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New York Mets: The Team. The Time. The Fantasy.


kbusch22

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Hey, long time visitor...first time poster. Yes, this is another Mets dynasty...but its a fantasy drafted one...and the Mets are my favorite team, so yeah.

Posting this dynasty is kinda a last-second decision on my part. I've done a ton of franchises, I especially enjoy doing fantasy drafted franchises.

Well...the team I drafted is, IMO, the best one I've ever drafted. Admittedly, I lucked out and got assigned the #2 overall pick...but still. When finished, my team was ranked 10th best in the league going into the year. We'll see.

Anyway, I don't see any other fantasy-drafted dynasties in here, so I think it'd be a cool place to post my progress with the team. It may not be the flashiest dynasty in the world, but it should be fun.

I'll probably start out by playing each game to get a feel for the team and whatnot...as the season goes on I'll likely start playing one game per series and managing the rest, but I'll still recap everything.

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I'll post my roster in the next post.

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NOTE - I only remember the order of the first six picks. Usually in fantasy drafts I try to get 3 bats, 2 starters, and a closer in the first 6 rounds. This is true here too, and frankly these guys are the core of my team.

NEW YORK METS FANTASY DRAFTED ROSTER

GM Omar Minaya: We are absolutely thrilled with the team that we have been able to assemble in this draft. Allow me to introduce you to the team.

ROUND 1 SELECTION: 1B Albert Pujols

Pujols-homer-10.17.jpg

We are ecstatic to have been able to select a player of Pujols' magnitude with our top pick. He is still young and one of, if not the best hitter in the league. You really can't go wrong.

ROUND 2 SELECTION: 3B David Wright

p1_wright-SI-iacono.jpg

I am privileged to welcome Wright back to the Mets organization. Although, we are taking a bit of a risk. The first round of the draft was very pitching heavy, hence why Wright even made it this far. Our 3rd round selection will absolutely be a pitcher.

ROUND 3 SELECTION: LHP Francisco Liriano

2006-07-17-liriano.jpg

We fully believe Liriano can bounce back from surgery that caused him to miss all of last year. The youngster is more than capable of being a guy we can build our rotation around.

ROUND 4 SELECTION: 1B Prince Fielder

prince-fielder-cubs-hr.jpg

As our 4th round pick approached, I was shocked to see a great young hitter like Prince Fielder still on the board. I immediately contacted Albert Pujols' agent and inquired about if he would be willing to move back into left field, where he started. We didn't hear back before our pick came, and Prince was still there, so we pulled the trigger. Albert will just have to be happy playing left. Either way, a core of Pujols-Fielder-Wright should score us a ton of runs.

ROUND 5 SELECTION: RHP Jered Weaver

t1_jered_si.jpg

This young righty has shown flashes of brilliance early on in his Major League career, so we think he is a perfect compliment for Liriano. We believe Jered can give us 15 or so wins, especially with this potent offense.

ROUND 6 SELECTION: RHP Jonathan Papelbon

pap.jpg

Mariano Rivera was selected just before us, so it made sense to grab an elite closer as they would probably start going fast. You really can't go wrong with a guy like Papelbon, one of the youngest and best closers in the league. We expect him to finish up many games for us.

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These 6 men are the core of my team...and they certainly have a case at being the youngest and best core in the league. All of them figure to be around for a long time, let's just hope Pujols can stay happy despite being supplanted from his position.

The rest of the roster will be in the next post (IE: I didn't write down the draft order for the rest of the team because I didn't know I'd be turning it into a dynasty so I'm just gonna post it as a depth chart) :p

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Another Mets dynasty :wall: :lol: j/k good luck with it, I will be following ;)

Only problem I have, is the Pujols in LF deal. Instead of picking up Fielder, I would have looked at the corner OF position, and took care of that. But looks good so far. That core of 3,4,5 hitters is gonna do major damage!!!

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And the rest...

PITCHERS

RHP Homer Bailey: Another young righty with all the potential in the world. We hope this can be Homer's breakout year and the first of many great ones.

