Week 1 Roster Moves

There were a number of free agent moves in week 1.  This is fairly typical as teams that ran out of money or left the draft early are trying to solidify roster spots.  Heres a quick look around the league at the transactions that took place during the week of 3/24/14.

There were several drops made of players that are injured or not projected to be on the MLB roster this year.  One, in particular, stands out.  Dusty's Nustys managed to surprise us all by dropping Jhonathon Solano.  As you can see, he is devistated.  And yes, I did manage to find a picture of him. Much like giant talking M&Ms, he does exist.  Dropping Solano left the Nustys with exactly 0 catching options on the roster (which, to be honest, is what they had with Solano so its really a lateral movement, not a downgrade) and hinted that Dusty would be ponying up some FAAB for a new starting catcher.

FAAB Acquisitions:
SP Yordano Ventura - $20 - Bob's AutoTrackers (newly updated team name = Bob's intro profile is on the horizon!!!)  -- Ventura has been a huge buzzy prospect name floating around fantasy baseball circles over the past several weeks. He was named the Royals 5th starter and, according to some websites, will strike out everyone who tries to bat against him. Bob needed a solid 5th starter and paid for him.

OF Byron Buxton - $13 - Bob's AutoTrackers -- Buxton is the #1 overall prospect in baseball.  He might be a year or two away from making an impact but I know that Bob was very excited about the NA spots and wanted to get them filled ASAP.  Bob may have spent 1/3 of his FAAB budget before the season began, but he picked up two pretty solid players in doing so.

SP Chris Tillman - $10 - Dusty's Nustys -- Wait...what?!?  Does Tillman secretly play catcher and no one told the Orioles about it?  Because, if he doesnt, that means the Nustys will play all of week 2 without a catcher as well.  Thats not an encouraging start to the season.  That said, Tillman is solid but Dusty could have had him at the end of the draft for $1 and chose to go with 4th OFer Josh Willingham instead.

SP Ervin Santana - $4 - Merry Tyler's Moors -- This is a solid pick up.  Santana moves to the NL on a great team and should put up numbers that would require a salary much greater than $4.  To me, dropping Cole Hamels was the curious part of this move as he could have been stached on the DL.

RP (soon to be SP) Tanner Scheppers - $2 - MBAS -- Its a RP,SP guy?  I should probably have him on my team.  Really though, Scheppers is stepping into the opening day starter's role for the Rangers and should have every chance to stay in the rotation long term.  If not, he is a great ratio guy (Ks, WHIP, ERA) from the pen.

Hochevar learns he was picked up by Lester's Molesters
 and has to spend the season on the bench next to Lionel.

RP Luke Hochevar - $1 - Les Moles -- Sorry Tom. You must not have seen the news that Hochevar is down for the season with a serious elbow injury requiring Tommy John surgery.  At least it was only a buck.

RP Luke Gregerson - $1 - Merry Tyler's Moors -- I love when guys have two first names because you can switch them around and the name still works.  In this case Greg Lukerson, another solid ratio guy, should be a decent RP option especially pitching in Oakland.  He likely will never get the big chair at the end of games, but with saves+holds, he is a valuable addition.

SS Jhonny Peralta - $1 - The Zach Attack -- Peralta is the starting SS on what is possibly the best team in the NL (and i hate myself for thinking that, much less writing it).  He will help for our purposes because we dont lose points for our guys being fat or being bad at fielding baseballs. To get Peralta, Zach dropped Jonathon Villar.  I mention this only to include this picture.

OF Brett Gardner - $1 - MBAS --  With Springer and Tavares both being optioned to AAA, MBAS needed another warm body to stick in the OF.  $1 for decent OBP and steals is a nice parachute in case the Kole Calhoun experiment goes south.

RP JJ Hoover - $1 - Les Moles -- Hoover has been an above average RP for the past 2 seasons.  Another ratio guy who could get a few save opportunities with Chapman recovering from being hit by Debo.


