Winter Meetings and 1st Pick Rumors!

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Orlando (AP)-

Commish Matt of the Millenium Baseball League has announced that the league will hold it's first Winter Meetings in league history. Being held at the Dolphin Resort at Disney World (or Slack). Time of the meeting will be from 8 pm-11 pm eastern time.

This is a great opportunity for owners to make last minute trades before the draft the next day. The league hopes that all owners will be able to attend but understands if some owners are not available. 

**RUMOR**

What is this man up to?

Owner and Manager for the Minnesota Millers, Walt has the first overall pick in this years 2005 draft. Word on the street says that Walt is not going to take the #1 prospect (King)Felix Hernandez with the pick. Instead he'll be looking at adding hot corner prospect Freddy Sanchez with the number one pick. WHOA! If that is true that will shake up the 1st half of the first round of the draft. Walt has put out there that he is willing to trade the 1st pick if the deal was right. Stay tuned and see what Walt has up his sleeve. Walt was not available for comment.

Long time no blog

Hey Everyone,

Boy it's been since April 10th since I posted anything here on this blog, and that wasn't even my post. It was a great write up by our commissioner Matt about his predictions on what will happen in the 2003 season.

Is it me or is the league as a whole much quieter than in seasons past? I know Matt is busy, Since my dad passed in March it's been a struggle to get into my season, and also to write posts.

I just received the message that Brad posted about Kerry Wood, and started to wonder why hasn't there been more back and forth between us all. Heck it seemed in the 2002 trading season I would expect at least 1 email a day with some trade announcement, specially from Larry. He must be getting soft from his World Series win in 2002.

Brad wants to move Wood, Charles wants to move Mike Sweeney, and well Steve wants to try and move everyone on his roster. I think Steve was reading too many pages from Larry's 2002 playbook. Heck, I even through out Torii Hunter and Scott Rolen, and didn't see too many offers come my way. Milwaukee gave me the best offer, but I couldn't work those players in to my team design.

I think we as owners are over-valuing some if not all of our own players, while trying to get the "steal" from others. Not that there is anything wrong about that. I was a little surprised at the offers for Rolen I must admit. Yes, I know I have talked poorly about his offensive struggles for me the last 1 and a half years, but he is still Scott Rolen and will his 2004 card is a monster. And if traded he could do better in a different team/stadium. From the message that Christopher just posted about Mike Sweeney sounds as he come up to the same conclusion.

I am surprised at how guys are protecting there draft picks in the upcoming 04 draft. Leading into the 03 draft they were pouring out like water.

What have you seen this year so far?  Am I way off base? Who's on first? GET OFF MY LAWN! This is not a serious blog post, but it might read like one, sorry about that.

Before the Draft Help Wanted

Below is a have and want list of some of the teams in the Millennium League before the draft takes place on Friday.

Thanks to everyone who sent me there lists. If there is something wrong or you want changed just let me know.

Also, this list is more of a guideline for trades in the league. This is to try and help you all see what everyone is looking for and what they need. Don't take this as gospel, owners might have a change of heart on what they want or need by time you get them a message.

If your team is not represented on the list cause you didn't send me your list and want to be on just email me what you are looking for or need.

When looking at the "Haves" section I have put in parenthesis () what position the player is eligible to play in 2003.

Let the trade talking begin!

Good luck to all, and I hope this help you build your dynasty.

Team	Haves	Wants
Arizona Apaches	2004 picks for starting pitching	#1 for ace or strong closer #2 and #3 for rotation guys.
Atlanta Stonecutters	Jay Payton (LF, CF, RF), 1st round pick in 03 and 04	Starting Pitcher
Baltimore Stouts	extra OF ( A. Guiel very good card in 03, A power vs Right, Lefty Hitter, also Tim Salmon. extra SP--- can deal one of following Pineiro, Washburn, or Glavine	CF with good to great Range, backup IF 2b, SS, 3b, Long RP
Boston Beaneaters
Brooklyn Bums
Cincinnati Red Stockings	Ishii (SP), May(SP), Galarraga (1B) and possibly Farnsworth (RP	Draft picks
Cleveland Rock 'N Rollers	Travis Hafner(1B), Matt Mantei (RP)	Looking for SP and Draft picks
Colorado Briar Jumpers
Detroit Buckeyes	Polanco(2B, 3B), J. Jones(LF,RF), L. Castillo (2B), Guardado(RP), possibly Ibanez(LF, RF, 1B) and Dunn (LF, RF, 1B)	Draft picks, Shortstop, Outfield, 3rd Base
Houston Buffaloes	03' draft picks (no higher than 3rd rounder) and possibly 04' picks available	left handed starting pitcher who does well in '03. Could care less about his performance beyond that looking for a third baseman of the future
Los Angeles Diablos	Coco Crisp (LF, CF)	draft picks, relief pitching, or a catcher
Miami Panthers
Milwaukee Phantoms	OFs, a few good RPs, and draft picks.	Starting Pitching
Minnesota Millers	2004 picks	2003 picks
New York Bombers	starting pitchers for the 2003 season, Future value not that important	2003 1st and 2nd round picks
New York Rippers	2003 Draft picks	2004 draft picks
Oakland Osprey
Philadelphia Firebirds	Do not contact.	Perfectly happy with what he has, and will be building through the draft.
San Diego Vipers
San Francisco Quakers
Seattle Lightning	everyone available except Ichiro, Chipper Jones, Griffey, Jr.(my favorite player and tough to deal) and Billy Wagner, but Jones and Wagner could be had in the right kind of deal and they would be expensive.	1 STARTING PITCHER AND A SOME VERY GOOD BULLPEN PIECES platoon 1B, 2B & SS that hits LHP better or a better overall players. I could use a 3B that hits RHP better and a CF that is not an "F" Durability
St.Louis Sliders
Washington Senators	Matheny (C), 1st round pick	pitching
Washington Tribe

