What was the biggest strategic draft mistake you made last year with one of your teams that you vow to not make again in 2010?

 I was too quick to abandon my Tout Wars draft plan and budget when I started seeing some top-shelf players go for what I felt was a discounted price. I ended up taking Albert Pujols and Ryan Braun at what I felt were discounts, but still at prices that didn't fit my original budget, and that caused a ripple effect that ultimately resulted in a stars-and-scrubs roster. Both players earned their money but I wasn't prepared to build around them, so next year I'll make sure to stick more closely to my original plan, even if it means not doing as much price enforcing. 

-Cory

Drafting too many injured pitchers: I outsmarted myself in AL Tout this year on draft day by getting Ervin Santana, John Smoltz and Dustin McGowan. The total cost was only $17 for the three ($11, $6 and RES) and I was able to trade Smoltz before he pitched an inning for me for Saltalamacchia (bust for both sides). But I went to the well on this once or twice too many and it hurt my flexibility on draft day. That $11 or $6 towards a better bat may have made the difference between 2nd and 1^st. We'll never know.

-Siano

I was simply too conservative in my NL-Only auction bidding which resulted in a team comprised of several great value picks but lacked star players. When my lone legitimate star, Carlos Beltran, went down due to injury my hopes of winning a title were crushed. It turned out that I did an outstanding job in pitchers, drafting Wandy Rodriguez ($8), Ted Lilly ($13), John Lannan ($2) and second half stud Bronson Arroyo ($4) for a combined $27. I surely could have used the money I saved there to snag at least one additional big bat. Left with a sub-par offense highlighted by Brad Hawpe, Adam LaRoche, Rafael Furcal, Chase Headley and Kosuke Fukudome, I finished middle of the pack. Next year will be different.

-Zach

Wainwright:  Led NL in Wins (19), 4^th in ERA (2.63), 4^th in Strikeouts (212) 

 Lincecum:  Tied for 4^th in NL in Wins (15), 2^nd in ERA (2.48), 1st in Strikeouts (261)

 Carpenter:  2^nd in NL in Wins (17), 1^st in ERA (2.24), 27^th in Strikeouts (144)

Lincecum, with an average standing of 2.33, wins this battle over Wainwright (3) and Carpenter (10).  But the reality is that the Baseball Writers of America are not statisticians, and Wins has historically been weighted more heavily than the other two Triple Crown stats (Think Bartolo Colon 2005).  Unlike the MVP award, team success is not factored into the Cy Young decision, so I say Lincecum deserves it.  But don't be surprised if Wainwright's considerable edge in victories winds up being the determining factor.  Just how many of these voters have listened to the 411?  Not enough.  Don't chase wins!

On today's podcast, the guys will discuss the 2010 fantasy values of all the Cy Young contenders.

I've been eager to write this blog post for a long, long time, but only finally found the time to do it. This year was my 19th of fantasy baseball, and I've won my fair share of leagues since then, but none was as satisfying as winning my 15-team mixed NFBC league this year, and coming in fifth in the country (out of 390) for good measure.

Some 411 fans may recall that I took a good deal of grief on this blog following my draft, and I felt there were at least one or two other teams in my league that were better than mine on paper, so winning the league after a very tight September pennant race did provide great feelings of relief and vindication. I was so psyched to win that I actually did a traditional Yoo-Hoo shower for the first time in years!

So how did it all happen? I'm not going to deny it, there was some luck involved. My team stayed extremely healthy, with Edwin Encarnacion the only one of my core players to miss any significant length of time due to injury; Asdrubal Cabrera, Chris Iannetta and Joe Saunders were the only others to spend any time at all on DL. But for the most part it was a classic 411 draft approach complemented by some well-chosen and timely free agent pickups...

