Limited Edition 3 Musketeers Marshmallow Minis & A Super-Long Recap of the Clout Wars 6 Draft

Junk Food Nation, since tonight is Opening Night for baseball, I figured I’d update you on my post from 03-30-2012.  Last week the fantasy baseball league I run, called Clout Wars, held their annual auction draft.  For those of you unfamiliar with this concept, basically rather than taking turns picking players to your fake baseball team, each owner has a set budget and an auction system is used to select the baseball players to your fake baseball team. The benefit of this system is that every owner has equal opportunity to buy every single player – it’s just a matter of how much you want to pay for him vs. another owner, budgeting, etc.

My battlestation for the evening

Deciding how much of your $260 budget to spend on batters vs. pitchers is always a personal decision. One owner in our league spent $148 to buy Tim Lincecum, Clayton Kershaw, Cliff Lee, CC Sabathia, and Zack Greinke, but now has Freddy Sanchez starting at second base.  Another owner decided to try and make his entire team comprised of no one more expensive than $22.  To each his own.

My strategy?  Easy: Go big on batting, and skimp on pitching.  It worked for me last year, and it’ll work for me this year.  More details on this waaaay after the jump.  Additionally, I enjoyed tossing out players for auction that I had no interest on bidding on.  Let others spend their money, diminish their budgets, and then outbid them when there’s a player you REALLY want.  This worked especially well when I nominated Craig Kimbrel ($21 for 40 saves? Good, but no thanks).

Anyways, for you fantasy sports nerds (like me), read on after the jump to see a breakdown of rosters, how much everyone cost, and some comments on the draft from some people in the league.

Today’s junk food: Limited Edition 3 Musketeers Marshmallow Minis!

The Money Shot

I ahven’t done much candy on this blog, but with Passover and Eater approaching, why not?  I spotted these Limited Edition 3 Musketeers Marshmallow Minis in my local Walgreens. I mean, the bag was light purple and said Limited Edition….so that’s enough for me!

Whipped up

According to Wiki, these Limited Edition 3 Musketeers Marshmallow Minis were released last Easter as well.  This must be the remix; I’d never seen them before.

Easter eggs!

You know, there’s really nothing EASTER-ish per se about these Limited Edition 3 Musketeers Marshmallow Minis except for the fact that there’s some painted eggs on the bag.  Woooo.

Apparently this is 3 Musketeers slogan

Apparently, 3 Musketeers’ slogan is “A Lighter Way to Enjoy Chocolate.” It’s even on their website.  These Limited Edition 3 Musketeers Marshmallow Minis aren’t gonna be the lighter way to enjoy chocolate when I eat 30 of them.

These pieces are clearly not big enough

These bite size pieces make no sense to me.  Maybe if you’re trying to limit your kids’ intake, then sure – it makes sense to give pieces individually wrapped that are the size of gumballs.  But for an adult? You’re just creating more work for me.  I feel like I need to unwrap 10 before I even begin to eat.

Of course, the other fact remains why is an adult buying bite size candy?

Yep, waaaaay too small

I chomped on these Limited Edition 3 Musketeers Marshmallow Minis, and here’s my thoughts: The chocolate used was definitely tasty.  I mean, I know the Mars Corporation isn’t Godiva or Lindt, but it’s still just good old fashioned milk chocolate that is sweet and full of cocoa flavor.  Overall, the Mini was VERY soft – because the filling was more like whipped marshmallow than the typical nougat, it wasn’t as chewy as a typical 3 Musketeers at all – the whole thing just kind of melted in my mouth.  It was one of those situations where I could crush the square against the roof of my mouth without a problem.

Hmmm that IS marshamllow-ey

Flavor-wise, the filling, though seemingly all marshmallow, did still have that slightly malty nougat taste.  Really tasty with the milk chocolate.  The innards of the 3 Musketeers wasn’t the standard greyish nougat color, but a bright white marshmallow color.  As I chewed, the marshmallow/nougat flavored insides melted completely with the sweet chocolatey outsides.  Good stuff, but how can you really go wrong with such a simple formula?  Overall, these Limited Edition 3 Musketeers Marshmallow Minis were really satisfying bites of confection.

