WIS MMXI: Back to the Future Edition- Draft & Season Thread (4 Viewers)

[oso diablo]

At least we know he will take one for the team. The guy's got heart.

true. unfortunately, the WIS sim algorithm has no heart.

The guy wont see the field for my team.

i know. not picking on you. i just thought it was a noteworthy moment in baseball.

 

[Doug B]

He stays in there to take one for the team ...

What were his options there? The only way he could've avoided the shelling, that I can think of, would've been to fake an injury.

 

[RnR]

He stays in there to take one for the team ...

What were his options there? The only way he could've avoided the shelling, that I can think of, would've been to fake an injury.

I'm saying it is poor form by the Royals. He had no options. He took the beating and ensuing publicity that will forever tarnish his name. For what? They were postponed the day before, had a fresh bullpen, and instead decided to essentially put the white flag up with this kid out there.ETA: He gave up 10 runs in one inning. ONE inning.... and then he sent him back out for ANOTHER inning. With multiple options in the bullpen. If there was ever a case of a manager hanging a kid out to dry, this was it. He didn't even wait till the next morning to ship him back to Omaha.

 

[Eephus]

He stays in there to take one for the team ...

What were his options there? The only way he could've avoided the shelling, that I can think of, would've been to fake an injury.

He could have gotten a couple of outs

 

[RnR]

He stays in there to take one for the team ...

What were his options there? The only way he could've avoided the shelling, that I can think of, would've been to fake an injury.

He could have gotten a couple of outs

There's that too...

 

[Eephus]

I'm going out on a limb to say none of these teams will go far in the Tournament of Champions

 

[Sammy3469]

.179 isA. The combined isolated power of my two first offensive picks (Pedroia & Morneau)B. My expected winning percentage in this thingC. Both

.179 may be aggressive for my team

 

[oso diablo]

looks like i will have an extra SP or two. possibly will be looking to trade for a non-OF batter.

Rotation: Kuroda, Jaime Garcia, Kyle McClellan, Tim Stauffer, Brandon McCarthy, Travis Wood, Carlos Carrasco

 

[Pampernick]

 

[Greco]

Laynce Nix. Go figure.

 

[scoobus]

Laynce Nix. Go figure.

Sell high

 

[boubucarow]

 

[RnR]

Cheer up, at least he'll be a very usable back-up catcher.

 

[boubucarow]

Cheer up, at least he'll be a very usable back-up catcher.

For my very unusable starting catcher.

 

[Greco]

Laynce Nix. Go figure.

Sell high

Might could be my everyday LF'er.

 

[Greco]

Todd Wellemeyer has retired.

 

[rodg12]

I'm pretty much effed in this. Right now, my ace is Freddy Garcia. FML.

 

[Doug B]

The WIS winner of this thing will be one of the very few who's going to be able to throw out 650-700 credible PAs at each field position.

Are any decent MLers at all getting called up anywhere? :(

 

[Eephus]

The WIS winner of this thing will be one of the very few who's going to be able to throw out 650-700 credible PAs at each field position.Are any decent MLers at all getting called up anywhere? :(

This is why I wanted a 24 team league and a supplemental draftJust saying

 

[cheese]

Fwiw, this is what I’m looking at. Kinda hoping others post a similar update…

C- Martin, Salty - Great combo. Exactly what I was hoping for here if Salty can get his OPS up a little the rest of the way.

1B- Smoak, Laporta- Hopefully a good platoon situation. Both have tons of solid PA’s.

2B- OCabrera, Broberts- OCab is playing every day, but both guys are around .600 OPS and Roberts is hurt.

SS- Bartlett, Renteria- More mediocre PA’s. Both love errors so far.

3B- Youkilis, Hannahan- Youk is coming around to be himself. Hannahan getting tons of solid ABs and great defense.

LF- CarGo- Dissapointment, but he’s stayed healthy and he’s still productive.

CF- BJ Upton- Looking solid, but his OBP makes leadoff look shaky if he stays there.

RF- Bruce- Stud. Playing every day and crushing RHP and LHP.

Other OF- DBrown, Reimold, Saunders, Ankiel- A couple guys with good stats and a couple guys with PA’s, nobody with both so far. Brown has potential here.

Couple other offensive guys in my trash pile.

SPs

1. Shields- Beast, true ace in this thing when its all done most likely

2. Mosely- With his ERA and OPS against, he’s headed for a solid spot in the rotation

3. Buehrle- Same thing he does every year

4. Beachy- HURRY BACK, He’s got the numbers to help me, but I’ll need some IP’s

5. Coke/Lackey/Vazquez- I either need Coke to stay in the rotation long enough to work as a 5 man or one of the two old guys to remember how to get anyone out. Not looking great here, but I doubt anybody is and Coke’s stats are solid if he can stick around.

Closer- Salas, Would really help this team if he’d keep this up.

Setup- Chapman, Wright, Wood. Opposite stories here. Need Chapman to pick it up or Wright to keep it up. Chapman’s OPS and K’s may keep him usable if gets back and throws some strikes. Kerry Wood is on track for a good spot in pen.

LOOGY- Schlereth, Rhodes- DS has been awesome so far. Rhodes may be a servicable body.

Long Man- Greg Reynolds

Others with a chance to turn it around- Jenks, Wheeler- Sox sucking

Jeffress has decent stats, but stuck in AAA now

Overall- None of my top players have spent much time injured so my team is shaping up mostly as I thought it would for better or worse. Both Lackey and Vazquez look terrible so I’m going to have to hope my other starters hold onto their solid starts.

