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……………….

One fantasy site points out that a recent survey claimed that 6.5% of all adult Americans said they played fantasy sports in 2005. That translates to almost 15 million adult Americans!

Well, last night it was time to complete one final review of all the on-line fantasy baseball marketing material that I have received. There was a lot to review, because customers in this hobby can be reached in a variety of ways, such as pop up ads, emails, word of mouth (viral marketing) from other league members, television ads and magazine ads. This morning the league reached a decision on which website, we are going to use for the up and coming 2006 season. In the end, we decided to go with the same website that we have used for the past 5 seasons: cbssportsline.com. Are we satisfied with the site or just lazy? Probably a combination of both. Half the league could probably care less, as long as they are in a league. And the other half, including myself decided to browse various sites, review features, monitor updates from previous years, look at the ease of use of the site, review cost, system reliability, etc. There are many aspects to a fantasy sports website and it can be difficult to compare them all. Which is often the case for a lot of things that people try to accomplish on-line - such as purchasing a gift for someone or choosing which email carrier to select. Well, when all was said in done, in our opinion, cbssportsline.com remains a notch above the rest. Now, it is time to finalize a draft date.

How do we go about choosing a draft date? Easily. We post a poll on the website that presents three options. The option that receives the most votes wins. Once the winning date is announced, it is up to everyone to either make it or to come up with an alternative plan. Some people have used conference phones, webcasts and email. Others have sent a replacement owner to select their team - something that I would never do. Sometimes the draft is the best part of the season.

Well, the site is in place and the draft date has been set. However, there is still a lot to do. It is time to go back through all of the websites (again) to focus less on site benefits and more on player analysis. This year, we are presented with an additional way to prep for the season as many major league baseball players are representing their country in the World Baseball Classic. It is almost like the players are trying out for a spot on everyone’s fantasy team. Ok, maybe not, but a strong performance in the WBC will likely prompt someone to draft a player higher than they originally planned. I personally am not sold yet on the WBC for a variety of reasons. For starters, if the players get injured, they hurt their major league team. The timing of the exhibition is also odd, as it is taking place at the height of spring training.

Anyway, there are other ways to prep for the fantasy season – check spring training results, injury updates, and minor league prospect reports. Who knows, maybe someone will catch my eye for the 2007 draft? I do not mean to get ahead of myself, but it is not a bad idea to plan ahead if you know that you are going to remain dedicated to one league. All of this prep work and analysis may seem like a lot of work. It is not really. At least not today. Ten years ago maybe, but not today. The fantasy sports websites do all the work for me. I just have to read up on everything. Times have changed. This is the Information Age! Good stuff. Time to go. I think I will save my next post for a post-draft analysis to see if all of my website browsing, preparation, brainstorming and blogging has paid off.

It has been over two weeks since my last posting to this blog. However, I wanted to give myself the opportunity to get buried in fantasy sports marketing. Maybe do a little research as well, so that I can narrow down the sites that I am going to rely upon in preparation for the upcoming fantasy baseball season.

This will strictly be a “chatter” post. Based upon what I have seen, I am going to try and sort some of it out. However, to keep from jumping all over the map, I will narrow my focus on analyzing the infield positions. In a nutshell, I am hoping that by brainstorming, I will be able to sort through the many facts, trends and suggestions that I have stumbled upon over the past few weeks. Personal opinion will play a key role, but the opinions that I have gathered from over a dozen websites will certainly sway my opinions.

Infield Analysis:

First Base: There is a lot of depth at this position going into 2006. Many websites agree that there are at least 10 players who should put up good numbers. In addition, yahoo.com points out that at least 2 rookies will have big impact years. Since, I am in a 12-team league, I do not see any reason drafting a 1B with my first or second picks. Probably better to grab top players from other positions where the talent pool is not as deep. In addition, the player that I am protecting from my roster from last year is a 1B – Mark Teixeira.

Second Base: Now, this position scares me. There are only a few high impact players at 2B, which means that more than half of the league will have to settle for a guy that lacks balance across the board. A handful of players have the potential to steal some bases, but their power numbers will be weak. And vice versa. In addition, there are a few players that are in the twilight of their careers. If I have the opportunity early on in the draft, I may grab one of the top 3 or 4 second baseman with one of my first few picks.

Shortstop: The pool of players at the SS position has never looked better. Cbssportsline.com suggests that this is the best it has ever seen. Fantasybaseballchampionship.com has also never seen a better crop at this position, since its inception. The top 5 shortstops provide power, speed and consistency. The next 7 all have the potential to put up similar numbers. This means that all 12 teams should have an adequate representative at this spot. Like 1B, I may avoid choosing a SS in the first few picks, because I know I can get a solid player late. Perhaps, I will focus on C, 2B, 3B or OF early on. The run of SPs usually begins in the 4th round and the run on RPs usually starts in the 7th round.

Third Base: There are some question marks at this position after the first 4-5 spots. Many 3Bs lost power or battled injuries in 2005. Lack of steroid use? Just throwing that out there. I would rate this position as the third worst in available talent – after C and 2B. The two best 3Bs are being protected in my league from last year, so if I do not grab one of the next three best choices early, I may put this position off until the later rounds.

Oh, and for those of you who think I am crazy for wasting my time with this mindless stuff. It is not mindless. It actually keeps the mind fresh. Any analysis is good. In fact, I am finding that blogs are a pretty good way to improve upon one’s thought processing and writing skills.

Ok. This just in. A few days have gone by and I have survived the weekend. Of course, there is good new and bad news. Bad news first. Always. The bad news is the Super Bowl has been over for 2 weeks now and we are approaching the peak of that two-month window of potential confusion and mass hysteria. The Winter Olympics is hardly satisfying my thirst for a large abundance for sports. Bode Miller does not care if he wins a medal, NBC does not care if we know the results prior to on-air time and the so-called sport of curling is simply not doing it for me. Thankfully, the on-line fantasy baseball marketers continue to dish out relentless reminders about the improvements of their websites and that the baseball season will be here before we know it. But that is not the good news.