—-

Baseball geeks, read on!  After the Clout Wars draft concluded, I sent a followup email to all the owners in the fake league and asked them:

1. What did you like about how your draft went? (your offense, your strategy, whatever it is, etc.)
2. What DIDN’T you like about how your draft went? (aka where’d it all go wrong?)
3. Your team’s steal of the draft (player you felt like you purchased at a great price)
4. Your team’s overpay of the draft (your one regret)

Scroll down for the rosters and for some of the owner’s answers to the questions posed above.

Washington Metrostars
C J.P. Arencibia 1
1B Joey Votto 39
2B Dustin Ackley 7
3B Ryan Zimmerman 26
SS Derek Jeter 10
2B/SS Jemile Weeks 9
1B/3B Prince Fielder 37
OF Giancarlo Stanton 34
OF Andre Ethier 11
OF Desmond Jennings 9
OF Lorenzo Cain 1
UTIL Alex Rodriguez 19
P Yu Darvish 10
P Joel Hanrahan 7
P Mark Buehrle 2
P Gio Gonzalez 9
P Brett Myers 4
P Chris Perez 4
P Kenley Jansen 2
P Henry Rodriguez 1
P Greg Holland 2
BE Billy Butler 9
BE Zack Cozart 1
BE Alfonso Soriano 1
BE Justin Morneau 2
BE Edinson Volquez 3
Total: 260
Remaining: 0

Per me:

1. I love everything about how my draft went.  I spent 44 on pitching and 216 on bats, which is close to the 210/50 I had allotted myself.  I went big after a few names I really wanted and got them (Prince, Votto, Stanton), sat back on 2Bs and grabbed the two I had my eye on (Weeks, Ackley), and then let pitching trickle in. My pitching isn’t great, but it wasn’t last year and I still ended up schooling these other clowns.

2. I regret not betting 1-2 more dollars on a few closers… a couple dollars would’ve netted me Drew Storen and Jose Valverde, I’m convinced.

3. IMO, Arod at 19 was pretty amazing, given that he still bats in the New York lineup. Arencibia at 1 and Billy Butler and Desmond Jennings at 9 were probably some of my best values.  Still (mark it down), I think Lorenzo Cain at 1 will be the best value yet.  He’s going to make a splash this year.

4. I’m still a little skiddish about paying 26 for Ryan Zimmerman, despite being the star here in DC and I think possessing MVP talent.  There were just a bunch of other 3B options on the board (like Arod later at 19).  Still, given how my team ended up, I think it was an OK purchase.

Jesus Made Me Strikeout
C Yadier Molina 4
1B James Loney 1
2B Freddy Sanchez 1
3B Jose Bautista 39
SS Marco Scutaro 2
2B/SS Yunel Escobar 1
1B/3B Evan Longoria 35
OF Nick Markakis 10
OF Colby Rasmus 3
OF David Murphy 1
OF Denard Span 1
UTIL Nyjer Morgan 1
P Tim Lincecum 27
P Clayton Kershaw 34
P Cliff Lee 34
P CC Sabathia 28
P Zack Greinke 25
P Frank Francisco 5
P Derek Holland 1
P Jonathon Niese 1
P Gavin Floyd 1
BE Trevor Cahill 1
BE Ivan Nova 1
BE Carl Pavano 1
BE Rafael Furcal 1
BE Jason Bay 1
Total: 260
Remaining: 0

Strictly For Mike Nickeas
C Buster Posey 8
1B Eric Hosmer 22
2B Ian Kinsler 27
3B Chris Davis 1
SS Troy Tulowitzki 38
2B/SS Aaron Hill 1
1B/3B Lance Berkman 17
OF Andrew McCutchen 27
OF Carlos Beltran 11
OF Coco Crisp 4
OF Lucas Duda 4
UTIL Mark Trumbo 4
P Matt Moore 14
P Dan Haren 25
P Jeremy Hellickson 15
P John Axford 16
P Tommy Hanson 12
P Brandon League 4
P Tim Stauffer 1
P Juan Nicasio 1
P Jair Jurrjens 1
BE Mike Trout 1
BE Carlos Quentin 2
BE Chad Billingsley 1
BE Bryce Harper 1
BE Ian Stewart 1
Total: 259
Remaining: 1

