Outfield question....Freel in center?

[AM HOUSTON]

My home field is SKYDOME and just completed draft, didn't get all I wanted but that happens. My questions is has anyone ever used Freel as their CF? Right now I have Berkman (lf), Freel (cf) and Sheffield (rf).
This is a DH league and I need a good left-handed bat...J.D. Drew is available. If I pick him up I could place him in right and then DH Sheffield. A.Jones, Finley and Damon are available for center also. What would you do? ........ I also have Figgins but looking to move him, I have other needs.... :!:
Other parks in my division are Camden, Wrigley and US Cellular.

Any coments would be appreciated...thanks

[JOELKING]

freel, isnt logic choice for CF, however he is still a 3, thats not bad, but if you can land drew, i would move drew over to cf, and have freel in corner OF insead. dont put berkman in CF, he cost you more then what you will bargin for, if you need a 1b, that is more of spot for him, but he be better off as your DH insead.

[AM HOUSTON]

devilrage thanks for the feedback. I currently have Konerko at 1b and I also have Broussard...someones gonna go. I got burned in the draft so I'm #2 in the waiver list and Drew should be there. so assuming that I do get Drew I would have an entire outfield with a 3 rating ( following your suggestion) and no big throwing arms. That conerns me, would you dropped one of the outfielders and go with a 1 or 2 defensive CF?

Additionally my current starting rotation in SKYDOME is Radke,Pavano,D.Davis and Bush are these guys good for my home field?

[JOELKING]

I like personnal like going with strong arms in the of, prefer if they are 3 is the max, however going with a good range isnt a bad idea either, it will cut off alot of extra base hits, but they just cant throw, another idea to consider is going with 2range or better in the OF, but with a 0 throwing arm, if available, if you need to have a 3 range, make sure they have a minus arm. pitching, i am really not that good, but hitting is abit better for me. about brousand, i would consider droping him, konenko is better and gives you much better power from the rightside, and the bonus he is cheaper.

[Coffeeholic]

A & M, it would be a big help if you could post a link to your team.

To do this:

left click on "Statistics";
right click on your team;
"Copy shortcut";
Then paste to this thread.

As is, think twice before cutting Figgins loose (he's a decent value in this game). I like Finleyor Damon in CF, Freel in RF, Berkman in LF, Konerko @1B, Sheffield@DH, and Figgins @3B. Money you save on Finley or Damon instead of Drew can probably be better used for upgrades elsewhere, and you've already got a very potent line-up. Also, Finley's or Damon's "D" in CF and the extra $ you'll have available to invest in pitching could prove vital (Finley or Damon instead of Andruw to balance your RHB/LHB 's).

[AM HOUSTON]

Hope this works:

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2005/team/team_other.html?user_id=42381

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[JdEarly]

I know that the threat is titled with a question about using Ryan Freel in centerfield, but I see a few other things that I would try to change, as well. So, if I may...

1. It looks like you're trying to go with a four man rotation, with Brad Radke, Doug Davis, and Carl Pavano already on the roster. The direction I would go in looking for a fourth starter would be to drop Dave Bush and grab either Mark Mulder or Dontrelle Willis, if either of them are available. That way, other managers couldn't just load up on hitters who pound righties and just stomp on you. That, and they both cost a couple million less than Bush, so you save a bunch of money there.

2. I think that your cash is distributed inefficiently in the bullpen. Travis Harper might be a decent set up man, I don't know because I have never used him. Chad Cordero, though, is not the premium 9th inning guy you're probably going to want back there. If a power lefty comes up, what's he going to do? I would say spend some extra money and grab a guy like Billy Wagner or Brad Lidge. Wags is a 5L, but he's still darn good against right handed batters. Also check if guys like Neal Cotts and Danny Graves are available.

3. I like the idea of dropping David Wright and using Chone Figgins at third base. He won't give you the power that Wright will over the full season, but he is an excellent small ball player, and you've already got all the power you'll need with Berkman, Sheffield, Konerko, and who ever you pick up to man centerfield. Figgins will give you another guy (in addition to Freel) who flies on the base paths and can steal you some bases when the need arrises.

4. Between Johnny Damon and Steve Finley in centerfield, I would go with Finley. He'll save you runs with his glove and his arm - with Damon's +2 arm in center, other managers will set their aggressiveness with taking the extra base to 'very aggressive,' and you'll be giving up extra runs that you might not be able to make up. Just a thought.

5. Javier Valentin is an excellent platoon catcher, in my experience, and he works really well with a guy like Yorvit Torrealba (righty, 5L). In SkyDome, I would predict 8-10 homers a piece out of those guys over a full season, and 15-20 homers from $2.5 million worth of catchers isn't too shabby.

6. Ben Brousard should go, mainly because it doesn't look like you'll have a place for him in the lineup (unless you stick Freel in center and Sheffield in right, which I would never recommend). Dropping him, in addition to David Wright (low OBP, high errors) and Dave Bush (five man rotation, Wrigley starter) would give you an extra $18 million, on top of the $6 million you've currently got, to make the moves you need to make. You're in good shape.

...and because of all that cash flow...

7. I would recommend doing something a little bit different with your middle infield. At second base, I would go with a lighter hitting defensive player, such as Tomas Perez or Neifi Perez. Both are 2B-2 with, I believe, a decent error rating. They won't hit a lick, but they won't cost you too much. Heck, is Pokey Reese available? Brian Roberts would be an excellent fit with his glove AND bat, but I doubt he's available. After that, since shortstop is a little bit deeper than second base, I would try to find someone with more pop than Orlando Cabrera. Jimmy Rollins, Omar Vizquel... a premium SS like Derek Jeter would be ideal with your set up, but again, I doubt he's available.

Sorry I just wrote you a book and basically ripped your team apart... I like the start you've got there, but it's far from a finished product (as all teams are in the pre-waivers period). I'll check back in and see how you're doing, and what you think of the ideas I gave you.