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  • My Realignment Plan

    Will Hunter Pence and the Astros be playing in the AL soon?

    One of the hot topics in baseball the last couple weeks has been the suggestion of possible realignment to even out the leagues to 15 teams each.  Although I am a bit of a baseball purist and generally do not like change, I support this idea if it is done correctly.  Here is the plan I have come up with in my own head.

    Ever since the expansion to 30 teams in 1998, the National League has had two more teams than the American League.  For a while, I considered this to be payback for the days of my childhood when it was the American League that had the two extra teams.  Obviously, the reason for the uneven balance between the two leagues is because interleague games would need to be scheduled throughout the entire season if each league had an odd number of teams.  But sine we are about 15 years into interleague play, and it appears to be a permanent fixture at this point, I don’t see it is a bad thing to spread these games throughout the entire season.  For me, the positives outweigh this one negative.

    The primary reason for realignment would be to create a more balanced system and a leveling of the playing field.  With just four teams in the AL West, logic dictates that those teams have a better chance at winning their division each season than do the six teams in the NL Central.  Similarly, all American League teams have less competition when it comes to the Wild Card race.  The NL Central part of this story has been somewhat nullified by the fact that the Pirates pretty much don’t count when it comes to yearly contenders in that division.  So for me, the advantages of the AL West teams is the most unfair thing about the current system.

    So what should be done?  Most of the realignment rumors have been focused on the Astros moving to the AL West.  The Diamondbacks have also been mentioned, but that would mean the Astros would need to shift to the NL West as well.  So the way to make this work with the least amount of change would be the Astros switching leagues.  Personally, I would prefer to see the Brewers move back to the AL Central and then ship the Royals to the West.  But as long as Bud Selig is around, there is no chance of that happening.  I would put the ball in the Astros court and give them the decision:  stay in the National League but move to the West where they would have no obvious division rival, or move to the AL West and create an intriguing division rivalry with the Rangers.  If they choose to stay in the NL, the Diamondbacks would move to the AL West.

    Next is the matter of the schedule.  Interleague games would need to be scheduled throughout the entire season, but this is doable while keeping the number of interleague games the same as it is right now.  Some people have argued that it wouldn’t be good to have teams playing interleague games in September during pennant races.  While that may be true, there are always plenty of interleague games between likely non-contenders anyway, so why not shift a few of these to the last weeks of the season?  Does it really matter if the Pirates are playing the Orioles in the last week of the season instead of June?  It’s not going to be a compelling matchup at any point in the season, so why not have them play each other in meaningless September games?  Keep in mind that there would only need to be one team from each league playing an interleague series at any given time, so the number of teams that would need to play interleague games down the stretch would be minimal.  Also, I don’t think compelling interleague games in August or September would be a bad thing.  Can you imagine how big a Sox/Cubs or Yankees/Mets series in late August could be if one or both teams are in contention?

    While I’m on the topic of interleague play, I would like to see one other change made.  I think the natural geographic rivalries should continue to be played every season, but I would scale it back to one series per year.  I think we have reached a point where these games aren’t nearly as big as they once were, and part of that is because of how often they play each other now.  Sure, they still draw big crowds, but the overall excitement and buzz about these games isn’t like it used to be.  I think scaling it back to one series a year could fix that.  Plus, it would reduce some of the current issues with teams benefiting from playing much easier interleague schedules than their division rivals.  The other problem with the current system is that these geographic rivals are playing as many games against each other as they are against some teams in their own league.  That has never seemed right to me.

    With all six divisions having five teams, a system could be set up where each team plays one series against every team from one of the divisions in the other league, plus that one series against their natural rival.  So now teams would be playing almost the identical interleague schedule as their division rivals.  The division matchups would be rotated every year, so every team would be guaranteed to play every team in the other league every third year (and every six years at home).  In this system, the natural rivals could continue to play a pair of series against each other on those third years when their divisions are scheduled to meet up anyway.  But otherwise, it would be just one series per year.  I think this setup makes a lot more sense than the current interleague schedule, which seems to be completely random outside of the geographic rivalries.

