The All-Time Teams Tournament .. Presented by DraftKings?!?

I announced my All-Time Teams concept in August, began posting rosters in September, and finished it in March. I'm not sure when MLB.com threw together their "Dream Bracket" but I'd have to assume it was after the Coronavirus Pandemic* shut down Spring Training. I doubt that this would exist if there were real games to be played and discussed. 

Since it does exist, I figured it would be a close approximation of how my All-Time Teams tournament would play out if the rosters were run through a simulator.



Looks like MLB.com saved me the trouble. Let's see what they came up with....

Well, the rosters are pretty close - except they only have four true relievers per team (can't blame them there) and their qualifications are far more lax. In fact, the MLB.com rosters have players representing multiple teams.

*I capitalized Coronavirus Pandemic because, as deadly and awful as it has been, I still think it would be a great name for a rock band. Picture this on a flyer: My Chemical Romance with special guest Coronavirus Pandemic. I'd go see that show.

There are 32 teams, including the Negro League Stars. That's good. The 32nd team isn't a "best of the rest" collection like my Barnstormers, but a team of young stars. Hmm.

25 & UNDER STARS
Pitchers: Jack Flaherty, Mike Soroka, Walker Buehler, Shane Bieber, Lucas Giolito, German Márquez, Chris Paddack, Shohei Ohtani, Roberto Osuna, Julio Urías, Jordan Hicks
Starters:
C: Will Smith
1B: Pete Alonso
2B: Ozzie Albies
3B: Rafael Devers
SS: Carlos Correa
LF: Juan Soto
CF: Ronald Acuña Jr.
RF: Cody Bellinger
DH: Yordan Alvarez
Bench: Victor Robles, Gleyber Torres, Yoán Moncada, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., Adley Rutschman

Whoa, whoa, whoa.. Adley Rutschman hasn't played a game above A-ball. Pump the brakes, please.

Also, some of these guys are on their team's 'dream' roster, too. I could quibble with who the experts picked that I didn't - and vice versa - but it's not a big deal to me. Perhaps I'll bookmark it and compare on my own some time.

The major issue I have with their tournament (besides repeating players) is the results.

When I saw that the Yankees and Reds were in the championship I laughed. The Reds?!?

No disrespect to the Big Red Machine - or any Reds fan that might be reading this but come on. Who's pitching for this 'dream' team? Oh right, they can share Tom Seaver with the Mets. Still.. how on Earth did they get past the Dodgers, Giants, and Cardinals? Let's take a look at the tournament results and find out:

The top left of the bracket looks okay. I would have liked to see that Indians-Negro League Stars series. 

At the center-left we have one completely bogus result: the Twins would not lose to Toronto. MLB.com gave Minny Joe Cronin and Frank Viola, moved Killebrew to third, and benched Gary Gaetti for Bob Allison. That's better than the roster I had. Toronto adds Josh Donaldson and Joe Carter, with Devon White starting in center, but the pitching is nearly unchanged from my Blue Jays roster.

I can accept the Red Sox losing to the Yankees in the ALCS. I cannot accept the White Sox beating the A's or the Astros (who probably should have lost to the Orioles) beating the Tigers.

The National League side is even worse. Again, the top is fine but right in the center there's a huge error: The Marlins over the Braves?!? In five games?!?!? You know the Braves have Hank Aaron, right?

If you ask me, OOTP stands for Out Of Toilet Paper, because that's a load of crap.

Moving on to the bottom of the bracket.. The Brewers beat the Giants?!?  Go home, simulator. You're drunk.

For the record, if you asked me who would face the Yankees in the championship I'd say probably the Giants. They have four 500-home run hitters, four Hall of Fame pitchers, and no real weakness anywhere except maybe shortstop. But MLB.com has Bill Terry sitting on the bench, Willie McCovey at first, and Will Clark at DH (at least switch the two.) They scrapped the old timey Giants I had in favor of Rich Aurillia and Pablo Sandoval. Even if they kicked Barry Bonds to the curb the 'dream' Giants should still have advanced past the Brewers.

And then there's the NLCS. The Reds' lineup is legit, but I think the Dodgers would win even if Cincy has Seaver. Koufax, Kershaw, Drysdale, Sutton... plus MLB.com gave L.A. Orel Hershiser and Fernando Valenzuela. They have Gary Sheffield instead of Zack Wheat, and Mike Piazza on the bench. Again, no disrespect to the Reds but I don't see how they could beat the 'dream' Dodgers. 

Anyway, the championship is supposed to be simulated today and tomorrow at 3pm if you're interested. 

I will not be watching. Mostly because I'll be at work, but also because.. tell 'em, Nancy:

Thanks for reading!



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