Playoffs?!? PLAYOFFS?!?

Yes, indeed, PLAYOFFS. Team Fragile aka The Fantasy Claw aka TEAM TURN IT ON went 36-6-2 down the stretch to vault into a playoff slot in the world-renowned Beck family fantasy baseball league. An amazing feat, no doubt; I finished two places higher than I predicted I would (sixth instead of eighth). However, it's clear looking back at my April commentary that I had no idea what I was doing on draft day.

Let's reflect on some of my post-draft, preseason analysis of Team Fragile (originally named Team Karkovice).

Round Two: "I have a serious man crush on [Miguel] Cabrera, so I couldn't help myself here. I ignored the fact that he will have nothing for protection in the lineup, which will probably cost me. "

Hmmm. Dan Uggla, Mike Jacobs, Hanley Ramirez, Josh Willingham, etc., etc. They've all hit pretty well, especially Uggla.

Round Three: Jake Peavy goes two picks before mine, so I settle for Roy Halladay.

I cried like a girl with skinned knees when Peavy was snatched off the board. I had to settle for Halladay's 16-5 record while watching Peavy put up nearly two losses for each win for ChiSox fanatic Pat Beck's team. So yeah, my Peavy statements make me look stupid, but Pat and Peavy are holding hands in the consolation round, which makes up for it.

Round Four: "Should Todd Helton respond with a healthy season, he might be THE steal at No. 32."

Hmmpfh. (That's how I spell a stifled laugh.) Each round, I identified guys I almost took instead of the guy I eventually picked. This round? Travis Hafner. Oops.

Round Five: "Another pitcher, and one whose team won't win 58 games, for Scott Motors."

I was talking about Dontrelle Willis. His Florida Marlins, going into tonight, were actually a game above .500 at 69-68.

Round Six: "Is [Johnny] Damon seriously the best OF I could find on the board? Yikes. I like Tim Hudson. If the best I could do was Damon, I should have waited another round on OF and taken Hudson. (He went No. 60.) Still pissed about Peavy. Cabrera can't console me."

There are so many things wrong with that paragraph. Damon ended up being arguably my best hitter behind Cabrera. Hudson was terribly average. I'm still crying about a guy who ended up not pitching well, and I've reiterated my man-crush on Cabrera. Yikes.

Round Seven

Nothing to quote here, but this is the round where Ryan Howard was drafted. He's no Todd Helton, though.

Round Eight: "Chris Ray sucks."

31 saves, 2.93 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 2 wins. Yeah, terrible. He's no Huston Street ...

Round Nine: "[Huston] Street is going to save 48 games this year. Write it down."

29 saves, 3.22 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 4 wins. He's WAY better than Chris Ray. Street needs to save 19 of Oakland's last 25 games to hit my prediction. Seeing as he's on the DL, it's a long shot (write THAT down).

Round Twelve: I draft Zack Duke.

Ouch.

Round Fourteen: "Coco Crisp (probably as good as Damon, who I took in Round Six)."

Probably not.


So how did I get in the playoffs?

Some decent drafting: Cabrera, Halladay, Francisco Rodriguez, Damon, Mike Mussina (in Round 16), and Street (for the most part) have been great. Posada, M. Young, and Chad Tracy have been consistent.

Free agency: Jon Papelbon within the first few days of the season was huge. I also grabbed T. Saito once it was clear Gagne was toast. As the year went on, I scooped up Bill Hall, Uggla, Brett Myers (not long after the alleged assault), Jered Weaver (while he was back in the minors), Chien-Ming Wang, and most recently (and arguably most importantly) Carlos Delgado.

So now I'm facing Matt, the defending champion, and if I get by him, I face the team I predicted as league champion way back in April.

Given that prediction, I suddenly like my chances.