As the Red Sox gear up for the opener tomorrow (ESPN2 if you’re out of the Boston area, at 8 PM Sunday), another baseball league is gearing up for play – the Wicked East Coast fantasy league. This is a 14-team league, so it took a while for everyone to draft, considering it was an off-line draft. Our season will start April 11. Below is a run down of each team. By the way, the predicted finish has Fire Brand winning every match-up and finishing first, :).
Bamskids
C – A.J. Pierzynki 1B – Carlos Delgado 2B – Orlando Hudson 3B – Scott Rolen SS – Nomar Garciaparra OF – Garrett Anderson OF – Juan Gonzalez OF – JD Drew UTIL – Edgardo Alfonzo UTIL – Casey Blake SP – Matt Morris SP – Mark Buerhle RP – Trevor Hoffman RP – Jeremy Affeldt P – Shawn Chacon P – Mark Redman P – Eric Milton BENCH – Randy Winn BENCH – Ugueth Urbina BENCH – Darin Erstad BENCH – Shawn Estes BENCH – Khalil Greene
The infield is a bunch of thumpers who should be solid all year long. A very strong, but injury prone outfield is crucial to Bamskids success. The pitching is a strength, with Jeremy Affeldt possibly being the steal of the draft. The bench offers Bamskids a lot of flexibility if someone should go down.
SMART PICK: Jeremy Affeldt
STUPID PICK: Shawn Estes
ShipOutNomar
C – Matt LeCroy 1B – Phil Nevin 2B – Jose Reyes 3B – Mark Teixeira SS – Miguel Tejada OF – Gary Sheffield OF – Magglio Ordonez OF – Torii Hunter UTIL – Austin Kearns UTIL – Joe Crede SP – Kevin Brown SP – Jamie Moyer RP – Octavio Dotel RP – Armando Benitez P – Brad Radke P – David Riske P – Danys Baez BENCH – Brett Myers BENCH – Vincente Padilla BENCH – Jerome Williams BENCH – Felix Rodriguez BENCH – Bob Wickman
Not exactly a base-stealing thread, SON will rely on the HRs. The pitching is a huge question mark with two old players leading the way, and room for huge error in Dotel and Betinez. How the bench players pan out will be extremely crucial to SON’s success.
SMART PICK- Mark Teixeira
STUPID PICK- Brad Radke
BeauSox
C- Javy Lopez 1B- Jeff Bagwell 2B- Marcus Giles 3B- Aramis Ramirez SS- Rafael Furcal OF- Manny Ramirez OF- Richard Hidalgo OF- Jim Edmonds UTIL- Kevin Millar UTIL- Rich Aurilia SP- Jason Schmidt SP- Andy Pettitte RP- Robb Nen RP- Danny Graves P- Dontrelle Willis P- C.C. Sabathia P- Kelvim Escobar BN- Vinny Castilla BN- D’Angelo Jimenez BN- Frank Catalanotto BN- Desi Relaford BN- Shigetoshi Hasagawa
BeauSox is the most balanced team, due to trading down pick #34 with Fire Brand for picks #57 and #85. He was able to draft Furcal and Giles, creating a strong double-play tandem. He has good everything, but will be hurt immensely by Schmidt going on the DL.
SMART PICK: Aramis Ramirez
STUPID PICK: Vinny Castilla
Port-City Sluggers
C – Toby Hall 1B – Mike Sweeney 2B – Jeff Kent 3B- Alex Rodriguez SS – Kaz Matsui OF – Adam Dunn OF – Larry Walker OF – Corey Patterson UTIL – Paul Konerko UTIL – Geoff Jenkins SP – Mike Mussina SP – Brandon Webb RP – Billy Wagner RP – Jorge Julio P – Wade Miller P – Derek Lowe P – Freddy Garcia BENCH – RP Jose Valverde BENCH – OF Jermaine Dye BENCH – SP Kris Benson BENCH – SP Jason Marquis BENCH – Pedro Feliz
Lousy OF makes up for it with an all-star infield, even though Kaz Matsui could tank. The pitching is solid but the bench is weak.
