<div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">First, thanks to Jeff for hosting and to Commissioner Blocker for getting us organized so well. Yesterday was a great day!</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Now to business. I have to defend myself against Jeff's criticism. Half the guys he identified on my roster (Lowe, Raleigh, Santander) got hurt *after* I retained them when healthy (hence, my bitching). Urquidy and Rendon are throwaways (a rotation round pick and a $2 player). Brandish was consciously bought at a big injury discount. So, all that just for buying freaking Tyler O'Neill?</div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">With that off my chest, allow me to officially welcome Mark B. to "The Lowe Oblique Club." (<span><a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer nofollow noopener" href="https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/2871064">https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/2871064</a></span>) Maybe Josh and Nathaniel can rehab together as we look forward to seeing them in June.<br><pre>-Andy</pre><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br></div>
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<div style="font-family:arial;font-size:14px;"><br></div><div style="font-family:arial;font-size:14px;">-------------------------------------<br></div><div style="font-family:arial;font-size:14px;">Owner, Klein Nine (est. 1990)<br></div><div style="font-family:arial;font-size:14px;"><img class="proton-embedded" src="cid:d43a2fc0@pm.me"><br></div>
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On Sunday, March 17th, 2024 at 10:33 AM, Jeffrey Winick <jwinick@hwhlegal.com> wrote:<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Great draft!! Thank you Mark B for setting things up.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Congrats to Kerber on what should be the first of back to back championships. Then again, it is Kerber we’re talking about.
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif">😉</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Here’s the quick assessment of the draft:</span></p>
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<li style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">One of the best drafts ever. Most of us stuck to form, but there were a few unexpected changes: (i) Mark Kerber was shockingly the quietest one in
the room; (ii) Mark Blocker actually spoke up when he wanted players, albeit usually the wrong ones; (iii) Andy Klein bought expensive pitchers (just kidding, but he did place a bid of more than $10 on Bieber); (iv) Jeff Winick bid up Mark Kerber rather than
vice-versa for a long overdue change.</span></li><li style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Inflation at the top end of the talent pool was higher than ever, running at a rate of north of 40%. That made for some bargains in the middle to end
of the draft, but not as many as expected.</span></li><li style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">The market for closers was dead! Other than Hader, almost every purchased closer went for single digits. Perhaps we’ve learned our lesson.</span></li><li style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">John Fruit only bought 1 Minnesota starter and his name wasn’t Ryan, Ober or Lopez!</span></li></ol>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Pippen’s Nothing But A Dog projections are coming, but the early returns suggest the following:</span></p>
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<li style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">As expected, Kerber came out of the draft the team to beat, but…..Bieber, Kikuchi, Canning, Barlow and Kimbrel were the not the pitchers that he needed
to lock things down. Kudos to the Calamari who stepped up to buy Corbin Burnes and to the rest of the soon to be members of LOOPED who stepped up to ensure that Kerber has lots of question marks in his pitching ranks. And $37 on Trout and Buxton means that
there’s opportunity to knock off the champ.</span></li><li style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Blake Snell’s landing place is going to be very important. If, as rumored, he goes to Houston, then the other Mark enters the conversation. Of course,
if he doesn’t, it’s hard not to notice that both Mark’s struggled when putting their pitching staffs together. $40 on the combination of Gerrit Cole (already injured) and Nick Pivetta (soon to be injured and not very good to boot) is not a recommended path
to contention. It’s Snell or bust for this team (or should I say Snell or another successful Drive for Five).</span></li><li style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">The Berliners could be interesting if Montgomery lands in the AL. In fact, they might even be persuaded to segue from rebuilding to making a run at
the Damon. If not, this team is looking to dominate from 2025 on.</span></li><li style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Lubeasts look to me like the most balanced team and one that will be in the hunt for the whole season. If Kerber stumbles and presuming that Blocker
continues to struggle with contemplating the notion of a trade that helps both him AND the party with whom he’s trying to trade, Lubeasts may well be hoisting another Damon at the end of the year.</span></li><li style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">The Angry Young Men were on their way to a great draft until his brother in law manipulated him into spending $36 on the perennially disappointing George
Springer. This is still a really good team, but it’s hard not to imagine what might have been.</span></li><li style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">As per usual, the Brats have an excellent pitching staff. But that offense?! Arozarena, Devers and….you tell me.</span></li><li style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">The Hoosiers look like a Midwest nice team. Nothing particularly flashy, but goodness all around. This team will need some of the young guys to step
up in a big way (Miller, Woo, Crawford, Brown, Neto, Meadows), but could surprise.</span></li><li style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">The Calamari appear to have gone with a Stars and Scrubs strategy. Nice stars (Perez, Guerrero, Yoshida and Burnes for $127) and then…well…lots of scrubs.
If the scrubs aren’t really scrubs, this team will surprise.</span></li><li style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">The K9 bitched and moaned about all of the injuries that their team had already suffered and then doubled down (or is that tripled down). Cal Raleigh
(bruised heel), Nate Lowe (oblique), Anthony Santander (first truly healthy season was last year), Tyler Oneil (horrendous injury history), Anthony Rendon (need I say more), Kyle Bradish (Tommy John candidate), Jose Urquidy (Tommy John candidate), and narrowly
avoided George Springer. You can’t make this up – OOPS gets off to a strong start.</span></li><li style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2" class="MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Buddha’s Toes look like a team building for the future. Langaliers, Pasquantino, Mountcastle, Julien, Grissom, Rooker, Duran, Wallner, Ragans are all
guys that could lead a team to victory…in 2025. But watch to see where JD Martinez lands. This team gets better in a hurry if he’s a member of the Senior League.</span></li></ol>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">That is all…for now.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Jeff</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> Announce <announce-bounces@usml.net>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Frank Luby via Announce<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Saturday, March 16, 2024 6:30 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> USML Announcements <announce@usml.net><br>
<b>Cc:</b> Frank Luby <zachfehsvater@yahoo.com><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [USML Announce] USML - rosters update</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks, Mark!</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Great seeing everyone again and thanks to Jeff for hosting.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">A few corrections to the Lubeasts: Huff and Colas are Y1 (they’ve lost rookie status) and Blaze Jordan’s salary should be $2.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks,</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Frank</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Sent from my iPhone</p>
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<p style="margin-bottom:12.0pt" class="MsoNormal">On Mar 16, 2024, at 5:19<span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span>PM, Mark Blocker <<a href="mailto:blockermark@gmail.com" rel="noreferrer nofollow noopener" target="_blank">blockermark@gmail.com</a>> wrote:</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt">League: I have received 6 of the 10 rosters, so those teams are now reflected on the website. Note that, as in past year, we will need to request that certain players be added to the database for some of
those rosters. As for the other 4 rosters, those will be entered late tonight, assuming that I receive them today.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt">Great seeing everyone today. Doing the draft in person is great fun.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt">Mark B.</span></p>
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