Archive of SportingNews.com's old SOM Baseball forum

I'm new to this as an on-line game and already hooked. I've tried to combine a line-up of hitters and defense and 80s speed: catching platoon of .75s, W. Clark at 1b, J. Ray at 2b, T. Fernandez at SS, T. Pendleton at 3B, R. Henderson at LF, L. Moseby at CF, G. Matthews at RF, a DH platoon at P. Tabler and A. Davis, and a bench of guys like K. Seitzer, R. Law, M. Felder, and Royster.

But, my quandary is pitching and how most of you guys construct your pitcher for value and skill. It seems that just about every pitcher has a bad year or so. So, who are the pitching values that you guys have used?

(My pitchers are: D. Sutton, R. Guidry [got rocked last night], B. Gullickson, J. Morris, A. Anderson, D. Quisenberry, T. Burke, C. Lefferts, D. Moore, F. DiPino, and A. Lopez.)

Heck, while I'm on a post...how's this team look to veteran players? (I play at Candlestick.)

Thanks for any feedback and have a nice day.

You team isn't too bad depending on the card years you get. Seitzer costs too much for a bench player IMO. Most people go with subs that cost less than 1M. Tabler or Royster can backup up 3B.

Most people also go for a 1 or 2 fielder at SS, 2B and CF. Ray is a 3. That doesn't mean that you can't win with Ray. He can hit well in many years. Watch Matthews L&R splits to make sure he isn't too slanted towards LHP. Anderson can be a good value SP if you get one of his good years. I've had him do well for me many times in the past. I know you have a 4 man rotation going and you probably won't start Anderson but it is food for thought.

I suspect this team just opened last night and not a pre-season team any longer (I see you wrote about Guidry).

I'd troll for a little more "bop" in that line-up while using the park's dimensions to assist your pitching spend (e.g., big park [i.e., Dodger], big park division - you can go a tad cheap on the pitching).

A few of the listed players rarely appear in my leagues' opening day rosters unless you're running on a theme.

For my efforts, platoons are fine but I wouldn't use more than 2 per to open the season up as you're almost forcing HAL to mess with your team - with the exception of those bats that are clearly tilted one way.

Your pitching corps is fine but I'd love to see what your divisional opponents are fielding - you'd hate to toss a RHSPs with hard R tilt in a league full of leftie bats.

:wink:

You mention a lot of platoons...There are very few .75C that will make an impact (Cerone and Bando each have 1 such year), so I would consider a Gedman or Whitt platoon with a Laudner, Melvin or Valle. This way you will get pop out of the C position (If by some miracle, Fisk, Tettleton or Simmons are available, grab 'em).

I like Clark at 1B. he has 3 great years, and 2 good ones. I would also consider Barrett, Oquendo or another 2 at 2nd. Trillo is always an option, but I think that you can get pop elsewhere so that you can lose a little here, but improce defensively.

I like your SS, T. Fernandez. Pendleton has 2 good years. I have found Cey to be a great 3B, due to both power and OBP. He is a little more expensive than Pendleton and a 3, but has fewer dog cards than Pendleton. Buddy Bell is also a good bet.

I love Rickey. L. Moseby at CF is ok, but I would see what else is available in RF. What about cheap power sources such as Armas or Barfield (2 great cards, 1 ok, and 2 dogs).

No need for a DH platoon with A. Davis. He is a relative bargain at around $3MM, and except for one year (and the dog card) is fiarly balanced. Dump Tabler to save the cash.

Dump Seitzer, pick up Billy Ripken or a Scott Fletcher and a 1b/3b like Cabell. R. Law and M. Felder. I am a fan of Mickey Hatcher too due to his versatility.

I like D. Sutton. Unless you get Guidry's 78 card, I would cut him, same for Morris (he usually bites). I like Gullickson as a #4. Who else is available? Is Barker, Deshaies, K. Forsch or Dennis Martinez? I would take any of them before Jack Morris.

I am a big fan of the .75 scrub bullpen. Except for Lee Smith or Mark Davis, I rarely have picked up BP help in excess of $1.1 (Aase or less). The Quiz usually gets lit up, and I would rather have Al Holland or Henke if you are going to spend serious cash in the 'pen. T. Burke and C. Lefferts should be solid. D. Moore, F. DiPino, and A. "Senor Smoke" Lopez will be crapshoots.

Just my thoughts... :D

ALopez is useful in just about any year you get, either as a regular MR, a closer, or a specialist against R's or LH's (if you get the reverse year). He's a bargain. Clear is always worth a gamble b/c even his high WHIP years (not the 1.76 one) can be good. Lefferts is underpriced, in my opinion. Fraser is a good gambler among RP's. Among starters, Barker can be great. Ryan is always good, but as he is high priced and not a *, people avoid him. I know one thing, I'd rather have Ryan and Sid in for 32 starts each, than plenty of other *'s. They're TOUGH to hit.

That said, I don't think you have to spend a boatload of money to get a good staff. Curt Young is a good middle-price gamble. Stanley can be a decent reliever, as he usually keeps the ball down. Holland is VERY good, but homer-prone some years.

[quote:8ec953fff8]Quiz usually gets lit up[/quote:8ec953fff8]

Depending how you're opponents are set (more RHBs than LHBs) ... Quiz will be fine. :wink:

After 70 some leagues I have worked out a different drafting strategy
which I have had some success with. My teams play in extreme hitters parks. I draft hitters first, then cheap relievers, then starting pitching
who are 5 day starters under 5MM.This works because most managers
will not draft 5 day starters and I then get several hitters suited to the park. If the SP holds up I usually can make the playoffs, but the
starting pitching situation is always scary.

[quote:468ce5d543="Greyhond"]but the
starting pitching situation is always scary.[/quote:468ce5d543]Even with 7 million guys it can be scary!

You can put together some great 5-man SP rotos. Guys that get left behind: Ryan, Sid, Pascual, Boyd, Rasmussen, Dravecky, Hammaker. Some of them can be pricey, but Sid & Nolan are always tough. Dravecky and Hammaker don't have awful years, and can swing to the pen if need be (albeit as VERY expensive relievers). A good relief staff, naturally, can rescue average starters. And there are some very good 1-2M relievers out there.

...it's early to tell, but the team's now playing well. I had to make some choices and chose Seitzer as a platoon DH w/Upshaw and dumped Tabler. Tabler's probably better than Seitzer, but I Seitzer was one of my favorite players growing up, so I went with him. Through 9 games, everyone's hitting well, save Matthews and my catching platoon (this is to be expected as they stink).

I dumped Gullickson and Morris for Black and Forsch. I still have Guidry because I want to give him a few more starts to see if I can have any indication about what card I have. Quisenberry's been rocked so far and I may very well move him for a cheaper reliever. No surprise, but Burke and Lefferts and Moore and Lopez have been very good...through just 9 games. Don Sutton's been lights out...so far.

Oh yeah, and I bit the bullet and let Ray go to open up cash to get Whitaker at 2b. I know that Whitaker is expensive and many on these boards don't like him, but I decided to give him a try. He has 4 home runs in six games and, of course, is a 1 on range. Now my defense is really good except in RF and even there, I have a decent error rating.

On thing that's odd is that I have my manager settings going for the most aggressive steal setting. Henderson has just one stolen base.

So, thanks for the information. Please continue to give me examples of underappreciated players. It certainly helps.