Which Maine is it you ask? As objectively as possible I am going to say somewhere in between the 1st and 3rd

Which Maine is it, you ask? As objectively as possible, I am going to say somewhere in between the 1st and 3rd version Maine as a keeper pick in the 11th? Oh, yea I’ll take that alright. And another thing…Maine could be the 4th starter in the Mets rotation, and that would take a lot of pressure off of him. Round 12, pick 140– Chad Cordero RP /WAS My initial strategy was to “punt” saves, and draft young middle relievers very late, in hopes they would start closing later this season or at the start of 2009. I looked at who was available, and I looked at who I already had.

I was happy with my power/speed combination, so guys like Michael Bourn for steals or Jim Thome for power were not that appealing to me So I decided to go for it, and get some saves under my belt. Cordero is a mid-tier closer who should get me 30 plus saves. His other pitching numbers might hurt a bit, but I couldn’t see sacrificing an entire stat category. Besides, I had two others closers queued up to round out the standard trio of “save” guys.

Round 13, pick 149 – Jeff Francis SP/ COL At 27 years old, this season can catapult the lefty into upper echelon status, or inversely, can make him labeled as just another Rockies pitcher you would be better off avoiding on draft day I am putting my faith on the former. The Rockies are a great offensive team, coming off a National League Championship, so that will translate into upper teen win totals. Francis needs to up his K total and lower the WHIP and ERA numbers if he is to be known as a reliable fantasy starter, but as my No 3 in a deep keeper league, I will take a shot on him. Round 14, pick 164 – Jeremy Bonderman SP /DET I admit that Bonderman burned me last season. I drafted him in a league or two, and traded for him in another league. Last year he followed up a 9-1 start with a 2-8 stretch that had many swan diving off the Bonderman bandwagon.