The Chronic Curmudgeon

Starting for your Kings... at first base, the 2005 National League Rookie of the Year and 2006 Grapefruit League home run leader, from the Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Howard! At second base, the most highly rated player at his position in either league, also from the Phillies, Chase Utley! At third base, former World Series MVP and slugger, from the Toronto Blue Jays, Troy Glaus! At shortstop, one of the best up and coming young shortstops in the game, from the Cleveland Indians, Jhonny Peralta (and yes, that's how you spell his name, no typo there)!! At catcher, one of the heroes of last year's post-season and well-known agitator (and a personal favorite), from the world champion Chicago White Sox, AJ Pierzynski!!

In the outfield, a five tool stud who has the honor of representing my beloved Red Sox on this year's fantasy team... and owner of the best name outside of breakfast cereal, from Red Sox Nation, outfielder Coco Crisp! Also in the outfield, from the Toronto Blue Jays, a guy who's shown flashes of greatness in the past, is better protected in the lineup this year, and is turning the magic age of 27 this year, outfielder Vernon Wells! And rounding out your outfield will be a platoon of promising young guys who each have a ton of potential: Chicago Cubs' rookie left fielder Matt Murton, Tampa Bay Devil Rays' rookie speedster Joey Gathright, Houston Astros' spark plug Willy Taveras, and Minnesota Twins' sleeper candidate for AL Rookie of the Year, Jason Kubel.

On the mound... your #1 starter is last year's NLCS MVP, Houston Astros' Roy Oswalt! Your #2 starter is the wily veteran and future Hall of Famer, from the Atlanta Braves, John Smoltz! Your #3 starter is a promising youngster with tons of upside and poised for a breakout year, from the Los Angeles Angels, Ervin Santana! Your #4 starter: the Toronto Blue Jays' Gustavo Chacin! And rounding out the rotation at #5, an emerging star from Philadelphia, promising young Phillies right-hander Ryan Madson! In the bullpen, one of the most consistent relievers in baseball, from the Seattle Mariners, "Every Day Eddie" Guardado! And finally, Atlanta Braves' closer Chris Reitsma!

Rounding out the roster on the bench: Arizona first baseman and potential NL Rookie of the Year Conor Jackson... the Angels' second baseman Adam Kennedy... Milwaukee Brewers up and coming shortstop phenom JJ Hardy... the Cincinnati third baseman coming a scorching hot spring, Edwin Encarnacion... young Braves' catcher Brian McCann... and two young pitchers who might emerge, Florida's Jason Vargas and Boston Red Sox youngster Jonathan Papelbon.

I'm shocked, actually...being totally and completely honest with you, this is virtually the lineup -- including some of the bench -- that I planned. With the exception of that platoon at the third OF position, this is the exact lineup I wanted on offense. I also really wanted Jackson, Hardy and Encarnacion for my bench. The only "accidents" on offense were Adam Kennedy (I wanted Placido Polanco as my backup 2b, but knew I wouldn't get him for $1 and had to save the money to get Madson and Encarnacion), and the platoon in the OF (and honestly, I had wanted to get two of the threesome of Gathright and Murton and Kubel for my bench -- I just was hoping to land Detroit's Curtis Granderson as my third starter. So on offense I have almost exactly the team I expected.

Pitching... Oswalt was non-negotiable, he was the #1 starter I wanted. I expected to get Oakland's Rich Harden as my #2, but my friend Tim jacked his price up to $35 -- which, though Harden is really good, would have been too much to pay -- so I grabbed John Smoltz instead. But he was still rated at #10 overall among pitchers in my book, so I accomplished my goal of grabbing two of the top dozen starters. At #3 I wanted the Angels' John Lackey (who I think is a sleeper candidate for the AL Cy Young Award this year), and wanted Ervin Santana at #4. But Lackey's price escalated, and I had spent a little more ($29) for Chase Utley than I expected, so I wasn't able to go up to get Lackey. Gustavo Chacin is a decent replacement at #4. And Ryan Madson has emerged as a potential stud in Philadelphia -- winning a slot in the rotation as a starter -- and could end up being a hero as a late round pickup.

We're going to do well in most of the offensive categories; Howard, Utley, Peralta, Glaus and Wells will all hit home runs and drive in at least 75 RBI each, Gathright, Taveras, Crisp and Utley will give me plenty of speed and will score runs... we might come up a bit short in batting average, because I don't have a natural .300 hitter in the lineup -- but it's a small price to pay for an offense that's well rounded in every other way. Our pitching will be solid; I'll stack my 1-3 up with almost anyone in the league, and if Madson emerges I could have a very promising full rotation. If Papelbon becomes a starter with the Sox it gives me another really good option. The glaring weakness in pitching is my bullpen. It sucks. Guardado is 97 years old and plays on a lousy team, and Reitsma is both injury-prone and inconsistent; I don't expect him to be closing by Memorial Day. I usually consider relievers an afterthought in the draft, because saves is one category and I feel okay about punting that category... but I outdid myself on that score this year. And even if it's only sacrificing 7-10 points in the saves category, those are points that could be critical in the stretch.

But all in all, I feel really good about this team. We're going to be competitive, at the very least... and if a few things break right (i.e., Madson emerges as a star, Santana has the breakout year I expect he will, and either Murton, Gathright or Kubel turn into stars this season), I think it's even possible for me to return to the winner's circle in October. I really do feel that good about the Kings.

So I'll keep you posted... if I can figure out how to do it without incurring storage charges on my blog, I may even experiment with doing a short weekly podcast for the league and putting it up here (because yes, I am that creative, and yes, I am that geeky), so you may hear even more frequently about the league and the Kings. In the meantime, the season starts tonight. Click, Click, Boom.