Have a plan and stick to it

I used my own projections and my own rankings and generally tried to take players when I thought they were the best available, rather than trying to project who might last until later picks. (The few times I tried to time picks, I lost them... if there's a guy you want who you think can help your team, get him.) I targeted hitters who were at or near their peak ages, even if it meant "reaching" at times, and ended up with 11 of my 14 starting lineup bats between the ages of 24 and 29. That approach helped yield not only second-round monster Prince Fielder (below, who I had targeted with that pick going into the draft), but late-round offensive anchors Jason Kubel and Cody Ross, and contributors like B.J. Upton, Shane Victorino and Adam LaRoche, as well as the catcher tandem of Russell Martin and Iannetta.

While I didn't draft a perfect team, I was mostly able to execute my pre-draft plan and come out with a reasonable balance of all categories, and enough depth and flexibility that I could overcome whatever weaknesses existed. In fact, of my first 22 picks, only Alexi Casilla and would-be third closer Manny Corpas failed to make any contribution, and they were easily replaced.

You can't win your league in the first round, but you can lose it

Upton was a major disappointment in the first round, but in hindsight, there's no one else I could've reasonably taken at that point who would've done much more. Matt Holliday went with the next pick but was viewed as a major risk and, given his performance before being traded to the Cardinals, rightly so. Big names Josh Hamilton, Carlos Beltran and Alfonso Soriano all missed major time due to injuries. There were players who performed better than Upton who went with later picks, but at the time, there wasn't another player on the board who I could've picked there and had it been viewed as any less of a reach. In any case, Upton's 41 steals led my team, and his cycle against the Yankees on the last Friday of the season was a big part of the strong finish that helped me win the league.

Pursue position scarcity

My goal was to have a dominant catcher tandem, but Martin was a letdown in the third round, and for that matter so was eighth rounder Iannetta. (Even worse, Jayson Werth went with the very next pick after Iannetta, but I already had Upton and Victorino and did not want to load up outfield that early.) However, I did get a combined 22 homers, 102 RBI's, 103 runs and 11 steals from the pair; that run production was mid-pack in my league at the position but only one other team got more steals from their backstops. Add in sixth round stud Derek Jeter and I used three of my first eight picks on up-the-middle players.

Don't chase starting pitching

I opened my draft with seven bats and two closers, only opting for my first starter in the 10th round, then taking three more in a row with my next three picks. Wandy Rodriguez (below) was the only List of 12 guy I was able to grab, and he matured into the bargain ace I had hoped for, but I also took four more young and improving starters who, coincidentally, are all on the List of 12 for 2010: Ricky Nolasco, Matt Garza, Jered Weaver and Saunders. In fact, an incredible run of solid starters went off the board following my first starter, including Josh Johnson, Adam Wainwright, John Danks, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly, Scott Baker and even Justin Verlander. Folks, you simply do NOT need to draft an elite ace to build an excellent starting rotation.

Build around your bullpen

Knowing that I was going to wait as long as possible before picking starters, I wanted to grab two high-strikeout stud closers in the first six or seven picks, and couldn't have asked for anything better than to have Joe Nathan and Jonathan Broxton available when I picked in the fifth and seventh rounds. Those two and free agent steal Andrew Bailey (more on him later) combined for a dozen wins and 109 saves, with an incredible 274 strikeouts in 210.1 innings and an even more amazing 2.22 ERA and 0.94 (!) WHIP. I made a big investment in my bullpen and, as much as any other reason, that helped me win my league.

(As an aside, note that of the first nine closers taken in this draft, only Brad Lidge failed to post a season that would at least be called "OK." Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, Jose Valverde and Joakim Soria all had their flaws, but for the most part, the top shelf delivered. As noted in previous blogs, this is to be expected.)

Roster spots have value

None of my reserve round picks turned out to be worth much, although Matt LaPorta and Justin Masterson did find their way onto my second half roster, and David Aardsma was a 27th round lottery ticket jackpot. Yes, I cut Aardsma before the season even started, when Brandon Morrow was named the closer, but I don't feel too bad about that because I got Bailey only a few weeks later! From that point forward I pursued free agents with a specific purpose in mind, even if it meant stashing them on my bench waiting for the proper moment to emerge to put them in my lineup. And when they were no longer needed I did my best to stay objective and move on in favor of players who had a better chance to help.