RHP Chad Bradford: A former Met, Bradford is already accustomed to Shea...where he posted a great year in 2006. Frankly, I regret not re-signing him after that year...but now we got him back. He is great against righties.

LHP Gustavo Chacin: Chacin was the last starting pitcher we selected in the MLB portion of the draft, and he was simply the best starting pitcher available. He's been brilliant on some days, mediocre on others. He'll likely be our #5 starter though since we won't need a 5th starter during the first week of the year...he will open as our emergency long reliever.

LHP Jimmy Gobble: Gobble is a solid lefty who should provide a different look against righties and lefties alike out of the bullpen.

LHP Nate Robertson: Quite a different lefty than Liriano. The longtime Tiger figures to be the veteran of our rotation, hopefully he can put up decent numbers.

LHP J.C. Romero: We had the misfortune of facing Romero a ton last year while he was a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. He can be ranked up there among the top lefty specialists in the game today.

RHP Rafael Soriano: Once tabbed as a future closer, Soriano seems more suited to a set-up role now. His biggest strength (power) is also his biggest weakness...as he is prone to overthrowing and being wild. Hopefully Rick Peterson can keep him under control.

RHP Joel Zumaya: Zumaya has filthy stuff, but as is a common trend with many of the pitchers in this staff, he is prone to injury. No Guitar Hero will be allowed in the clubhouse.

CATCHERS:

Henry Blanco: Blanco isn't a particularly special offensive catcher, but that wasn't our top concern. What attracted us to Blanco was his great arm and his ability to call a great game behind the plate. Blanco will be our primary catcher.

Mike Piazza: Mike was our final selection in the MLB phase of the draft. We just couldn't resist when we saw he was still on the board. We believe the Mets legend can be a threat off the bench as a pinch hitter. It is unlikely he will take the field except for occasional starts. He can catch or play 1st base but it would take an emergency to put him there in mid-game. We are glad to have #31 back.

Vance Wilson: Another former Met (and oddly the guy who backed Piazza) will be Blanco's main understudy. He has a decent bat and is very solid defensively, the most important aspect in a backup catcher.

INFIELDERS:

Marlon Anderson: Yet another ex-Met, many call Anderson "the best pinch hitter on the planet". Well, he won't be pinch hitting as much with us...instead, we would like to utilize him as a platoon 2nd baseman, as he can mash righties well. Marlon can play every position except catcher, so he is good for emergency situations.

Asdrubal Cabrera: Asdrubal may be somewhat light hitting, but he still makes decent contact. What attracts us is his exceptional glove at second base and shortstop, the latter being the position he will probably play most with us.

Ray Durham: Once a feared slugger, Durham still has some pop, particularly against lefties. He is likely to be in a platoon situation at second base with Marlon Anderson.

Omar Infante: A solid guy to have off the bench. Like Anderson, he can play just about every position except catcher. He's a good guy to plug in there when someone needs a day off.

OUTFIELDERS:

Johnny Damon: Once considered one of the best leadoff men in the game, Damon has fallen off quite a bit. He may not get as much playing time as he is accustomed to...but we will likely still plug him into the leadoff spot against righties.

Rajai Davis: This youngster is a very valuable commodity. Not only can he play well at all 3 outfield positions, but he can absolutely fly. Davis will be the go-to guy off the bench when we need a pinch-runner.

Kosuke Fukudome: The Japanese import will not be making his MLB debut with the Cubs afterall, instead, he will be with us. The scouting report says Fukudome plays well against both lefties and righties...he may very well leadoff for us against lefties as he has solid speed. Japanese players haven't faired too well for the Mets in general, so we'll have to see how he does.

Bobby Kielty: What attracts us most about Kielty is his ability to mash left-handed pitching. Because of this, look for him to get a lot of playing time against lefties in one of the corner outfield spots.

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Yeah, I can see why Pujols in LF may be bothersome...but it should be fun. Who knows, he might stink up the joint and I can turn it into a storyline where Albert is pissed that he got usurped.

Our Opening Day opponents will be the Florida Marlins, who go into the year ranked as the #1 team coming out of the draft. Their pitching staff is led by defending AL Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia, so it should be a challenge. They also have Chipper Jones.....damn. JUST when I thought the Mets could get away from that guy.

