Barnstorming Union 2010 Draft Recap

The Barnstorming Union had a very successful Fantasy Draft last night, with 11 out of 12 team managers in attendance. Only Master Batters was absent from the draft proceedings.

After Sunday’s keeper lock date passed, every manager had a few days (or about 45 hours) to redesign their draft strategy based on who was available. I was surprised to see that Erik Bedard was out there, after I’d swapped him to Waxy, Waxy Details for a 12^th round pick. I was even more surprised to see Brett Anderson bobbing in the draft pool. I instantly reconfigured my player list and moved him up to the top spot. With pick 3, I just had to hope that Rutger Che Hauer and Team Awesome didn’t take him.

I won't dissect the keeper selections- that's for another post- I'll just get right to breaking down the picks by round. Keep in mind that most of the best players are already securely on rosters as keeper selections. Since there were 8 keepers per team, Round 9 was this year's First Round.

Round: 9
(97) Rutger Che Hauer - Matt Garza SP
(98) Team Awesome - Juan Pierre LF
(99) Mighty Like a Rose - Brett Anderson SP
(100) Momma's Melted Malteds - Javier Vazquez SP
(101) Mighty Like a Rose - Adrian Beltre 3B
(102) Pioneer Valley Squeaky Beagles - Jose Valverde RP
(103) Master Batters - Johnny Damon LF
(104) Manchester Expectoros - Matt Thornton RP
(105) Master Batters - Max Scherzer SP
(106) SMANGE SOX - Rich Harden SP
(107) Waxy Waxy Details - J.J. Hardy SS
(108) The Gnarly P-Tails - Scott Sizemore 2B

Round 9 Thoughts: The round we all wait for. Rutger Che probably confounded a few of us with his first overall selection of Matt Garza. I like Garza, but I had three starting pitchers ranked ahead of him, and a few other dudes. Team Awesome, being very pitcher heavy with their keepers, made the right pick with Juan Pierre 2^nd overall. I must admit I hesitated when I saw Vazquez available at pick 3. I didn’t even consider that he would be available. But I stuck with my plan and took Anderson. Momma’s made the right move taking Vazquez, and I reached for Beltre. I already traded him in another league despite the fact that I think he’s in line for a big season. Some folks might scoff at the selection of Matt Thornton at pick 104, but this makes sense. If he continues to be the best setup man in baseball, and Holds is our new category, why not? I think Harden is a stretch, but the last two picks are smart- get those middle infielders while you still can.

Best Pick: Of course I like Anderson, that’s why I picked him. But if ESPN is correct, Javier Vazquez (100) will be the brightest star in 2010.

Biggest Surprise: Matt Garza (97). I don’t mean to suggest I think this is a bad pick, just that it caught me off guard.

Round: 10
(109) The Gnarly P-Tails - Rafael Soriano RP
(110) Waxy Waxy Details - Wade Davis SP
(111) SMANGE SOX - Jorge Posada C
(112) Mighty Like a Rose - Kevin Slowey SP
(113) Atomic County Bean's Owner - Gavin Floyd SP
(114) Master Batters - Kerry Wood RP
(115) Pioneer Valley Squeaky Beagles - Miguel Tejada SS
(116) Rutger Che Hauer - Travis Snider LF
(117) Momma's Melted Malteds - Neftali Feliz RP
(118) Atomic County Bean's Owner - Jon Rauch RP
(119) Team Awesome - Mike Napoli C
(120) Rutger Che Hauer - Chris Perez RP

Round 10 Thoughts: It’s remarkable how quickly the skill level drops off from one round to the next. I like pick 110 for two reasons. One, I predicted in an earlier blog that Wade Davis would lead the Ray’s staff in wins in 2010. Two, Wade Davis isn’t Kevin Slowey. After Smange Sox mercifully selected Posada with pick 111, I was able to grab Slowey with the fourth pick of round 10. My original draft design was to pick Slowey 3^rd overall, which looks like a bonehead plan now because I was able to grab him 13 picks later. As long as those two permanent rods in his wrist don’t bother him, the Rose will be golden. Atomic County followed up with Gavin Floyd, my next highest ranked player in the draft, and the man I intended to select as I assumed Slowey would be long gone. Master Batters, absent, were rightfully blighted with Kerry Wood. Tejada is an excellent value pick at 115. Rutger Che continued his love affair with prospects by selecting Snider with the next pick.

Best Pick: Gavin Floyd (113). Despite the fact that Atomic County kept two pitchers (Ervin Santana, Jered Weaver) Gavin Floyd is his ace.

Biggest Surprise: Mike Napoli (119). ESPN and Jake will probably disagree with me on this one, but I like Kurt Suzuki much better than Napoli. Napoli will hit more homers, probably carry a better OPS, but Suzuki is better rounded, two years younger, and has no competition behind the plate.

Round: 11
(121) Rutger Che Hauer - Francisco Liriano SP
(122) Team Awesome - Brett Gardner CF
(123) Atomic County Bean's Owner - Kurt Suzuki C
(124) Momma's Melted Malteds - Marco Scutaro SS
(125) Team Lab Sox - Vernon Wells CF
(126) Pioneer Valley Squeaky Beagles - Joel Pineiro SP
(127) Master Batters - Hideki Matsui DH
(128) Manchester Expectoros - Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B
(129) Mighty Like a Rose - Desmond Jennings LF
(130) SMANGE SOX - Maicer Izturis 2B
(131) Waxy Waxy Details - Trevor Cahill SP
(132) The Gnarly P-Tails - Juan Rivera LF

Round 11 Thoughts: I always get Liriano! Rutger Che dipped in early to land Francisco, who the ESPN scouts predict, yet again, will break out in 2010. Better get him while you still can! they say. Rutger took this advice to heart, and I’m with him. Team Awesome solidified his OF by grabbing his second speedster, Brett Gardener. That’s a projected 74 steals from two of his first three picks! I already fawned over Suzuki. I really like the Vernon Wells pick at 125. Even in a down year he puts up respectable fantasy numbers, and if he can bounce back a little bit then grabbing him halfway through Rd 11 will be klepto-mania. Kevin Kouzmanoff at pick 128 could pay major dividends as well. Kouzy is a career .284 hitter outside of Petco Park and all of Petco chain stores, so there’s no reason to think he can’t put up numbers comparable to Beltre and Tejada, two 3B taken 27 and 12 picks earlier, respectively.