I ended up using 29 hitters and 21 pitchers over the course of the season, maximizing my at-bats and innings each week as fully as possible. And with a deep, flexible set of choices on my bench in any given week, I got timely contributions throughout the season from guys like Gary Sheffield, Kyle Blanks, Michael Brantley, Aaron Laffey... and yes, even Carl Pavano!

Be aggressive in free agency

If my draft put me in a position to compete, it was my success in finding key free agent additions throughout the season that truly put in a position to win the league.

Russell Branyan, Edwin Jackson and Joel Pineiro were early pickups who provided dividends all year long; Branyan finished second on my team in homers, while Jackson and Pineiro combined with my drafted starters to form a deep and consistent rotation corps. By late April I picked up Bailey, grabbing him before he earned the closer job, and he went on to combine with Broxton and Nathan to form an awesome bullpen that was the backbone of my pitching staff. Chris Coghlan (below) arrived at the perfect time to replace Casilla as my second baseman, and Carlos Gonzalez also provided a major offensive lift in the second half. Picking up Juan Uribe in September to replace the injured Branyan was my final major free agent move. All of these players ended up playing pivotal roles in my success, but just as importantly as player selection was money management.

(I got both rookies of the year in free agency! Take that, Wieters and Price!)

Each NFBC team gets a $1000 free agent budget and bids on free agents in weekly blind bidding. There is no Vickrey here... the highest bid gets the player at that price, with no refunds, which requires carefully crafted bids and sound budgeting. I was generally conservative with my bids, but spent aggressively when needed, particularly in the successful bids on Coghlan and Gonzalez. Overall, I overbid (that is, the amount I bid greater than the runner-up bid) by a little more than 52 percent... however, as high as that might sound it was actually the lowest average overbid in my league!

* * *

I knew coming out of the draft that my team would be competitive, so I was very discouraged when we got off to a terrible start. However, we led our league in the weekly standings four times in a six-week stretch through May and June, moving into first place in my league, and holding the top spot for most of the rest of the season, other than a summer slump that briefly dropped me into second place in August. Once I got into first place in late May I felt like mine was the team to beat, but with so many other strong teams in the league I truly never felt I had it locked up until the last day of the season. It was only when my offense exploded on that final day that the victory was certain, and I was completely sure I couldn't be caught.

Add it all up and I finished with 124.0 points, 6.0 ahead of the runner-up team. I led the league in only one category (saves), but finished second in WHIP, third in runs, ERA and strikeouts, fourth in homers and wins, fifth in batting and steals, and sixth in RBI's. (Here are the complete 2009 NFBC NY1 standings.xls.)

Looking at my roster, there were very few superstar names, but I got a contribution from all 23 active spots every week and didn't waste any at-bats or innings. This was a victory of building a complete and balanced team, not just of picking the most stars. (Here are the complete 2009 NFBC Schwartzstops stats.xls.)

Already looking forward to defending my title and pursuing my third NFBC crown in 2010!

Thanks,

Cory

On draft day my main goal was to get Ian Kinsler and Nick Markakis as high ticket bats and then start bargain hunting. A funny thing happened though when Carlos Quentin's name got thrown out and as I was helping inflate the bid it suddenly stopped at $25. I was ecstatic, if Quentin could stay healthy this was an enormous steal, by May 26^th I had my answer as Quentin got hurt and would not return until July 20th. Joining Quentin would be Jed Lowrie who would miss 130 games and Carlos Guillen who went from a no big deal injury to missing half the season. Lowrie and Guillen may not be the biggest players in the world but in a deep 12 team AL only someone has to take these spots over and it's pretty hard finding a replacement worth a damn.

