by MARCPELLETIER » Wed Jan 04, 2006 5:18 am
My biggest concern, by far, is the lack of on-base in your team. You seem to have priviledged power over on-base, but Shea is only 1-12 hr for lefties. It's not a homerun haven.
Contrary to what you said, I think Ford is great for your team precisely because he brings on-base to your team. But Keenedy and Lowell don't have the on-base to stand #2 and #3 in a line-up. Their only place is down the line-up. At the limit, Wilkerson could be a#2. Same on-base than Kennedy and has less gbA.
(I suspect that you have Kennedy in the 2nd slot because of his bunting. If so, I strongly believe it's a bad strategy. Bunting in the first inning is a bad strategy even when your SPs are RJ and Santana. Bunting should be left for late-inning startegies, when it becomes clear that only one run will suffice to win the ball game. For this reason, Kennedy should be drop down the line-up and let his bunting ability be employed later in the game).
I think you should simply dump Griffey for the best lefty on-base player outhere and have him #2 or #3. I'm not a Griffey fan at all. I think that 4M is a lot of money on a player who will be sitting either on the bench or on the DL for about 70 games. Again, your need is on-base, not power. For the same reason, I'm not too hot about Pena, but at least, contrary to Griffey, he has a good card. But given that you have Giambi, I would strongly recommand that you pick up someone like Palmeiro instead (a 5R that has more on-base).
My other point of concern is that you have at least 4-5 millions wasted on your bench, in addition to the other million in bank. In my opinion, your team has no use for Santos, Reese, Mietkiewicz and F.Guzman (you should never spend an extra 500K on a pinch-runner. A pinch-runner should always be found among the players you need to play a season. With exception, the same is true for defensive replacement. My point here is that it makes sometimes sense to have 16 players, when you except of lot of playing time for your players due to injuries and pinch-hitting. But in your case, with a team with no extended injury threats and playing with dh, there is no need to go beyond 13 players, 14 max, and hence the players fit for pinch runners and defensive replacements must be found in that group).
To come back to your money surplus: given that you have Wilkerson--who can all three fields--and Ford--who can play lf or rf---you have the option to pick any outfielder, be it lf, cf, or rf. So I am certain that you can find a potent star in place of Chavez. Given that you have Kearns as a back-up, who has an excellent card for the price, you can go with an injury-prone player.
Finally, you seem highly concerned about Wills, but you shouldn't. First, injuries to pitchers seldom occurs. Second, you already have Ortiz available to start. Third, to protect yourself in case Wills does get injured, the only thing you need is a bit of money in bank once the season starts. If Wills get injured, and Ortiz is not available to start, then you'll only need to drop one of your cheap relief for a cheap SP.
And if you have any money left, don't spend it on useless players on the bench. Consider improving your bullpen.
For your bullpen, there are better cards than Myers's. I understand that he'S a 9L, but his card is very weak even vs lhp.
So my recommendations, in brief:
drop Griffey for best lefty dh with on-base
drop Chavez, Reese, Mietkiewicz+Garcia+ Santos for of starter.
consider dropping Pena for a lefty bat that will fit better for a platoon with Giambi.
improve the bullpen with the leftovers.