Best Pick: Vernon Wells (125) and Kevin Kouzmanoff (128). Both should have good return value and they both have cool letters in their names.

Biggest Surprise: Desmond Jennings (129). Yeah, I probably jumped the gun on Desmond. Waxy, Waxy, ever the lover of “cant-miss” prospects, was right on my tail and I had a terrible feeling he might swoop in and grab him if I didn’t. I felt I could afford to take a chance, hopefully it pays off.

Round: 12

(133) The Gnarly P-Tails - A.J. Pierzynski C
(134) Mighty Like a Rose - Coco Crisp CF
(135) SMANGE SOX - Joba Chamberlain SP
(136) Mighty Like a Rose - Matt Guerrier RP
(137) Manchester Expectoros - Ben Sheets SP
(138) Master Batters - Mike Gonzalez RP
(139) Pioneer Valley Squeaky Beagles - Matt LaPorta LF
(140) Team Lab Sox - Cesar Izturis SS
(141) Momma's Melted Malteds - Nick Johnson 1B
(142) Atomic County Bean's Owner - Brandon Wood 3B
(143) Team Awesome - Jason Frasor RP
(144) Rutger Che Hauer - Kelly Shoppach C

Round 11 Thoughts. I grabbed some much needed steals with Coco at pick 134. It’s conceivable that he could rack up 30-35 bags this year if he leads off the whole season for the A’s. Smange Sox took a chance on Joba, for his sake I hope the Yankees make him a set up man. The Expectoros nabbed Ben Sheets with pick 137. There’s gotta be a reason Billy Beane is paying him $10m for one season in green. Beane is one prescient guy. I like Laporta at pick 139, too. This guy was a huge prospect a couple of years ago and possesses tremendous power, as long as he can collect enough at bats. Nick Johnson was a safe pick at 141 and could definitely turn out to have the most value of round 12. Atomic County activated the bomb that is Brandon Wood by selecting him with pick 142. Another nuclear meltdown is probably at hand for the Woodman.

Best Pick: Matt LaPorta (139). If he really does have 30 HR potential, then this could be a steal. Plus, he has an uppercase P in the middle of his last name- amazing.

Biggest Surprise: I can’t even begin to analyze setup men because we really have no idea what to expect with the constant flux of major league bullpens, so I’d say the biggest surprise would be Ben Sheets (137). This could be a good surprise though, because I’d sort of forgotten about him during the draft. He did have arguably the worst start in spring training history a couple days ago (faced 10 batters in the first innings, allowed 10 runs. Left without recording an out) but as I said earlier, $10m is a lot of cheese.

Round: 13
(145) Rutger Che Hauer - Austin Jackson LF
(146) Mighty Like a Rose - Luis Valbuena 2B
(147) Manchester Expectoros - Daniel Bard RP
(148) Momma's Melted Malteds - Jeremy Hellickson SP
(149) Team Lab Sox - Gerald Laird C
(150) Pioneer Valley Squeaky Beagles - Nick Swisher 1B
(151) Master Batters - Kevin Gregg RP
(152) Manchester Expectoros - Phil Hughes SP
(153) Mighty Like a Rose - Derek Holland SP
(154) SMANGE SOX - Casey Kotchman 1B
(155) Waxy Waxy Details - Scott Downs RP
(156) The Gnarly P-Tails - Mike Cameron CF

Round 13 Thoughts. We’re moving further and further into the forest of the unknown sleepers, so my dissections will be shrinking. Austin Jackson at 145 could be a great pickup, and I had intended to target Casey Kotchman but got off track. Kotchman is a career .320 hitter in the minors, and has never really been given the chance to play through a slump and get comfortable at first base.

Best Pick: Phil Hughes (152). Rotation or bullpen, Hughes is going to give you some value.

Biggest Surprise: Jeremy Hellickson (148). He was on my list of deep sleepers, but I figured I could snooze a few more rounds before worrying about him. Maybe Momma had the right idea- time will tell.

Round: 14
(157) The Gnarly P-Tails - Daric Barton 1B
(158) Waxy Waxy Details - Edwin Encarnacion 3B
(159) SMANGE SOX - Jeff Niemann SP
(160) Mighty Like a Rose - Delmon Young LF
(161) Manchester Expectoros - Brandon League RP
(162) Master Batters - Erik Bedard SP
(163) Pioneer Valley Squeaky Beagles - Mike Aviles SS
(164) Team Lab Sox - Ryan Rowland-Smith SP
(165) Momma's Melted Malteds - Alex Avila C
(166) Mighty Like a Rose - J.P. Howell RP
(167) Team Awesome - Magglio Ordonez RF
(168) Pioneer Valley Squeaky Beagles - Shaun Marcum SP

Round 14 Thoughts: I like several of the picks in this round. Jeff Niemann pitched incredibly well for me last season and I’m not sure why ESPN isn’t more generous with their projections. This is a former 1^st round pick (fourth overall) we’re talking about. I like my selection of Delmon Young at 160^th, he’s bound to start trying at some point. Alex Avila could bypass Gerald Laird as the starting catcher for Detroit at any point and obviously has a higher ceiling than Laird, who is really only good for Scrabble mnemonics (-EY words, Blake Dewitt For Gerald Laird). Erik Bedard finally fell to the Master Batters with pick 162. When Sean logs in to check his team for the first time in July, it was be a pleasant surprise to see a smiling Erik Bedard ready for his first 2010 start.