I mentioned earlier how a player getting hurt somehow made me a better team. The player was Quentin. In early May I could tell that I was going to need some extra speed and wanted a mini hedge against Quentin getting hurt so I bid and won Scott Podsednik, little did I know that when Quentin would go down three weeks later that Podsednik now starting and free to run wild would vault me up three points up in the steals standings. On May 11^th I acquired Torii Hunter from Ron Shandler for Justin Verlander. When I made this trade Hunter was supposed to supplement my power and add speed, not replace Quentin, but if I don't make this trade I never have a shot and that's with Hunter missing over a month due to injury later on in the season, more on that later. The big move though the one that losing Quentin really made me do was bidding on Gordon Beckham on June 1^st which happened to be the same day I placed Quentin on my DL. There is some back story to this I want to share because it shows you how aggressive behavior pays off and how it's a lot easier to get a player too early then not get him at all. I had been eyeing Beckham's progress all May and I could sense that his call up was coming. In Tout Wars if you bid on a player you must start him for that full week. In essence I was weighing the call up and subsequent value of Beckham versus a dead week of stats and in this kind of league a dead week does not help. I knew that if I didn't pull the trigger this week there was a good chance others would get on the gravy train and then I may be outbid. On Sunday May 31^st I put in a low double digit bid and on Monday June 1^st while turning my phone back on after getting out of the subway a text message said it all. It was from Nando DiFino of Team Walker. He called me a bad name and I knew right there that not only had I won Beckham, but I picked the right week and this could be big. On June 4^th Beckham made his major league debut and after a 0-13 start he would start helping replace Quentin and turning my offense into what I needed to have a shot at winning AL Tout.

Injuries and luck are a part of this fantasy dance. Anyone who denies that just isn't paying attention. What isn't luck is putting yourself in position to fail, but sometimes you have to roll the dice. Did I draft Quentin knowing there was real risk? Sure. I also drafted Kinsler, but except for one stint on the DL he finally finished a season. I also drafted Hideki Matsui knowing the price was low enough to off-set the risk and when not in an NL park or needing a week to rest up he had a tremendous year for me. The Torii Hunter injury was just bad luck. The guy plays hard in center and the two crashes caught up to him, if he never goes down for that month I very well could have won the whole thing, but I also had 60 points in pitching fairly late in the season and finished with 55 so maybe I should blame Roy Halladay for being distracted by trade rumors. I didn't mention pitching injuries because I really only had one and yes it was significant but funny circumstances played a big role as well. Bobby Jenks was my closer and when he got hurt I was in first place in saves. Jason Collette was in second place in saves at the time and guess who he had? Matt Thornton. He would pass me and never look back, by the way I lost Tout by one point.

In the end my point is to ignore projections after a draft (I was projected to come in last) and never underestimate the power of the deal or the wire and injuries are not always a good excuse because through it all I fell a blade of grass short of taking this home.....Siano

 
We're back from hibernation!

 
Starting today, our offseason blog schedule kicks off, and here's how it'll look:

 
Mondays:  Zach

 
I'll choose a newsworthy topic for the lead and you are all welcome to chime in.

 
Tuesdays:  Cory

 
Schwartz will make his first post tomorrow detailing how he won his NFBC league.

 
Wednesdays:  Siano

 
This week, Mike talks about how you can still win your league despite a bunch of injuries.

 
Thursdays:  Zach

 
Fridays:  Weekly Roundtable

 
We'll come up with a question, post each of our responses and invite you to include your own.

 
And as always, continue to post your questions and one of us will get back to you.

 
Plus don't forget to follow us on Twitter @fantasy411, @schwartzstops, @fantasymlb

And catch the 411 podcast every Monday and Thursday throughout the offseason.  Here's the link to the iTunes page.  This will get you to the video podcast page.  To listen to the audio podcasts, click on "See All Podcasts" and then hit "Audio Podcasts."

