Fantasy Baseball - East Coast Style

I have two favorite days  a year. The first is the day I draft my fantasy baseball team.  The second is the day I draft my other fantasy baseball team.   The second day is today, planned while Jenn is gone so she wouldn't have to deal with the silent treatment she usually gets on draft day.  I got hooked on Fantasy Baseball five years ago now and never looked back.   In the ultimate stats game, baseball makes perfect fantasy sense.

Baseball has been my favorite sport since my dad took me to my first Astros game.  Back then I collected baseball cards, which helped me keep touch with players throughout the league.  I would read up on all their different stats and if they weren't very good they went to "the box."  The box was a long skinny cardboard box, no filing system.  It was where cards would go to get forgotten.  The good cards went to "the book."   The book was a 100 page baseball card storage binder alphabetized by team and player name.  I was pretty nerdy little kid. (Glad I grew out of that!)  The book contains a Mark McGwire rookie card (now significantly devalued), four Nolan Ryan cards and about 150 Astros you've never heard of because I was a huge Astros fan.  Every Astro made the book.

Sorry, that whole digression was to point out that for a while in my teens and early 20s, I didn't follow baseball very closely.  I knew how the Rockies were doing and could name the starting roster, but in the rest of the league, I really didn't follow.  Fantasy baseball is now my grown up way of keeping up with the sport I love.  Normally I wouldn't care about the Toronto Blue Jays, but if they lead the league in home runs, I'm eyeing their third baseman.

Now being in DC, it's fun because I'm getting to hear all of the hype leading into the baseball season for East Coast teams, namely the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Nationals.  I'm pretty stoked that both stadiums are about 20 minutes from each other and only 30 minutes from me.  Here are a few guys I'm excited to watch this year up close and personal.
 
        Ryan Zimmerman (Wash) - I'm a sucker for a guy who plays defense and Zimmerman is one of the best.   Any oaf can make chicks swoon by hitting the long ball, but give me a bare-handed play across the diamond and I'm one martini away from a bad decision.

       Gio Gonzales (Wash) - He transferred from Oakland last year and was great, despite being in the hitter friendly American league.  I'm hoping he can help the Nationals go far this year so maybe I can go to a playoff game.

      Adam Jones (Balt) - A really fun young player to watch this year.  He knocked on the door last year and may just bust it down this year.  Sadly, he may be the only reason to watch the Orioles this season.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got my fantasy notes in front of me, a cold beer freshly opened and 185 days of wheeling and dealing my way to the top.  Play ball!