This will surely become legendary, but for now, we'll maintain humility and self-control.... No guarantees for the future.
(And if I need to bring it down, and stay humble, I'll just take another look at that bracket.... Ouch. Better yet, it's goin' in the fireplace....)
Now then, our draft is complete, let's review the contestants, and their teams:
Tripp, The Triple Threat
Trip had a nice draft, I thought.
I'm not a big fan of their offseason moves. Their Championships have the rich dark aroma of steriods. Their lineup has no power, in the friendly confines of Fenway... But then, they are the Red Sox.
I love this pick. I almost took them first, but thought they might still be there. I love Pujols. I love LaRussa... I love the pick. They could win the NL easily.
I'm intrigued by the Mariners. They might be better than people think. Kinda snakebit since 2001, When Lou Piniella managed the team to a 116-46 season, was named AL Manager of the Year, and was promptly swept out of the playoffs, 0-4. More on that later...
The Cubbies!!! Luckily, Tripp didn't find out that we all hate the Cubs with deep passionate vile in our hearts... Their scummy fans invade Miller Park repeatedly throughout the summer. Besides that, they have "Sweet Lou" Piniella as their manager. With the Cubs, he has made the playoffs twice, with good teams, that were favored to win, and he was swept out both times, 0-3 and 0-3. Thus, Lou is 0-10 in his last ten playoff games, skippering heavily favored teams.... Not good.
Tripp also has The Florida Marlins, the Cleveland Indians, the Kansas City Royals (ouch), and the Baltimore Orioles.
Kathy, The Doctor of the Dugout
An intriguing Draft.
A nice pick. I just don't get the Phillies, I'm not sure how they win so much, on paper I'm not impressed... but they have dominated the Brewers... Could easily win the NL.
I sorta like this pick. I think they've wildly under-achieved the last few years. If they get to June 1st above .500, look out. They picked up Damon, I like that pickup... The Yankees are not hoisting the hardware last fall without Damon. And neither are the Red Sox in '04...
Another mystery wrapped in an enigma. Not a small payroll. They've been a bitter disappointment the last couple years. If some of their guys started playing up to their contracts, they could be scary.
Ahh, the Milwaukee Brewers. In a way, it wouldn't take much for this team to explode. Rick Peterson, our new pitching coach, is somewhat of a "mad scientist", but he got a lot out of guys like Barry Zito, who far and away had their best years under Peterson. Our staff is young, they supposedly have great stuff, but they all seem to be head cases. Our lack of infield defense will MAKE a head case out of a pitcher. But if Peterson could get through to these guys, wow. Could get interesting.
Kathy also has the Colorado Rockies, the San Diego Padres, the Washington Nationals (ugh!), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (double ugh, they're breaking their own records for futility each passing season).
"Cadillac" Patrick
Hard to comment on My own draft, but here goes:
I like the Los Angeles Angels of Aneheim, of California, of the United States, of Planet Earth, of the Milky Way Galaxy. I'm not real thrilled with the Yankees and Red Sox moves in the offseason, to be honest... The Angels could represent the AL.
I like their chances. I like Joe Torre. If Manny gets on the right roids, he could be very dangerous...
Ahhh, the Twins. They signed Joe Mauer to a huge deal 24 hours after our draft... Thanks fellas. I think they're gonna get a real rude awakening in their outdoor-only ballpark in early April, freezing heir asses off playing in front of 12 frozen Minnysoda fans wearing purple Favre shirts under their parkas... oh well. Kathy wanted the Twins, I stole them from her.... come to think of it, do you want them for $5??? I could cut my losses...
The Tampa Bay Rays. Tripp seemed to like this pick, which made me feel good. Maybe being 90 miles from there, he has a better feel for the Rays... I hope he's right.
I also have the Atlanta Braves, the Oakland A's (who I quietly like a lot, I see a big Ben Sheets resurgence coming... His entire career in Milwaukee, all 7 years, I think he got like 5 runs worth of run support. No, I mean 5 TOTAL.)
(Okay, I had to throw that in, because Erv HATES Ben Sheets... And let's face it, his last outing in Spring wasn't good. Off the top of my head, it was like ten batters faced, no outs, 9 hits, ten runs... Erv may have a point. We'll see what happens when the season starts. Just sayin'...)
Anyway, I also have the Houston Astros (Ugh.)
Erv "The Super General Manager"
I may not have been real thrilled with their offseason moves. No. Without Damon and Matsui, do they win that World Series?? Nope. But, did I want to pick them?? Yes I did. Of course I did. They still have A-Rod, Jeter, Rivera...
I quietly like this pick. I'm not even sure why. Mark Reynolds and Justin Upton have signed new deals. They're setting records for attendance at their Spring Training games... That's good, right???
“As long as they don't check for Vodka and Corona, I'll be fine.”
- Ozzie Guillen, White Sox Manager, when asked about Major League Baseball administering drug tests to managers.
Heh heh. Enough said!!
Well, they have Barry Zito, that can't be bad... Can it?? I guess they wanted Joe Mauer, and are annoyed they couldn't make a deal for him. Gonna be tough, they have the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers in their division....
Erv Also has the Texas Rangers, the Cininnatti Reds (formerly known as The Big Red Machine), and the Toronto Blue Jays. The last Reds player who interested me at all was Rob Dibble... and that was a while ago...
Good luck everyone!!!