Trades:
MBAS get SS Jose Reyes
Les Moles get SP/RP Tony Cingrani

Les Moles needed arms and has Ian Desmond at SS.  MBAS had a glut of arms and only Xander Bogaerts at SS.  Both players involved have question marks (Cingrani control, Reyes injuries), but needs aligned on this one that should be a benefit for each team.  Advantage: PUSH


Les Moles get RP Joe Nathan
MWP Masters get 3b Pedro Alvarez

I honestly have no idea what MWP is going for here.  Les Moles picks up a great RP who should garner a ton of saves and ks while posting solid ratios.  MWP gets a 3b to back up Ryan Zimmerman and leaves himself an RP short of having a full squad.  John, I know you like Tom and all, but you dont need to try that hard to show it. Advantage: Les Moles


The Zach Attack gets OF Ryan Braun, 2b/SS Brad Miller
Springfield Isotopes get OF Matt Kemp, SS Jhonny Peralta

Trading Places

Zach was able to turn a SS he just picked up for $1 and the DL'ed Kemp into Braun and a criminally underrated Miller. Strange how Kemp and Braun are repeatedly tied together and both come into the season with huge question marks and fairly high expectations.  The difference between them, for me, is that Kemp is already hurt and when he comes back, there is a log jam that means he may not have a clear path to regular playing time.  With Carl Crawford, Yasiel Puig, Andre Ethier and super prospect Joc Pederson waiting in the wings, Kemp may end up being the odd man out, or perhaps worse, end up as a platoon player.  In weekly leagues, that is an awful situation to be in.  As for the SS swap, Peralta will likely end up with the better lines, but not by much and Peralta is prone to random craptastical seasons.  Miller has decent contact skills and marginal power and speed.  With a clear path to the Mariners starting SS gig, Miller's floor is higher than Peralta's.  Also, I just checked spring stats on Miller...holy balls.  Spring stats are admittedly meaningless but he is hitting .463/.522/1.000 fo the spring.  I think that would be some kinda record. Advantage: Zach Attack

Harmony Division Preview

Zach's Team - Henceforth refered to as The Zack Attack (h/t to Saved By the Bell)
Just like Zach and Kelly, the Zach Attack went for the big stars early, winning Clayton Kershaw to anchor the rotation and Carlos Gonzalez to lead the offense.  Outside of those two, the team is very balanced with several players poised to reap huge gains over what they cost. 

BPB - 3b Manny Machado - $1 -  What?!?! Is that a typo? Thats the same Manny Machado that was a solid 3b last year as a 21 year old and will eventually move to SS making him even more valuable?  Yup...alright then...moving on.

BPO - OF Carlos Gonzalez - $60 - CarGo makes the offense go when he is in the lineup, but much like his Rockies teammate Tulo, CarGo can't manage to stay in the lineup for a full season.  Obviously, a player of his talents requires a sizeable investment, but he would need to stay in the lineup for 150 games to break even at this price.

Random Fact - If you put the letters on the back's of the jerseys for Samardzija and Saltalamacchia end to end, they would be taller than Jose Altuve.


Tyler's Team - Henceforth refered to as Merry Tyler's Moors
The MTM is one of only two teams in the league which did not take a single $1 player.  With so many interchangeable players, they will be the team least effected should an injury arise to one of their starters.  This team could have attractive trade bait come the deadline with Starlin Castro, Brett Lawrie, Aaron Hill, and Brian McCann all slated for the bench as of now.

BPB - 3b Kyle Seager - $8 - Seager was quietly one of the top young 3b in baseball last year.  Only 25, hes knocked 20+ HRs in each of the last 2 seasons and should only improve as the fences at Safeco have been moved in and the Mariners are fielding an actual Major League team this year.

BPO - OF Starling Marte - $31 - Marte has the speed, but his ability to hit for anything but single is a bit in doubt after his season ending wrist injury last year.  He may bounce back just fine, but an iffy minor league record raises large question marks.  As the third highest paid player on the team, those questions could become a problem.

