Archive of SportingNews.com's old SOM Baseball forum

Decided to give the 2008 game a whirl and need some advice. I've been playing ATG exclusively for a while now, and it has grown a bit stale. This card set is a definite challenge for me, but in a good way.

I have a team with Bradley, Bay, Jeter, Utley, Hawpe, DeRosa, Berkman and Beltran in Yankee Stadium

Beltrans card seems overpriced, esp. if you are not facing a least half lefties - am I right in this assessment?

Bradley is my DH, but the Injury factor and his speed are slow - should I drop?

Hawpe is my RF, but that 4 and error rating in the OF has me thinking drop - not too many options in RF however

What' the deal with the pitching - if you dont get a stud, you are seemingly stuck with a mediocre staff? I have Lowe, Hudson fronting my staff, but in my park I need a lefty or two at least - problem is the pickings are slim - Kazmir? maybe - I guess ATG spoiled me cause you can always get decent pitching in the after draft/waivers - not so with this set. any help or opinions would be appreciated

I agree with your assessment on Beltran...I usually avoid him.

Bradley's probably the best value out there, as long as you use him as DH. Definitely a keeper.

Bay, Jeter, Utley all definite keepers.

With your middle infield at 2's, I tend not to worry over a 3 in CF. Some good fits for you park in the OF at CF or RF, given you already have Bay in LF, would be: Gerut, Giles, Ludwick, Schumaker (as part of platoon).

Assume you're using DeRosa at 3b?

Lowe's good...not too high on Hudson. Good, cheaper lefties include: Olsen (my personal favorite), Lester, Maholm (so-so). I've seen Kazmir and O. Perez used too.

I also agree on Beltran - I have never used him and often see him disappoint others offensively.

Bradley is a star as a DH - hits well for average and has power - plus he seems to always be on base .318-.423-.576 for the one season I had him in Yankee Stadium. Great value!

I also like Ludwick in HR parks - he drives in runs by the bunches and is good for 40-50 HRs. Ankiel is also an option for Yankee Stadium. He is often available, produces well offensively (better than Beltran often), can be had for much less, and has a great arm. The 3e13 is not appealing, but in a HR park often he gives you enough offense to tolerate it. A Ryan Freel type can be used as a cheap platoon for Ankiel against lefties in a pitcher's park if you like.

I think your pitching is OK - you will have enough offense to make up for it.

about Beltran: it really depends on the number of lefty pitching you expect to see. But over 33%, in a homerun ballpark, Beltran will earn all his salary.

In this very context, I recently took him in one of my team, and he sluggs .662 so far.

Kazmir is my favorite budget lefty in the set. Guthrie and Sarfate provide decent RH value as well.

Avoid Beltran. In fact, avoid most of the 1's in CF. I usually go with Span there, or even Nyjer Morgan.

Bradley can perform well.

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/stratomatic/team/team_other.html?user_id=187242

here's the only time I used Beltran. Dominated lefties, usable vs rigthies.

Thanks for the help. I'll probably stay w/Beltran as the options are pretty slim at this point.