FORTY games below .500 after 96G; Any HELP? UPDATE...

[GFDWARF07]

[quote:d641cb925f="Maxie Minoso"][quote:d641cb925f]I am home recovering from a spinal fusion L3 through L5 about a week ago so have WAY too much time on my hands.... [/quote:d641cb925f]
I had similar surgery a year ago so welcome to the Titanium Age when we have more value in the metal in our body than in our IRA.

Maxie[/quote:d641cb925f]

Now THAT is the truest thing I have heard since my surgery! :lol:

[GFDWARF07]

After reaching a rock bottom of 44 games below .500 after game 102, this squad has met my goal - .500 baseball the rest of the way. In fact, they are actually 5 games over since that time, owing primarily to a 19-13 over the last 32.

So in this case, it was apparently worthwhile jettisoning some payroll and making changes, despite the 20% penalty.

The replacements:

Wolfgang has been decent with an ERA 2.74 below the staff number:
Wolfgang, Mellie (1916) R R5 7 5 4 6 74.1 71 40 33 30 22 12 4.00 1.36

Paul Molitor has pulled his weight despite his defense:
Molitor, Paul (1982) R 3B 4e31 122 25 42 2 1 8 21 12 21 4 2 6 .344 .403 .574

Wes Covington has shown some serious power as DH vs. RHP:
Covington, Wes (1957) L LF 4(+2)e6 158 28 43 2 3 16 39 20 34 1 0 0 .272 .358 .627

Bobby Richardson and Willy Miranda have stayed well above the Mendoza Line, and stabilized the middle infield.

And Chuck Klein, who I kept despite great temptation, has turned it up:
Klein, Chuck (1930) L RF 4(-3)e12 620 117 223 50 5 43 128 47 86 0 0 13/.360/.402/.665

Ryan Howard and Duke Snider have kept par, each having a shot at 60 HR.

Others have not done much:
Bailey, Ed (1957) L C 3(-2)e1 113 15 23 2 0 5 14 16 21 1 0 1 .204/.308/.354

I added Bailey in a fit of rage over a long injury to Bill Dickey, who was my original replacement catcher - should have stuck with Dickey.

Overall is was apparently worthwhile making the changes, though I will always wonder if the numbers were simply bound to turn at some point anyway.

Thanks again to all who offered input to an interesting experiment!