BABI 2005 Auction All-Star Team, 6/10

I’ve got the Belmont Stakes pre-game show on TV in the background. By the time I’m done, the race may be too. At 3:05, as I write this, I’m predicting Afleet Alex easily. His run in the Preakness was one of the most impressive ever, recovering from a serious foul at the top of the stretch to blow away all comers. I’ve been to 4 Belmonts, won by Riva Ridge (72), Secretariat (73), Little Current (74) and Affirmed (78). Little Current is not well remembered, but he came in 4th in the Derby after a very rough ride, and then destroyed the field in both the Preakness and Belmont. Riva Ridge lost only the Preakness, a great horse from (I think) the same stable as Secretariat.

Of course Secretariat and Affirmed won two of the most storied races ever. Secretariat was Bob Beamon squared: the best race horse ever on his best day. He broke the track record by 2-1/2 seconds, and it still stands today 32 years later. Affirmed beat another great horse, Alydar, by a nose as they went around the mile and a half head to head from beginning to end. Alydar came in second in all three triple crown races, and ultimately had more success as a stud horse than his rival Affirmed.

OK, back to baseball. I’m still blown away by our first place Lickers, who purchased 23 guys in the auction, keeping only Mesa at $23 and Grudz at $7. Decent prices, but nothing too special. I started wondering how many good auction prices there were.

I did a little spreadsheet analysis today. I picked out the BABI All-Stars who were purchased in the 2005 Auction. No keepers are listed here. Of course, there are some close calls, but I’ve put together a 25 man team with proper positions which cost in the auction $276. I’ll admit, the catchers are weak, third base was thin, and I’ve got 3 closers listed who did not start the season as the closer. In fact, one was purchased by the Leaguers for a buck and was waived. But it’s a hell of a team:

C – Jason Phillips 7 (Pecklers)
C – Damian Miller 1 (Cartel)
1B – Nick Johnson 15 (Bums)
3B – Joe Randa 13 (Pounders)
CI – Tony Clark 1 (Cappers)
2B – Felipe Lopez 2 (Cappers)
SS – Omar Vizquel 17 (Bums)
MI – Chase Utley 13 (Hobo)
OF – Pat Burrell 29 (Cappers)
OF – Mike Cameron 19 (Cappers)
OF – Carlos Lee 38 (Pounders)
OF – Willie Taveras 19 (Pounders)
OF – Milton Bradley 23 (Pecklers)
OF – Jason Ellison 1 (Lickers)
U – Darrel Ward 3 (Falkuhns)
P1 – Pedro Martinez 30 (Pecklers)
P2 – Dontrelle Willis 14 (Any 9)
P3 – Brett Myers 2 (Cappers)
P4 – Glendon Rusch 1 (Leaguers)
P5 – Mark Redman 6 (Cartel)
P6 – Adam Eaton 14 (Cartel)
P7 – John Patterson 2 (Lickers)
P8 – Brian Fuentes 1 (Leaguers, waived)
P9 – Chris Reitsma 3 (Falkuhns)
P10 – Derrick Turnbow (Old Rips, traded)

Some of these guys might not be on the list at the end. And there are lots of guys who almost made this list. The Lickers’ entire pitching staff almost made it: Hernandez, Davis, Marquis, Capuano and even Loaiza could have been listed instead of Redman or Eaton. You might disagree with a few of these guys, but check out the totals compared to the current first place team in each category:

Homers – 109 v. 95
RBI’s – 418 v. 365
Steals – 66 v. 60
BA - .302 v. .292
Wins – 48 v. 43
Saves – 20 v. 34
ERA – 2.58 v. 3.49
WHIP – 1.090 v. 1.241

This team is in first place in every category except saves, and with 3 current closers (well maybe Reitsma is the closer in Atlanta), these guys might end up in first by season’s end. Remember, closers were non-existent in the auction (only Billy Wagner and General Tsao were available, and Wagner went for 36).

It goes to show it can be done. It’s just not very easy. Well done, Lickers. It will be interesting to see how many of the above players get traded between now and the end of the season. As of now, they are all solid keepers.

Afleet Alex just blew away the field in the Belmont from behind. Great horse. Easy money.