Week 1 bla bla bla. Someone won (not Curt) and someone lost (almost always Curt). Week 2 bla bla bla. Rinse, repeat, spew bile. I’m not inspired to write about the weekly goings-ons right now. Soooooooooooo, I feel like a draft recap, winners/losers, team assessment article is much more fun. Here you go. I hope “you people” like it.
First, a shout out to Old Man Jon (who definitely did not write this week’s article). Not only did he draft his team (like he was Jerry West), but I was able to follow along with the draft on Twitter thanks to his up to the minute posts. I hope the league continues to do fun things like that (more live games, live draft, etc.).
P.S. Some of the quotes were truly glorious.
Second, it sounds like the new guys at the draft table really enjoyed their experience. I hear the captain’s text is a hoot (if you heart being miserable). I’m happy that we at Grinders HQ have decided to get more people involved.
ONTO THE DRAFT!!!!!
I’m going to start with a draft steal/overpay section.
Biggest Steals:
1. Jimmy Z for $11. I know Jimmy has struggled in the past, but $11 out of a $50 salary cap for a COLLEGE FREAKING BASKETBALL PLAYER, WTF were “you people” doing? Easily the steal of the draft. (Old Man Jon)
2. Soft-ass Tall Justin for $15. Size is a premium in this league and he’s the tallest guy we got. He can shoot too. Justin can be a match-up nightmare. He had no business going for under $20. (Old Man Jon – again)
Biggest Overpays:
1. I’m not sure if you people pay attention but Chris Cole is NOT a top player in the league. He wasn’t worth the $31 Witt paid for him 3 drafts ago and he certainly shouldn’t be the highest paid Grinder again ($30). Wake up people. You’re not paying for Tom Brady. You’re getting Joe Flacco……at best.
2. I’m not sure if you people pay attention but Tommy Hughes is NOT a top player in the league……anymore. The days of Tommy Triple-Double are done and over with. $27 for a poor-man’s old Mark Jackson is ridiculous. The fact that he came within $2 or Gersitz is obscene.
Team outlooks:
IPAirballs: Pre-season pick for the ‘ship. Got Justin and Jimmy for nothing (combined they cost as much as Tommy). Filled in with another big guy in Vaillancourt and got some outside shooting and athleticism in Pauly J. OMJ had a pre-draft plan and executed it flawlessly.
prediction: in the finals
Lethal Shooters: Bang-Bang Tirado came out of the shoot firing. He bought the first 2 players put up for auction (Ford and Curt). We like the addition of Doyle (at nice value $13) and “lil Cuz brings some of the dirty that the “talented” players on the team refuse to do.
prediction: Should see them in the semis.
Mother Chuckers: Chuck said he had a plan. He wanted another shooter and a distributor. He got both in Tommy and Jeff “Superman” May. He added more size and ball-handling in Josh Lanzot and a Pat Bev pest in Todd “Freakin'” Nixon. Chuck paid a lot for Tommy but got great value in May ($15) and Lanzot ($7).
prediction: Should make the semis.
Squatting Dog: Worm was a big question mark as a newer Grinders member. Would he know everyone? Would he have pre-draft rankings? Would he f it up? Well, he got umpteen time league MVP Gersitz. Check. He got Richie for $13 which is pretty cheap for a guy who tends to do well week-to-week. We’re trying to figure out how Bobby and Salvati fit in the mix? Is this a 2-man team or can they gel?
prediction: out in the 1/4’s
We Highly Dislike Chris Cole: League wise-guy Josh was thought of as a captain to watch out for who could put a great team together. Drafting Cole for $30 sure as hell brought that to a crashing halt. He paid too much for a guy who can’t make layups or jumpers, or generally score. Josh did do nicely filling out the rest of the roster, getting bargains with KO for $9 and E for $6. They should both easily outperform their contracts. Ben for $5 could be interesting.
prediction: out in the 1/4’s
You People: Helmet had a big advantage in being a 20 yr league veteran. He went the route of old reliables, getting fellow vets Witt, Crazy Al, and Newbs. We at HQ think that he paid under value for all of these players, getting great deals. Helmet also got league bad-boy Wayne. Wayne can do a little bit of everything. The question for this team is how they all fit together and what identity they can form.
prediction: in the semis