Possible lineup as of today- RMartin, Youk, Cargo, Bruce, Upton, Smoak, BRoberts, Bartlett, P

 

[RnR]

The WIS winner of this thing will be one of the very few who's going to be able to throw out 650-700 credible PAs at each field position.Are any decent MLers at all getting called up anywhere? :(

This is why I wanted a 24 team league and a supplemental draftJust saying

Guarding against PA and IP shortage was a big part of drafting strategy. Some guys chose to acknowledge it, others didn't.

 

[Eephus]

The WIS winner of this thing will be one of the very few who's going to be able to throw out 650-700 credible PAs at each field position.Are any decent MLers at all getting called up anywhere? :(

This is why I wanted a 24 team league and a supplemental draftJust saying

Guarding against PA and IP shortage was a big part of drafting strategy. Some guys chose to acknowledge it, others didn't.

says the guy with the fewest team PAs

 

[Doug B]

Guarding against PA and IP shortage was a big part of drafting strategy.

How could you guard against PA/IP shortage? A guy spends 2 months on the DL, and whoops -- there goes that well-thought out draft strategy.The following is just sour grapes at this point, but:Good info available to the non-FBB player wasn't easy to find or parse. One guy on my squad as an example -- I knew Jason Kendall entered the season hurt. I found nothing that said he's be out all of 2011. Theoretically, he could still return ... but he wasn't supposed to be THAT bad off or THAT far away.I found a site that gave estimated years that MLers would get called up to the majors. Hoping for depth, I drafted several guys tabbed to come up this year. Was thinking that realistically, I'd get 200+ PAs/usable middle-relief PAs out of a few, maybe have some extra PAs/IPs sprinkled in elsewhere, and then the remainder (about half of the ML guys I picked) crapping out. Instead, not a one of my prospects has sniffed the majors. :shrugged:The primary fantasy baseball info I could get a hold of (through a magazine apparently printed in December) has just missed left and right. Mauer WAS pretty damn unhealthy (was that fully known 6 months ago?). Jose Bautista WASN'T due to "return to the mean". James Loney WASN'T an obvious breakout candidate. The FBB guys in this thing had a major advantage in being able to cut through the chaff and bad data to be able to have their own personal informed opinions about players.

 

[oso diablo]

The FBB guys in this thing had a major advantage in being able to cut through the chaff and bad data to be able to have their own personal informed opinions about players.

i'm not so sure about that. Having a personal opinion on a player cuts both ways. For example, many fantasy players were down on Bautista too. I know i get player-crushes on certain guys, and that harms my rationality.

 

[Dan Gladden's Mustache]

I will play this roster analysis game:

C - Arencibia/Ramos: over 300 PAs between the two with some decent pop out of JP. Ramos started hot, but cooled. Gimenez and Flores only have a handful of ABs. Bottom line: Plenty of PAs, some good pop too.

1B - Barton/Johnson/Pearce: Dan Johnson worthless, but is mentioned in case the 84 PAs are needed. More likely I use an OFer to chip in. Barton hitting .200 and has 6 errors! Pearce a nice surprise, but has 3B and OF eligibility and would be best used in a UT role. Bottom line: PAs are here, but they are UGLY.

2B - Izturis/Nishioka/EY: Nishioka was hurt early, should be back in the next week or two. Izturis has been very solid 286/356/416. Eric Young recently called up and is off and running. Bottom Line: PAs are here, Izturis could be a help at 3B if Nishioka comes back and helps.

3B - Reynolds/Izturis/Pearce: After a brutal start, Reynolds has showed good pop of late. He's made a whopping 9 errors. This looks like a blown pick, but I thought it was worth a shot. Izturis and Pearce look like better hitting fill-ins if I can use them. Bottom line: PAs seem ok, quality lacking.

SS - Tulo/Izturis/Diory Hernandez: Tulo started very hot, but has been in a slump of late. Still, he has 11 homers and just 2 errors and should hold down short. Izturis has been mentioned everywhere, and hopefully won't be needed here. Diory only has a handful of PAs for the Braves so far. Bottom Line: On track here.

LF - Parra/Venable: Parra is 263/343/375, Venable 224/293/291...both play good D and Venable has shown a lot of speed. Would like to see one of them pick it up in the 2nd half. Bottom Line: PAs, meh.

CF - Chris Young/Pagan: Black Chris Young has shown tons of pop and great D, but the 234/292/450 line is not pretty. Pagan is back from injury and hitting some after a terrible April. Bottom Line: PAs, hopeful here...great pop/D/speed possibilities.

RF - Ibanez/Pagan: Ibanez is back on track after an awful start too. (notice a theme?) He's up to a whopping 246/297/431 and I have hopes he can end up in the middle of my order. Bottom Line: PAs there, righting the ship.

Lineup looks like a mess right now, but every position seems to be covered and some guys are picking up steam. With the pitching, I just need a mediocre lineup, so hopefully they can get there.

SP1 - Dan Haren: 86 IP, 12 GS, 10 QS. 2.29 ERA and .94 WHIP. Ace on track! Close to 7 IP per start.

SP2 - Tommy Hanson: 64 IP, 2.80 ERA, 1.07 WHIP. Looking good here, 5.85 IP/S needs to improve.

