If I Were A Rich Man

Finals are over at last and my head is killing me. My last final was in STAT 200, the bain of my existence.

QUICK QUESTION:

At a ski area in Vermont, the daytime high temperature is normally distributed during January, with a mean of 22 degrees F and a standard deviation of 10 degrees F. You are planning a trip to Vermont this January. What is the probability that you will encounter daytime high of 15 degrees F of lower?

Welcome to my world.

So now I have nothing left to do so I need to start seriously blogging again. My idea now, since the rest of the baseball world is playing GM, is to put together a championship caliber team. The rules? All players stats and salaries are based on 2008 alone, and you can't spend more than $100 million. Try it sometime, it's actually kind of fun.

I've spent a few hours on this little project and I think I've come up with a team that could legitimately compete in any division in baseball, if not dominate some of them. So here goes.

Starting Lineup:

1.     Rick Ankiel                       L         RF

2.     Chase Utley                       L         2B

3.     Albert Pujols                    R         3B

4.     Travis Hafner                  L         1B

5.     Josh Hamilton                 L         LF

6.     Russell Martin                R         C

7.     Reed Johnson                  R         CF

8.     Bobby Crosby                  R         SS

9.     Pitcher's Spot (because pitchers are players too!)

Roster:

Russell Martin - C (Los Angeles Dodgers - $500,000)

Russell Martin is everything you want in a catcher. He defends the plate, he has a good relationship with starting pitchers and he swings a big stick too. On the plus side, he's an everyday catcher too, which is huge for a starting rotation to have that kind of consistency. He may not win games all by himself, but he puts the rest of the team in position to do just that.

Travis Hafner - 1B (Cleveland Indians - $8.05million)

I feel bad for Travis Hafner because he never got a chance to really come about. He is a big, strong power hitter who can send a ball into orbit at will. Problem was, he only needed one good season to make pitchers afraid. So they stopped pitching to him. With a lineup as shaky as Cleveland's, pitchers could get away with it too. Give him a little protection in the lineup and the league will have to invest in a few more baseballs each season.

Chase Utley - 2B (Philadelphia Phillies - $7.8 million)

Chase is a rock star. Some may give him a bad rap because he likes to throw out a few too many f-bombs in public, but that's exactly why I love him. He shys away from nothing. On the field, he's every little league coach's dream. He plays like it's his last game ever and he wants to go out with style. He plays a great second base and won't hesitate to dive for that line drive. At the plate, he's clutch and can go yard at the drop of a hat.

Albert Pujols - 3B (St. Louis Cardinals - $13.9 million)

Some forget that Pujols originally came up as a Third Baseman. I had trouble deciding between him and Chipper Jones for this spot but eventually decided to go with Pujols because of his upside. Chipper is on the latter end of his career, and while he's capable of putting on a hitting clinic on any given night, he has trouble staying on the field. Pujols is all upside and I don't need any justification here.

Bobby Crosby - SS (Oakland Athletics - $3.5 million)

Bobby Crosby's not flashy, he's not in your face and he's not going to hit many walk-off home runs. What he will do is step on the field between third base and second base and play solid, fundamental baseball. He gets on base, which is important to any lineup. He's a catalyst to any offense and a rock to any defense.

Josh Hamilton - LF (Texas Rangers - $396,830)

Josh is more than just a great story; he's a top-tier ball player too. The homerun derby was no fluke; this kid hits the ball hard every time. Someone who can hit the ball hard will get hits more often than not.

Reed Johnson - CF (Chicago Cubs - $1.3 million)

Reed Johnson flies under the radar for the most part but he's a good old-fashioned ball player. He puts me in mind of Lenny Dykstra from the 1993 Phillies NL Championship team. He's not the biggest or the strongest but he plays like he's the biggest dog in the pack. Don't tell him he's not the cleanup hitter because he knows how to get the barrel of the bat on the ball every time he makes contact.

Rick Ankiel - RF (St. Louis Cardinals - $900,000)

I'm becoming a really big fan of Rick Ankiel, fast. He's the most naturally gifted athlete in baseball. Who else could come up through the system as a pitcher (a good pitcher), lose his stuff, get sent back to the minors, change positions to the outfield and make it back to the majors? No one. He's a guy I want on my team and I'll find a place for him.

