Fantasy Draft Weekend 2010

This past weekend was a fantasy football junkies ultimate binge. I left home just after 9am on Friday. Made the 2 hour trek towards Chicago to begin Fantasy Draft Weekend 2010. First stop Wrigleyville for some pre-draft cocktails. Hit Merkle's where we recruited for the football pool and then stopped off at Barleycorn's to say "hi" to a few familiar faces.

Draft #1 8pm Friday night, 12 team redraft league, combination scoring. Starters QB RB RB WR WR TE K DST. Roster must have 2 K and 2 DST. I had 6th pick in snake draft. 17 rounds. Roster in order of selection:
Michael Turner - ATL, Miles Austin - DAL, Matt Forte - CHI, Vernon Davis - SF, Dwayne Bowe - KC, Cadillac Williams - TB, Donald Driver - GB, Carson Palmer - CIN, Eddie Royal - DEN, Tim Hightower - ARI, Devin Hester - CHI, Saints DST, Matthew Stafford - DET, Texans DST, Dustin Keller - NYJ, Sebastian Janikowski - OAK, Ryan Succop - KC

Elapsed Draft Time: 3 hrs, Draft Location: Mahoney's Bar, Chicago, IL, All 12 owners in attendance

Draft #2 4pm Saturday, 12 team, 3 player keeper league, combination scoring. Starters QB RB RB WR WR TE K DST. Roster must have 2 K and 2 DST. I had 6th pick in each round and 2 picks in the 11th. 14 rounds. Roster in order of selection:
Keepers: Philip Rivers - SD, Joseph Addai - IND, Chad Ochocinco - CIN (I know they aren't solid, no need to point that out). Draft: LeSean McCoy - PHI, Steve Smith - NYG, Ronnie Brown - MIA, Cadillac Williams - TB, Steve Breaston - ARI, Zach Miller - OAK, Eddie Royal - DEN, Kellen Winslow - TB, Legedu Naanee - SD, Alex Smith - SF, Mason Crosby - GB, Steelers DST, Matt Prater - DEN, Texans DST

Elapsed Draft Time: 2 hours 30 min, Draft Location: Friend's house Plainfield, IL, 5 owners in person, 7 online chat room. I know! How lame that they can't put forth the effort right?

This draft was followed by a marathon Texas Hold 'em game that started at 7:30 pm and ended at 4:30 am. I was on Tilt and steaming early but made a solid comeback after a minor blow up and left the game as the top winner. Thanks boys!

Draft #3 11 am Sunday(doing this one on 3 hrs sleep). 1 player keeper league, combination scoring. Starters QB RB RB WR/TE WR/TE WR/TE K DST Roster must have 3 QB, 5 RB, 6 WR/TE, 2 K 2 DST. I pick 9th in each round. I have no 2nd, 3rd, or 12th. I have two 9th, 14th, and 15th round picks. 17 rounds. Roster in order of selection:
Keeper: Ray Rice - BAL Draft: Ryan Mathews - SD, Dwayne Bowe - KC, Vernon Davis - SF, Hines Ward - PIT, Marion Barber - DAL, Donovan McNabb - WAS, Johnny Knox - CHI, Jay Cutler - CHI, Darren McFadden - OAK, Montario Hardesty - CLE, Sidney Rice - MIN, Zach Miller - OAK, David Garrard - JAX, Matt Prater - DEN, Giants DST, Ryan Succop -KC, Redskins DST

Elapsed Draft Time: 3 hours 20 minutes  Draft Location: West Chicago, IL Park District Community Center  All 12 owners in attendance. Back home by 5:15pm on Sunday.

Final stats: 3 cities, 3 drafts, 48 rounds, 576 picks, 8 hours 50 minutes of draft time and 9 hours of poker with over $1,500 in real money in play.

Still have 2 drafts left, one is a slow draft that gives new meaning to the word slow(it started on 8/21) and the other is 9/2 at 8pm. I'll get those posted after 9/2.

You are on the Clock

This time of year has to rank in my top 3. You can't top the first four days of the NCAA tournament, and Super Bowl Sunday is up there (especially when it moves to the Sunday before President's Day and Monday becomes a day off).

