Draft Notes® 2000

brought to you by Bob Seger and the Summer League Band

Graham Get out of Denver he said go go
Get out of Denver better go
Get out of Denver better go go
Get out of Denver 'cuz you look just like a commie
and you might just be a (Caterpillar)
Get out of Denver better
Get out of Denver better go

- Get out of Denver

Ken And after all
The dead ends and the lessons learned
After all
The stars have turned to stone
There'll be peace
Across the great unbroken void
All benign
In your time
You'll be fine
In your time

- In Your Time

Dave Travelin' man, catch if you can,
But sooner or later, I'm goin'.

- Travelin' Man

Joe But your thoughts will soon be wandering the way they always do
When you're (carparking) sixteen hours and there's nothing much to do
And you don't feel much like (carparking), you just wish the trip was through

- Turn the Page

Bob I had the worst reputation in town
For chasing all the women around
I thought changing my way of living was hard to do
But it's nothing compared to the changes that you put me through

I'm doing everything I tried to do
But it's gonna take a miracle to get me over you

Tryin' to live my life without you
It's the hardest thing I'll ever do
Trying to forget the love we shared
It's hardest burden I'll ever bear

- Tryin' to Live My Life Without You

Keith He wants to dream like a young man
With the wisdom of an old man.
He wants his home and security,
He wants to live like a sailor at sea.
Beautiful loser, where you gonna fall?
You realize you just can't have it all.

He's your oldest and your best friend,
If you need him, he'll be there again.
He's always willing to be second best,
A perfect lodger, a perfect guest.
Beautiful loser, read it on the wall
And realize, you just can't have it all.

- Beautiful Loser

Steve I was born lonely down by the riverside
Learn to spin fortune's wheel and roll (APBA) dice

- Ramblin' Gamblin' Man

Greg You always won, everytime you placed a bet
You're still damn good, no one's gotten to you yet
Everytime they were sure they had you caught
You were quicker than they thought

- Still the Same

Chris Stood there boldly
Sweatin' in the sun
Felt like a million
Felt like number one
The height of the summer (league)
I'd never felt that strong
Like a rock

- Like a Rock

Graham

Selection Overview
best early round: Rosado
worst early round: Shumpert
best mid round: Thomas
worst mid round: Grace
best late round: KYoung
worst late round: Quantrill

No real disparaging remarks for a team that won the season series from me. Giles and Ramirez in the middle of the order was a fearsome prospect. Too many right-handed bats, though. And in hindsight, just about anyone woulda been better than Lima as the ninth overall pick. In reference to the Seger song I chose to represent Graham, I think Maria Baptiste told the Head Catarpillar to get out of Denver every other week this season.

Draft Quotes

"Chris has the 'ya gotta take who you want at that time' drafting model. This is occasionally great -- we all loved his Ray Lankford pick in '98 -- but not so great at other times. In the wrong hands, this model can give very unbalanced teams. Graham's team is on the way to such an imbalance."

- Keith, 1/11/00

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Ken

Selection Overview
best early round: ARod
worst early round: Lieberthal
best mid round: Casey
worst mid round: Bush
best late round: Varitek
worst late round: Febles

Will people draft with his unique pitching strategy again? Keep in mind, for half a season, Ken played at about a .530 clip. When talking about this team, does anyone mention their Summer League record for most Stolen Bases? Something that may have been a strike against Ken's team this season (strange for Ken), something that people haven't been talking about, was his weak bench. Yes, this group was really strong on the bases, but in games where ARod sat (especially when some other starter sat in addition to ARod), this powerhouse lineup really suffered. As for Seger, Ken and I used to listen to his Nine Tonight tape alot when we were playing games together on the Apple IIE in the late '80s. In early '96, when I'd come by the carparker office to play OFAS games (when I should've been looking for my first job), I'd make sure Seger's Greatest Hits was around. Ken, you certainly were a Summer Leaguer to be feared, in your time. We hope for your sake this year's dead end was a lesson learned. And, I hope you know the talk questioning your draft moves (night moves?) is, as the song goes, all benign.

