12TO NL who has recap of 1st rd? plus a hdid

[gcstomp]

we did our auction last night, and as always the 1st rd studs were beyond beyond. i thought the cbs site broke down by rd, and i could see who were the 1st 12 but i dont that an easy filter for that. i recall the big 4 1st were available, and votto, goldie, freeman, rizzo went 59,60,61,55. blackmon 61, max scherzer 58. so that is 6 of the 1st 12 spots in 1st rd. in any case, i recall having targets, namely i wanted one of the big 1b, but could not get myself to pull trigger. i will list my team, please feel free to list yours if you were in the battle last night.

i think my breaking tradition and not drinking hurt me, as i did not have the reckless wth attitude that allowed me to go get the big guys regardless of cost. prior years i power guzzled beer which i think helped in early rounds. sober is bad in going full steam ahead, remember that kids.

[gcstomp]

hdid, team Stomp, keepers *
c b posey 30
1b c santana 33
2b a frazier 2*
3b k bryant 15*
ss f galvis 1*
mi e sogard 1
ci j gyorko 9*
of puig 19*
of a mccutchen 36
of yas tomas 2
of j osuna 1
of m williamson
dh brian anderson 7
dh matt carpenter 24
farm i do have ryan mcmahon who will help

sp a wood 7*, j taillon 5*, j teheran 15, d straily 7, j chacin 3
rp w davis 24*, aj ramos 6*, a bradley 1*, b boxberger 10
bench j eickoff 1, j mcgee 2, m lorenzen 1, a wainwright 1

[harmon]

Going to have some trouble with speed but should be competitive in the other hitting categories.

Wood and Taillon keepers will be key for you. Really need good years from those two.

Pairing Boxberger with Bradley was expensive. Was that late into it and you had money and got pushed?

[gcstomp]

harmon, i had a strategy failure, i expected to land 1 of the top 4 1b guys, who all went between 55 and 61. i was just too sober to splash that deep, did my best to adjust on the fly with the excess bucks but i came away feeling very bummed but on bright side i have a valuable trade piece in mcmahon who i will flip to address my weak of spots.

[harmon]

You're being too hard on yourself. If you can get a bit of speed to pick up some scoring points and a little luck on the pitching side, who knows?

I'm interested in how Boxberger played out. How many were in on the bidding, was it early or late?

[pitbull]

Stomp, you are light on speed but overall offense looks good. You might have a bit of a hard time getting McMahon into your line-up as you are corner heavy but then again makes a great way to trade and maybe cover one of those OF spots. You protected yourself on saves getting Boxberger and McGee. Starting pitching is not bad although I'm no longer a fan of Teheran.

[Hornsby]

hdid, team Stomp, keepers *
c b posey 30
1b c santana 33
2b a frazier 2*
3b k bryant 15*
ss f galvis 1*
mi e sogard 1
ci j gyorko 9*
of puig 19*
of a mccutchen 36
of yas tomas 2
of j osuna 1
of m williamson
dh brian anderson 7
dh matt carpenter 24
farm i do have ryan mcmahon who will help

sp a wood 7*, j taillon 5*, j teheran 15, d straily 7, j chacin 3
rp w davis 24*, aj ramos 6*, a bradley 1*, b boxberger 10
bench j eickoff 1, j mcgee 2, m lorenzen 1, a wainwright 1

I agree with the chorus, you're being too hard on yourself. Your Giants were an overpay, IMO...Posey doesn't give enough anymore in a 1 C league, and I don't think that Cutch sniffs a 305 buck season any more. That said, both will provide you with stats, and in the end, that's what matters. I like the spec picks with Tomas and Wainwright...you get a 30 HR bat for 2 bucks? Yes please...and I kind of like Santana at 33, he's no Goldy, but for almost half the price he'll give you a lot of production...35/100 isn't out of the question at all. I also like Straily...sneaky.

You're light on speed and your power is pretty good. Starting pitching should be very competitive, and closers are like almost all closers in an only league...hold on and hope.

