94 thoughts on “2020 WGOM Draft: Round 5”

  1. 3 names out there yet that surprise me, as they are in (or near) the top 30 on my own list and I think they are like able (unless I am missing something). This has actually been kind of fun to watch from the sidelines.

    3. Considering we have drafted 60 players, 3 remaining in your top 30 is not bad. Especially since there definitely have been some sentimental picks (Kirby Puckett my #2) and there's been an obvious "build up the center approach" all of us are taking. There's definitely a lot of corner outfielders and 1st basement out there that look pretty juicy.

  2. I've gone back and forth on this pick so many times. There's a giant of a catcher still available. There are a few key infielders who could give my infield real shape, and you know those spots are thinner. There are outfield giants available (including one with a service time gap that makes him even more tantalizing). Like Free said, there's some corner OF and 1st basement whose bats would make my lineup look amazing.

    The Pick SelectShow
    The rationale SelectShow

        1. I'll trade you Seaver for Johnson. Then we still get the reunion and I get the pitcher I really wanted. Everyone wins!

    3. If it wasn't for injuries after he left M's, you might have the two best CFers. My wife's family is from Seattle, so her favorite team is the Mariners. She used to have a shirt with the iconic moment of beating the Yankees in the ALDS with her two all-time favorite players teaming up: Edgar Martinez's double driving in Griffey from first base for the walk-off win.

      Spoiler SelectShow

      1. Philo's gonna need that outfield for the ages because his infield and pitching staff won't be doing his defense any favors.

        1. He literally has all of history (minus 3-4 dozen greats) to pick from -- why couldn't he also have the best fielding infield/pitching money doesn't have to buy? He's not going to get stuck with Thome at 3B.

          2. Just a little trash talking. Plus 28 more players will be off the board before Philo picks again.

        1. When I used to play fantasy football, sometimes we'd pretend to be annoyed at someone else's pick so that felt good about taking a kicker in the 4th round.

  3. I'm as upset as I can be in a make believe draft. I've been looking at everyone's rosters to try to figure out what I'd get these last two rounds. I targeted Paige and Griffey. I took a look at Philo's roster and figured I would definitely have Griffey in the 5th round so I'd take Paige in the 4th.

    There are a lot of picks between now and my next pick so I have to be careful. There are a lot of good corner outfielders available but I only see a couple guys in this range whose main position was centerfield. Our nation turns its lonely eyes to my next pick.

    Spoiler SelectShow

    2. I was sooo close to not going Griffey. And I seriously considered DiMaggio instead too. I think this is a really good pick.

    3. I figured my next pick would be easy: Griffey or DiMaggio. The two people in front of me won't BOTH take one of those, right? Back to the drawing board...

  4. I was expecting to be able to take an all-time great centerfielder here, and had two possible targets all planned out, but the last two picks took that away. So I considered some other centerfielders, someone to shore up the outfield defense. I thought about a defensive infielder instead, since there are a number of elite defenders left, including at least one often considered to be the best ever at their position. I thought of maybe trying to mix some speed into the lineup. I've only got one pitcher so far, maybe that was the way to go.

    Then I threw that all out, and decided to launch some more dingers.

    Actual Spoiler SelectShow

    Second ever to hit 500 homers, and youngest to reach that mark up until ARod. Three-time MVP, led the AL in homers 4 times, and with better weather he would have tied The Babe's 60 home run season; he hit 60 in 1932, but two occurred in games that ended up being rained out, and therefore didn't count. His bat will look pretty nice in a lineup following Barry Bonds.

    Plus, cool last name.

      1. Hence, he was the real-life inspiration for the movie character who once told a boy to "avoid the clap"

    2. ::shaking head::

      Literally the whole premise of this draft was "prove Rivera won't go in the top 100."

  7. For those who have not seen it, Howard Sinker tweeted his HOF ballot. I had two questions.

    First, no Petitte? He only picked 9, so this was not a case of getting squeezed out.
    Second, Billy Wagner and Jeff Kent?

    Wagner is way down on the WAR list for relievers (15th). Kent is even further down for 2bs (19th). I mean, if you commit for Kent, you are committed for Robinson Cano, Chase Utley and...(drum roll) Ian Kinsler! (The three active 2bs above Kent, all of whom also have much better WAR7 scores).

    Wagner? If you vote for him, you basically are committed to voting for Joe Nathan (1 WAR behind, but 1.9 ahead on WAR7). I mean, we love Twitchy, but that's a big Hall.