 
That's all for now,

Zach 

Enjoy the list below.

For those of you unfamiliar with the List of 12, the concept is pretty simple: we look for starting pitchers who crossed the 500 career innings barrier during the previous season, and focus on them as breakout candidates for the upcoming season. The theory behind this is that it takes pitchers at least a couple of seasons to fully adjust to pitching in the Majors, so in fantasy we want to find guys who are ready to have breakout seasons but might still be a little under the radar. Some of these guys stink and will continue to stink, but if you're looking for guys who are ready to take the next step, this list is a good place to start.

The original list was only 12 guys -- hence the name -- but since it's drawn each year from an objective set of rules, sometimes we get fewer or more than the original dozen. This year illustrates that to the extreme, with 23 guys on the list! There's someone on here for every taste and style.

Of course, some of these guys are already top-shelf stars (Lincecum, Wainwright, Lester) and a few are already in that next tier of fantasy notoriety (Baker, Billingsley, Danks, Floyd, Weaver). But even with so many whose values appears to be established, there are still some values to be found. Here's a quick first-blush rundown of my view on each guy as we turn our eyes to 2010:

Backe, Brandon - Too many arm problems to consider.

Baker, Scott (right) - On the surface his 2009 season looks virtually identical to 2008, but those who were paying attention know that those numbers are skewed by a very poor start. He topped the 200 IP barrier in 2009 and is a target pitcher for 2010.

Bannister, Brian - He's had his moments but the season-ending injury makes him a risky pick for 2010.

Billingsley, Chad - Perceived as a breakthrough stud going into 2009, second-half fades in consecutive seasons make him something of a question mark going into 2010. A great upside pick if the price is right, but try to get a discount.

Carmona, Fausto - Two straight awful seasons but it's tough to forget his awesome 2006, and his last two starts were very impressive... a great $1 flier in AL-only and deep leagues.

Correia, Kevin - A very quiet but impressive season this year. He's a little old to be viewed as a breakout candidate but should be a solid end-of-rotation choice.

Danks, John - Rate stats all went in the wrong direction this year but that may be skewed by a few disaster starts. I'd like him better in a different ballpark but as it is he's a solid mid-rotation guy and still has upside.

Davies, Kyle - 500+ innings of suck.

De La Rosa, Jorge - The trends and his age suggest this breakthrough is for real. Obviously Rockies pitchers are risky, and his command is still shaky, but this one is a decent gamble to approach if not necessarily improve upon his 2009 numbers again in 2010.

Floyd, Gavin (right) - Those who judge pitchers by W-L or even just ERA are going to miss the boat on this one. Rate stats and age point to a major breakout in 2010, and make special note of the fifty percent decrease in his second-half walk rate.

Garza, Matt (below) - See Floyd, Gavin. Three straight seasons of improvement in K/BB rate along with career highs in IP show ability growing along with durability. He may be too homer prone to become a fantasy ace, but I'm still a very bullish on him for 2010.

Guthrie, Jeremy - Here's where stats come in handy... watching him pitch you think he's a future ace. The stats are all trending in the wrong direction, though, and scream "stay away."

Jackson, Edwin - His ERA was double in the second half what it was before the All-Star break, and every other rate stat went in the wrong direction as well, which I personally attribute to overwork by noted arm-fragger Jim Leyland. But the overall body of work shows major improvement, so he could take another big step forward in 2010... just don't gamble full price on it.

Jimenez, Ubaldo (right) - Possibly the best Rockies starter ever. Never mind Coors, he gets tons of grounders and simply doesn't give up homers; all signs are positive and there's no reason to think he won't be at least as good in 2010, if not better.

Lester, Jon - Check out the 2.48 ERA and 9.8 K/9 ratio in his last 24 starts. Stud.

Lincecum, Tim - Three straight years of improvement in WHIP, hit rate, walk rate and homer rate... now entrenched as the #1 pitcher in fantasy baseball.