Best Pick: Despite the fact that he regretted it 2 second after clicking his mouse, Team Awesome made a good pick with Magglio (167). A round earlier may have been questionable, but this is a former all-star who can still hit for average (Magglio had the highest average of any major league player after the all-star break in 2009). He’s in a pretty good lineup and if he puts it all together, could knock in 85+ runs.

Biggest Surprise: I shouldn’t be taken aback, because the Lab Sox had him last year, but I’m going with Rowland-Smith (164). Zack loves this guy, probably because he’s the first player in MLB history with a hyphenated last name.

Round: 15
(169) Rutger Che Hauer - Ryan Perry RP
(170) Team Awesome - Mark Teahen 3B
(171) Atomic County Bean's Owner - Rick Ankiel CF
(172) Momma's Melted Malteds - Justin Smoak 1B
(173) Team Lab Sox - Lyle Overbay 1B
(174) Pioneer Valley Squeaky Beagles - Sean Rodriguez LF
(175) Master Batters - Milton Bradley RF
(176) Manchester Expectoros - Ty Wigginton 3B
(177) Atomic County Bean's Owner - Luke Scott LF
(178) SMANGE SOX - Chris Tillman SP
(179) Waxy Waxy Details - Colby Lewis SP
(180) The Gnarly P-Tails - Fernando Rodney RP

Best Pick: Chris Tillman (178). I’ve read that some scouts rank him higher than Matusz. Personally I think that’s crazy, but Tillman could sow some solid starts this season. I also like Piggy Wiggington (176). Three position eligibility and a little pug nose.

Biggest Surprise: Milton Bradley (175). We all just waited for the autodraft to give him to Master Batters. Yes, the guy is a much-publicized nuisance but if he stays on the field, by avoiding fights and injuries, he could be a great pick. The surprise is no one wanted to take a chance on him.

Round: 16
(181) The Gnarly P-Tails - Justin Masterson SP
(182) Waxy Waxy Details - Michael Brantley CF
(183) SMANGE SOX - Justin Duchscherer SP
(184) Mighty Like a Rose - Mike Lowell 3B
(185) Manchester Expectoros - Tanner Scheppers SP
(186) Mighty Like a Rose - Mark Lowe RP
(187) Pioneer Valley Squeaky Beagles - Jake Fox 3B
(188) Team Lab Sox - David Robertson RP
(189) Momma's Melted Malteds - Orlando Hudson 2B
(190) Atomic County Bean's Owner - Dallas Braden SP
(191) Team Awesome - Scott Podsednik LF
(192) Rutger Che Hauer - Brandon Inge 3B

Best Pick: Scott Posednik (191). Team Awesome had a solid draft. They drafted a projected 94 steals between their three starting OFs (Pierre, Gardner, and Posednik) and turned a glaring absence of speed into one of the team’s strengths.

Biggest Surprise: After being sodomized by Duchscherer 162 times last year, the Smange Sox bent over to take it again, selecting him with pick 183. Isn’t this the pitcher whose elbows are depressed?

Round: 17
(193) Rutger Che Hauer - Brett Wallace 3B
(194) Team Awesome - Cliff Pennington SS
(195) Atomic County Bean's Owner - Hideki Okajima RP
(196) Momma's Melted Malteds - Ramon Ramirez RP
(197) Team Lab Sox - Brad Ziegler RP
(198) Pioneer Valley Squeaky Beagles - Russell Branyan 1B
(199) Master Batters - Mark Ellis 2B
(200) Manchester Expectoros - Marc Rzepczynski SP
(201) Mighty Like a Rose - Fausto Carmona SP
(202) SMANGE SOX - J.J. Putz RP
(203) Waxy Waxy Details - Michael Wuertz RP
(204) The Gnarly P-Tails - Michael Taylor LF

Best Pick: I don’t know, it’s all holds guys. Umm, Putz (202) whatever.

Biggest Surprise: Russell Branyan (198) cause he’s not a setup man. Yet.

Round: 18
(205) The Gnarly P-Tails - Brad Bergesen SP
(206) Waxy Waxy Details - Jim Thome DH
(207) SMANGE SOX - Jensen Lewis RP
(208) Mighty Like a Rose - Jesus Montero C
(209) Manchester Expectoros - Darren O'Day RP
(210) Master Batters - Jack Cust RF
(211) Pioneer Valley Squeaky Beagles - Joe Saunders SP
(212) Team Lab Sox - Grant Balfour RP
(213) Momma's Melted Malteds - Nick Blackburn SP
(214) Atomic County Bean's Owner - C.J. Wilson RP
(215) Team Awesome - Jose Bautista 3B
(216) Rutger Che Hauer - Brandon Morrow SP

Best Pick: But look at his peripherals! The periphery! Shut up, Eric Karabell, Joe Saunders (211) has won 33 games in the last two years combined, the same number as Tim Lincecum.

Biggest Surprise: Jack Cust was selected by someone other than Nick or myself.

Round: 19
(217) Rutger Che Hauer - Pat Neshek RP
(218) Team Awesome - Jose Guillen RF
(219) Atomic County Bean's Owner - Hank Blalock 1B
(220) Momma's Melted Malteds - Ken Griffey Jr. DH
(221) Team Lab Sox - Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
(222) Pioneer Valley Squeaky Beagles - Gil Meche SP
(223) Master Batters - Pat Burrell DH
(224) Manchester Expectoros - David Murphy LF
(225) Mighty Like a Rose - Willy Aybar 2B
(226) SMANGE SOX - Garrett Atkins 3B
(227) Waxy Waxy Details - Michael Saunders LF
(228) The Gnarly P-Tails - Chris Getz 2B

Best Pick: Pat Neshek (217). This guy is a super reliever and after missing last season most people have probably forgotten about him. A possible candidate for the Twins closer spot? Unlikey. A solid RP with good numbers a shot at racking up HLDs? Definitely.