    Some more radical realignment plans have suggested the abolishing of divisions.  All 15 teams in the league would be grouped together with the top four (or five, or six) teams making the playoffs.  I do not support this idea.  First, I think division titles are meaningful accomplishments, so getting rid of them would just give teams one less thing to play for.  No, a division championship shouldn’t be a teams ultimate goal, but it is still a notable achievement.  But more importantly, getting rid of divisions would take away from a lot of existing rivalries and create travel nightmares for some teams who would have to make more frequent cross-country road trips in a balanced schedule scenario.  Having said that, I would be in favor of slightly reducing the number of games played against division teams in order to get a few more games against the other teams in the league.  My plan would call for 14 games against teams in the same division (down from the current 18) and eight or nine games against the other teams in the league.  The only significant imbalance here would be that each team would play three series against most of those intraleague, non-division teams, meaning that one of the teams would get to host two of the three series.  But this happens already in the current system, so I don’t think it is a big deal.  It would be easy enough to make sure the team with the extra home series rotates each year.  And of course, the total number of home/road games would remain at 81/81 for every team.

    Finally, there is the matter of the playoffs.  It sounds like it is almost inevitable that the baseball playoffs will be expanded to at least 10 teams.  I do not support this.  I think this is where MLB stands above the rest of the major professional sports.  The more teams you include in the playoffs, the less significant the regular season becomes.  I find the NBA and NHL regular seasons to be almost meaningless since they play for six months to not even eliminate half the teams.  So my preference would be to keep things exactly as they are now:  4 playoff teams in each league.  I wouldn’t mind seeing the first round expanded to a best of seven series though.  But since it sounds like additional playoff teams is almost a done deal, my recommendation would be to have two wild card teams face off in as short of a series as possible.  Even a one game playoff to determine that wild card spot would be preferable to a longer series which would require the rest of the playoff teams to sit around for a week or longer.  Expanding to six playoff spots per league would be even messier.  So the fewer, the better in my book.

    Thoughts?  Do you have your own plan in mind, or are you against all forms of realignment?

  • Rivera Breaks Save Record

    Choppers closer Mariano Rivera

    Talk about a long overdue post.  Over a month ago, Choppers relief pitcher Mariano Rivera became the DTBL’s all-time save leader.  His 561st DTBL save moved him ahead of Trevor Hoffman.  He has added another five saves since then and currently sits at 566 for his DTBL career.

    Rivera has shown absolutely no sign of slowing down.  In 2011, he has recorded 16 saves, putting him just a few behind the league leaders.  His ERA of 1.90 and 1.056 WHIP are tough to beat.  Even at 41 years old, there is no reason to think Rivera can’t keep pitching for several more years.  Since turning 40, he has continued to rack up the saves with an ERA below 2.00.

    Most of Rivera’s 16 DTBL seasons came with the Cougars.  He was their first round pick in the 1997 Draft and remained with the club until a 2009 trade.  Prior to the trade, Rivera appeared to be aging a bit, posting a career high 3.33 ERA.  But almost immediately after he arrived with the Mavericks, he returned to his perch as the best relief pitcher in baseball.  Following a strong year and a half with the rebuilding Mavericks, they traded him to the Choppers this past March for a second round draft pick.  So after spending most of his career with one team, Rivera has now been traded twice in the last three years.

    A model in consistency, Rivera has posted an ERA under 3.00 in every season except one (2007) and has had at least 30 saves every year but one (2002).  Incredibly, he has been under a 2.00 ERA in nine seasons and has a career mark of 2.02.  His career ERA and WHIP (0.976) are both the best of any pitcher in league history.  It is virtually indisputable that he is the greatest relief pitcher in league history and possibly the best pitcher overall.

    Rivera has been a welcomed addition to the very surprising Choppers squad.  After years of disappointment, they find themselves in title contention.  They are currently tied in fourth place.  Perhaps most surprising is their grip on the league lead in saves after finishing dead last in that category a year ago, 32 saves behind the next worst team.  Obviously, Rivera has played a big part in that resurgence.  The bullpen has helped keep the Choppers pitching staff afloat while the rotation has been decimated by injuries.  The latest coming to Brett Anderson, who may need Tommy John surgery.  But with a powerful offense and a great bullpen, the Choppers figure to remain in contention as the season progresses.

  • Liriano & Verlander Toss No-Hitters

    Choppers pitcher Francisco Liriano

    There have been a ton of close calls this season, but Francisco Liriano and Justin Verlander managed to break through to complete the first two no-hitters of the season in a span of five days.  First, the Choppers’ Liriano picked up a no-no on Tuesday evening.  Then, the Kings’ Verlander did the same on Saturday afternoon.

