DRAFT DAY

He looks so happy and so young in the face!

On Saturday night, I was planning out my "IDEAL TEAM: THE POPPERSTEINS," but I was also preparing for a backup plan, known as "NON-IDEAL TEAM: THE LITTLE OMARS." I was trying to prepare myself for the worst: last pick, no Miguel Cabrera. Thirty minutes before the draft, I found out I was--oh, indeed--LAST PICK. I panicked, thinking that there was no way I'd get the LORD MIGGY, whose overall rank by Yahoo was 11. I was prepared to go with plan B and select players to whom I had no particular attachments but also knew were good people to have, so that I could terrorize the entire league with them. I was envisioning being the MoT version of Omar Little from "The Wire."

But by the grace of fantasy baseball gods, I ended up with the LORD MIGGY! First of all, Ryan Howard was totally unloved and neglected in the first round. And then there was magic. I must personally thank both Slippery Logicians and Waste Wildenstein. I owe these managers a cookie or two. Slippery Logicians made sure to secure MIKE LOWELL, for familial reasons, and Waste Wildenstein locked in ace pitchery in the form of TIM LINCECUM. As our favorite Steak 'N Shake waiter says, "Gooood choiiiice, gooood choiiiice..." With these moves, I was able to select Miggy. I had to pick again immediately after because of the snaking order, so I was able to get my ideal second pick, KING FELIX HERNANDEZ. The rest of my team is a strange mashup of Tigers, Rockies, and Marlins players, with an estranged person here and there.

The draft took three hours to complete and I am exhausted. Unfortunately, I have to deal with this thing called "reality," but I'll be back soon with a collage of my team.

My First Fantasy Baseball Team: Lessons Learned #1

The "Chone" in Chone Figgins's name does not rhyme with "cone."

Absentee

BASEBALL IS UPON US

"Chicago Cubs pitching instructor Mike Mason sniffs a broken bat hit back to the pitching mound during workouts at the team's spring training baseball facility Tuesday, March 2, 2010, in Mesa, Ariz." Is this a Post-Sosa thing; is this how you see if there's cork in a bat?

Hello everyone! It's March, and at least in Chicago, the snow is melting and there's a weekend of 40 degree weather on its way. The internet is abuzzing and atweeting about baseball, spring training, and baseball cards. I think it's safe to say that spring is on its way.

The Marauders of Time draft is scheduled for Sunday, March 7, 3:00PM CST. If you don't have a draft plan, there are a variety of places to do some draft research. MLB.com has a list, complete with photos. I have no idea who these people are, but I found them on Yahoo's main baseball site, so here are some other rankings. Rotoworld is another possible resource and somehow CBS has a fantasy site. I don't really know much about these sites, but there they are. Anyway, drafts are the best part of fantasy, so don't miss it LIVE!

EDIT: The draft is no longer this Sunday, March 7, but the following Sunday, March 14, at 3:00 PM CST. MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

See You At The Draft(s)

The countdown 'til Fantasy Baseball 2010 begins.

Superlative Awards

The 2009 Marauders of Time Champions are The Poppersteins, who under manager Kei triumphed in a close and heated battle with Joe's CHUTLEY. Congratulations to our 2 all-star managers. Thank you to everyone for participating. Next year should be at least as exciting as our collective competency will be heightened.

Now for Managerial Superlatives:
Rookie of the Year: Kei (The Poppersteins)
Most Improved (through semi-legal self-correcting statistical probability databases): Joe (CHUTLEY)
Most Passionate: Jenni (Ladies Love Us)
Most Suprisingly Beastliest: Nar (Hit by Pitch)
Most Paternally Distracted: Ed (Vaggie Burgers)
Most Enslaved by Evil AI: Andy (Arbitup)
Most Metsiest: Mordecai (Impending Doom)
Most Invisible: Nate (The Zone)

Ch-ch-ch-changes

IS THIS GOING TO TURN INTO A FOOTBALL BLOG?