SP3 - Wandy Rodriguez: 66 IP, 3.41 ERA, 1.33 WHIP. Wandy is a little banged up, but looks solid enough for #3. Just need him to stay healthy.

SP4 - Charlie Morton: 68 IP, 2.51 ERA, 1.36 WHIP. Huge surprise here as Charlie was the 7th or 8th SP I grabbed. A whopping 6.8 IP/S. Will it last?

SP5 - Nick Blackburn: 70.2 IP, 3.57 ERA, 1.32 WHIP. Another surprise, but I doubt it lasts. If Blackburn can finish with an ERA in the low 4s, I'll take it. 6.4 IP/S

Other SPs: Homer Bailey (stud-ish but only 30 IP and hurt again), Andrew Cashner (60 Day DL, probably done), Matt Palmer (3 starts, not good)

CL - Huston Street/Johnny Venters: Not sure who I'll use. Venters has been amazing (.53 ERA, .772 WHIP) and Street has been good (3.81, 1.19). Might need Venters as a lefty out of the pen.

RHP - Kevin Gregg (3.54, 1.77), Wilton Lopez (2.86, 1.55), Jose Veras (2.42, 1.08), Michael Stutes (2.38, 1.32)

LHP - Randy Choate (1.08, .84)

Other RPs: Kevin Jepsen (oof), Tanner Scheppers (ML), Stephen Strasburg (threw on 5/23!), Tom Wilhelmsen (5.59 ERA, loves drugs), Scott Olsen dead

I think I'll have the luxury of actually having plenty of IP/PA and having to determine which cuts to make. There might be enough IP to make a trade too, depending on how the second half goes.

 

[Dan Gladden's Mustache]

Guarding against PA and IP shortage was a big part of drafting strategy.

How could you guard against PA/IP shortage? A guy spends 2 months on the DL, and whoops -- there goes that well-thought out draft strategy.The following is just sour grapes at this point, but:Good info available to the non-FBB player wasn't easy to find or parse. One guy on my squad as an example -- I knew Jason Kendall entered the season hurt. I found nothing that said he's be out all of 2011. Theoretically, he could still return ... but he wasn't supposed to be THAT bad off or THAT far away.I found a site that gave estimated years that MLers would get called up to the majors. Hoping for depth, I drafted several guys tabbed to come up this year. Was thinking that realistically, I'd get 200+ PAs/usable middle-relief PAs out of a few, maybe have some extra PAs/IPs sprinkled in elsewhere, and then the remainder (about half of the ML guys I picked) crapping out. Instead, not a one of my prospects has sniffed the majors. :shrugged:The primary fantasy baseball info I could get a hold of (through a magazine apparently printed in December) has just missed left and right. Mauer WAS pretty damn unhealthy (was that fully known 6 months ago?). Jose Bautista WASN'T due to "return to the mean". James Loney WASN'T an obvious breakout candidate. The FBB guys in this thing had a major advantage in being able to cut through the chaff and bad data to be able to have their own personal informed opinions about players.

I would just say that following baseball closely is an advantage. Not sure that the fantasy aspect matters as much. FWIW - Viciedo will get called up and play for you.

 

[RnR]

The WIS winner of this thing will be one of the very few who's going to be able to throw out 650-700 credible PAs at each field position.Are any decent MLers at all getting called up anywhere? :(

This is why I wanted a 24 team league and a supplemental draftJust saying

Guarding against PA and IP shortage was a big part of drafting strategy. Some guys chose to acknowledge it, others didn't.

says the guy with the fewest team PAs

You'd think I'd be crying about it, wouldn't you?

 

[RnR]

Guarding against PA and IP shortage was a big part of drafting strategy.

How could you guard against PA/IP shortage? A guy spends 2 months on the DL, and whoops -- there goes that well-thought out draft strategy.

The short of it: Overdraft PAs with the idea that quantity on the back end of the draft would be more important than quality. An insurance policy of sorts. Guys that qualify at multiple defensive positions are especially important in this type of situation. Using that type of strategy, it will take an early season-ending injury or freak retirement (thanks Manny!) to throw things significantly off schedule for landing 650 PA's at any one position by the end of the season.By no means am I claiming to have perfected that drafting method (happy Eephus?), I'm just saying it was certainly an available strategy.

 

[larry_boy_44]

positions:

C - Victor Martinez who is .300/.358/.487 with 5 HRs in 165 PAs, also Wil Nieves with 47 PAs and awful batting...

1B - Billy Butler, batting .296/.395/.427 with 4 HRs over 233 PAs

2B - Rickie Weeks, batting .291/.365/.502 with 10 HRs over 253 PAs, 6 SBs

3B - Wilson Betemit who is .306/.370/.438 over 181 PAs

SS - combination of Furcal, Tejada, and Schumacher. sub .600 OPS

OF:

Ryan Braun - .306/.402/.563 with 12 HRs and 13 SBs in 241 PAs

Coco Crisp - .272/.307/.415 with 2 HRs and 17 SB over 207 PAs

Corey Patterson - .291/.320/.455 with 4 HRs and 7 SBs in 201 PAs

Josh Willingham - .240/.320/.453 with 10 HRs over 203 PAs

probable lineup:

1. Weeks

2. Braun

3. Butler

4. Willingham/Patterson

5. Martinez

6. Betemit

7. SS

8. P

9. Crisp

pitchers:

probable 1/2: Peavy and Duke, only 3 starts for Peavy and 1 for Duke, but both are killing....

other starters:

1. Josh Tomlin - 3.27 ERA, .949 WHIP, 71.2 IP in 11 starts, 4.40 DICE

2. Jordan Zimmerman - 3.88 ERA, 1.160 WHIP, 2.83 DICE, 60.1 IP in 10 starts

3. Carlos Zambrano - 3.88 ERA, 1.265 WHIP, 3.69 DICE, 76.2 IP in 12 starts

4. Daniel Hudson - 4.22 ERA, 1.304 WHIP, 2.80 DICE, 79 IP in 12 starts

setup/closer: Axford (ok) and Putz (really good), plus Lidge at some point hopefully...

otherwise i have a lot of pretty mediocre innings...

