Archive of SportingNews.com's old SOM Baseball forum

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With a $28 million pitching budget, you should have about $17 million tied up in your top 3 starters and another $ 8 million divided up among your 4th starter, closer, and setup guy. The other $3 million covers your 5th starter (use a 0.5 million guy that is starter only) and your other 3 relievers.

A roster full of $1-1.25 million relievers is a recipe for disaster, especially when you decide to carry 12 pitchers. You should carry no more than 10, preferably 9. Add 1 or two .5 million hitters.

The problem with most pitchers under $ 1 million is twofold. (1) they can't pitch, and (2) HAL uses them anyway. You need to set up your bullpen so your #1 guy is the closer and the #2 guy is pretty much everything else to avoid that. It would be nice to get one or more of the lopsided cheap guys (Hassler, Sambito, Linzy, etc). Prowl through the <1 million RP only guys and look for guys who are 5L, 5R, or more. Then set them up as one-way guys.

You'll get burned in extra-inning games by having no bullpen, but you'll more than make up for it in close games that end in 9.

Specific suggestions:

Upgrade Sutton to his $4 million+ card - he's a reasonable reverse righty.

Use the other Sadecki card as your 4th starter.

Get a couple of good starters - say $7.5 million and $6 million. Since both Sutton and Sadecki are better against LH, your top two guys should be better against RHP. Glavine, Marquard, Carlton, and Dave Brown all have cards you should consider. Good strong RH starters include Mike Garcia - he doesn't get a lot of play with the +4 hold, but he is pretty good. Gibson, Wynn, Halladay, and Hunter should all be fine #1's, too.

Keep one of Smith or Fingers, they are duplication of value. I'd keep Smith, and back him up with a RHP who is balanced or slightly better against RHB with an endurance rating of R3 or higher. My shopping list for this slot would be Roy Sanders, Dick Selma, Jeff Lahti, or Jean Dubuc. Probably more than one is available.

Don't worry about closer ratings - they don't matter in this game.

Then go get some sub-$1 million guys. Good luck!

sound advice.

1-1.25 mil relievers dont have to be a disaster if you have enough of them and they are heavy one sided. Done that with success a few times--again need a lot, need very little bullpen limitations, and heavy one sided. 3 hvy rights and 3 hvy lefts can work well. Then would need a serviceable anytime guy who isnt too expensive--mcmanhon, MWilliams etc