Guest blog post: A look back at the Beaneaters 2000 draft.

Craig: This is awesome, another guest blog post, this time from our fearless leader Matt. Thank you again to Steve for breaking the ice, and now Matt for this insightful post. If you have an idea for a post type it out and email it me, I would love to post it here. I really think these posts bring a lot to our league.  Without further ado, here's Matt...

Hi everyone,

Steve’s project in which he looked back at Oakland’s 2000 Inaugural Draft inspired me to do the same. I couldn’t even remember what order many of the Beaneaters players were picked in, so it was fun to relive this draft two years later and see how my picks did. Not sure if others will have much interest but at least it was fun for me to think back and explore how the current team was assembled.

Draft Strategy:

My draft strategy, if there was one at all, was to consider the Steroid Era. It seemed at the time that it was likely that big hitting first baseman and corner outfielders would be easy to find. Having been trained in Moneyball thinking, I wasn’t interested much in defense and speed except if it came with other qualities. It seemed likely that starting pitching would be at a premium so my thought was to pick 3 or 4 long-term starting pitchers to assemble the team around and then add some good Moneyball type hitters to get runs across the plate.

Unfortunately, my plans were thrown off a bit by the lefty bias in Dynasty that I’m sure we now all know too well. I ended up choosing three lefty starters in the early rounds not knowing that the deck was a bit stacked against them, but in the end, it seemed to work out ok for the Boston franchise as we were able to deal two of them for key pieces in the 02-05 seasons.

The other part of my strategy was to draft with both the 2000 season and future years in mind. I wanted to assemble a team for the long haul but I was hoping to win at least 90 games in year one. It seemed smart to do what Steve and Walt and Thomas and others did and suffer through a tough first year to build a great team for the future. But honestly, I didn’t even know if our league would last more than a year and I couldn’t bear to sit through a lot of losing. So with that I went into the 2000 Draft:

Round One:

Boston was chosen to draft 23 out of 24. There was a lot of talk after this initial lottery that the Bombers and Brooklyn and other teams near the top had too much of advantage in being able to take ARod and the Big Unit and the other premier players. I was never worried about this though. My strategy was to build a balanced club and thus, having pick 23 and 25 (the first year was a snake draft) rather than say #1 and #48 seemed fine to me. At 23, I looked to take the best starting pitcher available, preferably someone who could help in 2000 but who would be good for many years. Roger Clemens was taken at #17 and interestingly the next 5 picks were all hitters (including St. Louis’ odd choice of the F durability and aging Mark McGwire at 22). That left Tim Hudson on the board at 23 and so he became the first Beaneater. Hudson did go 14-8 with a 4.21 ERA (his +3 hold rating was helped when I acquired Eli Marrero for a 5^th rounder from Seattle with his -3 arm) in 2000 and won the Cy Young at 21-5, 2.83 ERA in 2001. He has an ERA in the 3.00s in 2002 and I’m hoping for a big year from him in 2003. Overall, I’ve been pretty satisfied with Huddy as our #1.

Round Two:

The Senators had back to back picks at the turn and with #25 took Barry Zito, who I had penciled in as Beaneater #2. Without Zito on the board, we went with half-of-famer Tom Glavine as the next best starting pitcher available. This pick I regret deeply. Al Leiter and Bartolo Colon went soon after and these picks or perhaps Javier Vasquez (who went to Oakland) would have been wiser. Glavine was left-handed and had a dreadful year as Boston’s ace in 2000 pitching in Fenway. He ended with the odd record of 17-15 in year one with an ERA just under 5.00, overall a disappointment. In 2001, his ERA was over 5.00 pitching in old Yankee Stadium. Anxious to deal off my southpaw starters, I traded him to Houston in the ’01 offseason for Carlos Guillen and a #5 pick. I felt I had enough pitching for ’02 and sure enough Glavine has underperformed again. He had an ERA in the 2.00s in 2002 but in the Millennium League he has pitched for three teams and has a 4.38 ERA. Hopefully all’s well that end’s well for Boston. Guillen has a monster ’04 season coming and I feel he could win a Classic MVP as a big-hitting shortstop with some other prime years to follow.

