Projected Starting Lineup

C - A.J. Pierzynski - Its AJ or bust this year at catcher
1B - Paul Konerko - Will probably hold this spot all year unless Ortiz starts using the roids again
2B - Rickie Weeks - Has the gig until he gets hurt
SS - Jason Bartlett - Not hoping for a sophomore slump
3B - Casey Blake - Consistent numbers
OF - Bobby Abreu - An oldie but a goodie
OF - Nate McLouth - Looking for a big year
OF - David Murphy - Probably the first guy to lose his starting spot
OF - Nyjer Morgan - All steals all the time
Util - David Ortiz - This spot is wide open, whoever is hot gets the nod
SP - Dan Haren - Stud #1
SP - Wandy Rodriguez - Stud #2
SP - Max Scherzer - Could be his breakout year
SP - Ricky Nolasco - Need a comeback year
SP - Barry Zito - I think he's back and a nice 5th starter
RP - David Aardsma - Only source of saves
RP - Luke Gregerson - Hoping for holds and K's
RP - Robinson Tejeda - Ditto
RP - Peter Moylan - Ditto again
RP - J.P. Howell - Could sneak in some saves

2010 Draft

During the Winter Meetings, I traded away Justin Morneau and Alex Rodriguez for draft picks. I figured I needed to rebuild. I went into the draft looking to build a competitive team for 2010 but to set up a title run in 2011.
Here is my 2010 Draft recap.
1.10 Danny Haren, SP - Of the top 3 starters in the draft, Haren has the least risk.
1.12 Bobby Abreu, OF - Still going strong.
2.6 Jason Bartlett, SS - A bit of a risky pick with only one good year under his belt, but Bartlett figures to be a stud.
2.10 Nate McLouth, OF - Outfielders were thin this year so McLouth might be overvalued a bit, but he's a 4 tool player.
3.9 Wandy Rodriguez, SP - An up and coming starter, the new ace of the Astros.
4.10 David Aardsma, RP - My first (and only, as it turned out) closer. The M's are better this year so Aardsma will get plenty of saves.
4.14 Max Scherzer, SP - Mad Max rejoins the Bums and is my fourth starter capable of reaching 200 K's.
5.9 Rickie Weeks, 2B - A high-risk, high-reward pick in a very top-heavy position.
6.9 David Ortiz, DH - I have a thing for veterans, especially ones capable of 30 HR's and 100 RBI's.
7.9 J.P. Howell, RP - A reach here, but will get saves or holds.
8.9 Jack Cust, OF - Will help with HR, RBI and walks.
9.9 A.J. Pierzynski, C - The obligatory mid round catcher pick.
10.9 Luke Gregerson, RP - Will get holds until the Padres trade Bell.
12.9 Casey Blake, 3B - A solid but unspectacular third baseman.
13.9 Seth Smith, OF - Could put up nice numbers if he gets AB's.
13.11 Barry Zito, SP - Looks to continue his comeback. Not bad for a 5th starter.
14.9 David Murphy, OF - A good fill in player with power.
15.9 Robinson Tejeda, RP - A good source of K's.
16.9 Peter Moylan, RP - A good source of holds.
17.9 Daniel Murphy, OF - Backup first baseman.
18.9 Chris Getz, 2B - Could be a steal and get steals if he wins the starting gig.
19.9 John Lannan, SP - The Nat's best starter until Strasborg.
21.9 Ronald Belasario, RP - Solid reliever.
22.9 Darren Oliver, RP - Good with the Angels, can he keep it going with the Rangers.
23.9 Pedro Alvarez, 3B - Young prospects always have a chance of getting playing time with the Pirates.
24.9 Jason Marquis, SP - Not bad for the second to last pick of the draft.

Trade

Pulled off a medium magnitude trade. I shipped Michael Cuddyer and Carlos Marmol to North Texas for Joel Pineiro and Jake Fox. Cuddyer was having a nice year so far (.276/11/39/42/4) but is always an injury risk. Marmol was getting loads of holds but was very inconsistent. Pineiro (6/3.44/42/1.18) gives some stability to my starting pitching was has been racking by injuries and demotions (3 opening days guys are on the DL). Fox takes the place of Cuddyer and hopefully will continue his hot hitting and might qualify at third soon.

Trade

A couple weeks ago I pulled off a trade to fill a major gap in my lineup. I moved Magglio Ordonez and Khalil Greene for Kurt Suzuki and Andruw Jones. Ordonez was doing poorly and although he still has something left in the tank, my lineup was stacked with outfielders. What I needed was a catcher. Shoppach wasn't getting the at-bats he needed; Suzuki will step in nicely with his over .300 average and everyday play. Greene and Jones were throw-ins but Jones is somewhat more valuable given his much better stats and the fact Greene is on the DL with mental disorders.

Week 4 Update

Back from vacation and I find my team sitting in the cat bird's seat. My starting pitching continue to struggle so I might have to do a deal for another starter.

Week 2 Review

Stank it up in week 2, losing 3-7. The week's MVP was Ryan Ludwick again, posting a 4/3/10/0/1/.417 line. The LVP was Mark Fontenot with absolutely nothing.

Week 1 Review

I got a nice 8-4 victory in week 1 of the 2009 eMLB season. I took the offensive stats 4-2 losing the HR by a single dinger. Ryan Ludwick and Justin Morneau provided the power and RBI's while Carlos Gomez provided some speed. I took the pitching stats by another 4-2 score, losing the wins category by a single point. Carlos Marmol got 3 key holds and a save (to go with saves from Frank Francisco and Kevin Gregg. Fausto Carmona and Ricky Nolasco stunk it up out of the gate while Rich Harden and Erik Bedard did great. The week's MVP goes to Ryan Ludwick who put up 4/2/5/1/2/.389 while the goat is Lastings Milledge who got sent to the minors.