SL2013 Firestone Double Jacks preview

Team name: Firestone is one of my favorite breweries, and Double Jack is their double ipa -- and possibly one of my top 10 favorite brews of all time ... certainly in my top 10 favorite "first tastes" of all time. Easy to stretch it into a baseball name.

The draft overall: Very little pre-draft time to scout this year, as work & home were very busy from Christmas time on. The players I really wanted at #5, I thought should be available if I traded down, and I had a short list of second round players that I wanted to get one of, so when Gregg asked if I wanted to trade down, I was fine with that. Later, mid-draft, when I had finally finished my scouting, I may have done things a little differently. I wound up pursuing players a bit during the draft and wound up moving around the board more than ever. Not sure how that will work out for me.

The draft - offense: Loved getting Votto - best offensive card in the draft. Posey, Choo, Austin Jackson all high on base guys. Really should be in the top couple of clubs in on base percentage. The peripheral guys I selected also tended to be in a high on base percentage category despite quite high platoon ratings. I have a mix of high and low games guys, with some speed, and a good blend of multiple positions guys.

The draft - pitching: I did select some starting pitchers quite early, getting 2 15+ graded starters, and was the first person to select their 4th starter, so hopefully my front 4 are strong and eat some innings. My pen was not a focus as that was a very deep pool, and with the potential innings eaters, I only drafted 5 relievers.

The draft - defense: Everyone seems that they will have very good defenses this year as the draft was full of good defensive wing outfielders. Mine should typically be good-to-very-good, and at worst still should be solid.

Division: Third year with Greg & Graham. Greg was next to me on the board, although I certainly jumped around, and typically it did not seem that we were fighting over guys, so that may be a concern. As ever, a lot of good drafting.

Ultimately, I should have guys on base. Hopefully that translates into runs. I also hope to be able to prevent runs at a good rate, as well, between my starting pitching and my defense. That should lead to a positive win/loss percentage.

It is a simple game. The computer throws the ball, the computer catches the ball, the computer hits the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose (it is all dictated by karma), but it better never rain ... or someone does not have dome on. Hopefully this year, with this roster, the computer will throw, catch and hit the ball well for me.