Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft: Seventh Round Recap and Analysis

If you are reading this for the first time and you don't know what this is, please refer to my previous article entitled "The Backyard Baseball Project". We then held the Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft Lottery. On Tuesday April 23, we began the draft. Slowly we are getting it done. Our owners have busy schedules with school wrapping up, which is why you might think this is all coming to you slow. Nevertheless, our GMs love  Backyard Baseball and are dedicated to building their franchises. If you aren't all caught up on the draft, here are the links to rounds 1-5:

First Round
Second Round
Third Round
Fourth Round

Fifth Round

Sixth Round
Now let's take a look at the current rosters.

Little 500 All-Stars (managed by Connor Boehm)Home field: Tin Can Alley
1) Pablo Sanchez
2) Mark McGwire
3) Chipper Jones
4) Stephanie Morgan
5) Juan Gonzalez

6) Ashley Webber
7) Sidney Webber


Kingston Bunt Smokers (managed by Will Fitzgerald)
Home field: Dirt Yards
1) Curt Schilling
2) Derek Jeter
3) Carlos Beltran
4) Alex Rodriguez
5) Jeff Bagwell
6) Tony Gwynn


Grand Salamis (managed by Tommy Mantice)
Home field: Steele Stadium
1) Sammy Sosa
2) Frank Thomas
3) Jose Canseco
4) Mike Piazza
5) Barry Larkin

6) Shawn Green



Vinnie the Gooch's All-Stars (managed by Eric Benjamin)
Home field: Cement Gardens
1) Ken Griffey Jr.
2) Achmed Khan
3) Randy Johnson
4) Cal Ripken Jr.
5) Jocinda Smith
6) Jason Giambi
Crazy Fishes (managed by CJ Revis)
Home field: Sandy Flats
1) Pete Wheeler
2) Kiesha Phillips
3) Luanne Lui
4) Angela Delvecchio
5) Mikey Thomas

6) Dante Robinson

Orange Wombats (managed by Grant Smith)
Home field: Playground Commons
1) Barry Bonds
2) Kenny Lofton
3) Vladimir Guerrero
4) Nomar Garciaparra

5) Annie Frazier

6) Sally Dobbs


And now, let's begin the seventh round. NOTE: Connor Boehm's seventh round was shared in the last round, when he drafted the Webber twins together. So we will be starting with Will Fitzgerald's pick.

2) (38 Overall) Kingston Bunt Smokers- Ivan Rodriguez
Pudge is a good option here. He's a good hitter and isn't too slow for a catcher. He can even pitch for you in relief. He's also a Gold Glove catcher, so he can obviously field and throw runners out that dare to steal on him. Good pick.








3) (39 Overall) Grand Salamis- Kenny Kawaguchi
Don't let the fact that Kenny is in a wheelchair deceive you. Kenny is a decent player. While he isn't the best by any means, he's a good pitcher and he's got good speed. Even better, Tommy is drafting his first backyard kid, a good sign. I'm still scratching my head as to why Tony Delvecchio still hasn't been taken yet. Maybe the GMs know something about him that I don't. But Kenny's not a bad late round pickup.




4) (40 Overall) Vinnie the Gooch's All-Stars (Eric Benjamin)- Jason Kendall
Jason Kendall is a very athletic catcher. He's got very good speed, which is good for a catcher to have, especially in the BYBL. Something I've believe is how important speed is to have in Backyard Baseball. Having a fast catcher certainly is a good thing. Jason's not going to hit a lot of homers but he will get on base pretty often. I like this pick, good value in the seventh round.




5) (41) Crazy Fishes (CJ Revis)- Dmitri Petrovic
When CJ picked Dmitri, Eric commented on the move, saying "Kid can't play but he'll raise the team GPA." Yes, Dmitri is a smart kid. Probably the smartest in the league. Dmitri is an absolute beast in Backyard Football, dominating on O and D-line and nailing every field goal attempt he's given. Some might say this isn't his sport. But Dmitri can hold his weight in baseball. He's a good hitter and a surprisingly better runner than you would think. He's not a great fielder. CJ is picking him to play catcher, which isn't a bad spot for him to be. Another good late round pickup.

