I can't fall asleep.
I'm looking at stats.
Reading reviews.
Going over rankings.
Looking at last year's draft.
Shifting my interests.
I'm deciding who i'm going to pick... even though i have no idea what draft position i will have for another 18 hours and 3 minutes... and it's driving me crazy.
Since the dawn of ESPN hosting our cherished league, i have had the following draft slots:
2007: 13th
2008: 3rd
2009: 11th
2010: 10th
2011: 11th
I think i'm due for a spot in the top again. At least i hope i am. Or do i hope i am? I seemed to do pretty well with the 11th spot. It would be great to have the 3rd or 4th spot. It would be better to have the 3rd AND 4th spot. And what would i do with one of the wheel positions, drafting 1st or 15th? i'd definitely prefer 15th so i could have the 15th and 16th best players rather than the 1st and 30th. Right?
Ugh.
The truth is that the draft is my most anticipated day of the year in many respects. And even though my first round draft pick, Kevin Youkilis bombed, things still have lots of time to play out. Free agent pick ups (Javy Vazquez namely for me) and trade pickups (Halladay, Lester, Lee and a timely Uggla) can make a huge difference. But it doesn't hurt to have a great draft position which is ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT!
Ok.
In 22 hours, there will be a whole new set of feelings about ALL OF THIS!
Good luck everyone!
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Dickens was right a.k.a. the feelings before the draft
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair..."
I never read "A Tale of Two Cities" but i'm sure that Dickens had a prophetic voice towards how i feel about the final days leading up to one of my favorite holidays each year: WBI Draft Day.
I say holiday because it stems from the idea of a holy-day. And holy means "set apart."
This day is so set aside for me that once while in church the pastor asked us to look to the person next to us and tell them something we were looking forward to. I looked at my fiance at the time Lindsay and said "the fantasy baseball draft" and at the SAME exact time she said "the wedding."
In my defense, he asked the question on the day of the draft.
But these final days leading up to the draft are always "the best of times and the worst of times."
It is the best of times because i really do look forward to draft day so much. A winter's worth of anticipation all leading up to three hours of pure anxiety. Decisions made during those three hours that (arguably at least) determine how my fantasy team will perform for the next six months. I'll admit, i used to put endless hours of preparation into this draft, even once locking myself in an office for an entire weekend and doing nothing but eating and studying (i won that year of 2002). There are few things that are more fun to me than placing so much time and preparation into picking my 24 new favorite baseball players.
It is the best of times because i feel as though i can't really say anything to my best of friends. "Hey, how you feeling about the draft?" "Good!" "Good." And that's about it. There's the conversation of "Where would you draft so-and-so?" that you treat like a middle school slow dance... tread carefully in an awkward way but in NO way am i stepping on toes. And in NO way am i going to let you in on my draft strategy... as much as i want to talk about EVERYTHING.
And Dickens' words will ring true immediately after the draft as well. "It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity." There will be moments where i'm so stoked to have the players i have, and then i'll look at others' teams (namely Mahlon's) and realize i probably have no chance this year. Tons of belief, tons of disbelief.
But hopefully at the end of the day Sunday you all can say that you are embarking on a spring of hope, and not so much another winter of despair.
Best of luck, God's blessings, good fortune, and many a bounceback player, promising prospect, 4th starting pitcher turned ace in your future...
Ok, well more in my future but you get the point!
Go get 'em!
I never read "A Tale of Two Cities" but i'm sure that Dickens had a prophetic voice towards how i feel about the final days leading up to one of my favorite holidays each year: WBI Draft Day.
I say holiday because it stems from the idea of a holy-day. And holy means "set apart."
This day is so set aside for me that once while in church the pastor asked us to look to the person next to us and tell them something we were looking forward to. I looked at my fiance at the time Lindsay and said "the fantasy baseball draft" and at the SAME exact time she said "the wedding."
In my defense, he asked the question on the day of the draft.
But these final days leading up to the draft are always "the best of times and the worst of times."
It is the best of times because i really do look forward to draft day so much. A winter's worth of anticipation all leading up to three hours of pure anxiety. Decisions made during those three hours that (arguably at least) determine how my fantasy team will perform for the next six months. I'll admit, i used to put endless hours of preparation into this draft, even once locking myself in an office for an entire weekend and doing nothing but eating and studying (i won that year of 2002). There are few things that are more fun to me than placing so much time and preparation into picking my 24 new favorite baseball players.
