Rookie Manager with a good draft...feedback please

[ale0319]

I'm not sure if it's the way I did my pre-draft rankings or what, but I got some great players (statistically speaking) at some bargain prices. I don't know how some of these guys slipped to me but I was very happy with the draft and waiver results. The league (2007) starts tonight and I'm really excited about it. Let me know what you think.

Lineup vs. LHP (with backups)-

1. Suzuki, I. (L) CF 1(-5)e3 2L .322 .370 .416 Crisp, C. (S)
2. Rollins, J. (S) SS 2e12 1L .277 .334 .478 Lopez, F. (S)
3. Guerrero, V. (R) RF 4(-4)e15 4L .329 .382 .552 Huff, A.
4. Rodriguez, A. (R) DH - 1L .290 .392 .523
5. Lee, C. (R) LF 5(+1)e7 2R .300 .355 .540 Feliz, P. (R)
6. Teixeira, M. (S) 1B 1e4 3L .282 .371 .514 Huff, A. (L)
7. Utley, C. (L) 2B 3e19 1R .309 .379 .527 Polanco, P. (R)
8. Blalock, H. (L) 3B 3e16 3R .266 .325 .401 Rodriguez, A.
9. Varitek, J. (S) C 2(0)e3 1R .238 .325 .400 Lopez, J. (R)


Lineup vs. RHP (with backups)-

1. Suzuki, I. (L) CF 1(-5)e3 2L .322 .370 .416 Crisp, C. (S)
2. Rollins, J. (S) SS 2e12 1L .277 .334 .478 Lopez, F. (S)
3. Guerrero, V. (R) RF 4(-4)e15 4 .329 .382 .552 Huff, A. (L)
4. Rodriguez, A. (R) DH - 1L .290 .392 .523
5. Lee, C. (R) LF 5(+1)e7 2R .300 .355 .540 Feliz, P. (R)
6. Teixeira, M. (S) 1B 1e4 3L .282 .371 .514 Huff, A. (L)
7. Utley, C. (L) 2B 3e19 1R .309 .379 .527 Polanco, P. (R)
8. Blalock, H. (L) 3B 3e16 3R .266 .325 .401 Rodriguez, A.
9. Varitek, J. (S) C 2(0)e3 1R .238 .325 .400 Lopez, J. (R)


Pitchers:

Zambrano, Carlos R S7* 6.46M
Kazmir, Scott L S6 4.69M
Hamels, Cole L S6 3.07M
Verlander, Justin R S6 2.93M
Hernandez, Felix R S6 1.56M
Beckett, Josh R S6* 1.28M
Nathan, Joe R R1/C6 6.72M
Calero, Kiko R R1/C1 1.64M
Cassidy, Scott R R2 .59M
Eyre, Scott L R1/C0 .55M
Guardado, Eddie L R1/C4 .50M
Isringhausen, Jason R R1/C5 .50M


I think this gives me speed, avg, and power offensively along with a strong starting rotation, great closer, and set up specialist vs. Lefties and Righties. I'm not counting my chickens by any means, but I really am looking forward to my first Strat-O league. Any feedback is welcomed.

[The Turtle]

1. we need to know what park you are in
2. you spent too much on your bench by far
3. please post a link to you team, you can do it by going to statistics and click on your team, copy the URL and post it here

[ale0319]

The link that shows up in my browser looked generic to me (no league ID or anything). I'm playing in Fenway Park. Maybe I have to wait for the league to start to post the link? I'm not sure, like I said I'm new at this.

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2007/team/team.html?stats=sim

[ale0319]

I figured out how to do it:

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2007/team/team_other.html?user_id=29189

[Palmtana]

Drop 4 million in excess players. Felix, Verlander,Isringhausen, Huff, Polanco,Blalock, Feliz.... depending who's playing where and get Luke Scott from Lee.

Hurry though. Games post in 10 minutes and then the drop penality kicks in.

[dennisfs561]

You want to go easy on the drops now that the season has begun, but for future reference, the following works for me:

1. Go with a 10 man pitching staff.
2. Go with 4* SP staff, get a <1mil as your 5th starter and designate mop-up. If you go with a 5 man staff, try to get pitchers without a * as you are paying a premium for * pitchers that will only get 32 starts on a 5 man staff as opposed to 40 starts on a 4 man rotation
3. Get a strong ace, a strong set-up man that pitches good from both sides, and go with around or less than a mil. for the rest.
4. Generally go with 14 batters, and spend less than a mil. for your bench players. If you have injury prone players, you can up the amount you spend on the bench.
5. Strong D at 2B, SS, and CF are key.
6. If a batter has Def rating of 5, only use as a DH.

This is the outline I use, and it has worked pretty well for me. Good luck.

Dennis

[CHARLESBELL]

Tough opening to the season, but zambrano and kazmir will be better than those first games.

To add to dennisfs advice, here's a couple more on your team:

You should not be playing a c-5 like lopez as your backup. And he will play, because Varitek is going to get hurt.

Your OF defense is very weak with a 4 and 5 out there. Lee is a DH, and shouldn't be patrolling the field. I don't mind playing Vlad out there, but combined with Lee it's going to make your pitchers hate you.

6 SPs, none of whom can relieve and all over $1M is wasting one of them because they won't get enough innings, or if you use that 6th starter will be taking innings away from better pitchers. An extra starter not in the regular rotation should be a cheap match up specialist and/or a s/r who can provide some relief innings, even if only used in mop up situation.

You have a good closer, but not a good setup, who should be at least an R2. Calero is fine but will get fatigued faster as an R1 and cassidy is likely to get a lot more innings than you'll want him to.

Ya never know how a team will turn out, though, so have fun! It'll take awhile to get a feel for the type of team you like and what will win for you. Suggestions and opinions are just that. There is no wrong way to play, but there are things learned over time that can improve your chances.

Good luck!

[ale0319]

Thanks for all your input guys. I made a few minor changes and I'll see if it works out. The 3 game sweep at home really hurt the first night, but it is a long season.