6) (42 Overall) Orange Wombats (Grant Smith)- Larry Walker
I love this pick. Larry might be the most underrated player in the game. Whenever I watch him play he never fails to impress me. He has a knack for getting on base each game. He's faster than you expect. He's a great outfielder. He'll also clear the bases for you. He hits homers and will always knock runners in. This is a great pick. I expect him to fall, but maybe not this far. Larry's a great addition to any team.


So that concludes our seventh round. Now there are only two rounds left. Who will be Mr. Irrelevant? Or perhaps a better question: who will be the seven that will go undrafted? Who do you guys think? And whose team is looking the best as of right now? Comment and let me know. Or let me hear your thoughts on the Facebook fan page or on Twitter @vellvita7. Thanks so much for reading!

Monday, April 29, 2013

Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft: Sixth Round Recap and Analysis

If you are reading this for the first time and you don't know what this is, please refer to my previous article entitled "The Backyard Baseball Project". We then held the Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft Lottery. On Tuesday April 23, we began the draft. Slowly we are getting it done. Our owners have busy schedules with school wrapping up, which is why you might think this is all coming to you slow. Nevertheless, our GMs love  Backyard Baseball and are dedicated to building their franchises. If you aren't all caught up on the draft, here are the links to rounds 1-5:

First Round
Second Round
Third Round
Fourth Round

Fifth Round

Now let's check out the current rosters.

Little 500 All-Stars (managed by Connor Boehm)Home field: Tin Can Alley
1) Pablo Sanchez
2) Mark McGwire
3) Chipper Jones
4) Stephanie Morgan
5) Juan Gonzalez



Kingston Bunt Smokers (managed by Will Fitzgerald)
Home field: Dirt Yards
1) Curt Schilling
2) Derek Jeter
3) Carlos Beltran
4) Alex Rodriguez
5) Jeff Bagwell




Grand Salamis (managed by Tommy Mantice)
Home field: Steele Stadium
1) Sammy Sosa
2) Frank Thomas
3) Jose Canseco
4) Mike Piazza
5) Barry Larkin



Vinnie the Gooch's All-Stars (managed by Eric Benjamin)
Home field: Cement Gardens
1) Ken Griffey Jr.
2) Achmed Khan
3) Randy Johnson
4) Cal Ripken Jr.
5) Jocinda Smith


Crazy Fishes (managed by CJ Revis)
Home field: Sandy Flats
1) Pete Wheeler
2) Kiesha Phillips
3) Luanne Lui

4) Angela Delvecchio
5) Mikey Thomas


Orange Wombats (managed by Grant Smith)
Home field: Playground Commons
1) Barry Bonds
2) Kenny Lofton
3) Vladimir Guerrero
4) Nomar Garciaparra

5) Annie Frazier



And now let's cover the sixth round.

1) (31 Overall) Orange Wombats (Grant Smith)- Sally Dobbs
Sally Dobbs is a great all-around player. She can do a lot of things. She excels in all areas. She might be a little annoying to coach though. She's very bossy and she likes to take charge. If she can channel that mother in her and use it as a leader and be encouraging to her teammates- instead of nagging them and acting like a know-it-all- she will help this team big time.



2) (32 Overall) Crazy Fishes (CJ Revis)- Dante Robinson
I like Dante Robinson. There's something about the guy that just makes me laugh. He's a funny guy and I like his attitude. He's a good fielder and he's incredibly fast. If you're an opposing pitcher and he gets on first, you have to be scared because he could quickly steal second and third. Good fit for this team that has a lot of speed and is now looking for fielding. Stretch also isn't a bad hitter. Not a bad bad to have at the bottom of the order. He might be a little underrated in that regard and he also has potential to improve. I like this pick a lot.
3) (33 Overall) Vinnie the Gooch's All-Stars (Eric Benjamin)- Jason Giambi
Jason Giambi is more versatile than you might expect. He's obviously a good hitter and he can play first base very well, but he's actually a pretty good pitcher. Not a bad option for this team. Good late round pickup. The only thing Benjamin has to worry about with Giambi is if he leaves in free agency, and then having to replace him. If this does happen? Does Benjamin follow the Moneyball model? Who knows.
4) (34 Overall) Grand Salamis (Tommy Mantice)- Shawn Green
Shawn Green is another good versatile late round pickup. He can hit, he's fast and he can even pitch a little. Tommy still has yet to draft a backyard kid. How will the team chemistry be with a team full of pros? Can they put their egos to the side and play together? We'll see. It would be good for Tommy to pick up at least one or two backyard kids in the final three rounds.



