Redundant I

After conferring with his brain trust, the BCL has come to the following decision. Like all the BCL’s decisions, it can be reversed by a majority vote of league members.

The 70 starting pitchers from which we will draft will consist of the May 1 projected rotations; that is, we will rely on the mlb.com projection of what the starting rotations will be as soon as those pitchers on the DL but suffering from minor injuries have returned. For example, in the case of the A’s, Loaiza is projected to return to the rotation soon. Even though Gaudin is starting in his place, Gaudin will be draftable as a reliever. In the case of the Angels, Jered Weaver and Colon are projected to return in a week or two. The “draftable” Angels rotation will be Lackey, Santana, Escobar, Weave and Colon. Joe Saunders and Moseley will be draftable as relievers. The same will be true in the case of the Yankee rotation (Wang is the starter; Rasner is draftable as a reliever) and the Indians (Lee is the starter; Carmona will be draftable as a reliever.) Same thing for Thomson will the Jays (Towers is his sub),

If the BCL learns that some of these injuries are more serious than they now appear, we may declare certain of these subs as starters. In the case of a more serious injury like that of Kenny Rogers. Rogers is draftable as a starter as is his sub, somebody named Durbin.

This adds up to 71 starters. Add Clemens and we have 72. I suggest we could add Garza of the Twins and Hughes of the Yanks even though they are in the minors.

Reactions?

More to come on position players later in the week.

The bcl

No Lie

I can't put together a list of 60 pitchers who have, on average, two arms and two legs apiece. I think we are about to see the dawn of some new strategies. Buy Santana and you are going to be stuck with *crap* at the bottom of your rotation.

Or spend $40 on pitching and have Bobby Crosby as your clean up hitter.

It's going to get ugly early.

On the other hand, dinner should be excellent.

At Last

Well, lookee here commish; I managed to successfully join your bog, oops, I mean blog. I tried last week but just got the runaround. I guess your ploy of sending me outrageous numbers of "invitations" just got to me. I really hope that 12 isn't too many; it takes long enough with 10. I'm just looking forward to Peter's delish food. Hmm, you know, Jesus sat at a table for 12 and you know what happened to him! Will someone betray you? I certainly hope so. I want to see that carnage.

Sassy

Ouch

Milton Bradley has a sore side. Bobby Crosby has a tweaked back.

Doesn't matter. No one is going to build a team around one of these guys. In the case of Crosby, he would be a bit of a flyer at a quarter.

But Victor Martinez has done something to a muscle! That matters. You could miss at a quarter, but if you pay big bucks for someone who goes down, there goes the season. The injury we most fear, of course, is the one that takes place during the actual draft. You select your lovely team, go home for one last internet news hit before going to bed and discover that you were drafting the dead and didn't even know. That first night after the draft your dreams are nightmares.

This Just In

Contrary to everything I've read, Aubrey Huff is the O's first baseman and the supposedly crippled Jay Gibbons is starting game after game in left. I don't see anything else too weird going on. The phenom Garza has been sent down by the Twins, but he certainly is draftable as a pitcher.

The countdown clock is ticking off the seconds. I'm as excited as a little girl.

The Demons of Spring

Three days into the season, and Darin Erstad has gotten some hits and is moving without trouble, like a colt.

Those Irresistible A's

There's a hometown premium when it comes to the fantasy draft, and when hometown players do well early on, their price goes through the roof. I had my eye on Mark Ellis as a perfectly acceptable quarter 2b, but he's driven in seven runs early.

His price is now prohibitive. Maybe I'll take Crosby for a quarter at SS?

Harden was unhittable tonight. By-by, Rich. Your price just became unnatural. Loaiza has a pulled groin; not his, but someone else's. I'll see you as a backup pitcher, my friend, but not for me.

Kenny Rogers for nothing. Any advance on nothing?

First Day Thoughts

Who cares what batters for the first couple weeks -- unless, of course, they are rookie phenomena about who you are uncertain.

But those first three starts for a pitcher before the draft make me crazy. Santana was not as sharp as he could have been. King Felix was unhittable, though it was the A's who were doing the unhitting.

Schilling? Slapped around.

Contreras? Taken in the alley and mugged.

This year's league race is going to be like one of those Kentucky Derbies where they have 21 horses entered and they have to drag out the extra starting gate. There will be bumping, tripping and veering into. I think we need to make some bets on whether or not this year we will have a first-time winner. I'm saying yes.

Surprise Surprise Surprise

Rosters are set, and now everyone has to recalibrate. The A's have made Joe Buck their starting right fielder, moving Swisher to 1st. Thus, first gets even more fabulous and right becomes a little more tentative.

But where will they play Ratso Rizzo?

Digital drafting

What do we think, come Saturday, the fourteenth of April, of a draftee, positioned neighborhly around Mr. Moore's dining room table, keeping score of each trenchant move, not with pen and paper, or calculator, but a laptop? An affront to tradition? To good sportsmanship? To Berkeley aesthetics? Actually, Peter, do you have WiFi in the house? That, I can see, could create a certain unfair advantage for those with laptops over those without. I am game to bring mine if all agree the computer doesn't create an uneven playing field. Or, of course, glad to leave it at home. Shall we discuss?