Then comes fantasy football draft weekend. I enjoy the draft as an event almost more than the season itself. I participate in 5 or 6 leagues a year and the leagues I enjoy the most vary based on the draft. I had one that used to always be my favorite league even though I had only 1 title since I joined in 1997. That was a guaranteed full participation live draft, that usually followed with a poker game or at least a good party. Good friends could find the time to gather in one place and spend at least a few hours together. In some cases it might be the only time during the year we'd all be together. Now its hard enough to get people to care enough to check in online, let alone attend in person.

I have a league that was my very first, joined in the Fall of 1996 when the Monday USA Today was the standard for scoring. This league has a mandatory attendance policy for the draft and is my largest league fee of the group. I recently considered that I might have to step down from this league because I moved away from the group. As I reflected on the decision I realized that the mandatory attendance draft is what I enjoyed the most, this league is in its 20th or 21st season and I am in my 15th. Just in the last year we have endured better than 25% turnover and it appears to have been for the betterment of the league.

Finally, the one league I participate in that I am also the commissioner is entering its 10th season. We started with live drafts with mandatory attendance and we had turnover on a yearly basis. The drafts became internet drafts and the league seemed like it could disband at any time. To my surprise the league has actually become stronger and our draft, an event. In this case it is the only time we all get together each year and this year we have an ex-owner coming back to the draft, not as an owner but just to re-connect.

If moving a couple hours away from the group has taught me anything it is that the time we spend together as friends or fantasy owners is important. Email, Facebook, and IM are great tools to stay connected but for a couple hours each August personal interaction goes a long, long way.  If you play fantasy football make a point to enjoy the moment. Happy Football Season!

Call to the Hall, Part 4 of 4 Class of 2014

After the mess that will be the 2013 ballot the 1st time eligible players for 2014 exude class. Could be 4 guys get in, only obstacle would be that some writers who vote take issue with guys getting in on their first try. I think thats dumb if he is good enough to get in then why not vote for him the first time. In this case we know what type of players we are dealing with from the previous year so there really is no reason why one shouldn't vote for the following guys.

**Greg Maddux: The Mad Dog heads up what figures to be a fruitful class, with a Cooperstown-cinch 355 wins to go along with his 3.16 lifetime ERA, four Cy Young Awards and 18 Gold Gloves.

Tom Glavine: Maddux's longtime lefty buddy in Atlanta is right behind the right-hander, with 305 wins, five 20-win seasons, two Cy Youngs, a 3.54 career ERA and a .600 winning percentage. Done deal.


Frank Thomas: He's a member of the 500-homer club, which used to mean automatic enshrinement, so the Big Hurt has a good head start. Then you add the 1,701 RBIs, the .301 career batting average, .419 OBP, .555 slugging and two MVPs, and the picture becomes very clear. If he's not a mortal lock, he's close to it.

Jeff Kent: He hit 377 homers, drove in 1,518 runs, won an MVP, had a legendary competitive scowl and, most important for his Hall of Fame future, he was a second baseman. That means he's practically a given for the Hall. ** 1

Maybe Kent will not get in right away but the other 3 should go on 1st try. The pitchers numbers are no brainers and Thomas should look like a saint compared to most of the HR hitters of the late 90's and early 2000's. He was as consistent as they come  for a period from 1991 - 2000 but for '99 when he went on DL and his HR numbers slipped. He only had 1 year with a BA below .305 and only 1 year where he failed to drive in at least 100 runs. Not to mention the fact that he has managed to steer clear of the steroid scandal.

I'd put Kent in on the simple fact that his numbers are near the top for the position he played and he attempted to put Barry Bonds in his place on at least one memorable occasion.

**1 excerpt taken from Doug Miller/MLB.com full article is here

Call to the Hall, Part 3 of 4 Class of 2013

First time eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2013 gets really, really interesting. We've already seen what happened to Mark McGwire(23.5%, 23.6%, 21.9%, and 23.7%) in his 1st 4 years on the ballot. I talked about what might happen to Palmiero in 2011. Now comes 2013 and the big names are eligible, Bonds, Clemens, and Sosa. Bonds admitted using cream and clear stating he didn't know what it was. Clemens is in a mess of trouble and was just indicted today for lying to congress in 2008 about his drug use. Sosa has been reported to have been one of the 104 players who tested positive in 2003.


