Adrian and Brandon think I ought to apply for the now-vacant Pirates General Manager position (as I am looking for work in the Pittsburgh area, of course), and I just might. Above all else the Pirates need an evaluator of talent in their GM role, and I suppose my success in Fantasy Baseball does speak for itself. I could argue in the last few years I've drafted Chase Utley, Hanley Ramirez, Russ Martin, Justin Morneau, Jason Bay and Victor Martinez. Quite a formidable line-up. The Pirates hitters they've drafted include Brad Eldred and Chris Duffy (who are for all intents and purposes out of baseball) plus Ronny Paulino, Nate McLouth and Ryan Doumit (terrible, fourth outfielder, and Mr. Glass).
I've pulled off a few nifty trades, too: Chone Figgins from Piper for pennies last year (if I remember right). K-Rod from Dre last year, and then Josh Beckett and Fausto Carmona for slugger Adam Dunn from Dre this year. Adding those guys to a pitchers Gorzo, Snell, Maholm and Capps looks pretty slick.
But my biggest qualification has to be my ability to develop pitchers. In Jake Peavy's second year on my club he's turned into a top-10 pitcher. I'll admit I let Dan Haren go too soon, but I knew two years ago that he would be the pitcher he is today. And to continue to point out that I'm moderately good at something prefaced by the word "fantasy," I'll say I'm pretty happy that I passed on Poo-Holes this year to take Johan Santana no. 1 overall (although that A-Rod guy would've been a good choice, too). And, be it Takashi Saito, Brad Lidge, Huston Street, Joe Nathan or J.J. Putz, I have a knack for knowing which set-up man has the stuff to be the next big closer.
Unfortunately it is called "Fantasy Baseball" for a reason, but I haven't a doubt that my Yahoo skills would translate into the "real baseball" world. If it's alright with you guys, Dre, Piper and Zeke, I will be using you as my references, and when Bob Nutting calls, just say something along the lines of "Jon Dodd dominates us year in and year out. He'll do the same with the NL Central."
...OK, now that I'm done with my trash talking that may or may not be legit (since I currently sit in second place behind Matt Wright and only tied for first with Dre last year... but that was preceded by a championship in 2005--yeah, nevermind, the trash-talking's legit) I am pretty stoked to return to PNC Park tonight for my first Pirate game in ages. Partially I haven't gone because I've been busy, but there's also been that hesitance to totally root (root, root) for the home team since rooting for the Pirates has previously meant supporting Dave Littlefield and the general buffoonery that goes on in the Pirates front office. With changes happening, I can at least hope it will get better.
Tony Armas starts tonight against the Brewers, so we'll need to score a lot. But hey, with Littlefield gone anything can happen.
Bob Nutting: "Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce the new Pirates GM, Jon Dodd."
Me: "Segways and iPhones for everyone!"
I've pulled off a few nifty trades, too: Chone Figgins from Piper for pennies last year (if I remember right). K-Rod from Dre last year, and then Josh Beckett and Fausto Carmona for slugger Adam Dunn from Dre this year. Adding those guys to a pitchers Gorzo, Snell, Maholm and Capps looks pretty slick.
But my biggest qualification has to be my ability to develop pitchers. In Jake Peavy's second year on my club he's turned into a top-10 pitcher. I'll admit I let Dan Haren go too soon, but I knew two years ago that he would be the pitcher he is today. And to continue to point out that I'm moderately good at something prefaced by the word "fantasy," I'll say I'm pretty happy that I passed on Poo-Holes this year to take Johan Santana no. 1 overall (although that A-Rod guy would've been a good choice, too). And, be it Takashi Saito, Brad Lidge, Huston Street, Joe Nathan or J.J. Putz, I have a knack for knowing which set-up man has the stuff to be the next big closer.
Unfortunately it is called "Fantasy Baseball" for a reason, but I haven't a doubt that my Yahoo skills would translate into the "real baseball" world. If it's alright with you guys, Dre, Piper and Zeke, I will be using you as my references, and when Bob Nutting calls, just say something along the lines of "Jon Dodd dominates us year in and year out. He'll do the same with the NL Central."
...OK, now that I'm done with my trash talking that may or may not be legit (since I currently sit in second place behind Matt Wright and only tied for first with Dre last year... but that was preceded by a championship in 2005--yeah, nevermind, the trash-talking's legit) I am pretty stoked to return to PNC Park tonight for my first Pirate game in ages. Partially I haven't gone because I've been busy, but there's also been that hesitance to totally root (root, root) for the home team since rooting for the Pirates has previously meant supporting Dave Littlefield and the general buffoonery that goes on in the Pirates front office. With changes happening, I can at least hope it will get better.
Tony Armas starts tonight against the Brewers, so we'll need to score a lot. But hey, with Littlefield gone anything can happen.
Bob Nutting: "Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce the new Pirates GM, Jon Dodd."
Me: "Segways and iPhones for everyone!"
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