Bench:

IF         Ryan Theriot - R (Chicago Cubs - $428,000)

OF       Fred Lewis - L (San Francisco Giants - $392,000)

OF       Shane Victorino - S (Philadelphia Phillies - $480,000)

IF         Josh Willingham - R (Florida Marlins - $405,000)

 Starting Pitchers:

  1.     Cole Hamels - LHP (Philadelphia Phillies - $500,000)

What can you say about Cole Hamels that hasn't already been said? He's a stud. He stares down opposing batters and throws ridiculous stuff at them. He proved his worth in the playoffs where it really counts. Now if only I could get him to cut his hair a little bit. Those wavy locks have got to go.

2.     Roy Halladay - RHP (Toronto BlueJays - $10 million)

Halladay is a work horse. He will make 30 starts a season and pitch at least 6 innings each outing. You can't put a price on that. It shortens each game to three innings long and makes the bullpen's life easier. He works the count well with a good fastball/changeup combination and pulls the string when you least expect it.

      3.     Mark Buehrle - LHP (Chicago White Sox - $14 million)

Buehrle flies under the radar a bit on the south side of Chicago but his repertoire speaks for itself. He's a low-ball pitcher who induces a lot of ground balls and pop-ups and virtually takes the bat away from lefties. Not only that, but he gets better as the season goes along and pitches well in the post-season.

4.      Jake Peavy - RHP (San Diego Padres - $6.5 million)

The reason behind this pick is simple. Jake Peavy will step out on the mound on any given day and absolutely hurl the ball at the plate. He's a hurler; plain and simple.

   5.     Brandon Backe - RHP (Houston Astros - $800,000)

I like Brandon Backe because he has good stuff but he can also swing the bat. I like a pitcher who will at least try to act like a batter and make an effort to get on base.

                                               The greatest picture ever taken!

Closer - Brad Lidge - RHP (Philadelphia Phillies - $6.35 million)

Two years ago, Lidge would have been toward the bottom of my list for closers. In fact, I would probably have said the same in April. But it's hard to argue with perfection, which is exactly what Brad "Lights Out" Lidge was this past season from April all the way through to the last out of the World Series. What else can you ask for?

Other Relief Pitchers:

J.C. Romero - LHP (Philadelphia Phillies - $3.25 million)

Ryan Madson - RHP (Philadelphia Phillies - $1.4 million)

Ryan Rowland-Smith - LHP (Seattle Mariners - $395,000)

Carlos Marmol - RHP (Chicago Cubs - $430,000)

David Aardsma - RHP (Boston Red Sox - $403,250)

Boone Logan - LHP (Chicago White Sox - $405,000)

Ambiorix Burgos - RHP (New York Mets - $415,000)

Total Team Salary:       $ 82,900,020.00

The team's salary is good enough to put the team in 15^th place in Major League Baseball just ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers. The one glaring hole I can see in the lineup is the lack of a little balance. I have two players accustomed to being the #3 batter hitting in different spots (Chase Utley and Josh Hamilton). I picked them because I thought they are the types of players who can adapt to a new spot in the lineup and hit different types of pitchers.

The next step in my plan is to put this team in action on MLB 2K8 and see how they turn out. Yes, it's just a video game, but I can't play GM in real life (not yet, anyway), so I have to play GM virtually.

(SIDE NOTE - Coming in January will be a PS3 game called 'MLB Front Office Manager.' A game that's right up my ally and good for anyone else who has aspirations of running a MLB team. I'll have a synopsis once I get a chance to play.)

Would this team win? I think so. There is a lot of talent in the lineup from top to bottom so if one player struggles, someone else can fill the void. Yes, there are more Phillies than any other team but consider the source. This is based on 2008. If this was based on 2007, you probably would see a few more Red Sox. If this was based on 1998, you'd see a bunch more Yankees. There are about a dozen and a half more players I can think of that I could put in there and not lose any sleep., so please, don't think I'm snubbing anyone who isn't deserving.

Any disputes? Please comment. I'd love to hear your opinions.

P.S. The answer is 24.2%, in case you were wondering. Don't ask me how I got the answer, because I really don't know.