Biggest Surprise: Willy Aybar (225). Lost my concentration, ran out of time, and did a panic pick. Yes, Aybar can play 38 different positions including organist, but it’s a pain in the ass checking every pre-game update to see if he’s on the field on a give day.

Round: 20
(229) The Gnarly P-Tails - Jim Johnson RP
(230) Waxy Waxy Details - Andruw Jones DH
(231) SMANGE SOX - Taylor Teagarden C
(232) Mighty Like a Rose - Dustin McGowan SP
(233) Manchester Expectoros - Ryan Sweeney RF
(234) Master Batters - Ryan Garko 1B
(235) Pioneer Valley Squeaky Beagles - Tim Wakefield SP
(236) Team Lab Sox - Alex Gonzalez SS
(237) Momma's Melted Malteds - Jose Mijares RP
(238) Atomic County Bean's Owner - Matt Palmer SP
(239) Team Awesome - Joey Devine RP
(240) Rutger Che Hauer - Dioner Navarro C

Best Pick: Back-to-Back best picks by Rutger Che with his selection of Dioner Navarro (240). How, you might ask, is Navarro the best pick of this round? With the final pick of round 12 Rutger scooped up Kelly Shoppach. Now he’s got Shoppach’s platoon mate, and one of those guys is going to be in a productive lineup. That’s some cheap and resourceful catcher work.

Biggest Surprise: Tim Wakefield (235). He will put some good stretches together over the course of the season, but when he trips he trips badly. Doubles and gopher balls galore. He’ll get some starts this year but one of these years he’s bound to be the odd man out, and with each new season the likelihood increases.

Round: 21
(241) Rutger Che Hauer - Kevin Jepsen RP
(242) Team Awesome - Randy Winn RF
(243) Atomic County Bean's Owner - Willie Bloomquist SS
(244) Momma's Melted Malteds - Casey Kelly SP
(245) Team Lab Sox - Brian Tallet SP
(246) Pioneer Valley Squeaky Beagles - Jed Lowrie SS
(247) Master Batters - Felix Pie LF
(248) Manchester Expectoros - Carlos Guillen LF
(249) Mighty Like a Rose - Dontrelle Willis SP
(250) SMANGE SOX - Phil Coke RP
(251) Waxy Waxy Details - Ricky Romero SP
(252) The Gnarly P-Tails - Jake Westbrook SP

Best Pick: Jed Lowrie (246). Let’s not write this guy off completely. Good bat handling skills, knows the strike zone, and it’s not as if Marco Scutaro has always been a full-timer. Lowrie will start the year off in the minors but WATCH OUT!

Biggest Surprise: Dontrelle Willis (249). Not a good pick, purely done in an attempt to get back at Pioneer Valley for taking Lowrie, who I’d queued up for my next selection. For future reference, nobody cares or notices when you take Dontrelle.

Round: 22
(253) The Gnarly P-Tails - Chris Carter 1B
(254) Waxy Waxy Details - Travis Buck RF
(255) SMANGE SOX - Jesse Crain RP
(256) Mighty Like a Rose - Matt Joyce RF
(257) Manchester Expectoros - Juan Cruz RP
(258) Master Batters - Jeremy Hermida RF
(259) Pioneer Valley Squeaky Beagles - Randy Ruiz DH
(260) Team Lab Sox - Kevin Millwood SP
(261) Momma's Melted Malteds - John Buck C
(262) Atomic County Bean's Owner - Scot Shields RP
(263) Team Awesome - Eric Byrnes LF
(264) Rutger Che Hauer - Reid Brignac SS

Best Pick: Team Awesome’s selection of Eric Byrnes (263) strikes me as a calculated, though probably completely uncalculated, risk. Major speed, major attitude, but I think ESPN may have written him off too quickly.

Biggest Surprise: Travis Buck (254). I seem to recall the Waxy, Waxy manager trying to trade Travis Buck to anyone for anything a couple years ago. He’s back on the bull, destined to be bucked again.

Round: 23
(265) Rutger Che Hauer - Josh Bell 3B
(266) Team Awesome - Nick Punto 2B
(267) Atomic County Bean's Owner - Jayson Nix 2B
(268) Momma's Melted Malteds - Kyle Drabek SP
(269) Team Lab Sox - Gabe Kapler RF
(270) Pioneer Valley Squeaky Beagles - Mark Grudzielanek 2B
(271) Master Batters - Alexi Casilla 2B
(272) Manchester Expectoros - Alfredo Aceves RP
(273) SMANGE SOX - Joel Zumaya RP
(274) Waxy Waxy Details - Gio Gonzalez SP
(275) The Gnarly P-Tails - Jeremy Guthrie SP
(276) The Gnarly P-Tails - Chad Cordero RP

Best Pick: Alfredo Aceves (272). This guy’s head is shaped like a fucking shovel. A fantasy necessity.

Biggest Surprise: Gabe Kapler (269). He’s still playing?

Round: 24
(277) Waxy Waxy Details - Lou Marson C
(278) SMANGE SOX - Mark Kotsay 1B
(279) Manchester Expectoros - Koji Uehara SP
(280) Master Batters - Brayan Pena C
(281) Pioneer Valley Squeaky Beagles - Dan Wheeler RP
(282) Team Lab Sox - Ramon Santiago 2B
(283) Momma's Melted Malteds - Chris Ray RP
(284) Atomic County Bean's Owner - Yuniesky Betancourt SS
(285) Team Awesome - Brian Duensing SP
(286) Rutger Che Hauer - Josh Reddick LF
(287) Rutger Che Hauer - Max Ramirez C
(288) Team Awesome - Eric Patterson LF

Best Pick: Chris Ray (283). He was supposed to close for the O’s last year. Francisco isn’t that reliable so it’s conceivable he could collect some saves in 2010.

