Post a Comment On: Rany on the Royals

But since a few of you asked… SS Derek Jeter Was on base something like 3 times a game
RF Jack Cust The bat was more than worth the glove
3B Chipper Jones First-round pick obliterates RHP
CF B.J. Upton Team took off when Upton took over in CF
LF Barry Bonds The bat was more than worth the glove
C Russell Martin Steal of the draft in the 7th round
1B Prince Fielder Yes, Prince Fielder batted seventh
2B Dustin Pedroia Made all the plays in the field
CF Carlos Beltran No on-base against RHP, so I benched him
1B James Loney +11 in the clutch, an absolute monster PH
3B Ryan Zimmerman Crushes LHP; I platooned him with Chipper
OF Alex Rios Jack Cust’s glove and platoon partner
OF Norris Hopper Every team needs a PH who can lead off
C Brian McCann I think he batted twice in the tournament
SP Tim Hudson Second-best starting pitcher in the set
SP C.C. Sabathia Couldn’t turn him down in the 19th round
SP Roy Halladay Someone had to pitch 5 innings every 4 days
SP Derek Lowe Someone had to pitch 5 innings every 4 days
LRP Rafael Perez The best lefty reliever in the set
LRP George SherrillA poor man’s Rafael Perez
LRP Ron Mahay The token Royal (well, new Royal)
RRP Manny Corpas Closer who gets RHB and LHB out equally
RRP Russ Springer Death to RHB, acceptable against LHB
RRP Lee Gardner A poor man’s Russ Springer
RRP Joaquin Benoit A mirror-image of Lee Gardner
The team started slow, losing its first two games, before finding its footing, but was just 10-8 and two games out of a playoff spot with four games to go. I then benched Beltran for Upton and unleashed a monster. I swept my final four games to win my division, dismantled my semifinals opponent three games to one (albeit two of those wins coming in 13 and 14 innings), and winning the finals four games to one. For the tournament the team was 21-10; while I haven’t counted up the numbers yet, I’m guessing that Cust and Bonds combined for about 25 homers.

I’d like to say that this is no big deal for me, that I’ve won tournaments before, but I haven’t, and I’ve played in probably 20 tournaments going back to 1993. You need a good team, but you also need a lot of luck. Joe Sheehan, drafting in a different division, ended up with a remarkably similar team and went 9-11.
It was a fun weekend.
Let’s tie this into the Royals somehow…we played 8-man drafts, which means 200 players were drafted, but only two of them played for the Royals last year: Joakim Soria, who’s one of the best relievers in the set, and Brian Bannister, a late-round starter. Gil Meche is on the bubble; he’d probably be taken in a 10-man draft. Greinke might get taken, although he’s a few innings shy of qualifying as a starting pitcher. John Buck should have been taken, and almost certainly goes in a deeper draft. That’s it.
It’s not quite as rigorous as Joe Posnanski’s “Championship Caliber Guys”, but counting up the number of players worthy of being drafted in a Stratomatic tournament isn’t a bad way of evaluating your team’s chances. The average team has about seven players picked. The Royals had two. That’s going to have to change this year. I’ll put my money on Meche, Greinke, Soria, Gordon, Butler, Buck, Guillen, and one of the lefty relievers for next year. Back soon with a continuation of the countdown.