Closing in on Opening Day

[Bballboy]

The season starts tomorrow. And I feel like there arent many changes that i would like to make. But the last time I felt that way I lost about 100 games. So i figured Id go to the experts:
[url]http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2007/team/team_other.html?user_id=2202[/url]

All help is appreciated.

[fred_1_15301]

I'm no expert but it seems like there are a lot of holes in this team. First, I think you spent way too much on pitching and as a result, your lineup is weak. You have a lot of money invested in both starting pitching and bullpen. What is your projected lineup? I see a lot of 3s and 4s in important positions. Also, why are you loaded with so many righty hitters? In your stadium, you need some more balance.

[CHARLESBELL]

Concur with Fred above. I'll assume lee is your DH, which means Ortiz is your starting 1B with a 5 rating - not unheard but not good either. Threes at 2b and ss is more of a problem. Vlad's 4 in rf wouldn't be so bad if you didhn't have all these other holes in your defense.

As I see it there is only 1 lefty in your starting lineup (Ortiz). Teams that notice this are going to throw right-handed pitchers at you all day long. This season has lots of hard righties and they'll kill you.

My take - if you are still pre-season, replace santana and saito with less costly versions to free up some cash. I think your pitching will still be plenty good.

Replace ortiz and vlad as well. Get at least three lefty hitters out of the money you save - at 1B and OF, and a good defensive (2 or 1 rating) at 2B.

Frankly, I'd replace Lee with a lefty/switch, too.

[Bballboy]

Advice has made a lot of sense so far. Thanks guys. I made a lot of changes according to what was said. With that said... any more suggestions?

[CHARLESBELL]

Much improved, Ben, IMO. Mauer is a great catch (pun intended :-) ) and cano will help from the left side as long as he stays healthy. Your pitching looks good although it won't be helped by the shakey defense behind them.

The team should hit left-handed pitching pretty well, but you'll have to watch how your opponents react to your still heavy RH lineup. Ortiz and Mauer can carry a team for awhile, but if opponents can stuff your RH hitters you could have trouble scoring.

Good luck!