    Of the two, Liriano’s no-hitter has to be the more improbable one.  He entered the game against the White Sox with an ERA over 9.00.  He had never pitched a complete game in his career.  And for a while, it looked like he would have trouble completing this one as well.  A bunch of early walks sent his pitch count soaring.  On the game, he walked six and only struck out two.  So there were probably at least a half dozen more impressive starts than his just last week, but a no-hitter deserves special mention.  Despite the ugly walk/strike out numbers, it was very much a dominating performance.  The White Sox hitters only hit a couple balls hard all evening.

    Liriano is still having a tough season.  His ERA stands at 6.61 and the win was only his second this season.  He has walked more hitters than he has struck out too.  Prior to this start, he was on the verge of a possible bullpen demotion by the Twins.  You have to think the Choppers were losing patience with him as well.  He has been the sour point on an otherwise surprisingly solid Choppers pitching staff.  If he continues to pitch like he did last Tuesday, things could get very interesting as the Choppers already find themselves in third place and are the surprise team near the top of the standings right now.

    Verlander’s no-hitter was less surprising and much more dominating.  He took a perfect game into the 8th inning against the Blue Jays, but a walk to J.P. Arencibia on an extended at bat ruined that.  Arencibia was quickly erased on a double play though, allowing Verlander to finish the game facing the minimum 27 batters.  This was Verlander’s second career no-hitter, joining Mark Buehrle as the only active DTBL pitchers with multiple no-hitters.  (Technically, Roy Halladay has two as well, but his playoff no-hitter didn’t count towards his DTBL stats, so I’m not including him.)

    The Kings pitchers have had a mediocre start to the season, but Verlander has been solid as usual.  He has a 3.16 ERA with 3 wins, a sub 1.00 WHIP and 55 strike outs.  Verlander, his Tigers teammate Max Scherzer, and Tommy Hanson have been outstanding for the Kings, but the bottom of their rotation has been a disappointment.

    As mentioned, there have been plenty of close calls on other potential no-hitters this season including Anibal Sanchez twice.  Also, two Cougars pitchers took no-hitters into at least the 7th inning on the same night last Friday:  Jaime Garcia and Derek Lowe.  The way pitching has dominated so far this season, you have to figure we’ll see a few more guys complete the task.

    Here’s another indication on just how good the pitching has been.  Only one DTBL team has an ERA over 4.00 (Demigods).  They were inching towards the 4.00 mark a couple days ago, so there is still a good chance we could see all ten teams under that mark at some point soon.

    Once again, Mariano Rivera’s save record is getting bumped to a later post.  I promise to write about him soon!

  • Weaver Cruises Through April

    Moonshiners pitcher Jered Weaver

    My timing isn’t very good with this post as Jered Weaver picked up his first loss of the season tonight.  However, this doesn’t change the fact that he had a truly remarkable April and is the primary reason why the Moonshiners find themselves in first place one month into the 2011 season.

    Weaver finished the month with a perfect 6-0 record, winning all six of his starts.  He compiled a 0.99 ERA, 0.788 WHIP and 49 strike outs, all very impressive numbers.  Shockingly, none of these marks were good enough to lead the league, except wins, but I’ll get to that in a bit.  His six wins are two more than any other pitcher has accumulated though.

    The Moonshiners acquired Weaver from the Jackalope during the first round of the draft in exchange for their first round pick.  As we all knew at the time, Weaver was exactly what the Moonshiners needed:  a true ace.  However, I don’t think anyone expected him to come out of the gates quite this strong.  He has helped lead the Moonshiners to a top two ranking in every pitching category except saves (4th).  Combined with the league’s best offense to date, the Moonshiners find themselves 13 points ahead of the pack with a very impressive 87 points.

    Trading Weaver hasn’t really killed the Jackalope as you much as you might think though.  They still have arguably three of the top five pitchers in the league and are right behind the Moonshiners in total pitching points.  If their offense, specifically Albert Pujols, picks it up a bit, the second place Jackalope will be right on the Moonshiners’ heals.  Ryan Braun has carried their offense so far, with a league leading ten home runs and a .356 batting average.  Braun would probably get my vote for Offensive Player of the Month.  One other candidate for that title would be Darkhorses outfielder Andre Ethier.  Just a couple minutes ago, he recorded a RBI single to extend his hitting streak to 28 games.  Going into tonight, he led the league with a .378 average, just a few points ahead of his Dodger teammate Matt Kemp.

