Your non-ILB roto/fantasy teams

My pitching may be a joke, but if I get good years out of Penny, Byrd and Lieber and the closers don't lose their jobs I might be OK.

My team, 12-team league:

C: Willingham, Piazza
1B: Konerko
2B: Figgins, Cano
3B: Mora
SS: Tejada
OF: Bonds, Giles, Beltran, Dye, Ibanez
SP: CZambrano, Hudson, Mulder, Clemens, Blanton, Cain, Penny
CL: Lidge, Jenks

C - V. Martínez
1B - C. Tracy
2B - B. Roberts
3B - M. Ensberg
SS - J. Rollins
OF - M. Ramírez
OF - P. Burrell
OF - J. Dye
Util - J. Lugo
BN - S. Green, G. Anderson, J. Morneau

SP - Johan Santana, C. Zambrano, A.J. Burnett, J. Garland, A. Harang
CL - E. Gagne, F. Cordero
MR - D. Wheeler, B. Howry, B. McCarthy, B. Donnelly

C Kenji Johjima
1B Derrek Lee (Chase Utley, Aubrey Huff, Jason Giambi)
2B Chase Utley (Mark Ellis, Jorge Cantu)
SS Mark Ellis
3B Jorge Cantu (Hank Blalock)
OF Randy Winn, Aubrey Huff, David DeJesus (Magglio Ordonez)

SP Johan Santana, Ben Sheets, Brandon Webb, Noah Lowry, Livan Hernandez, Matt Clement, Ryan Madsen
RP Francisco Rodriguez, Tom Gordon, S. Eyre (R. Madson)

2005:
Cantu
.286/.311/.497, 28 HRs, 117 RBIs, 73 Runs

Blaylock
.263/.318/.431, 25 HRs, 92 RBIs, 80 Runs

You're right about Maggs though, when he's not on the DL he's pretty solid.

c b. molina 16th round
1b r. howard 5th round
2b m. giles 6th round
ss e. renteria 8th round
3b t. glaus 7th round
of m. cabrera 2nd round
of j. pierre 3rd round
of h. matsui 4th round
utility/dh k. griffey 10th round
utility/dh j. dye 14th round

sp j. santana 1st round
sp z. duke 9th round
sp j. bonderman 11th round
rp j. borowski 13th round
rp k. c. ray 15th round
up j. garland 12 round

bench k. escobar 17th round
bench j. reed 18th round
bench wily mo pena! 19th round
bench k. benson 20th round

My gamble is that Blalock is the one with downside (check out his slide the past 2 seasons) and he's just giving me depth for now, and trade bait later.

Ellis led the A's in BA/OBP/SLG last year in only 120 games. He's won the starting 2B job this year so he'll play probably 140-150 games. He'll be batting lead-off in front of:

Ellis
Kotsay
Chavez
Thomas
Bradley
Crosby
... etc.

P Jason Schmidt, SF
P Tim Hudson, Atl
P Derek Lowe, LA
P Jeff Suppan, StL
P Ezequiel Astacio, Hou
P Brad Lidge, Hou
P Dave WeathersD
P Giovanni Carrara, Pit

BATTERS
C Mike Lieberthal, Phi
1B Derrek LeeD , ChC
2B Jeff Kent, LA 2B
3B Nomar Garciaparra, LA
SS Edgar Renteria, Atl
OF Pat BurrellD , Phi
OF David Roberts, SD
OF Jeff Francoeur, Atl
OF Matt Murton, ChC
OF Chris Duffy, Pit
2B/SS Rich Aurilia,
1B/3B Xavier Nady, NYM
Util Craig A. Wilson, Pit
Bench Brian Schneider, Was
Bench Joe Randa, Pit
Bench Ronny Cedeno, ChC

definitely some room for upgrades.

Right. But in 2003 he was pretty terrible, and started all season. Maybe he's the 2005 guy, but I'm guessing he's somewhere in the middle. Maybe a .750 ops. I watched as many A's games as anyone last year, and while I think Ellis is a good contact hitter and has good plate discipline, I think the home runs he hit last year were largely a fluke.

My league is a 5x5 league, so his obp/slg numbers are basically moot. I would suggest that he will be outperformed by blalock, cantu and utley in every 5x5 category but avg this year.

C J. Varitek, BOS
1B C. Delgado, NYM
2B M. Giles, ATL
3B M. Cabrera, FLA
SS J. Rollins, PHI
OF C. Floyd, NYM
OF B. Giles, SD
OF T. Hunter, MIN
UTIL G. Anderson, LAA
UTIL S. Hillenbrand, TOR
BN M. Ellis, OAK
BN P. Wilson, HOU
BN A. Pierzynski, CWS

SP R. Oswalt, HOU
SP D. Willis, FLA
RP H. Street, OAK
RP T. Jones, DET
P J. Contreras, CWS
P C. Ray, BAL
P A. Harang, CIN
BN D. Hermanson, CWS

I have to deal Granderson, right?

so behold, the first and number one:

C K. Johjima, SEA
1B R. Howard, PHI
2B J. Cantu, TB
3B D. Wright, NYM
SS M. Young, TEX
OF H. Matsui, NYY
OF J. Francoeur, ATL
OF C. Granderson, DET
UT T. Hafner, CLE
BN C. Barmes, COL
BN L. Ford, MIN
DL R. Baldelli, TB