Round Three:

As the draft came back around to us at the bottom of Round 3 and top of Round 4, the plan was to pick one big bat and then another starting pitcher. We took Moises Alou as the third pick. Alou’s defense was pretty dreadful but he had big seasons in 2000 and 2001 and then some more down the line. At the time, I had not devised a strategy of picking left-handed bats and Alou seemed the best of the power-hitters available. Plus if we were going to compete in 2000, we needed a player with a big year. Looking back I think it was a decent choice. Moises hit .374-41-138 in 2000 and won the Classic League MVP, although he was dreadful in a playoff loss to Miami. He had another strong year in ’01. This past year, riding the pine, I dealt him to San Diego for a #2 and #4 pick. He was a hard guy to trade as no player symbolized the Beaners more than Moises but hopefully he can help the Vipers when he has a big year in 04 and again in 05. I’m hoping to use the picks for pitching.

Round Four:

Two picks later we again looked for a strong pitcher. Again not knowing of a lefty bias, Jamie Moyer seemed like a good pick. I liked his reverse splits and while he was poor in 2000, he had strong years in 01, 02 and 03. He has indeed performed well in 2002, currently 12-3 with a 2.48 ERA and an outside shot at a Cy Young. Not bad for a lefty. Livan Hernandez, Kerry Wood, Ryan Dempster are all guys who went shortly after them. Maybe Wood could have been the better choice but I do like Moyer’s longevity.

Round Five:

As the draft came back to Boston, I needed another big hitter and at the time Raffy Palmeiro seemed a good choice. However, as the season started and I acquired Ryan Klesko in that famously controversial trade with the Sliders, it freed up Palmeiro to be dealt. I sent him to Toronto along with third baseman Herbert Perry (round 9) for Tony Graffanino and Eric Chavez. This deal, only the second I ever made, is still probably the biggest in Beaner history. I am always too scared to trade big name players and I thought long and hard about this one. Overall, I’m happy I did it. Chavez is a good Dynasty player. He  plays a position that is hard to find (3B) and rakes against righties. I have been able to find guys to fill in against lefties and play third base, letting Chavez to usually slug over .500 against righties and bring A range defense. Palmeiro is a slugger but Chavez also has more years and should be a vital part of Boston’s team until ’06 or ’07.

Round Six:

Back for more pitching I unknowingly took another southpaw in Round 6, Jarrod Washburn. With an F durability in 2000 and a long career ahead of him, I was hoping I might sneak him through to a good year 2000 and then have him through the years. It didn’t work out as he went down for the season in an early season game in 2000 against Minnesota but he was OK in 2001. We were able to acquire Oslvado Fernandez as his replacement in 2000 from Houston for a 3^rd round pick. Osvaldo pitched very well as a #3 starter and then we dealt him at the break to Cincinnati for a #1 pick (who eventually became Ben Sheets). Meanwhile, Washburn pitched for Boston in 2001 and then was dealt to Baltimore in a big deal at the end of the season: Jarrod and a 3^rd and 4^th rounder for Larry Walker. That deal rivaled the Chavez-Palmeiro deal for the biggest in our history and we will have to see how it plays out. Walker is having a big year in 2001 for us but Washburn has also pitched pretty well for the Stouts and has a longer career than Walker.

Round Seven:

The Geoff Jenkins pick in the seventh may have been our best pick of the draft. Here is a guy who played most of his career in Milwaukee and was never seen as a superstar. Like Brian Giles of the Pirates, I felt like he was underrated and a bit of a steal in the 7^th. In 2000, he hit .301 with 33 homers and 125 RBI plus good defense, earning him a spot on the All-Star team. He does strike out a ton and doesn’t hit lefties well but these problems, especially the latter, don’t seem like major subtractions to me. In 01 and 02, he is an injury prone reserve (although we have avoided getting him hurt) but he should come back with monster seasons in 03 and 04 and another good one in 05.

Round Eight:

Rick Reed completed the 5 man rotation for year one and I hoped he would give us reasonable pitching for a few years. As it turned out, we dealt him at the deadline in 2000 to Baltimore for Ricky Gutierrez, a #4 pick in 2001 and a #2 pick in 2002. This seemed reasonable at the time and still does. Gutierrez was our starting shortstop for most of 01 and then dealt at the deadline for a #3 pick to Pittsburgh (the pick was then used to acquire Larry Walker). Ironically, Reed has recently come back to Boston in a trade for Todd Zeile with Arizona. He gives up a ton of home runs to lefties in ’02 but playing in cavernous Griffith Stadium I figured we could work our way around this liability. This allowed us to move Ryan Franklin to Minnesota along with a pick to get Paul Quantrill, our closer in ’03.

