Round 12
.406 Club Dynasty Fantasy Keeper League

Tartar sauce

There is a super scene in one of my favourite movies 'the Weather Man' where through a little narration Nicholas Cage gives the viewer a brief glimpse of the workings of the average male mind.

Whilst standing at a street crossing trying to remember to buy tartar sauce on his wife's request, his mind races through the following thoughts;

What happened to the guy who was trying to fly around the world in a balloon? Did he make it? I should put some espionage or stolen plutonium in my novel. Tartar sauce. Spice it up. Neil Young. F***, its cold. Neil Young. Wh-why am I thinking about Neil Young. Neil Diamond. Neil... Theres not a lot of famous Neils. Is this Wednesday? I wish I had two *****. I thought the whole family was going to learn Spanish together this year. That never really happened. I haven't had a Spanish omelette in a long time. Here we go.

Well, I went to see 'Bobby' on the weekend, and something similar happened to me while watching a scene where the characters were talking about Don Drysdale, the former great LA Dodgers pitcher who threw six shutouts in a row in 1968. Here's how my mind went. Remember, as with Cage above, this thought thread took place in about twelve seconds start to finish;

Don Drysdale. I wonder was his nickname 'The Don'? This popcorn is very 'bitty'. Must check the Internet to see if that was his nickname. I like this movie. I would have loved to have lived in the sixties. Imagine being a stud pitcher for the Dodgers in the sixties. Or the Red Sox. I don't think I could ever live in LA with that traffic. I do love Mexican food though. Don Drysdale. I wish I had a Don Drysdale type figure in my life. Oh, I do, or I did. Pedro. That girl is very noisy. Pedro in '99 and a couple of other years. God I'd love some nachos. I should pick Pedro for my fantasy team

And there it was. Two major thoughts came from a string of absolutely nonsensical thinking. First of all, I should definitely pick Pedro in my fantasy league with my next pick, and secondly, I need to see him pitch live again one more time before he retires.

Taking a quick jab step backwards, let me break it down for you like a fraction. I joined a great Red Sox Forum recently and they decided to run a five year Fantasy Baseball keeper league. What this means is we draft around 30 players each, and then keep those players for five years, unless we decide to trade or drop said players, or unless they get all 'Cincinnati Bengals' on their owners and end up in some correctional facility or other. I think at that stage they are either cut from the league or sent to live in Birmingham, England, not sure which.

On to the pick itself, as it happened on the weekend:

With the 184th pick of the .406 Club Dynasty Fantasy Keeper League, the Dublin Sharks, of Dublin, Ireland, managed by DaddyMac22, selects Pedro Martinez (SP NYM)

It felt good just writing it down. It felt 'right'. I know he is getting on in age, his toe hurts, he's starting to look a little bored around the edges. However he pitches in the National League and is still dominant at that level. he can still give me 15 wins and a low era and anyway, my rotation is healthy as it is.

  • CC Sabathia
  • Jon Papelbon
  • Josh Beckett
  • Brad Penny
  • Pedro Martinez

I'll take that and go to competition with it. Pedro is the only guy over thirty on the Dublin Sharks virtual staff.

The Sharks now look like this;

  • SP C.C. Sabathia (SP-CLE)
  • SP Jon Papelbon (SP/RP-BOS)
  • SP Josh Beckett (SP-BOS)
  • SP Brad Penny (SP-LAD)
  • RP
  • RP
  • P Pedro Martinez (SP-NYM)
  • P
  • P
  • C Mike Napoli (C-LAA)
  • 1B Nomar Garciaparra (1B-LAD)
  • 2B Howie Kendrick (1B/2B-LAA)
  • 3B Hank Blalock (3B-TEX)
  • SS Orlando Cabrera (SS-LAA)
  • CI
  • MI
  • OF Manny Ramirez (OF-BOS)
  • OF Vernon Wells (OF-TOR)
  • OF
  • OF
  • UT

I need some more outfield pop, some relief pitching, another starter or two and youthful talented backup at all positions. That and I need to find out what 'CI' and 'MI' stand for.

Let me know if you have any bright ideas.

Comments

Brian Martin said…
CI = corner infielder (1B or 3B)
MI = middle infielder (2B or SS)

Scott Shields in one of my favorite RP. He doesn't get the saves, but a couple of very good middle relievers will help your team out more than a mediocre starter would
Cormac said…
...ah ha...thank you! I was wondering what they were! Shields is actually on my radar, he's actually only 31!
Anonymous said…
pedro? 15 wins over the next two seasons is probably about right. broxton is solid though. are cain and lowry still on the board?
Cormac said…
Yeah I was happy with Broxton. He really fits in, and he can really put a hamburger away, which is a quality I appreciate, plus he can chill with C.C Sabathia on road trips, hang out in Taco Bell and what not together.

Considering how late I got Pedro I am happy with taking him over some of the dross currently being drafted.

Cain would have been great. I am gutted I didn't get Homer Bailey too. Gutted. Talk me into Noah Lowry, you have been yabbering on about him for ages, is he your first born or something?