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22 year AL only 4x4 league started in the college years at MSU. 9 teams. Drafted 4/8.
Team finished first in '15, after a horrid start to the season, took over the lead at week 20, and coasted to my fifth league title.
This is our 17th season drafting in Las Vegas in the Mandalay sports book. Buckets of beer flowing all afternoon, along with periodic shots of Makers & Turkey, thanks to our usual waitress (the same girl has worked our draft day nearly every year since we've been there). It's a fun day.
I've found over the years that our league doesnt follow the standard mold, per se. The most noticeable difference is that established closers are valued very highly in this league – the top end available closers typically wind up north of $30, and mediocre (but entrenched) closers are usually in the mid to upper 20s. To my knowledge no team has ever won w/o competing in the saves category. The top end of inflation is not as extreme as some leagues, and the middle upper tiers tend to go at or above projected costs. The endgame produces absolute gems, if you're patient.
As an aside, in an effort to give my liver a well deserved break, I played the Sunday poker tourney at the Venetian, and won it just in time to catch my red eye flight (and I do mean just). I'm writing this after falling face first into the couch for about 7 hours upon arrival home.
Each year I do a quick and dirty post draft analysis on some scratch paper, and to date it's been wildly effective at being predictive of league finishes. This year's projection was not so kind to me, and I'm having difficulty determining why – I achieved most of my draft objectives and everything went according to plan, sans one notable outcome.
*designates keeper
C – Salty 1
C – JR Murphy 1
1 – Miggy* 40
3 – Castellanos* 6
CI – T. Frazier 27
2 – J. Ramirez 1
S – Desmond 21
MI – Semien 10
OF – Springer* 15
OF – JD Martinez* 15
OF – C. Davis* 26
OF – A. Eaton* 9
OF – B Buxton* 10
DH – B. PAPI 1
Interesting note on Papi. A number of teams came into the draft with DH slot full. As the draft wore on, I kept eyeballing Papi & Vmart who were still undrafted, and more and more teams were losing the DH slot. It came down to a final two teams with DH eligibility – me, and the guy sitting next to me (last year's last place finisher). Mind you, this guy is a Boston native, and was WEARING an Ortiz jersey at the draft, and he's a known collector of Bosox players. Also, I was down to $1 only per player slot, and he still had a little cash. It was a forgone conclusion that he would get Ortiz, and he openly spoke about it. Until, that is, he put a $2 bid on Travis Shaw, and locked out his DH slot. Frankly, I'd have been ecstatic about getting a $1 Vmart on my already Tigers-laden lineup, it's fun to be able to watch your team every time you walk into a bar. But Papi was a nice surprise. The Boston guy, incidentally, was very bummed when he realized his mistake.
P – Carrasco* 10
P – Stroman* 2
P – Moore 2
P – Kennedy 1
P – Eovaldi 1
P – T May 1
P – S Dyson 1
P – Chapman 27
P- Kimbrel 32
As stated earlier – closers go for a premium in this league. Since I felt I had two solid top end SP on the cheap, I earmarked $60 for two, and I would have been fine if that meant Robertson & F Rod or whomever. To get who I considered the top 2 available was a bonus.
The staff is solidly anchored at the front & back end, with some decent speculative plays/values in between. Overall I am pleased and felt it went precisely according to plan.
I feel like the offense is loaded, if a little light on speed, and the pitching staff is adequately competitive. All with a lot of potential future value that can translate to trades if necessary.
I'm bullish on chances of defending the Title. What says the pen?
Team finished first in '15, after a horrid start to the season, took over the lead at week 20, and coasted to my fifth league title.
This is our 17th season drafting in Las Vegas in the Mandalay sports book. Buckets of beer flowing all afternoon, along with periodic shots of Makers & Turkey, thanks to our usual waitress (the same girl has worked our draft day nearly every year since we've been there). It's a fun day.
I've found over the years that our league doesnt follow the standard mold, per se. The most noticeable difference is that established closers are valued very highly in this league – the top end available closers typically wind up north of $30, and mediocre (but entrenched) closers are usually in the mid to upper 20s. To my knowledge no team has ever won w/o competing in the saves category. The top end of inflation is not as extreme as some leagues, and the middle upper tiers tend to go at or above projected costs. The endgame produces absolute gems, if you're patient.
As an aside, in an effort to give my liver a well deserved break, I played the Sunday poker tourney at the Venetian, and won it just in time to catch my red eye flight (and I do mean just). I'm writing this after falling face first into the couch for about 7 hours upon arrival home.
Each year I do a quick and dirty post draft analysis on some scratch paper, and to date it's been wildly effective at being predictive of league finishes. This year's projection was not so kind to me, and I'm having difficulty determining why – I achieved most of my draft objectives and everything went according to plan, sans one notable outcome.
*designates keeper
C – Salty 1
C – JR Murphy 1
1 – Miggy* 40
3 – Castellanos* 6
CI – T. Frazier 27
2 – J. Ramirez 1
S – Desmond 21
MI – Semien 10
OF – Springer* 15
OF – JD Martinez* 15
OF – C. Davis* 26
OF – A. Eaton* 9
OF – B Buxton* 10
DH – B. PAPI 1
Interesting note on Papi. A number of teams came into the draft with DH slot full. As the draft wore on, I kept eyeballing Papi & Vmart who were still undrafted, and more and more teams were losing the DH slot. It came down to a final two teams with DH eligibility – me, and the guy sitting next to me (last year's last place finisher). Mind you, this guy is a Boston native, and was WEARING an Ortiz jersey at the draft, and he's a known collector of Bosox players. Also, I was down to $1 only per player slot, and he still had a little cash. It was a forgone conclusion that he would get Ortiz, and he openly spoke about it. Until, that is, he put a $2 bid on Travis Shaw, and locked out his DH slot. Frankly, I'd have been ecstatic about getting a $1 Vmart on my already Tigers-laden lineup, it's fun to be able to watch your team every time you walk into a bar. But Papi was a nice surprise. The Boston guy, incidentally, was very bummed when he realized his mistake.
P – Carrasco* 10
P – Stroman* 2
P – Moore 2
P – Kennedy 1
P – Eovaldi 1
P – T May 1
P – S Dyson 1
P – Chapman 27
P- Kimbrel 32
As stated earlier – closers go for a premium in this league. Since I felt I had two solid top end SP on the cheap, I earmarked $60 for two, and I would have been fine if that meant Robertson & F Rod or whomever. To get who I considered the top 2 available was a bonus.
The staff is solidly anchored at the front & back end, with some decent speculative plays/values in between. Overall I am pleased and felt it went precisely according to plan.
I feel like the offense is loaded, if a little light on speed, and the pitching staff is adequately competitive. All with a lot of potential future value that can translate to trades if necessary.
I'm bullish on chances of defending the Title. What says the pen?
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