Round Nine:

Here I was worried we’d be stuck without a third baseman in ’00 and rather unwisely took Herbert Perry, a mediocre player with a short future. We were probably fortunate to include him in the deal to get Chavez with Toronto. Not a good pick though as much better players Jacque Jones, Arthur Rhodes and others were available.

Round Ten:

Needing a second baseman for 2000, we took Jerry Hairston, another unfortunate pick. Hairston was a reasonable second baseman in 00, hitting .257 with a .350 OBP but we could have looked toward the future here. In these middle rounds it was hard to try to complete in 2000 while also making strong picks. I think we did better though in trading Hairston and Jay Payton (later acquired in the Bob Wickman deal with the Rippers) for Latroy Hawkins who is probably our most valuable pitcher on the 2002 squad.

Round Eleven:

This pick for Adrian Brown worked out nicely. I had never heard of the Pirate centerfielder, but he was a strong one year player in 2000, hit and fielded very well for us and then was available to deal at the deadline to Baltimore for their #2 pick. Overall, a good conversion.

Round Twelve:

I took another one year player at #12, again looking toward the immediate future, choosing Donnie Wall, who became the Beaners superstar reliever. He ended up 17-7 in 2000 and finished third in the Cy Young balloting. Again, it might have been wiser to play for the future here as Wall was not a keeper at the end of ’00 but at least we got our money’s worth as he was the team’s most important pitcher in the first campaign.

Round Thirteen and Fourteen:

Needing bullpen help for 2000, Boston took Rich Garces and Eddie Guardado. Neither of these rather rotund relievers ever pitched particularly well in Boston. Garces would end his career as a Beaneater in 01 and Guardado was dealt to Detroit after the 2000 season for a pick that would be used for Danys Baez. While Baez never reached his potential with Boston, he was an important part of the 01 season and was eventually dealt to Oakland for Matt Stairs, a big part of our plans for ’03.

Round Fifteen and Sixteen:

Bob Wickman added to Boston’s 2000 bullpen. He was dealt mid-season to the Rippers for Turk Wendall and Jay Payton. Tough deal to analyze. On the one hand Wickman went on in 2001 to have the greatest Millennium season for a reliever yet recorded (at least in terms of saves, 48). On the other hand, it was nice to close for that Ripper ballclub! Wendall was dealt to Arizona for a #3 pick (I believe it was) and Payton helped get Hawkins so it wasn’t all bad.

In Round 16, we took the oddest player to ever wear a Beaner uniform. Mitch Meluskey, a one year catcher, who could really hit but also had dreadful defense. I believe he had F range and was an F handling pitchers. He also had a temper and a +1 arm. Overall, he seemed worth it though. Teaming with Sandy Alomar, he played only vs. righties and hit .336 with 14 homers and 60 RBI in 265 at bats to finish second in Rookie of the Year balloting.

Rounds 17-20

In Round 17, we finally took a shortstop, Felix Martinez, a smooth fielding, weak hitting player that we dealt mid-year to Arizona for a #2 pick as Deivi Cruz seemed good enough despite weak range to take over the position. Filling in gaps we took Sandy Alomar to hit against lefties at the catcher spot platooning with Meluskey in year one and Deivi Cruz who raked lefties and survived righties at SS. The 20^th pick went for Cliff Pollitte, an odd player who helped a bit as a spot starter in 2000, is having a good year in the pen in 2002 and will probably stick around as a keeper until his big closer year in 05.

Rounds 21-30

Filling in some gaps, some of the players drafted late became helpful in trades. Vaughn, taken in the 23^rd, was famously was dealt for Ryan Klesko, one of our most important players from ’00-’05. Jason McDonald, taken in the 22^nd was a great one-side player, who had a .426 OBP with a -2 arm in centerfield and was dealt to Arizona at the deadline for a 5^th rounder. Mike Stanton taken in the 21^st was also dealt to Arizona as part of a package that brought Jose Hernandez to Boston. Homer Bush, taken in the 26^th was traded to Minnesota during the 01 draft along with a pick for Todd Walker, a valuable starting second baseman.

Overall, it was a mixed draft. Some good picks that helped set Boston off to three 100 win seasons, but also some poor picks, a few of whom were able to be salvaged in trades. In any case, fun for me to look back at how it all worked out.

GUEST POST: "An Exercise in Self Indulgence"

The History of the Oakland Osprey, Their Drafts, Trades and Misadventures in Base Coaching.

