honky cracker: SMOLTZY!!!!! An email response to a very knowledgeable baseball friend of mine. Roster to be posted after the text, if you care to see the roster.
Yeah, I'm pleased with my infield. I got Gordon late because everyone forgot about him, but he improved last year, is still kind of young, and with his third go-around in the league I think he might be a steal. Worth waiting for in the 3rd base spot so I could nab Phillips and Markakis early.
Also, Hawpe fell to the 13th round or something stupid, so he bolsters my avg, runs, and power numbers cheaply. Hermida fell too, but with the guys left he had the most upside, and even if he produces what he did last year he was still the best option at that point.
Pitching is always a crapshoot, and this year I decided to forego top-shelf pitching in favor of getting five-category guys on offense (Han-Ram, Markakis, Pence - first pick of Round 5, McClouth who fell to the last pick of the 4th round) I figured I could get Garza late (last pick of round 10) and as much as it pains me, that fucker is good and ready for a breakout season. I've had my eye on him for years. Josh Johnson is healthy, big, and young. He was great once he came back from surgery last year, and is only 25. I'm a big believer in that guy. Scherzer, SMOLTZY, Zimmermann, and Buchholz are upside-picks, but for where I got them I think they were the best choices. I have as many worries about Lester's workload as you do. But he's young, strong, and tough. And I got him with the last pick in the 6th round, followed by Gallardo. A perfect way to start assembling my rotation after building up a 5-category offense.
You and I differ on Pence. The guy can hit for average, can run, and showed a lot of power in the second half of last year. He swings at everything, but in a 5X5 league I think he's gonna be a monster in his third full year. I feel fortunate that I got him so late. I've always had a weird man-crush on that guy, even if he doesn't fit my patient-hitter mold.
And for those of you who know or care about such things, your 2009 The Rusty Kuntz
13 team mixed 5X5 league
C - Chris Iannetta
1B - Carlos Delgado
2B - Brandon Phillips
SS - Hanley Ramirez
3B - Alex Gordon
OF - Nick Markakis
OF - Nate McClouth
OF - Hunter Pence
OF - Brad Hawpe
OF - Jeremy Hermida
CI - Hank Blalock
MI - Ian Stewart
Util - Kevin Kouzmanoff
Bench:
Chase Headley (3B-OF)
Taylor Teagarden (C)
Ryan Church (OF)
Starting Pitchers:
Jon Lester
Yovani Gallardo
Matt Garza
Josh Johnson
Max Scherzer
Randy Johnson
SMOLTZY!
Jordan Zimmerman
