Team Name: Desert Dwelling Scalawags
Owner Name: Bart Lynch
Home State: Atlanta, GA
Personal Bio
Grew up just outside the big ATL (as some gravelly-voiced sports announcer might say) got my BFA from Arizona State University. Living in Phoenix since 1987. I love the opportunity to watch spring training and Arizona Fall League action here in Arizona. The closer proximity to the players and athletes fighting to prove what they are worth, are a couple of things that tend to get lost under the bright lights of the big show.

Pre-Draft Strategy
The random draw has given me the 5th spot in the draft. This should guarantee me a shot at a quality SP, which I plan to draft first, unless Mr. Jones is still on the board.

I see third as the shallowest position in the draft, and if the opportunity exists to get C. Jones, Atl, the best player at that position (and OF as rumors have it), then I won't just sit around counting crows. Last year I made the deplorable mistake of drafting lots of hitters, which left me scrambling for quality pitchers the whole season. Not only did I miss out on pitching points but I was reluctant to make roster changes. The waiver wire was bursting with break out position players last year, but I did not want to take a chance on dumping one of my prized draft picks in favor of youth potential. I'll not make the same mistake again this year.

I will try to fill out a starting lineup first, concentrating on the shallowest positions and starting pitching first. I see third and catcher with the greatest disparity between great FP players and average FP players, therefore, I'll make these a priority.

I expect a few surprises in this year's draft. I think owners will generally be wary of aging stars who may slip a few rounds. Players such as B. Bonds, SF; T. Glavine, Atl and G. Sheffield, LA could potentially fall in to this aged yet productive group and still be around in the third round. I have, in the past, enjoyed the idea of "sleeper" too much causing me to draft potential stars and then holding on to them far too long, so I'm trying to steer away from prospecting this year. Having said that, I think two players will have unexpected good years: 1) K. Escobar SP, who has got stuff like J. Smoltz in his prime but has yet to show the pitching smarts necessary to be successful. 2) S. Cox 1B/OF whose got one of the smoothest power swings I've seen. He just needs the starts to blossom. I expect that again, like last year, there will be a run on SP in the early 2nd round, and I hope this year there will be some talent for me to pick from.

In closing, I expect 1B to be one of the least rushed for positions as there are so many talented FP players at that position.

That's about it, GAME ON!

Post-Draft Analysis
A gracious thank you goes out to Ben and Sandbox for inviting me to join this mock draft. Along with watching the complete Ken Burn's Baseball and reading Roger Kahn's new book about pitching heroes of past and present, this Mock Draft filled in the gap between the terminus of the winter meetings and the reporting of pitchers and catchers to spring training. Another year of baseball anticipation for fans everywhere is underway, and for me, another year of hope for my fantasy team.

This year, I feel more comfortable with the team I have drafted. Last year I learned that too many "ifs" were a disaster for a fantasy team. For instance, my team will be o.k. if K. Wood, ChiN comes back strong (he never really did last year), or if R. White, ChiN can finally play up to his potential (hehehe…so young, so naïve). I did a good job of avoiding too many of those ifs this year. Of course, I did draft a few; J. Lima, Hou; M. Lieberthal, Phil and A. Ochoa, Cin are examples in this year's draft. However, my team is not built around those iffy guys. This year I learned how biased I am. Before I realized it, I had drafted all N.L. players in my first six picks. To emphasize my predilection for the N.L., six of the seven starting pitchers I drafted swing the lumber when they to the rubber. It seems that my blinders may cause me to miss out on some A.L. talent-something to think about for the next draft.

The biggest highlight for me in this draft occurred when I got J. Bagwell, Hou in the fourth round. I could not believe that he had dropped to me. Of course, I could have taken him in the third when I took C. Park, LA which seems like a dubious decision in hindsight, but thankfully, I did not have to regret that SP pick. I was proved correct in my assumption that veterans would slip in favor of upstarts as shown by selections of B. Bonds, SF; J. Bagwell, Hou; F. Thomas, ChiA and M. McGwire, StL in favor of J. Vidro, Mon; J. Damon, Oak and F. Tatis, Mon, not respective.

As I look back at the results of the draft, I think Baseball Headquarters had a good draft- love the B. Chen, Phil pick- though I'm a little suspect of J. Lopez's durability. J. Smoltz is one of the guys that I was looking forward to getting around the 15th, but Dr. Stats had other plans…drat! Another player that slipped from me was A. Beltre, LA whom Woodman selected before I was ready to get a back-up 3B.

Now comes the managing part of fantasy baseball, which in my opinion, is where the season is won or lost. Therefore, I will be diligently combing the waiver wire, especially for pitchers. Although I am pleased with my selections, my RPs cause some concern for me, and I've noticed that RPs are the most surprising of the positions during the year.

I'm looking forward to another fun year of fantasy baseball, and thanks to the other 9 or 10 managers in this league for making this season exciting already. Batter up!