Newby - my team any good or am I doomed?

[v604435]

I picked up 15 of my 25 prospects but feel I'm a little light on offense. I looked more at Pitchers H's being < IP then at E.R.A but looks like I could be in trouble after DeLeon, hoping my BP is solid.

SP - Have debated going w/4 man rotation...
RP - Gossage (vs. R) and Williams (vs. L) setup for D. Smith

Good D @ C but weak offensively or rely on HAL to pick the right cards kept Martinez for D replacement after PH scenarios. Decinces will DH both ways and most other positions are obvious, Lescano will play whichever field RF/LF (his E rating lower than Carter's) depending on more LH or RH in opponent's lineup, with White coming in as defensive replacement for Carter in late innings. Duncan(vs. LP) & Morrison (vs. RP) will split at 2b and Lind will come in defensively.

Any advice greatly appreciated...thanks!

PS. Wish I would've ranked E. Davis, McGwire, and Molitor higher...

would help if I provided url...

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/80s/team/team.html

[LMBombers]

Your link doesn't work. Go to your league statistics. Click on your team. Copy and paste that URL into this post so that we can see your team.

[v604435]

Hopefully this works...

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/80s/team/team_other.html?user_id=54679

[gosox35]

You will never win with Mike Schmidt. You should trade him to the Boston Buckners :)

The great thing about this league is that noone has any idea if it's a good team or not. It all depends on the mystery card. I have Danny Cox, Dennis Martinez,Rhoden and Dennis Leonard in my starting rotation. I'm very happy with it. However, it's very possible they could all suck. Just go with your gut and you'll be fine.

Have fun,
Ken

[Outta Leftfield]

I'm a little puzzled as to why you have both Schmidt and DeCinces--maybe cash in DeCinces to get cash to upgrade starting pitching?

I would try for a 4 man staff if it were me. Also, I'd try to get a real shortstop. I don't see one on your team yet. You need at least a 2 defensively if possible. In general, you probably have too many players, with 11 pitchers and 17 hitters. Why not pare down to 13 or 14 hitters and use the extra cash to upgrade some players.

The standard wisdom is to concentrate as much cash as possible into fewer high grade players. If you drop White (who has no real role given your good OF defense?) and Decinces and one or two utility men or your spare catcher, that will give you about 8M or 9M to spend on upgrading starting pitching, getting a good SS, maybe getting a 2b who can hit a little (Lind's pretty weak), and getting a powerhitting DH.

[Jimmy_C]

I've never seen Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams on anybody's team in the 17 leagues I've been in. His WHIP is pretty high, and with pitching it's all about WHIP and ballpark home-runs. There are a bunch of low WHIP relievers for less money.

I'd definitely lose DeCinces and 2 other scrubs, and use the cash for any 2-range shortstop (I'm sure all the 1-range are gone). Bowa or Concepcion may still be around.

I'm not crazy about DeLeon...I don't think I've ever seen him git-r-done. Again, there are a lot of better guys with low WHIP's and smaller paychecks.

[Paul5757]

They way you spent your money is a little out of whack, in my opinion.

You could go with 3 "*" and 2 non-stars in your rotation, but I think you'd have to upgrade Hawkins for that to be successful. You'd basically go 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-5. (No. 1 starter, No. 2 starter, etc.)

You don't need all of Williams, Gossage, and Smith. I'd dump Williams for a $.75 reliever to free up cash. Or you could just dump Williams outright & use Falcone or Knepper in relief. Might even get away with downgrading on Smith too, but not so sure about that.

You don't need a def. replacement for Carter. White is way to expensive to keep in that role. I'd dump White for the cash.

Not sure about DeCinces as a DH. Don't think he'll hit enough. Part of his $$ value is based on his adequate def. at 3B. Get a hitter for DH. Probably a LH hitter, as your lineup is a litter RH heavy. You could use Presley as a RH DH if you need a platoon. He's not that bad, just be patient with him. Or Morrison or Duncan or Braggs.

If you need cash, pare down to 23-25 players.

[seanreflex]

Skipper,

I'm a huge Red Sox fan, and have had several very successful teams in Fenway Park.

The key to having a successful team in Fenway is to have some good strong right hand power hitters, and some high average, high OBP lefties.

My successful teams at Fenway have had combos of Boggs, Madlock, Dawson, Gorman Thomas and Hernandez; another had Boggs, Rice, Evans, and Freddy Lynn (it was a theme league where you had to use all players from one team.

For pitching, its tough. I've been able to win with a 5 man rotation and guys like Oil Can Boyd, Vida Blue, Hesketh, JH Johnson, Schatzeder (very good), and several other non *SP starters. The best team I had at Fenway had Clemens as the ace, with Boyd a solid #2, Hurst, Smithson and Ojeda rounded it out.

for your team, I would build around Hernandez, Schmidt, maybe Joe Carter, and I'd probably scrap everything else. Get lefty hitters; get 1 or 2 defense at SS, CF and 2B. You may give Lemon a fair chance at CF if nobody else is left, I've had great seasons and horible seasons with him.

Pitching -- YIKES. Gossage and Dave Smith are a great bullpen. I don't like DeLeon at all; Guidry should be great but I've never seen him perform -- EVER. I'd probably blow up that staff and do a decent 5 man with someone like Blue, Ojeda, Perez, Fernandez as the anchor ..

You have ALOT of work ahead of you, my friend, but you can absolutely mold it into a good team. Fenway Park is not very popular with alot of the regular managers in the 80's game -- I personally love it, and will be glad to share my experiences there if you have any questions. GOOD LUCK !

Sean

[Outta Leftfield]

Sean,

Thanks for the seminar on Fenway. Any advice on characteristics of pitchers that do well? Maybe I'll give Fenway a try some day, though I'll admit that it scares me.

So far, Skipper hasn't taken any of our good advice--which has often been restated three or four times. I wonder if he's listening.

I would hate to imagine him taking this team in its present form into a real season...:shock: :(

But any team can be reclaimed with enough work before the season starts. :D

[seanreflex]

[quote:3ce171e3f7]Thanks for the seminar on Fenway. Any advice on characteristics of pitchers that do well?[/quote:3ce171e3f7]

Outta,

I've had a hard time statistically quantifying what works in Fenway as far as pitchers are concerned.

Some of the lower priced lefties have done well for me -- Hurst, JHJohnson, Price, Schatzeder, Hesketh, McWilliams, Vida Blue. Clemens does well anywhere, but specifically there.

BPHR don't seem to hurt too much at Fenway. Lower WHIP's work well, although I have used Soto unsuccessfully there ..
I'll have to really study my Fenway pitching staffs to establish the common threads between what works and what doesn't.

I'll get back to you on it.

Hopefully Skipper makes some changes, or he's going to be the Skipper of a shipwreck !!