    Weaver wasn’t the only pitcher who compiled ridiculous statistics in April.  Amazingly, Gators pitcher Josh Johnson has him beat in both ERA and WHIP.  Johnson has a 0.88 ERA and 0.707 WHIP.  Some bad luck has kept his win total at just three though.  Johnson has carried the Gators to the third most pitching points in the league, however a putrid offense has kept them near the bottom of the league standings.  The third pitcher who deserves special mention is Weaver’s Moonshiners and Angels teammate Dan Haren.  Haren has a 1.23 ERA and a 0.750 WHIP with four wins.  At one point, Weaver and Haren combined for eight wins in eight starts.

    There is one other big news item tonight.  Mariano Rivera became the DTBL’s all-time saves leader with the save he picked up against the Tigers this evening.  This is deserving of a separate blog post though, so I will go into more detail about Rivera later this week.

  • Manny and More

    Former Gator Manny Ramirez

    We’re about two and a half weeks into the 2011 baseball season, but in many ways, things look very much like 2010.  The Naturals are once again tied for first place, although not with the Darkhorses who are off to a slow start, but rather the rejuvenated Moonshiners.  Last year, pitching dominated like it hadn’t since the pre-steroid era.  That trend has continued early this season.  And finally, Manny Ramirez continues to be in the news for all the wrong reasons.

    Let’s start with Manny.  His sudden retirement has probably been the biggest story of the early season.  Facing another performance enhancing drug suspension, he elected to retire instead.  The Tampa Bay Rays signed him this off-season in hopes of riding one last surge from one of the best hitters of the last two decades.  Instead, Ramirez recorded only one hit in 17 at bats prior to his sudden retirement.  Similarly, the Gators felt he had a little left in the tank as they decided to protect him this past winter.  This past week, the Gators released the best player in franchise history, ending the longest tenure of a DTBL player and team in league history.

    The Gators drafted Ramirez in the 8th round of the 1995 draft, possibly the biggest DTBL draft steal ever.  He helped lead the Gators to a championship in his DTBL rookie season and then again in 1998.  His name litters the league record books.  He is the all-time RBI leader with 1746.  He ranks third in career home runs (528) and runs scored (1467).  His career batting average of .314 just misses the top ten.  He also holds the league’s single season RBI record with an incredible 165 in 1999.  Ramirez hit 30+ home runs with 100+ RBIs in nine straight seasons from 1998 through 2006.  He even had four seasons with a batting average over .330.  An amazing hitter, but unfortunately, all of these numbers will be considered tarnished by three separate PED related suspensions and/or positive tests.

    With the Gators release of Ramirez, this leaves another Gator, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez (Kings) as the longest tenured players with a single DTBL team.  Both were drafted by their respective teams in 1997.  They are the only two players who have been on the same team since before the turn of the century.  Interestingly, last year’s Gators squad had four such players on their roster:  Ramirez, Jeter, Billy Wagner and Pedro Martinez.  Although Martinez did not make an appearance for the Gators (or any MLB team) during the season.

    In other news, the Moonshiners have been in first place for a good portion of the season so far.  Their huge draft day trade with the Jackalope has paid early dividends as Jered Weaver has already won four games and leads the league in strikeouts too.  The only other pitcher with four wins is his Moonshiners and Angels teammate Dan Haren, who leads the DTBL in ERA and WHIP.  So Moonshiners hurlers lead every pitching category except saves.  The Naturals are keeping pace as well and currently find themselves exactly where they finished 2010:  tied for first place.  The Naturals have been led by Troy Tulowitzki and his seven home runs.  I don’t have the full statistics in front of me, but Tulo’s numbers since late August of last season have been absolutely ridiculous.

    In the first week of the season, there were rumors of changes to the stitching and/or other physical attributes of the baseball due to an early surge of home runs and scoring in general.  Those rumors have been put to rest since then as pitchers have continued to dominate.  Six of the ten DTBL teams have ERA’s below 3.40, which is a very respectable mark.  It is too early to make any comparisons to totals from previous seasons, but I think it is fair to say that the juiced ball talk during the first few days of the season was probably a bit premature.