Random Fact - The high school baseball coach at Tyler's high school was Jim Lindeman, former St. Louis Cardinal.  There is no one on Tyler's or anyone else's team that will come close to the awesomeness of one Jim Lindeman.

Backyard Superstars-
On offense, Kyler is counting on Joey Votto to continue to be Joey Votto, Justin Upton to remember he doesnt have to hit like Kate Upton and Yasiel Puig to continue to be Gozer the Destructor.  On the mound, Yu Darvish should continue his brilliance, but beyond that there are high power stud RPs (Kimbrell and Uehara) and unproven SPs with loads of potential (Garret Cole, Sonny Gray, Chris Archer).  Should the SPs realize their potential, this could be a playoff team.

BPB - SP Sonny Gray -$2 - By the end of last season, Sonny Gray was the top pitcher on the A's.  He has dominated at every stop of professional baseball and if he takes the next step, this will look like an all time steal.

BPO - OF Yasiel Puig - $36 - Puig was a stud last year. But now that the league has had a chance to digest him, will he see a fall off in year 2 similar to stud Cuban import Yoenis Cespedes?

Random Fact - Despite him pitching in the NL Central with Kyler's favorite team, Kyler thought Shelby Miller was actually a girl when he won him at auction.

MWP Masters
John won Jose Fernandez, and all the rest of our envy.  Jose Fernandez, for those of you that dont know, came to America on long journey that involved multiple attempts, jail, backstabbing Mexicans, and corrupt Federales.  After all that, dominating MLB hitters will continue to be as easy as it was last year.  Beyond Fernandez, MWPs two highest paid pitchers are RP (Nathan has since been traded for a completely unneeded Pedro Alvarez) .    MWP will need Tacoby Bellsbury to relive 2011 and Jason Kipnis to continue his ascent to the top of the MLB second base ladder.

BPB - 1b Albert Pujols - $5 - As Uncle Jimmy mentioned in the draft, 2010s head just exploded when Pujols went for $5. He had a down year, but he may be the greatest RH hitter in history and I wouldnt be surprised to see a rebound this year.

BPO - OF Ellsbury - $50 - I dont see any way that Ellsbury comes close to being worth this much.  His hits and steals will be there, but the OBP and power likely wont.  Maybe Yankee Stadium's short RF porch help bump his HR numbers up, but they would need to go way up to justify this cost.

Random Fact - This is my dream --"And so, Masahiro"Kamikaze" Tanaka, recently of the Rakuten Golden Eagles, knocks himself cold for the second time this week. Maybe in Japan that's actually better than catching the ball! Personally, I just think he's trying to get out of the lineup."


Lester's Molesters
LesMoles had to overcome some curious roster construction during the draft jsut to be able to field a whole team, but two early trades have helped to fill in the gaps.  On offense, Andrew McCutcheon, Joe Mauer and Evan Longoria form a great nucleus.  On the mound, David Price and Zack Greinke need to come up huge to lead this team.  One of the dangers of leaving the draft early is ending up with a player as bad as Dallas Kuechel or one as hurt as Patrick Corbin and needing to spend precious FAAB to right the wrong.  LesMoles needs to do some serious work to get into the playoff picture.

BPB - 2b Chase Utley - $7 - Utley isnt what he used to be, but he is still a second teir second sacker who went for a 5th teir price.

BPO - OF Andrew McCutcheon - $78 - The reigning NL MVP is a superstar.  But at $2 more than Miguel Cabrera, he will need to add to his last season's totals to break even on this cost.

Random Fact - At the end of the draft, Tom had spent $79 on players with only 3b eligibility.  Miguel Cabrera went for $76.

Bone Thugs Division Preview

You Can Call Me Al-
Uncle Jimmy put together a decently balanced team both on the field and with the payroll.  He has big power (Giancarlo Stantion), great speed (Jean Segura, Carlos Gomez), one of the best catchers in the game (Buster Posey) and a solid top three of the rotation (Cliff Lee, Max Scherzer, James Shields) that should keep him competitive every week through out the season.  He did this while not spending more than $39 on any one player.