Biggest Surprise: Brayan Pena (280). Is this the 35+ HR lovechild of Russell Branyan and Carlos Pena? I don’t know, I’ve never heard of him.

Round: 25
(289) Atomic County Bean's Owner - Kyle Farnsworth RP
(290) Momma's Melted Malteds - Bubbie Buzachero RP
(291) Team Lab Sox - Gabe Gross RF
(292) Pioneer Valley Squeaky Beagles - Darren Oliver RP
(293) Master Batters - Matt Herges RP
(294) Manchester Expectoros - Casper Wells RF
(295) SMANGE SOX - Brendan Harris SS
(296) Waxy Waxy Details - Tyler Flowers C
(297) The Gnarly P-Tails - Marcus Thames LF
(298) The Gnarly P-Tails - Luke Hochevar SP
(299) Waxy Waxy Details - Jack Wilson SS
(300) SMANGE SOX - Manny Delcarmen RP

Best Pick: Bubbie Buzachero (290). An instant fan favorite, whoever he plays for.

Biggest Surprise: Kyle Farnsworth (289). It’s true that he can dial it up to the high 90s, and used to hit 100 in the old Yankee Stadium. Unfortunately, he has yet to throw his first major league strike.

Round: 26
(301) Manchester Expectoros - Brett Cecil SP
(302) Master Batters - Danny Valencia 3B
(303) Team Lab Sox - Shawn Kelley RP
(304) Momma's Melted Malteds - Joe Nathan RP
(305) Atomic County Bean's Owner - Jeremy Bonderman RP
(306) Team Awesome - Adam Rosales 3B
(307) Rutger Che Hauer - Jess Todd RP

Best Pick: Jeremy Bonderman (305). He might have something left in the tank. I figured someone would pick Nathan, but you also have to wonder how long he’ll occupy a DL spot once said spot is actually needed.

Biggest Surprise: Just like 100% of fantasy baseball drafts, Jess Todd (307) is selected with the last overall pick.

Sexy Swingers

Every Monday night we play trivia at Jimmy the Greek's in Old Orchard. And every Monday night, to fill up the time that isn't devoted to chewing, drinking, and incorrectly answering trivia questions, we read off our top 10 lists. Every week it's a new topic. We've done Top 10 pitchers, quarterbacks, buildings, action stars, politicians, and even sexiest males- to name a few. Keeping with the spirit of lists and sexiness, I've decided to read all your minds and make the list of the

TOP 10 SEXIEST BALLPLAYERS

Just like a real ball team, I'll have one guy at each position. Heck, I'm even going to pick a backup for each spot. Next week I’ll do the 5 sexiest starting pitchers, and a bullpen. Naturally I'll need a skipper as well. So, if you're keeping count, that's a lot more than 10, but TOP 31 SEXIEST BALLPLAYERS or whatever number it ends up being just doesn't sound as cool. And I'm going to stick with active players only, so sorry Jim Palmer, Tom Seaver, Ted Williams, and Willie McGee, but you'll have to wait for another list on another day. Let the sexiness begin!

Catcher

Joe Mauer, Minnesota

A no-brainer. Not only is he the handsomest catcher, but he's also hands down the best in the majors. A perennial contender for the batting crown, he sort of looks like Lou Ferigno from the trapezius up.

Backup sexy catcher: Jason Varitek, Boston.

First base

Derrek Lee, Chicago

Who wouldn’t want to get to first base with this hunk? No, he’s not the hitter he used to be, but manning the cold corner, he’s not facing much competition in the looks department. Youkilis? A sweaty ape. Teixiera? Continuously dropped as a baby. Berkman? Umm... First base might be the ugliest position in baseball.

Backup sexy first baseman: Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay.

Second Base

Ian Kinsler, Texas

Most folks would probably call me crazy for not going with Chase Utley on this one. I agree, Utley poses a major threat on the sexometer but unlike Utley, Kinsler doesn’t seek out the dugout camera and slick back his hair 4 times an inning. Sexiness is about modesty too, Chase.

Backup sexy second baseman: Chase Utley, Philadelphia.

Third Base

David Wright, New York

A tough choice, as the hot corner produces some hot customers. David Wright wins it with that winning smile of his. It takes a lot of sexiness to pull off that oversized helmet he sported last season.

Backup sexy third baseman: Mike Lowell, Boston

Shortstop

Hanley Ramirez, Florida

The one that got away… Anyway, Hanley offers it all. I remember watching Hanley at Hadlock field years ago and thinking to myself, “Yep, someday that guy is going to be one of the sexiest players in the majors.” There seems to be a correlation between sexiness and skill with the bat.

Backup sexy shortstop: Elvis Andrus, Texas

Left field

Ryan Braun, Milwaukee

A fantasy darling and the darling of our fantasies, I found out he lived in Santa Monica and liked to go for his daily run around 9 am. Well I drove through his neighborhood all the time and never saw him once. The moral: Bums lie.

Backup sexy left fielder: Rick Ankiel, Kansas City

Center field

Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston

Yes, I realize he’s supposed to be a left fielder this season, but he hasn’t played their yet. What superlative can we bestow upon Ellsbury that hasn’t already been bestowed? The sexiest player in baseball hands down (his pants!).

Backup sexy center fielder: Grady Sizemore, Cleveland

Right field

Ichiro, Seattle

Ichiro knows what it means to be sexy, and he knows what he likes: “Chicks who dig home runs aren't the ones who appeal to me. I think there's sexiness in infield hits because they require technique. I'd rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength”. Well said, Japanese sexbot.