5) (35 Overall) Kingston Bunt Smokers (Will Fitzgerald)-  Tony Gwynn
I like Tony Gwynn a lot. He's such a great contact hitter, and he should be in anyone's top three in their batting order, because he gets on base. He also has the clutch gene. He will knock in runs and get on base when you need him to at the end of games. He can also be the first to start a late rally. Great pick here, and I'm a little surprised Tony fell this far.

6/1) (36-37 Overall) Little 500 All-Stars (Connor Boehm)- The Webber Twins
With back-to-back picks, Boehm decided to draft the Webbers together. And how could you not? When paired together, the sisters are a nasty combination. Ashley's a good hitter and Sidney's a great pitcher. These are great value picks here. When the two are on the same team, their ratings drastically increase. They simply play very well together. They are good for team chemistry. Unlike a lot of sets of twins, these two don't seem to fight very often. One Webber is this round's pick and the other is Boehm's next round pick (he has the first pick of the next round). I wouldn't normally put one pick from another round in a separate round but I had to. How are you going to separate the Webber twins? I'm glad he didn't take just one of them. He did the right thing in drafting both and I had to include them together. Anyway, I love this pick.














So that concludes the sixth round of the Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft. Check back soon for the seventh round, followed by the last two of the draft and a draft wrap-up blog. Things are really starting to heat up! Thank you to everyone for reading. What do you guys think? Who has the best team so far? Comment, or let me know on the Facebook fan page or on Twitter @vellvita7.

Survivor Week 11 Recap and All Things Malcolm


If you didn't see my Survivor live journal for the past episode, go check it out! This past episode of Survivor marked the end of the Malcolm marathon. Yes, 25 year-old bartender and castaway Malcolm Freberg was voted out, after a total of 68 days in the Phillipines, with only a two week break in between seasons. America fell in love with him his first season, when he played a near-flawless game. He only had a few blunders, most notably dropping the ball in the final Immunity Challenge and not telling Denise he'd go with her to the final three when they were at the Final Four. Honestly, I thought he might have gotten a little robbed with the challenge. Previous to the ball challenge, the contestants competed in an exhausting Reward Challenge, which Jeff Probst said would give the winner a significant advantage in the final Immunity Challenge. Malcolm won that challenge. And the way I looked at that was, why should he have to win the terribly exhausting Reward Challenge AND the endurance challenge? It didn't make a lot of sense. Maybe they thought it would make better television and they needed a way to fill up the two hour time slot, but I would have rather seen them have a final two in the Final Tribal Council than do this. I felt like Malcolm might have been robbed.

Anyway, fast forward two to three weeks later and Malcolm's out playing Survivor again. Before the season started, I looked at the cast and thought he could very well be voted out first. Keep in mind, his season didn't air until months after they filmed his second season. No one knew who he was or saw him play. They started using the same location and shooting the seasons back-to-back for seasons Survivor Samoa and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (19 and 20). Before that, there was a bigger gap in between filming the seasons and if someone was coming back from the season before, the other contestants would get to see at least 3-6 episodes of that person's original season. While it may not be ideal, and you may not know a lot about that person, you at least had seen their face before. Maybe that person goes on to do something big at the merge, but for the most part, you know what you're getting. The Survivors to play this way were Rupert Boneham (Pearl Islands), Amanda Kimmel and James Clement (China). Those three were all eventual members of the Heroes tribe in Heroes vs. Villains, so really there was nothing that wasn't too untrustworthy about them.

But then we got our first player to play back-to-back seasons with the luxury of having no one see anything they did. And that was the despicable villain Russell Hantz. Russell did terrible things on his first season, lying and telling everyone on his tribe that his house was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina and that his dog was killed as a result. He made up a whole disgusting story about that, and that was a disgusting thing to do. And then he went to the camera in his confessional and laughed it off and said it was all a story to gain sympathy. Right there, if anyone had seen that, Russell would be voted off first in Heroes vs. Villains. But it didn't stop there. Russell poured out his tribe mates water and even burned his tribe mate Jaison's sock. Russell was cancer to his tribe and they had no idea. I don't want to talk too much more about Russell, because this summer I would like to write more about all of this, and maybe even rank my top 20 players of all-time. But let's stay on topic. Russell did all that, and then he did it all again. He had such a huge advantage that no one saw him sabotage his tribe and in all-star seasons, the biggest threats end up being the biggest targets and he was able to fly under the radar while he did whatever he wanted.

