I was prepped and ready. I had my rankings. I had my strategy. I was, I thought, prepared for 2014 AL LABR draft. In fact, when the draft was over I was still feeling good about the club writing this. "I like my squad a lot, which likely means it will end up being awful... As always it will come down to the health of my players and making a few astute moves on the waiver-wire as the year progresses..." Unfortunately I was right, not that I don't always strive to be, but I was hoping I wouldn't be in this instance. Injuries hit me hard, my vets underperformed, and I just missed when hitting the waiver-wire. When that happens you have no shot at winning in a league specific setup. 
 

OPENING DAY ROSTER
(click on this link to see the preseason write-up).

 

Catcher: Carlos Santana ($20), Jesus Montero (2)

First Base: Adam Dunn (8)

Second Base: Dustin Pedroia (27)

Third Base: Evan Longoria (30)

Shortstop: Mike Aviles (3)

Middle Infielder: Dustin Ackley (8)

Corner Infielder: Logan Morrison (13)

OF: Dexter Fowler (17), Austin Jackson (17), Michael Saunders (7), Daniel Nava (5), Dayan Viciedo (8)

Utility: Jemile Weeks (5)

 

Pitchers: James Shields (21), C.J. Wilson (17), Glenn Perkins (17), Nate Jones (9), Ubaldo Jimenez (7), Jake McGee (3), Brandon Morrow (9), Erasmo Ramirez (4), Sean Doolittle (4)

 

BENCH: Felipe Paulino (SP), Joel Peralta (RP), Grant Green (2B), Japhet Amador (1B), Daric Barton (1B), J.D. Martinez (OF)

 

WHAT WENT WRONG

A ton.

Of the players I drafted, three appeared in a total of 18.1 innings: Amador, Jones, Paulino.

Another had 17 at-bats and had his season shut down when he chased a scout for taunting him with an ice cream sandwich (Jesus Montero). 

Players who spent time on the DL? At one point - Jones, Fowler, Blanks, LoMo, Paulino, Saunders, Morrow - were all on the DL. You can't win a league only setup if a quarter of your club is on the DL. 

My two big expenditures - Pedroia and Longoria - had underwhelming seasons. 

Dunn/LoMo were blah as all get out.

My OF turned out to be a mess. Period. 

On the hill Wilson had his worst season since becoming a starter. Jones never threw a pitch that counted. Morrow was pretty much the same thing. Jimenez didn't produce anything in his first season with the Orioles. Erasmo accepted that he wasn't any good and was shuttled between the majors and minors all season. This was the downfall of my club. My bullpen was strong. My starters, terrible. 

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Ackley and Santana lived up to expectations. I mention that because you could argue that every other offensive player I drafted failed to live up to expectations. All of them.

On the hill Shields was his normal studly self. Doolittle/McGee cost me $7 and returned that cost seven fold. They were spectacular. 

TRADES

I need help on the hill. I thought that Alex Meyer of the Twins would get called up at some point cause their rotation was so bad. He never was. Obviously this trade didn't work out, no matter who I gave up. Brace yourself when you hear the name that I sent packing for him: J.D. Martinez. In my defense. (1) I really needed pitching (as you saw above). (2) I did draft Martinez in the reserve rounds, so give me some credit for that. (3) Meyers is an elite prospect. (4) The deal was made April 28th. At the time JDM was a flunky who had flamed out and been released by his team. Yes he was killing it in the minors, but still. He had never hit like that. Ever. The deal was also made when he had a total of 11 plate appearances so it was still super early in his breakout effort. Ultimately a massive blunder, but can't say I wouldn't do the same thing if it was April 28th all over again. 

ADDS

($100 FAAB)

Week 2: Charlie Furbush $2
Week 3: Robinson Chirinos $1
Week 4: Michael Kohn $1 (outbid on Wade Davis by $1), Justin Maxwell $3
Week 5: Raul Valdez $4
Week 6: Joba Chamberlain $1, Erik Bedard $3
Week 7: James Jones $14
Week 8: Kyle Blanks $13
Week 9: Juan Oviedo $6 (chose over Andrew Miller)
Week 10: Adrian Nieto $1
Week 14: Jacob Petricka $4
Week 15: Endy Chavez $2, Kevin Correia $9
Week 16: Chris Dickerson $6, Josh Fields $2, Casey Fien $2
Week 17: Aaron Loup $1, Christian Vazquez $3
Week 18: Munenori Kawasaki $1, Shawn Kelley $3
Week 19: Tom Wilhelmsen $1, Yohan Pino $2, Jake Marisnick $14
Week 22: Jason Grilli $1
Week 23: Sam Fuld $1, Scott Baker $1
Week 25: Andrew Romine $1, Josh Fields $1


WINNER: Dave Adler, BaseballHQ

FINISH: 9th out of 12 teams. My dreams of the gold will have to wait another year. Simply had too many injuries to overcome, especially when you consider that my top-2 offensive players also had disappointing seasons.