Backup sexy right fielder: Andre Either, Los Angeles

Designated Hitter

Kevin Millar, Baltimore

Boy those are some slim pickings at DH. This guy earned it with his swagger and his ability to pull a pitch no matter how far outside it is. No, he’s not even in the American League anymore, but he likes fried chicken in a bucket, cowboys, and striking out multiple times whenever I’m in the ballpark.

Backup sexy DH: Ken Griffey Jr.

COMING SOON: Starting pitchers, bullpen, and the all important manager.

MLBtv

I just purchased MLBtv for $79.95. That includes a $20 discount for agreeing to receive Sports Illustrated for 3 months. I'll have to cancel my subscription before the 3 months is up or I'll be charged $39.99 for a year's subscription. As long as I remember to do that, it's a good deal.

The first year I subscribed to MLBtv was 2008, when I lived in Los Angeles and then San Francisco (I think I moved north to SF about 2 months into the season). The package made a lot of sense then- only A's and Giant's games would be subject to blackout, which means I could watch every Sox game that wasn't on ESPN. Having the Giant's and A's games blacked out wasn't a bother because I went and saw them both regularly.

This year, it's a little different.

Since I'm now hanging my 1945 vintage-style Red Sox hat in Maine, and the Red Sox are my "local" team, their games are blacked out on MLBtv. I can still watch them, just not until 30 minutes or so after the game has ended, when the broadcast is uploaded onto the website. If I wanted to get a whole Sox game in, I wouldn't be able to start watching until around 10 when the team is on the east coast. But that's OK with me. I can still listen to them on the radio and there are 29 other teams in the majors to watch.

The teams I plan to watch the most this year are the Rangers and Mariners. The Rangers have several exciting young players and what could be a prodigious offense if they can stay healthy. The Mariners have always been a favorite of mine and they now have a team that could compete. It'll be nice to watch Felix and Cliff Lee pitch and see how many infield hits Ichiro can muster.

If I end up watching 40 games this year, that's 2 bucks a game. Well worth it.

I'm watching my first spring training game right now. I hope Russ Adams can get on base.

Two Bad Traders

I haven't written anything in a while, and I have lots of baseball-related thoughts on this particular evening. So, expect some kind of miscellaneous, rambling article soon. But quite briefly, I'd like to touch on something that is really irritating to me: insulting fantasy baseball trade offers.

Now, I'm not talking about your standard JoeReardon (for those unfamiliar, a JoeReardon is a trade offer that is so outrageous that it implies the sender thinks you've never watched a baseball game). Those I can laugh off. I'm talking about when a manager offers you a trade, then within a very short amount of time offers you a second trade, with very similar pieces, that is clearly worse. For example, I got this offer today in a 12-team, AL-only keeper league:

My team would trade:

• David Price
• 7th Round Draft Pick

My team would receive:

• Erick Aybar
• Trevor Cahill
• 8th Round Draft Pick

I wasn't particularly interested in this trade, not being altogether high on Erick Aybar, but it's certainly not an insulting offer. Fifteen minutes later, I was offered this:

My team would trade:

• David Price

My team would receive:

• Erick Aybar
• 2nd Round Draft Pick

About three hours later, I received this offer:

My team would trade:

• David Price
• 3rd Round Draft Pick

My team would receive:

• Trevor Cahill
• 2nd Round Draft Pick
• 9th Round Draft Pick

Let's ignore the fact that Cahill is owned in 10.6% of leagues while Price and Aybar are both owned in 98% of them, which includes mixed leagues. Let's suppose we suspend our disbelief and say that Trevor Cahill is AS valuable as Erick Aybar. The third trade offer says to me that at some point since the second offer was sent (three hours ago), David's stock has dropped so far that if I still want to pull the trigger on this deal I'm going to have to sweeten the pot.

The convoluted point I am trying to make is that if you're going to offer me a trade for someone, start with your worst offer and work your way up. I'm not desperately trying to unload David Price and worrying that his value is dropping. I'm not going to panic and jump on your latest offer just because your offers keep getting worse.

Here is a mathematical representation of the three trade offers using Average Draft Position and draft pick selection numbers. I'll assign a value represented by 1000/ADP or 1000/Pick #.

Erick Aybar = EA

ADP: 77.4

Calculated Value: 12.92

Trevor Cahill = TC

ADP: 119.85

Calculated Value: 8.34

David Price = DP

Trade offer number one supposes that David Price's worth is equivalent to this equation:

DP+7th Rounder (4.95)=EA+TC+8th Rounder (4.78)

DP=12.92+8.34+4.78-4.95

David Price's perceived value: 21.09 (roughly equivalent to an ADP of 47.4)

Trade offer number two, fifteen minutes later:

DP=EA+2nd Rounder (7.30)

DP=12.92+7.30

David Price's perceived value: 20.22 (roughly equivalent to an ADP of 49.5)

Uh-oh. David's price seems to be dropping. Maybe it will rally at the end of the day, like the stock market. Let's see offer number three:

DP+3rd Rounder (6.80)=TC+2nd Rounder (7.30)+9th Rounder (4.57)

DP=8.34+7.30+4.57-6.80

David Price's perceived value: 13.41 (roughly equivalent to an ADP of 74.6)

So, in three short hours, David Price dropped 28 slots in value. That's a pretty scary trend. Maybe I should unload him to the next manager who offers me an untested pitcher on a mediocre ball club whose K/9 rate is only 4.53 higher than mine is. Maybe not.

David Price's real ADP? About 82.95, which isn't the point and still doesn't make any of these offers particularly good deals.

Pete Rose is the all-time hits leader. He’s also the all-time leader in at bats, plate appearances and games played. He’s 1^st in singles, 2^nd in doubles, 6^th in runs scored, and 7^th in total bases. He’s also the greatest player NOT in the Hall of Fame, but that’s a different article entirely. This article, the first in a series called Record Breakers, is dedicated to the slim possibility that Rose will lose his crown as the all-time hits leader any time soon.