I figured that any Survivor player that watched Russell, would be extremely cautious of playing with Malcolm. If I was out there and I was Cochran or someone, I would immediately look at Malcolm and think or ask, "What did you do?" Basically, why are you here? He clearly doesn't look like one of the crazier personalities on the tribe like some of the others that were brought back, so he was either an Ozzy or Colby-type player, or a Russell. So I feared for Malcolm. I didn't know how far he could go. Whether he was at an advantage or a disadvantage really is unclear. We don't know what conversations took place on the beach. He didn't know anyone out there, when I assume all the others had met one another at different Survivor charity and viewing events.

At the beginning of the season I even had an idea. I thought what if the producers had put Malcolm on the Fans tribe? Because technically he is a die hard fan of the show, and he isn't a Favorite yet because they haven't watched him, so the fans couldn't call him a favorite. Maybe that would have given him a better shot, and it would eliminate the Russell Hantz target. He could be an undercover returning player. He could keep it a secret or maybe use it in anyway he could. One of the big problems I had with the beginning of the season was how boring the Fans were and how the Favorites were on a different beach. I would have loved to see Malcolm over on the Fans beach, he would have kept things very entertaining. Wouldn't it be interesting to have an undercover returning player on a season? I some what got this idea from Rob Cesternino, who suggested on his ten year Survivor: The Amazon reunion that he had this idea for a season called "Survivor: Undercover Butch" where his former tribe mate Butch Lockley would return as just that- an undercover returning player. Maybe Malcolm would have kept the Fans tribe more competitive in the early stages, we don't know. And the other thing to gain would be the fact that it would open up another spot for another returning player that was snubbed from the list like Stephen Fischbach (Survivor: Tocantins) or John Fincher (Survivor: Samoa).

Nevertheless, Malcolm brought a lot of entertainment and a lot of drama to this season. In the later stages of the pre-merge game, he started planning his big move he would make at the merge. The move was pretty close to happening (according to what we saw on our TV's), if it weren't for a silly move by Corinne, we could be calling Malcolm Freberg the winner of Survivor: Caramoan. We don't know. But Malcolm played a very aggressive game. Which I respect. I have so much more respect for those that make big moves and shake things up than those that just go with the flow and coast to the end like Sophie Clarke. And I have even less respect for those that allow themselves to get picked off one-by-one instead of trying to shake things up. So if Malcolm was really on the bottom, I'm glad he tried to make big moves.

However, I do think Malcolm played the game too aggressively. After Corinne got blindsided, I think he could have made things up and stayed with Stealth R us and waited. He had an idol with him and I think he could have tried to flip later. Playing with the strong guys just makes people want to get rid of them more. Their only hope to all play together is if they can get a majority, which is hard to do when there aren't a majority of strong, fit guys out there. However a couple of big moves he made were close to paying off. If it weren't for the fact that he was in an alliance with one of the dumbest people to ever play the game (*cough* *cough* Eddie), he might have been able to blindside Andrea a couple weeks ago. Last week I talked all about his move with the two idols, and I still think it would have been better for him to keep his second one or do something differently. Malcolm attributes some of his gameplay to his exhaustion from playing the game for a close to 70 days with only a short break. I don't doubt that.

So now let's talk a little more about the episode and what stuck out to me. It's always fun to watch the Survivor auction unfold. Malcolm got lucky and almost lost a chance at getting a clue to the idol. However the more foolish gameplay came from Eddie, who had money and didn't try to purchase a significant advantage in the Immunity Challenge, which Cochran wisely purchased to keep the bros from getting Immunity, and he did just that. Reynold was also foolish to waste his money on pizza, but they might not have known that there was another help coming since they had already given the help to the idol. But Eddie had money, and he could have bought it and he made a huge blunder by not. Maybe it's because of his narcissism he thinks he can win it without any help, but historically, whoever gets the help wins the challenge because it is such a huge advantage. So in essence, Cochran was buying Immunity. The sad moment of the auction was when Brenda was breaking down throughout and then she finally bought something and it turned out to be pig brains. Poor Brenda. Andrea found herself in a no-win situation when she won pasta and was given the choice to trade it for rice and beans for everyone. This is obviously a no-brainer. You lose your food and if you choose to keep it, everyone will be outrageously mad at you. If you do trade it, people will say thanks but no one will remember it in a day, or more importantly, on Day 39 when you need jury votes. So really no choice for Andrea, and she made the obvious hard but right decision.

