MARTY BARRETT - OR GO CHEAP???????

[ccangerame]

Out of town during draft and waivers and presto- no secondbaseman, found Barrett in the free agent bin, but needed some of the pros help- If the studs aren't there- IE Sandberg,Whitaker,Randolph- Do you go on the cheap or give Barrett a try- Any imput would be awesome-

[YountFan]

Barrett can be very good. But if you don't mind cheap try a Oester/Cruz platoon, or Oester alone. Ron's OBA can be decent and he's only 75 cents.

Another option is Gantner, Garcia, ray, lopes etc. But I'd take Oester, pocket the cash and head for Vegas

[seanreflex]

depending on what park you're in, Johnny Ray can HIT. He had over 40 doubles on a team for me in the Metrodome. I like him alot; his defense is a little weak, but I had him platoon with J.Cruz, and Cruz came in as a defensive replacement.

I've had Barrett a few times; I've never had good luck with him, or with Burleson at SS for that matter -- which is strange, since I'm a big-time Red Sox fan.

Oester is good; Billy Ripken and Bump Wills have both done a serviceable job for me too. Lopes is good against LHP, but VERY bad against RHP.

I just won a championship, with Cruz as my 2B vs RHP and LHP... you don't necessarily need to be perfect at all 8 positions. Don't discount Gantner, Oester, and Gagne does a decent job.

Good luck,

Sean

[honestiago1]

seanr's right about not being perfect at every position. I'm sure Julio Franco gets passed up as a SS all the time, but considering his bat, it might be worth it to use him from time to time, paired with a good 2B.

As for second basemen, you can snag a '1' pretty cheap (Lind, Flynn), depending on the bats you have in rest of the lineup. Barrett is a very good deal, though, if you ask me. Low e's, good bat for a middle IF, and good range. The only thing he doesn't do really well is run.

[moodinator123]

don't forget about glenn hubbard. very nice D, and ok OBP. handles bat well (bunting and H&R). very good #9 hitter

[Outta Leftfield]

Of course, the assumption behind all of these discussions is that Jerry Remy is not available at the FA stage. He's such good value (should really cost around 2M) that he goes pretty quickly. Another good cheap lefty hitter is Wilfong, at least if you catch one of his better years.

[Paul5757]

I'd pick up a couple of the previously named "2" 2B as backups (part of 13), then maybe pick up a slightly more expensive 2B also (or keep Barrett). With the mystery card, there's no guarantee you're going to get a good year.

[ccangerame]

Well, after reviewing all of the excellent feedback- I am going to give Barrett a shot, if not I will look on the Cheap- I was going for Remy in the auto draft but didn't draft him high enough- All of the other good fielding secondbasemen that are under a 1 million are long gone- thanks to everyone for their great feedback - Chico Lind- stand by- You could get your shot if Barrett doesn't work out- So hard to cheer for any RedSox

[ccangerame]

Yount Fan- up 3 to 2 - with your ace pitching to close it out- and one hit by Gullickson- this truely is a game of randomness- sincerely, one of the teams chasing you all year with a make shift pitching staff- LBC DubAllStars- Good luck tonight