BOB'Z BOYZ 2008 Summary

Rookie seasons can be judged by any number of criteria. There are often rookies who step right in and excel (Bird, Pedroia, Mayo) but those are often the exception to the rule. Many times rookies come in and have to pay their dues. They have to show up at meetings early. They have to stay late after practice and put extra time in. They have to carry pink backpacks to the bullpen or stand up in the cafeteria and sing their college fight song. There are dues to be paid, and the toll for dues taken from BOB’Z BOYZ this year was high. The brightest moment for this team came before the draft even took place. Blessed with at least 4 quality keepers and 2 top 2 players at their position (Wright and Phillips) as well as the #2 pick in the draft, there really was a lot of potential for the BOYZ to make waves in their inaugural season. Then… the draft took place. To be kind, the BOYZ had a brutal draft, both in terms of luck and execution. Their #2 pick, Troy Tulowitzki, after being talked up by the Regs for his position and his great rookie year, was awful. Just-plain-awful. By the all-star break, only one player was ranked in the top 100 (JD Drew) and he didn’t play long for the Boyz. By the end of the season, only 2 players finished in the top 100 (Ibanez and Shields) and that’s just not good enough. They were hit hard by injuries (Tulo, Sheffield, Lowell, Cuddyer, Percival) slow starts (Ibanez, Vazquez, Garza, Lugo, RJ) and just plain bad picks (Maybin, Buchholz, Colon, Francis). Add to that the slow starts of his keepers, and one can almost understand the frustration and anxiety that led to the dooming trades that were to come… almost. This rookie season will forever be known for the now infamous Wright (and to a lesser extent Phillips) trade. Swine Nine stole Wright from the inexperienced BOYZ with no regard for the human wreckage left scattered about. Wright, who has always been a top 2nd half player, which was often communicated to BB, ended up as the #2 over-all ranked player in fantasy, and may have over-taken A-rod as the top 3rd baseman in the game. We won’t revisit the whole deal, but we will emphasize the complete lack of appropriate value received in this (and other) deals. Even in the trade that brought the BOY’Z Berkman, one has to ask, couldn’t more have been received for the best pitcher this year (Sabathia) and top ranked OF (Beltran)? Blog believes had the BOYZ been patient, but methodically aggressive, they could be sitting in a similar position to Swine Nine: primed for an enormous 2009. Perhaps the lessons will be learned. Perhaps patience will be practiced this year, and perhaps luck will smile on the BOYZ in 09. Or, maybe Swine will get Berkman, Quentin and the BOY’Z first 2 picks for a few more Rays pitchers. You never know.

> Best Move: Trading Joe Mauer for essentially 3rd and 4th round picks was a solid move for the future. Trading Winn and Blake for late round picks were also good moves, but the Mauer move showed that the BOYZ had started to plan for 09, and now they’re positioned to be a prime mover leading up to the draft.

> Worst Move: Let’s just move on, shall we?

> Biggest Surprise: Again:… Blog has posted more words about that trade than it cares to remember…

> Biggest Disappointment: Hafner or Tulowitzki… flip a coin.

> Blog would have: Started moving players for keepers and picks sooner, and more aggressively. The BOYZ should have at least 4 quality keepers, instead of 2 automatics and a lot of questions.

> BOB’Z BOYZ should keep: Berkman, Quentin… um… well… ok… Pence, Bruce and Werth. There… I said it. Now send the BOYZ your offers for those keepers slots.

> Final Draft Grade: F. Just a brutal draft. Lugo, Colon, Maybin, Buchholz, Francis, Cuddyer, Butler, Sheffield... no potential keepers drafted… not much in trade bait either. Hope for 09, it can’t be any worse…

> Final Season Grade: D. They did finish strong, and they do have more early picks than any other team, including Swine. This was their first year in fantasy baseball, so Blog will grade on a curve and keep the D- off the shelf, but there can never be another Wright trade in the BOYZ future. EVER.

> 2009 Outlook: No more excuses. The BOYZ have the picks to build a playoff team in 09, or if they can be patient and disciplined, to build up keepers and picks for the 2010 season. The potential is there for the BOYZ to really be a player in 09, either on the field or off, the choice is up to them.