On the cruise with darell

1. Well, I always like to start interviews with fresh faces by asking them to describe themselves. You happen to be one of the freshest faces here, so don't spare any detail!

Obviously my name is Darell but unfortunately I'm not black. I'm from Puerto Rico, was born there and raised in the US. My family moved to Chicago and a couple years ago I moved down to Houston with my mom. Been there ever since, I'm a Houston fan at heart and that also means I'm an Astros fan. I'm a full time college student currently and have about 2 years left. Not sure what else to tell you about myself.

Oh cool, I live in Houston. Where do you go to college?

2. What are your impressions of this league so far? How do you feel you will fair here?

I like the league and its one of the more active OOTP leagues I've been a part of, right now I'm not too sure how I feel about reversing PD hits and injuries with board cash. I'll probably learn to like it once I get a team and experience a PD hit on a prospect, completely destroying his chances of being useful. One of the biggest things that attracted me to this league was managing players that I grew up watching, I would have loved to own the Astros but I'll live.

I can't even imagine how frustrated I'd be without being able to reverse PDs. Only once per player, but still. With how much luck has been, I'd be screwed for sure.

3. Talk about your draft so far. What were your hopes coming into the this year's draft? Are you happy with how it's unfolded so far for you?

My hopes were to nab one of the top notch SP, like Wainwright or Webb. I've always valued pitching more than hitting and I would've loved to get a bonafide ace to build my team around. It didn't turn out that way but I did get a pretty good 1B in Adrian and hopefully I can develop him and turn him into a middle of the order bat.

I agree. It's very important to get an ace or two, so I thought you'd go that direction in the draft, but the first few picks went differently than I thought they would.

4. You're coming into a division with the two-time defending champion San Francisco Giants. How do you feel about that challenge?

I feel up to the challenge because I think SF has said a couple of times that he has thought about a rebuild and with two teams rebuilding when Arizona comes into existence, not to mention an unproven Padres team, I like my chances. With all that into consideration there isn't a true powerhouse contender to worry about in my division and after the expansion draft I could take that division from day one, at least I think I can.

5. Speaking of your division, talk about the other teams. The Dodgers seem to be perennially in between, the Rockies have begun their rebuild, and the Padres are on the rise. What have your impressions been so far of your competition?

It's like I said in question four the division overall isn't scary top to bottom at least right now. It could be a scary division if SF chooses to rebuild with COL and with a successful rebuild, they both could come out of it as threats to me in a couple of years. I feel confident that I could compete with SF if he chooses to not rebuild. Other than SF no one really stands out at you, maybe the Padres could surprise us.

Haha, I like it. Feisty. Nice confidence, but not sure you'll be competing day one.

6. Let's talk about your plans moving forward. Obviously it's going to be a long road to the top..or is it? How do you approach team-building? What is your course of action and when do you think you'll see the fruits of said action?

It's definitely going to be a long road to the top, winning the division is a first step but once you get into the playoffs anything can happen. My philosophy has always been to develop your own guys, I've always been confident in my ability to bring my prospects along and make sure they're ML ready before I throw them into the fire. I've never been a big fan of trading for prospects on other teams, OOTP is a crap shoot and you might think you're getting a stud but for some reason he doesn't fit on your team. I'm going to to try to build a dominant pitching staff, I've always believed that hitting gets you into the playoffs but true ace level pitchers win you championships. If I can get two of those ace level pitchers and surround them with a competent lineup, I'll be happy. How I get there is entirely dependent on how my expansion draft goes, if it's not a successful draft then I'll have to work with what I have.

Good stuff.

7. Looking at the league right now, if you had to choose one player to build around, who would it be and why?

It would have to be Ken Griffey JR, and I don't even have to think twice about. I mean 15 in homeruns, holy shit on a shit sandwich. Through all my years playing in OOTP leagues, I've never seen anyone's HR rating come even close to that. He alone makes you a contender, I don't care if you surround him with the Indians lineup, he's still going to make them look good. Than to top it all of he's also got an A in stealing ability. Texas is really fortunate to acquire a player of his caliber.

