Drafted

The rosters have been drawn, adjusted and set. I will record each of the five teams individually in future posts, but a few general comments:

* I choose to force a primary position catcher (Frank Duncan) onto the Walleyes roster and stripped outfielder Bernardo Baro, the final position player that fell to them, from the roster. The Walleyes also have T.J. Young. Their only other "catcher" before making that move was John Beckwith, who is pretty much an emergency catcher only.

* I did not make the same choice with the Loons, who have Hall of Famer Biz Mackey backed by Tank Carr. Carr's defensive coding as a catcher isn't great, but he's more usable behind the plate than Beckwith, and Mackey shouldn't need as much time off as Young.

* I made one trade, also involving the Walleyes. Ray Dandridge went from the Walleyes to the Tourists for Willard Brown, a Hall of Fame infielder for a Hall of Fame outfielder. The Tourists remain a bit thin on infielders -- two-way star Martin Dihigo is the sole reserve at second, third and short -- but at least now they have a backup. The Walleyes now have four outfielders, but one of them, Superman Pennington, is likely to see a lot of time at first base.

* All 37 pitchers were pulled. Two teams, the Tourists and the Herons, landed a pair of two-way players and have eight-man staffs. The other three teams have seven man staffs.

* Eight cards are not assigned to teams, and as it turns out one could cover the eight positions and have a pretty good lineup with the leftovers. Three Hall of Famers are out: shortstop Pop Lloyd, third baseman Judy Johnson and outfielder Cristobal Torriente. Also excluded by the luck of the draw: outfielders Vic Harris, Jimmy Lyons and Bernando Baro,  infielder Rev Cannady and catcher Bill Perkins. (Baro is coded to play first base).