SMART PICK: Billy Wagner
STUPID PICK: Pedro Feliz
Rhody Sox
C – Joe Mauer 1B – Raul Ibanez 2B – Roberto Alomar 3B – Bill Mueller SS – Jose Valentin OF – Barry Bonds OF – Sammy Sosa OF – Juan Pierre UTIL – Carlos Pena UTIL- Dave Roberts SP – Tim Hudson SP – Kevin Millwood RP – Troy Percival RP – Matt Mantei P – Sidney Ponson P – Byung-Hyun Kim P -Brendan Donnelly BENCH – Tom Gordon BENCH – Bronson Arroyo BENCH – Ted Lilly BENCH – Charles Johnson BENCH – Robert Fick
The infield could surprise everyone, the outfield will destroy everyone. How do you like that outfield, especially in real life? Wow. Starting pitching is good while the bench is a little pitcher heavy. Matt Mantei and Troy Percival are huge injury risks.
SMART PICK: Tom Gordon
STUPID PICK: Charles Johnson
Dirt Stars
C – Paul Lo Duca 1B – Derrek Lee 2B – Luis Castillo 3B – Hank Blalock SS – Angel Berroa OF – Lance Berkman OF – Brian Giles OF – Johnny Damon UTIL – Pat Burrell UTIL – Jason Phelps SP – Pedro Martinez SP – Javier Vasquez RP – Arthur Rhodes RP – Brad Lidge P – Randy Wolf P – Joel Piniero P – Ben Sheets BENCH – Brian Roberts BENCH – Juan Rivera BENCH – Billy Koch BENCH – Tom Glavine BENCH – Adam Eaton
Plenty of pop in this lineup, plenty of arms. The only thing holding him back is injuries as no one on the bench can replace anyone else’s shoes.
SMART PICK: Derrek Lee
STUPID PICK: Juan Rivera
N.H. United Arsenal
C – Mike Lieberthal 1B – Nick Johnson 2B – Jose Vidro 3B – Sean Burroughs SS- Orlando Cabrera OF – Ichiro Suzuki OF – Shawn Green OF – Milton Bradley UTIL – Bernie Williams UTIL – Moises Alou SP – Mark Prior SP – Roy Oswalt RP- Mariano Rivera RP – Danny Kolb P – Barry Zito P – Rich Harden P – Jake Peavy BENCH – Tim Wakefield BENCH – Edwin Jackson BENCH – Juan Encarnacion BENCH – Horacio Ramirez BENCH – Paul Quantrill
Incredible SP, even though the loss of Prior to injuries will hurt. His infield is young with good pop, but his outfield is questionable.
SMART PICK: Roy Oswalt
STUPID PICK: Paul Quantrill
PedroPhiles
C – Benito Santiago 1B – Richie Sexson 2B – Jerry Hairston Jr. 3B – Corey Koskie SS – Jimmy Rollins OF – Bobby Abreu OF – Preston Wilson OF – Chipper Jones UTIL – Miguel Cabrera UTIL – Placido Polanco SP – Brad Penny SP – Johan Santana RP – Eric Gagne RP – John Smoltz P – Carlos Zambrano P – Al Leiter P – Steve Trachsel BENCH – Jacque Jones BENCH – Raul Mondesi BENCH – Jon Lieber BENCH – Jason LaRue BENCH – Eric Young
Very good outfield and utility, infield is solid. The pitching needs to be improved to have any shot.
SMART PICK: Eric Gagne
STUPID PICK: Jason LaRue
ShadyBrohams
C – Ivan Rodriguez 1B – Aubrey Huff 2B – Alfonso Soriano 3B – Mike Lowell SS – Bobby Crosby OF – Carl Crawford OF – Cliff Floyd OF – Carl Everett UTIL – Jason Giambi UTIL -Edgar Martinez SP – Kerry Wood SP – Jose Contreras RP – Eddie Guardado RP – Joe Nathan P – Jarrod Washburn P – Odalis Perez P – Rafael Soriano BENCH – Marlon Byrd BENCH – Guillermo Mota BENCH – Mike MacDougal BENCH – Donovan Osbourne BENCH – Brad Fullmer
Wow, what an infield! The outfield and utility spots will provide plenty of home-runs. The pitching is up there, and he should contend for a playoff spot.
