2/21/2008 12:14:21 PM

I was planning on taking Huddy here in round 12 but Humbert's Team #1 grabbed him right before my pick came up. So I decided to stick with pitching and get my third starter in John Maine. He should get me around 15-18 wins with a sub 4.00 ERA and about 160 Ks or so. Not a bad pick up this late in the draft, especially in a round where a number of starting pitchers went off the board. The Mets should get Maine the run support needed to even steal a win should he have an off day on the mound.

I like the Billingsley pick here for JFish. He should be pretty solid this season in the Dodgers rotation. The pick I was kinda iffy on was the Josh Hamilton one. I like him and he has amazing potential, just worried about the injuries and if he'll get through a whole season without hitting the DL. But getting him in the middle rounds here isn't half bad I guess. Just trying to stir up some stuff maybe! Ha!

Chris Murdico

2/21/2008 6:29:46 PM

well, we can continue the debate of me landing 40 save Trevor Hoffman here vs. those who invested in 40-save closers much earlier. I think this still shows that closers are deep and should be taken late. I was hoping it would be Valverde, but I like Hoffman, who doesn't get more consistent than his performance. Yes, he's old, but he's not had injury issues and plays for a team that gets lots of save opportunities. I'll take Hoffman and be thrilled with it.

Jimmy Dinsmore

2/21/2008 6:32:10 PM

I'll state this, in Round 5 I took Scott Kazmir and Humbert took Papelbon. In this round I took Hoffman and he took Hudson.

So, would you trade Kazmir and Hoffman for Papelbon and Hudson. Honestly, this isn't as unbalaned a deal as I thought, but I personally would not do this deal. But it illustrates that I got slightly better value, but who knows how it will pan out.

Jimmy Dinsmore

2/21/2008 10:33:35 PM

Being the first owners to choose a second closer was not in the works, but the value was too high to pass up. I had Street ranked in my top 75 players and the fact that he slipped to 144 is ridiculous.

I am scared about him playing for the A's but unless he gets traded to like the Red Sox or Yankees and becomes a set up man the possibility of him being traded will only help his value. I draft him counting on 35 to 40 saves and he will beat the previously mentioned Trevor Hoffman in most statistical catagories...sorry Jimmy!

Dan Clasgens

2/22/2008 7:50:55 AM

I disagree on the trade being a wash and your breakdown doesn't lie. The ERA difference is not that big to overcome the 80+ K difference (that would be good for probably 2 or 3 spots in the K category). Plus Hoffman had 5 more saves. That might be 1 pt. difference. And Kazmir is only still blooming. I think the deal is relatively balanced, but does favor me and does illustrate that top tier closers aren't much different than middle tier closers.

Jimmy Dinsmore

2/22/2008 12:37:51 PM

I loved the fact that I got Billingsley here. I looked at Hudson as well, and Jim is right, you know what you're getting with Huddy.

But I think C-Bill (that's what I'm calling him) will have far more K's and a slightly better ERA. That's what I look for in drafting pitchers: K/9, Total K's, ERA. If you're solid in those three areas, everything else will take care of itself.

And in the great debate above: Jimmy, I worry about one thing on your side that hasn't been mentioned. Kazmir has had to be shut down early each of the last 2 season because of shoulder/arm soreness.

So, I'm a little concerned about an oncoming injury with him. Just saying. Then again, I suppose the same could be said of Hudson.

So...maybe it is a wash. But I've always been one to get a good closer in the first 5-6 rounds, then forget about another one. If I get a second late in the draft great, if not, then so be it.

Jeremy Fischer

2/22/2008 3:43:03 PM

I haven't put my two cents in much, but there have been some risky picks on my part and I guess I should defend them.

Josh Hamilton, when healthy, will be a monster at the plate. He can help in all five categories, and will be in the middle of an undervalued Rangers lineup.

Yes, he is injury prone, but that's why you draft insurance policies. OF is a deep position, so there should be no problem finding an OF on the waiver wire that can fill in if he's hurt.

High reward for a medium risk this late in the draft. It reminds me of another injury-prone OF who wouldn't be a bad pickup pretty soon...

Chris Wetzel