Bad Drafts and Bone Head Trades

Josh Raup is

The Minister of Strat Mayhem

Volume I, Number 2

January 22, 2001

Bad Drafts and Bone Head Trades

OK, we’ve all made one or two, and made some odd choices come draft day. It happens, we’re human, and we make mistakes. It’s just that some are bigger disasters than others. I should know, I’ve made my share (and your share, and Phil’s share), and even was able to victimize someone once. I just have that knack for getting screwed over by players I trade away.

The Ballad of Mark McGwire

Mark McGwire was an “original” member of my Strato team. I had inherited my team from one (now infamous) Oleg Verlinsky. The team was coming off a championship season, and had a good core to work with. Unfortunately, McGwire had one of his off years, hitting about .240, and only played in about 100 games. Not that great, so I went out and stocked up at first base, drafting Wally Joyner and playing him and Cecil Fielder over McGwire and Grace (DOH! I was young, I was inexperienced, I was a fool).

I got one good season out of McGwire (.298, 54HR, 120RBI), before he had foot trouble again. Sigh. Another season of him riding the pine, and taking up roster space. I knew then, that if I traded him or released him, he would go out and hit .300 with a gazillion HRs. Unfortunately, he was a valuable commodity, and I was having OF problems. SO, in a momentary lapse of reason (apologies to Pink Floyd), I traded him away. Uh-oh, can you see it coming yet?

I traded him the year he split between Oakland and St.Louis. A good year to be sure, which increased his value. Even so, I thought I was getting the best of that deal. I mean, yeah Mac had a great year, but only half was in St.Louis. He’ll never get more than 35HR playing half his games in Busch Stadium. Uh-huh, sure….oh, the pain!

So, I ship McGwire off to a divisional rival, for Salmon and a draft pick. Here I am smug in my confidence over this deal, then that infamous season. Mac and Sammy duel it out for most ridiculous number of homers. Mac hits .290+ with 72 homers. Ugh. I just knew this would happen. And, just to add insult to injury, Salmon has a foot problem, and has a decidedly off year. Great. Another one for the books.

Getting the best of someone

Yes, even I, the master of screwing himself, has gotten the better of a deal. The worst thing is, I didn’t even make the offer. Now, to protect the guilty, names have been changed, just so you know. It was draft day a few years ago. A flurry of calls were being made between the various players, trying to work out that killer deal. So, one guy, let’s call him Al (OK, so I didn’t change any names, deal with it), calls me. He says, “I’ll send you Paul O’Neill, Omar Vizquel, and a pick for Bernard Gilkey, and another Pick.” Sure, Gilkey was pretty good that year (his last good year), but even still, this was an opportunity. Needless to say, I jumped all over it.

I got a couple of good years out of O’Neill, and Viz has been a mainstay at short for me since then. I even managed to move O’Neill on this past season (with Andy Ashby) for Darrin Erstadt (and Darren Dreifort). So, I’ve certainly gotten some good value out of that deal. I’m quite pleased with myself for agreeing to it. That and the sly comments I’ve gotten from other players over it. One of my more shining moments.

There of course have been others, Kelly Gruber for Jeff Russel, but those two are perhaps the biggest of my “career.” Even so, we’ve all made at least one really bad trade. Something that seemed so slick at the time, only to blow up in your face a few months later. But hey, thems the breaks.

Oh those Draft Day woes

Ahhh, draft day. That regular rite of spring (or at least mid February). That day of tensions, false faces, and conniving owners scheming to get the most out of the day. Yeah, I love the smell of cardboard in the afternoon. Smells like, Strato.

Almost always, I go into the draft with my list in hand. I base it on my priorities, and the cards themselves. Almost inevitably, I throw it out after the second round. Then it’s all flying by the seat of my pants. Fun, and thoroughly dangerous.

Sure, some of my choices make me look like a genius. I picked up Ugeth Urbina in the late rounds, with everyone asking me why. Ha. This guy throws around 100mph, has decent control, and if they ever wake up in Montreal, will be a great reliever. Guess what, he is. Ha. Charlie Nagy’s first year in our league was memorable. He won 21 games, helping my team to a 114-45 record. Of course, I only got one more season out of him. Oh well.

My big problem comes with “prospects.” I have a long list of failures in that department. Todd Dunwoody, Mark Lewis, and a slew of others. They just never seem to pan out for me. I’m better when I’ve actually seen a guy play. That way I have an idea of how he’ll perform at the ML level. Even then, I tend to make mistakes, usually big ones.

I have made some good choices, Damion Easley in the 10^th round, or Thome as a part time 3B in the 6^th round his rookie year. I’ve also made some real winners, Jerry Spradlin in the 5^th, Steve Kline in the 2^nd, or taking Tom Brunansky at all. I’m the original hit or miss guy.

That inevitable summary

Once again, we have reached the end of another exciting and informative column. Wait, are we reading the same column as written? Alright fine, be that way. So, drafts and trades. We’ve all made good ones, and some real “for the books” winners that still haunt us. It happens, and as much as we may try to deny it, we’ll do it again.

Sure, we’d all love to make that something for nothing deal, getting the best of that hated rival. Chances are that we’ll just end up trading junk for junk, or even worse, giving away that diamond for some magic beans. Good thing I like beans…

The Minister for Strat Mayhem is Josh Raup

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