At last, it is SOMBOE time, and, well, that stands for Strat-O-Matic Baseball Oniline Experts, the experts offering the  good people at The Sporting News.

This will bet he sixth season in which I have been able to participate in this fun online foray wherein the likes of Joe Sheehan, Jeff Erickson, Eric Karabell, Brandon Roberts, Dean Peterson, and JP Kastner (and I guess yours truly) get to mix it up in a mixed league $80 million salary cap game over a nine week season.

I have generally fared pretty well in this league, making the post season a few times, and going as far as a World Series I choked to Trace Wood some years back. (I am still trying to figure out how I lost that one?)

In fact the only really bad year I have had was when I wanted to totally experiment by taking the most expensive hitter and pitcher I could. They were Barry Bonds and Eric Gagne, and, well, that does not work as a strategy.

In general, though my strategy is to try to get hitters who can get on base, who have some speed, and play good defense, and pitchers who keep baserunners off the paths. In essence, that is a combination that should make just about any fantasy team a successful one, not to mention a team playing on the field.

But, I rarely pay any attention to the kind of ball park, whether lefties hit better or righties do in the park, and so on as I do whether those position players hits lefties or righties in the first place.

And, in the past I have generally take ballparks local. Again, a few years back my Bonds/Gagne team was based in Yankees Stadium, but I usually grab McAfee or ATT because, well, I like them. I can visualize my guys doing their thing there.

So, when the first right of the season came--a thread email from JP asking us to select our teams--and my choice as #6 arrived, I had not considered too much where we would play. And, both the local venues were available, and then it came to me.

I have been spending time in Chicago with my girl friend Diane (when she is not coming out here, and she has been to McAfee) so, grabbing Wrigley just seemed to be a natural.

Since Diane grew up a Cubs, and especially Ron Santo fan, and since Dean had taken the White Sox park as the first pick, well, there you go.

So, my team this time will be the Chicago Hot Dogs, and I anxiously await the monikers of my leaguemates because they are always great. (Having a clever name is essential.)

And of course the draft and the season.