Rose stands at 4,256 hits. 67 more than Ty Cobb, and almost 1,500 more than his closest active pursuer, Ken Griffey Jr. Since Griffey’s career is coasting to an unremarkable and unfortunate close, Charlie Hustle’s most legitimate contender would probably be Derek Jeter.

Rose has a few things going for him. For one, he played from 1963-1986, a hell of a long time by any standards, taking the field for at least 148 games in 19 of those seasons. Rose recorded at least 170 hits in 18 of his first 20 seasons. The model of consistency, he was also the table setter for several high-octane offenses for the better part of three decades.

Derek Jeter has also been on his share of offensive juggernauts. In 15 seasons with the Yankees, Jeter has average 193 hits while playing in at least 148 games in 14 of his 15 seasons, almost mirroring Rose’s dedication. Were Jeter to average 190 hits for the next 8 years, he would pull even with Rose. In 2009, Jeter had a career year with the bat and in the field, but the latter might be his downfall. Jeter won’t be playing shortstop for the Yankees for the next 8 years because his defense just won’t be strong enough. He’s never played another position, and you wonder if he has the pop to stick around as a designated hitter.

Another interesting case is Ichiro. Had Ichiro moved to the U.S. instead of dominating the Pacific League of Japan for nine years, he’d probably be well on his way to breaking the hits record. Though Ichiro has astonishingly eclipsed the 2000 hit mark after only nine seasons, he’s 35 years old. Not that that’s old- Rose amassed over 1,700 of his hits after the age of 35. If Ichiro could play 10 more seasons at the pace he’s established thus far, he would retire with 4,330 hits, or 74 more than Rose.

And even though Jeter has accumulated over 700 MLB hits more than Ichiro at the age of 35, I would still put my money on Ichiro to finish with more hits. I think Jeter’s fall from grace will be much more precipitous than Ichiro’s.

Let’s not forget A-Rod either. At 33, Alex already has over 2,500 hits and ever the pursuer of numbers, one could imagine him hanging on for way too long, DH-ing in front of meager crowds at Kaufman stadium in Kansas City, desperate for more and more records and accolades.

And that’s where I’ll end. If he’s got a legitimate shot at it, will Jeter bother to hang on for a couple of bad years just to seize the hits record? Rose’s last two seasons were bad. Not Boston Brave Babe Ruth bad, but not pretty numbers. He was there to chase history and the hits record, and you can’t blame him. Rose stuck around to eat Cobb, will Jeter linger long enough to pluck Rose?

Major League Baseball 2k10 - First Impressions

[This is the first in a three-part series reviewing the just-released game Major League Baseball 2k10, for the Xbox 360. I'm hoping that my brother can review The Show (Sony's superior MLB game) once he gets it too. Maybe we can have some sort of point/counter-point segment.]

I sat in my car waiting for midnight in the Bull Moose parking lot, listening to Too Old To Rock And Roll and resisting the temptation to look like a supreme social-lifeless nerd by posting my true feelings as a Facebook status ("OMG!!!! I cna't believe mlb2k10 is coming uot in 5min lol! (:^D"). Now, Bull Moose is pretty hit-or-miss with their video game releases, so I was trying to temper unparalleled excitement with expectation of disappointment. Thankfully, copies of MLB 2k10 were plentiful for my Xbox (the fact that they only put out two copies of the game for PS3 is a good indicator of how much of a death grip The Show has on the baseball sim market for that system). Successful, I decided to treat myself to chips and nacho cheese later on and picked some up along the way home...

So, I write this after a mere two-and-a-half or three hours of time playing the game (if you don't count the hour or so I played of the demo earlier Monday). Part of my excitement about this year's installment of MLB 2k was that all of last year I was baseball video gameless (and video gameless in general, thanks to the Red Ring of Death). Popular opinion is that I didn't miss too much, as MLB 2k9 has been torn apart by critics and fans alike as being terrible - virtually unplayable. There is even a cool trailer that 2K Sports made for this year's game comparing it to 2k9 in humorous split-screen fashion. Further adding to my excitement was the hope that 2k9 was a sign that the developers hit rock bottom and 2k10 had to be an improvement (because the decline had already begun with the transition from absolutely awesome 2k7 to majorly annoying 2k8).

The first thing I decided to do was fire up a game between the Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals. Actually, what I was forced to do was set up a playoff series between KC and Boston. I clicked on the playoff tournament option and the game wouldn't let me back out of the screen until I set up the entire bracket and assigned myself a team. Whatever, I guess, but not a great sign (the menu system I have found to be kind of clunky and counterintuitive). And so I began the overwhelmingly-certain-to-happen-in-real-life ALDS matchup between the Sox and Royals. The game is pretty sparkly: the field looks great, the crowd reacts realistically to foul balls, player batting stances look fine and the player faces range from not too shabby to chillingly realistic. J.D. Drew's face I found to be particularly spot-on; this is possibly due to the fact that his expression is usually blank and his eyes appear to have nothing behind them, just like a video game character. I thought it was very cool also that, entering the ninth inning, I looked at their pitcher warming up and instantly recognized that they were bringing in Joakim Soria to close things out. The announcer didn't even have to say his name. The dude on the mound was Joakim Soria. And for the record, I fully expect that I would have made an amazing comeback if they had left Farnsworth out there.

So, let's get some CONS out of the way. Two or three times during my game I was supremely irritated with the fact that I wasn't controlling the player I wanted to on defense. In the game's defense, I didn't read the directions beforehand. It's possible that the next game I play I'll have figured out how to switch defenders with just the touch of a button. But seriously, a grounder gets hit up the middle, on the second base side of the bag, and they think that I should be controlling Scutaro at that point? And while I was trying to get to the groundball with Scutaro, what was Pedroia doing? He was racing to cover second base, of course, paying virtually no attention to the baseball skipping past his cleats. Another thing that bothered me was the maze of menus/button-clicks that were required for me to find ANYthing that I wanted to find. How do I warm up Wakefield in the bullpen? How do I check to see what Lester's pitch count is at? How do I sub in Varitek? (For some reason, this game thinks that Victor Martinez is going to start at catcher this year.) The final major con is that Gil Meche finished the game with ten strikeouts.

