I caught up some strategy math today. I was shocked to see that my divisional rivals RHB are now in the majority in the lineups, except for the Hellfire, who have 4 RHB vs RHP.
I've been debating for a while adding some more pop to my lineup - at least in terms of OB% and hits. I decided to drop Beachy and add Alex Gordon (!). I think with Gordon's bat in the lineup every day (and his much better defense) it more than compensates for the loss of Beachy every 5th game. Probably should have done this at the 5% penalty, but better a little late than very late, or never.
I had an odd platoon going in LF with Davis and Morgan, where I would play Davis vs reverse-balance RHP, as well as LHP. Now it's Gordon all the way, and Morgan is just a back-up for Hunter and Dyson.
I had a little more depth than I needed, so I could afford to cut Kelly. That created enough room for a cheap SP, Bass. The 1 R reflects my calculations that he'll face about 4.4 RHB per game, with .4 of those being against W power RHB. Interestingly, Weaver will still only face 3.5 RHB per game, in the number 1 spot in the rotation, based on scheduled opponents. Griffin moves to the #5 spot (4.0 RHB per game), and Tillman moves to Beachy's spot (3.9 RHB). The difference in the # of RHB faced is primarily because the #1 spot has more East opponents, and comparatively few central opponents, based on the twists in the schedule.
My calculation of the net improvement per plate appearance at LF is 8%. This includes the batting upgrade as well as the fielding upgrade, minus the downgrade in pitching (Beachy to Bass) every 5th game, based on 35 batters faced per start. The bullpen is expected to work harder, with Bass pitching instead of Beachy. I'm using 4.75 plate appearances per game for Gordon, based on him batting higher in the order than did Davis or Morgan, at least vs. RHP.
The move is worth doing no matter what the standings show, but obviously being in last place means that I don't have much to lose at this point by trying it out. And we're only 7 GBL, so now's the time.
Welcome to the Goldeyes, Alex!