Yeah Griffey is sexy as hell. Really wish I could've nabbed him.



8. A common debate so far in the league has been prospects vs. proven talent. Which side of the fence are you on? Which do you prefer and why?

If I'm talking about a run of the mill 3.5* prospect than yes I'll take the proven talent any day of the week. If it's a legit stud 5* prospect that has significant upside than give me the prospect over the proven talent, I'll always choose the guy with more upside.

Very interesting. I say it definitely depends on the 5 star.

9. How do you feel this league compares to other leagues you've been in? Strengths? Weaknesses?

The strengths of this league probably begin and end with its level of activity, it's always more exciting to be a part of a league that has this many active GMs who are regularly posting every day. It's the biggest difference between this league and a league like longballer. If I were to put up a trade block here, and it was a productive player, I would immediately get offers in a heartbeat. I can't say the same for longballer. I don't really see any weaknesses in this league right now, maybe having a set of rules in place that prevents a team from tanking at a level where they're losing 110-120 games a year. If there already are a set of rules that prevents that, than great but it needs to happen if it hasn't.

Yeah I love the activity here. I think I'd go crazy in a slow league. Wouldn't know what to do with myself. Also the losing thing should be addressed for sure.



10. Who is your real life favorite player and why? If he's in the league right now, what would it mean to acquire him? If he isn't in the league yet, will you be gunning for him?

My real life favorite player is Starlin Castro, he has his flaws but I just love watching him. His ceiling is limitless and if he were in this league I would do anything I could to acquire him.

11. What are your impressions on the National League so far? Who are the teams to beat now and in the future? From what you can see, NL or AL?

The NL is loaded, I mean you have your powerhouses like Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and SF. Then you have Florida who has a scary farm system and once Miggy is ready, all hell is gonna break loose. Then in the AL you have Boston, Oakland, Anaheim and now Texas. Then Cleveland and KC have set themselves up nicely for the future. The AL might be deeper in the amount of contenders but someone like Florida really scares me in the NL. Although COL could be historically bad, so I guess it evens out.

Hoping I can be back on top again soon, but probably not this season. Have to imagine Chicago winning a WS soon. Houston still has a chance in my opinion. SF may be past their prime. I still love Boston and Oakland in the AL.

12. I assume your familiar with the expansion rules and the impending expansion draft in a few seasons. Many teams were unhappy with the amount of players they could protect. Looking around the league, do you feel you can field a competitive team with the unprotected players you draft? Do you feel the amount of players protected was correct? How do you feel about the overall expansion rules and concept?

I feel like I could become a contender starting from day one but I'm going to have to resist the urge to chase names, I see so many players I grew up watching but not all of them would be smart picks. I think this was a well thought out process and we all have to put faith in Erbes because I don't think he would expand the league without weighing the negatives/positives. From the expansion thread it seemed like many people weren't on board with the amount of players protected. I think it might've been a tad low but with the draft picks from the 2000 and 2001 draft it gives the expansion teams a good a start.

We'll see how it goes. I'm still a little unsure, but we all have to go through it, so I'm sure it'll be fine.

13. What is your favorite movie and why?

My favorite movie is the Terminal, I've always been a fan of Tom Hanks and he did a great job in this movie. It amazes me how a guy who doesn't speak a lick of English, without any money, or friends can survive in one of the busiest airports in America for that long and the ending always made me cry.

Great movie. Watched it very recently and I got choked up as well.



14. Make a bold prediction for your team. When is your first World Series title and why?

I'm going to say my first WS title will be 2004, by then I'll have a good idea where my team is at and if I gather enough ML ready talent via the expansion draft, I'll just be a couple of pieces away from building a playoff bound team. Once you get into the playoffs, anything can happen.

Wow 2004! That'd be something alright.

15. And on the topic of predictions, predict this season's World Series and who wins it all?

I'm going to say a Boston vs Chicago WS, with Boston winning in 5. It seems like Break has a huge chip on his shoulder from this past season and he needs this bad, to prevent his head from exploding. I could see Chicago winning in 5 also because his pitching staff is equally as impressive as Boston.