[Big Tymer]

I’ll weigh in a bit more later but this year was a bit more stars and scrubs than years past I think and was surprised a bit by the high prices early but had a plan to buy a top 1B and SP so stuck to it and got Votto for $59 (needed the BA) and Bumgarner for $40. Not sure you made the wrong call sitting those prices out fwiw. We went to negative inflation pretty early in Pitching (at least per my valuations) but a lot of decent SP went in single digits later so think it made sense to pay up. You spread the $ around with Pitching and will be strong in Saves but without a SP anchor the other pitching categories may be tough.

[joncarlos]

Yeah, everyone definitely ran out of money quicker than usual this year. I wanted to get an ace and a good 1B since the lower tier 1Bs really suck. But I think I spent too much on pitching.

C Barnes 3 (keeper)
1B Hosmer 37
3B Spangenberg 2 (keeper)
CI Adrian Gonzalez 1
2B Lemahieu 19 (keeper)
SS Ketel Marte 5 (keeper)
MI Wong 8 (keeper)
OF Pham 1 (keeper)
OF J Bruce 27
OF Carlos Gonzalez 15
OF Parra 3
OF Austin Jackson 2
UT Tyler Flowers 4
UT Wilmer Difo 5

Reserves - Grandal 8 and Sean Rodriguez 1

SP Scherzer 58
SP Maeda 19
SP Roark 14
SP Jimmy Nelson 8
SP Chad Kuhl 1
SP Trevor Williams 1
RP Doolittle 18 (keeper)
RP Tommy Hunter 1
RP Tony Watson 2

Reserve Bud Norris 1, Ty Blach 1, Adam Morgan 1

My hope was to do well in wins (hence 2 Nats and a Dodger) and ratios and OK in saves even while only having 4 or 5 starters, but Kuhl and Williams fell into my lap. So I'll juggle things a bit.

[gcstomp]

jc! dude, i look forward to our long battle this year, as I know you are a gamer. but i am sure you know you spent very heavy on pitching. 70/30 split is pretty standard, you went more than 45% on pitching. you got the best mac daddy stud muffin in m scherzer and you spent well in maeda, roark, not wanting to blow up the numbers max gave you. so you i am sure recognize despite some hitting bargains, i mean $1 on a gonzalez, how the mighty have fallen, you are light in hitting overall. you have had a team led by clayton kershaw for how many years in a row, so i get you wanted the sp monster to hold everything together.

in general, past years i always went heavy hitting, like 80%+ and knew i could beg, borrow, steal pitching from fa and trading. this year i went more traditional balanced, like 70/30 split, while also trying to spread risk with no mongo purchases, so i dont have the elite names. i got stung so bad that 1 year with aj pollock losing his legs to a shark attack before i got any at bats from him i didnt want to leave myself that vulnerable to a single injury again. next year, maybe i will go back to the doug dennis attack with just 1 dollar per pitching slot and all hitting. Death Dealer from Frazetta swinging an ax riding a black horse, this year balanced and sensible like a librarian having a spot of tea in a pastel colored suit.

[Big Tymer]

So I have been in this league 10+ years and that helps as I am bit desensitized to the crazy inflation. For my team, I started with a strong offense-centric keeper list + players on the cusp but little pitching of note:

KEEPERS:
C = Alex Avila $3
1B =
2B =
SS = Amed Rosario $5
3B = Nolan Arenado $20
MI =
CI = Maikel Franco $5
OF = Billy Hamilton $15
OF = Kyle Schwarber $10
OF =
OF =
OF =
UT = Derek Deitrich $5
P = Chris Stratton $3
P = Mike Montgomery $2
P = Brad Ziegler $1
P =
P =
P =
P =
P =
P =
FARM (player of note for 2018) = Acuna, Robles, Senzel, Soroka, Allard

Saves were scarce in the available player pool so I intended to essentially punt saves outside Ziegler and instead try and buy an ace for around $40 and a #2 type for around $20 and then round out the staff with a lot of SP to stream and quality MRs to fill in. On offense, I wanted to add BA & power given my keepers and had no real need for SBs given my roster as is as if I added nothing I'd still likely finish top-2 I thought.