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Nah, you don't have to. When it comes to fantasy draft dynasties, it doesn't really matter what team you pick because it winds up being all new teams.

Anyway.....here are the lineups for Opening Day 2008. The results won't be up until sometime tomorrow because by the time I finish I'll probably be ready to hit the hay. I've configured my lineups to have L/R balance...which I love doing.

NEW YORK

CF Kosuke Fukudome

2B Ray Durham

LF Albert Pujols

1B Prince Fielder

3B David Wright

RF Bobby Kielty

C Henry Blanco

SS Asdrubal Cabrera

P Francisco Liriano

FLORIDA

1B Carlos Guillen

2B Ronnie Belliard

3B Chipper Jones

CF Chris Young

RF Carlos Quentin

LF Jason Botts

C Kenji Johjima

SS Jeff Keppinger

P C.C. Sabathia

Also, a stupid question but: I'll probably take some print screens while playing and put them into Paint, save 'em as JPEGS. Is there any way to post them here? I'd rather do that than have to sign up at a site and post them there.

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You can post as an attachment, but I'm not sure if you can embed them without hosting them elsewhere. Good luck with the first game! You've got a great lineup going for you. I've got a few...problems with power numbers, but I doubt you'll have the issue haha :wtg:

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Also, a stupid question but: I'll probably take some print screens while playing and put them into Paint, save 'em as JPEGS. Is there any way to post them here? I'd rather do that than have to sign up at a site and post them there.

I'm rookie on editing images but when I started some weeks ago I used paint, now I can recomend you, photoshop for edit images, FRAPS for take pictures in game, and photobucket to upload Screenshots. :)

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If you can't get your hands on photoshop, instead of using Paint, you can try either GIMP or Paint.NET. Both are free. I haven't used GIMP but with you can do a lot in Paint.NET that you can do in Photoshop.

You can host your pics on photobucket or a website like that. If you do videos such as video highlights or something else, you can always create an account on YouTube for example and host the vids there. Good luck.

BTW ... your 1 through 6 should be good ... have fun with that lineup. But, remember that Chipper is a Mets killer.

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METS PUT UP A SHUTOUT IN OPENER, BUT NOT WITHOUT SACRIFICE

Ace Liriano sidelined after just two innings

The Mets' campaign couldn't have gotten off to a better start. The triple threat of Pujols, Fielder, and Wright began paying dividends as soon as the first inning. Fukudome led off the game by singling in his first MLB at-bat, Durham singled, and then Pujols hit a long single to score a run. Prince Fielder drove in Durham from 3rd via sac fly, and David Wright singled in Pujols. 3 runs off of the ace Sabathia, couldn't ask for a better start...smallball at its best.

GAME1.jpg

New team, new number, new position, no problem. Pujols stands in moments before driving in the first run of the season.

Francisco Liriano showed early signs of brilliance, pitching a perfect first 2 frames with 4 strikeouts to boot. However, we witnessed a scary sight in the bottom of the 3rd. Marlins catcher Kenji Johjima lined a fastball right back at Liriano, nailing him in the arm, for the first hit of the game. Liriano got pulled immediately, and the later diagnosis was that he suffered a minor arm fracture. Doctors have said Liriano may begin rehabbing in about a month, which would put his return about a month and a half away.

Thankfully, the Mets got a surprising lift from Gustavo Chacin, the #5 starter who was set to be in the bullpen as his first start gets passed over. Chacin pitched 6 scoreless innings, surrendering a few hits but mostly baffling the Marlins offense. It was certainly encouraging to see this performance from Chacin, who will now most likely slot into Liriano's rotation spot and pitch in Atlanta on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Henry Blanco (of all people) hit a 2-run home run off of Sabathia in the 3rd after C.C. had seemed to settle down Ray Durham also hit a dinger with no outs in the 5th to end Sabathia's day. C.C. ended with an awful line...4 IP, 6 ER. That would be all the Mets would score on the day, as Marlins lefties Bobby Livingston and Jason Vargas pitched 5 scoreless innings.

