Torsten’s take on his picks:

Well, five picks left and four spots on my staff to fill. Good thing pitching is deep, and a couple of guys I had my eye on earlier on are still available.

 

21) Tom Seaver – SP – Tom Terrific isn’t often one of the first guys brought up when the greatest starting pitchers of all time are mentioned, but he really should be. He was the complete package, with more than 300 lifetime wins and a career ERA under 3. Reggie Jackson, one of the premier power hitters in Seaver’s generation once said about him, “Blind men come to the park just to hear him pitch.”

 

22) Barry Larkin – MI – Few infielders in history combined offensive prowess with defensive wizardry the way Larkin did. What team couldn’t use a shortstop with a resume that includes 3 gold gloves, 9 silver slugger awards, an MVP, and 12 all-star selections? And if he didn’t share a position with Ozzie Smith in the early part of his career, those 3 gold gloves may be more like 6… or 12.

 

23) Steve Carlton – SP – Somehow, the best left-handed starting pitcher of the last 40 years is my number five starter. His accomplishments are numerous: He once held the all-time strikeouts record, he was the first ever four-time Cy Young winner, once had a streak of 69 consecutive starts with at least 6 innings pitched, the list goes on. But for me, his most impressive accomplishment is winning 27 games in 1972 for a dogsh*t Phillies team that won a TOTAL of only 59. Awesome? I think so.

 

24) Wilbur Wood – RP – I needed another lefty out of the bullpen, and with all the power arms already in my pen, I decided to go with the knuckleballer, Wood. It’s not a gimmick, though, I assure you. Wood won 164 games in his career, made three all-star teams, and finished 2^nd in a Cy Young vote. His dual experience starting and relieving make him the ideal second lefty in a pen… in case I need someone to finish the last five innings of a 21 inning game carryover game that was suspended, and throw a complete game shutout in the regularly scheduled contest immediately after… like he did in 1973

 

25) Eric Gagne – RP – I know, I know. But hear me out. The brightest flames generally burn out the quickest, but the three year period between 2002 and 2004 where he converted a record 84 consecutive save opportunities is, albeit a brief one, the most dominant period ever experience by a reliever. Injuries derailed his career, and there were allegations of PED use, but if you needed three outs during that three year period, was there a pitcher you’d rather use?

 

Shaun’s take on his picks:

 

 

21) John Franco – RP – Looking back, there were really only two left handed pitchers that has long term success at the back end of a bullpen, Billy Wagner and John Franco.  Torsten took Wagner some time ago, and I am not convinced Franco is not the better of the two.  The seemingly ageless one pitched in the big leagues for 21 years while compiling 90 wins and 424 saves.  He is as decorated a lefty reliever as there is in baseball history.

 

22) Frank Robinson – OF – He has his number retired by two teams, he is the only player to ever win MVP in both leagues, he has won a triple crown, won rookie of the year, won World Series MVP, won an All-Star game MVP, was named manager of the year in 1989, and has a gold glove.  In case the laundry list of trophies aren’t enough, Frank Robinson will patrol the corner outfield or be a guy off the bench who has 586 career home runs and over 1,800 RBIs.  Decent guy to have on the bench.

 

23) Lee Smith – RP – When you really break it down, there is not much of a history of really dominant relievers.  You have the handful that are the cream of the crop, but for the most part, throughout history, you have guys that dominate for three or four years, then fall off the cliff.  Then you have guys that just go out and get the job done for almost two decades and retire as the al-time leader in saves.  For that reason, the last guy in my bullpen was an easy decision, Lee Smith.

 

24) Torii Hunter – CF – My bench has Frank Robinson, Cal Ripken Jr., and Rod Carew…that is enough excellent bats, I want a guy I can put in in the 7^th inning that will save a game with the glove, enter Torii Hunter.  Hunter is no slouch with the bat, he has over 1.000 RBIs, 300 home runs, 2,000 hits, and has nearly 200 steals, but he also has countless robbed home runs and diving grabs.  He can steal my team a bag when I need it, or be the best defensive replacement in history. 