By far the best gameplay in the episode came from Andrea. When she knew Malcolm was looking for the idol, she followed him and sat there and watched him, which kept him from looking for it. Cochran came with at first but left to go to the bathroom and never came back. Andrea did a great job of waiting him out and keeping him from finding the idol. Malcolm said they were there for about 45 minutes before calling it quits. If he went to go look for the idol again, the same thing would happen. I don't think we've ever seen this really. Last week they were looking for the idol and Malcolm was there, but that was different. This was a stakeout, and it worked perfectly for Andrea.

The big decision in this episode came from Erik and Sherri, who could have flipped and voted out Andrea, which would ultimately determine the outcome of the season. Both of them stuck to the plan, which I think was the right call. For an alliance that calls themselves "The Three Amigos", you have no chance of cracking the final three or winning Immunity against them. Better to wait things out with Stealth and then make a move. Smart decision here.

Another big thing that has been debated over recent weeks is if Erik is playing a good game, or if he's playing a game at all. I'm not sure if he has been, but he's put himself in a good spot now because he's under the radar and letting the other people take themselves out. It's kinda like the way I used to play Super Smash Brothers, where we would use Nintendo characters to try to outlast each other in a battle game. I tried to stand off to the side and let everyone put a ton of damage on each other, instead of myself being the one that was the killer that would get me more damaged and make me a bigger target. Instead I just waited until I was at the end and then I made my move. And maybe that's what Erik is doing. If he gets to the end with these Favorites, he could very well go on a big Immunity run. Erik's got a shot to win. I hope he continues to get more airtime because he is a funny and good character.

As of right now, I think Cochran's still in the best position. Andrea's been playing it great, but unlike Cochran, she's been getting targeted a lot and she could eventually get blindsided. Something else I want to talk about is how there has been some hate from people about Dawn lately. Dawn is supposedly one of the nicest people to ever go on the show, but people are mad about her crying. But like when you're out on an island for 39 days, deprived of sleep and food, you aren't acting like yourself. I can't imagine what it must be like to also be a mother of seven and be away from all your kids for that long. Brenda started to breakdown in this episode, but it was a result of what happened to Phillip the night before and it displayed her will and determination to win the game.

Right now I am really liking this season. Four crazy episodes in a row that left you unsure of what would happen at the last second. Malcolm is now gone though, so we will see how much more drama there will be, but I think it will still be a really good final six or final five, because I think this alliance is doing all the decision-making together and there isn't one clear head that is in charge of it all.

One last thought on Malcolm. I don't think this is the last we will see of him on the show. As long as the show stays on the air, we will see him again. And if he has a few more years of life experience, he could really help himself out and become the next Boston Rob. While he plays the game very differently from Rob, both played the game very aggressively their first times and had some bad luck, and with time and age, I think Malcolm could win the game just like Rob did. One other tough thing for Malcolm was that he didn't get to see his season air, so he didn't know how he was being perceived or he didn't get to watch any of his game tape to see what he could improve on, but again, I don't think this is the last we will see of him on the show. Malcolm is proof that is much better for the show to take people that apply that are passionate fans of the show than for them to recruit boring, bland, and poor strategic players like Julia from random bars in California. Anyway, this is getting long so this is where I should wrap things up.

Thank you to everyone for reading and listening to me air out all my thoughts on this episode. There might be some little things I didn't get to but I tried to cover all the important stuff as precise as I could, and it still ended up being this long. Looking forward to the next episode. Let me hear your thoughts though. What did you think of Malcolm's game? Will we see him on again? What did you think of Erik and Sherri's decisions not to flip? Who do you think is in the best position to win? Let me hear your thoughts on the Facebook fan page, on Twitter @vellvita7, or in the comments below. Hope you're having a good Monday!

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft: Fifth Round Recap and Analysis

If you are reading this for the first time and you don't know what this is, please refer to my previous article entitled "The Backyard Baseball Project". We then held the Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft Lottery. On Tuesday April 23, we began the draft. Slowly we are getting it done. Our owners have busy schedules with school wrapping up, which is why you might think this is all coming to you slow. Nevertheless, our GMs love  Backyard Baseball and are dedicated to building their franchises. If you aren't all caught up on the draft, here are the links to rounds 1-4:

First Round
Second Round
Third Round
Fourth Round

Also, let's take a look at each team's current roster.


