OK, time to step away from the NBA and focus on the baseball team I drafted in the MLB Mock Draft 2008. I will be facing LBJ-MVP-08 in my first matchup.
VS RHP:
- LF Shannon Stewart
- RF Kosuke Fukudome
- 1B Ryan Howard
- SS Miguel Tejada
- DH Josh Willingham
- CF Vernon Wells
- 3B Melvin Mora
- C John Buck
- 2B Ray Durham
Bench:
- OF Adam Jones
- C Miguel Olivo
- 2B/SS/3B Maicer Izturis
- PH/1B/RF/LF Daryle Ward
VS LHP:
- LF Stewart
- RF Fukudome
- SS Tejada
- 1B Howard
- CF Wells
- DH Willingham
- 3B Mora
- C Buck
- 2B Durham
Rotation:
- RHP Javier Vazquez
- LHP Erik Bedard
- LHP Scott Kazmir
- RHP Joe Blanton
- RHP Derek Lowe
Bullpen:
- Joakim Soria (Closer)
- Jose Valverde
- Rafael Soriano
- Damaso Marte
- Jared Burton
- Jesus Colome
- Adam Eaton (Long Reliever)
Joakim Soria is definitely my closer. As for my set-up men, I will go with set-up-men-by-committee, if you know what I mean. Since they are proven, Jose Valverde and Rafael Soriano will start off as my set-up men, with Marte being my lefty specialist. However, if Valverde or Soriano struggle, I will remove them from that role, which would give Marte, Burton, or Colome a chance in that role.
Being an A's fan, I've built my team to look similar to their teams of the last decade, which means I won't steal much, but will get on base (Stewart, Fukudome), and I have solid but not great run producers to bring them home. However, my team isn't about offense. It's about pitching, which is what wins games, and the reason why I chose PETCO as my park. Tejada has recently played in some great hitters parks of late, so he could face a tough adjustment at PETCO. I still think he will drive in a lot of runs even though he won't hit too many out of the park. I think I should be able to defeat LBJ. The only hitter of his that scares me is Ortiz, and his top two starters are Zito and Willis, who have struggled in recent years.