Craig: How awesome is this! I was not expecting a guest blogger, but I welcome it. If you have a blog post you want to share here please send it my way, and I'll post it. Thanks to Steve for taking the time to write this, it had to be a lot of work. It's was a great read. And Steve you're welcome, I loved having Vlad as he is one of my favorites. Took a lot to pry him away. Hmmm, maybe I'll take a look back on the trade that sent Vlad away from the Stonecutters in a future blog. Now on to Steve's post...

Chapter 1: Genesis

Part 1: Foundation

In this League started at the Millennium year I always had wondered how a Club would look after a few years after a start up draft. I also can never seem to turn down any start up drafts. 

 Honestly I thought I would get more time between picks as Matty B. was very, very lax on time we spent to do each pick, however everybody and I mean everybody was all over this thing. I was away for that initial weekend for 16 hours at a time(Church Retreat an hour away from our Home) and was trying to get in scouting while still getting four hours of sleep each night.

 From the very start of this League it was made clear to me over that non-stop weekend that all the Owners were passionate about their soon to be teams. Even with my keeping track of each team on two separate 12 team draft sheets I use for Fantasy Football live Drafts I was still undulated with all sorts of equations and thoughts. How many "First Team" second basemen were left? How many more Starting Pitchers do the Clubs in my Division need? What did Socrates mean when he said: "I drank what?"
 Personally if this was a 12 teamer or even 16 teamer I surely would have been called out for taking too long and a couple of times was graciously granted extensions to the next morning when I was four or five picks away or more when i had t go to bed. I thank everyone again for their kindness during those 10 days in May.
 Picking kind of "in the middle" at 16th and 9th each round helped immensely… or did it?
We started sooner than I would have liked as well but my goal was to play .500 that first year and build a team around guys that could be kept for 4-5 years except of course those first few rounds. Being 5 hours ahead of the East Coast back home there I knew I would miss not only the thrill of last minute deals at the trade deadline but also any rewards no matter how large or small that those trades might bring. 
 My goal of .500 would have happened too if people hadn't started making what seemed at the time crazy offers at the time for relief pitchers I had. I mean no disrespect to those three owners who traded for my three best relievers and it certainly holds true to the past two years as a good, great reliever now as back then can go for a 2nd rounder without anybody blinking an eye. Even if the guy is a "One and Done Type" aka 1aD.
 So let's start and see where all those Baby Osprey are and who they are… and yes I plan on writing about more Clubs in the future.
Please enjoy.

q;-)


1.16 Jorge Posada
Let me tell you something. Picking 16th sucked, Atlanta kept pissing me off that whole draft and that Bawston guy and Washington at the turn did their share as well. Here are the first 24 picks of that Inaugural Draft:

Round One 

1  New York Bombers - Alex Rodriguez (SS/3B)
2  Brooklyn Broken Arrow Bums - Randy Johnson (SP)
3  Tampa Bay Stone Ponys - Barry Bonds (OF)
4  Toronto Redcoats - Pedro Martinez (SP)
5  San Francisco Quakers - Mike Mussina (SP)
6  Miami Panthers - Sammy Sosa (OF)
7  Houston Buffaloes - Manny Ramirez (OF)
8  Colorado Briar Jumpers - Greg Maddux (SP)
9  Minnesota Millers - Derek Jeter (SS)
10 Pittsburgh Crawfords - Bernie Williams (OF) 
11 Baltimore Stouts - Todd Helton (1b)
12 Milwaukee Phantoms - Carlos Delgado (1b)
13 Cincinnati Red Stockings - Curt Schilling (P)
14 New York Rippers - Kevin Brown (P)
15 Atlanta Stonecutters - Vlad Guerrero (OF)
16 Oakland Osprey - Jorge Posada (C)
17 Detroit Buckeyes - Roger Clemens (SP)
18 Seattle Lightning - Chipper Jones (3B)
19 San Diego Vipers - Bobby Abreu (OF)
20 Arizona Apaches - Jeff Kent (2b)
21 Cleveland Rock 'N Rollers - Jason Giambi (1b)
22 St. Louis Sliders - Mark McGwire (1b)
23 Boston Beaneaters - Tim Hudson (P)
24 Washington Senators -Jim Edmonds (OF) 


What a 1st Round!!!
Yes I wanted Vlad in the worst way possible especially after Schilling and Helton went earlier.
Solution: A switch hitting catcher who lasts 10 years or so? 
Posada is currently 2nd in Home Runs on the Osprey All Time Leaders List 4 behind Cliffy Floyd. He is very average defensively and above average offensively and doesn't need to be platooned.
Perfect… even if Posada is a Yankee in real life.