Mike Piazza had a successful pinch hit appearance in the 9th before being lifted for Rajai Davis, who stole his first base of the year...but no scoring came of it. Jimmy Gobble finished the game for the Mets (which oddly enough, meant that all 6 pitchers on the day were left-handed).

FINAL SCORE: Mets 6, Marlins 0

WP: Gustavo Chacin (1-0)

LP: C.C. Sabathia (0-1)

DUE UP: Jered Weaver (0-0) vs. Javier Vazquez (0-0)

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In other news, after the game, the Mets placed LHP Francisco Liriano on the 15-day Disabled List. They then re-called LHP Gio Gonzalez from Triple A New Orleans. Gonzalez will fill Chacin's role in the bullpen until a turn in the rotation comes along for him.

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NEW YORK

CF Johnny Damon

SS Asdrubal Cabrera

LF Albert Pujols

1B Prince Fielder

3B David Wright

RF Kosuke Fukudome

C Henry Blanco

2B Marlon Anderson

P Jered Weaver

FLORIDA

1B Carlos Guillen

2B Ronnie Belliard

3B Chipper Jones

CF Chris Young

RF Carlos Quentin

LF Jason Botts

C Kenji Johjima

SS Jeff Keppinger

P Javier Vazquez

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METS DO ONE BETTER: WIN 7-0

5 run 4th inning dooms Vazquez, Marlins

The Mets have to be extremely pleased: they have managed to shutout the Marlins for 18 straight innings to begin the year despite the Marlins having the top overall post-draft ranking in baseball.

Jered Weaver pitched amazingly, which is just what the Mets need after seeing their ace Francisco Liriano go down for a month and a half. He went 7 2/3 strong innings, striking out 6 and allowing just 3 hits. He was lifted after tiring and allowing a hit to Jeff Keppinger, Rafael Soriano then came in and finished up the game, getting the last 4 outs.

Offensively, David Wright was the offensive MVP of the game. He belted a solo shot off of Vazquez in the first inning, and then nearly hit a 3-run blast in the 4th but had to settle for a 2-run triple instead. Marlon Anderson would later add a second 2-run triple to the inning to make it 5-0.

GAME2.jpg

Prince Fielder breaks for 2nd after David Wright makes contact on what would wind up being a 2-run triple.

Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez left Vazquez in to get Weaver out, but he walked him on 4 pitches. Bobby Livingston then had to come in and he induced a groundout to Johnny Damon that got Weaver out, but Damon beat out the grounder to make it 6-0, closing the book on Vazquez.

Henry Blanco went on to single in a run in the 5th, making it 7-0...and that was all the scoring on the day as Livingston, Gavin Floyd, and Jason Vargas pitched well...especially Floyd, look for him to be a stud in the Marlins rotation soon.

FINAL SCORE: Mets 7, Marlins 0

WP: Jered Weaver (1-0)

LP: Javier Vazquez (0-1)

DUE UP: Nate Robertson (0-0) vs. Tom Gorzelanny (0-0)

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Amazing what happens when you keep Chipper Jones intact. He was 0-6 to start the year before finally singling in the 9th.

Damon looked pretty crappy, Fukudome worked out a walk and scored a run, Anderson went 3-4 with 2 RBIs. It's still early, but these three guys may eventually be jumbled around, as I like having L-R balance. Either way, the lefty lineup will be back out tomorrow.

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Have you tried using gimp or photoshop it would help a lot with this dynasty because no one likes to read a huge enormus (I know they basically mean the same thing)paragraph. Have you seen how other dynastys are presented here that seems like the way to go right now. Otherwise good job

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I appreciate the input but I'm trying to go more for the reporting style of dynasty, writing a synopsis of the game as if it was in a newspaper...I just add a little more detail than you'd normally see in a paper just to give everyone an idea of whats going on.

I'm doing some journalism classes in college so believe it or not writing my dynasty this way is not only enjoyable but also somewhat beneficial for me.

