Au Revoir Frank ...

Frank Taveras went from the best bargain back up shortstop/pinch runner in the game at $0.50 to a guy who will NEVER be used at $1.10 ... My how the wimpy have grown.

Same for Jorge Orta and Ping Bodie, 2 of my favorite PH'ers at no DH

1961 Jake Wood .50 to .99

Charles Gipson still a steal at .77, showing just how ridiculous he was at .50

Lou Frazier from .76 to 1.32 WOW.

Cheap Ron LeFlore (.77) ain't so cheap any more either ... 1.51 now.

George Moriarty from .86 to 1.31

Apparently whomever repriced the cards put a dramatic premium on Pinch Runners.

Johnny Rucker when from $0.63M to $0.50. Showing just how much I was over paying for my cheap, defensive minded bench!

Jorge Orta just essentially got laid off. I've used him hundreds of times but at $1.08m no rational manager will ever use him again.

My favorite cheap catcher Matt (Always) Batts went up a quarter....

McBean 2.27 (was 1.38)
Giusti 2.84 (was 1.78)
Behrman 1.83 (was 1.16)

Three of my favorite cheap relievers will be looking for work elsewhere in the future as well.

Good cheap pinch runners are still out there, it's just that we now have to lower our expectations what constitutes a pinch runner a bit. Instead of the AA 1-17 you used to use, maybe B 1-15 will be the upgrade you need in late innings as a replacement for a starting player with feet of stone. If you want a gazelle, apparently it will cost a bit more, which will constrain your budget for other key parts of the roster.