Preseason Team Setup Advice

[JdEarly]

Honestly, I think that Eric Young is only cluttering your options at the moment. Your best lineup, with your roster the way it currently stands, would have Bonds at DH, Berkman in leftfield (3), and Klesko at first base.

Torii Hunter is going to be horrible for you. He might save some runs for you, but he certainly isn't going to put many on the board. I would look into either getting a cheaper defensive player for that position, or seeing if Vernon Wells is available. He's also a 1 in center, and hits lefties well, which is something you need.

I would try to add an R2 to your bullpen, whether it's Armando Benitez or Neal Cotts. What that means is that I don't care if you get a stud or just an arm to throw at the back end of your pen, you're gonna need someone to eat some innings to keep the rest of your guys fresh.

Estrada won't help your defense one bit, but his OBP will be huge in your home park. I think your lineup could be very productive if you get lucky on the rolls for some of your lower OBP guys.

Dave Bush will be eaten alive by the Shea team. Just a thought.

Hope this helps a little...

[visick]

I'd also see about getting Burroughs a platoon mate. I like Alfonzo, who would help you with his 3L balance.


You don't want Sweeney in RF. His 4 on D isn't going to cut it. He's a DH, but you've got Bonds for that... :roll:

I'd go with:
Estrada C
Klesko 1B
Cora 2B
Izturis SS
Burroughs/ Alfonzo (if available) or Merloni 3B
Berkman LF
Wells or Dejesus/Bocachica (if available) CF
Who is available in RF?
Bonds DH

Dump Vazquez, Delgado and Young. Grab a utility guy for the INF and the OF.

[bbasebrawl]

What are your thoughts dropping Izturis for a weak hitting SS (#2) and that would free up enough funds to pickup RF.. Is having a #1 at SS in Petco that important ??

[hechojazz]

A 2 range SS should be fine, particularly if he has a low error rating. Izturis is costing you over 5mil. Clayton's cost is only 3.62mil, and he's rated at 2e10. You could pay a little more for Vizquel at just over 4mil, and he's rated at 2e12 - and has more pop. At 2.57mil you can go real small with Adam Everett - he's got a 1 range, but don't expect any offense...but the $$ saved can help you find a better outfielder with more "natural" HRs...

Of course, with the SS position there's really no pure lefthanded hitting, just a lot of righties and some switchhitters. So, downgrading Izturis won't help your vulnerability to lefthanded pitching in Petco. I've never "owned" a Petco team, but I can imagine it can get mighty frustrating operating under those strict offensive restrictions...if and when you upgrade your OF, make sure you land a lefty bat!

[visick]

Izturis is gonna save you alot of hits. He will usually hit .265 or better as well.

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2005/team/team_other.html?user_id=17766

I just finished a season @ Petco with him. He was hitting .300 for 3/4 of the season, and then slumped. :(

You can get away w/ Clayton @ SS though. It will depend upon who is gonna play RF.

Who is available?

[mfsleeze]

Like the others said, Hunter is a waste of money on that team.

I got .281/.397/.363 out of a Dejesus/Payton platoon in a pitcher's park. For about the same money as Hunter you could also try Dejesus/Bocachica.

I'd line up 3 lefties every time I played you - you'll need to find a way to defeat that - there are a lot of fairly cheap guys who are good vs LHP

[bbasebrawl]

Thanks for your input guys, Pickings are slim on the waiver wire and trying to fit the money, am working on trying to work out a trade or two that will help out on my hitting against lefties..

[1crazycanuk]

Yeah Alfonzo and Burroughs are good platoon mates for 3B. I had them with my last team which lost the finals in seven games.

Klesko is great for Petco...I wouldn't put him at 1B if you can help it. I use him at DH.

As for pitching, what I like to do is get one or two stud pitchers, some great relievers and a cheaper reliever or two.