    There are a couple league records that are likely to fall this season.  I should have mentioned these before the season started, but better late than never.  First, Choppers relief pitcher Mariano Rivera is on the verge of becoming the league’s all-time save leader.  He needs just three more to tie Trevor Hoffman with 560.  He already leads the league this season with seven saves.  The long-time Cougar has been traded twice the past two years.  Next, Alex Rodriguez has a chance to break the DTBL career record in both home runs and RBIs.  He sits 14 home runs behind Barry Bonds and with Manny Ramirez’s retirement, ARod needs 56 more RBIs to catch Manny.  I completely neglected to mention another career record which was broken last season.  Juan Pierre passed Kenny Lofton on that list during the 2010 season.  Now if only he could catch fly balls in the 9th inning…

  • DTBL v3.0

    The new main page is here!  It was a long time coming and I still have a lot of work to do, but at least I have something to show you just in time for Opening Day.  A few notes about what you are seeing…

    First of all, this main page is literally the only thing that has changed so far.  Every other page continues to use the same code, style and images.  Eventually, these pages will be replaced with something that looks similar to the main page, but I’ll be tackling them one at a time.

    Next, several of the links in the menu either don’t work or are simply placeholders for pages that don’t exist yet.  Specifically, there are two sub-menus that list all 10 teams:  Team Pages and Stats.  Currently, these take you to the same place:  the old team stats pages.  Eventually, “Team Pages” will point to a brand new feature of the site, which will be pages for each team containing all sorts of information besides just rosters/stats.  This is the part of the site I will be working on next, so hopefully I’ll have something ready to go in the next couple weeks.

    The content of the main page really isn’t much different than the old version, but I think it is more appealing and gives me a little more leeway to add new features in the future.  Even this main page isn’t really “done” because I have a few ideas in mind.  In particular, I have more things to add to the “DTBL Chatter” section, like the ability to add a quick reply, or even a new topic, straight from the main page.  I may add some more news feeds or widgets to the right hand column as well.

    The image you see on the home page (currently Buster Posey) is set to automatically pull the most recent image from the DTBL News feed.  So I will try to include photos in most of my posts to keep this fresh.  Soon you will all have the ability to create blog posts too, at which time I will encourage you to upload photos when you post a new story.

    You should be able to get to all of the old pages via the new menu system.  I should point out that the all important link to log in to the site is now in the upper right hand corner, along with links to the league’s Facebook group page, Twitter feed and RSS feed (DTBL News).

    So why am I calling this DTBL v3.0?  I’ve never really used a numbering system for the different versions of the league web site over the years.  But essentially, I consider this to be the third major iteration of the site.  It started as a very simple text based site back in the late 90s.  At that time, I used a desktop software program to update the stats and generate reports which were then uploaded to a web site.  Version 2 was the dynamic, database driven web site that we’ve been using since 2003.  This is the first major change since then, so I’m calling it 3.0.  Not many software developers get away with going 8 years between major releases, but my annual Commissioner’s salary of $0 isn’t quite high enough to justify much more work with that.  I’m enjoying this project though, so I hope you like the results.

    I don’t want to write a lengthy blog post every time I update a new page, so I’ll probably start a thread on the DTBL Forum to keep you updated on my progress.  Now that I have a main page tie-in to the DTBL Forum again, you might actually see these posts!  As always, I welcome your comments.  Feel free to post a comment on this post, or on the DTBL Forum.

    Only about 12 hours until first pitch.  Welcome to the 2011 season!

  • First Round Shakeup

    Demigods catcher Buster Posey

    There were no major surprises in the first few picks of the DTBL Draft, but that didn’t mean there was a lack of drama.  Two blockbuster trades by the Jackalope shook up their team and perhaps the league as a whole.  The Demigods grabbed the young phenom catcher Buster Posey with the first pick in the draft, but the Jackalope stole the headlines.

    The 2011 DTBL Draft began with the Demigods selecting Posey, who was probably the general consensus number one player available.  In his first MLB season, all he did was hit .305 with 18 home runs and 67 RBIs in just over 400 at bats, on his way to leading the San Francisco Giants to their first World Series title since 1954.  Posey’s fantasy value is especially high at a weak position like catcher.  He gives the Demigods almost indisputably the best catching duo in the league, paired with Joe Mauer.  Mauer was also a first round pick of the Demigods back in 2005.  Off the top of my head, the only other time I recall a catcher being selected with the first pick in the draft was Mike Piazza by the Metros way back in 1994.  The Demigods had a rough year in 2010, but Posey should be a major step towards turning things around.

