Future shock

My fantasy baseball team is a disaster. After four weeks I'm in 10th place, which might be the lowest spot I've ever occupied in this league. One of the reasons I'm struggling has to do with strategy. I traded for David Price and John Smoltz, hoping that both would help my team this summer. Price isn't doing well at AAA and Smoltz recently had a setback. Besides, there isn't room in the Red Sox rotation for Smoltz.

Last week I was happy about my pickup of Russel Branyan. He was short-lived on the roster. The guy who drafted Matt Wieters let him go, and I picked up the Orioles' top prospect. Problem is, Wieters is probably a month away from getting called up. I will have no bench until these situations are resolved. Does it pay to hold out and potentially finish strong?

That's the question I ask when it comes to my zealots rookie drafts. You can draft for now, which would mean immediate returns, or wait on a guy who might need a year or three to develop. What I've noticed from the rookie drafts that I've watched so far is that after the first round, things go awry. The drop-off in running back talent from Shonn Greene to Glenn Coffee is steep. The wideout position isn't as bad as last year, as no first-round selections forced teams to guess on who would be the best contributors. Last year's above-expectation performance of rookie quarterbacks did not elevate the status of Stafford and Sanchez, who generally don't get taken higher than pick 7.

When patience pays off: After his rookie year, I traded a fifth-round rookie pick for Barrett Ruud. It took another season for Ruud to crack the starting lineup. He finished sixth last year in defensive scoring. When a guy is slated to start at a bell-cow IDP position, like MLB in a 4-3 defense like Ruud, you wait. Sometimes you keep waiting. Some veterans have the tendency to not want to give up their jobs.

The 1.02 pick is still for sale in z34. I haven't seen the killer deal yet, so I will probably hold. It would help if owners like my no-good Vice Commish who loves the Bucs like no other would actually pay for the 2009 season. At $7.50 it's the bargain of the century.

I'll conclude with a hello to the Don Funk Sports Bar, now featuring Wii Sports.