SMART PICK: Rafael Soriano
STUPID PICK: Donovan Osbourne
SchillMonsters
C – Ramon Hernandez 1B – David Ortiz 2B – Todd Walker 3B – Troy Glaus SS – Micheal Young OF – Vernon Wells OF – Trot Nixon OF – Ken Griffey Jr. UTIL – Jeff Conine UTIL – Alex Sanchez SP – Curt Schilling SP – Randy Johnson RP – Tim Worrell RP – Mike Williams P – Livan Hernandez P – Francisco Rodriguez P – Brian Lawrence BENCH – Craig A. Wilson BENCH – Jeff Weaver BENCH – Marquis Grissom BENCH – Francisco Cordero BENCH – Carlos Guillen
A nice blend of batting average, walks, homers, and speed will keep SchillMonsters in the game. The pitching is a strikeout machine.
SMART PICK: Randy Johnson
STUPID PICK: Mike Williams
Durham Dirt Dogs
C – M. Piazza 1B – T. Helton 2B – R. Durham 3B – M. Ensberg SS – E. Renteria OF – V. Guerrero OF – H. Matsui OF – L. Gonzalez UTIL – S. Stewart UTIL – F. Thomas SP – E. Loiaza SP – R. Clemens RP – L. Hawkins RP – R. Wagner P – W. Williams RP – G. Meche BENCH – J. Burnitz BENCH – V. Martinez BENCH – M. Mora BENCH – L. Carter BENCH – R. Ankiel
Plenty of thump in this line up, but plenty of moaning to be done with the pitching.
SMART PICK: Ryan Wagner
STUPID PICK: Rick Ankiel
Houndz
C – Jorge Posada 1B – Rafael Palmeiro
2B – Bret Boone 3B – Eric Chavez SS – Christian Guzman OF – Carlos Lee OF – Reggie Sanders OF -Kenny Lofton UTIL – Ryan Klesko UTIL -Mike Cameron SP – Roy Halladay SP – Hideo Nomo RP – Jason Isringhausen RP -Mike Remlinger P – Dave Wells P -Miguel Batista P -Brandon Lyon BENCH -Rocky Biddle BENCH -Ryan Franklin BENCH -Mike Timlin BENCH – Aaron Boone BENCH – ?
Aaron Boone!? Great infield, solid outfield, but … Aaron Boone? An old pitching staff will worry him.
SMART PICK: Miguel Batista
STUPID PICK: Aaron Boone
Shar’s Bombers
C- Jason Kendall 1B – Jim Thome 2B- Adam Kennedy 3B- Eric Hinske SS- Derek Jeter OF- Carlos Beltran OF- Rocco Baldelli OF- Jose Guillen Util- Erubiel Durazo Util- Shea Hillenbrand SP- Josh Beckett SP- Russ Ortiz RP- Joe Borowski RP- Braden Looper P- Kyle Lohse P- Kip Wells P- Mike Hampton BN- Luis Matos BN- Jody Gerut BN- Jose Mesa BN- Jose Cruz Jr BN- Todd Hollandsworth
A phenomenal outfield, so why are there four bench players who play the outfield? Decent enough infield, but really could have used an infielder in the bench spot.
SMART PICK: Rocco Baldelli
STUPID PICK: Todd Hollandsworth
And last, and NOT least, the one picked to win it all…
FIRE BRAND!
C – Jason Varitek 1B – Albert Pujols 2B – Mark Loretta3B – Dmitri Young SS – Alex CintronOF – Andruw Jones OF – Jay Gibbons OF – Steve FinleyUTIL IF – Joe Randa UTIL OF – Brad Wilkerson SP – Mark Mulder SP – Bartolo Colon RP – Keith Foulke RP – Damaso Marte P – Matt Clement P – Chris Reitsma P – Aquilino Lopez BENCH IF – Craig Counsell BENCH OF – Craig Biggio BENCH SP – John Thomson BENCH SP – Erik DuBose BENCH RP – Scott Williamson
Smacks of perfection.
SMART PICK: Jay Gibbons
STUPID PICK: None, it’s perfect.
Red Sox Haven is splitting up the Red Sox roundtable columnist discussion, of which I am a part of. When all parts are complete, I will post the full edition.