PLAYERS I BOUGHT WORTH COMMENTARY:
1. Joey Votto $59 = I was prepared to pay $60ish as that is what Rizzo went for last year and wanted to add him or Blackmon (went for $61) for BA
2. Madison Bumgarner $40 = I wanted him or deGrom and MadBum came up first
3. Corey Dickerson $24 = I think I like him more than most but wanted to add an OF with a decent BA and 20ish HR power. Planned to get him around $20 but stayed in the bidding maybe a little too long
4. Adam Duval $22 = Again, I probably stayed in the bidding a couple bucks more than I'd prefer but had some money and he was one of the better power bats left and I had some BA cushion
5. Taijuan Walker $21 = Auction dynamics as he was the last SP I liked but again a few bucks more than I'd ideally prefer
6. Steven Matz $7 = Not a target at all but bidding stopped and a decent dart throw. Would have preferred Musgrove or Nova for around the same amount.
7. Hunter Pence $5 = I know he's old and won't play a full season but for $5???

OTHER < $5 SP DART THROWS: Ben Lively, Anthony DeSclafani, Jeremy Hellickson, Homer Bailey

FULL ROSTER:
C = Alex Avila $3
1B = Joey Votto $59
2B = Carlos Asuaje $3
SS = Amed Rosario $5
3B = Nolan Arenado $20
MI = JT Riddle $1
CI = Maikel Franco $5
OF = Billy Hamilton $15
OF = Kyle Schwarber = $10
OF = Corey Dickerson $24
OF = Adam Duval $22
OF = Hunter Pence $5
UT = Derek Deitrich $5
P = Chris Stratton $3
P = Mike Montgomery $2
P = Brad Ziegler $1
P = Madison Bumgarner $40
P = Taijuan Walker $21
P = Steven Matz $7
P = Jacob Barnes $1
P = Anthony Swarzak $2
P = Justin Wilson $2
BENCH: Homer Bailey, Ben Lively, Anthony DeSclafani, Kyle Crick & Jeremy Hellickson
FARM (player of note for 2018) = Acuna, Robles, Senzel, Soroka, Allard

Reviewing Rotolab, I think I bought too much offense as I am widely ahead in HR, RBI & R even before promoting my FARM guys. Hopefully Senzel plays SS as I could really use him in MI. For pitching, I need to stream and play the matchups like crazy as I have few SP you can trust day-in-day-out, but this is generally how I like to build a staff. Every team has saves so while I had hoped I could punt and still finish with 2-3 points I'm not sure that will be possible. Not impossible for me to fall into some saves with Swarzak, Wilson & Barnes but no real clear path for anyone right now. Ideally Holland signs with a NL team and I spend a nice chunk of FAAB to fill that hole.

My goals for 2018 were to finish top-4 but not likely to sell my FARM guys as I am in love with Acuna, Robles & Senzel and plan for them to be my foundation moving forward. Thus, not selling them will make it very hard for me to contend and acquire talent but I have the #5 FARM pick and feel like I can use some other assets to fill in P holes as needed. Looking forward to our AL draft next week and our 18-team mixed the week after that.

[Judge Jude]

" i got stung so bad that 1 year with aj pollock losing his legs to a shark attack before i got any at bats from him"

lol
we held our auction after Pollock was declared out for the season that year.
like a lot of old leagues, there is a tendency for someone to say, "Goldschmidt [etc] for 1." fortunately someone immediately leaps to 30 or so, and we're off.

an owner who hadn't heard the Pollock news confidently called out, "AJ Pollock for 20" as the opening bid.
awkward silence around the war room. one rival even mumbled something about a mulligan, which of course we don't do.

right away we realized, "wait, wouldn't the bidding have wound up in the 20 range anyway?" so we said don't feel so bad.
owner kept him for 20 last year, and broke even. he'll likely keep him again this year, so tragedy averted.

interesting to see the Scherzer/Maeda combo. I had Kershaw/Maeda last year, also paying 19 for Maeda. he wasn't worth that in the abstract, but the combined stats were perfect.

