Russellville, AR (AP)--Kenny Rogers headlines an All-Star cast of players available for this year's Friends League Baseball draft. Owner Mark Scott, a notorious fan of the Gambler, was gently persuaded by his new manager, Jesse Ventura, to leave Rogers off the protected list.
"He put me in a headlock, threw me off of the ropes in his office, and gave me 'the boot.' I could have fought some more, but then I realized I wasn't stupid," said Scott. "Besides, I have the first pick, so he'll be on the Courthouse Junkies, don't you worry."
The Courthouse Junkies did protect Javy Lopez (C), Jim Thome (1B), Andres Galarraga (1-3B), Rafael Furcal (SS), Chipper Jones (3B), Jim Edmonds (OF), Raul Mondesi (OF), Randy Johnson (P), David Wells (P), and Robb Nen (P).
Another owner that had to make tough decisions, though thankfully wasn't thrown around by his manager, was Andy Stroud. Slug Sauce had a load of players to choose from. Perhaps the most surprising cut was a player that Stroud received in a trade and never threw a pitch for him.
Stroud received John Smoltz from owner Robert Arnwine before the 2000 season for Todd Helton. While Helton had a wonderful season, Smoltz was sidelined with arm surgery. Though Smoltz will be back this year, Slug Sauce couldn't take the risk.
"Ronald [McDonald, the team manager] and I were sitting around having some french fries and hashing out the team," commented Stroud. "We like Smoltzy a lot, but this team never has been built on pitching, and we don't intend to start now!"
Stroud looks primed for another championship run, however, keeping Ivan Rodriguez (C), Jason Giambi (1B), Nomar Garciaparra (SS), Manny Ramirez (OF), Barry Bonds (OF), Brian Giles (OF), Johnny Damon (OF), Greg Maddux (P), Mike Mussina (P) and Bartolo Colon (P).
If Stroud isn't going to concentrate on pitching, the two-time runner up sure is. Chad Skelton looked over his roster and liked the arms he saw.
"We have really built up the pitching category in the last couple of years, and as weak as that is across the majors, we felt we had to protect as many as possible." Skelton continued, "I'm sure there will be some big hitters we can bring in from the draft."
The Smokies' keepers include Jeff Bagwell (1B), Jeff Cirillo (3B), Vladimir Guerrero (OF), Ken Griffey (OF), Tim Hudson (P), Eric Milton (P), Pedro Martinez (P), Al Leiter (P), Jeff D'Amico (P) and Kevin Brown (P).
A team that looks like it could be a serious contender is the Texas Twisters, owned by Robert Arnwine. Just two seasons ago, Arnwine was floundering in the cellar. But a strong season last year has got him thinking of winning it all in 2001.
"This team rocks, I mean it. Strength up and down the roster. And most of my core is young enough that we could start a dynasty if everything breaks right," stated Arnwine.
This core consists of Todd Helton (1B), Tony Batista (1-3B), Jeff Kent (2B), Miguel Tejada (SS), Scott Rolen (3B), Moises Alou (OF), Richard Hidalgo (OF), Andruw Jones (OF), Ryan Dempster (P) and Bruce Chen (P).
If Skelton has a focus on pitching, his roommate has just the opposite. For the first time in Friends League history, someone has had a 9-1 split in their keepers.
"I've got some big bats, and my pitching wasn't much anyway," stated Mark Shively, owner of The World Is Not Enough. "We're going to try the Texas Rangers/Andy Stroud approach--pound them into submission."
The players that will try to do the pounding are Mike Piazza (C), Carlos Delgado (1B), Mike Sweeney (1-3B), Jose Vidro (2B), Edgardo Alfonzo (3B), Frank Thomas (DH), Shawn Green (OF), Magglio Ordonez (OF), Gary Sheffield (OF), and Tom Glavine, the lone pitcher.
Barney's Bad Boys have been just that in the past couple of years, but owner Matt Scott has high hopes for them in the coming season.
According to Scott, "I think we've got some good pitching coming back, plus speed at the top of the lineup. And no one can top my middle infield, though I'm sure I'll spend most of the year fielding offers for A-Rod."
The Boys for 2001 are Luis Castillo (2B), Derek Jeter (SS), Alex Rodriguez (2-SS), Bernie Williams (OF), Sammy Sosa (OF), Shannon Stewart (OF), Curt Schilling (P), Troy Percival (P), Jeff Shaw (P), and Ugeth Urbina (P).
Lastly, the commissioner's team has been pared down, as well. According to owner Daniel Shoptaw, expectations for the Padawan Learners might be a little lower this year.
"I think we've got a good young team here, but some of them are still developing. In fact, we may have one pitcher that starts out in the minor leagues, and that could be tough to come back from," said Shoptaw. "It's a good thing we've got so many early draft picks."
The ten Learners are Jason Kendall (C), Mark McGwire (1B), Pat Burrell (1-3B), Troy Glaus (3B), J.D. Drew (OF), Scott Elarton (P), Kris Benson (P), Kerry Wood (P), Rick Ankiel (P), and Ryan Anderson (P).
The 2001 Friends League Baseball draft will be conducted March 10 at 1:30 pm CST at league headquarters.