Best Potential Bargain (BPB) - 3b prospect Kris Bryant - $6 - if he continues to destroy baseballs like he has at every stop, he will be the biggest bargain in the league at $6

Biggest Potential Overpay (BPO) - SS Jean Segura - $37 - Jean's second half was abysmal.  Which player is he? He could be the one that tore the NL apart in the first half, but he could be the one who was borderline ML caliber in the second.

Random Comment - How can a die hard, born and raised Cub fan like you, Uncle Jimmy, have a Cardinal in your starting lineup?  I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.


Dusty's Nustys-
Dusty used the little seen strategy of missing the first part of the draft to acquire his biggest studs.  Starting off a team with both Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout will give you lots of ammuntion in any league.  But Dusty then followed it up with Chris Davis, Troy Tulowitzki, Will Myers, Jose Bautista, Ian Kinsler and a rebounding Chase Headley.  The staff is almost entirely reclaimations (Tim Lincecum, Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker, Phil Hughes) but if he can get just a couple of pitching categories a week, the Nustys should be competitive. 

BPB - P Tim Lincecum - $1- This would be Headley at $7, but he is blocked by Cabrera at 3b and Davis at 1b.  Lincecum isnt the World Eating Cy Young winning stud he used to be, but he can still be a reliable pitcher.  If he gets his BB/9 rate under control, he will turn a massive profit on $1.

BPO - SS Troy Tulowitzki - $52 - Tulo is one of the best SS in the game when he is healthy.  But he missed large portions of pretty much every season since little league and in a weekly lineup format, an injury on Monday or Tuesday can torpedo an entire week.

Random Comment - WTF is a Jhonathon Solano?  Answer- Dusty's only current option at Catcher.  I dont think that even the Washington Nationals know who he is, and they sign his paycheck.


Springfield Isotopes-
Jerad always has to try to one up his friends.  In this case, where Dusty missed the first few minutes of the draft, Jerad skipped the entire thing.  That led to the Isotopes having 10 players with actual salaries and 13 $1 players.  Despite this, it is a surprisingly decent team led by the OF trio of Bryce Harper, Adam Jones, and Ryan Braun.  The hitting will be strength of this team as it carries only 1 SP and 1 RP above the minimum salary, but Hiroki Kuroda, AJ Burnett, and Zach Wheeler could be solid enough to help this team avoid the basement.

BPB - P Zach Wheeler - $1 - Wheeler has Ace type upside.  This may not payoff this year, but if Jerad keeps Wheeler at $1, he will be able to continue splurging on offense.

BPO- OF Adam Jones - $53 - This pains me as Jones is my favorite MLBer right now, but in this format, a low OBP player like Jones has to do a ton in the SLG department to off set his in ability to walk.  Jones has displayed a number of skills in his time in the league, but being selective with pitches has not been one of them.

Random Comment - Despite already having 3 OF and no SP, the computer still bid up $15 on OF Josh Hamilton coming off a down year.  That might end up being a great price, but I am sure Jerad would have rather had a $15 SP than Hamilton.

Bob's AutoTrackers-
Bob's top 4 pitchers might be the best foursome in the league.  Jordan Zimmerman, Adam Wainwright, Hisashi Iwakuma and Chris Sale are going to give the Auto Trackers a chance on the pitching side every week.  If Alex Rios, Elvis Andrus and Billy Hamilton live up to expectations, Bob will have the SB category wrapped up most weeks as well.  As long as he gets some walks and some pop from the rest of the lineup, Bob is going to be in great shape.

BPB- 1b Jose Abreu - $2 -  The word on the street is that Abreu has 30 HR power and could get to .275 with the average.  If either of those things work out, Bob will have a tough decision to make in regards to his mancrush, Anthony Rizzo.