[Hornsby]

So I have been in this league 10+ years and that helps as I am bit desensitized to the crazy inflation. For my team, I started with a strong offense-centric keeper list + players on the cusp but little pitching of note:

KEEPERS:
C = Alex Avila $3
1B =
2B =
SS = Amed Rosario $5
3B = Nolan Arenado $20
MI =
CI = Maikel Franco $5
OF = Billy Hamilton $15
OF = Kyle Schwarber $10
OF =
OF =
OF =
UT = Derek Deitrich $5
P = Chris Stratton $3
P = Mike Montgomery $2
P = Brad Ziegler $1
P =
P =
P =
P =
P =
P =
FARM (player of note for 2018) = Acuna, Robles, Senzel, Soroka, Allard

Saves were scarce in the available player pool so I intended to essentially punt saves outside Ziegler and instead try and buy an ace for around $40 and a #2 type for around $20 and then round out the staff with a lot of SP to stream and quality MRs to fill in. On offense, I wanted to add BA & power given my keepers and had no real need for SBs given my roster as is as if I added nothing I'd still likely finish top-2 I thought.

PLAYERS I BOUGHT WORTH COMMENTARY:
1. Joey Votto $59 = I was prepared to pay $60ish as that is what Rizzo went for last year and wanted to add him or Blackmon (went for $61) for BA
2. Madison Bumgarner $40 = I wanted him or deGrom and MadBum came up first
3. Corey Dickerson $24 = I think I like him more than most but wanted to add an OF with a decent BA and 20ish HR power. Planned to get him around $20 but stayed in the bidding maybe a little too long
4. Adam Duval $22 = Again, I probably stayed in the bidding a couple bucks more than I'd prefer but had some money and he was one of the better power bats left and I had some BA cushion
5. Taijuan Walker $21 = Auction dynamics as he was the last SP I liked but again a few bucks more than I'd ideally prefer
6. Steven Matz $7 = Not a target at all but bidding stopped and a decent dart throw. Would have preferred Musgrove or Nova for around the same amount.
7. Hunter Pence $5 = I know he's old and won't play a full season but for $5???

OTHER < $5 SP DART THROWS: Ben Lively, Anthony DeSclafani, Jeremy Hellickson, Homer Bailey

FULL ROSTER:
C = Alex Avila $3
1B = Joey Votto $59
2B = Carlos Asuaje $3
SS = Amed Rosario $5
3B = Nolan Arenado $20
MI = JT Riddle $1
CI = Maikel Franco $5
OF = Billy Hamilton $15
OF = Kyle Schwarber = $10
OF = Corey Dickerson $24
OF = Adam Duval $22
OF = Hunter Pence $5
UT = Derek Deitrich $5
P = Chris Stratton $3
P = Mike Montgomery $2
P = Brad Ziegler $1
P = Madison Bumgarner $40
P = Taijuan Walker $21
P = Steven Matz $7
P = Jacob Barnes $1
P = Anthony Swarzak $2
P = Justin Wilson $2
BENCH: Homer Bailey, Ben Lively, Anthony DeSclafani, Kyle Crick & Jeremy Hellickson
FARM (player of note for 2018) = Acuna, Robles, Senzel, Soroka, Allard

Reviewing Rotolab, I think I bought too much offense as I am widely ahead in HR, RBI & R even before promoting my FARM guys. Hopefully Senzel plays SS as I could really use him in MI. For pitching, I need to stream and play the matchups like crazy as I have few SP you can trust day-in-day-out, but this is generally how I like to build a staff. Every team has saves so while I had hoped I could punt and still finish with 2-3 points I'm not sure that will be possible. Not impossible for me to fall into some saves with Swarzak, Wilson & Barnes but no real clear path for anyone right now. Ideally Holland signs with a NL team and I spend a nice chunk of FAAB to fill that hole.