Draft Quotes

"it seems to me like ken always has a plan before the draft, which i think is a bad idea"

- Greg, 1/4/00

"Ken seems headed toward the 'good relief staff will make up for the starting staff' model of pitching. Greg took out Millwood and Irabu very early in most every game last year in accordance with this model, developed years ago in the Led Zeppelin league Ken and I had, and first instituted in the SL by Ken's Cape Hatteras Hanrahans in '96. I'm not sure of how well this pitching model will grade out. I understand it and I don't have to like it to acknowledge that it may be the way for us all to go."

- Keith, 1/11/00

"I never thought I'd draft a 12 reliever with my 12th round pick"

- Ken, 1/13/00

"Seems like Ken drafts a gimmick team every year."

- Chris, midseason

"Aristotle advised moderation in all things"

- Shaquille O'Neal, upon accepting his 2000 NBA MVP trophy.
Why he was talking about the Arctic Cats and their lack of moderation, I don't know.

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Dave

Selection Overview
best early round: BWilliams
worst early round: Ausmus
best mid round: Sheffield
worst mid round: Halama
best late round: Karros
worst late round: Chouinard

Drafted too much marginal pitching relatively early. Otherwise, the best rookie draft (especially those early rounds) I can remember. Ausmus seemed to be taken too early, but you never know when a fellow GM is gonna start taking hostages, so maybe it wasn't that bad. And Ausmus did have a pretty goood season. In true Seger tradition, Dave was the Travelin' Man.

Draft Quotes

"Ken and Dave are the on-base evangelists. I like what they've done."

- Keith, 1/11/00

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Joe

Selection Overview
best early round: Tatis
worst early round: Brocail
best mid round: Nilsson
worst mid round: Shuey
best late round: FP
worst late round: TGoodwin

Rounds 1-11 were very solid, when you have to be solid if you want to contend. Then he did himself some more favors in 15-21. Joe really handed me my plate after our 40-game trade. How much better would his record have been without all of the injuries? Joe is a big Metallica fan, so I'm very glad to pay homage to him with Turn the Page.

Draft Quotes

"The funniest part of Joe's season to date, to me at least, is how a majority of the GMs told me how impressed they were with Joe's draft at the beginning of the season. I couldn't see that then. 5 months later after a flurry of trades, I am impressed by his team."

- Keith, 6/22/00

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Bob

Selection Overview
best early round: RAlomar
worst early round: Vizquel
best mid round: LGonzalez
worst mid round: Embree
best late round: Burba
worst late round: Pote

Defense was excellent, and did himself a favor by only playing Brent Mayne two or three times. Lineup was hurt by high platoon ratings, but things like that can be overcome. He would have been better off passing on, say, Vizquel, for a Remlinger or a Benitez. Then later on, picking up Renteria later instead of Embree. Coulda balanced things a little better. I bet Bob's a Seger fan -- when helping out his friend Guy run his Karaoke business, I'm thinking Bob danced in his underwear whenever Old Time Rock and Roll was played. Word is, he won't be tryin' to live his life without us next season.

Draft Quotes

"Remlinger? Vizquel? If this was day-trading, they'd shut us down!"

- Steve, 1/7/00

"You took Leiter (last year), then no pitching."

- Bob, 1/10/00, talking to Greg about the Barstow Dreamers lack of pitching.
Contrary to Bob assertion, Greg spent 5 of his first 7 picks on pitchers in '99, including top reliever Trevor Hoffman.

"One of my least favorite draft models is the 'hurry to field all 9 positions.' Bob did it, and I think he got good individuals -- including a steal in Luis Gonzalez, but collectively he didn't give himself any chance of getting a good pitching staff, and his Markov was only about 7.55, (in this might-is-right-league, where's the beef?) Randy Johnson and Maddux will cure some of his ills, but only time will tell."

- Keith, 1/11/00

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Keith

Selection Overview
best early round: Everett
worst early round: Kendall
best mid round: Jaha
worst mid round: Lampkin
best late round: Strawberry
worst late round: Alvarez

I can't believe how collectively bad my picks in rounds 2 and beyond were -- compared to my perceived usual strong drafts. It make strike you odd that Everett, who hit like crud, and Kendall, who was very effective throughout the season, are listed as my respective best and worst in the early rounds. Well, these notes aren't really about what these guys did during the season -- it's just me trying to document my opinions regarding draft positioning and player selections and their potential. As far as I'm concerned, Everett's selection was very intelligent and Kendall was reactionary to fellow J-3 Shumpert being taken by Graham and my perceptions about the catching pool. Maybe these two judgments are the microcosm of what went wrong for me in 2000. Seger is great to listen to while working. He's the midwest's Bruce Springsteen. I can't tell if Beautiful Loser speaks to me more than Scar Tissue.