 

[Super Nintendo Chalmers]

Thought I would give this a try just to see how screwed I am. There seem to be a rule that I need to have at least 6 guys on the DL and 6 in the minors at all times.

C - Ruiz/Olivo - 300 plus PAs of ok hitting. Ruis is at least getting on base with a .348 OBP.

1B - Thome/Ka'Aihue/Giambi - I think I am going to have to use an OF at first for a lot of the season. Ka looks like he is done and Thome can't stay off the DL. Six of Giambi's nine hits are HRs so he should be a good PH.

2B - Hudson/Carroll - Plenty of PAs and Carroll has been having a nice season.

3B - Mora/Stewart/Baker - Mora and Stewart are dredful. I am hopeing Baker gets a few more PAs and has a decent defence rating for 3rd.

SS - Rollins - Having a decent season, just hope his PAs stay up. If he is injured Carroll should be able to slide over and fill in.

OF - Werth/Francisco/Fuld/Hart - A lot of hot starts that have fizzled as of late. Hopefully Hart and Werth pull up their numbers and I have at least two decent hitters in the line up.

The rest of my postition players are not worth mentioning.

SP1 - Lincecum - Working out as planned 83 IP with a 1.09 WHIP

SP2 - Lester - Has an issue with HRs and giving up hits in general. But I need the innings and he is going to get the oppertunities. 75.1 IP with a 1.35 WHIP.

SP3 - Lowe - More innings of eh. Hopefully gets traded and that revitilizes him. 67 IP with a 1.36 WHIP

SP4/5 Gee/Ross/Duensing/Hughes(?) - Both Gee and Ross have pitched good games but are at the back end of the rotation. Duensing/Hughes have sucked this year. 150 IP between them.

Bullpin looks good with Reynolds, Uehara and Buchholz pitching well and I hope Bailey gets his old form back. The rest are just inning eaters at this point.

 

[rodg12]

Alright, I'll give this a shot...

C - Avila/Shoppach: Avila has been a very, very pleasant surprise. If his bat (281/349/527) can stay like this all season, he could wind up as one of the SODs. Shoppach has been pretty awful, but his 90 PAs will be serviceable as a back-up C.

1B - Miranda/Hosmer: Very happy with the way things are here. Miranda is putting up a solid 243/357/467 line and Hosmer has been good at 291/327/515. If Hosmer could up the walks just a touch, he could be an absolute monster. I wish Kendrys Morales would have been able to come back for me here, then I really would have had some strength. As is, I may have to trade one of these two for a SP.

2B - Cano/Valdez: Cano has been good, although not the uber-Stud he was last year. He's at 284/324/514 right now which is still dang good for a 2B, especially the pop. Valdez has 134 usable PAs with what should be good D at multiple positions.



3B - Encarnacion/Morel/Chavez: Oof. EE is at 252/284/354 with what I'm sure will be questionable D (11 E - yikes). Morel is at 238/256/311 with 6 Es. Chavez, of course, got hurt. His number were very good in his limited time though (303/410/424). Hopefully he gets back this month and can give me some more usable PAs here. I need them.

SS - A. Escobar/Valdez/E Nunez: Escobar is at 212/249/249. I'll say that again so it sinks in 212/249/249. A .249 slg %, Alcides?!?! Really?! FML. Hopefully his D ratings are good.

OF - Kemp/Victorino/D Young/C Ross/C Heisey/Dickerson: Kemp has been a stud. 306/382/545. Couldn't have asked for more out of the guy. Victorino has been good as well (284/343/503), but has already missed his customary couple weeks. He should be back tomorrow, hopefully he comes back full throttle. D Young had been awful and hurt. 213/244/260. OOF. Right now, I'd have to rotate Ross (267/351/414) and Heisey (275/346/44) in left instead of playing Young. Hopefully Young picks it up. Then, I could package one of the OFs with a 1B to get a SP. You'll see why later. Dickerson has been good, but has just 16 PAs.

SP - Francisco Liriano/John Danks/Jorge De La Rosa/Kyle Drabek/Jake Westbrook/Freddy Garcia/Jordan Lyles: Liriano is on the shelf and was bad when he pitched. Danks has been bad. De La Rosa's elbow exploded, but did give me 59 useful innings. Drabek has been walking everybody (6.39 BB/9 - OOF). Westbrook has been bad. Garcia has been my Ace. Thank the good lord for his performance so far. Maybe, somehow, some way he'll be able to keep it up all year and I'll at least have one solid P to roll with. Lyles threw a gem is in his first outing. Need him to be money, hopefully he is.

Bullpen - Heath Bell/Casey Janssen/Sergio Santos/Drew Storen/Jordan Walden/Marco Estrada: Absolutely the strength of my squad so far. These guys have been money. If my starters could some how get me through 6 (even 5 some days), game over. Might have to wheel and deal with a couple for some SPs.