BPO- OF Billy Hamilton - $30 - Hamilton is basically Vince Coleman 2.0.  He could either steal 130 bases, get 130 at bats or get arrested (stay strong VC).  If he struggles to get on base, his OBP and SLG suck could make it difficult to justify keeping him in the lineup even with the SBs.  $30 for a bench warmer would be a tough pill to swollow.

Random Comment - Bob tried to bid on every single Cub or former Cub that came up for auction.

Mark Baker All Stars-
The MBAS went pitching heavy and will feature (thanks to the ridiculous SP,RP designation) 7 starters in any given week.  With Felix Hernandez, Justin Verlander, Madison Bumgarner, Andrew Cashner, Danny Salazar, Jered Weaver, and Michael Wacha slated to go every week MBAS is definietly punting the saves+holds category.  All that pitching came at the expense of the OF, as other than Jason Heyward and Jayson Werth, the MBs will be counting on Kole Calhoun, propsects George Springer or Oscar Tavares or a wavier pick up to hold down the third spot.

BPB- P Matt Harvey - $7-  Harvey is down for this season with Tommy John surgery, but was one of the best SPs in baseball last season.  If Harvey can come back strong, $7 for a perenial Cy Young candidate will be a great price.

BPO - 1b Paul Goldschmidt - $60 - That is not a typo.  Goldschimdt is one of the best 1b in the game, but others like Chris Davis, Joey Votto and Freddie Freeman went for nearly $20 cheaper each.  Goldschmidt will need to continue to hit .300 with 30+ HRs and 10+ steals to make out even.

Random Comment: This is likely the youngest team in the league as, apparently, my default is "YOUNG GUY!!!! BID!!!"

Divisions

Well folks, the divisions now have names.  In the spirit of the Big Ten and their failed "Leaders" and "Legends" division names, I have decided that we will go with "Bone Thugs" -n- "Harmony".

I tried to get the natural rivalries into divisions together.  So, Mark Baker Allstars will be in the Bone Thugs division with Call Me (Maybe?) Al, and AT Bob.  Joining us will be Dusty's Nustys and Jerad's Isotopes.

In the "Harmony" division will be the 3 way love triangle of Kyler, Zach (Kyler's roomie), and Tyler (Zach's brother).  Joining them will be the duo voted most likely to have an actual fight over this league, Tom's Molesters and John's MWP Masters.

Jerad - Springfield Isotopes

You know when you know someone so well that you feel that you understand the essence of that person?  That is how I feel about my long time close friend Jerad.
Jerad has a great, yet twisted sense of humor from watching way too many episodes of the Simpsons growing up.  And he developed a bit of a rebelious streak as he continuously refused to listen to his parents ordering him not to watch said Simpsons and constantly asked his mom if she would call places looking for Amanda Huggenkis. 
Unfortunately, Jerad sometimes can be a bit unreliable and forgetful (Dear Jerad, the draft happened.  Thanks for coming.  Sincerely, Everyone Else), but like his kindred spirit Yogi Berra, these bouts of absentmindedness only serve to make him more dear to everyone who knows him.  I mean, really, he might be tough to love, but hes ours.  Never change Jerad.


(*** The above information was gleaned from the 0 times that I have ever met Jerad or talked to him or been in the same physical or electronic location)

John - MWP Masters

In case you werent paying attention during the draft, John and Tom know each other fairly well.  Like, sit next to each other everyday for at least 8 hours at Fastenal kinda well, undoubtedly talking about their facial hair, because, well, John has immaculate facial hair.

I spent a lot of time (way way too much actually) trying to figure out what MWP means, and the best I could do on my own was Mustache With Pinache.  So I googled it and hit the jackpot seen to the right here.  John's Money, Weed and Pussy Masters may very well be the leader in the team name contest that didnt exist until just now.  Mad props John.  Now just make sure that Lil Cezer doesnt go all Brutus on you.