Hebrew Nationals
C Alex Avila 6
1B Miguel Cabrera 43
2B Danny Espinosa 2
3B Adrian Beltre 29
SS Alcides Escobar 1
2B/SS Stephen Drew 1
1B/3B Adrian Gonzalez 40
OF Josh Hamilton 24
OF Jay Bruce 24
OF Nick Swisher 4
OF Dexter Fowler 2
UTIL Paul Goldschmidt 3
P David Price 24
P Adam Wainwright 17
P Matt Garza 12
P J.J. Putz 9
P Kyle Farnsworth 5
P Sean Marshall 6
P Alexi Ogando 1
P Sergio Romo 1
P Ricky Nolasco 1
BE Peter Bourjos 1
BE Rex Brothers 1
BE Rick Porcello 1
BE Cliff Pennington 1
BE Francisco Rodriguez 1
Total: 260
Remaining: 0

Born-Again Elk Hunters
C Mike Napoli 23
1B Paul Konerko 21
2B Dan Uggla 19
3B Martin Prado 7
SS Alexei Ramirez 9
2B/SS Chase Utley 4
1B/3B Michael Cuddyer 12
OF Matt Holliday 25
OF Ichiro Suzuki 15
OF Nelson Cruz 22
OF Melky Cabrera 7
UTIL Adam Lind 11
P Jon Lester 21
P Edwin Jackson 2
P Josh Beckett 10
P Andrew Bailey 7
P Anibal Sanchez 8
P Jordan Zimmermann 9
P Brandon Morrow 6
P Drew Storen 7
P Jhoulys Chacin 1
BE Angel Pagan 2
BE Clay Buchholz 3
BE Matt Thornton 3
BE Aroldis Chapman 2
BE Jonathan Broxton 4
Total: 260
Remaining: 0

Per the Born Again Elk Hunters

1. I was pleased with the balance I achieved with my team.  I wanted to avoid having my season dependent on the performance of a small number of “big ticket” players, and feel as though I achieved that goal.

2. I did not like how I failed to draft any potential “breakout candidates.”  I would have liked to have landed one or two players with a lot of potential upside.

3. I consider Brandon Morrow to be a steal at $6.

4. I think I grossly over payed for Melky Cabrera at $7.

Stay on Target

C Carlos Ruiz 2
1B Michael Young 17
2B Howard Kendrick 15
3B Mike Moustakas 5
SS Hanley Ramirez 36
2B/SS Erick Aybar 7
1B/3B Freddie Freeman 12
OF Matt Kemp 41
OF Justin Upton 35
OF Adam Jones 13
OF Yoenis Cespedes 3
UTIL Jesus Montero 7
P Yovani Gallardo 21
P Josh Johnson 14
P Ricky Romero 9
P Wandy Rodriguez 4
P Hiroki Kuroda 4
P Javy Guerra 2
P Chris Sale 2
P Doug Fister 1
P Addison Reed 2
BE Brad Lidge 1
BE Brandon Belt 2
BE Vinnie Pestano 1
BE Jonny Venters 1
BE Francisco Liriano 3
Total: 260
Remaining: 0

Per Stay on Target:

1. I had wanted Hanley Ramirez at all costs (for some reason I just think he’ll bounce back huge with a new attitude) and so I’m happy I got him for less than $40.  I think I also spent about $60 total on my pitchers and got some good ones, so I’m pretty happy about that.