2.09 Javier Vazquez
In order to not have to scout through that massive, and I mean absolutely massive scouting Report that Matty B. did all on his own I just googled "Top 100 Players of the 2000s". I needed a Picther then to anchor my staff good or bad for 6-7 years. Vazquez's name was the highest Starting pitcher left on the list. Sure he sucks right now and some of that may be the way I leave him in too long or all those damb Deep Drives vs. Leftys on his card this year but he's mine, and he's mine for years to come still even though we are approaching our 4th year.
Vazquez leads the pitching staff in Innings Pitched and of course Strike Outs while compiling a 33-31 record so far. Yes that's horrible for the 33rd overall pick out of 900+ players but he's good for another 5-6 years now and we at the Osprey Front Office feel really good about 2003 through 2005 in the short term. My cheat sheets only go to 2006 so far.

3.16 Kevin Millwood
(Traded in 2001 with Tino Martinez and Oakland (02)1st to get Jason Giambi who was drafted at 1.21 in 2000).
Millwood was bit of a panic pick, I also didn't get to look at durability issues but whoever has him in 2005 will be very happy and he can fill roles from being a 3 to 5 Starter every year till then or his health holds up as I forget which year he is a F durability. Millwood is an "Innings Eater", a very popular term for starting pitchers who didn't really suck that bad and could take punishment from all the roided up hitters for 6 innings every five days. That first year that was what he did, leading the Baby Osprey in Strike Outs at 188(Vazquez had 177). Not bad but not the 421 Randy Johnson(taken 2nd in 2000) set the current record with that first year.
Millwood though was dealt in an effort to bolster the offence during the 2001 Season for Jason Giambi. Essentially this was how the Pacific Title was won in 2001 as Oakland started to pull away and eventually win 100+ games that year. Tino Martinez on the other hand has been out performing Giambi for his 'cost'  though but none the less with Seattle and San Francisco breathing down our necks then as also currently this was well worth the cost. This year San Diego is no slouch either having a brilliant start this year only to have the Dice Gods take away everything they worked for in a matter of weeks.



4.09 Brad Radke… Currently leads the Staff in Wins at 40-20 while this year(3-3) being relegated to 6th Starter status being an F durability. Radke is also the only 20 game winner in Osprey history going 20-5 last year.
This was a "homer pick" but not because I'm a Twins fan. Like quite a few of us we've played Dynasty leagues before and I owned Radke in a complex salary league in New England waaay back in 2003-04. Radke helped me win a Divison Title my second year there. Believe me this put him much closer to my heart than a lot of the fellas on the current squad and I can't be happier owning him even in this current "down" year… even though back 2005(with 2004 numbers) we got swept in the Playoffs losing 3 one run games to the eventual Champs before getting absolutely clobbered in the 4th by the likes of Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Jason Schmidt and Pedro Martinez…. yes, I remember that rotation after all these years.


5.16 Edgar Renteria…
Wow, I don't remember taking him this high but am glad I did. He fades a little more quickly than I would like can fill the SS position if I need rebuild and he doesn't really emerge until this year and then for the next few years. He's well worth the reach back then and he has the plus of being a St.Louis Cardinal. As we all know Mike C. loves his Cardinals.

6.09 Edgar Alfonso… 
(Traded to Cleveland for Mclemore and Clev 1st in 01')

I was really happy getting Alfonso but knew with having Koskie at 3b till like 2006 that Alfonso's position change coming up would cause me problems down the line. Nobody had made a really big deal yet so I got what i thought was a good deal from from Brian in Cleveland when he drove his team for a Championship(and off the edge in the years to come depending to who you talk to). I could have got more for Alfonso if I had waited to be sure. Fortunetely McLemore was good for 3 years and through other work I got Brain Roberts recently to fill the void at 2b. McLeMore also was 4th in the League with 56 stolen bases in 2001

 Now if only I could have gotten the Computer to use Bellhorn at 2b all this year(02). Guy leads the Osprey in HRs even though he has 150+ less ABs than everybody else.

7.16 Cory Koskie… (Recently traded to SD for Brian Roberts(03)
Koskie was a godsend. Yes it was only the 7th round but you couldn't find a lefty hitting 3b with power at that point in the draft. Once again consulting that Top 100 List there was Koskie. Koskie really helped out in a huge way last year and through a weird adversion to Geoff Blum getting had for relatively cheap in the 02-03 offseason I just couldn't get ABs for him unless a Lefty/Lefty match up came to fruition… and those don't come around often. Blum is a C durability this year so I kept Koskie around but then realised I need to get something for him before the offseason when Koskie blows up next year vs RH pitching. luckily my division counterpart in San Diego was looking for a 3b and wanted to flip Roberts.

8.09 Cliff Floyd…

 Leads the Franchise in HRs.

 Cliffy is near and dear to the fans' hearts but he only has a few excellent years left. The first OF taken he was the last decent player with power for more than 3-4 years. He also most years can steal a base when needed.