Maine, John - Still has excellent stuff but the history of arm problems is scary. Still, he's shown effectiveness when healthy, so he's worth a flier in deeper and/or unmixed leagues.

Nolasco, Ricky (right) - Like Floyd and Garza, the overall stats don't tell the full story. He was dominant after returning from a brief Triple-A exile, with a five-to-one K/BB and 10.1 K/9 ratio in his last 22 starts. The added age and maturity should help prevent the disaster starts that skewed his overall numbers last season; as much as anyone on this list he is poised to take a major leap forward next in value next season.

Saunders, Joe - Pitched exceptionally well down the stretch, with a 2.55 ERA in eight starts after coming off the DL, suggesting that some of his struggles may have been injury-related. The lack of strikeouts limit his value but he should continue to be a solid end-of-rotation option.

Wainwright, Adam - Threw 13 straight quality starts at one point, and 18-of-19. Stud.

Weaver, Jered - Took a big step forward this year in terms of maturity and consistency, but the trends are mixed for 2010. His innings pitched have increased in three straight seasons, which speaks to his durability, but the rate stats have all fluctuated around his career averages, so this may be as good as it gets. That's certainly good enough to make him a solid #3 in any format.

Wellemeyer, Todd - I liked him as a sleeper in 2009 but he was awful and injured. Worth a flier in deep and unmixed leagues but nothing more.

So to sum it all up, here's how I rank them going into 2010:

* Full-price studs: Lester, Lincecum, Wainwright

* Breakout picks: Baker, Floyd, Garza, Jimenez, Nolasco

* Upside with risk: Billingsley, Jackson

* As good as it gets?: Danks, De La Rosa, Weaver

* Cheap options: Correia, Saunders

* Fliers: Carmona, Gaudin, Maine, Wellemeyer

* Stay away: Backe, Bannister, Davies, Guthrie

Enjoy the rest of the postseason!

Thanks,

Cory

P.S. -- If you want to add one more guy to the list to make it an even 24, for a double-sized List of 12, the next guy who just missed the cut on innings was Josh Johnson of the Marlins. He'll be on everyone's radar next season and for good reason!

Tuesday 9/29: A look at the 2010 Rookie Class

Wednesday 9/30: 2009 All-Surprise Team

Thursday 10/1: 2009 All-Disappointment Team

Friday 10/2: 2009 All-Fantasy Team

Monday 10/5: Siano and Schwartz's report card from preseason picks

SIANO OVERRATED   B-

C Mike Napoli   C
1B Ryan Garko   A
2B Howie Kendrick   C+
3B Hank Blalock   A-
SS Mike Aviles   A
OF Vladimir Guerrero   B-
OF Nelson Cruz   C-
OF Denard Span    F
SP Cliff Lee   D+
SP AJ Burnett   B+
RP Kerry Wood   A

1B Ryan Howard   D-
2B Alexei Ramirez   A-
3B Kevin Youkilis   D-
SS Michael Young   D
OF Manny Ramirez   A-
OF Jason Bay   D-
OF Andre Ethier   D
SP Francisco Liriano   A
SP A.J. Burnett   B+
RP Bobby Jenks   B

 
SIANO UNDERRATED   C

C   Jeff Clement   F
1B Kendry Morales   A
2B Asdrubal Cabrera   A-
3B Josh Fields   F
SS Elvis Andrus   B+
OF Coco Crisp   D
OF Carlos Gomez   F
OF Shin-Soo Choo   A
SP Justin Verlander   A
SP John Smoltz   D
RP Joel Zumaya   F

SCHWARTZ UNDERRATED   C-

C   Kelly Shoppach   D-
1B Adam LaRoche   C+
2B Kelly Johnson   F
3B Adrian Beltre   D-
SS Derek Jeter   A
OF Chris Young   F
OF Jayson Werth   A-
OF Ryan Spilborghs   D-
SP Jered Weaver   B+
SP Wandy Rodriguez   A
RP Joel Hanrahan    F

Let's hear from you!  The podcast will be out later today and we'll be frequently checking up on the blog during the rest of October.  The 411 returns in mid-November with twice a week podcasts.  Thanks for all of your participation here throughout the season.