Kyler - Backyard Super Stars

It takes a special man to name his entry after a barbeque sauce, and Kyler is that special man.  Equal parts saucy and sweet, Kyler is gentle enough to play very well with children but passionate enough to "turn you into a fucking tree" if you disagree with one of his core beliefs.

Kyler was born in Wisconsin and loves his home state Packers and Brewers, some might say too much.

If the above sounds like a personal ad...well...thats because it is.  it may or may not be the add that I just put on Match.com under the title "Back'yard' Super Star" with Kyler's picture and email but with a totally made up location.  So Kyler, if you dont get any responses, its totally because I didn't do it, not because the people there don't find you attractive.  They do. They really do.

Tom - Lester The Molester

Tom lives in Winona and works at Fastenal with my wife.  I know Tom mainly from outside gathering at random people's homes involving some kind of cooked meat.  And let me tell you, this man has a way with meat.  Like really...the brats and brat patties he made were delicious.

I recently found out (from the picture he posted for his team this morning) that he is able to craft his facial hair in ways that would make most clowns seem warm and friendly while at the same time looking vaguely Macho Man Randy Savage-ish, even though Macho Man never had a Fu Manchu.  OOOOOO YEAHHHHHHHH!

From now on, when I think of molesters, I will think of Tom and of this picture of Lionel Richie.  Congrats Tom.

Uncle Jimmy- You Can Call Me Al

Uncle Jimmy is my daughter's God Father and I was best man in his wedding.  Born and raised in Rolling Meadows, he was lucky enough to be on the side of town that sent kids to Fremd HS. He now lives in Chicago (soon to be Wheeling) and his job involved something to do with managing Yellow Cabs.  When I tell people that Uncle Jimmy from Chicago works for the cab company, they immediately assume that he is part of "the family." 

Uncle Jimmy loves the Blackhawks and has been seen wearing the same, white, University of Iowa hat since roughly 1998, which, coincidentally, was the last time that anyone outside of work saw his hair.

Once, while visiting Winona, a slightly drinky Uncle Jimmy was abducted by a car full of possibly underage kids who were looking for some beer.  Despite the liquor store being roughly 4 blocks away, Jimmy was not seen for about 4 hours and when he got back he refused to talk about where he'd been.  Now...I'm not saying alien abduction, but it was obviously an alien abduction.

Also, he has been known to walk up to random strangers and say "Fuck that Garfunkel" and walk away without another word.

Commish - Louie - Mark Baker All Stars

It is I, your Commish!  Depending on how and/or how long you have known me, I am either Lou or Louie.  I am old and curmudegony.  I currently live in StCharles (pronounced as all one word), MN though I was born and rasied in the greater Palatine, Hoffman Estates, Barrington, IL area.  I enjoy da Bears, urban Gorilla maulings and awesomely terrible movies.  I dislike, yet respect, the Packers in the same way that competitive siblings feel about one another.  I think that everyone who has ever been or ever will be on the Vikings has a strange fetish involving a 9-iron, a water buffalo and some ice chips.  Everyone, that is, except Adrian Peterson.  He and I are very similar in that we both piss excellence, we are both in great shape and my wife wears jerseys with each of our names and numbers on the back.

I have a nearly 3 year old daughter and another on the way, due at the end of May.  Both of their names start with the letter C.  I would be lying if I told you that I have never thought about them starting a musical group and calling it C+C Music Factory.

Meet the Tot Heads

Over the next few days, I will try to post small biographies about each person in the league. Because many of you don't know one another, I thought it would be cool to have something that we can refer back to when we are imagining our opponents standing across the fake baseball diamond while watching our fake teams. The only problem with that is that I dont know some of you, and even some of you that I do know, I don't know very well.

Luckily, I have never really let not knowing something get in the way. So, for these "biographies" I will be including some facts, some third hand knowledge and a few blantanly false and made up information. If I offend you from something I write about you, let me know and I will take it down. I will probably make fun of you later for it, but at least that won't be in a public forum.


