The Korean League
Ladies and Gentlemen, fantasy baseball season has BEGUN! 
Our league is pretty small this year, with only 8 squads. I tried to get 10, but I couldn't get a couple of last year's owners to commit. So, we had our draft on Monday and yikes... each team is friggin loaded.
Anyhow, a look at my first 10 picks. I had 4th overall (YUCK) in a serpentine style draft-order. I say 'yuck' this time because I can only narrow down three really super caliber players that I consider a notch ahead of the rest: Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Vladamir Guerrero. After Paul surprisingly selected Vlady first overall, I began to futilly hope against all hope that one of trio would fall to me. Much to my disappointment, A-Rod and Pujols quickly left the board. Already I was stuck with my most difficult decision of the draft. Do I go with Manny Ramirez and take a veteran slugger who is a considerable notch below in fantasy production? Or do I repeat last year's approach and go with the hottest young prospect out there? Last year I gambled with Carlos Beltran. Do I dare take another chance with another young slugger named Mark Teixeira? Or do I throw a wrench into everything by selecting a pitcher with a top 5 pick (albeit a lean mean fireball hurling machine called Johan Santana)?
1st pick - Mark Teixeira, 1B Rangers - I was actually quite tempted with taking Derrek Lee from Chicago, after his MVP-caliber season last year. But in the end, Derrek didn't have the track record that Teixeira did. I drafted Teixeira two years before and reaped the benefits. He hasn't disappointed since.
2nd pick - Carl Crawford, OF Devil Rays - I was delightfully surprised that he was still available in the second. I've seen him drafted top 5 in a number of drafts. An absolute speed demon of an outfielder, Crawford also demonstrated some pop last year and is a budding star in the league.
3rd pick - Alfonso Soriano, 2B/OF Nationals - Man, its amazing how much things change in one year. He was a top 3 pick just last year, and if it weren't for me he might have free-fell past the third round. He still qualifies for 2nd base, despite not being permitted to play there for the Nationals. And I think he's in for an outstanding comeback season, I don't care what the pundits think. He's going to have 40 stolen bases plus a .300 batting average. And he WILL get 25 home runs. Bank on it. You heard it here first.
4th pick - Mariano Rivera, CL Yankees - I had to address my pitching eventually, and I got a great one. The most sure-thing closer you have in baseball.
5th pick - Victor Martinez, C Indians - My first second-guess pick. Looking back, I think I would have been happier addressing shortstop by selecting Derek Jeter. However, Martinez is hands down the top catcher in fantasy baseball. And he's coming off a ridiculous World Baseball Classic showing. He was crushing balls all over the place. Thats something Jeter will never be able to do. Carlos Delgado was selected shortly after my Victor pick, and I would have been extremely content selecting him too.
6th pick - Rich Harden, SP Athletics - The "ace" of my staff. He's pretty young, and had some injury problems last year. But he's got electric stuff and had an amazing first outing already this year.
7th pick - Dontrelle Willis, SP Marlins - Last year's runner up to the NL Cy Young. He pitched awfully for Team USA in the WBC, but he had a very solid first outing for the regular season. For the 7th pick, I thought he was worth taking a chance on. Dontrelle is a budding star, like Harden. Medium risk : very high reward ratio.
8th pick - Juan Pierre, OF Cubs - Another speed demon outfielder. Actually, I JUST missed out on drafting Beltran with this pick (he was selected right before me), so Pierre is my consolation prize. Its not that terrible though, Pierre is a proven fantasy stud when it comes to running the bases and he has even more help playing with Derrek Lee in Chicago.
9th pick - Joe Nathan, CL Twins - I remember accidentally drafting Nathan ahead of Brad Lidge last year and it surprisingly turned out in my favor. Closing for Johan Santana and the Minnesota Twins, Nathan is a save-producing stud.
10th pick - Eric Chavez, 3B Oakland - Another questionable pick. He has good value this late, and I still needed a 3rd baseman. He usually produces solid power numbers, though his batting average has been very inconsistent lately. Mostly, I picked him because he's off to a great start this season. Because there were a lot of solid 3B still available (Blalock, Rolen, Glaus), I kind of regret taking Chavez. Unfortunately, I couldn't see any other players that really held comparable value relative to him. Maybe I should have went with another pitcher (BJ Ryan, Josh Beckett and even Eric Gagne were available... though Gagne's on the DL for at least 6 weeks).
10 round breakdown:
Looking at my squad, for an 8 team league I see that I'm a little light on the power hitters. I have some balance with all my speed, but my outfielders are definitely not sluggers. I'm also a little worried about my pitching, particularly my two "aces". Harden and Willis are both very young and don't have extensive track records. They're a bit of a gamble. Rivera and Nathan are money closers, however. Tomorrow, I'll have a complete team breakdown, position by position. | 