Draft Quotes

"With 5 pitchers to only one hitter, while everyone else is thick with hitting, I feel like a stock stock speculator who has drastically overvalued some old blue chips in a technology market."

- Keith, 1/7/00

"It just kind of slipped my mind that McGwire was out there when I took Kevin Brown."

- Ken, 7/00

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Steve

Selection Overview
best early round: Sosa
worst early round: Olerud
best mid round: Graves
worst mid round: Castilla
best late round: Justice
worst late round: GHill

Everyone was down on Steve's team after the draft. What a performance to get into the playoffs. I liked how most everyone in his lineup could play every day -- that's something that can really get overlooked. What draft strategy did Ken, Steve, Greg and Chris all share? Only one left-handed pitcher on the team. I don't really get it, but their combined record was quite good. Steve's game strategies were indicative of a Ramblin' Gamblin Man.

Draft Quotes

"Oh well, there's always 2001."

- Steve, writing off the season about 9 rounds into the 2000 draft

"Is Steve drafting a track team?"

- Chris, 1/10/00,
following the selection of Roger Cedeno in the 10th round

"If Steve wins 80 games with this team, he's a manager-savante"

- Keith, 1/27/00

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Greg

Selection Overview
best early round: Zimmerman
worst early round: Sweeney
best mid round: Rickey
worst mid round: Sullivan
best late round: Lawton
worst late round: Baines

Well-balanced team, 'cept that Pedro imbalanced everything for the rest of us. Team reminds me of my '96 Oz O's (minus the SL title) -- good everything offensively, only a fair defense, great stud starter, but record not quite as good as talent would suggest. And my team went winless in Johnson's playoff starts, kinda like Pedro's playoff misfortune. I would have no credibility if I didn't point out that Baines wasn't a very good pick, yet I almost named Caminiti Greg's worst late round pick. Greg selflessly gave me his Live Bullet CD two years ago, one of my favorites.

Draft Quotes

"Greg has four relievers long in innings and short in ERA to complement Pedro J. Will we be lamenting 'Captain Hook and Pedro and pray for Astacio?'"

- Keith, 1/11/00

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Chris

Selection Overview
best early round: Colon
worst early round: Cone
best mid round: Burks
worst mid round: BWells
best late round: PAbbott
worst late round: Lloyd

Of course, the scrubs Wells and Lloyd turned out to be great set-up men for Benitez. Such is life. Great "opportunity costs" at every position, especially offensively, with the possible exception of Cameron. Like a rock, this year's President's Cup winner has the best regular season W-L %, considering the lost '95 C season.

Draft Quotes

"I still have mixed feelings (about Pudge being taken in 3rd round), but he does somewhat shut down running games, which can be huge in close games"

- Chris, midseason

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In Conclusion

Let me clarify something that may be confusing. If you are scratching your head asking how in my selection overview I could say Zimmerman was a better early round pick than Pedro, let me explain. Pedro was pretty obvious as the right pick at the time. Zimmerman was an excellent decision on GM Nims's part, vs. Pedro being the only decision. Is that a clear distinction? Another example would be Chris -- I thought Chipper was quite obviously a better pick for him at the time than the rest of the players available, and therefore an obvious pick. Obviously, having Chipper on the T-Birds was more beneficial than Colon, who I named as his best early round selection. Colon's selection, however, was much more of a coup, probably one of the best players taken relative to the round that he was picked.

Everyone on the whole drafted much better than in year's past. There were a few exceptions, but everyone keeps improving their drafts and improving their managing, which makes a weak pick here that much more damaging.

It's been suggested to me that we should try and pick over one day, like we used to do years ago. I don't know about that, but I do know that if we have a couple more rapid-fire chat/IM sessions in the future, the draft will be a whole lot less monotonous. That in turn may help the season be less monotonous, somehow, someway.