It is the best of times because i feel as though i can't really say anything to my best of friends. "Hey, how you feeling about the draft?" "Good!" "Good." And that's about it. There's the conversation of "Where would you draft so-and-so?" that you treat like a middle school slow dance... tread carefully in an awkward way but in NO way am i stepping on toes. And in NO way am i going to let you in on my draft strategy... as much as i want to talk about EVERYTHING.
And Dickens' words will ring true immediately after the draft as well. "It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity." There will be moments where i'm so stoked to have the players i have, and then i'll look at others' teams (namely Mahlon's) and realize i probably have no chance this year. Tons of belief, tons of disbelief.
But hopefully at the end of the day Sunday you all can say that you are embarking on a spring of hope, and not so much another winter of despair.
Best of luck, God's blessings, good fortune, and many a bounceback player, promising prospect, 4th starting pitcher turned ace in your future...
Ok, well more in my future but you get the point!
Go get 'em!
Monday, March 5, 2012
Welcome! a.k.a. I don't want (to be) Aubrey Huff
Aubrey Huff has become famous, or is it infamous, for being on one year, off the next. Take a look at Huff's last five years in terms of points and points per game:
2011: 261 / 1.7
2010: 476 / 3.0
2009: 299 / 2.0
2008: 504 / 3.3
2007: 338 / 2.2
I saw myself becoming the Aubrey Huff of reporting on our cherished league. On one year, off the next. And a part of me wanted to hang it up because frankly it was a little awkward wanting to blog again coming off a year i was fortunate enough to win the WBI Trophy. I didn't want to be "that guy."
But either way i'm "that guy" because now i've started a blog that i know less than 20 people will be even remotely interested in.
Whatever.
Welcome to the latest form of The Waffle Iron here at waffleball.blogspot.com
I plan on having smaller, more irregular posts with all of the same features: polls, opinions, reporting, evaluations, projections and even guest bloggers.
This will also eliminate a lot of time spent formatting and emailing which would often become cumbersome to me.
So, in launching an e version of The Waffle Iron, i put my money on Aubrey Huff this year. Figuratively. Yeah, only figuratively.
Seriously, you can have him. I don't want him. But Aubrey Huff represents EXACTLY what this part of the preseason is all about. We've had all winter to lick wounds, ponder regrets, and curse those injuries and slumps that plagued our team. Now it's time to bust out a new logo, maybe revamp the team name (lookin' to you Kalloz for a new name, and to you Hersh for a change in Roman numeral! Can anyone believe it's time to don Chemical Bonds VII if Hersh so chooses to?) and most importantly polish up that draft strategy.
My next couple posts will walk that tight line of wanting nothing more than to talk about the draft and at the very same time not wanting anyone to know anything about what i'm thinking.
Because i'm fine with you having Aubrey Huff, but who i really want is...
You'll just have to wait till Draft Day!
2011: 261 / 1.7
2010: 476 / 3.0
2009: 299 / 2.0
2008: 504 / 3.3
2007: 338 / 2.2
I saw myself becoming the Aubrey Huff of reporting on our cherished league. On one year, off the next. And a part of me wanted to hang it up because frankly it was a little awkward wanting to blog again coming off a year i was fortunate enough to win the WBI Trophy. I didn't want to be "that guy."
But either way i'm "that guy" because now i've started a blog that i know less than 20 people will be even remotely interested in.
Whatever.
Welcome to the latest form of The Waffle Iron here at waffleball.blogspot.com
I plan on having smaller, more irregular posts with all of the same features: polls, opinions, reporting, evaluations, projections and even guest bloggers.
This will also eliminate a lot of time spent formatting and emailing which would often become cumbersome to me.
So, in launching an e version of The Waffle Iron, i put my money on Aubrey Huff this year. Figuratively. Yeah, only figuratively.
Seriously, you can have him. I don't want him. But Aubrey Huff represents EXACTLY what this part of the preseason is all about. We've had all winter to lick wounds, ponder regrets, and curse those injuries and slumps that plagued our team. Now it's time to bust out a new logo, maybe revamp the team name (lookin' to you Kalloz for a new name, and to you Hersh for a change in Roman numeral! Can anyone believe it's time to don Chemical Bonds VII if Hersh so chooses to?) and most importantly polish up that draft strategy.
My next couple posts will walk that tight line of wanting nothing more than to talk about the draft and at the very same time not wanting anyone to know anything about what i'm thinking.
Because i'm fine with you having Aubrey Huff, but who i really want is...
You'll just have to wait till Draft Day!
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