by rburgh » Tue Nov 29, 2011 4:44 pm
Guys who are popular for this ballpark:
C - roll your own. Lots of people use Sanguillen, but he has 30+ gbA's both ways, which sours me. DO NOT use Pudge in this ballpark - there are more effective C's to control the running game that don't waste so much salary on ballpark HR's that won't fly in Forbes. Schalk and Ira Thomas are popular cheap cards with big arms and decent OB for the money.
1B - Bill Terry, George Sisler - any card for either. The Hernandez card you have might be OK, with the + clutch. The new Ferris Fain might be OK, but I haven't looked at it too closely.
2B - Usually a throwaway position in this ballpark. Sometimes people use the injury-prone Collins here. If you do that, make sure you get a good, cheap backup. If you go cheap, make sure you have on-base and defense. A popular way to go is the cheap Nellie Fox card platooning with Glenn Beckert. Another popular option is a platoon of the really cheap Mazeroski card with the RH killing Richardson. Willie Randolph can also be used.
3B - Delahanty 1894 is a Petrosian specialty. Lindstrom and Frisch (also can be used at 2B) are also good choices.
SS - Wagner 1909 is the king here. Again, you want a good cheap backup. Petro likes John Ward, I think I like Swede Risberg, Freddy Parent, or Ed Brinkman instead.
LF - Joe Jackson, Duffy - really there are a lot of good values for singles-hitting LF in this card set. Jesse Burkett never gets hurt. Mike Donlin is an RBI machine. Rickey can be used - either the card you have to bat cleanup on the road or the card around $6 million as a leadoff man and SB machine if nobody in your division has a C that can throw.
CF - Duffy, Cobb, Speaker all can be used here. The argument for the CF-RF Cobb card is that it has more on-base chances than the other two cards. The argument against it is that he didn't have 600 AB+BB that year, so is a 15-game injury risk. Cheaper options abound - I have used Willie McGee successfully. The new Vada Pinson card should play well there too/
RF - Paul Waner, Cobb, Joe Jackson are all high-end options. The trio of Duffy, Delanahty, and Joe Jackson provides decent lineup balance and can raise hell in any ballpark with all the hits and XB hits. Ichiro is very good here. And Wheat should be good, but the problem with him is that the 1st position on his card is LF, where he is a 4. If any of your OF gets hurt, HAL WILL move him to LF no matter what you have set up in your computer manager options.
SP - I would keep Sadecki and Score, but I don't think the 4-day Reulbach is a good value. Compare his card to Amos Rusie, then factor in that Rusie can hit and Reulbach can't, and Rusie is almost $1.6 million cheaper.
Bullpen - Emil Yde has probably the worst P card in the set. Get rid of him ASAP, since HAL WILL use him no matter how many restrictions you try to put on his use. It will be very ugly. I would think long and hard about grabbing two .50 million SP only guys and going with effectively a 7-man staff in that park.