Comments sought on 3rd team

[MICHAELBUSH]

I enjoyed my first 80s team so much that I bought 5 credits. I draft two teams one which you all were so kind to comment on went thru it's waiver period yesterday, the second had waivers today. I am not nearly as happy with this team. I put it in Dodger Stadium and tried to draft 4 stud pitchers. I lost Clemens in the draft but ended up with Hershiser, Carlton, and Key. I put Langston back in the waiver period with my first choice and took Dennis Martinez (I was 5th in the waiver period). I however lost out on my SS picks (Larkin and Ripken).


http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/80s/team/team_other.html?user_id=54220

I made a few changes after the waivers:

Traded in Brenly for Simmons, signed Bo Diaz for his defense and to cover injuries and if I get the one semi bad year on Simmons card (I hate having that much money sitting on the bench however).

I also traded in Hargrove for Wallach and moved Darrel Evans to 1B.

My defense isn't that good, but hopefully with my pitching and Dodger stadium I will be OK (lots of pitcher parks in my division).

I could trade Sarge in for a multitude of choices (Baker, Lezcano, McReynolds, Gibson) are all there plus Mumphrey and several similar types. Sarge's defense isn't too good but he looks to be a solid offensive player.

I am wide open to comments on thoughts on this one.

Thanks,

Mike

[MICHAELBUSH]

I couldn't stand having 2 mil on the bench.

Diaz is gone and I signed Alex Trevino.

That let me trade Sarge in for Phil Bradley and a hope that I get one of the three outstanding years on his card plus his better D.

Mike

[honestiago1]

Who plays DH? Franco or McRae. Id' go with one (Franco) and dump the other (it IS a DH league, right?).

I don't dig Simmons at all. True, he can hit, but Catcher is a defensive position. I'd go for a -3 gun and swallow the hitting (I have Boone on my 80s team). Plus, you might save a mil or two to improve your bullpen.

I know some folks think you should go for .75's in the pen and a big gun reliver. I think the setup man is almost as important. Hopefully, one of your .75's will come through and fulfill that role. Try not to wait too logn to get someone reliable there.

Key and Hershiser are great pitchers. Dennis Martinez, if the cards are right, can be a dominant force for you. I like your overall balance on the pitching staff (but I'd have spent a little more on my relievers (that's just me).

Darrell Evans is a gamble. He played in Tiger Stadium four of his years. He'll always draw walks and hit homers (some years more than others), but he might clog up your lineup.

Butler is a great pick. Next to Raines and Henderson, he's the best leadoff guy there is, for speed, avg. and OBP.

You don't need Schofield, if you keep Franco. Franco can backup at SS and 2B. Since he'd only play there in case of injury, I wouldn't fret his fielding too much. If you want a backup as a defensive replacement, get Gallego or someone like that. Schofield is nothing but a glove anyway. I'd not worry about backup SS or 2B, with Franco there. You also have Julio Cruz for three IF positions plus pinchrunning.

I'd dump Schofield, McRae and Evans and try to get a 1B who hits for higher average for your ball park. Either that, or dump Schofield, McRae and Bradley and get a LF who is almost gauranteed to have a great year (I haven't looked at Lezcano. Would he work?).

Just my opinions and biases. Good luck.

[Outta Leftfield]

On the catcher's arm, I find that a -2 is good enough to put a serious crimp in the opposing running game. That opens up a wide range of catchers if you want to go for defense there. One argument for keeping Simmons, however--whom I'm generally not a fan of-- is that all of your starters are -1 or better at holding runners. Your two righties are the best: Orel at -2 and Martinez at -3 (amazing!). This might reduce the damage from Simmons's arm.

Here's the link to a Royals team of mine that's been on an amazing tear after a 1-8 start. It's currently 73-35. I still can't quite believe it after the awful start.

[url]http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/80s/team/team_other.html?user_id=51359[/url]

You'll see that D. Martinez is a key figure on the team. Also, Franco is actually my starting SS. I picked him up after Concepcion, Gagne and Schofield all bombed out. It seems to me the key to the team's success is low walks and HR allowed, good team defense, and high OBP. It looks like you're aiming in that direction with your team.

I wouldn't worry too much about the number of lefty hitters on your team. Just provide platoon contingencies. C. Martinez could platoon in OF or 1B. You might replace Cruz with a cheap RH hitting OF to give more platoon possibilities. Dykstra sometimes has trouble hitting LHP, so you could shift Bradley to CF and platoon in LF. This switch could happen latter in the season if you find you need the extra righty. Heep could also be sacrificed unless you really need that lefty bat.

