Diagnose this team

[thuggis]

I'm a rookie owner, in the process of getting my clock cleaned (currently 6-15). I'm wondering (1) what, if anything I can do to salvage the season; and (2) what to do better next time.

[url]http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2007/team/team_other.html?user_id=27649&stats=sim[/url]

As for question 2, I now realize that spending $8 mil. to use Liriano as a middle-reliever, even if he racks up a lot of IP, probably wasn't the best use of funds.

I'm also regretting Dunn in LF, who plays like his feet were encased in cement. I had no idea that Beltran, Utley, and Teixeira would be such busts, or that F. Cordero would be such a nightmare of a closer.

[the splinter]

Did you read this yet???

[url]http://forums.sportingnews.com/viewtopic.php?t=9842&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=[/url]

[nymets99]

I would look for some more speed and more doubles from of. Mauer and Wright should be productive but , utley , tex , dunn and beltran have a lot of bp hrs on their cards, in your home stadium. you need some better obp guys and better def at 2nd base. I would also just use liriano as a starter and go with a 5 man rotation. If beckett is around cut zito and pick him up. your bullpen is weak. if you can move around some assets and free up some cash try and pick up a top closer and a setup man. It is not too late if you make the right moves. if you select a pitchers park always go with a strong 1-10 pitching staff and solid defense . as long as you have some good obp high average guys you should score enough to win some games.

[J-Pav]

[b:156af0d0e2]Thuggis[/b:156af0d0e2]:

Your team is not that bad, and it's certainly not 6-15 bad, in spite of your record. Looks like you're getting some bad rolls. Everybody has a 6-15 week. When it happens in the middle, no one notices. So maybe just being patient is the order of the day here.

First of all: I would keep your pitching the way it is. However, quick hook your * SPs and have Lowe set to avoid lefties and Glavine set to avoid righties.

Put Liriano in your manager strategy as a super reliever: enter his name in the two set-up pitcher boxes [i:156af0d0e2]and[/i:156af0d0e2] the two closer boxes. Make sure you have Cordero and Geary set to avoid lefties, Wilson and Gonzalez set to avoid righties. Check the quick hook boxes and the 1-2 max innings pitched boxes. Also remember that 2-8 innings pitched is not enough to make a judgment. I've used Cordero on every single team I could get him on.

Plan B would be to set Cordero to close vs. righties and Wilson to close vs. lefties in the manager strategy and try it that way for a while; however, I already did that once and found the All-Liriano strategy worked slightly better.

On offense you are absolutely fine w/ Mauer, Beltran, Utley, Rollins and Wright. Do not dump any of them. Your platoon is okay but Kapler is weak, there are many better choices vs. LH pitching. Your best bet is to see what you can get by dumping Teixiera and Marrero. Move Dunn to DH (maybe) and try for another 1B and LF. One problem is that LF is thin, so you might have to live with Dunn in LF and grab Speizio or Hatteberg to play 1B and go for the most DH the left over dollars will get you.

Even if you do little or nothing here, I think things will improve.

My last team started like this:

Week One: 5-16
Week Two: 10-11 (15-27, ended 13 game losing streak)
Week Three: 11-10 (26-37)
Week Four: 10-11 (36-48, still treading water after early damage)
Week Five: 13-8 (49-56, won some games, but no one noticed)
Week Six: 9-12 (58-68, brief fire is quickly put out)
Week Seven: 13-8 again, with a 9 of 10 streak, for 71-76 overall
Week Eight: 11-4 HOT STREAK, worst to first on the last night of series.

82-80 overall record, Webb lost game five of semis to Chuck James (HAL hates me).

The point of the whole thing is I made zero changes from day one, when every indication was that the whole thing was bad from the start. Consider standing pat for awhile and watching things closely.

8-)

[teamnasty]

JPav's right that your team (let alone ANY team) isnt really 6-15 on ability. Plus, making wholesale changes will come with a large free agent drop penalty that will shrink your budget and weaken your team quality overall. So in large part standing pat is your best strategy, although you could do minor tinkering here and there.
As for "reasons why" your team is losing, aside from luck it strikes me that your team is ill-suited for your ballpark. It's a pitching haven yet you have several hitters who are diamond dependent for success, like Dunn, Marrero, and Teixiera, and even Utley to a lesser extent. Your pitching is just flat out bad, and even your ace Lowe isn't particularly suited for your park. I do loooove the usage youre getting out of Liriano however , 40 innings in 21 games damn. Dont change that, that's part of the solution not the problem. Good and better luck.

[thuggis]

Thanks so much for the helpful replies!

I'll probably wait for a bit, and if things are still looking grim I'll start to make some of the suggested moves.

J-Pav, I really appreciate your ancedote about your slow-starting team that turned it around. It sounds like strat is a lot like fantasy baseball--patience is a lot of times your best weapon.

[ale0319]

You do have a good team on paper, but with players like Beltran and Utley in "slumps" you aren't getting the offensive production you should. That being said, your OF could get better. I shyed away from Dunn myself because of the bad defense and low average. Other than him playing DH I personally think he's a liability. You're also hurting in RF. I'm not really sure if Davannon is your answer there, but I also don't know what kind of players are available or what kind of funds you're working with. I would wait it out another week or two to see if those guys improve. Otherwise, you might try to make some moves for speed, avg, and OBP.

[thuggis]

Addendum--I've won 5 out of my last six, and scored 43 runs last series.