 

25) Carlton Fisk – C – Honestly, there was one name on my mind when it came down to this final pick, but there were two players I was debating.  How you ask?  Simple, the name was Pudge, the players were Carlton Fisk and Ivan Rodriguez.  Neither guy would be the wrong choice, so, I allowed my rooting interests to break the tie.  I was at Fisk’s induction into the Hall of Fame, and he hit the most famous home run in Red Sox history.  Had I originally gone the rout Torsten went at catcher, an offensive guy, I would take Ivan for his defensive prowess, but nobody will accuse Johnny Bench of being poor behind the dish, so Fisk is my backup backstop.

 

 

Torsten’s take on Shaun’s picks:

 

I love the Frank Robinson and Torii Hunter picks. If you’re rounding out a roster on the back end, you’re picking for a specific purpose and I think he did that really well. I’m not entirely convinced that he couldn’t have picked slightly better than Franco or Smith, but you can’t really argue with their fairly gaudy lifetime statistics. Fisk was probably a better fit for my team, as Piazza was for his, but that is what it is.

 

My starting line-up ends up like this:

 

1. Rickey Henderson

2. Alex Rodriguez

3. Willie Mays

4. Babe Ruth

5. Josh Gibson

6. Miguel Cabrera

7. Rogers Hornsby

8. Chipper Jones

9. Edgar Martinez.

 

 My rotation stacks up like this:

1. Warren Spahn  

2. Christy Mathewson

3. Pedro Martinez 

4. Steve Carlton

5. Tom Seaver. 

 

I’m feeling confident.

 

Shaun’s take on Torsten’s picks:

Torsten finished off his rotation with Seaver and Carlton, which are two great pitchers, and no real criticism can be placed there (other than the fact his rotation clearly falls short of mine).  Barry Larkin as his middle infielder, not really sold on him.  His starter is A-Rod, who had to move to third because he was a lesser fielder than the overrated (defensively) Derek Jeter played short when A-Rod was traded to the Yankees.  Larkin was a great player, but Ozzie Smith would fit his team better here, and I think he really dropped the ball.  Clemente, Rose, Piazza, and Mantle were already on his bench, he really could have used the defensive help.  I like Wood as another addition to his bullpen and I do find it interesting we both end up with a knuckle ball specialist in our pens….interesting.  With roster spot 25 Torsten failed.  I get that Eric Gagne was phenomenal when he was in his prime…those two or three years…but he was terrible the rest of his career.  If you want to look at these rosters merely as the best season of the players career, you can’t deny Gagne belongs, but a guy that tallied a career save total under 200 and an ERA near 3.50 just seems like the one name of the fifty chosen that doesn’t belong.

My starting line-up ends up like this:

 

1. Ken Griffey Jr.

2. Ernie Banks

3. Ted Williams

4. Hank Aaron

5. Stan Musial

6. Johnny Bench

7. David Ortiz

8. Brooks Robinson

9. Joe Morgan

 

 My rotation stacks up like this:

1. Sandy Koufax  

2. Bob Gibson

3. Randy Johnson 

4. Nolan Ryan

5. Greg Maddux 

 

In the end, I truly believe I win a series regardless of the length based purely on my rotation.  These teams are very evenly matched, but I would start my fifth starter against any of Torsten’s five any day of the week.  I really think that is where the scales tip in my direction.   Not to mention my rotation and lineup are a perfect mix of lefties and righties that will take the game out of the manager’s hands in large part.

Ok, we get it. Everyone hates A-Rod, except maybe his mom… but probably her too. It’s still puzzling though, that Ryan Dempster was not ejected after drilling him on the FOURTH try! Regardless, the aftermath is why people who don’t watch baseball, citing that it’s boring, have a leg to stand on. A-Rod got the last laugh, drilling a home run off of Dempster later on in the game, but that’s pretty much it it. He paused for a moment at home plate after his trot, and may or may not have taken a jab at Big Papi David Ortiz with a gesture skyward, but that’s really it.

Now, the fact that Dempster hit Rodriguez intentionally is not debatable. He should probably get a similar suspension to what Ian Kennedy got for beaning Yasiel Puig and Zack Greinke earlier this season. But he won’t. Why not? Because it was A-Rod.

Now, knowing that it’s him against the world, why didn’t A-Rod take full advantage of his moment? Why didn’t he stand at home plate for the entire length of the flight of his home run? Why didn’t he take a super slow home run trot, pausing at each base as the crowd boos and putting his hands up to his ears as if to say, “I can’t hear you!” And when it was all said and done, why didn’t he pause at home plate and do some body builder poses? It’s not like class and tact have been anywhere near the top of his priority list any time recently. Why start now? His popularity with fans is unsalvagable. Why not turn himself into a WWE-type villain that embraces the vitriol from fans and hams it up? I think people would tune in for that.