2. I hate hate hate that I have Yoenis Cespedis on my team.

3. Doug Fister for $1. Josh Johnson for $14 (fingers crossed).

4. Howie (Howard) Kendrick for $15.  Justin Upton for $35.

Pakistani Indians

C Miguel Montero 9
1B Mark Teixeira 25
2B Brandon Phillips 21
3B Pablo Sandoval 25
SS Emilio Bonifacio 7
2B/SS Jason Kipnis 6
1B/3B Carlos Pena 1
OF Carlos Gonzalez 35
OF Corey Hart 15
OF Brett Gardner 11
OF Alex Gordon 16
UTIL Jason Kubel 5
P Mariano Rivera 14
P Ubaldo Jimenez 12
P Michael Pineda 8
P Brandon Beachy 11
P Mat Latos 12
P Max Scherzer 9
P Sergio Santos 8
P Brandon McCarthy 2
P Justin Masterson 1
BE Ryan Dempster 1
BE Jeff Francoeur 1
BE Bud Norris 3
BE Justin Smoak 1
BE Kurt Suzuki 1
Total: 260
Remaining: 0

Per the Pakistani Indians:

1. I felt the draft went well. My strategy was to spend 70% of the money on hitters and 30% on pitchers which I basically achieved. At the same time I had a goal of what the statistics I wanted at the end of the season so I had to keep an eye on the projected numbers to see if I was going to achieve those goals and in 7 of the ten categories I surpassed them and in the other 3 I was close to achieving them. These were my goals and the totals would have been sufficient to win the league last year R – 945, HR- 250, RBI- 935, SB- 150, AVG- .281, W-95, S-115, K- 1300, ERA3.19, WHIP 1.15. I know this probably giving away too much but that was my strategy.

2. Where it did not go right was I did not save enough money for a third closer so I am light on saves. The below avg closer I was hoping would be available late but some teams (clearing my throat) stock piled a bunch of closers.

3. My biggest steal of the draft is Michael Pineda based on my predraft valuations of players as I payed $8 and I had him pegged at $16. This is probably based on the fact I am an Indians fan but I think at the end of the year I will get the most bang for my buck from Jason Kipnis at $6.

4. My overpay of the draft definitely was Ubaldo Jimenez. Again my love for the Indians may have blinded me in that one.

Four Aces

C Wilson Ramos 1
1B Michael Morse 21
2B Ben Zobrist 19
3B Kevin Youkilis 19
SS Dee Gordon 9
2B/SS Dustin Pedroia 34
1B/3B Aramis Ramirez 19
OF Jacoby Ellsbury 34
OF Jason Heyward 12
OF Matt Joyce 1
OF J.D. Martinez 1
UTIL Kendrys Morales 4
P Jered Weaver 29
P Felix Hernandez 29
P C.J. Wilson 17
P Tyler Clippard 1
P Luke Gregerson 1
P Jonathan Sanchez 1
P Daniel Bard 1
P Mike Adams 1
P Joaquin Benoit 1
BE Allen Craig 1
BE Jason Bartlett 1
BE Jose Altuve 1
BE Todd Helton 1
BE Sean Rodriguez 1
Total: 260
Remaining: 0

WARp Criminals
C Geovany Soto 1
1B Albert Pujols 45
2B Robinson Cano 38
3B Danny Valencia 2
SS Starlin Castro 20
2B/SS Daniel Murphy 4
1B/3B Mitch Moreland 24
OF Curtis Granderson 32
OF Drew Stubbs 9
OF B.J. Upton 12
OF Cameron Maybin 4
UTIL Alex Rios 3
P Carlos Marmol 10
P Daniel Hudson 10
P Ted Lilly 1
P Heath Bell 9
P Shaun Marcum 6
P Tim Hudson 3
P Ervin Santana 5
P Joe Nathan 4
P Huston Street 7
BE Colby Lewis 3
BE John Danks 1
BE Johan Santana 1
BE Ian Desmond 1
BE Russell Martin 5
Total: 260
Remaining: 0

Per the WARp Criminals:

1) I’m generally pleased with how the draft went, I really didn’t have time to do my normal prep, so I’m just glad I didn’t draft anyone who was in the minors or recovering from TJ surgery.

2) I misjudged the pitchers market so I ended up not using nearly 10% of my budget, that was annoying.

