Alright, I've had enough! I can't take all these people who care more about their brackets than they do about the tournament or their own team! Call me old school, but I don't care about how I did in a $10 office pool when my team is in the Final Four! UCONN HUSKIES!
It's becoming a trend in fantasy sports too. As I've said, I'm a fantasy football addict. I can't get enough information in the pre-season and then throughout the season. Fantasy baseball, I'm a little less into it. During football season, I'm a Jets fan. Call me fair weather or whatever you want, but I don't live and die with them. The Jet outcome Sunday does not effect my Monday. The Yankees and Dale Earnhardt Jr., well that's another story. I still get queezy when someone says the word 'midges' and it irks the hell out of me when I think about Dale Jr's missed opportunities on Sundays over the last four seasons.
With either of my scenario's I will never put my fantasy interests above my personal favorites. It doesn't mean I go draft all Jets, Yankees or Jr., but it does mean that if I have John Lester as one of my starting pitchers, I hope the Yankees light him up like a Christmas tree during his starts against them. What is my reaction when he pitches a gem? I'm pissed off! I don't care that he helped my ERA, WHIP, and K's for that week. The Red Sox just beat my team, there is no positive fallback! The same should go for this NCAA tournament. Some of my fellow Huskies are guilty parties too. I have seen way to many facebook status updates reading something along the lines of 'Well, my bracket is shot, only one thing left to do, GO HUSKIES!' I despise this.
Thanks for letting me vent...
Somehow, even with all the preseason hype, the MLB season always sneaks up on me. Maybe it's because the coverage is now never ending. Spring Training starts and it seems to go on forever and then it's like 'hey, we are drafting this week'. I won't lie, I've been so tied up in other things going on in my life, that I got that email this weekend, my draft is Wednesday and I am not prepared. I have the 10th pick in a 12 team draft. I have very limited time over the next three days to spend on it, so I have to use the time I do have wisely. Here is my plan. I have found that rankings are all pretty generic. Most players aren't that different from one to the next, so I won't spend a lot of time reading everyone out there. I'll find one that I like, print it and base a lot of my picks off that, obviously varying somewhat. Three things I am going to focus on 1) Sleepers- who is out there that I don't know about that I can grab with a late pick? Ryan Braun two years ago, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Chris Davis and Edinson Volquez last year are perfect examples of this. 2) Value picks- guys I think could have a bounce back year or the guys that always put up solid numbers and are at a position that I don't want to spend a high draft pick on. Fred Lewis of SF is an example. ESPNs take: a player who will steal 20 bases with a decent BA and scores some runs who can be found late. 3) Injuries - You should have seen this coming with my site affiliation. Who is coming off an injury and what are the chances of a healthy, full season? Can you say Liriano? Also, what to do with guys like ARod? I have picks 10 and 15 which both might have a chance at him. No way he makes it back to me in round 3. I have a choice to make and since some of the people in the league read this blog, I can't post much more here. Obviously, anyone in this type of situation is a huge risk and you have to handcuff another 3B with him, but a guy who has the upside ARod does at pick 15? Gotta think about it...
Next weekend is huge for me; Dale Jr. is at the site of his first win and is usually strong at the track in Texas, the Huskies are in the final four (is there a coach in sports who is as underrated as Tom Izzo?), and of course CC takes the mound for the first time in pinstripes at beautiful Camden Yards on Monday.
Have a great week, enjoy the nice weather if you have it, and support your team, not your bracket!
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