Fantasy Baseball

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Just wanted to pitch this idea to people as I'm already having fun researching for this league.

Here's the premise. The group I'm in is an eight-team league.

1. Each player first goes through a two-round draft of any of MLB team for a total of two teams.

2. 25-man roster (C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, DH, P, P, P, P, P, RP, RP and nine bench spots).

3. Each player on your team has to (at least one game) played for one of your two teams.

4. Draft.

The thing I like about this is the fact that there are some great "easy picks" for you that you can save until the very end since there's no threat of anybody taking them. For example, in this league, I chose the Braves and the Dodgers.

I have players like Paul Konerko, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Jason Schmidt, Javy Lopez, John Smoltz, etc. available to only me since they've only played for those two teams (and other teams that weren't picked in the original draft).

Instead, I might have to take a Gary Sheffield, Adrian Beltre, Pedro Martinez early since they've played for my teams and somebody else's in the league.

Just wanted to put the idea out there...I don't know if anybody's thought of it before, but a friend of mine and his co-workers thought it up and brought me in, too.

[Horry For 3!]

Sounds interesting.

So if they are former players of the team then you can draft them? And if a person drafts a team and the player has never played on that then they can't draft the player?

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Sounds interesting.

So if they are former players of the team then you can draft them? And if a person drafts a team and the player has never played on that then they can't draft the player?

1. Right.

2. Right. Makes for some interesting people that are going to be left off of our rosters...Barry Bonds for instance since nobody picked the Giants or Pirates.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Another interesting point...just got an e-mail from my friend.



Some of the guys are working out little deals between each other so that they won't have to take earl draft picks on guys. For example. The guys that has the Yankees and the guy that has the Rangers have made a deal with each other. The guy with the Yankees (third pick) was going to take A-Rod, and the guy with the Rangers (sixth pick) was going to take Soriano. So, to avoid having to burn their early, they have both mutually agreed to leave the other player alone, so that each of them can take him late in the draft. Although this is dastardly, it is not illegal. So...if you have this idea with someone else, feel free to ask for their e-mail address and you could work out a deal with someone if you want. I know you don't have the advantage of daily chit chat like we do, so I'll help you as much as I can.

[Horry For 3!]

Crazy. It sounds like it would be really tough.

So you pick 2 MLB teams and can only get players from the 2?

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Crazy. It sounds like it would be really tough.

So you pick 2 MLB teams and can only get players from the 2?

Yeah, and to make things even tougher, we can only have eight players from the second team on our rosters at any time.

For example, I can only have eight players that only played for the Dodgers and not the Braves [like Paul Konerko or Paul Lo Duca (who played for the Dodgers, but not the Braves, but has played for other teams that were drafted, the Marlins in this case)].

Side note: Like my friend said in his e-mail, I'm kind of the odd man out here since they all work for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram except for me.

[Horry For 3!]

How do they do the drafting of the 2 MLB teams? Is it random draft?

[Horry For 3!]

It seems pretty damn hard to win but a challenge is always fun.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

How do they do the drafting of the 2 MLB teams? Is it random draft?

Yeah. My friend just called me one day and asked which teams I wanted. In the case people wanted the same teams, well, I'm not exactly sure how that would've worked out.

I essentially had the last picks in both rounds, no biggie, but I guess I could have fought it if I wanted to.

We snake draft for the players, though, and I have the first pick overall...trying to decide if I should go with Sheffield, Beltre, Tim Hudson, Shawn Green, Jeff Kent...

[Horry For 3!]

I don't know what 2 teams I would pick....probably have to do some researching too.

Is this a money league or just doing it for fun?

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

I don't know what 2 teams I would pick....probably have to do some researching too.

Is this a money league or just doing it for fun?

I haven't been asked to pay anything, so I think we're just trying it out this season to see how it works for the future.

Not sure if this'll be a keeper league either, but I can see the fun in that, too.

[Horry For 3!]

Yeah, it should be interesting and a challenge.

