/A's from his options, then he would take my '81-90 Mets/Royals and I actually liked them better. Not sure who he would've taken, but I chose not to gamble. Not surprisingly, he did take the 71-80 Dodgers/A's at pick #11. So now, I had to figure out which league I wanted my last team to play in.

It came down to the 1991-00 Yankees/Blue Jays or the 1971-80 Reds/Astros. I had both teams rated as -0.2 (slightly below average) and the Reds/Astros had a better defense, but the thing I really didn't like about the Reds/Astros team.... way too many right-handed hitters, almost their entire lineup. SO I instead went with another Yankees team. We got lots of switch hitters and lefties, so that's a big plus. The other advantage is that I get 2nd pick of free agent.

I was thrilled to get 1996 Kevin Brown to anchor the weakest pitching staff among my five teams. But, we have a pretty solid bullpen, so maybe we'll only blow 3-run 9th-inning leads instead of 6-run leads. Hoping this team can get average pitching, because ther offense is very strong.

Posted by schwarze on 4/17/2022 3:18:00 PM (view original):
Pick #10, League #2
2011-21 Indians/Nationals (0.0 hitting, +1.1 pitching, -0.7 defense)
Free Agent: 2020 Dinelson Lamet

My strategy of passing on the 2011-21 Dodgers/Brewers paid off with this pick as I correctly guessed I would get this team later in the draft. But with the dominant Dodgers/Brewers in this division, this team is hoping for the Wildcard bid. The good news is that the other two teams in this division are terrible (they were picked 22nd and 23rd for a reason). And like I said previously, this is one of just four teams in the A.L. that are above average. Like most pitchers in the recent years, the pitching staff is a bit HR-prone, but all have really low whips. The defense for this team is a bit worse than I like, but hopefully, the right strikeout rate by the pitching staff (11.4 K/9) will help offset the balls put into play. I love the number of lefty and switch hitting players.

The free agent decision for this team is a bit weird. Normally, my free agent player is somebody who can offset a weakness. So based on that logic, I should have taken somebody like Joey Votto or Paul Goldschmidt at 1B (replacing Carlos Santana). But, this era always has issues with having enough innings. Sure, I could downgrade the talent to add innings, then add a free agent 1B. Or I could keep all the low-inning stud relievers and add Dinelson Lamet. I was hoping to get Arrieta or deGrom but not surprisingly, they went 1-2. Love the rotation of Bieber, Kulber, Scherzer, Lamet, Strasburg, Bauer.

League 2, Pick #23 - 2011-2021 Red Sox/Rays

I literally spit out my coffee with laughter as I read the following from schwarze concerning his selection of the 2011-21 Indians/Nationals:
"The good news is that the other two teams in this division are terrible (they were picked 22nd and 23rd for a reason)"

That effectively sums up his analysis of this pick.

Now, in round 4 he ranked all 96 teams in win expectancy according to his advanced formulas and I had 96th team. But that team had a great start and was tied for first in the division 1/4 of the way through. I was so much looking forward to proving him very wrong.....and then the math caught up and that team lost 11 in a row and limped to the finish. Not quite last overall but bad enough to support schwarze's beliefs.

So, likewise, this team is now officially doomed. But after sneaking into round 5 with 79 wins and having to win a tie-breaker in game 163 I knew whatever choice I ended up with was going to be a long shot to reach Round 6. The funny thing is I was really hoping for the 1981-90 Blue Jays/Expos as the draft wound it's way towards the bottom. My two favourite teams growing up on the Canadian Prairies and I loved all those players - Dawson, Raines, Barfield, Rogers, Stieb, Henke, Fernandez, etc. They might not have the best starting pitching but at least I would enjoy managing them. It looked more and more like I might actually end up with them but then the draft stalled for the day with markeking at pick 22. That allowed me to actually build a few squads with the few teams that were left. And, having done so, I kind of liked this Red Sox-Ray team. Decent starters, great bullpen, and a pretty good group of bats and gloves overall. Also, I knew I would end up with Arrieta or deGrom to help the rotation. If markeking had made his pick fairly timely I would have gone with the Expos/Jays and been happy with the choice, but the delay caused me to overthink things and lean towards this team. I'm sure I made the wrong decision and this team is every bit as a terrible as schwarze believes.

Pick #3, League #1
1901-10 Giants/Naps (-0.1 hitting, +1.0 pitching, -1.7 defense)
Free Agent: 1901 Jesse Burkett

Considering I almost picked this team at #1 overall, I was thrilled to get them at pick 3. I can't argue against the two selections that went ahead of mine. I have both the 1911-20 White Sox/Phillies (pedrocerrano, pick #1) and the 1941-50 Yankees/Pirates (ronthegenious, pick #2) as the best teams in their respective divisions. But I do have this Giants/Naps team with a higher STDEV score (both absolute and difference over next best team in division). The top three SPs of '08 Joss, '09 Mathewson and '02 Bernhard are as good as any in the entire league.

