Kent a 3 at second

[PAULMINICUCCI]

I have noticed in some of the threads that Kent is being used a lot this year since he has improved to a "3" at second base. I also noticed that Soriano has been picked up by a few teams. I have never had a team succeed with anyone less than a "2" at second AND at short. I know of a team that won a championship with Michael Young at ss but they are rare. On the other hand Kent's offense is pretty impressive.

On Soriano, man I just think he cannot be worth it as the everyday second baseman. I am planning on getting him on a new team but as back-up and as primary DH only.

I wondered if people had opinions on Kent. Would you use him at second? Anyone done anlaysis of the offense/defense tradeoffs?

[bleacher_creature]

It seems like Kent could work with a late in replacement, and a "1" at SS to offset.

[teepack]

I just had a 2005 team that went 97-65. My keystone combo was Adam Kennedy at 2B (2e14) and a platoon of Carlos Guillen (3e21) and Chris Gomez (4e22) at SS. Gomez also played a lot at 2B because Kennedy had two major injuries for 10 games apiece. That worked out allright.

I think you can do a 3s up the middle. I wouldn't hesitate to play Kent at 2B in 2006.

[DAVIDCARROLL 2]

I picked up Kent this year as a DH. I am also a firm believer in D up the middle, but have had 3's when injuries have hit me. In my recent 05 play-off team I have Blum at 2nd because Hudson was down for 15 (including play-offs). He did help me win the league as I was facing a ton of LH.

[bomp helium]

just weighing in on the offense/defense question:

in addition to the relative skills of a player offensively vs. defensively, there is also PRICE to consider. This is a three-way equation. I just happen to think defense is overpriced, i.e., you get more "value" when putting that same money into pitching or hitting.

Get hitters that are adequate up the middle, but that RAKE. They must account for more runs offensively than they account for defensively.

I tried this out with a recent team, the lenticular cloud people, with Larkin (4e8) at short and Lugo (3e21) at second. Sure, they allowed lots of hits, but they contributed to a relentless lineup and were CHEEP (3.17 for both). This game me more money to spend elsewehere. It seemed to work out. The team finished second to dneedle and then proceeded to win the championship (yay!). Larkin and Lugo were both instrumental, although, like everyone else, I cringe at that "4"...

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2005/team/team_other.html?user_id=51621

oh, and i also had a three in CF (Drew), a four in LF (Bonds), and a four at 3B (Quinlan). Gave up 1789 hits but won a championship.