Caught a couple of Yankee games over the weekend and I see they are mashing the ball. Great starts from Aaron Judge and Trent Grisham. Pitching still a bit shaky; starters have to get more length. So far I’ll take it. A little concerned about Bellinger. #playball
Don’t ask me about the thunderbats yet. I haven’t seen them in action. Traveling and visiting takes up time. #playball
Draft is complete. Not sure how well I did, but I’ll have to survey the damage later when my brain isn’t so fried. Draft Day is an exhausting exercise.
Lunch break at the draft. Not doing too badly, but a lot of my team will start on the IL. Paid $5 for Gerrit Cole and Luis Garcia, both on Tommy John injuries. May have overpaid for Anthony Santander unless he hits 45 HRs. Overpaid for George Springer. Did not know he has been that bad. Ah well….
Draft Day Tomorrow
Well, Draft Day 2025 is tomorrow, and I am in no way ready. The worst part is that the start of the draft is in the Eastern Time Zone, and I am in the Pacific Time Zone at the moment. This means I have to be ready to go at 6AM. And my team is already in trouble, with Luis Gil, Royce Lewis, and just today José Ramirez down with injuries. I have a bad feeling.
While I would like to “live blog” my draft, I may not be alert enough to do so. But I am thinking about providing some live updates. Probably a waste of time, considering no one is interested in how my draft will turn out, but perhaps it will allow me to think things through as the draft progresses. How many $1 players will I lose out on, I wonder?
Quick Roto Update
Final Keeper List for 2025:
- C Adley Rutschman 20 + farm+2yr 2022
- 3B Jose Ramirez. CLE 49 2024
- OF Lawrence Butler ATH 10 2024
- CR Royce Lewis MIN 10 2023
- DH Jhonkensy Noel CLE 10 2024
- P Luis Gil NYY 6 2024
- P Tanner Houck BOS 10 2024
- P Mason Miller ATH 10 2023+Farm
- P Bailey Ober MIN 10 2023
- P Ben Joyce LAA 7 2024+Farm
- P Will Warren NYY 5 2025
Will Warren was added to the Yankees 26-man roster so I had to protect him. I traded for Jhonkensy Noel for a little more power at the expense of Simeon Woods Richardson. Framber Valdez was too expensive. José Ramirez might also be too expensive, but what a player! Draft Day is this Sunday March 30th. I have to be ready by 5:30 AM Pacific Time to join the Eastern Time draft. Sucks to be me.
Quick Roto Look
I play in an old-fashioned rotisserie league that dates back to about 1991 or so. 5X5 keeper league, 10 teams, AL only. $290 auction budget, last three players chosen by $10 snake draft. R, OBP, HR, RBI, SB on offense; W, ERA, S+H, K, WHIP on the pitching side. Salary and contract year. Standard 3-year contract, can extend for 2 extra years @ $5/yr. Farm players cost $5 when activated, $7 second year, $10 third year and can be extended.
This is my potential keeper list for 2025 (11 max):
- C Adley Rutschman 20 + farm+2yr 2022
- 3B Jose Ramirez. CLE 49 2024
- OF Lawrence Butler ATH 10 2024
- CR Royce Lewis MIN 10 2023
- P Luis Gil NYY 6 2024
- P Tanner Houck BOS 10 2024
- P Mason Miller ATH 10 2023+Farm
- P Bailey Ober MIN 10 2023
- P Framber Valdez HOU 33 2024
- P Ben Joyce LAA 7 2024+Farm
- P Simeon Woods Richardson 7 2024+Farm
11 Players for $172
FARM
- Chase Hampton NYY
- Will Warren NYY
- Colt Emerson M SEA
- Dylan Beavers M BAL
- Dustin Harris M TEX
If Will Warren makes the rotation, I will probably cut Valdez. I may do that anyway, as he’s too expensive right now. I could extend Miller another year. Final list has to be in by March 25th. Draft Day is March 31.
No, I am not watching the Tokyo Series live. I have a bit too much to do to get ready to move on from AZ. I’ll catch it on MLB.AtBat if I can. Bucket list: catch a baseball series in Japan. #playball
SF Giants sell significant piece of team for first time in decades. 10% ownership stake to a private equity firm! Sixth Street private equity. Not a good sign. When you see the value of teams today, you realize that the era of family ownership is coming to an end. Not good for fans. #playball
Three Questions
Spring Training Trip: Odds and Ends
Game Report - Game 3
Game 3 - The “Freeway” Series: Los Angeles Dodgers v. Los Angeles Angels
Final Score: 5-3 LA Dodgers (boooooooo!)
This was the game I was truly looking forward to, but in many ways it was the most disappointing experience of them all. Now, don’t get me wrong: a bad day at the ball park is better that a good day at just about anything else. Nonetheless, it was a disappointing experience for the most part. Let me count the ways.
Tempe Diabolo Stadium is the home of the LA Angels, and is the oldest of all the ballparks in the Cactus League, having been completed somewhere around 1991 or so. Its last update was in the early 2000s, and it’s not that the ball park is shabby per se, but rather just massively outdated. To be fair, the stadium is supposed to be getting a massive facelift this year, but it’s too late for us (unless we come back). It’s gonna take a bullet list to sort this out.
Game report: Game 2
Sacramento* Athletics v. Texas Rangers, Surprise Stadium, Surprise AZ
Final Score: 6-3 Athletics
Surprise Stadium is a shared complex between the Kansas City Athletics and the Texas Rangers. It’s a lovely little stadium of about 10K total, I would guess. Attendance today was 3,422. Well, actually, 3423, because for some reason my ticket didn’t scan, even though the ticket scanner person said it had been scanned. So I wasn’t officially counted. Count me surprised that there is no minor league team playing in this park. I assume it’s used for rehab and other purposes during the season, but man it’s a nice complex. We had seats today right behind home plate, in the last row of the section. Perfect location for watching the game. I could see all the break on the ball coming into the plate as well as almost call the pitch.
Game Report: Game 1
Cleveland Guardians v. Seattle Mariners, Peoria Sports Complex, Peoria AZ.
Final Score: 7-2 Seattle
Peoria Sports Complex is shared by the Seattle Mariners and the San Diego Padres. It’s a nice compact ballpark of probably 10K. To be honest I am surprised Cleveland comes to the Cactus League to play rather than the Grapefruit League. Unbeknownst to any of the fans in attendance AFAICT, Ken Griffey Jr. was in the house for the Mariners. He seems to have come to visit the team on the back fields but did not make a public appearance. In fact, Seattle’s three Hall of Famers - Griffey, Edgar Martinez, and newly-inducted Ichiro Suzuki were all on hand for a photo. I have to admit I was kind of surprised that none of the players from either side came out to the field early to engage with the fans.