The sad thing here is Bonds had the numbers to get in prior to using, his ego got the best of him. He started using once he wasn't getting all the attention, presumably after the McGwire/Sosa HR chase of 1998. Bonds didn't like it that they were getting all the attention and turned to Balco and PED use. His career to that point would have been enough to get him into the HOF. Now based on the way writers have treated McGwire I'm not sure if he will get in.

Before PED's were anything other than backroom chatter in baseball, I compiled a list of current players and whether or not they were HOF worthy. I shared the list with friends and we debated the ones that we didn't unanimously agree on. On that list, next to Clemens name I typed, "could there be a better defintion of a first ballot hall of famer" I call a do over now. His numbers are a fraud! We can't be sure when he started using but its pretty much a given that he used. Assuming his numbers in Boston are legit and maybe in Toronto he was on his way to the HOF. So is it like Bonds, ego got the best of him or more along the lines of everybody else is why not me?  He has a long wait for that phone call welcoming him to Cooperstown.

Sosa. Aside from the fact that he hit 609 HR's and the RBI's associated with those got him to 1667 in his career he never had a 200 hit season. Pre 1998 he never hit more than 40 HR's, never had more than 119 RBI's, and only had 1 year with a BA over .273 (.300 in shortened '94). At that point he was not on his way to the HOF. 1998 (year 10 of career)to 2003 (positive test) 5 of 6 AS games, 1 MVP, never hits less than 40 HR, has 3 of 6 years over .300 BA, has 4 years with 138 RBI or more. 2004 roid rage bites him and Cubs send him away, played 2 more seasons with Baltimore and Texas and missed an entire year in between. Pre '98 he was a good player but not hall worthy, career stats would have most likely got him in but numbers are enhanced by PED's. Keep him out.

Others eligible in 2013 include Mike Piazza, Curt Schilling, Kenny Lofton, and David Wells. If I knew for sure they were all clean Piazza and Schilling would get my vote. Lofton and Wells would most likely never achieve more than about 55%.

Call to the Hall, Part 2 of 4 Class of 2012

                                                  Bernie Baseball

Before we discuss the class of 2012 possibilities I'd like to say that I do NOT like the 5 year wait rule. I think 5 years is too long and people sometimes forget what a player really was during that five years. I would like to see BBWAA change the rule to 3 years. I know part of the reason is that after 5 years there is no chance of player returning to play but given the money these guys make now if they hang it up and stay gone for 3 years they aren't coming back. They make enough that when most say they are officially done then they are done. It could be 3 years from when they file retirement papers with MLB and not just 3 years from their last season. Obviously Pedro Martinez didn't play this year but he isn't retired either so his 3 years haven't started yet even though he hasn't played.

Class of 2012 first time eligible players of significant value, Bernie Williams, Javy Lopez, and Vinny Castilla. I say no to Vinny Castilla he was a good ball player but what of his stats are inflated by playing 81 games a year in Coors field and this isn't the Hall of Good. He had a nice career, made a good living playing a game and has nothing to be ashamed of but not a hall of famer in my opinion.

Javy Lopez, my first reaction was maybe. I went out and did some research and realized he may never get more than 50% of the vote in his best year. Javy benefits mostly from his run as the catcher of the Braves of the 90's and his individual numbers don't do enough on their own over the life of his career to put him in the hall. He isn't even top 3 of his era. Piazza, Pudge Rodriguez, Posada. I'll say Javy is a no.

