The draft ended four days ago. After trudging through the dark days between the Super Bowl and the Major League Baseball season………… Ok. Is it too late to scrap that whole argument about there being nothing to do between February 1st and April 1st? Now I have always been a big fan of college basketball’s March Madness, but this year’s tournament has been ridiculous! Any time I found time to watch a game this past weekend, teams were either hitting a deep three at the buzzer or burying a driving lay-up to force overtime. Four games went to OT this past weekend and an 11 seed has advanced to the Final Four. Quick. Name one player on George Mason. Need another chance? What state is George Mason located in? Exactly.

Anyhow, it is time to give the lineup one last glance before heading into battle. Time to determine if any available free agents are better suited to be on my prestigious roster over any of the players that I selected during last Friday night’s draft. It is possible, but after all of my preparation, I would be surprised to find a diamond in the rough at this point. It should be a few weeks before the websites start burying me again with statistical updates on players as they fight through the chilly days of April baseball.

The lineup:

C Victor Martinez, CLE
1B Mark Teixeira, TEX
2B Marcus Giles, ATL
SS Bill E. Hall, MIL
3B Chipper Jones, ATL
OF Carl Crawford, TB
OF Gary Sheffield, NYY
OF Johnny Damon, NYY
OF Torii Hunter, MIN
DH Jermaine Dye, OAK

Super subs: Garret Atkins, Justin Morneau, Curtis Granderson

SP Carlos Zambrano
SP Mark Buerhle
SP Cliff Lee
SP Noah Lowry
SP Ervin Santana
RP Jason Isringhausen
RP Bob Wickman
RP Justin Duchsherer

Super subs: Roger Clemens, Jarrod Washburn

That’s right!!!! I drafted Clemens in the 19th round. If he comes out of retirement on May 1st, then my SPs get a huge boost. I think it was a great gamble. We’ll see how it plays out. The man still has a lot left in that arm. Two more strong seasons and he can move into 3rd place on the all-time wins list.

I would like to give props to certain websites for offering great suggestions on some of the players that I drafted. Yahoo.com pointed out that Torii Hunter is healthy as ever after breaking his ankle at Fenway last season. Torii is having a solid spring and is forecasted to have 25 Homers and 20 SBs. In fact, most of my offense should post double-digit HRs and SBs, which is a good thing. Let’s see if it actually happens. Must avoid the injury bug. Also, espn.com’s fantasy baseball site had a nice write-up on Ervin Santana and how he may eventually be the next Pedro. High expectations that will not likely pan out for another few years, but worth a spot on my roster this season, nonetheless.

I would like to thank my blog for helping me sort through the information that I have been overloaded with. Blogging truly helped me get my thoughts down on paper, clear my head and sort thing out. I would like to also thank my agent….kidding.

In closing, if people are smart and preparing for their draft, they will read my blog – because clearly my lineup is insane and this will be the year that I win my first title since 2001. Has it been that long? This year will be different.

Well, the baseball draft is over. All that prep work and it’s done; just like that. Now, I simply keep an eye on the free agents and ponder trades throughout the dog days of summer.

Now what? Five months until the fantasy football draft. Who should I protect at Wide Receiver - Steve Smith or Chad Johnson? Let’s take a closer look……………….