 

[Eephus]

SS - A. Escobar/Valdez/E Nunez: Escobar is at 212/249/249. I'll say that again so it sinks in 212/249/249. A .249 slg %, Alcides?!?! Really?! FML. Hopefully his D ratings are good.

I don't feel so bad now. My SS are Miguel Tejada at .210/.233/272 and Paul "Rhymes with Honus" Janisch at .221/.250/.260. Nick Punto is my big bat but I'll probably need to use him at 3B.

 

[RnR]

SS - A. Escobar/Valdez/E Nunez: Escobar is at 212/249/249. I'll say that again so it sinks in 212/249/249. A .249 slg %, Alcides?!?! Really?! FML. Hopefully his D ratings are good.

I don't feel so bad now. My SS are Miguel Tejada at .210/.233/272 and Paul "Rhymes with Honus" Janisch at .221/.250/.260. Nick Punto is my big bat but I'll probably need to use him at 3B.

May need to trade for one of these big bats to play 3rd for me.

 

[boubucarow]

Catcher - Posey is finished with 185 PA and 285/368/389 so he will be a starter for close to 50 games. My only other two catchers are Eli Whiteside and Wellington Castillo. Castillo has 13 PAs(154/154/154) so I hope he gets more at bats since the Cubs might be looking at their future. Whiteside has taken over for Posey but I don't know how long that will last. He currently is at 52 PA (200/288/311). So I am at 250 PAs and need around 350 more to slot them into the 8th hole. So I am close to certain I will need to make a trade here.

1B - Helton has rebounded so far in his 178 PA (306/371/510). Ike Davis is hurt but with his 149 PA (302/383/543) I am pretty sure I will have a solid hitting 1B and also plus defense from both. If they both keep it up and Helton gets enough PA, Davis could possibly be a bait for other needs.

2B - No shortage of PA here. The initial starter was Uribe (157 PA 220/293/333) but Darwin Barney has provided a solid 241 PA (303/325/383). Then comes Allen Craig and his 8 starts at 2B so far. His growth from 108 PA (337/402/537) could be extremely useful in this spot depending on his defense. Barney is on pace for 15 or so errors while Craig has none so far. I also have 81 mendoza PA from Will Rhymes (221/321/235).

3B - Scott Rolen is on pace for the near 400 PA (144 PA 244/299/382) to be expected. I hope he or Uribe picks it up unless Craig somehow gets a decent fielding grade at 3B.

SS - Starlin Castro will hit 300 and commit 30 errors. So far he has 237 PA (313/338/427) and I hope he gets a good range grade. Barney has one game at SS and will spell him once or twice more. Uribe also has seen some short.

OF - Not sure where these guys will play as of yet but Ellsbury (243 PA 292/360/452) and McCutchen (241 PA 260/358/452) are both playing center. Torii Hunter (249 PA 242/325/397) is in RF and hopefully picks up the pace. The initial main sub was David Murphy (184 PA 224/299/327) but his struggles could lead back to the overuse of Craig if I need PA here. Shelley Duncan (73 PA 261/288/435) might provide a decent PH option.

My lineup is a complete mystery with so many similar hitters. I now know that catcher is hitting 8th barring a surprise. Bounce backs from Rolen and Hunter (also McCutchen to a lesser extent) while Barney and Craig keep up their performance are musts. My defense should be solid save for MI grades. Yeah, a big IF.

As for pitching, I might be in trouble of falling short. Jeff Francis (74 IP 4.46 ERA 3.99 DICE) and John Lannan (66 IP 4.05 ERA 4.27 DICE) are looking like decent options. Joel Pinerio (46 IP 3.52 ERA 3.61 DICE) is the best of the injured bunch. I have loss Randy Wells, Bruce Chen, Ross Ohlendorf, and Pinerio for chunks of the season and Braden only pitched 18 innings. Looks like I will be tooling with my rotation all year. I have 53 starts from 8 different pitchers and I might have to use every arm on deck.

At least my bullpen will be great. Mike Adams (24 IP 1.46 ERA 2.35 DICE) and Sean Marshall (23 IP 1.17 ERA 2.39 DICE) are looking like excellent closing options from both sides. Luke Gregerson (25 IP 2.81 ERA 3.23 DICE) and Darren Oliver (22 IP 2.45 ERA 3.55 DICE) look solid for set up roles from both sides. Michael Wuertz (14 IP 1.84 ERA 2.39 DICE) could join the mix after a late start to the season. John Grabow (22 IP 4.09 ERA 4.09 DICE) is looking like a decent option early in games while Zack Braddock (9 IP 2.79 ERA 4.66 DICE) should be back very soon. The hope is I get enough starts to have a long man starter but that is looking unlikely. Kevin Slowey (14 IP 4.91 ERA 4.02 DICE) is an interesting player although if he can get healthy since he could get stretched out as a starter for another team or remain a multiple inning reliever for the Twins. Anything I can get to support my starters. Anything.

 

[Dan Gladden's Mustache]

1B - Miranda/Hosmer: Very happy with the way things are here. Miranda is putting up a solid 243/357/467 line and Hosmer has been good at 291/327/515. If Hosmer could up the walks just a touch, he could be an absolute monster. I wish Kendrys Morales would have been able to come back for me here, then I really would have had some strength. As is, I may have to trade one of these two for a SP.