The pitching didn't take too long to get the hang of. I was scolded several times for overpitching, throwing weak stuff and using a poor pitching motion. By the time I got rolling, though, I was setting the Royals down one-two-three on about four pitches. I wish that the opposing hitters had been a lot more selective is the point here. Perhaps there are some sliders I can use to adjust this problem. Meanwhile, on my side, I was pretty proud of myself for ratcheting up Meche's pitch count to sixty over the first four innings. I didn't have any walks to show for it, but I had a seven pitch AB with Beltre; fouling off pitches to stay alive is actually possible. I grew a little impatient after that, though, and Meche put together a pair of shorter innings, ultimately leaving after 7 2/3. There doesn't seem to be much to hitting. Which is fine with me. It seems like it's mostly timing and making sure you don't swing on pitchouts. I can envision an article being written in two weeks (after I've mastered the rhythm of the "power" swing) where I bemoan the fact that I hit too many home runs. I expect that in most games. But there were not any homers in my Royals-Red Sox ALDS matchup at least. It ended when Mike Lowell, hitting for Mike Cameron, I think, struck out in his only plate appearance.

As a summary, Lester went all eight, gave up three runs in the second inning and finished with three strikeouts. He may have notched a win if not for some bizarre fielding decisions early on. Each team had eight hits. On my team, Youkilis and Martinez both went 3-for-4 while I got a hit each from Ortiz and Beltre. Big Papi also tallied the only Red Sox RBI, on a groundout. So, I lost to the Royals 3-1 at Kauffman Stadium. I felt fairly satisfied after the game.

But there is more! Much more. After that game I trashed my fictional MLB postseason (ruining the best chance the Royals have had at winning even a video game championship in the last two decades). I decided to try out the brand-new My Player game mode. Now, I've played these types of things before and a lot of times they seem to be lacking some intangible quality that makes them as fun as they should be. Also, particularly in football versions of the "You're a player on a team and let's focus only on what you're doing" theme, I've felt very weighted down by practicing and drills that you have to do between games. There's none of that here, thankfully. So, maybe this My Player thing has a shot...

The first thing I did was create JMR, #39, 2B/RF who wears high socks, a sweat band on his left forearm and who, unfortunately, was shaped like the real me. Yup, the dude walks out to the plate, gut and all, looking like he's overdue for a shave and a haircut. There are plenty of options to choose from for customizing your character. Obviously, there are things I wish they'd have expanded upon, but it's a vast improvement over some of the NBA2k games where there were eight player molds to choose from, four of them were black, one was in between and two of the last three looked just like Jon Baltos. One sad note, I had already decided prior to beginning My Player mode that I was going to fudge my birth year, not wanting my character to be a 32-year-old rookie once I finally made the bigs. I chose 1991 as the year, giving him as much time as possible for his career. But I accidentally advanced a notch past 1991, and it went to 1982, so apparently 28 is as old as you can make your My Player. That made me really sad.

I decided that 2B/RF JMR would be at the whim of the "Pick Random Team" button to determine what organization he was in. (You can pick whichever team you want, though, if that's what pleases you.) And so highly-touted prospect JMR joined the ranks of the Akron Aeros (the Cleveland Indians' Double-A affiliate). My debut came as a pinch hitter the night after draft day, which is ridiculous, but most people don't want to claw their way up the entire minor league ladder complete with High-A, the Arizona Fall League, etcetera etcetera. It was a tie ballgame, the top of the ninth, two outs and a runner on third. JMR lumbers up to the dish and promptly grounds out to second base. It's kind of cool how things work, though. Each time that my player goes up to bat he is given some kind of goal to achieve. It could be something like "Get a base hit", "Drive in the run" or simply "Get ahead in the count". I have had loads of trouble completing goals during the ten or so games that I played in the wee hours this morning. Essentially, without going over what you could easily read on any other video game website about how you earn points to increase your attributes, yadda yadda yadda, the better you perform, the better you get. Each game probably only takes five to ten minutes since they skip over everything that you're not involved in. The upside is that you feel like you're accomplishing things quickly, the downside is that you don't feel much like you're part of a team that is trying to win (for instance, I felt no remorse for being caught stealing to end a game, even though I had no business running at all; I'm 0-for-6 on steal attempts). The four series that I've played so far have been against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and the Portland Sea Dogs, which added to my enjoyment. Also, for my team, the Aeros, Shelley Duncan has taken me under his wing, teaching me how to hit .230 at the AA level. That's about where my average stands (I also have one terribly fluky three-run homer to the opposite field that just didn't look right). I totally owned Michael Bowden, though, in two games against him and the Sea Dogs. It makes me worry about real-life Michael Bowden. Fielding is pretty neat. You have a little bit of influence on where you stand at your position. There are no surprises when they hurl you into a fielding situation; when the ball is hit, it's going to you. I've still managed to make two errors, though. I also amusingly threw to home plate instead of second base when trying to turn a key double play. All things considered, I've really enjoyed the My Player mode so far. I think it will provide me with a good distraction from Franchise mode when I decide to start that up.

Those are the first impressions that I have. I'm sure that as I progress through JMR's career in the Indians organization, find out what fictional name they came up with for Kevin Millar, start a franchise, see if there are unlockable 80's jerseys and log a few hundred hours of gameplay, I will form many new opinions. But for now, I'm giving it a conditional B/B+, contingent on the Franchise mode not blowing and hitting not becoming too easy. Stay tuned.