Somewhere in between my seasonal drunken haze of the past week and my overdosing of college basketball, my team in the Through the Fence Baseball major-league fantasy draft randomly drew the number-one pick. I did not think much about it for the first few days because, obviously, I had other concerns (green beer and busted brackets) at the time. However, now I am sitting back and trying to decide exactly who I should go with at number one, and guess what? It is not as easy of a pick as you would think.
The league has 14 teams, so after my first pick I do not have another until pick 28 so a bad decision at one could really hurt my chances of winning. Do I take a chance with an oft-injured player in hope that his dominance at his position sets me ahead of the other teams in the league? Do I take last year’s number-one overall player, Matt Kemp? Should I expect more of the same for Pujols or will age and a new league have a negative impact on him? Should I take the home-run king from Toronto, even though I have hated on him in year’s past? There are so many questions and only a few days to decide.
Trying to decide between Tulo, Kemp, Albert, Bautista and Braun has been like choosing what girl to take to the prom for me. I know I am going to be judged on this decision for at least a year, and, in some cases, maybe even longer. Do I really want Team Owen Wilson’s Nose looked at five years from now as the bozo that took Tulo first, even though he played only half a season, or Pujols first and he had the worst season of his career? Oh, the pressure is mounting!!!
In fantasy sports, it is very important to use your head and not your heart. It can be complicated as a fan but you have to choose talent over personal feelings. For instance, I would love to not have any Braves on my squad because of my allegiance to the Phillies, but I am not dumb enough to not draft Brian McCann if he is available. Luckily for me, none of the top players are considered big-time rivals to the Phils, but still, the decision is hard. I guess I will just have to make an educated guess and roll with it. Let’s hope that the Luck of the Irish doesn’t haunt me.
I’m open to suggestions, so let me hear them in the comments section.