One word - Matsuzaka.
You can call him Dice-K all you want. I choose to be more respectful. This guy can pitch.

I know it's only April and it's only the third inning, but if I were to go to any game I would hope he was on the mound.

I can already see him as the Rookie of the Year, this being the third game of the season - he's a lock. Though anyone on the Royals could make a bid.

This has been a fun start to the season, even with Schilling poor outing and Mike Lowell's uncharacteristic errors. Don't worry about Lowell, he'll still end up under 10 for the year.

I can already see good things for J.D. Drew and only wish I had the chance to get him in the draft. The front four are on base so many times he can only reap the benefits. Bonus: he plays a mean outfield. He makes playing right look easy, well at least in Kansas City.

Speaking of the draft. I did poorly.

Not my best showing. Why? Well, it helps if you are present for the whole affair. I had to leave. After 5 1/2 hours I had to take care of my children so my wife (who was on-call could go to work).
So I left the auction needing 10 players. 10!

I was able to make some selections but not until everyone else had filled their squad. A total of 360 players were gone by the time I was able to fill the vacancies.

On the bright side, I had gotten some pretty good players before my departure.

My team in a nutshell:
(* - picked after the other 14 teams had filled their positions and reserves)

C - Michael Barrett
*C- Mike Redmond (thought Joe Mauer would start at DH)
1B - Derek Lee (big comeback year)
2B - T. Iguchi (not a good start, a bit worried here)
3B - Garrett Atkins (when it's all said and done, Coors still helps)
SS - Bill Hall (35 homers last year - I'll take 25 from my SS)
*MM - Adam Kennedy (Hey, he's got an everyday job and I need steals)
*CM - Wes Helms (he too plays everyday, can't hurt)
*UT - Dimitri Young (Travis who? Meathook will be just fine)
Okay so my infield isn't all bad. I got Kennedy, Young and Helms during, what I call the hang over period.

It's my outfield I worry about.
OF - Carlos Beltran (Already smoking)
OF - Brad Hawpe (he's a bit beaten up but I like him)
*OF - Trot Nixon (he was an after thought and I like Cleveland's offense)
*OF - Nelson Cruz (He's going to play, right?)
*OF - Kevin Mench (in a platoon with Jenkins, please find a trading partner)

See what I mean.
Oh and then there's my pitching staff.
SP - Carlos Zambrano (I can't believe he's already disappointing)
SP - Dan Haren (diamond in the rough, you've got to like Oakland's Ps)
SP - AJ Burnett (I thought he'd bounce back, now I'm not so sure)
*SP - Tom Gorzelanny (Last year I had pittsburgh's Snell, this year Gorzelanny - we'll see. Struck out 8 Yankees in last spring training game)
*SP - Jeff Francis (had him last year, but WHIP is a concern)
*SP - Jeremy Sowers (Can't believe he was left over)
RP - BJ Ryan (I should own saves)
RP - Huston Street (see above comment)

Reserves:
*OF - Nook Logan (already on DL) I knew that Logan wouldn't last the year but the first week 0 ouch!)
*OF - Lastings Milledge (Can someone take him from the Mets)
*OF - Josh Hamilton (with such a good spring, Reds need him in the lineup)
*C - Ruiz (He'll be starting soon, for me)
*2B - Mark Grudzielanek (he too may be starting, I don't need steals as much as hits)

Considering where I picked up these guys, I didn't do that bad. But when I look at the standings I see that I'm in last place. The funny thing about that - it's not the guys I picked up after the draft that are hurting me. Instead it's AJ Burnett (ERA: 27.00; WHIP 4.50) and Carlos Zambrano (ERA 9.00; WHIP 2.60). Two guys I hoped would get off to a huge start. So much for the first week.

I'm already in desperate need of help and will undoubtedly have to trade some of the big guys to fill some obvious holes.

Any suggestions?

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