All of the above?

As @Horseshoe mentioned, tobacco type has a lot to do with things. Some aromatics are going to do this no matter what. It is the high concentration of Propylene Glycol (PG) that they use to keep their tobacco's moist. The byproduct is a sopping wet tobacco that leaves a lot of moisture in the bottom of the bowl. Other tobaccos are just as wet, but can still be dried out. I leave my tobacco out anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours before smoking it, depending on what blend it is. Moisture content is kind of tricky for new smokers...use the pinch test, if you pinch the tobacco firmly and it stays "clumpy" then the tobacco is still too wet to smoke. You want it to be spongy, but after pinching the tobacco it should all fall apart freely as it was before you pinched it.

As far as drool is concerned, this can happen if you are a clincher, especially in curved stemmed pipes. You just kind of learn over time to stop drooling while clinching...much like all things in the pipe realm, it takes practice, and patience.

A wet smoke isn't the end of the world BTW, just make sure you keep some pipe cleaners close by to run down the stem and into the bowl to soak up the moisture. Nothing wrong with doing that at all. Pipe cleaners are your friend, and as long as the tobacco isn't bitter or smoking sour, then keep on puffing and using a pipe cleaner to keep as much moisture sopped up as possible.

Happy Pipe'in