the Cell scares me

[drew6013]

So I my first cell team just finished up and I'm really at a loss. My squad hit 330 hr and gave up 187 and I had 74 wins.
I thought if I could out homer the other team by that big of a margin I'd be golden. Any thoughts? What works well in the cell?

[Stoney18]

Post a link to your team it will be easier to pinpoint any problems.

What was your OB%? Or, how many of those HR's were solo's?

What are the other parks in your league? I'm in a tour event with Cell and all others parks are neutral to pitcher parks. I'm at a distinct disadvantage when I'm on the road and my record shows it.

[drew6013]

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2007/team/team_other.html?user_id=2802


you're right on with the OBP%. any other thoughts?

[drew6013]

2 shea's and a citizens in my league

[JEFFFESPERMAN]

Offensively, it appears to me that you could have used more slugging behind the plate and in rightfield. I would be interested to know which baserunning option you used, aggressive or normal, since that could have cost you runs in tight games. I agree that you don't need a lot of stolen bases with a slugging team, but Beltran has to steal more than six bases no matter where you play. As for your pitching staff, is it possible that you left your starters in too long and did not use your bullpen to its full potential?

[bluethree]

My 2 cents:

Runs scored vs. runs allowed would indicate that this team should have been around .500. The bad record indicates that you blew out a lot of teams (probably mostly at home) and lost a lot of close games.

You fell too in love with the big HR hitters. That was fine for your park (44-37 at home) but when you went to other parks, where HRs were harder to get, you had trouble producing any runs (30-51 record). There's many reasons for this. Your players' lack of ability to get on base was the major one (.313 OBP on the road is pretty awful).

Another problem is a lack or speed outside of Beltran. Less speed means less players going from first to third or from second to home on singles.

Problem number three is strikeouts. Strikeouts are very unproductive. Ground balls and fly balls will sometimes move runners. Strikeouts won't. I can live with Thome and Beltran's strikeouts because those two also produce a lot of runs. People like Dunn and Snyder will kill you.

You could also use a bit more doubles/triples. Your guys weren't horrible in that category but a few more wouldn't hurt.

Conclusion: More baserunners. More speed. Stay away from Dunn, Snyder, Jose Valentin, and Juan Uribe.

Special bonus tip: I'd spend a little less money on pitching if you're in a hitter's ballpark.

[drew6013]

much appreciated advice. thank you

[worrierking]

Looks to me like Webb underperformed badly. I don't think there's a lot you could do about that. I agree with Blue3 that you probably should spend a little less on pitching in a hitter's park. I disagree with him on speed and productive outs. In a HR paradise like the cell, you must concentrate all your efforts on out-homering your opposition. Everything else is incidental. Which is why I'm not crazy about Beltran in the Cell. He has such a wide variety of skills, you are paying a lot of money for things that are not needed. I much prefer A. Jones or Hunter as Cell players in CF this year. Not that they will outproduce Beltran, but you save a ton of money.

It also seems that your three worst relievers got too many innings. Check and see if they were pitching when the games still mattered. That may have hurt you too.