******************************************************************* * * * Comments from some owners immediately after the draft * by: The General Panzer Division Some observations.... Kendall instead of Fletcher or Santiago? Andy AND Alan Benes? Have they conmtaminated the drinking water in Rochester? Gabes... Dave Magadan at First/Third, when you could have had Hal Morris, Jeff Blowers, Jeff King. I guess you thought that soft line drive singles to the opposite field was one of the seven categories. Fox, I liked mostly all of your picks... but I thought you pulled the trigger on Wally Joyner when there were some real studs left at first. And you and Andy are the only two w/ three relievers... that is, if Miceli and Bottalico ever get any save opportunities. Hans... your Chicago colors were flying throughout the draft. Scott Servais was yours on the 19th pick... maybe 20th... maybe 21st... and Mark Grace, while solid, was clearly a hometown choice in front of the likes of Gallarage, Karros, etc. Throw in Navarro and Bullinger, and all you are missing is Jack Brickhouse, for God's sake! John, you handled yourself well, my compliments. Piazza pissed me off... I picked second choice specifically to grab him. I like your team, except for your last two outfielders, Hollandsworth and Merced. I understand your loyalty to the Dodgers, but how about Brett Butler? A nice pick up for the first disabled outfielder, I suspect. ********************************** by Andy of the McDoormats Everybody did a great job yesterday. Now for the crystal ball and the results to be forecasted: Looks to everyone here at the Bill James Center for wayward basketball fans that the Northwest Muskrats appear to be the cream of the crop this year. Solid power throughout the lineup (with exception noted to REY? Sanchez?), the Muskrats should top 1,000 RBI's. But man are they slugs on the bases! This team will be trippled in SB's by the leader, probably doubled by the #5 man! The only place anyone has a chance to catch the Muskrats is if their pitching falters. Can you say tired arms and Colorado Closer in the same sentence? Still, this is clearly the team to beat. Stay healthy Ron Gant. Remember the restaurants in Albequerque, Todd? And Mike Piazza don't go getting no broken hands. The Panda Bears look to challenge for the second spot in a hotly contested race for the also rans with the Red Foxes and McDoormats. Panda pitching looks tough on paper but we all know how volatile pitchers can be from year to year (except Greg Maddux). 3 Rookies in the starting lineup? We'll see. Offensively the Panda Bears trot out all the tired favorites and should be middle of the pack here. A Q.Veras lingering hammy could throw the whammy on this club. Red Foxes showed their usual robotic flair in the draft. Picking last may have hurt though as the starting pitching is very suspect. If Ricky Botallico comes through Foxes will run away with saves, but how would you like to have to count on Ricky Botallico? Injuries to Bonds and Caminitti could destroy this team quicker than you can say Royce Clayton. Otherwise, Foxes challenge at all offensive spots. McDoormats are a young team and will probably show a second half surge to challenge the Muskrats late. Look for a huge year from Nomo, Martinez, Hamilton, and both Benes boys. Allan could be rookie of the year if Jason Kendall wears down. Micelli could be an early casualty if Brantley and Beck pitch as expected. Offensively the team has a well balanced attack that should be immune to injuries at any given spot. Jordan is possibly the key to this attack however, and must come back quickly. Look for Raul Mondesi for MVP honors. As noted earlier, Kendall is probably a lock for rookie of the year. After these 4 clubs, the competition falls off greatly with the Ball Busters and Invincibles trailing mightily. The busters could surprise however if certain players like Sosa, Sanders, and McGriff have career years. Is that Lopez behind the plate Javy or Nancy? Anybody see El Sid do the El Foldo last night? He anchors this staff. One consolation for the Busters, Robb Nenn probbbabbbly will have more saves than Tom Henke this year. Finally, the Invincibles are. If this team finishes out of the cellar in three categories, manager Thom Hahns should consider the year a success. It looks like a 13 year old picked this team. Boy that Scott Servais is sure hot though! And one more question for Invincible