by markp65 » Sun Jan 29, 2006 11:53 pm
The great benefit of playing half your games in a place with virtually no BPHR is that you can use cheap gopher-baller starters hand-picked to exploit your opponants' weaknesses and then apply the cost savings to bolster your starting lineup. Some might disagree with me, but, for example, I'd eagerly shop Santana for someone like Abreu or Ichiro and then scour the FA list for a couple of cheap situational starters to replace Santana with.
To compete in your park, you're going to need (1) better left-handed hitting balance (2) higher average hitters with good clutch ratings (3) guys whose slugging average is derived from doubles and triples rather than home runs (4) if not good base stealers, than optimally * rating guys who can run the bases (5) and guys who avoid the GBA... Ichiro, Abreu, Damon, Newhan, Klesko, Erstad, Burke, Mora, Loretta, Kendall... On the cheap side, KRob, Miles, E Young, A Sanchez, Merloni, C Gomez...
Kotsay, Overbay, Rivera and Castillo are good building blocks.