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RotoWire's AL LABR Squad

Drafted my AL LABR Team on Saturday night. Here it is:

PosPlayerPrice
CJoe Mauer22
CDoug Mirabelli1
1BMorneau29
2BJose Lopez10
3BAlex Gordon21
SSCarlos Guillen30
CIMike Lamb9
MIJhonny Peralta16
OFJ.D. Drew11
OFTravis Buck14
OFJacque Jones8
OFBarry Bonds2
OFCraig Monroe1
UJason Giambi8
PFausto Carmona19
PA.J. Burnett19
PAndy Pettitte8
PNate Robertson7
PBobby Jenks21
PGio Gonzalez1
PGavin Floyd1
PGlen Perkins1
PJoey Devine1
RAndy Marte0
RBen Francisco0
RJeremy Reed0
RJacob McGee0
RJeff Larish0
RDan Meyer0

I'm happy with this team, but I made a couple mistakes.

What I did wrong

(1) I should have gone $11 on Pudge Rodriguez and skimped on Travis Buck. Mirabelli is a zero, and for $3 I could have gotten a part-time OF.

(2) I like Carlos Guillen a lot - especially because the two positions he plays (1B, SS), are extremely scarce in the AL this year, but I wish I had gone $30 on Jeter instead because he's more durable. If Guillen plays 150 games, this will be okay.

(3) I should have let Robertson go at 6 - I like him to bounce back given his ground ball tendencies and good K/BB numbers over his career, and the good lineup behind him, but it was a lot for a player coming off a down year.

(4) I went $8 on Giambi late, cause I had $16 left, and $9 was my max bid, and I wanted to deter bidding. Which worked, and it's a good value, in my opinion, but I was told later that people with money had their UTIL slots locked up, and I could have gotten him for less. That might have cost me Joey Gathright, who went for $6, and my team is slow and will need to acquire speed somewhere.

(5) The Giambi and Buck bids left me stuck with four $1 pitchers, though I think I got pretty good ones. Devine could close if Huston Streen gets hurt or is dealt, and Gio Gonzalez could be solid in that park if he wins the job. Floyd pitched better down the stretch last year and could take a leap forward - I tend to like struggling touted prospects as they mature.

(6) When Mauer was at 8, I said 22 and heard crickets. That might have been a mistake or it might not have. Vic Martinez went for 25, and Jorge Posada went for 18. And had I gone dollar for dollar, someone might have said 23. When you take a big leap, people can be paralyzed and not have time to decide before a player's sold. Of course, the incremental bidding might have stopped at 19. Still, happy with the value there.

(7) Same thing with Burnett. It was at 14, and I said "19" assuming he'd be low-20s. Crickets. I'm happy to have Burnett, but I wasn't necessarily targeting him. Injury history is the ONLY thing that worries me with him - otherwise, he's as good as any starter in the AL.

What I did right:

(1) I got top players at scarce positions like Mauer, Morneau, Guillen and Peralta.

(2) I have a lot of at-bats on my team with the only holes being C2, Bonds (who could be a steal) and Monroe (who could hit 12-15 HRs anyway).

(3) Jacque Jones (8) was a steal, and that he won't face lefties will only help his batting average.

(4) I got a top closer, which will allow me to compete in saves - if I just get anything else via the waiver wire or trade.

(5) Pettitte (8) was a steal.

(6) I did a decent job of $1 pitchers - Perkins, Gonzalez, Floyd and Devine are all upside plays. If they're terrible I can cut them, but all four have profit potential unlike an innings-eating mediocre vet who many people settled for with their $1 players.

(7) Francisco could see at-bats while I wait for Bonds. Marte is still young enough to pull a Brandon Phillips, i.e., forgotten top prospect makes good. Jeremy Reed is buried in Seattle, but he's also a former big-name prospect who's still young enough to emerge somewhere. Dan Meyer, too, if he can stay healthy. Larish and McGee are excellent prospects, though McGee's pretty young to make an impact this year.