fans: Is that Rickey, Dave or Florence Henderson? ********************************* by Gabes of the BallBusters: John was far more prepared than I had expected, particularly after acting disinterested several weeks ago. Piazza would have been my first choice. I know Al wanted him also and really expected him to be there at the second pick. John seemed very serious but something tells me that he was either sitting there with his face painted white, or, the nose tape was securely in place! Hahnz appeared to have been well briefed and coached by his son Brian. I was a bit surprised that he went for so many Cubs because as a Sox fan I'm sure he's been conditioned to hate all north side players. Clearly, however, his son has the wisdom to hop on the bandwagon of the best team in Chicago. I learned that Al colors his favorite players purple. There must be some symbolism to this. Perhaps it reminds him of the color of the bat head that he grabs after his shortstop has gone 3-4-3 on a July Saturday! Andy acted way too much like an umpire for me. His constant badgering every thirty seconds was like the home plate ump breaking up a party on the mound. I'm not sure I like this mature, authoritative Andy. I much prefer the one who acts like a XXXX up and XXXXs off! Speaking of XXXX ups, I was the only guy who acted like Tommy Lasorda and fired the XXXXs around. The rest of you acted like this was serious business that should be conducted in a boardroom. Loosen up, boys! It's time to get in the dugout, chew some tobacco and start cutting the XXXXs! ***************************************** by The Fox Great draft yesterday gentlemen. I really enjoyed it. I wasn't sure how a phone draft was going to work out ... it was amazing to me how clear the connection was, how easy it was to keep things straight and keep it moving, and how much like a "real draft" it was. Everyone was prepared and did a good job ... although some did better than others. Some comments on the first four rounds: Piazza -- Given my choice I draft first and take Mike. Maddux -- Don't like pitchers this early, but what a pitcher. Sheffield -- I would have taken Sosa. Williams -- Hope he stays healthy. Sosa -- Like him. Bonds -- Used to be an automatic #1 pick. Larkin -- By far the best SS, if he stays healthy. RSanders -- Multi-category threat. Grace -- Hot start but better 1B's are available. Biggio -- By far the best, most reliable 2B. Wohlers -- Too early ... he's only had one good season. Glavine -- Best available pitcher. Worrell -- Relievers going early! You gotta have a good one. Bichette -- Monster year ... can he do it again? Mondesi -- Multi-category. TGwynn -- Hans is the favorite to win BAVG and SBs. McGriff -- A sure thing. Caminiti -- I have him in 3 other leagues! Castillo -- Fox is hogging 3rd basemen. Chipper -- Get em while they're hot. Eckersley -- Ouch! Sorry Hans but I doubt he'll last as the closer. Beck -- Loved him a year ago. Like him now. Bagwell -- Great if healthy. Walker -- Surprised he lasted this long. Leg is bothering him? Well, that's enough of that, unless you want more. Some comments on the teams: Muskrats: Very impressive draft. I'm not crazy about Hollandsworth but other than that a great job. Clap clap. Panzas: I think Al has done this before. He sounds pretty confident and this does LOOK like a good team but I think there are lots of question marks ... Bichette, Hill, Gaetti, Boone, OFernandez, and Wohlers. McDoormats: Several impressive multi-tooled players. The book is open on the Benes brothers. Kendall is a reach ... as Andy has admitted to me in the past, he has a weakness for those young players. I think Jordan, on the DL now, will pay off. Invincables: Not. Might be invincable in stolen bases and they have an arm up on everybody with 7 starters but they are in obvious trouble in HRs, RBIs, and Saves. Any interest in Bottalico? Unlike Albert, I like Servais a lot, and probably would have taken him in the next few rounds if you hadn't. BallBusters: Like this team although there are a couple of players on it that might drag it down: Holmes (Leskanic's the closer), Drabek (I'm no longer a believer), El Sid (bound to be injured pitching for the Phollies). Rapp in round 18 was a steal. Red Foxes: Strong club. Probably shouldn't have taken that third reliever. I've got players I like to root for: Klesko, Joyner, Larkin and some I don't like to root for but will root for em now: Bonds, Castillo.