On to the next bit, if MLB is going to establish itself as a credible operation again in the wake of all the PED crap, they have to do something about the umpiring. Saturday’s game between Detroit and Kansas City featured one of the worst displays of umpiring in history, and not just the call. With a runner on first, the Kansas City batter swung at a Doug Fister pitch in the dirt. The ball came up off the ground, hit the bat, and deflected past catcher, Brayan Pena. Not a teensy deflection, a clear contact on the bat that if you listened closely to the tv, was audible. No foul ball was called by home plate umpire, Mike Muchlinski and the runner advanced to third base. Of course, manager Jim Leyland hollered from the dugout and was ejected by first base ump, Bob Davidson, who sneered while doing so. That is a problem. What’s more a problem is that any of the four umpires on the field were in good position to get the call right, but nobody did. And then, before play resumed, Pena was tossed too. He had put his mask on, assumed his spot behind the dish, and then told Muchlinski what he felt. Again, he did this with his mask on, not showing the umpires up. Usually catchers never argue with an umpire because they feel their pitchers will get shafted on balls and strikes calls the rest of the game, or in some umpires’ cases, the rest of their careers if they do.

Now, what’s going to happen to the umpires? Probably nothing. At best, this was a horribly missed call by four umpires that could have potentially changed the course of the game. At worst, it was umpires taking an opportunity to make it personal with Leyland. If this is the case, which I personally feel it was, MLB would have to send a stern message. Suspend the umpires for the rest of the season. Especially Davidson, who sneered and laughed at Leyland as he ejected him and again during the subsequent argument.

But MLB won’t. Because like any cash cow, they care little about their credibility. Perhaps things will be different when Bud Selig, or as I like to call him, Bud @$#%^@(*^%&*&$#^% Selig is no longer commissioner. We can hope, because if MLB will ever reclaim its rightful place up alongside football and basketball as a premier, fan experience-oriented sport, it will have to.

Torsten’s take on his picks 11-15:

16)  Pete Rose – Utility – Every roster needs to have a guy that can fill in at the corner infield positions. I figure mine should be baseball’s all-time hits king. Bet you didn’t see this pick coming… see what I did there?

17) Pedro Martinez – SP – There was a period of about 9 years where he was simply the most dominating pitcher of his generations. Other flames may have burned as brightly, but none for as long. Personally, I think he could have tacked a few years onto the back end of his career by switching to relief, but who cares. Happy to have him in my rotation.

18) Mike Piazza – C – I now have the TWO best offensive catchers in history on my roster. Sure, he won’t do much to shut down the opposition’s running game, but his offensive prowess far outweighs his defensive flaws.

19) Mickey Mantle – C – Wow, center field is a deep position. How does Mantle last to the 37^th pick? You can look at the stats and see that he had an unbelievable career, but if you want to visualize how he played, think switch hitting Mike Trout. Trout is the best player in the game today, Mick was right up there in his day.

20) Goose Gossage – RP – Again, my staff is now where I need to focus. There are several awesome starters remaining but only a handful of dominant relievers, so I go with the Goose here. The prototypical closer before Tony LaRussa reinvented the position, Gossage couldn’t have been more intimidating on the mound if he was holding a machine gun. Plus, he could easily go multiple innings, as evidenced by the fact that he multiple time totaled more than 130 innings in relief in a season, and turned in 15 complete games in his one season as a starter. That’s a CAREER for most guys these days.

 

Shaun’s take on his picks 11-15:

 

16)  Cal Ripken Jr. – SS/3B – At this point, it is a lot about squad roster makeup.  Going in I wanted to be able to spend just two roster spots on the infield.  I expected to go with a middle infielder and corner infielder, but I decided to go Cal here to back up the left side.  He is a bat off the bench that can deliver a big hit regardless which of his seemingly 3 million batting stances he sported throughout his career.

17) Nolan Ryan – SP – Honestly, as I mentioned in the last installment, I was a bit torn between two guys to complete the fourth spot in my rotation, which is why I took Greg Maddux to be my fifth starter before selecting my fourth starter.  It was a toss-up for my second power righty between Pedro and the Ryan Express, so as soon as Torsten selected Pedro, my decision was made.