 Certainly Floyd will have his Osprey number retired in the future.

9.16 Kelvim Escobar… {Traded to LATribe during 01-02 offseason for a 3rd(02)}

 Escobar was another vital piece in the quest for Oakland's first Division Title last year in 2001. Escobar in 2001 after a very subpar 2000 had what is known as a "Cheater Card", "Ringer Card" or "Stupid Card", 15 Starts I believe piled onto by 30 appearances out of the bullpen where he could just strike out hitters for an inning and then be done. He went (13-6) in 13 starts and 30 relief stints. Escobar still has 2 years ahead where he rocks out and he will be a force again but I didn't have room when we moved down to 19 Keepers after 2001 so he had to go. I remember moving him in a panic during a vacation weekend in Derby… and really, really hating doing it.

 q:-(

10.09 Randy Winn

 Once again googling the Top 100 Players of the 2000s came Randy Winn to the rescue. If the Cheater Card of "1AD" Rich Becker hadn't come to light later in this draft then Winn would have gotten all the reps in CF that first year but I wanted to finish at .500 as mentioned before and Becker almost had a .400 OBP vs. RH'ers so Winn sat.

 Winn will be in the lineup for about 4 more years I think and is CLUTCH in 2003. He's a really fun guy to own too.

11.16 Denny Hocking…  (to CIN for Matt Stairs and MINN 3rd in 01')

 A really nice Super Utility Card who unfortunately had to play RF for me that first year. Poor drafting on my part but the little dude had tons of safeties on both sides and was a switch hitter to boot. He played above average defence seemingly everywhere as well but was severely lacking in power and in 2000 that's not good, especially in RF. 

 Then playing Cincinnati one evening here he asked about Hocking while I was eyeing more power in RF. Getting Matt Stairs was a happy feeling and knowing I could keep Stairs for long than Hocking made the deal all the better even if Matty forgets to bring his glove with in the coming years(03-05) and has to field with a metal skillet.

 Stairs was flipped for Danys Baez(JAM in both 04 and 05 and a flip-flop of picks).

 Baez was involved in getting a much needed bat from the RH side this year(02) for the stretch run in Ellis Burks and Burks has blown up. Burks can also hopefully help if Oakland goes far in the Playoffs against those teams from the Classic League who run a "Spread Defence"(Washington & Bawston amount others) in which they bounce between Lefty and Righty Pitching every 2 innings no matter what the score and no starter goes more than 4 innings. Jon Garland and all his Deep Drives which will hopefully play okay in Oakland/San Francisco was also involved in the deal that included the Cheater Card of Alex Cintron going to Baltimore.

12.09 Corey Lidle…

 Still currently toiling in the rotation at (7-4) in 22 starts and of course some relief appearances.

 Lidle holds a lifetime (30-14) after a lucky that first year(11-2) with a 5+ ERA card he must have gotten a ton of luck to do that with a sub .500 team. Again since we went down to 19 Keepers he's available in 03 as an Innings Eater and who knows, if he's there when I pick in the 4th I may grab him again for sentimental reasons.

 He later parishes in a freak plane crash into the New York skyline after the 2006 season I think.

 q:-(

13.16 Todd Ritchie (cut after 00 season)

 Ritchie was a wonderful find this late and performed very well going (13-7) with a quite reasonable ERA of 3.76 in 28 starts. For some reason I could not move him at the Trade Deadline, possibly because of the time difference but what a good kid to have on the mound and in the clubhouse.

14.09 Damian Jackson (cut after 01 season)

 Another Super Utility in 01 that was only rated as a B+ at ss and 2b if I recall. I didn't need him at that point but why let somebody else who needs a middle infielder this late snag a B+ range for 'free'?

 In 114 games he hit decent .258/.343/.424 and 21-2 in stolen bases and the next year platooned as a "Lefty Killer at 2b with McLemore. He just had 'pop' in his bat hence the slugging line and whenever I played he started at SS over Renteria.

 In 2001 he tied for the team lead in Triples(10) with McLeMore in 220 less ABs and stole another 10 bases. This year he plays for somebody as he should in a league this big, not too bad a card vs. RH'ers if I recall as well.

 

15.16 Ron Gant & 16.09 Jose Mesa

 Both are still contributing this year. Gant is a wanna be Lefty Killer who is actually doing waaaay better vs. Rhers and does match Ups for Righty on Righty Violence with Burks while Mesa is the 8th inning set up for Urbina after Mesa tied for 2nd in the 2001 Season with 35 Saves. Both have been cut after the 2002 season. Mesa actually had to be pressed into service late in the 00 champaign when as previously mentioned guys were giving me 2nd rounders for my RPs. I also got to give the craptastic card of John Wetteland a proper send off into retirement off the scrap heap in 2000 due to those trades… heck even Batista got innings I think. Both guys had like 6+ ERA cards that first year… God, how did we ever win 78 games or whatever it was?

