Draft Day has passed, my team has been set

Well, it was an interesting day...an early day, but it was fun and if given the chance to do it again, I would in a heartbeat! I'm not going to discuss in what order I was able to draft each of my teammates, but let's just say that I got everyone exactly where I wanted them. Going in, I had high hopes in getting certain players, and I was high on some where others may not have been. I was able to draft most of the players I wanted (sorry Kernie, Danny St. John, Leitch, maybe next year) and I'm very happy with our team.

It was very interesting watching each captain try to determine what players they wanted to play with, which ones would help their teams out, and which ones they wanted to avoid (as in life, there's always an individual or two with personality conflicts, and you want to do your best to try and avoid matching them up. If not, it's a long season, and nobody wants their summer to be ruined by animosity.) Sitting next to Chris Moncayo, we got a pretty good feel for how each captain was drafting, and at certain times we'd whisper or point out players we thought the captains were going to take before they did, and often muttered "shocker" or "surprise, surprise" when guys were taken.

Now, on to my team. Going into the draft, one of the biggest things I was aiming for was drafting a fun team. As I'm going to be spending 25-plus days of my summer with these guys, I wanted a team of guys I would look forward to seeing. Having acquired guys like Bucky, Battiston, Vent and Godard, I have no doubt our team will be laughing all season (with a little X-rated conversation thrown in, I'm sure!) I also wanted to load up on guys who can pitch, and was able to land 7 guys who logged a bunch of innings last year. Another one of my strategies was to draft for strength up the middle, and I was able to draft 4 guys who can catch, 5 guys who can play SS, and 4 guys who can play CF at a high level. As they say, pitching and defense wins championships.

Our team won't be like Chris Moncayos' or Adam Hooks'. Those guys drafted a lot of "big-boppers"! Those teams are going to scare the hell out of pitching, and put up huge power numbers. Instead, our team is going to have to rely on high OBPs and run like hell once we're on the bases. With 8 of the guys on our team with a .390 batting average or better, we should be fine to follow the old "get 'em on, get 'em over, get 'em in" philosophy.

I would like to say "great job to all the captains", and give a big thanks to all the league sponsors for backing the league and making it possible for us to play. I'd also like to say thanks to the executive for always putting the league first and doing an amazing job year in and year out in keeping the league fun, balanced and competitive. And finally, I wish everyone a fun, safe and memorable season. So...when do we play...