Hey good lookin.

 

[Northern Voice]

C - McCann/JMolina/RJohnson - McCann's been good, 850ish ops and lots of PA's. Molina and Rob Johnson should both pick up 150-200 capable PA's as well.

1B - Texeira/Wallace - Tex slugging as expected, Fat Ichiro has been a pleasant surprise and may be decent trade bait for an outfielder who doesn't blow.

2B - Utley/DMurphy - Utley having returned already is huge for my chances of fielding a capable lineup. Murphy has solid numbers so far (293/352/425) and 183 PA but I don't think he'll give me much defense at any of his positions.

SS - Jeter/JMacDonald - Looking like Jeter will repeat last year, I was hoping for more of a rebound... Johnny Mac should give me a solid defensive infielder at multiple positions.

3B - Chris Johnson - This guy blows. Maybe Matt Dominguez will get called up and give me a platoon option

OF - MCabrera /JRivera /VWells :X/TSnider /Stairs .

SP - Bud Norris - My #1 right now. 79 K's in 73 IP, let's hope the Sim likes that, the rest of his numbers are average.

SP - AJ Burnett - 74.2 decent IP's, gives up HR's (still)

SP - Brandon Morrow - I really need him to step up. 57 K's in 44 IP for what that's worth

SP - Jo-Jo Reyes - 60+ innings with an ERA and DICE around 4 makes him my 4th best starter.

SP - Brian Matusz/Jeff Niemann/Joe Blanton - All have been or are currenlty injured, hopefully between these 3 and Reyes I can patch together the last 2 starting spots.

Bullpen

Jose Valverde, Fernando Rodney, Scott Downs, Tim Collins, Kyle Kendrick, Brandon League, Jon Rauch, JC Romero - should be a solid and versatile group.

 

[Greco]

C - McCann/JMolina/RJohnson - McCann's been good, 850ish ops and lots of PA's. Molina and Rob Johnson should both pick up 150-200 capable PA's as well.1B - Texeira/Wallace - Tex slugging as expected, Fat Ichiro has been a pleasant surprise and may be decent trade bait for an outfielder who doesn't blow.2B - Utley/DMurphy - Utley having returned already is huge for my chances of fielding a capable lineup. Murphy has solid numbers so far (293/352/425) and 183 PA but I don't think he'll give me much defense at any of his positions.SS - Jeter/JMacDonald - Looking like Jeter will repeat last year, I was hoping for more of a rebound... Johnny Mac should give me a solid defensive infielder at multiple positions.3B - Chris Johnson - This guy blows. Maybe Matt Dominguez will get called up and give me a platoon optionOF - MCabrera /JRivera /VWells :X/TSnider /Stairs . SP - Bud Norris - My #1 right now. 79 K's in 73 IP, let's hope the Sim likes that, the rest of his numbers are average.SP - AJ Burnett - 74.2 decent IP's, gives up HR's (still)SP - Brandon Morrow - I really need him to step up. 57 K's in 44 IP for what that's worthSP - Jo-Jo Reyes - 60+ innings with an ERA and DICE around 4 makes him my 4th best starter.SP - Brian Matusz/Jeff Niemann/Joe Blanton - All have been or are currenlty injured, hopefully between these 3 and Reyes I can patch together the last 2 starting spots.BullpenJose Valverde, Fernando Rodney, Scott Downs, Tim Collins, Kyle Kendrick, Brandon League, Jon Rauch, JC Romero - should be a solid and versatile group.

Melky was the steal of the draft.

 

[Greco]

C- KSuziki/BPena- Suzuki's 182 AB's thus far producing .242/.303/.357, while Pena as a back up is servicable i guess at .220 .280 .378. Weaksausce.

1B- Miguel Cabrera- Yeah, he's all that. .311 .432 .568

2B- Bill Hall- Mayday Mayday Mayday. .224 .272 .340 :X

SS- Eric Aybar- Thrilled to death with his early returns. .315 .356 .444.

3B- Casey McGehee- Wanted more. Expected more. Most have more. .246 .304 .357

OF Laynce Nix- Shocked. .303 .331 .590

OF Martin Prado- If only they'd move him to 2B and sit Uggla. .279 .326 .442

OF Rajai Davis- Recovered. .275 .312 .396 w/15 SB's.

Bench: Fukudome, Burrell, Boesch, Markakis, Kelly

SP- David Price

SP Zack Greinke

SP Annibal Sanchez

SP Jeff Karstens

SP Livan Hernandez

P Tim Wakefield, Matt Albers, Joquin Benoit, Joe Saunders

CL Papelbon.

My hitters hit and my pitchers get hit. Annibal Sanchez has been over achieving which makes up for Greinke under achieving. Otherwise, I'm in 7th overall at fantrax which puts me in the hunt in this format.

 

[Greco]

it just dawned on me that my teams versalility is absolute zero. i have no one to back up any of my infielders and a bunch of lousy back up OF'ers.

 

[Eephus]

Emilio Bonifacio might be my MVP so far. 164 PAs of 95 OPS+ but eligibility at 2B, SS, 3B & OF.

 

[jfranco77]

This will be fun... or something. My team is in 1st place in the Fantrax standings, FWIW (hoping a lot). We are 1st in IP (good), 1st in HR (good), 1st in RC/27 (good), 5th in DICE (good), 1st in OBP/SLG (good), mid-pack in errors.

This will be a test of my GM skills to see if I can turn those assets into an actual team.