Zach

SATURDAY

 
Kazmir @ Eveland

Greinke @ Blackburn

Garcia @ Figaro

Richmond @ Hendrickson

Pettitte @ Niemann (not a big Niemann fan but Yanks are playing the JV lately)

Laffey @ Beckett

Hunter @ Rowland-Smith (yep, gotta respect the results of late)

D. Cabrera @ Wells

Bazardo @ Misch

Bush @ Lohse

Anibal Sanchez @ Hamels

Detwiler @ Jurrjens

Duke @ Cueto

Cain @ LeBlanc

De La Rosa @ Kershaw

 
SUNDAY

 
Danks @ Verlander

Ohka @ Buchholz

Romero @ Guthrie

Burnett @ Wade Davis

Hochevar @ Duensing (yep...he's been hot and the Royals are awful)

Saunders @ E. Gonzalez

Feldman @ King Felix (the wheels have come off Feldman so I don't trust him even at Seattle)

Lopez @ Figueroa

Hart @ Bailey

Martin @ Hudson

J. Johnson @ Happ

Narveson @ Pineiro

D. Davis @ Dempster

J. Sanchez @ Ramos

Marquis @ Kuroda

Will Carroll                  7:03                

 
Todd Zola                     7:10                

 
Jeff Erickson                 7:17                

 
Jason Grey                    7:22                

 
Lawr Michaels                 7:30                

 
Joe Sheehan                   7:40                

Tuesday 9/29: A look at the 2010 Rookie Class

Wednesday 9/30: 2009 All-Surprise Team

Thursday 10/1: 2009 All-Disappointment Team

Friday 10/2: 2009 All-Fantasy Team

Monday 10/5: Siano and Schwartz's Report Card from pre-season picks

Also, a reminder that there will be a packed Sirius show tonight.  Here's the list of guests along with approximately what time they will join the show:

Will Carroll                  7:03                

 
Todd Zola                     7:10                

 
Jeff Erickson                 7:17                

 
Jason Grey                    7:22                

 
Lawr Michaels                 7:30                

 
Joe Sheehan                   7:40                

Peavy @ Jackson

Purcey @ Berken

Sowers @ Matsuzaka

Sabathia @ Price

DiNardo @ Liriano

Saunders @ Gonzalez

McCarthy @ Snell

Buckner @ Gorzelanny

VandenHurk @ Blanton

Wandy @ Maine

McCutchen @ Lehr

Livan @ Lowe

Looper @ Wainwright

Zito @ Correia

Jimenez @ Wolf

Tuesday 9/29: A look at the 2010 Rookie Class

Wednesday 9/30: 2009 All-Surprise Team

Thursday 10/1: 2009 All-Disappointment Team

Friday 10/2: 2009 All Fantasy Team

Monday 10/5: Siano and Schwartz's Report Card from pre-season picks.

Baker @ Robertson

Millwood @ Lackey

Waters @ Garza (could Garza BE any more inconsistent?)

Carrasco @ Lester

Anderson @ Fister

Carpenter @ Kip Wells

Parra @ Cook

Haren @ Lincecum

Mock @ Hanson

Paulino @ Lee

Maholm @ Samardzija

***Also check out a new blog post by Siano on the Tout Wars page

http://www.toutwars.com/?p=440

Tuesday 9/29: A look at the 2010 Rookie Class

Wednesday 9/30: 2009 All-Surprise Team

Thursday 10/1: 2009 All Disappointment Team

Friday 10/2: 2009 All Fantasy Team

Monday 10/5: Me and Schwartz's Report Card from pre-season picks.