3) I got Ted Lily for $1, he’s not an ace, but a decent pitcher and I assumed it would cost me a few dollars to get him. That was part of the problem with my pitcher drafting, along with not getting into any of the $30+ starter bidding, that led me to be so under budget

4) Overpay? well I spent $5 on Russel Martin and $24 on Mitch Moreland….but those were possibly because I was just trying to max out my spending on my final picks.

Goatse Donuts

C Matt Wieters 10
1B Gaby Sanchez 3
2B Rickie Weeks 14
3B David Wright 23
SS Jose Reyes 32
2B/SS Jhonny Peralta 7
1B/3B Brett Lawrie 22
OF Ryan Braun 40
OF Michael Bourn 24
OF Torii Hunter 1
OF Ben Revere 1
UTIL Chase Headley 1
P Cole Hamels 26
P Matt Cain 21
P Jonathan Papelbon 13
P Jason Motte 6
P Jaime Garcia 3
P Matt Capps 5
P Mike Minor 1
P Vance Worley 1
P Phil Hughes 1
BE Mike Leake 1
BE Homer Bailey 1
BE Jose Tabata 1
BE Mike Aviles 1
BE Jake Peavy 1
Total: 260
Remaining: 0

Per the Goatse Donuts:

1. I have a pretty good mix of power and speed, starters and closers. Didn’t blatantly overpay for any players.

2. Didn’t like that I got David Wright. Was just trying to push his price up.

3. Not real pleased with my bargain hunting. Torii Hunter for $1 was probably my best value pick.

4. David Wright. Probably also overpaid for Cole Hamels, but I always overpay for Phillies so I’m ok with that.

Pint of Yuengling

C Carlos Santana 22
1B Mark Reynolds 7
2B Neil Walker 9
3B Ryan Roberts 5
SS Asdrubal Cabrera 13
2B/SS Elvis Andrus 14
1B/3B Edwin Encarnacion 6
OF Hunter Pence 21
OF Shane Victorino 15
OF Shin-Soo Choo 15
OF Chris Young 7
UTIL David Ortiz 12
P James Shields 16
P Ian Kennedy 17
P Madison Bumgarner 15
P Jordan Walden 10
P Johnny Cueto 6
P Jose Valverde 8
P Cory Luebke 5
P Jim Johnson 4
P R.A. Dickey 1
BE Brian McCann 13
BE Delmon Young 5
BE Ike Davis 3
BE Mat Gamel 3
BE Carlos Lee 8
Total: 260
Remaining: 0

Stringer’s Bells
C Joe Mauer 13
1B Ryan Howard 8
2B Kelly Johnson 5
3B David Freese 1
SS Jimmy Rollins 19
2B/SS J.J. Hardy 12
1B/3B Adam Dunn 6
OF Carl Crawford 22
OF Jayson Werth 12
OF Logan Morrison 3
OF Mike Carp 2
UTIL Austin Jackson 2
P Roy Halladay 35
P Craig Kimbrel 21
P Justin Verlander 35
P Stephen Strasburg 24
P Neftali Feliz 5
P Brian Wilson 11
P Rafael Betancourt 9
P Chris Carpenter 4
P Grant Balfour 5
BE Josh Willingham 2
BE A.J. Burnett 1
BE Scott Rolen 1
BE Scott Baker 1
BE Ryan Raburn 1
Total: 260
Remaining: 0

Thoughts? Hit me in the comments below or hit me on Twitter @junkfoodguy or on my Facebook Page. Sincerely, Junk Food Guy

Discuss - 4 Comments

  1. Ed says:

    Funny, I think a lot of us went in with the 200/60 (or 210/50) split idea for hitters/pitchers… overall I think it led to an over-pricing of hitters and under-pricing for pitchers, which then affected WARp Criminals’ budget, etc.

  2. This post was totally Greek to me…except for the marshmallow talk. We had these around the office last year and they went dangerously fast – into my belly!

    Good luck on your baseball thing this year!

  3. Juli Janssen says:

    I am all about the bite sized candy. Especially for something super sweet like marshmallow covered in chocolate. The tiny size of these are perfect for me.

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