    The Mavericks had the next two picks, the second straight year in which they possessed a few early picks.  Their own pick was third overall and they acquired the second pick from the Cougars in a trade for Adam Dunn last summer.  With that pick from the Cougars, they selected another one of last year’s rookie sensations:  outfielder Jason Heyward.  And the youth movement continued with the next selection when they took another catcher, Carlos Santana.  The Mavericks clearly foresaw the two outstanding catchers that would be available when they dealt veteran Jorge Posada last year.  While the Demigods have the most impressive catching combination, the Mavericks pair of Santana and Wieters has a ton of potential as well.   Heyward will give their outfield a much needed boost.  This pair of picks should help the Mavericks recover from the hugely disappointing 2010.

    The Choppers were the first team to draft a “veteran” when they selected outfielder Jose Bautista with the fourth pick.  Bautista will be a DTBL rookie this season, but has several years of MLB experience.  He had a breakout season in 2010, leading all of baseball with 54 home runs.  He drove in 124 and scored 109 runs.  Bautista’s home run total was 12 more than any DTBL player accumulated last season.  Whether or not he will be able to duplicate those numbers remains to be seen, but he was pretty much a no-brainer selection for the Choppers at this point.  None of these first four picks were very surprising.

    With the big four gone, the Gators were left with a less obvious choice at number five.  They elected to take outfielder Angel Pagan.  Like Bautista, he sort of came out of nowhere to have a great 2010 season.  A platoon player most of his career, Pagan now has a firm grip on any everyday spot for the Mets and should reward the Gators with a good average, a lot of steals and even some surprising power.

    The second half of the first round is where things got really interesting.  The Moonshiners held the sixth pick and there was only one highly sought after player left on the board.  However, the Moonshiners greatest need was starting pitching, and while this was a strong field for pitchers, none of them really stood out as first round material.  Fortunately for the Moonshiners, the Jackalope came calling because they were very interested in outfielder Mike Stanton.  So the Jackalope dealt one of their five superstar pitchers, Jared Weaver, along with a fifth round pick to the Moonshiners for the sixth overall selection.  The Jackalope then used that pick to grab the young, powerful outfielder Stanton.  This is one of those trades that will probably wind up helping one team more than the other, but made perfect sense for both.  Weaver is one of the most underrated pitchers in the game and actually led the DTBL in strike outs last season.  He probably would have been a top three pick in this draft.

    Meanwhile, the Jackalope started their bold transformation by acquiring Stanton.  But that was just the beginning.  Minutes after trading Weaver, the Jackalope dealt another one of their starting pitchers.  In one of the biggest trades in recent history, the Jackalope dealt Zack Greinke and a fourth round pick to the Naturals for first baseman Ryan Howard and a sixth round pick.  If you are wondering how the Jackalope could survive trading two elite starting pitchers in the matter of minutes, keep in mind that they basically had five of the top ten pitchers in the entire league on their roster last year and easily led the league in total pitching points, blowing out the competition in ERA and WHIP.  Even without Weaver and Greinke, they still have three pitchers that are better than anybody on most teams:  Felix Hernandez, Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee.  There is no reason to think they still can’t dominate the pitching categories.  But now they actually have a legitimate offense around Albert Pujols.  Howard and Stanton should immediately turn the Jackalope from a below average offensive team to one of the league’s best.  Make no mistake about it, the Jackalope will be one of the teams to beat this season.

    The Kings were totally thrown off by the Jackalope deals, particularly the one to acquire the Stanton pick.  They thought they were going to be in a good spot to grab Stanton after the Gators took Pagan.  The Kings had only identified five players as being solid first round picks, but with all of them off the board, they had to go a different route and fill a position of need instead.  They decided to take catcher Miguel Montero with the seventh pick.  They had no catchers on their roster and felt there was a major drop off in the available players after him.  Montero was the first non-DTBL rookie selected in this draft.  He was also the third catcher taken in the first round, which has to be unprecedented.  Next, with their regular pick, the Jackalope grabbed speedster outfielder Michael Bourn, further emphasizing their focus on offense.

    The two defending champions completed the first round, but went different routes in doing so.  The Naturals picked another young potential superstar, third baseman Pedro Alvarez.  I didn’t mention it earlier, but the Jackalope weren’t the only team trading from a position of strength in that Greinke/Howard deal.  The Naturals could afford to lose Howard since they already possessed two of the game’s best first basemen in Miguel Cabrera and Joey Votto.  The deal also paved the way to be able to grab a young slugger like Alvarez with the ninth pick.  Finally, the Darkhorses completed the first round by taking the guy who they had tagged as the best pitcher in the draft, Ted Lilly.  The veteran Lilly could have a great season pitching a full year in pitcher friendly Dodger Stadium.