Also, if you are too lazy to make your team name something other than "(your name's) Team), then I am going to be too lazy to introduce you to everyone else.

Free Agency

Free Agency and the waiver wire...the respite of the poor sucker who screws the pooch so hard in the auction that he cannot help but replace as many of his players as he can in a futile attempt to erase the feelings of failure.

Should you find yourself in this situation, the waiver wire will function thusly:
- All players wil default to the waiver wire each week and waivers will be processed on Tuesdays or Wednesdays (I don't recall which) and players will be available to use the next week.
- Each of us has $100 in Free Agent Acquisition Bucks (FAAB).  If you would like to pick up a player off of waivers, you bid from your FAAB reserve.  The player who bids the highest gets the player and the bid is deducted from $100.  The $100 is for the entire season.  Once you use it, you cannot pick up any more players.

Should you want to keep one of these rejects, his keeper salary will be double whatever sum of FAAB you paid for him.

Example: Say Albert Pooholes (I know its wrong, but it feels so right) makes it through the auction and starts the season hot.  If Kyler bids $35 and wins him, then were he to want to keep Prince Albert, he would cost $70 towards the following season and every subsequent season Kyler were to keep him.

Auction

The draft will be auction style.  One person will nominate a player and a salary. Others can then bid.  After 30 seconds, the person with the highest bid gets the player. Then the next person in line nominates another player.

Each team will have $400 to bid on their roster of 25 players.  Each player must have a minimum salary of $1.  For future seasons, keeper costs remain the same.  If you get a steal on a guy, keep him forever at the same cost.  The keeper cost would be deducted from the $400 total each season.

Rosters

Since this is a weekly set league, i wanted to have rosters that would reflect a reasonable version of an actual team.


Everyone will start 8 position players (OFers are not seperated by position; all they do is loaf around and catch easy flyball anyways), 5 SPs, and 5 RPs each week.  Each team will also have 5 bench spots and 2 NA spots.

The NA spots are new to Yahoo this year.  You can use them to hide players on the DL (over the 1 DL slot) while not clogging up your bench, but my purpose for putting them on there was to add the possibility of carrying minor leaguers on your roster if you wanted to.  With this being a dynasty league, I thought we should have the option of rostering young upcomers without hurting the team.  You can of course, carry more than 2 at a time, but then they would eat into your bench spots.

With 25 spots on each team, keepers will be set at 10.  This way, your team will still be your team, but there will still be great players available every season in the draft. 

Welcome Tot Heads

When I was creating the league, I don't actually remember calling it Tater Tot.  I am guessing that I was extremely hungry and, well, tater tots are delicious.  Fast forward a couple of weeks to yesterday, when I was starting to send out invites to you all and I immediately questioned my decision to name our hopefully long running league after small chunks of fried spuds.

Then, the ideas started coming in waves...and they were glorious.

First, Tot Heads, because it sounds vaguely similar to something that also inbues a certain fantastical devotion. Also, identifying yourself as a Tot Head will confuse people and that's always entertaining.

Spoils of Victory!

Then, as I was thinking about what the league champ should get for winning, I remembered that Tater Tot Crowns are an actual thing.  So, the winner of the league will get 1 bag of Tater Tot Crowns from me.  My hope is that this bag of tater tots will become a Stanley Cup of sorts, with the winner taking it places and snapping pictures which will then be posted on this very blog.  Dont ruin my dream, people.

As for the team that finishes in last place, they shall be called the Stolons (potato root) for the next season. 

With the league being a weekly roster set, i figured that during the week I would post updates and commentary and call it the "Hot Dish."  Yes, I am a huge dork.  Thanks for asking.


A couple other things... This year's draft will definitely be online, but i would like if somehow we could arrange a weekend that would involve drinking and drafting during future March months.  If we are, the Stolons for the upcoming season would be responsible for the first 3 cases of beer (roughly $50) for being turrible at everything.  As we all know, fantasy sports is everything.