First timer looking for some opinions

[AeroDave10]

I told you earlier that Hernandez was a terrible choice. Unfortunately you had to see that to believe it.


I like Schneider, and since you probably can't trade Hernandez or Ruiz, I would drop Hernandez and Ruiz and pick up Schneider (4R) and Ardoin (6L) as a platoon (if you can afford it).

[Marotta007]

It wasn't that I HAD to have Hernandez or anything. He was just very cheap which gave me the felxibility to do some other things that I wanted. I could have lived with him hitting .225 if he hit 15 HR and drove in 60 runs (which he's on pace to do). I cannot, however, have an offensive blackhole (to the tune of a .160 OBP) at the bottom of my lineup.

I can afford Schneider and Adroin and I like the platoon idea so I'm going to go ahead and pull the trigger.

[chasenally]

Cano seems to be holding his own. You are kicking ash!!!!

[Marotta007]

Cano WAS doing great. But over the last 10 games he's hitting just .139. Defensively he's only made 2 errors so far so he's under what his pace should be. Right now Carlos Lee is injured so I have Miles in a platoon at DH. Once Lee is back I'll probably give Miles a few starts at 2B and see how he performs. I may even create a temporary platoon with Cano going against LHP and Miles, RHP.

That was a tough series for me last night. I lost 2 of 3 but both losses were 2-1 games. Overall though, I'm still doing much better since the mini overhaul.

[AeroDave10]

I still think that you should spend that extra money and get some better use out of your $80M. Anderson is $1.68M and doesn't have any at bats. Werth is $5.63M and only has 57 ABs. Kemp is $4.30M and a bad fit for your park (he's just been lucky so far, I think). You want to have the least amount of money sitting on the bench every night. Think of it that way.

A possible FA move would be to go for Stephen Drew over HanRam.

[Marotta007]

Garet Anderson has not AB's b/c he was picked up 2 hours ago as a bat off the bench and some offensive insurance in case of injury (all other bench guys are defensive replacements). I had Jose Guillen in that spot for 1.18m but he was 1 for 19 in his spot starts so I cut him. Werth has only 57 AB's because he was picked up about 15 games ago as a replacement for Ryan Braun who wasn't hitting at all and was awful defensively. He missed 2 games due to injury but other than that he has played in every game since being picked up. The rest of my extra cap room owes to the fact that I dropped Mike Pelfrey and picked up Perkins. Again, that move was done today.

I disagree on Kemp. I play in Yankee Stadium yes, so lefties may be desirable but I didn't pick him up to hit 40 HR. If he hits 20 with a solid OBP while stealing around 30 bases he's a good fit for my team. I also like the fact that he's strong againt LHP in case someone tries to start lefties against me while playing in my home park. He also gives me solid defense in RF with a reasonably strong arm.

The Drew for Ramirez move isn't a bad idea and I've been keeping my eye on Ramirez as his BA has dropped like a stone. The thing is, even while hitting .228 his OBP is still a fairly respectable .340. Obviously I'd like to see something closer to .400 but I don't think he'll hit .225 for the season. Lastly, he's hitting HR and driving in a decent amount of runs, mostly from the leadoff spot. If his slide continues though, I could see myself picking up Drew.

[AeroDave10]

You have to remember the upgrade in defense you'd get with Drew as well as being a lefty swinger. FYI - Don't be so sure on HanRam. He is totally bombing for me in another league. Hitting about .188 with no power. I can't explain that one at all :(

Kemp is great against lefties (48.5 OB chances; T-30th best) but really awful against righties (28.5 OB chances; T-297th best). He doesn't play great defense, and he isn't a clutch hitter. If you like him, though, stick with him.

Unfortunately, you've double your "pleasure" since Jayson Werth is Matt Kemp with a few differences: less OBP and more SLG, a better glove, but more injury prone. Two of those guys in Yankee Stadium could spell B-I-G trouble down the road.

Anderson is a fairly expensive backup. I hope he at least gets good PT when Werth goes down.

[Marotta007]

ON FIRE!

[AeroDave10]

I'm glad to see some of the guys I suggested are working out well for you (Arredondo, Schneider/Ardoin) :wink:

You need to take some of that leftover cash and find a better 4th starter than .50M Bronson Arroyo. He will kill you in the regular season and then really be bad for the postseason. :shock:

HanRam still doesn't look like he's panning out :?

[Marotta007]

The platoon at C has worked out fairly well but Arrendondo has been an absolute beast. As far as Ramirez goes, I'm on the verge of letting him go. I've tried to give him the benefit of the doubt but his average is just not getting any better and he's walking less so he's really starting to hurt me. I've let it go this long b/c I believe I have the best offense in the league so I've been able to cover for him to date.

As far as Arroyo, I'm not thrilled with him but the pickings are pretty slim for the cash I have available. Right now he's in a platoon with Perkins for the 4th spot in the rotation (since Perkins can't go on 3 days rest). I alternate them every start and combined they're 6-2 with a 4.07 ERA which is pretty decent.

If I end up making the move with Ramirez, that would free up some cash to go after a better SP. Stay tuned...