by JdEarly » Thu Sep 29, 2005 3:29 am
I like the idea of Mauer's bat in any lineup in Shea Stadium, but I have never been able to stomach the idea of his injury rating on one of my teams - I would like to use him soon, but for some reason I keep getting attracted to J.T. Snow and Eric Chavez (both great in Shea) and with their high injury ratings, Mauer just wasn't a good idea for me. For you right now, though, I think he would be a really good catcher, especially if you can get a reasonably productive backup on the cheap, who hits both sides close to equally.
Mark Mulder... you could love him by the end of the season. I have had nothing but good results with him in Shea, so I have nothing but good things to say about the situation you have him in.
The arguments people made against Sean Casey and Juan Pierre for your team are not unfounded arguments, as there are better fits out there, but those two players are, by no means, going to be a dissappointment for you. If you can get Edmonds to replace Pierre, I say pull the trigger. If you can get Adam Dunn to play first base, absolutely do it. But if you can't get a serious, SERIOUS, upgrade in the power department, I wouldn't worry about moving either of those two guys. They will do just fine for you, especially if you surround them with other solid bats.
Brian Roberts could really stink it up for you at 2B. His defense will be solid, as it should be, but he hits righties much better than lefties - so when a lefty comes to town, he will already be at a disadvantage, before you even consider the fact that he'll be batting right handed in Shea Stadium. Now, I have seen teams make the playoffs starting Neifi Perez at second base - I guess that was the position this guy decided to skimp on offensively in favor of defense, and use the money elsewhere in his lineup. Hope that made sense.
Here's another idea - you have an unheard of amount of money left over heading into waivers. If I were you, I would place claims not neccessarily on the best fits for my team right now, but on the best players available. This way, you'll probably get some quality players that other people didn't have the cap room to get but still want, and you can start swinging deals for players who better fit the squad you're looking to put together. Vlad in Shea? He'd be decent for you, but he would be more valuable in the trade market before the season started.
Wow, I just rambled again. I'll let you run your team now!