Little MM help needed

[durantjerry]

Your pitchers alone should win you many games. Those three are the ideal MM SP's IMO. Abreu is good. I have used him there twice. may be his best park besides Coors or US Cell. Hermanson and Thompson very good as well. It's pretty easy to create a good "O" in MM, so with those pitchers I think you would do very well. Arod or Cabrera would be best, Abreu is good but can be replaces with cheaper for a RH bat. I have also used Taveras. I have seen criticism that you should have an "N" CF in MM, and I tend to agree.

[BRADSANDBOTHE]

Ok,

Team is nearly complete,

Weigh in and let me know what you guys think,

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2006/team/team_other.html?user_id=15683

[visick]

I had lots of success with that DH platoon Bodie...Nice & cheap.

You're setting yourself up to see some hard RH's, unless you grab another lefty bat or 2...

[markp65]

Bodie - I'm not liking your SP based on the parks and bats in your division. You're going to get tattooed on the road with such a hard right rotation. Lots of switch hitters and LH bats. I'd keep Zambrano and look to balance your rotation with a good neutral low HR guy (Lackey), and two reverse RHP (Harang, Blanton). Then get a cheap hard right spot SP (Lawrence) to bail you out at home when necessary and round out the rotation.

Don't like Thompson as set up in MM, especially when looking at the bats in your division. I'd upgrade to one of the 5 mil guys. Heilman? Helling? Also, lose Shouse for an extreme reverse RH RP - Novoa? A cheap lefty in your Minute Maid pen will kill you because it will trigger the other team's pinch hitter vs LHP, usually a RH monster who can hit HRs.

On offense, Barajas, Jeter and Burrell soild. You're facing a ton of LHP in the division. I like Wright and even Ramirez at 3B better than Cabrera for the money. Not liking Gomes and Lane looking at your division road parks and all that LHP. Francoteur available? I'd even consider Wells in CF. Try to upgrade at 2B (Belliard?). That 2B platoon is too injury-prone and you want some pop vs LHP. Agree that it wouldn't hurt to have a little more lefty balance on the bench to keep the other managers honest. J Rod, Sullivan, G Anderson, B Crosby, Fielder, Bako...

Nice job overall. Good luck, pal and have a blast. I for one am sorry to see the extreme parks going away in 2007.

[durantjerry]

You are too RH in your lineup. It is a major(and the usual) flaw you see in most MM teams. If all the managers in your league are nort that good, you have a shot. The better one's will beat you. When playing in MM you have to make getting the complimentary LH hitters you want a major priority, as they are in short supply. The only LH hitter you have can't hit RH pitching as well as he hits LH pitching.

[BRADSANDBOTHE]

I agree I am very Righty in my lineup, and there is a Safeco in my division. I am worried a bit about that, but there is also a Petco and a Cell.

I could be very wrong with my thinking, but here it goes. I have 81 games at home where I will be strong. The Safeco team (4 Lefty SP), that is where my pitching will have to bail me out. I have great power and decent OBP vs. RHP, but also have good power and better OBP against LHP so that should help.

This is what I have as far as lineups.

Vs. RHP

Jeter (ss)
Gomes (Rf)
Cabrera (3b)
Konerko (1b)
Kotsay (cf)
Soriano (DH)
Barajas (c)
Castillo (2b)
Burrell (lf)

I am unsure of whether or not to switch Burrell and Soriano to turn the lineup over.

Vs. Lefty

E. Young (DH)
Gomes
Jeter
Konerko
Kotsay
Cabrera
Burrell
Barajas
Sanchez (2b)

As you can see, I am pretty good against lefty pitching too, Even though I am very RH

There are only 10 LH Starters on the teams oustide my division,(8 in my division) and there are 2 other MM teams in the league, so I will have an additional 12 games at MM. That means 93 of my games will be played in MM.

I could be horribly wrong and end '06 on a sour note, but that is the fun, trying different things and learning from your mistakes.

[BRADSANDBOTHE]

I will say this about my division though, we definitely have the pitching of the league with as of now:

Clemens
Patterson
Zito
Buehrle
Sabathia
Peavy
Pedro
Pettite
Willis
Zambrano
Carpenter

That should make things very interesting

[geekor]

[quote:4abe6ad0ac]You are too RH in your lineup. It is a major(and the usual) flaw you see in most MM teams. If all the managers in your league are nort that good, you have a shot. The better one's will beat you. When playing in MM you have to make getting the complimentary LH hitters you want a major priority, as they are in short supply. The only LH hitter you have can't hit RH pitching as well as he hits LH pitching.[/quote:4abe6ad0ac]

normally I'd agree, but I wouldn't pick up a hitter just because he is LH. I see someone dropped B Giles, who would be an ok LH hitter at the top, but Gomes will end up with better stats (in my experience) and comes cheaper (albeit worse def and an injury risk). Gomes in hitters parks has pretty much been a lock for 30 hr's, 100 rbi's and 100 runs scored from the #2 spot for me.

Plus it only matters is the teams in his division take advantage of it, only Coffe, with Cl Lee, has anyone who is more than a 2R.

Though vs L, I'd put Burrel in the #2 spot and lower Gomes to 6th. burrel is superior to Gomes vs L and needs to be higher.

[visick]

I've had Gomes 2X in '06 and geekor is right about the 30/100/100.

Have a defensive sub come in for him late in the game.

My only knock with moving Burrell up to the 2 spot is his gBa's... :(

[Play By The Rules]

...people like Burrell and Kotsay are bad fits. Are Rivera or Guillen (classic MM outfielders) available? Can be nice with a Kaplar or Mondesi platoon. Is Soriano your DH? I sure hope so. This kind of setup is a good spot for a Hudson/Brunlett platoon- although Hudson is no stud with the bat he IS a LH hitter vs. RHP so he protects you a tiny bit. Don't like Jose Castillo at all. Same with catcher- I'm sure he's gone but this is a situation where Schneider in a platoon with the cheap Molina (or even Olivo) can thrive.

I like to use 3-4 LH or SH on a normal MM team- even if they are your weaker hitters. I love Garibito for a DH platoon for this reason, he's got good enough OBP to lead off or hit #2.

Pitching-wise I like what you have but there are a TON of great values amongst the mid range five day starters.

Claussen, Dessens, Wang, Tejada, I've even had good luck recently with (knock wood) Bush.

I usually try to get one * stud and then fill in from there. Super duper reliever bargains include Springer and Seanez.

Good luck!