My goals for 2018 were to finish top-4 but not likely to sell my FARM guys as I am in love with Acuna, Robles & Senzel and plan for them to be my foundation moving forward. Thus, not selling them will make it very hard for me to contend and acquire talent but I have the #5 FARM pick and feel like I can use some other assets to fill in P holes as needed. Looking forward to our AL draft next week and our 18-team mixed the week after that.

I look at your team and I see the favorite Rick, especially with those minors leaguers ready to come up. You'll have ammunition to make deals throughout the season and STILL no have to touch the core of your team. Very few categories that you won't excel in, speed being the one if Hamilton were to miss time. He's an all the eggs in one basket player for bags. Not a fan of NO saves other than Ziggy, who could end up getting very few...but as someone who also was chasing closers, not much there to be had. Need help in the rotation, but I like the darts thrown in Bailey and DeSclafani for virtually nothing. Easily the leader in the clubhouse, IMO.

[Hornsby]

Yeah, everyone definitely ran out of money quicker than usual this year. I wanted to get an ace and a good 1B since the lower tier 1Bs really suck. But I think I spent too much on pitching.

C Barnes 3 (keeper)
1B Hosmer 37
3B Spangenberg 2 (keeper)
CI Adrian Gonzalez 1
2B Lemahieu 19 (keeper)
SS Ketel Marte 5 (keeper)
MI Wong 8 (keeper)
OF Pham 1 (keeper)
OF J Bruce 27
OF Carlos Gonzalez 15
OF Parra 3
OF Austin Jackson 2
UT Tyler Flowers 4
UT Wilmer Difo 5

Reserves - Grandal 8 and Sean Rodriguez 1

SP Scherzer 58
SP Maeda 19
SP Roark 14
SP Jimmy Nelson 8
SP Chad Kuhl 1
SP Trevor Williams 1
RP Doolittle 18 (keeper)
RP Tommy Hunter 1
RP Tony Watson 2

Reserve Bud Norris 1, Ty Blach 1, Adam Morgan 1

My hope was to do well in wins (hence 2 Nats and a Dodger) and ratios and OK in saves even while only having 4 or 5 starters, but Kuhl and Williams fell into my lap. So I'll juggle things a bit.

I'll concur that you spent too much on pitching, but the pitching you bought is very good...no clunkers, IMO. I like the spec pick on Nelson, I was in on him but just didn't have enough cash to beat you out...that could pay off bigly. I think that you have 20 saves in Norris, another nice pickup.

I think that the offense is underwhelming, not enough power or runs, IMO. Bruce was a decent buy, Cargo was questionable to me...do you get the September/Home Cargo? Or do you get the April through July/road Cargo? Decent speed though...knowing you, you'll wheel and deal and finish in the money.

[Big Tymer]

I look at your team and I see the favorite Rick, especially with those minors leaguers ready to come up. You'll have ammunition to make deals throughout the season and STILL no have to touch the core of your team. Very few categories that you won't excel in, speed being the one if Hamilton were to miss time. He's an all the eggs in one basket player for bags. Not a fan of NO saves other than Ziggy, who could end up getting very few...but as someone who also was chasing closers, not much there to be had. Need help in the rotation, but I like the darts thrown in Bailey and DeSclafani for virtually nothing. Easily the leader in the clubhouse, IMO.

Thanks but I think I'll be hard pressed to contend AND not have to trade one of the big-3. On speed, "right now" Hamilton is about 60% of my steals but then I expect Acuna+Robles+Senzel to net me a conservative 60 more (conservative because it isn't inconceivable for Acuna to go 30+). That's why I didn't want to buy any speed since that alone would put me north of 160 which is more than enough. I was in the bidding for Iglesias but he went for $31 and I didn't want to use my resources there (though I do like him a lot).

Reality is that with this league the winner is typically above 100 points (12-team 5x5, so max of 120) and it will be really hard to win and not find more saves along the way. Not impossible, but not likely either. All comes down to in season management and a bit of luck along the way.