First 1969 team....would like some feedback

[JIMDAKE]

Looking forward to playing a season with the guys I grew up watching (& collecting cards of!) This team is playing in a public league with a mix of several rookies and a few vets (a couple with a lot of 69 experience).
I'm playing Yankee stadium and the divison also has Dodger ,Wrigley, and Fulton County. We are post-waivers but still in free drop/add this weekend.

Many thanks!
http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/1969/team/team_other.html?user_id=26642

[LMBombers]

You have 4 *SP so you don't need Rudy May. Either drop May and upgrade Fryman in your 4 man rotation or use the money elsewhere.

I don't think you have enough protections against LH SP. Almost all of your guys are heavily slanted toward RHP.

Klimchock/Pagan platoon at 3B should be fine. Carew full time at 2B or even platooning with Versalles should be fine. Cash could struggle vs LHP at 1B. Kirkpatrick is great vs RHP but you need a platoon mate. Tommy Davis is not the answer as you don't want him to play the field. Pagan is not the answer as you don't really want a 4 in the OF. I often use Felipe Alou. See if he is available. Piniella and Jesus Alou are 4's but they can really hit lefties!

[pedakrla]

I agree with Bombers about balance--if you have any crafty vets in your division, they will throw a bunch of LHPs at you and you'll probably struggle. If you have less experience in your division, you might be OK.

Also, overall, given the relative "offensive" nature of the ballparks in your division, you may have overspent a little on pitching. You have a bit of a weakness in LF, particularly against LHP, which you may see a lot of in your ballpark. Consider dropping Romo and beefing up LF? I have used F. Alou against LHP with some success. Even against LHP, he's a productive #7 or #8 hitter, no more.

Good luck! Welcome to '69. I think you'll like it.

[JIMDAKE]

Thanks for the insights -- LMB, good to see a familiar name from 80s Land -- between the 2 posts above I took a fresh look at my division --- lots of RH pitching, lots of RH batting -- and went for McGlothlin and Romo to give me some strong +R. Gave me enough left over to pick up Ellis as platoon mate for Hendricks. (spent the $$ on Romo since I felt I needed a decent long reliever & 5th starter-- back to that in a second).
Felipe went quickly in Frenzy and there are precious few cheap RH, +L hitters around (bad enough that Lefebvre is my platoon for Cash agaisnt tough lefties). It looks like I may suffer with TDavis in LF against lefties -- anybody ever dared play him there? The strong +clutch looks like he and Ellis could get some runners around. Just not in 1 swing. The only other strong LF available suitable for Yankee Stadium is Northrup, and he's priced about $2M more than I could swing. Everybody else in between looks like .250-hitters like Deron Johnson & Rettenmund. (I"ve been trying to trade Campy but no takers yet. Guess I'll let him PR!)

Any thoughts on how bullpens work in '69? I've never played in a no-DH league so I'm not sure what to expect from pinch hitting, how many relievers will get used, whether a quick left-rhg tchange can work... (not that I can get that to work in other formats either! :(
Not having kept a big-$ stud reliever, how much relief do you need in this format?

[PillPop]

I'd beef up the bullpen a little. look for guys with no BPHR's vs. lefties. I've had luck at Yankee with Humphreys, Dal Canton, Lachemann, Lyle, McGinn. In general, just avoid pitchers with BPHR's against lefties. The park will get the righties out; your pitchers will have to stop the lefties.

You need power lefty bats. Oliva and Kirkpatrick are okay, but who else is out there? Shamsky and Mack Jones have done well for me in Yankee. So has Clay Dalrymple. All this advice you're getting about Piniella? Heed it. If he's available, get him. He clubs lefties, does well at the Stadium for a right-hander.

[tomwistar]

Here's another vote for Versalles, if he's available. The guy would actually make an ideal cleanup hitter against lefties in your park, because he isn't ballpark-dependent for his power. He's a doubles machine; I just had him drive in about 40 runs in 60 games batting cleanup vs. LHP in Wrigley. An amazing bargain for .50.

Get McGinn if he's available! Great teamed with Humphreys and a decent cheapie.

[johnlaw1564]

I really like your offense with Hendricks, Cash, Carew, Rico, Davis, & Oliva. If Northrup is still available, I would really consider dropping Lolich & Kirkpatrick and picking him up. My opinion has been 3 to 4 million dollar pitchers have provided good value! Seaver could be your # 1 starter. I had Lolich once and traded him after a slow start; Seaver has been good in all leagues that I can remember. Campy is a great pinch runner and decent backup SS. Best of luck!

[JIMDAKE]

Thanks all for the comments. So here's the preseason rundown: Dumped Romo as the (expensive) long guy and added Humphreys, but kept Timmerman. My main SP worry is McGlothlin getting pounded by lefties in Yankee Stadium, but my division is heavily RH dominated, especially in power hitters, and I thought I'd be better off with his strong +R. I've got Ray Bryant for occasional spot starts in Yankee if someone runs lefties at me, hopefully he can get thru 5 innings and bridge to the Humphreys or Timmerman. Or he can mop up if I guess wrong.
The crafty vet who had scored Piniella dropped him late Sunday, so I did a little adding & subtracting, replacing Kirkpatrick with Shamsky and adding Sweet Lou. Found a way to keep T Davis who keeps seducing me with all those doubles and clutch hits against lefties, I've gotta find a way to get him some choice ABs. Before Piniella came open I was going to hold my breath on his arm and start him in left vs RHPs. Had Bubba Morton for a while to platoon for Cash but in the end couldn't afford to keep him and went back to Lefebvre. So this is about 50%+ a platoon gig. Hope the pitching holds! Opening day on Monday! I'll post some results later into the season.

[paulhurlburt]

Hi all,

My name is Paul and I am trying this out for the very 1st time I hope that I do well here,but over all I am to have some fun to see how it's like to play strat o mantic. I have never owned a game like this in all the years of playing baseball games, so I decided to go with my favorite year and favorite team the 69 Mets. Wish me luck. if anyone want to give me some advice it would be welcomed. my e-mail is pjh072061@yahoo.com.