Newbie looking for feedback on first team

[The Last Druid]

Never tried Back to the 80's. Do have some experience with ATG II. This looks interesting. Was shocked by the dh being standard. Any feedback on this team would be appreciated.

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/80s/team/team_other.html?user_id=74902

[TheGoodDoc]

welcome to the '80s


Your team looks solid to me.. You may be spending a little much on RP, but other than that, i'd say that your team is quite formidable. of course, a few unlucky turns of mystery cards could change that... all in all, though, i'd be concerned if you were in my division!

[AdamKatz]

couple of key differences between this and ATG

1. This is alot more fun. You may not want to play ATG as much once you start playing this.
2. You have to monitor your team more often. This game is about figuring out what cards you have and making transactions when you discover you have a bad card.
3. fielding is not as important here. It is obviously still important but playing a 3 or a 4 is more acceptable in one or 2 positions-mainly C, 1B,3B and LF. In ATG there are so many good 1 fielding guys that you have to take them to keep up with the other teams. (Peckinpaugh, for example, would be a top 2 pick in 80s).
4. You dont need to spend that much on your bullpen here. Most people get one guy around 3 million and then 4 more between .75 and 2 mill-but mostly .75. The idea is that many of the .75 guys have 1 or 2 great years so why spend 3 million on guys that have 2 or 3 good years.

That being said-
1. I assume you are going to dump Blue and Fernandez and get down to a 4 man rotation. A 5 man rotation can work but Hig and Viola are a good start for a 4 man. Not sure if ATG is all about left handed pitchers, but I would probably get two righties at this point.

2. Dont think you need Sutter and Gott. Both good, not great. See 4 above.

3. C - Again, don't be afraid to take a better hitting C. You C is fine but there could be better Cs available. SS is tight and defense is real important there but Burleson I think is still considered worse than some better hitting 2s like Larkin and Ripken. Burleson is good but I am just bringing this up because alot of ATG players think you "must" have a 1 at SS.

4. Your OF is amazing. CF is another tight position-there are not that many A list players for that position. You may want to see what you can get for Pucket. You may be able to get 2 top notch guys because people are desperate for CF. He is really good but he has 2 years where he has almost no power.

5. 3B-Do not shy away from getting a "4" at 3B that is better than Gaetti. Madlock, HoJo, Horner, Guerrero and Mitchell are probably all more popular there than Gaetti.

6. As for DH, you already have Zisk who is great against lefties. This should allow you to get a great DH platoon. You can get one of the great R tilting offense guys. Gibson, Gamble, Daniels or Greenwell are my personal favorites to team up with Zisk.

[The Last Druid]

Hey, Thanks for the most welcome, detailed advice.

I dropped Gaetti for Horner and added a righty dh. Had just assumed Blue and Fernandez were * from ATG. :oops: Glad you pointed that out! No one better than Burleson available.

[Jablowmi]

Welcome to the 80s, Petrosian! I'm in the East. I agree with the above re: your RPs. Plus, Clear and Minton are rarely played. You'd be better off finding a $0.75 and hope.

For those of you who don't know or haven't heard of Petrosian, take a look at the overall (not 80s) manager ratings...........

Good luck and glad to have you - hope it's not a one time deal.

[AdamKatz]

Jablowmi's message made me take a second look at the teams in your league. The good new: you are not in Jablowmi's division. The bad news, the other teams in your division aren't as bad as most auto-league teams. Nonetheless, I think you have a good chance to make the playoffs. Seems like you have a pitching heavy team, a balanced team, and an offensive team in your division-2 of which may be desperate for a CF (hint hint).

I would try to trade Burns up but from the initial look of things, it seems all the usual 2nd tier SPs are taken. Id pick up whichever 5 million SP Fleet Feet drops.

The interesting thing about this game is that the same team could go 100-62 one year and 62-100 the next depending on the Mystery Card. If you haven't already, check some of the postings about determining which mystery card you have. The biggest clue is injuries.

One other thing, if some of your guys go 0 for 20 to start the season, do not automatically assume you have a bad year. Most "vets" wait about 100 ABS to begin guessing what cards they have. Ive had Boggs and Gwynn's best years go 0 for 20-30. Unfortunatley, it always seems to happen in the playoffs.

[The Last Druid]

I wouldn't place much stock in the overall ratings. I've played only 5 seasons of 1969. Everything else has been ATG II. This does look interesting though. The pricing structure is alot different. And I played with every guy in the set when the original cards came out. So lots of familiar cards and names. Hard thing is figuring out probabilites based on the five years. Well, we shall see what happens.

Thanks Adam for all the detailed help.

[The Last Druid]

Can anybody post results of live drafts?? I'd be much obliged. :) :) Just want to see how players tend to be valued.

[Outta Leftfield]

Not sure how to post a live draft...anyone have any ideas?

I mostly agree with the above. A few more comments. First of all, I wouldn't touch your OF. Looks great to me. I've got one of Puckett's no-power years on a present team and he's hitting .340, so even that one can be good.

SS is a tight position. Sometimes Burleson really is the best option. But keep an eye out for an early drop of a better hitting SS.

The pricing structure of the '80s is less accurate, in my opinion, than in ATGII--because this is an earlier version of the game, before they got the pricing down-- but that actually adds to the fun. Finding the good value players amidst a comparatively limited pool is part of the challenge. You can usually sniff them out by taking a close look at the cards, even with less experience. You've got some good guys there.

Even a good, well-priced player can be in a bad year, so card-reading is at a premium.

The .75M players in the .80s are generally of better quality than the .50M players in ATGII, because they have to have 5 substantial years to be in the game. Some of them are really quite good, esp in a platoon role. The .75M to 1.5M RPs are also often quite good--sometimes, objectively, as good or better than RP's costing two or three times as much. Take a close look at WHIP, which is a good indicator of overall quality. I generally try to used my entire roster very actively. I platoon sometimes at 4 positions with cheap guys as half of the platoon. I'm usually looking for very good defense from my regulars, but I prioritize offense--often one-sided platoon offense--in my backups.

We're a lot less worried about injuries here--with five possible years, it's often hard to tell what the risk is and the backups are better.

Good defense is still important and can actually be a real edge in the 80s. Since it's harder to find good fielders who can hit, some teams have less D than others. Your good D on this team is going to help you a lot.

Even unpopular players can do well for you in a great year. Personally, I'm not averse to a five man rotation. And El Sid is 22-4 for me on a current team, so he can be very good. Sometimes a contrarian strategy can work, but it probably is good to get some experience first.

I'm going to pop the tips for newbies back to the top...they're worth a close look.

[Jablowmi]

[url]http://forums-beta.sportingnews.com/viewtopic.php?p=409819&highlight=epic+league[/url]

Petrosian, take a look at this link. EPIC LEAGUE live draft rosters. All vets. We drafted all available players. Listed by roster rather than draft order, although selection # is listed.