TigersMAN

Just finished a live draft on CBS.  It's probably my last draft before the season starts.  I have so many teams now, I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep them straight.  This league is a 10-team, H2H league.  Unfortunately, I had the #1 draft position again.  I hate drafting first because it's so long before you get to draft again in the 2nd, 4th, 6th, etc. rounds.  So here's my team.  I'm not real happy with my pitching staff but maybe I'll be lucky and some young upstart will have a great start and I'll be able to pick him up on the waiver wire....or maybe I'll be able to make a trade somewhere along the line.  Any recommendations/suggestions are appreciated.

Here's my team, by round drafted:

• C - Ivan Rodriguez (12th round)
• 1B - James Loney (11th round)
• 2B - Brandon Phillips (3rd round)
• 3B - Alex Rodriguez (1st round)
• SS - Edgar Renteria (13th round)
• OF - Magglio Ordonez (2nd round)
• OF - Manny Ramirez (4th round)
• OF - Hunter Pence (10th round)
• U - Corey Hart (16th round)
• SP - Roy Oswalt (6th round)
• SP - Felix Hernandez (7th round)
• SP - John Maine (8th round)
• SP - Jon Garland (14th round)
• RP - J. J. Putz (5th round)
• RP - Joe Nathan (9th round)
• RP - Jason Isringhausen (15th round)
• Bn - Ken Griffey Jr. (17th round)
• Bn - Jim Thome (18th round)
• Bn - Gil Meche (19th round)
• Bn - Joachim Soria (20th round)
• Bn - Bengie Molina (21st round)
• Bn - Carlos Delgado (22nd round)

Griffey's, Thome's, and Delgado's "stock" has really dropped this year - Delgado for good reason, more so than the other two IMO.  A few years ago, you'd have never been able to draft them so late.

Well...I picked the #1 seeds correctly (see previous blogs) but that was the easy part.  Now comes the really tough part...trying to pick the winners (upsets et.al.) and who will make it to the FINAL FOUR.  I would've preferred to see more mid-majors in the tourney but that's just my preference.  I knew the committee wouldn't select as many as I would like.  There's been some talk about having a play-in game for each region, which I agree with, and I don't know why they haven't done that all along.  Anyway, on to my picks:

EAST:

I think Arkansas will beat Indiana - IU seems to be too affected by the loss of Sampson.  The only major upset I have in round 1 is St. Joe's beating Oklahoma but I have Louisville taking care of St. Joe's in round 2.  Also in the second round, I have Notre Dame beating Washington State - I think WSU is much overrated and shouldn't be a 4th seed.  In the Regionals, I have some upset picks - I have Louisville over Tennessee to get to the Elite Eight and also upsetting the Tarheels to get to the Final Four.  Louisville is my pick to win the East!

Midwest:

It's upsets galore here in round 1 - Kent State over UNLV in the 8-9 game (not a big upset); Here's the biggy: Siena over Vanderbilt in the 4-13 game - Vandy hasn't played well away from home at all this year;  This next one I'm not sure about but went with it anyway - Kansas State over USC - USC is a team that I've heard some "experts" say could make it to the final four or at least elite eight and they may very well do that but I'm sticking with K-State; I have Davidson beating Gonzaga in the 7-10 game.  However, after the second round, all those high seeds will be gone.  My big upset in the Regionals is Clemson over Kansas - I have Clemson also beating Georgetown in the Regional Final to get to the Final Four from the Midwest Region.  Clemson is my pick to win the Midwest.

South:

The only upset in round 1 in this region is St. Mary's over Miami.  I don't think Miami should've even been selected to be in the tourney.  St. Mary's won't make it out of the 2nd round though - Texas is too good for them.  My only upset in round 2 is Marquette over Stanford.  I think Pitt will give Memphis a good game but I'm picking Memphis to go to the final four over Texas.  Memphis is my pick to win the South.

West:

I have Drake upsetting UConn in round 2, West Virginia upsetting Duke in round 2, with UCLA meeting and beating Xavier in the regional final to get to the final four from the West.  UCLA is my choice to win the West.

FINAL FOUR:

More surprises - at least to some.  I have Clemson beating Louisville and Memphis beating UCLA.  In the final, it's Memphis over Clemson to win the NCAA Championship!

Here's my latest two FBB drafts.  The first one is a 10-team H2H league (CBS) and the second draft is also a 10-team H2H league but it's from the Sporting News Fantasy site.  They were both automated drafts

Team 1:

Hitters:

• C - Ivan Rodriguez - 7th round
• 1B - Teixeira - 4th round
• 2B - Polanco - 8th round
• 3B - Cabrera - 1st round
• SS - Tulowitzki - 9th round
• LF - Ellsbury - 11th round
• CF - Granderson - 3rd round
• RF - Ordonez - 2nd round
• U - Loney - 16th round
• Bn - Melky Cabrera - CF - 19th round
• Bn - Maybin - LF - 20th round
• Bn - Fukudome - RF - 21st round
• Bn - Towles - C - 22nd round

Pitchers:

• SP - Zambrano - 5th round
• SP - Oswalt - 6th round
• RP - Nathan - 10th round
• RP - Jones - 12th round
• P - Bonderman - 13th round
• P - Carmona 14th round
• P - Soriano - 15th round
• Bn - Pedro Martinez - 17th round
• Bn - Soria - 18th round

Will move Pedro to a P spot and put Soriano on the Bn for the start of the season.

Team 2:

Hitters:

• C - Rodriguez - 15th round
• 1B - Howard - 1st round
• 2B - Kendrick - 12th round
• 3B - Lowell - 13th round
• SS - Tulowitzki - 5th round
• OF - Granderson - 4th round
• OF - Sheffield - 8th round
• OF - Cuddyer - 14th round
• U - Fielder - 2nd round
• U - D. Lee - 6th round
• Bn - Delgado - 18th round
• Bn - Drew (SS) - 21st round
• Bn - Bourn - 22nd round (drafted Rasmus but dropped him and picked up Bourn - for SBs)

Pitchers:

• SP - Verlander - 3rd round
• RP - F. Rodriguez - 7th round (surprised he was still available in r7)
• SP - Halladay - 9th round
• SP - F. Hernandez - 10th round
• SP - Carmona - 11th round
• RP - Jones - 16th round
• SP - Guthrie - 17th round
• Bn - Willis - 19th round
• Bn - Oliver Perez - 20th round

Looking to trade Guthrie for another RP but no success as yet.  Who do you think I could get for Guthrie?  Appreciate any feedback, recommendations on trades, etc.

My latest Fantasy Baseball Draft took place last night...overnight actually.  It was an automated draft.  I usually do live drafts whenever I can but I've done quite a few and needed a break.  This is a 12-team H2H league.  I drafted in the 10th position.

Here's my team, by round drafted:

1. Prince Fielder - 1B
2. Brandon Phillips - 2B
3. Justin Verlander - SP
4. Brandon Webb - SP
5. Manny Ramirez - OF </