The standard deviation formula produces some really interesting numbers when you mix the deadball pitching and the 1920's liveball hitters. The -0.1 hitting score for this group is actually the 2nd best among the 8 deadball teams (behind 1911-20 Tigers/Indians). The defense appears to be pretty bad, but this score is in relation to the other teams in the league. When I look closer, it's not a terrible defense. Most guys are either C/B, B/C, D/B and D/A type fielders. No D- fielders.

Needing to add some hitting, I was hoping I could steal 1902 Ed Delahanty in the free agent draft, but didn't really expect him to last to the fourth pick. When the Pirates were left undrafted and the top two picks were versions of Honus Wagner, there was a glimmer of hope. But thejuice6 snagged him right in front of me (which makes sense since he has '01 Lajoie to play SS and a good Eddie Collins at 2B). My decision was between a lesser 1901 Delahanty or 1901 Jesse Burkett. With 4 right-handed regulars in the starting lineup (Hickman, Lajoie, Bresnahan, B.Bradley), I chose the lefty. Plus, '01 Burkett was awesome on my 1901 round 4 team.

League 1 - Pick #2: 1941-50 Yankees/Pirates

Unlike the longshot pick above, having the 4th overall pick was my one good chance at making Round 6. Eyeballing all the combos my first choice was the 2011-21 Dodgers-Brewers. They obviously have great pitching but Yelich and the bats are strong too. Most importantly I figured they would have the easiest path to the playoffs of any team in Round 5 (Note - see above which division in League 2 I ended up in...), but nocomm999 took them with the second overall pick. I then debated about taking the 1971-80 A's/Dodgers (They ended up lasting quite a few picks later but I love their pitching, defense, and speed) or taking the second pick in League 1, which I ended up doing. I thought the 1901-10 Naps/Giants was the best squad overall but the other four combos in that division are also excellent. Similarly, I liked the 1911-20 Phillies/White Sox and the 1911-20 Red Sox/Pirates but the NL Central also looked super competitive. Therefore I went with the 1940s Yankees/Pirates to avoid the National league dog-fights all together. Chandler and Bonham lead the rotation, Ruffing and Hallett in the bullpen, and a strong offense led by Stirnweiss, DiMaggio, Kiner, and Keller. They also are a strong defensive team which I usually lean towards. I wasn't planning on the Red Sox not being taken so I was originally thinking it would be Schoolboy Rowe as my free agent. But the Red Sox were unclaimed and two other owners snapped up a couple of Ted Williams. I considered taking a third version of the Splendid Splinter but, as attractive as that was, I needed pitching help more than hitting. I still like Rowe a little better but the Red Sox' Tex Hughson has more innings and is easier to use in the rotation so I took him.
I think this team has a 49% chance of making Round 6 and my other team has a 1% chance. Overall, I figure it's a coin flip to advance.

Pick #5, League #1
1951-60 Indians/Cardinals (0.0 hitting, +1.1 pitching, +0.5 defense)
Free Agent: 1958 Ernie Banks

This decision might have been the toughest for me in the entire draft. Based on the numbers, I had 1931-40 Yankees/Red Sox as the best team in League 1. Their +1.8 score was way better than the #2 team (this Indians/Cardinals team +1.1). And the difference over the 2nd best team in the division (31-40 Giants/Pirates +0.5) was also the best. And they are still available for me at pick #5. Their offense scores a ridiculous +2.6 (as a comparison, the 21-30 Yankees/Indians offense is +1.5). Their pitching (-0.8) is bad, but not the worst in the league (as a comparison, the 21-30 Yankees/Indians are -1.3). So, why did I pass on this team TWICE? Their defense (-2.2) is absolutely the worst in the league and a bad defense combined with bad pitching is not a recipe I wanted to try. If their defense were just average, I for sure would have taken them. Also, like I mentioned in an earlier writeup, there is a team in their division that I think is pretty good and can get them later in the draft. So that being said, I grabbed the next best available team in this league.

Did you know that if you queried all 1951-60 stating pitchers (200+ IPs), three of the top four choices all played for Cleveland? Did you know that if you queried 1951-60 pitchers with 70-150 IPs, that 4 of the top 5 are from either Cleveland or St. Louis. Yep, Garcia, Score & Lemon will be anchoring the rotation and Harshman, Mossi, McDaniel and Miller will be anchoring the bullpen. This is easily the best pitching staff in the A.L. West. The offense doesn't have the potency of the Yankees teams, but is good enough and will be improved with my free agent choice.

The free agent decision came down to upgrading Solly Hemus at SS (with '58 Ernie Banks) or upgrading the OF (with '54 Mays) where multiple guys are currently slotted into my third starting OF . My OFs are much better hitting options than Hemus, so I went with Banks even though Mays is a better player. It was close, but Banks's offense is just too strong to pass on(.614 slugging). I hated passing on Mays and his A+++ range.

