Auction Recap: Part 1 The Pitcher Chase

Having kept the maximum 10 players at $166 (highest keeper total in the league), I knew I had limited funds to fill out the remaining 15 slots on my roster. 

I toyed with the idea of going for Pujols or Fielder, which paired with Miggy Cabrera would give me 2 beasts. But I couldn't make the numbers work on that Star-Star-and-Scrubs plan.  But feeling good about my offense with Miggy, Ellsbury, Papi, etc., I decided my top priority was a #1/2/3 starter, preferably a big-K guy.  My second priority was to get a closer at auction. I budgeted $29 for the starter and $11 for the 2nd-tier closer.

Happily for me, there were plenty of top-end starters to choose from.  CC Sabbathia?  Went for $38.  Dan Haren? $39.  David Price?  Love him, but he went for $38.  CJ Wilson?  $35.  See a trend here?  I really wanted Justin Verlander, and somehow the bidding petered out at $38, but I wasn't able to pull the trigger, thinking that it was already way over my budget.  Immediately after the computer voice said "Sold," I started swearing and pounding the table, knowing I let the Cy Young winner go for a dollar less than Dan Haren.  Clearly I had to adjust my budget.  King Felix went for $37.  Hell, even Yu Darvish went for $31 while I sat on the sidelines hoping for the SP bargain.  So when Jon Lester was nominated, I jumped all in and rode the bidding all the way to... you guessed it: $39.  (Interestingly, both CC and Lester went for the same prices they went for last year.) 

No bargain, but I had secured the 15+ wins and 200 Ks I needed.

As for a closer, there were far fewer pickings.  Capps went for $11, but I didn't really like him.  Balfour went for $14.  When Bailey's price became $21, and his injury became known, I knew Melancon would go for more than the $4 or $5 I had him penciled in at.  When he hit $12, I bowed out.  This sucks, I thought.  Bard, perhaps the league's best closer who won't be closing, went for $11 -- $3 less than I had him last year -- but as a mediocre starter or a set-up guy, and with a very limited budget since I spent $39 on Lester, I couldn't justify it.  Finally, Broxton came up as my last hope, and bidding stalled at my $8 bid.  Thank friggin' god. 

To paraphrase Supertramp: "Not much of a closer, but he's the only one I got."