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I might try it out next game or something.....but I've already done the write up for Game 3 so here it is:

NEW YORK

CF Kosuke Fukudome

2B Ray Durham

LF Albert Pujols

1B Prince Fielder

3B David Wright

RF Bobby Kielty

C Henry Blanco

SS Asdrubal Cabrera

P Nate Robertson

FLORIDA

1B Carlos Guillen

2B Ronnie Belliard

3B Chipper Jones

CF Chris Young

RF Carlos Quentin

LF Jason Botts

C Kenji Johjima

SS Jeff Keppinger

P Tom Gorzelanny

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METS CHOP FISH

7-4 Victory seals Opening Series sweep

Albert Pujols hit his first home run of the year, a solo shot, in the first inning...the ball went to absolute dead center, a real blast. That seemed to awaken the Marlins offense that had yet to score on the year...as Carlos Guillen hit Nate Robertson's first pitch of the game out of right field to tie the game at 2 apiece.

The Mets tacked on run in the 2nd when Asdrubal Cabera grounded into a bases loaded, nobody out jam to make it 2-1. It stayed that way until the bottom of the 3rd when Chipper Jones plated an RBI single to tie the game...only a matter of time before that happened really.

David Wright brought across 2 in the 5th, then Jason Botts tied the game off Nate Robertson with a 2-run shot in the 6th. The Marlins looked alive, not ready to quit. The Mets took a 5-4 lead in the 7th thanks in part to a Tom Gorzelanny error that ultimately saw him have to leave the game due to injury. Joel Zumaya posted a scoreless 8th, Kosuke Fukudome and Prince Fielder brought in insurance dingers in the 9th, and Papelbon closed it out with a 1-2-3 inning.

GAME3.jpg

Jonathan Papelbon goes for a high five after successfully converting his first save opportunity of the season.

Gotta give props to Fukudome, a great game...he is currently my leadoff guy against lefties but he may well wind up getting that job against righties too...although his homer was nearly caught by Carlos Quentin, he missed by an inch.

After a 5-for-5 day, David Wright has a ridiculous 9 hits through the first 3 games...second to only Ken Griffey Jr. of Houston (who has 10).

FINAL SCORE: Mets 7, Marlins 4

WP: Nate Robertson (1-0)

LP: Tom Gorzelanny (0-1)

S: Jonathan Papelbon (1)

DUE UP: After a day off, the Mets will travel to Atlanta to face the Braves. Homer Bailey will take the mound against Carlos Villanueva.

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Best thing to do, is experiment. Seeing this is your first dynasty attempt? Take a look at everyones dynasties, and ones past, like way past, then you can take ideas from each one, and incorporate. You dont have to be tech saavy, saavy? lol Anyway, Im glad you have the balls to do something different. All it takes is for one to go against the grain, and everyone else will follow. Not many were doing fantasy drafts, or finished one. I know I need to start finishing mine, but I just never got the feel for anything I wanted to do. It sounded good at first, then got boring really fast. So Im doing a fictional one with fictional players. That way my guys are on my team. The ones I really want to play with. Not ones I will be trading away in a week or two. But to each his own, right? Keep up the good work, cant wait to see what you come up with :wtg:

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Lineups for Game 4:

NEW YORK

CF Johnny Damon

SS Asdrubal Cabrera

LF Albert Pujols

1B Prince Fielder

3B David Wright

RF Kosuke Fukudome

C Henry Blanco

2B Marlon Anderson

P Homer Bailey

ATLANTA

SS Yuniesky Betancourt

RF Travis Buck

3B Miguel Cabrera

LF Manny Ramirez

1B Daryle Ward

CF Gary Matthews Jr.

C Jason LaRue

2B Mark Loretta

P Carlos Villanueva

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Looks like a tough lineup for a young righty to be facing.

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Ugh. The game got rained out (ironic, as that same game was rained out in real life) so there as to be a double header the next day. I was planning on posting both games together as a double fetaure.

I played the first game...squezed out a 5-4 win in 11 innings to go 4-0 (Papelbon blew a 3 run save by giving up a dinger to Billy Butler) and also Pujols got an injury that would sideline him for a week.

....but everytime I try to post the second game (Chacin vs. Carpenter)...the game quits out as it loads. I have no idea what is going on.

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