    1. I'm lukewarm on Kent because of the bad defense, but I'd vote Wagner for sure. I don't like WAR that much for relievers. Wagner has the lowest WHIP in the history of baseball and he retired when he was still great. He's also got a great story, including breaking his dominant arm twice as a kid and then learning how to throw with his left.

      1. If we're talking about great stories, you can't leave out the time Kent broke his wrist while "washing his truck"

        1. Yes to that.

          Plus, electing Kent but not Bonds....

          (To be clear, not a criticism of Howard's ballot; he voted for Bonds and Clemens; I just think Kent has a weak case)

          (Also, to be clear, Howard sent me a very nice dm where he offered some rationale. I invited him to come by the basement some time).

  8. Round 5, Pick 6 SelectShow

    His BR page reminds me of Chipper Jones. There's a bit more black ink but still not much. Most of it was from his walks. He however has a lot of gray ink. Never the best, tough to do in the NL in 50s and 60s, but always close to the top.

      1. Perhaps my favorite part of the draft is unfamiliarity with the players. I'm sure I've never opened Mathews's BR page prior to this week.

        1. My grandfather grew up a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, but started following the Braves when they moved out from Boston. He was a big-time baseball card collector when I was a kid, and other than a few pennants, had three things hanging on the wall in his baseball card room: a framed display of the Dodgers' starting lineup from (I'm guessing) 1949, with baseball cards depicting the players; a huge poster of Stan Musial (because Polish); and a framed version of this Sports Illustrated cover:

          Eddie Mathews

    2. Timely, as I came across the set of 10 bobbleheads that I bought for that Hurricane Katrina fundraiser way back in the day.

      They were still in the box. Now they're on top of my desk. They look nice.

  10. Spoiler SelectShow

    A pitcher is going to have to wait. There are precious few inner circle outfielders left, and this guy is definitely one of them. He ended his career in fourth place in care home runs, and, of course, he was MVP in both the AL and NL.

    2. So, this is the last of the 3 guys I was thinking of. I kind of wish I was in the draft, as I have someone in mind who has been overlooked who I would love to have on my team. Probably would have picked him by now. My guess, in this draft, he will be picked late in the 6th or early 7th.

  11. We are running low on inner-circle type guys. Somehow, this one slid to me.

    Spoiler SelectShow

    4th LF all-time for rWAR and WAR7, with a big dropoff after him. Lots of black ink. He was an on-base and SLG machine during the 1960s. Played the Mahnstah like a fiddle, leading the league in OF Assists 8 times. His home/away splits were pretty big, but...

  12. Round 5, Pick 10 SelectShow
    Rationale SelectShow
    Roster SelectShow

  13. Well, gotta take the last position player with over 100 WAR. By all accounts was universally loved, too.

    Actual Spoiler SelectShow
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    2. In the historic Diamond Mind reenactment league I was in, Ott was a long-time member of Greg Tamer's Cincinnati Reds. We always went out of the way to play our series head-to-head online whenever possible, so I was probably tormented by Ott online at least 100 times a few years ago.

      1. home .297 .422 .558
        away .311 .408 .510

        interesting that he hit for so much higher average on the road, but he walked a LOT more (and slugged much better) at home.

    4. Oh, one more thing - he's the first player we've drafted whose grave I have visited. It's in a very conspicuous spot in Metairie Cemetery where it can be seen every time a car drives by on Interstate 10 in New Orleans .

    5. Obviously a great pick at this stage.

      Despite all the black and gray ink, he never finished higher than 3rd in MVP voting. One of the disadvantages of playing in the era prior to the Cy Young Award, plus no respect for OBP.

  14. Actual Spoiler SelectShow

    My rotation is now

    Actual Spoiler SelectShow

    He lost three early years to WWII service, was ridiculously durable, won a couple of ERA titles, and had a whole bunch of seasons in which his teammates scored enough runs for him to win 20 games.

      1. And for good reason. I'm not sure we'll ever see such a gentlemanly masher the likes of him again.

          2. If 11"x14" isn't large enough, there are some options if you don't mind a DIY print. You scan the cover, up-size it to your desired size, and then find somewhere to make a print. Going only 2x there are a lot of algorithms used in classic games that could work. Beyond that, I recall a Photoshop plugin from decades ago that could do much higher increases. There could be free/cheaper versions by now.

          3. That picture's my computer desktop image. My students regularly ask if I'm a Giants fan, based on the colors of The Gentleman's uniform colors.

  17. Spoiler SelectShow

    Since I did't get in on the Round 3 catcher bonanza and since Killer & Thome are no longer available. Consistency and longevity thy name is "Pudge".

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