C - Santana 211pa 234/374/395 and starting to hit better... Cervelli has 31pa and should make it as a backup, though he's hitting .192. Bottom line: Took Santana early hoping he'd be a middle of the order force. He's not there yet. Could still make it.

1B - Gaby Sanchez 236pa 316/394/510, Adam Lind 140pa 313/343/516, and Mark Trumbo 200pa 255/305/467. Bottom line: At worst a nice platoon, at best, Lind comes back and is a top-15 guy so I have trade bait

2B - Zobrist 234pa 246/325/473 hot start and cold in May. Hope he bounces back. Bottom line: May not make it as a leadoff hitter but should be a solid contributor

SS - Casilla 152pa 231/300/313 and Brignac 116pa 173/209/182 ... injured and at AAA respectively. Bottom line: blech

3B - nobody... Bottom line: Will have to make a trade or play someone out of position. Thought Bautista would play here. Still hoping he gets a few games.

LF - Joyce 194pa 364/423/642

CF - Span 246pa 297/366/378

RF - Bautista 221pa 360/502/773

Bottom line: Joyce has been a monster. Bautista is the MVP at this point. Span will be solid in CF

4/5 OF: A Soriano 185pa 271/297/525 and Fowler 243pa 242/344/353 ... Fowler still has a good glove and is an OK 4th OF. Soriano is hurt and needs to come back and mash so I can trade him.

Other bench players:

OF Ryan Sweeney 95pa 301/389/386 - wish he wouldn't play too much more, makes a nice PH right now

IF Michael Martinez 53pa 184/212/204 - if the Phils would just play him at 3B he could be a D replacement

OF Andruw Jones - 67pa 230/299/459 - OK as a 25th man, could show more power and be a decent PH

=============

SP1 - Felix 91.2ip 1.12whip 2.68 DICE

SP2 - Anderson 78.1ip 1.28whip 3.60 DICE

SP3 - Floyd 75ip 1.13whip 3.84 DICE

SP4 - Hammel 69.1ip 1.34whip 4.01 DICE

SP5 - Correia 76.2ip 1.20whip 3.97 DICE

Bottom Line - I should have at least 5 solid SPs, which will give me some good trade bait. Felix has been awesome. Anderson has generally been good. Floyd is due for some good luck but Correia is due for some bad luck.

Sp6 - Humber 67.2ip 0.98whip 3.59 DICE

Sp7 - Nova 54ip 1.59whip 4.46 DICE

Sp8 - Litsch 46.1ip 1.42whip 4.49 DICE

Bottom line - probably more depth than most teams have. It would be great if Humber could keep it up. Some of them will be in the bullpen since my relievers kinda suck.

Closer - Leo Nunez 27ip 1.19whip 2.96 DICE

SetupA - Glen Perkins 22.2ip 1.19whip 2.25 DICE

SetupA - Mark Rzepcinzki 25ip 1.04whip 2.88 DICE

SetupA - Jason Isrinhausen 18.2ip 1.13whip 3.96 DICE

SetupB - Kenley Jansen 21ip 1.62whip 3.67 DICE

SetupB - Chris Sale 21.2ip 1.52whip 4.34 DICE

Other assorted relievers - Bobby Parnell (just back from DL), Sam Demel (4.09 DICE), Adam Russell (4.37 DICE), Joey Devine (3.00 DICE but only 6.2 innings)

Bottom line - I have 4 reliable relievers for the moment with hope that Jansen and Sale will keep pitching better and Devine's arm can stay attached for another 20 innings. But things can change really fast with relievers.

If you want to discuss OF/1B/SP for SS/3B trades send me a PM.

 

[Greco]

####### Bill Hall got released. I have no secondbaseman. Anyone want an OF'er for one let me know.

 

[larry_boy_44]

FIRST PLACE!!!

That's right, as of right now I am in first place!!

 

[boubucarow]

FIRST PLACE!!!That's right, as of right now I am in first place!!

And I have all of my relievers on reserve just to group together my starters and relievers separately. Losing.

 

[Eephus]

FIRST PLACE!!!That's right, as of right now I am in first place!!

This will be interesting

 

[SoCalBroncoFan]

I will take a stab at this.

C - Ianetta (.232/.388./.452) w/ 8 HR's in 196 PA and Blanco (4 HR in 48 PA). Catcher is looking solid right now.

1B - Konerko (.322/.390/.563) 16 HR, should be my clean up hitter.

2B - DeWitt has gotten some playing time recently (.286/.300/.418) in 100 PA's. Drafted Dustin Ackley hoping he would get called up. That looks like it will happen. We'll see how he fares in Seattle.

SS - Yunel Escobar (.277/.360/.424) with 6 errors at SS. Cant complain about him.

3B - Chipper (.266/.362/.441) playing mostly full-time. Risk has paid off so far.

OF - Gardner (.272/.351/.418) has been decent. Drew (.227/.330/.337) has struggled. Bay (.207/.303/.273) and Coghlan (.235/.300/.377) have been horrible. OF is going to be a struggle for me.

Bench

Ryan Roberts (.262/.360/.476) qualifies at 2B, 3B and OF. WIll see the field alot if he keeps these numbers up.

Alberto Callaspo (.285/.358/.373) insurance against Chipper getting hurt. Might be trade bait for a team in need of a 3B.

Paul Goldschmidt - please let Arizona call him up.

