Dunn questions

[Palanion]

Though I have never used Hershberger, I can definitely vouch for the possibility of losing May for 20-30 games. I have played in Y56 many times and used him frequently, and he has missed 30 for me....

I must also jump in on the Oliva/Brett talk... With Brett's injury risk and the amount of times that Oliva will be useless in games in your own division, I would consider adding Selkirk or Ott to play right. Selkirk can get hurt, not Ott. And a Walling/xxxx platoon would work well.

Personally, I like Selkirk a lot, but he's a risk. Of course, if you move Brett, it's a wash.

[baracus68]

[quote:f37103c0fa]If May goes down, he's a decent hitting RH and he can't go down until May goes back even with his higher injury risk. (HAL won't let both you catchers get hurt simultanously; that is, as long as you only have 2 on your roster). [/quote:f37103c0fa]

Is that true about Hal never injuring two catchers at the same time if you only have two? If so, I've been quite the idiot for my first few seasons. I'd appreciate confirmation on that so I don't continue carrying a "bullpen catcher" (he usually rooms on the road with my .50 "batting practice" pitcher--Nipper, Wilks, etc.--and they grouse about playing time and get loaded a lot.)

Also, regarding Hershberger, I always shied away from him on a gut level because the "injury" represented on his card is from when the poor guy commited suicide mid-season! Who wants that type of thing messing with clubhouse chemistry? (This is probably also the reason I've never had "fatal-injury-prone" Ray Chapman manning shortstop for me, though I guess the absence of Carl Mays in the player pool makes things safer for Ray.)

[nels52]

Seriously, did Hershberger commit suicide mid-season?! I remember reading about a big-league catcher who did that but didn't remember it was Hershberger.

And yes, I'm 99.99% sure that if one catcher gets hurt your backup can't be injured until to 1st one returns. No need for a 3rd catcher.

Anyway, I wound up picking up Ott, dropping Ott, and finally settling on the good-lumber-bad-leather Goose Goslin for LF. Hey, why not? I was uneasy with Ott, but he's great in some parks. I also exchanged Lonnie Frey for Gil McDougald.

Here's hoping the Oliva / Kuntz platoon in RF works out OK.

[baracus68]

I always though Don Buford would be a good cheap alternative in left field in Dunn. He's got better power as a lefty to take advantage of the easier homer for lefties and he's got a better OBP as a righty. Kind of a really poor man's Mickey Mantle.

Here's an article about Hershberger's sad story:

http://www.cincypost.com/sports/1999/50loc042099.html

[nels52]

Buford seems OK -- speedy and great OBP but not an RBI guy like, say Keller, Ennis, or Covington -- all decent to very good "affordable" LF candidates who often seem to be available. Personally I'm not a stickler for defense in LF. But then what modest success I have had has been with hitters' park teams. So this Dunn thing is different for me. There's a really wide range of opinion as to how to manage this park -- I have to side with the school of thought that contends that Dunn is truly a pitchers' park.