Pick #9, League #1
1931-40 Giants/Pirates (-0.6 hitting, +1.1 pitching, +0.6 defense)
Free Agent: 1933 Jimmie Foxx

I really needed this team to fall to me. I have 5 picks in this league (3, 5, 9, 10, 17). I am trying to avoid ending up with a team that has no chance. This league has two good teams and two terrible teams, so by passing on the 31-40 Yanks/Red Sox, I was gambling I would get this team at my 9/10 turn. At pick #6, those 31-40 Yanks got picked. At pick #7, I was surprised that 1911-20 Senators went. At pick #8, I was not surprised 1901-10 A's/Tigers went as I had them ranked pretty high. So, yes - the gamble paid off.

It's almost like this Giants/Pirates combination isn't even from this decade. The 1930's is known for all offense and no pitching. But as you can see from the ratings listed above, this team is a below average hitting team and a fantastic pitching team. Excluding duplicate seasons, a query of the top 1931-40 starting pitchers includes the #1 ranked (Hubbell), #2 ranked (Blanton), #6 ranked (Schumacher) and #7 ranked (Melton) pitchers. That's insane. It's going to be interesting to see if we have enough offense to compete with that Yankees team.

Obviously, I would be adding a free agent hitter to help the offense. This free agent decision probably took the longest for me to resolve. There is an obvious weak link with Pep Young at 2B (.278/.329/.381) but he is A+++ range. The best FA 2B is Buddy Myer. Not sure that particular upgrade is a difference maker. Another weak link in the lineup is third OF Lloyd Waner (.333/.367/.430) but he is also A+++ range. The best OF choice is either 1931 Al Simmons (.390/.444/.641) or 1933 Chuck Klein (.348/.404/.648). But, the best hitter available is 1933 Jimmie Foxx (.356/.449/.703). But I already have a very good Bill Terry at 1B. I could play Foxx at DH, but I have Arky Vaughan's stud season playing DH with defensive wizard Dick Bartell (A+++ range) starting at SS. So whatever I decide, I am upgrading a weak offensive player but hurting the defense. I went with Foxx with the possibility of moving Terry to 2B. Terry is a B/A at 1B so he shouldn't hurt me too much defensively (Pep Young is a C+ fielder at 2B). But if Terry doesn't work out, I can move Foxx to DH and bench Bartell.

Pick #10, League #1
1911-20 Red Sox/Pirates (-0.6 hitting, +0.7 pitching, +1.0 defense)
Free Agent: 1920 Rogers Hornsby

This decision was mostly based on the fact that I also have pick 17 and wanted to avoid getting a crappy team. If this were my last pick, I almost certainly select the 1941-50 Cardinals/Reds as they have the best pitching in the AL (even better than my 31-40 Giants/Pirates and my 51-60 Indians/Cardinals). I had this 41-50 Cardinals/Reds team rated at +0.6, just a smidge below RTG's 41-50 Yankees/Pirates. Remember that I have to wait 6 more picks before I get to pick my last team. Had I taken that team, the only divisions left that I could draft from were the 1911-20 NL Central and 1921-30 NL West. Two teams are already gone from 1911-20 and the 1911-20 Red Sox/Pirates will get taken soon. And because '20 Ruth is the most coveted FA, the fourth selection in that division would certainly come shortly after, meaning I would get stuck with a 1921-30 team.... No thanks! Sure, the 21-30 A's/Cubs are ranked as slightly above average, but they are way too right-handed and are too HR-dependent. The HRs from the 21-30's players are going to get muted by teams from the other two divisions.

So, now I have determined that I have to take a team from the NL Central. As third person into this division, I really wanted to figure out a way to get '20 Ruth. I thought that since the Red Sox/Pirates team seems like the obvious best choice here, I could take the 1911-20 Giants/Dodgers and let somebody else take the Red Sox/Pirates, knowing they couldn't add '20 Ruth (since they already have '19 Ruth). Then I get '20 Ruth. The starting pitching on the Giants/Dodgers isn't great, but the relief is phenomenal with Toney, Schupp and Nehf. But in the end, I just didn't want to gamble. I really like the pitching of the Red Sox / Pirates with '19 Babe Adams, '14 Dutch Leonard and '12 Smokey Joe Wood. I was stunned that the fourth pick was NOT the Giants/Dodgers combo. Maybe kstober will elaborate why he took the Indians/Tigers instead (he did add '20 Ruth).

There was an easy free agent choice for this team since the original 2B on this team (George Cutshaw) was pretty weak. Very happy to add stud '20 Rogers Hornsby. Despite this team being the third one selected in this division, I do think there is a chance at advancement into the final round. Now my hope is that I will have a choice left from the AL Central (1941-50) with pick #17