18) Rod Carew – 2B/1B – Since I took Cal earlier, I was left with a roster composition dilemma.  I am left needing a guy that can back up second and first.  I could pick up a catcher that has experience at first, but a backup catcher is too valuable to also be backing up first.  I could also take an outfielder that also has experience at first, or I could pick Rod Carew, one of the few that fills both second and first.  The decision was easy,

19) Rollie Fingers – RP – Honestly, the thing I have written that I had the most fun doing was my Mustache Ride Through Time, so how could I possibly pass on the guy at the top of that list.  Oh, not to mention the dude could deal.

20) Trevor Hoffman – CL – I have decided to select Hoffman as my closer.  I will admit, if I am managing a baseball team, that position doesn’t exist.  That said, if there is someone to take the ninth inning, up 2-3 runs, nobody on, and three outs to get, only one guy has done it more than Hoffman.  Oh, and his circle change can eat up any hitter regardless of era.

 

 

Torsten’s take on Shaun’s picks:

 I have to admit, I thought he began to round off his roster really well with these last five picks. Cal Ripken and his 431 lifetime homers to back up short, Ryan and his 7 no hitters, Fingers and Hoffman to help out a bullpen that he’d essentially neglected until now. If I was going to nitpick, and you know I will, it’s Carew. While brilliant in his own right, I personally would choose Tony Gwynn here, citing slightly superior batting average, and a vastly superior slugging percentage. That said, I can’t truly make a spirited argument against any of these picks.

 

So far: I had a plan going into these five picks, and I deviated because of the sheer awesomeness that was still available. I’m thrilled to have Pedro, the Mick, and everyone else… though if I was going to nitpick against myself, maybe a defensively better catcher in the mold of a Gary Carter, Yogi Berra, Benito Santiago, et al would have been a better choice. We’ll see…

 

 

Shaun’s take on Torsten’s picks:

Well, Torsten isn’t winning any good guy awards with his squad.  A-Rod and Pete Rose on the same team, imagine the media circus.  Pete Rose is the all-time hit leader, and can pretty much play any position.  In an exercise like this, if he found himself in a starting lineup it would be a travesty, but as a utility guy, I get it.  I mentioned earlier my thoughts on Pedro, but him as Torsten’s third starter and Ryan as my fourth, I feel I get the win there.  Piazza is an amazing hitter, but it feels like a fantasy team pick rather than a real team pick.  Granted, little is really known about Josh Gibson’s defensive prowess, but you certainly aren’t bringing in Piazza to help defensively late in a game.  Torsten nailed it right on the head, center field is deeeeeeep.  Mantle is often considered to be top ten best player in baseball history, but looking back, I don’t disagree with him falling this far.  Goose is a great add to a bullpen, nothing more to say there.

So far: I love the development of my squad.  The balance is there.  I have waited on my bullpen, but I like the way it is coming together, and give me the first five picks to develop a rotation and I don’t think I could develop one I like more than the rotation I ended up with.  My lineup is matchup proof, perfect balance of right handed and left handed bats, but looking back, I failed in that aspect on my bench, and spoiler alert, I will round it out with three more right handers, dropped the ball there.

Thursday night is the first night with a full slate of NFL preseason games.  Most people tune in because they have been itching to watch some football, and halfway through the first quarter the field is full of guys they have never heard of and stop paying attention.  Tonight, do yourself a favor and stay tuned.

I will start off by saying I can’t stand giving ESPN credit, let’s face it, they haven’t been a credible source for news since about 1997.  The “Butt Fumble” has made an entire network giggle like a group of 12 year olds that just made a dick joke for eight months. 

I digress, this time, ESPN got one right.  ESPN’s first preseason game is a matchup between the Cincinatti Bengals and the Atlanta Falcons, but the player to watch isn’t A.J. Green, Julio Jones, or Matt Ryan, no, the player to watch is a 28 year old rookie free agent linebacker who never played a down of football in college.

The man I am referring to is Brian Banks.  There have been countless, yet still not enough, stories documenting his journey, the most incredible is his first-hand account on the Rich Eisen Football Podcast. 