Little 500 All-Stars (managed by Connor Boehm)Home field: Tin Can Alley
1) Pablo Sanchez
2) Mark McGwire
3) Chipper Jones
4) Stephanie Morgan






Kingston Bunt Smokers (managed by Will Fitzgerald)
Home field: Dirt Yards
1) Curt Schilling
2) Derek Jeter
3) Carlos Beltran
4) Alex Rodriguez







Grand Salamis (managed by Tommy Mantice)
Home field: Steele Stadium
1) Sammy Sosa
2) Frank Thomas
3) Jose Canseco
4) Mike Piazza






Vinnie the Gooch's All-Stars (managed by Eric Benjamin)
Home field: Cement Gardens
1) Ken Griffey Jr.
2) Achmed Khan
3) Randy Johnson
4) Cal Ripken Jr.





Crazy Fishes (managed by CJ Revis)
Home field: Sandy Flats
1) Pete Wheeler
2) Kiesha Phillips
3) Luanne Lui

4) Angela Delvecchio





Orange Wombats (managed by Grant Smith)
Home field: Playground Commons
1) Barry Bonds
2) Kenny Lofton
3) Vladimir Guerrero
4) Nomar Garciaparra 





Now, let's waste no more time getting to the fifth round. 

1) (25 Overall) Little 500 All-Stars (Connor Boehm)- Juan Gonzalez
I think Juan-Gone is a little underrated. He's a great hitter, he's got decent wheels and he's a great fielder. He's basically a poor man's Sammy Sosa, and I think there are a couple other of these models still available in this draft. Gonzalez is a very good player and a great pick-up for this team. 







2) (26 Overall) Kingston Bunt Smokers (Will Fitzgerald)- Jeff Bagwell
I figured it was only a matter of time for Will to take Bags, being an avid Houston Astros fan. Bags is a perfect first baseman for any team. And also, props to him for playing baseball the way it should be played. Yes, Bags wears eye black, something I did very often when I played little league. Bags will be a great fit for this team, and I know Fitz will love managing him. Bags also hits very well and has alright speed. Good pick.




3) (27 Overall) Grand Salamis (Tommy Mantice)- Barry Larkin
Barry's a good option and good pick here. One of the last shortstops left on the board. He's a good hitter, he's fast, and he's one of the best fielders around. Good pick here. 




4) (28 Overall) Vinnie the Gooch's All-Stars (Eric Benjamin)- Jocinda Smith
CJ accused Eric of employing the "screw CJ" strategy after he made this pick. Jocinda's a good hitter, but I think she's a little overhyped. CJ also said he thinks her ratings lie, and I think there is some value to that statement. She's a solid fielder and a solid hitter, but not a whole lot more than that.





5) (29 Overall) Crazy Fishes (CJ Revis)- Mikey Thomas
Mikey's all bat. He's a good hitter but not a great runner. Not a bad option here though. He's a good fielder and he has a very strong arm. My biggest concern with him though is the fact that he's always sick, and if I'm CJ I have to take precautionary to keep him from infecting the whole team. But Mikey's a decent player and this isn't a bad pick.




6) (30 Overall) Orange Wombats (Grant Smith)- Annie Frazier
I'm not crazy about Annie either. Annie has good ratings but whenever I have her on my team, she seems to fail me. Maybe I don't know how to manage her, or maybe she's not as good as her ratings suggest. But I like that Grant is finally drafting a backyard kid. That will create some diversity and a better blend of talents. But I think he could have gone with someone better here. Where is Tony Delvecchio? And why hasn't he been taken yet? This isn't a bad pick, however I am skeptical.


So that concludes the fifth round of the Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft. What's your take on it? Whose team is looking the strongest right now? Do you think anyone has made any mistakes? What do you think? Comment, or let me know on the Facebook fan page or on Twitter @vellvita7. The next round should be here soon. As always, thanks for reading!

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft: Fourth Round Recap and Analysis

Earlier in the week began the Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft. If you don't know what I am talking about, refer to my article entitled "The Backyard Baseball Project". Monday night we held our Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft Lottery. If you missed the first round, catch up here: Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft: Round 1 Recap and Analysis. If you missed the second round, catch up here:Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft: Second Round Recap and Analysis. If you missed the third round, you can see that here: Backyard Baseball 2001 Draft: Third Round Recap and Draft Analysis. But before we dive in to the fourth round, let's take a quick look at how our GM's are doing. Teams are shown in order of draft order, and their picks are sorted by draft round.