17.16 Kerry Litenburg…

 (00 traded to AZ for David Delucci???)

 I don't really remember this guy but after he left in that trade Todd Ritchie grew out his lamb chops and wore them the rest of the year in a salute to his good friend.

18.09 Steve Reed 

 (00 traded to somebody for their 2nd in 01')

 I used to own Steve Reed back when he sucked in the 90s and I was thrilled to get him back in this League but alas another suitor came with a 2nd rounder and "Submarining Stevie" was gone. 

 We see him from time to time and catch up on all our good times and I think he's done after 02. Shame I really would have liked to have him on that 2000 for my replays in my RADL League pronounced "Rattle"( Short for the "Who gives a RATS ASS DYNASTY LEAGUE") consisting of all my previous teams playing 7 game series against each other. This came in real handy when we first moved here and I was diagnosed with my kidney disease. I'd play 3 innings, walk up and down the stairs of our flat 2 or 3x and rest while playing another 3 innings and repeat. I have that notebook somewhere...

19.16 Jose Jimenez…

  (traded to somebody for their 01' 2nd)

 Oh man, this guy was my Closer even though he had a marginal card and the first one to go I think. Yup, yup, another 2nd rounder I think.

20.09 Armando Reynoso…

 (cut after 00 season)

 The pickings were very slim at this point and you could tell by his like 5.56 ERA card but he's a Diamondback and I'm from AZ so why not?

21.16 Rich Becker…

 (cut after 00 season)

 This was a Cheater Card, like 198 safeties and B Power vs. RH'ers and a liveable B range in CF, perfect leadoff although I was toying with starting Mo Vaughn in CF but I think Matty B. chose him at the turn and did play Mo in CF as did whoever Matt traded him to. Great stuff that first year as we all were doing anything to get A Powered guys in our lineups.

 Becker finished at .227/.389/.373

 

22.09 Miguel Batista

 Another D-Back and Miguel is penciled in until 2006 I think as thetas how far I've gotten with those cheat sheets/depth charts. Suck-Azz MF'er that first year but he just keeps being useful every year until 2006 I think. I was absolutely thrilled to get him this late. Seriously good value this late.

23.16 Lee Stevens…

 (cut after 00 season)

  Another sentimental pick and decent value. With a "Reverse Card" Stevens did his damage mostly vs. Leftys. I got Lee waaay back in like 96 I think and he sits with my AL Team in a couple of piles there.

24.09 Tino Martinez…

 (2001 Traded with Kevin Millwood and Oak 1st in 02' for Jason Giambi)

 Tino sucked in 2000 and thats why I got him this late but he improves vastly in 01 and there after, heck I still want him back. Why do you guys think I keep shopping Palmeiro?

 Tino is in LA doing a decent job with 21 HRs currently and was up in BA earlier this year and as mentioned before he can play a decent 1b for the Tribe till like 2005 I think.

25.16 Scott Brosius…

 The Righty Bat in a platoon with Koskie with really nice D as a B+ at the corners when ever I needed him. Decent card vs. LH'ers in 01 as well so he must be on somebody's roster right now.

26.09 Dave McCarty…

 (cut after 00 season)

 Another guy who played the corners including the OF vs. Leftys

27.16 Jimmy Anderson…

 (cut during 00 season)

 Anderson quickly was given the nickname "Token" as he was the only lefty pitcher on the entire roster. I had to cut him though when people started hoarding guys off the waiver wire for next year's Keeper Rosters I think he was axed for another 1AD Reliver from Atlanta(real). Oh yeah, Jose Cabrera.

28.09 Andy Tracy…

 (cut during 00 season)

 Probably the first guy cut and I can't even remember his face.

29.16 Eurbio Durazo…

 (cut after season, damb it)

 Yup, this guy was number 21 and I couldn't keep him, but he has such a fun name to announce when coming to bat and of course he's a D-Back. Yes, if I can move Palmiero I would gladly deal for Durazo and his C/10 at 1b in 03, yes, I like him so much I memorized his fielding possibilities through all these years. I did get to have him back in the New England League but a richer team wanted him my expansion year so there he went(it was an all DH league)… sniff… sniff.

30.09 matt lecroy…

 (cut after season)

 When you have Posada as your catcher you can take your catcher last but don't let that fool you this draft if Moeller or Estrada fall too far I will snatch them up!!!

 Okay, whew. 

 Man.

 Even I'm tired of hearing me "talk"!!!

 Next Month...

--Building The Perfect Beast: 

--The 2002 New York Rippers

 All The Best,

 Steve Kornmuller

 Oakland Osprey