Banks was a star high school linebacker at powerhouse Long Beach Poly and was committed to USC where he would be teammates of Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart and win National Championships.  But that never happened.  Instead a girl in his class, Wanetta Gibson, asked him to meet her in in a known make out spot on campus, where they made out and went about their day, but that was a day that would change Banks’ life forever.

Gibson accused Banks of raping her.  Banks’ mother sold her home to pay for an attorney to help defend her son’s innocence, but that attorney had a motive of her own.  Banks’ attorney was looking to move up in the legal system, and instead of building a strong case to prove Banks’ innocence, she negotiated a plea deal and explained to him that it was his best option. 

At the age of 17, Banks took the word of his legal counsel and agreed to plea guilty to a crime he never committed and was sentenced to five years in prison and five years probation.

Then, in March 2011, after serving his full five year term behind bars and three years into his probation, where he walked around as a registered sex offender, Banks logged onto Facebook.  There he had a message from Wanetta Gibson herself, and she wanted to meet.  After dealing with plenty of emotions, Banks spoke to his best friend’s father, a private investigator, and agreed to meet Gibson, and recorded their meeting.

Gibson admitted to fabricating the story, but refused to testify as much because she did not want to lose the $1.5 million she had won from the Long Beach Unified School District.  (She has since been ordered to pay back $2.5 million)

The taped admission was enough for Banks to get his name cleared thanks to the help of the California Innocence Project.

With his name finally cleared nearly ten years after he went to prison for a crime he never committed, Banks refocused his life to accomplishing the dream that once belonged to that innocent 17 year old kid, to play in the NFL.

Thursday night, on ESPN, after the starters have finished their token series or two and are standing on the sidelines with hats on, a linebacker wearing the number 53 for the Atlanta Falcons will take to the field.  The man under that Falcons helmet, the man with the NFL jersey with a 53 on his back will be Brian Banks.  

Time will tell if he is able to make the final roster, but dream seemingly gone on that day in July 2003, the day after his 18^th birthday, when he walked into prison to serve his first day of a five year sentence, against all odds has become a reality.  He will play in a real NFL stadium, for a real NFL team, and he will become a real NFL player.

So, do yourself a favor, don’t change the channel  tonight, instead, keep an eye out for number 53, and cheer him on, because the man deserves this opportunity.

You can follow Shaun Kernahan on twitter @shaunkernahan, add him to your network on Google, and like Shaun on Facebook.

Torsten’s take on his picks 11-15:

11)  Warren Spahn – SP – I said I was going to address my starting pitching and I did. Fortunately for me, it’s a deep position, as evidenced by my being able to grab Spahn here. One of the greatest ever, his 363 career wins are tops all time for a lefty. The dude has an award named after him for MLB’s best lefty, and despite not being known as a hard thrower, still struck out more than 2,500 batters. If Koufax’s career had not been cut short by injury, the award would probably be his, but Spahn stayed healthy, and excellent, into his 40s.

12) Roberto Clemente – OF – With every starting position filled, it’s time to start working on the reserves. It does sound kind of weird calling a guy with 3,000 career hits and 12 gold gloves a “reserve,” but there it is. He’s one of two players in history to have the five year waiting period for Hall of Fame eligibility waived. (the other is Lou Gehrig.) He represents an incredible value pick here.

13) Christopher “Christy” Mathewson – SP – The National League’s all-time winning pitcher with 373, Mathewson was the most dominant pitcher of his era. He pitched 79 career shutouts and finished his career with a 2.13 ERA. Ridiculous. Need someone to win a big game? He tossed THREE shutouts in the 1905 World Series. They say pretty much everybody liked him, but I’m pretty sure there were quite a few people who eventually got frustrated by their inability to hit anything he threw.

14) Dennis Eckersley – RP – Remember, we’re drafting a team to win a 7 game series, not a fantasy team. Eckersley’s run in the late 80s and early 90s was every bit the level of Mariano Rivera. Mo just sustained his dominance for his entire career. Eck makes an awesome addition to the back part of my bullpen, which is going to be a huge strength.

15) Billy Wagner – RP – These days, every team has a LOOGY (lefty one out guy). I’m not saying that his 422 career saves don’t give him the credentials to face hitters on both sides of the plate, but if I needed to bring someone in to face a tough left handed hitter (see Williams, Ted) with the game on the line, I’ll take Wagner and his 100mph fastball. I was convinced Wagner wouldn’t be here to snag, which is the reason I went back to back reliever here.