SP1 - Cole Hamels (90 IP, 0.95 WHIP, 2.37 DICE) Having a solid season.

SP2 - Cliff Lee (95 IP, 1.21 WHIP, 2.60 DICE) WHIP is a little high, but hoping for a better second half.

SP3 - Mat Latos (70 IP, 1.26 WHIP, 3.84 DICE) Start off poorly, bounced back nicely.

SP4 - Chris Narveson (73 IP, 1.37 WHIP, 3.26 DICE) Could be a solid #4 starter.

SP5 - Chris Young (4 starts, 24 IP, 0.96 WHIP) Will make a few spot starts during the season.

Pen has 4 solid guys, but injuries to Kuo and Meek have really decimated pen, which I thought would be a strength.

 

[RnR]

My two biggest holes (SS, 3B) have received a shot in the arm over the past two weeks. (Dee Gordon, Mike Moustakas)

If those two can get a good amount of PA's with quality production, look out!

 

[Arsenal of Doom]

Here's my mini-outlook so far:

C: Montero has been money so far: 233 PAs, 282/362/490 slash line with 8 HR. Back up was looking okay too until Doumit went down. He's going to end up with 1/2 a season worth of ABs tops, so I need Montero to hold up and continue piling up PAs.

1B: Votto is every bit the stud hoped for and building on his MVP season. 332/458/522 will work any day, if I wanted to nit-pick hopefully the HRs will pick up a little from his current pace of 28 or so for the year. Wigginton is putting up his usual numbers and should be a decent back-up both at 1st and 3rd.

2B: Beckham may be the only real disappointment in the line-up so far. 240/307/361 looks headed for the 8 hole. Herrera and Hairston remain back-up MI options, but probably won;t be an improvement on anything. Jemile Weeks is off to a strong start and could change the picture.

SS: The only problem with J.J. Hardy is the month he missed. He's only got 153 PAs to date but is swinging to the tune of 296/368/489 with 6 HR. I'll be happy if holds 80% of that going forward and stays healthy. He batting leadoff at the moment so that may help cover some ABs.

3B: Chase Headly is quietly having a nice season, apart from the complete lack of power from a power position. 281/381/388 with 7 SB is more like a lead-off line. If the OBP holds, that may be where the switch hitter ends up at for me.

OF: I've got 4 solid to good options going right now. Upton is bouncing back as expected, posting 281/371/500 and 12 HRs and is looking like the clean-up hitter. After a terrible start, Swisher's bat has come alive the 227/350/367 still looks weak but history suggests that OBP will continue to climb and the HRs will come. Gordon and Kubel are having remarkably similar seasons so far. Kubel has slight edge in AVG (310 to 283), but both have an OBP right around 350 and SLG around 460. Unfortunately they both hit Left-handed to I don;t have a good platoon option. Desmond Jennings and Charlie Blackmon are wildcards here that could add some speed. Blackmon already has 4 SB in 8 games played.

Overall the offense is looking good to great, with high OBP and decent power and speed up and down the line-up. This is good news because.

My pitching is dreadful.

The good:

Shaun Marcum is having a career year so far - 1.015 WHIP and 2.93 DICE, he's the staff Ace at the moment. Bartolo Colon is also pitching like it's 1999. After starting in the pen, he's been great as a starter with a 1.072 WHIP and 3.38 DICE.

Kyle Farnsworth has been shockingly great so far, 24 IP 0.781 WHIP and 1.97 DICE. Betancourt has been his usual steady self with a 1.125 WHIP and 3.07 DICE over 26.2 IP.

After that it get's bad and ugly fast. Derek Holland is showing some decent signs but still has a WHIP of 1.420 and DICE of 4.09. Ubaldo Jimenez was drafted to be my ace, but he has been alternating dominant outings with getting completely shelled all season. His WHIP is sitting at 1.375 and DICE at 4.00. Clayton Richard is also up and down depending on whether he's pitching at PETCO or not. Almost no one else is worth mentioning. Aaron Cook and Rex Brothers have been decent in extremely limited action, but unless Ubaldo make a major second half turn this pitching staff will struggle to be mediocre.

 

[the moops]

C - Pudge/AJ. Terrible hitting, decent defense. I didn't draft catcher until way late. I deserve this.

1B - Overbay/Huff. Remakably similar (terrible) 230 BA, 300 OBP, 370 SLG. Gross.

2B - Walker. Started out well. Struggling a bit these days. 730 OPS.

SS - Hanley. Excellent first round pick here. Booooo

3B - Pablo. Missed a month. Otherwise been very good.

UTIL - Lowrie. Can plug him in anywhere in the IF. Will commit many errors, but will hit decently. Good guy to have.

OF - Morse. Slugging the #### out of the ball.

OF - Stubbs. Slowing down a bit, but steals bases and stuff.

OF - Abreu. OBP is awesome.

Also have Bloomquist and Raburn who can play multiple positions.

Weaver - stud

Cain - stud

Harang - hopefully his DL stint isn't too long

Capuano - has pitched surprisingly decently

Dice-K - oof

I should be able to cobble together enough starts out of Dice-K, Aceves, Talbot and Mazzaro

Boone Logan, Clay Hensley, Danys Baez, Pat Neshek, Hideki Okajima, Matt Capps and K-Rod make for a nice bullpen.

 

[Notorious T.R.E.]

Morse should have a decent rating at 1B for you, Moops. Since LaRoche is dead for the year, he'll be the guy there.