by honestiago1 » Sun Dec 25, 2005 10:36 am
I always like Hurst. He can be very effective in a pitcher's park, and decent anywhere else. He's going to get hit 4 of 5 years, so keep an eye on his hits per IP. He gets out of jams with K's. You have a staff that doesn't give up a lot of walks (unless you get a bad Drabek year), but which might give up a hit per inning overall. Your righties are not big K guys, so they will need a little IF help from time to time (all of these guys are capable of having great years, though).
I'd drop Thigpen, as well. You're gambling on his great year, when you can do the same with Willy and Campbell. In any case, I don't know that you need both Campbell and Thigpen, so you probably should get a cheapy there. Think about dropping Falcone for a straight SP so you can shorten up your bullpen (a fifth SP [rather than S/R pitcher) will only eat innings if someone is injured, which is pretty rare.
You have very good IF defense, and Oquendo covers you all over the field when the injuries occur. I'm no Jeff Leonard fan, but I do like Gary Matthews. Remember, he's a 3 in RF. I'm very interested to see what you get out of Milner. I've always wanted to try him out, but simply never have. I like those negative arms in the OF.
On the whole, you have a decent starting staff, some good hitters in the lineup, good defense. There is not a lot of team speed, though, which you may want to take a second look at. Playing in a pitcher's park, stealing bases and base running are important. Be leery of those very low OBP's among your OF's (with the exception of Matthews).