    We almost went an entire first round without a pitcher being taken.  This points to a lack of standout pitchers in the draft pool, but does not speak to the overall talent level at the positions.  Plenty of pitchers started to fly off the board in the second round, including a run of four straight relief pitchers.  The Cougars used their first pick of the draft to take starting pitcher Daniel Hudson with the second pick of the second round.  There was also another trade in the second round.  The Mavericks dealt Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera to the Choppers for their second round pick.  The Mavericks used that pick to draft shortstop Starlin Castro, immediately after picking outfielder Nick Markakis with their own pick.  This gave the Mavericks four of the first 14 selections in this draft.

    The implications of this draft could be felt for quite some time.  Although there were only a handful of elite players available in the first round, the top championship contenders still found a way to improve their teams.  It should be a fun season.

  • Draft Preview

    The 19th annual DTBL Draft is set to begin this afternoon, so I figured I would take a few minutes to set the stage.

    All eyes will be on the Mavericks, who possess two of the first three picks in the draft.  Last year, they made three first round selections.  So they seem to be well positioned to build a solid foundation with young talent.  But before the Mavericks have their pick of the litter, the Demigods will make the first overall pick.  Some years there is an obvious #1 player on the board, but I don’t think that is the case this year.  They could go a number of directions to fill a need.  The Choppers and Gators hold the fourth and fifth picks respectively, and figure to be in good spots to pick up quality players.

    Overall, I think this is a deep draft.  As I previously mentioned, I had trouble making the final decisions on which players to include, especially when it came to pitchers.  This should make for a very interesting draft start to finish.  Having said that, I was only able to identify five players who I feel are sure thing first round picks.  This means that half of the players taken in the first round could be surprises and could cause some teams to pick the best player available at a position of need rather than going with the best player on the board.

    Will this be another draft full of trades?  Already, a number of picks have been dealt in carry over trades from last season.  The first trade of the year was recently completed, but it did not include draft picks.  The Mavericks and Naturals made another deal swapping Orioles players.  The Mavericks acquired outfielder Adam Jones from the Naturals for starting pitcher Brian Matusz.  This trade was a product of a numbers game.  The Mavericks had six starting pitcher keepers, so at least one of them was expendable.  Meanwhile, the Naturals already had a full outfield.  This deal gives both teams a little more flexibility on where they can go with their early draft picks.

    Now let’s get this thing started.  Happy drafting!

  • Player Changes Posted

    The position changes and player adds/drops for 2011 have been posted on the DTBL Forum.  Please take a look at these and post any comments you may have.  The official roster will be posted on the web site later this week, so get those comments/suggestions in soon!

    http://dreamteambaseball.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=107

    Also, I’m still seeking opinions on the possible transaction deadline change.  So far, the consensus seems to be to leave it as is on Sundays, but there is still plenty of time to chime in.

  • Happy Spring Training!

    Although it may not look much like spring where most of us live, the season has changed in Florida and Arizona as pitchers and catchers begin to report to MLB camps.   With that being the case, the DTBL season is right around the corner as well.

    You may have seen my response to Nick’s post on the Facebook group page indicating that I am running a bit behind in my preparation for the upcoming season.  That is still the case, however I expect to get caught up this week.  My schedule is pretty wide open this week, so I intend to have the first draft of the DTBL player adds/drops/position changes posted before the weekend.  As usual, I’ll solicit input on the tentative rosters before posting the official draft roster sometime next week.

    Next, I’m not even going to bother trying to find a date that will work for everyone for a live draft this year.  As a group, we seem to be busier and busier each year.  This year, we’ve got two members with newborn babies at home (Marc and Jay) and another in full wedding planning mode (Kelly).  I’d like to think I could use these “distractions” for others to my advantage, but that’s not likely.  Anyway, we will go with the same style draft we’ve been using for years.  However, we will need to get started a little earlier than usual since the MLB season starts on March 31 this year.  Tentatively pencil in Monday, March 7 as the draft start date.

    Speaking of the early MLB start, this is due to a change in scheduling practices.  Please check out this post on the DTBL Forum where I am soliciting input on a potential change to the weekly transaction deadline.  I would appreciate a response from as many of you as possible.