The real good news is that I managed to stay Internet free for at least 60 straight hours. No need to check emails. No on-line purchases to consider. No fantasy baseball or football teams to manage. I suppose that now I can scratch “internet addiction” off of the list of possible issues that may plague me. Two plus days is not a very long time, but I think I may have answered my earlier question. It is not the need to be connected that I miss. It is the enjoyment that I get from managing a baseball team. Even if it is not real. Forget Theo. The Sox could have hired me for much, much less. I should be general manager. I know, me and twenty thousand other baseball fans. Anyhow, now that I am cleansed of any on-line related viruses, am I cleared to dive into the pre-season analyses? I think so. 34 days until the fantasy baseball draft and at least 15 websites to monitor beforehand. Don’t worry. First, I will take out the garbage; fix the leaky faucet, check the portfolio, call my mom and get caught up at work. Then it will be time to play.

Fellow league members have already been in contact with each other in an effort to solidify a draft date. It is never easy finding a day that works for 12+ people. A friend of mine, who participates every year as a consultant has already started his pre-season research. He prefers not to get involved with the draft day antics and the season long trade negotiations. However, he keeps a close eye on key free agents, injuries and especially, draft day preparation. The key issue that we are wrestling with lately is whether or not to focus on starting pitching early on in the draft or to utilize our first few picks with heavy hitters. We get buried with so much on-line marketing material that the suggestions often offset one another. One site provides solid evidence on how many of the top starting pitchers manage to breakdown and spend an ample amount of time of the disables list each season. Therefore, they say to go after players who are less likely to get injured. Focus on power and speed early on in the draft. There are plenty of arms out there that you can land in the middle rounds. Another site will suggest just the opposite. Grab the top pitchers early. A solid core of pitchers will help you in mid-season trade negotiations. So on and so on. Apparently, my consultant pal is leaning toward the latter approach. Here is an excerpt from an email that he recently sent to me:

“Okay, so I think I will do the league this year. I need a hobby to keep the season going. I'll just have to decide what my level of participation will be. As for drafting, you have to take the best player available, regardless of position. Plus you need to invest in solid Starting Pitchers (SPs). There is always a shortage of SPs and teams are willing to offer their best hitters to get one at midseason. The teams with the top SPs control the trading (at least that is how it has been in years past). I did a quick analysis and I think our first pick should be an SP. There are only a couple studs available, since many of the top pitchers are being “protected” from last year’s rosters. After that there is a big drop-off. I say you come right out and snag a Prior, Halladay, Schmidt, Oswalt, or Colon. As soon as we do that there should be a run on the rest of the SPs, therefore leaving a ton of solid hitters for us.”

So, the question that I have for anyone who really cares – in a league where the weight of the statistics are generally the same between hitters and pitchers, do I place more emphasis on selecting SPs in the early rounds or try to load up on power and speed from my hitters? I know. It’s not rocket science and we are not exactly trying to decide between funding a war or saving an economy. The bottom line is that we are having fun.

Where was I? Ah, yes. No fantasy sports teams to manage until April. Certainly there are priorities. My family. My job. My health. My finances. After these things are in order, I attend to my hobbies. Besides I can’t seem to escape this fantasy sports thing anyways. Everywhere I look I am being flooded with marketing and advertisements for sites such as cbsportsline, yahoo and cnnsi.com. Over the past few years, fantasy sports has taken off, thanks to the unforeseen amount of attention paid to this hobby within the Internet.

Something just crossed my mind. Is it my enjoyment of fantasy sports that I miss during these two months? Or does it have something to do with the need to maximize my connection to the on-line world? I have been participating in fantasy sports leagues for about 10 years now. 1996 just also happens to be the timeframe that the Internet was picking up speed and the birth of fantasy sports websites were on the horizon. Do I have a problem or an addiction of sort to the Internet? I wonder. I do not own a palm pilot. I do not own an iPod. I do not “google” random things for fun. At first glance, evidence does not fully suggest that I feel a need to be “connected” at all times.
Managing a fantasy team allows me to spend some of my “extra” time searching various websites for critical statistics, trends, professional opinions, non-professional opinions, weather forecasts, and injury updates. This is just the beginning. Trade proposals and transactions need to be made through a cbssportsline website to fellow league members. Of course, these trade offers only come to surface after exchanging a half a dozen emails to gain an idea of what areas my competition is looking to improve upon. Is there really a need for me to be “connected” even more? I spend hours every day at work communicating with associates and clients via email and web-conferences. At home, I monitor my finances, pay bills and adjust my portfolio on a consistent basis. The holiday season just passed where I spent countless hours searching for that perfect gift. I would spend numerous hours perusing various offerings on craigslist and eBay for things that I may or may not have needed. Don’t I spend enough time on-line? Do I really need to spend additional time managing an on-line fantasy baseball team? The short-term answer, I suppose, is yes. Apparently, cbssportline thinks I need to spend more time on their website. Everywhere I look, there are email reminders, pop-up ads, tickers on the television and announcements on various radio stations. The folks at cbssportsline have taken the marketing of fantasy sports to a whole new level. Is their marketing plan working? It must be. Every few days, I wonder if is it too early to purchase my first on-line fantasy cheat-sheet to get a jump on the off-season player rankings. It may be. Heck, the Sox do not even have a final shortstop or first baseman yet. The rankings would be skewed anyhow. Maybe I will wait a few more days and give the gurus a chance to further update their rankings and stat forecasts. I would not want to be misled on draft day.