Brings me to Bernie Williams. First thing popped into my head when his name was mentioned was no. Then I read this, 17 seasons and hit .297 for his career with 287 homers, 1,257 RBIs, four Gold Gloves and five All-Star Game appearances. OK, maybe I should at least consider him. Then I read this, Williams still owns postseason records for extra-base hits, doubles and RBIs. Consistent and clutch and has 4 World Series rings. I'd say Bernie Baseball gets in. He won't be first ballot but he won't wait 9 years like Andre Dawson did. Dawson's first year on ballot was 2002, he received 45.3% of the vote. I'd guess Bernie gets just over 50% to start and is in by his 4th or 5th try.

Unless Bagwell gets in on his 2nd try, the 2012 class may be empty. Assuming that Alomar and Blyleven go in in 2011, Jack Morris, Barry Larkin, and Lee Smith are the remaining 2010 runners up. Would be a large 2 year jump if any of them went in 2012 so it may be Bagwell or bust.

Call to the Hall, Part 1 of 4 Class of 2011

              He did not use Steroids! Then he was busted right after his 3,000th hit.

This is Part 1 of 4 as I look at the potential HOF candidates of the next 4 years.

2011 1st time eligible, Jeff Bagwell, Rafael Palmeiro(above), Larry Walker, Juan Gonzalez, John Franco, and John Olerud.  To view a brief capsule of these players click here

I think Raffy, Bagwell and  Franco probably have the best shot at getting in eventually. None are 1st ballot guys and Palmeiro is going to have to get past the positive PED test after achieving his 3,000th hit and proclaiming in front of congress that he never used. Bagwell has a better shot since it appears that he was never linked to the drug abuse scandal, while Franco was real good for a long time. Longevity shouldn't be a factor for getting into the Hall but consistency should and Franco has that.

The problem these guys are all going to face is being associated with the Steroid Era and the fact that in years to come there are some locks for the Hall that may keep these guys hanging around the 50-60% range in votes. (75% of vote needed to get in)

Still I think the class of 2011 is a 2 man photo, I'll go with Bert Blyleven and Robbie Alomar for Cooperstown, NY in '11.

Dennis Rodman, Hall of Famer?

Plain and simple should Dennis Rodman be a Hall of Famer? At first reaction I said yes. Then I thought about it and went to look for comparables. I looked up 2 guys that are in the HOF, Wes Unseld and Nate Thurmond. Then I looked up 3 more that aren't in, Buck Williams, Ben Wallace, and Rick Mahorn. Comparables in per game averages are listed below. While looking at the list of HOFers I saw the name of one Drazen Petrovic, I know he died after only a short NBA career but if he's in the Hall then the doors should be flung wide open.

[Rodman actually was the league’s rebounding champion for seven straight seasons, from 1992 to 1998. While speaking at the Hall of Fame, he couldn’t help but make his case to eventually be enshrined with the game’s greats.

“I’ve had a helluva run. I think being here signifies that I should be in someday, one day before I die,” said Rodman.

Given his resume—five-time NBA champion, seven-time NBA All-Defensive First Team, two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and two-time NBA All-Star—the argument is certainly valid.] 1

Rodman  911games      7.3 points  13.1 rebs  1.8 assist  .7 steal  .6 blk

Unseld* 984 games      10.8 points  14 rebs  3.9 assist  1.1 steal  .6 blk

Thurmond* 964 games  15 points   15 rebs  2.7 assist    .5 steal    2.1blk

Williams   1307 games   12.8 points  10 rebs  1.3 assist  .8 steal   .8 blk

Mahorn   1117 games    6.9 points   6.2 rebs   1 assist   .6 steal    .9 blk

Wallace  972 games      6.2 points   10.1 rebs  1.4 assist  1.3 steal  2.1 blk

* hall of fame members

The wild card factors:

Rodman 5 titles, 2 AS games, 2 Def POY, 7 All Def 1st team

Unseld  1 title, 5 AS games, 1 MVP

Thurmond 0 titles, 7 AS games, 1 All rookie team, 2 All Def 1st team, 3 All Def 2nd team

Hall of Fame probability(explained here) # in ( ) is HOF probability rank in history.

Rodman .467(103),  Unseld  .539(94), Thurmond .758(76)

It's a tough call his wild card factors may put him over the top but some may say his antics keep him out.

1 - excerpt taken from Adam Fluck on bulls.com, full article here