I couldn’t be more thrilled with how these picks turned out. My bullpen is going to be dominant. Spahn and Mathewson give me the starters to matchup to Sandy and Gibson. And my 4^th outfielder is Roberto freakin’ Clemente. To quote Lou Brown, “It’s all coming together, Pepper. It’s all coming together.”

 

Shaun’s take on his picks 11-15:

 

11)  John Smoltz – RP – This pick is the epitome of taking a guy that fits the roster over pure talent.  That is not to say Smoltzy isn’t extremely talented, but he is nowhere near a top 20ish player in the history of the game.  He is, however, as valuable a guy as there has ever been.  Need a guy to go out and win 20 games, he can fill that role.  Need a guy to get 40 saves, done.  Need a guy to eat three innings when the starter is struggling, he will give you three scoreless.  He represents insane value.

12) Ernie Banks – SS – The best hitting short stop of all-time, I was shocked to get him this late.  If this draft were to be handled by a Cubs fan, he would go first overall.  He is a guy that can hit near the top of the lineup and get on base, or in the middle and drive in runs.  He wasn’t incredible defensively, but I have the Brooks Robinson at third, so Banks won’t even have to worry about a ball to his right.

13) Hoyt Wilhelm – RP – Wilhelm is a monster.  I am not going to slide him in as my closer, I like him as a guy to come in in the 6^th, 7^th, or 8^th when the opponent is in the heart of the lineup, and shut them down.  He is really the only guy that made a career in the bullpen with the knuckler, but he rode that pitch to the Hall.  He is a great guy to come out of the pen as a knuckle ball doesn’t care what side of the plate you hit from, it will eat you up.

14) Randy Johnson – SP – Here is my third starter, and my second power lefty to go with Sandy Koufax.  Randy Johnson had as good a slider as anyone, and, at 6-10, was as intimidating a sight as the game has ever seen.  He stopped 125 strikeouts shy of becoming the second pitcher to ever reach 5,000, and also had the biggest gap between no-hitters.  Plus, in a pinch, say a 2001 World Series, he can come in and close a game.

15) Greg Maddux – SP – Maddux is my fourth starter added to my team, but will actually fill my fifth spot in my rotation.  There are two power righties I want to fill my fourth spot in the rotation, so I will let Torsten break the tie for me, but I know I want Maddux to be the change of pace pitcher.  He is as cerebral a pitcher the game has ever seen and regardless of how good his stuff was on any given night, he made hitters look absolutely foolish.  He was one of the greatest fielding pitchers of all time, winning 18 Gold Gloves, with 2003 the only season in a 19* season stretch he did not win the award. 

 

Torsten’s take on Shaun’s picks:

 

I think Shaun slipped a little here. To be fair, Ernie Banks, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, and Hoyt Wilhelm are all names that belong in the discussion for this exercise. And you can’t argue with going 4 pitchers out of the five picks at this stage. But were they the 4 best pitchers remaining for the spots they fill? Maybe Maddux and Johnson are. Smoltz gets an uptick in value because of his versatility. Shaun is picking great players, which I fully expected, but I’m not convinced they’re the right ones. Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks was a wonderful ballplayer and is a great dude, but does he offer anything that Ted Williams, Junior Griffey or Henry Aaron didn’t? When I chose Clemente, it was him specifically because he makes the ideal late inning defensive replacement for The Babe and his limited foot speed. The devil is in the details, as they say. Regardless, the last ten picks are going to be important because the cliché is correct, it takes 25 guys to win.

 

Shaun’s take on Torsten’s picks:

Cleary we both went on a pitching run, and see the value of specialists in the bullpen.  Wagner is a great lefty, and I can’t fault him for making that pick here, but I do feel it is a bit early.  Torsten clearly has an affinity for dead ball era pitchers, and that is fine, Spahn and Mathewson are phenomenal, just an interesting take on the structure of his staff.  A little surprised to see a Dodger fan pick the guy that gave up the biggest home run in Dodger’s history, maybe sentimental, maybe just being smart enough to realize Eck gets Gibby about 90 times out of 100 in that spot, and is a huge value to his team.  Love the Clemente pick.  Yes, it is a bench guy, but he is as good a guy coming off the bench I can think of.  He can steal a bag, rob a home run, or deliver a long ball of his own.  Not bad.