Mac's Mailbag April 9th, 2009

How do you feel about B.Frank going before both Terry and Nate?

Like everyone I was shocked that anyone went before Terry and Nate…much less two people. I still think there was some sort of wheeling and dealing going on with the first few captains.

What are your thoughts on your new team? Are you excited for this season?

I think Opie had the first or second best draft. As Terry told me shortly after…it just feels like all the players on the team are laid back…and will play well together. And yes, I’m very excited for this season.

Are PJ and the Ladies building themselves to compete or to cause mayhem?

A little of both. I don’t think there will ever be a ladies team quite like the one that played my first two seasons in the league...the main cast has grown up. I also think they would like to win a title in a different way than the one in 2005. That said, we’re bound to see a few new antics with the cast of characters they have accumulated.

Is there a lot more parity in the league now that the SBL went back to a draft?

There certainly isn’t a team that is as stacked as the Laser Cats last year…but I do think that two or three of the teams didn’t have particularly good drafts.

How disgusting is the height of Bob Spohn’s team?

Yeah, it is a little ridiculous. My only beef is that he might have wanted one more reliable player to go with the three studs at the top.

Aside from the top five picks being in surprising order, what was the biggest shock about the SBL draft?

To me it was how low the Nespors went. Does Pat Nespor do anything but play in SBL title games?

Which teams have a realistic shot at the championship this season?

When is the last time that a team won an SBL title without having one of the three best players in the league (at that time)? Allow me…never. That said, I’d be shocked if a team that didn’t have Nate, Terry or Frankovich on it won it all this year.

Will the reunion of Shelley and Nate pay off with a championship for Queenie Mentrek?

If she and Mike come with regularity, I think they have to be the favorites. Still, they have to be a little worried that Shelley didn’t come the last few weeks last year.

Which player do you think could move into that upper echelon of players this year? Who do you think will see a dramatic decrease in production this season?

If I had to pick one that could join that elite group it would be PJ O’Conner. He’s probably the best defensive player in the league and will get a chance to be the man for his team on offense as well. As far as a drop, I’m going to leave out players who will drop off due to reliability issues. I think the most likely candidate for that kind of drop statistically will be Opie Neff. Now that he’s a big whig in the league, there is no way that he plays in 27 games like last year. Also, he is sharing the shots with another prolific homerun threat. Clearly it seems that Opie is willing to give up homers for championship contention.

Who in your opinion was the steal of the draft? And who went way too early?

I thought the steal of the draft was Terry Shernisky. To get him at the 4th pick is absolutely ludicrous. Pat Nespor also went way below his talent level. I thought someone who went way too early was Jon Olsavsky. Yes, he is one of the all time greats. But, Jon Offutt really needed to get someone ultra reliable with that pick…and Olsavsky has been ranked high in that category the past few seasons.