Little 500 All-Stars (managed by Connor Boehm)
Home field: Tin Can Alley
1) Pablo Sanchez
2) Mark McGwire
3) Chipper Jones







Kingston Bunt Smokers (managed by Will Fitzgerald)
Home field: Dirt Yards
1) Curt Schilling
2) Derek Jeter
3) Carlos Beltran









Grand Salamis (managed by Tommy Mantice)
Home field: Steele Stadium
1) Sammy Sosa
2) Frank Thomas
3) Jose Canseco








Vinnie the Gooch's All-Stars (managed by Eric Benjamin)
Home field: Cement Gardens
1) Ken Griffey Jr.
2) Achmed Khan
3) Randy Johnson







Crazy Fishes (managed by CJ Revis)
Home field: Sandy Flats
1) Pete Wheeler
2) Kiesha Phillips
3) Luanne Lui







Orange Wombats
Home field: Playground Commons
1) Barry Bonds
2) Kenny Lofton
3) Vladimir Guerrero




Now let's recap the fourth round of the draft.


1) (19 Overall) Orange Wombats (Grant Smith)- Nomar Garciaparra
Nomar is very versatile. He can hit, field, he's fast and he's a good pitcher too. It was only a matter of time before he'd be off the board. I like this pick. Wondering if or when Grant is planning to draft some backyard kids and non-pros, but he's building up a good-looking squad so far.







2) (20 Overall) Crazy Fishes (CJ Revis)- Angela Delvecchio
This is the second time where I've said that maybe CJ should have gone with someone else with a pick and then he's gone and nabbed them in the following round. CJ knows what he's doing. He's drafting very well. Very well-rounded team. With Angela and Luanne he has two great pitching options that can do more than pitch. Angela's a great hitter. I recently watched her hit three home runs in a game. One was using an aluminum power bat, but still. The one thing Angela lacks is a good glove. But she won't have to make too many plays when she's on the hill.


3) (21 Overall) Vinnie the Gooch's All-Stars (Eric Benjamin)- Cal Ripken Jr.
Benjamin was amazed that Cal Ripken Jr., the iron man, was still on the board in the fourth round. Cal's never gonna miss a game. He is Mr. Durability. You can count on him day in and day out, and you can count on him in the clutch. He's another great fielder with a bat and good speed. I'm liking this team.





4) (22 Overall) Grand Salamis (Tommy Mantice)- Mike Piazza
Piazza's a good player. And he hits a fair amount of home runs. But this team already has three big power hitters in Thomas, Sosa and Canseco. I was thinking it was time Tommy to get himself some more speed and base runners. Otherwise he'll be hitting a lot of solo home runs and striking out a lot. Piazza's a good player and a good bat but I don't know if he's a good fit or a good pick at this spot for this team.


5) (23 Overall) Kingston Bunt Smokers (Will Fitzgerald)- Alex Rodriguez
A-Rod would have been a perfect pick for Tommy. Instead he goes to Fitz, who is looking to build a team made of speed. I like this pick. Bringing A-Rod and Jeter together won a World Series. It could work to this team's advantage here as well. A-Rod can hit field and run. He's got great fielding range. Watching him and Jeter together will be a lot of fun for us fans at home.



6) (24 Overall) Little 500 All-Stars (Connor Boehm)- Stephanie Morgan
I like this pick here. Stephanie isn't the best at one particular thing. But she's a good all-around player that can play wherever you need her to. She's a great fielder and she's very versatile. Great at shortstop, catcher or centerfield or wherever else she's needed. She has a great attitude and has great passion for the game. No other backyard kid loves baseball as much as she does. She's a hard worker and a good leader. She'll definitely do a good job bringing this team together and being the glue that holds them together. Because of her tough work ethic, she could develop into an even better player. She has a lot of potential and she could get even better over the course of the season. I really like this pick for Boehm's team.

Who were Draft Day Four's winners and losers? Comment below, or hit me up on my Facebook fan page or on Twitter @vellvita7. Thanks guys! Stay tuned for more! Still have another five rounds of this draft left and looking forward to writing about it all for you. Hope you are enjoying your day!