[Melmart1]

Another interesting point...just got an e-mail from my friend.

In that sceneario, what would happen if someone had picked he Mariners, who A-Rod also played for? Could they have potentially soiled this deal by picking him?

It sounds a little confusing, you might have your hands full. But could also be a lot of fun.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

In that sceneario, what would happen if someone had picked he Mariners, who A-Rod also played for? Could they have potentially soiled this deal by picking him?

It sounds a little confusing, you might have your hands full. But could also be a lot of fun.

Yes...and someone did pick the Mariners as one of their teams, so it could be a wrench in the system. (Personally, I think they might have worked this out before since seven of the eight people in the league all work in the same newsroom)

I could have that problem with Gary Sheffield, since most of the teams he's played on were picked by somebody, except I have the first pick in the draft, so it's only my problem if I don't take him with the #1.

[TxJudsonRocketTx]

I could have that problem with Gary Sheffield, since most of the teams he's played on were picked by somebody, except I have the first pick in the draft, so it's only my problem if I don't take him with the #1.

Which youre not going to do right?

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Which youre not going to do right?

That's just it...guys you wouldn't normally take in certain spots are going to be the ones you have to (or if you're a half-full kind of person) or guys you get to save until the very last round because no one else is eligible to take them (like I can with a Smoltz or Konerko).

I don't have the notepad I wrote my research on, but it seems like the best players available in my overall pool (remember...8 league players x 2 qualifying teams each and I have the Braves and the Dodgers) are Gary Sheffield, Adrian Beltre, Pedro Martinez, et al.

Remember, I can only choose players that have played at least one game for either the Braves or the Dodgers and it would be foolish of me to spend my early round picks on players that nobody else is eligible to take (like Gagne, Konerko, the Jones boys, etc.).

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

So far, these are the players I want who I'm assured of picking since there's nobody else eligible to take them.

1B - Paul Konerko
1B - Adam LaRoche
3B - Chipper Jones
SS - Rafael Furcal
OF - Andruw Jones
OF - Jeff Francouer
SP - Jorge Sosa
SP - John Smoltz
SP - Jason Schmidt
SP - Horacio Ramirez
RP - Eric Gagne

[hussker]

Can Lee Elia be my manager?

[Horry For 3!]

So far, these are the players I want who I'm assured of picking since there's nobody else eligible to take them.

1B - Paul Konerko
1B - Adam LaRoche
3B - Chipper Jones
SS - Rafael Furcal
OF - Andruw Jones
OF - Jeff Francouer
SP - Jorge Sosa
SP - John Smoltz
SP - Jason Schmidt
SP - Horacio Ramirez
RP - Eric Gagne
Konerko numbers will be down from last year but he'll still be good. LaRoche is alright. Chipper needs to stay healthy and he'll put up good numbers. Furcal numbers could go up from last year. Andruw's homerun numbers will be down a bit. Francouer was nice as a rookie, he should do good again. Sosa could be pretty good but I think all the Braves pitchers will be down a little bit since their pitching coach is gone now. Smoltz is getting old, he may start to lose it. Schmidt is solid, Ramirez is alright. Gagne will be solid if he is all the way healthy.

[rascal]

Konerko played with the white sox. Why can't he be picked by another team?

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Konerko played with the white sox. Why can't he be picked by another team?

Because nobody picked the White Sox as their team.

Only 16 teams were picked by the league's owners.

Guys like Bonds won't be picked at all since nobody picked the Pirates or Giants.

[rascal]

I think you should talk your other league members to increase your teams from 2 to 3. There are enough teams that were not selected to increase to 3 teams each. It seems a waste to not allow good players off teams that were not selected. It would still be a challenge to put together a good team from 3 teams.

[rascal]

JD Drew can also be a good pick for you. But remember he also played for St. Louis.

[Horry For 3!]

JD Drew can also be a good pick for you. But remember he also played for St. Louis.
JD Drew isn't that great