The season begins imminently, and I'm aware no one wants to hear about yet another draft done by someone else, but I really should talk about my "World Championship of Fantasy Baseball" experience in Las Vegas last weekend, if for no other reason so others know about it next year. WCOF is predominant throughout the fantasy football world and decided to step into the baseball pool for the first time this year. It's a high stakes league, but it should be noted, for those unwilling to spend a $1,600 entry fee, there are also plenty of "satellite" leagues – where entry fees range from $125, $220, $500 and $1,000. Plus, those leagues are conducted online.

RotoWire has put two teams into this year's main event and was nice enough to give me one of them. The whole deal was top-notch, putting me up at the Palazzo for two nights, and on draft day, there were video cameras, a full bar, lunch served and they even hired some "cheerleaders" to put the stickers on the board for each pick. As cool as that was, I must admit, they weren't helpful, but more of a distraction. I blame them if my team fails. Anyway, onto the draft: the parameters – 14 teams, C, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 2B, MI, CI, OF, OF, OF, OF, OF, Util, SP, SP, SP, SP, SP, SP, RP, RP, P, P. 32 rounds total (and yes, this draft took all day).

I absolutely love being in leagues like LABR and Yahoo! Friends & Family, with some of the biggest names and brightest minds in the fantasy industry (and also Chris Liss), but I mean, there's a $200,000 grand prize for this one, so it was pretty intense. Here's my team:

C – A.J. Pierzynski (round 14)
C – Ramon Hernandez (round 18)
1B – Carlos Pena (round 6)
2B – Dustin Pedroia (round 3)
SS – Elvis Andrus (round 7)
3B – Evan Longoria (round 1)
MI – Dan Uggla (round 9)
CI – Aubrey Huff (round 19)
OF – Ichiro Suzuki (round 4)
OF – Jay Bruce (round 8)
OF – Alex Rios (round 10)
OF – Drew Stubbs (round 13)
OF – Magglio Ordonez (round 20)
Util – Jeff Francoeur (round 21)

SP – Roy Halladay (round 2)
SP – Johan Santana (round 5)
SP – Tim Hudson (round 11)
SP – Gavin Floyd (round 12)
SP – Mat Latos (round 22)
SP – Vicente Padilla (round 23)
RP – Frank Francisco (round 15)
RP – Mike Gonzalez (round 16)
P – Jason Frasor (round 17)
P – Mike Adams (round 27)

R – Orlando Cabrera (round 24)
R – Scott Rolen (round 26)
R – Desmond Jennings (round 28)
R – Trevor Cahill (round 25)
R – Pedro Martinez (round 29)
R – Drew Storen (30)
R – Tony Gwynn (32)
R – Pat Burrell (31)

Some thoughts:

Unbelievably, my top-three picks (and four of the first five) were exactly the same as the other RotoWire team (Shoe and DVR). Pretty crazy (we also had seven common players after 14 rounds).

I waited on catchers and closers more than any other team in the league, then took five straight from rounds 14-18. I don't hate the end result.

I keep getting a pick between 4-7 in pretty much every single one of my drafts this year, resulting in Evan Longoria being on the majority of my teams. I like to diversify, but I also need to stick to my guns. If he goes down with a big injury, I'll be in trouble.

I didn't have Roy Halladay, who I have ranked as the No. 1 SP and as a borderline top-15 option this year, on any of my teams before this draft, so I was happy to get him on at least one.

In a league were you need to swing for the fences more than any other (since for the grand prize, you aren't just competing against 13 others, but rather, every participant in the main event), I was ready to take Jose Reyes in the third round, but he was swooped three picks before me. Dustin Pedroia was my consolation prize.

I have played in probably 5-10 fantasy baseball leagues in each of the past 10 years, and I've never once owned Ichiro Suzuki. Until now. He's most certainly not one of "my guys." But at pick #51 and after other outfielders such as Jason Bay, Curtis Granderson, Nelson Cruz, Shin-Soo Choo and B.J. Upton were all already off the board, I decided to pull the trigger, reluctantly. And also likely regrettably. Ichiro's walks declined last year, as did his LD|PERCENT|, and he stole the fewest bases (26) of his career (while getting caught the most since 2004). He's 36 years old, so a continued decline in stolen bases should be expected, and last year's drop off is especially worrisome considering his OBP was .386 (which came with the aforementioned drop in LD|PERCENT| and BB|PERCENT| and a .384 BABIP (career .359)). Since batting average fluctuates so much, you want to draft the Ichiro types the year after he hits .315, not .350. I strongly considered Ben Zobrist instead. And I guarantee I live to regret it.

Neither Carlos Pena nor (especially) Dan Uggla are guys typically ending up on my teams, but in Pena's case, he was by far the last viable 1B available, and Uggla went about 30 spots lower than his ADP (and after other 2B options like Rickie Weeks, Asdrubal Cabrera, Howie Kendrick and Jose Lopez were off the board). I applaud the aggressive drafters in this league. But also, even if it ultimately backfires, I'm OK with holding my nose and selecting guys I typically avoid if they fall so far it's impossible to ignore. Sometimes it's far better to take what's given and remain agnostic as opposed to acting like you know what's going to happen. Moreover, with Dustin Pedroia, a SP and Ichiro Suzuki among my first four picks, I theoretically should be strong in BA and was realistically short in power, so guys like Pena and Uggla kind of fit the bill perfectly.

At rounds 11 and 12, I wanted two of the following four pitchers: Tim Hudson, Roy Oswalt, Francisco Liriano and Gavin Floyd. I was happy to get two of them (Hudson and Floyd), but in hindsight, I should have went with Liriano over Hudson, especially in a league like this. Hudson is safer, but Liriano's upside is far, far, far greater.

Alex Rios was beyond awful last season and yet still produced 17 homers and 24 steals. He now plays in one of the five best hitting parks in baseball. He's a fine ugly pick.

In an event like this, the specific league you get put in really matters, and I happened to get placed in one with quite a few sharks, so I'm left with a team I'm not overly in love with. Nevertheless, wish me luck!