Enjoy! :D

[MICHAELBUSH]

I stewed and stewed about this team and ultimately decided that I couldn't live with Simmons at C as my strong pitching staff would likely lose a lot of DP chances due to his SB allowed. Additionally Darrell Evans is not a offensive 1Bmen who fits into Dodger Stadium well. I finally decided to sign Benito Santiago to play C and then I moved Simmons to 1B (could have had Kruk, both are similar offensively, I think Simmons is a bit better and this allowed me to dump Alex Trevino as my back up catcher and have Simmons fill that role, while I signed Mickey Hatcher for 1B)

I am still not totally pleased with this team but it seems better.

Thanks for all the advice.

Mike Bush

[honestiago1]

Geez, Outa LF, your pitching is just incredible. Did you hit the jackpot on EVERYBODY? Starter WHIPs are incredibly good across the board! Also noticed you're averaging a HR a game, even in Royals stadium. I like that you took a chance on some good hitting LF's with 4's. In face-to-face, I've used poor-fielding OF's like Moreland, Paciorek and Daniels over the years, with great success. There's a tendency sometimes to forget that certain positions are great places to hide poor gloves. Everybody trying to get all 1's and such. Your team shows the beauty of various players and their abilities working together. That's quite a record the team has!

[Outta Leftfield]

[quote:6a6d5dc6ca]Geez, Outa LF, your pitching is just incredible. Did you hit the jackpot on EVERYBODY? [/quote:6a6d5dc6ca]

Well, yeah, I think I did hit the jackpot, but not right away. Blyleven and D. Martinez were on the team from the start, but the other original *SPs were Higuera and Reuschel, who along with Guante and a couple of other RPs were just awful. The record of the pitchers I dumped was: 3-14 WL with 1.87 WHIP and 7.53 ERA in 114.2 IP. Yikes!

But replacements Bryn Smith and Liebrandt have been fantastic. I'm not sure how I'm getting such a low WHIP in Royals Stadium, but I'm not complaining. One thing is that all of the SP's are really, really stingy with walks. My offense doesn't have quite a HR per game. 95 HR in 111 games as I write. But I'm leading the league in OBP and doubles. The pitchers have given up only 85 HR--pitchers currently on the roster only 55.

[quote:6a6d5dc6ca]I like that you took a chance on some good hitting LF's with 4's.[/quote:6a6d5dc6ca]
I've ended up with an unconventional but effective OF. Had trouble finding a CF and ended up with Lemon after Dykstra and Bradley bombed out. I found I had Lemon's 84 year, which is .847 7L. The OPS sounds good but he just CAN'T hit RHP. And he sees too many RHP, playing every day. On the other hand, he murders LHP--currently hitting .181 vs RHP and .385 vs LHP. After much internal debate, I decided to keep him and to go with a platoon that against LHP features Lemon in CF, Barfield in RF and Singleton in LF--but vs RHP involves Barfield moving to CF, Daniels playing left and Singleton swinging to RF, with Polonia at DH. I lose some defense but with Polonia hitting .333 vs RHP and Lemon scorching LHP, it's been worth it. :D

An interesting feature of the team is that a lot of it was picked up off the reject pile. B. Smith, Leach, Wynegar, Buechele, Franco, Polonia, Lemon and Barfield had all been dumped by somebody else. And yet this team of rejects is 74-37. I guess the moral is not to pull the trigger too soon? :wink: [/quote]

[seanreflex]

QUOTE: Geez, Outa LF, your pitching is just incredible. Did you hit the jackpot on EVERYBODY?
++++++++++
So, tell me, Outta, how DO Honestiago's lips feel on your butt ??? Oh, OUTTA, you're SOOO wonderful .... GAG !!! :wink:

Seriuosly, I remember when you first posted that team. I am very impressed at how well so many otherwise "utility" players have stepped up and become all-stars.

And, it is very interesting to see Daniels' BA so low, when usually he is a smokin' gun in a place like Royals.

You should go play the lottery, and quick. Cuz lightnin' don't strike the same place twice, and that horseshoe that's up your butt is likely to fall out sometime soon.

Good team; lookin' forward to playing in a league with you again soon,

Sean

[Outta Leftfield]

[quote:e1a5970fb0].... GAG !!! [/quote:e1a5970fb0]...etc.

Well, thanks for the kind words, Sean. :D :D

Seriously, though, a lot of luck was involved with this team. I've never had one completely click quite like this one. Of course, bad things could still happen....

Kal Daniels year has been strange. He started off like a house afire--was hitting about .330 with power and walks-- and I thought at first I had his best year. But lately he's been in a prolonged slump. Injury data suggests his best, worst, or a .919 2R OPS year. I think it's that latter one (.919) since everything else about the year is good except the BA. I've got my fingers crossed that that will rise, but you never know. Still, I think he's a keeper.

[honestiago1]

I guess sean reflex got his rear end kicked in your league, outaLF. What a shame -- need to borrow $25, sean? :)