The Draft...
Holding the #3 overall pick and determining there was some gray over who was the top 5 players coming out, I was not certain who exactly was going to be there at 3. My original thinking was that Kershaw would likely be available and he was my top
choice at 3 but with the draft day trade seeing Keith slide up 2 spots, fate, karma, and skizzit stepped in as Kershaw was now off the board. Now, let me explain that pre-draft analysis in Ding Dong saw a talent pool that laid out very similarly to
last year...Tons of pitching, and weak/unexciting hitting from top to bottom with a few notable exceptions. Despite the glut of first basemen that can hit, the one guy that stood out from the crowd, was the boozer Miguel Cabrera, my kind of
guy...done. Unlike 2011, Ding Dong did not have any formal plan, we truly went on a reaction based approach each round hoping to fill needs, but take "best available" players, which in hind site, doesn't always lead to value.
Analysis...
A COG by definition is a subordinate member of an organization who performs necessary and routine functions. In Ding Dong, C-O-G is what will determine our success or failure...Cabrera, Ortiz, Gordon must produce at the top of this lineup, period.
If these guys struggle, we are in trouble. Ding Dong needs routine production from its COG.
Offense...
I assembled a decent mix of speed, power, and obp with COG leading the way in the slugging dept. Kinsler scares me w/ avg/obp, but 32 dingers @ 2b, he filled a need, but when Phillips goes 22 rounds later and the difference in Rc/g is 0.5, im not
sure Kinsler is great> or is Phillips just great value? I feel I got a nice value late in DudA, but feel i over paid for Wieters, A.Cabrera, and Bruce. Additionally, I did not realize until the next day that Cuddyer has a plattoon 3 rating, making
me wish i had gone Markakis instead, which was considered, oh well. Collectively, we should be able to run if we get on the bases as Bourn, Kinsler, Morgan, Cuddyer, Carroll, Wright, A.Cabrera, and even Gordon have nice success rates. I have an
extra offensive/bench player for the 1st time ever as I went with a more traditional 6 man bullpen which will either confuse me or give me unknown flexibility. Bottom line, COG has to perform at or hopefully above mlb #'s for us to sniff the
playoffs.
Pitching...
My starting 5 is as strong a group as Ive ever assembled, but im thinking most can say that as there were so many highly rated starting pitchers. All 6 starters have the coveted "Z" rating. At the top, Ding Dong managed one of the top 4 starters
in the league w/ Cliff Lee at 16 xyz. As a result of five Z starters that rate 16, 12, 12, 11, 11; we felt like the bullpen may not be as important as in years past? Regardless, I feel like we nabbed the best relief guy out there in O'Flaherty as
he does it all w/ lots of games, innings, control, and HR management. Like most of us, we had to settle on some "W" relief also as there was a great deal of high rated but wild relief talent. Additionally, bullpen talent brings a lot of innings
and games, making it possible to carry less into battle, im interested to see how deep the starters regularly get. Im expecting a competitive pitching staff both in starting and relief. If nothing else, i have the fastest collective group in recent
memory.
Defense
Ding Dong's admitted weakness. The Dingers will play an entire season w/ corner 3's on the infield without the option of upgrading. We do have 8! firstbase eligible position players, all 3 or worse. Gordon was not the expected 3b, but thats what
ended up happening, and Im fine with it, just interested to see how ugly it gets? Up the middle, Wieters 9+3 is the best defensive catcher my franchise has ever run out there, hopefully he influences the running game more than kills rallies w/ his
bat. Ho-hum defensively in the middle infield w/ Cabrera 8 and Kinsler 8 kicking it around and Carroll backing up both those positions as an 8 himself.
Outfield D sees Bourn 3/32, Bruce 3/37 and Cuddyer 2/37 expected to get a great deal of time together. Morgan 2/29 and Duda1/34 should make opponents smile while they are out there. Gordon 3/32 will see some time in left also as Wright comes in to
play 3rd when needed. Not spectacular, will it cost us big?
Draft re-cap...
I like Miguel Cabrera, he should be a big part of what we do offensively, the #3 slot was a big advantage over picking later in my opinion. I really like Lee in the 2nd and Ortiz in the 7th which cemented Miggy's defensive fate. Wieters at 5,
Bourn at 8 and Bruce at 11 all look bad to me now that the draft is over. Late picks i like are Posey 16, Carroll 21, and Duda should rake as a 24th round guy. (probably see the bulk of p/t in left when Cuddyer struggles).
Expectations...
I expect to win the division of course, what else am i going to say? Hopefully we can have COG do what they are supposed to do and at least one surprise success story emerges on offense. Because i have confidence in my pitching, i fully expect
them to suck as a result, that is the trend when it comes to my expectations vs. my results. Either way, I look forward to yet another season of swinging for the fences and complaining about ridiculous ways to lose close ballgames.