by mesquiton » Tue Jul 26, 2011 9:27 pm
Dale, I've also won some leagues with "3"s and "4"s up the middle. The "3"s (especially with low errors) might not hurt too much, but I haven't found many players whose bats can overcome "4"s.
Some things to consider in general:
On offense, assuming an average of 4 plate appearances per game, your hitter's card will determine the outcome of 2 appearances, with the other 2 coming from the opposing pitcher's card/defense.
On defense, your 2b card will, on average, determine the outcome of about 1.1 chances per game, your SS card will account for about 1.3, and your CF defense will determine about 1 chance every 2 games.
So, using CF as an example, to decide whether a CF-4 with a good bat is better for your team than a CF-2 with a bad bat, you basically need to assess whether his 4 offensive card appearances every 2 games are likely to help you, more than his 1 defensive chance every 2 games will hurt you.
It's also important to consider your ballpark. I usually play in slugger parks, so lots of BPHRs can go a long way toward making up for some bad defense. A few extra homers can make up for a lot of defensive lapses. For example, for his salary, I've not regretted playing Beltran [CF 4(-1)e3] in the field against lefties. But I would never draft him for a pitcher's park. (I suspect it's harder to overcome bad defense in a pitcher's park, but will leave it to someone more experienced to offer advice on that.)
Also, keep in mind that a CF4(-1)e3 might hurt you less than, say, a CF2(+3)e50. And, remember that bad infield defense results mostly in extra singles and errors and fewer double plays, while bad outfield defense (especially 4s) will give up lots of extra-base hits and big errors.
And finally, remember to take all this advice with a grain of salt...HAL can make fools of us all!