SP R. Harden, OAK
SP M. Buehrle, CWS
RP C. Reitsma, ATL
RP T. Walker, SF
P Z. Duke, PIT
P D. Haren, OAK
P C. Young, SD
BN J. Seo, LAD
BN K. Benson, BAL

Walker is like Danny Graves meets Paul Quantrill, fat meatballs down the middle with no cheeze.

c - varitek
1b - teixera
2b - ellis
ss - f. lopez
3b - wright
ci - dan johnson
of - abreu
of - matsui
of - drew
dh - gomes

p - harden
p - beckett
p - maddux
p - lackey
p - meyers
p - cordero
p - chen
p - westbrook

bench:
kinsler
reggie sanders
francoer
john thomson (soon to be dumped)

minor leagues (players can be kept in the minors for up to three years without counting against your keepers so long as they are never put in yr active lineup)

bj upton
justin verlander
howie kendrick
jeremy hermedia
ryan zimmerman

J. Bonderman (Det - SP) ^@KC W, 14-3
IP 6.2, W 1, 8K, 1.35 ERA, 0.45 WHIP

C J. Mauer, MIN
C M. Barrett, CHC
1B C. Delgado, NYM
2B I. Kinsler, TEX
3B S. Rolen, STL
SS J. Rollins, PHI
MI J. Vidro, WAS
CI N. Johnson, WAS
OF B. Abreu, PHI
OF J. Bay, PIT
OF M. Bradley, OAK
OF J. Guillen, WAS
OF M. Holliday, COL
DH P. Fielder, MIL
BN R. Durham, SFG
BN K. Morales, ANA
BN J. Reed, SEA

SP M. Buehrle, CHW
SP D. Bush, MIL
SP R. Harden, OAK
SP S. Kazmir, TB
SP J. Seo, LAD
SP C. Silva, MIN
SP C. Young, SD
RP B. Fuentes, COL
RP D. Turnbow, MIL
BN J. Lester, BOS
BN B. McCarthy, CHW

Obviously I'm going to need to trade for some pitching.

C - J. López
1B - M. Teixeira
2B - J. Kent
3B - E. Chávez
SS - J. Rollins
OF - J. Damon
OF - N. Swisher
OF - G. Jenkins
Util - C. Crawford
Util - J. Peralta
BN - J. Dye
BN - C. Biggio

Pitching
SP - B. Myers
SP - C. Lee
RP - B. Wickman
RP - A. Heilman
P - M. González
P - M. Mussina
P - A. Harang
BN - J. Smoltz
BN - T. Wakefield

Barry was taken by a team that was set on auto-draft.

BACKGROUND:
I have Derrek Lee in my other league, bummer right? Well, the rest of my infield is Jason Giambi (1B), Chase Utley (1B/2B), Jorge Cantu (2B/3B), JJ Hardy (SS), Mark Ellis (2B/SS). My closers are K-Rod and Tom Gordon.

SITUATION:
My buddy the microchip designer who is a top 3 finisher every year offers me Chris Shelton and Bob Wickman for Jason Giambi.

MY INITIAL THOUGHTS:
Has Shelton shot his load? Undeniably, but Giambi's quick start shows regression as well. Who will fall farther back down to earth?

MY CRITICAL THOUGHTS:
Leyland seems bent on keeping Shelton in the 6-spot in a meh Tigers lineup = mostly solo shots with the occasional RBI but who's gonna drive him home? Giambi bats 5th in the most dangerous offense the game has seen in many moons = RBIs/Rs galore.

I've never warmed to Wickman... but he does rack them up.

Tell me, ILB:

YOU MAKE THE CALL!

Who would you toss to make room for the extra player in the deal?

I suggest taking Wickman and spinning him for a RP you like better. I'm sure someone out there would like the zero-controversy closer on one of the best teams in the league, despite his relatively ugly possibilities in terms of ERA/WHIP. I've always thought that ERA/WHIP are less an issue with holds/saves guys than with starters anyway, as they affect your team far less than a starter with similar numbers.

If your league does use OBP... well.. then the situation is a bit muddier.

[xpost a ding dong!]

I'm thinking of trading Jim Edmonds and Vizquel for Peralta.

I receive: E Encarnacion, Jason Bay, Moises Alou
I give: Carlos Beltran, Tim Hudson

Hudson I don't really love that much because he doesn't strike dudes out, and strikeouts are key in a 5x5 (which this is), but I love Beltran and his 40/40 year in 2004 despite all evidence of it being a fluke, and Alou is like a moment away from breaking all his bones due to not enough milk in his urine. Encarnacion is nice but he's only marginally better than Casey Blake, who is my current backup 3B guy.

What to do...

I would certainly do this, especially if your league is relatively shallow and someone like, say, Raul Ibanez is available. Edmonds' production is pretty replaceable.

When the hell did you get Edmonds? And you PICKED UP Brad Penny?

We need an updated roster, sir.

Same for you, poly. With stats. Adjusted VORPs and RARPs are optional, but recommended.

C: Willingham
1: Konerko
2: Figgins
3: Mora
SS: Tejada
O: Carlos Lee, Hawpe, Beltran
Util: Broussard
BN: C Blake, C Guillen

SP: Hudson, C Zambrano, Mulder, Washburn, Penny, Wandy-Rod, Cain, Wood (DL)
RP: Lidge, Jenks

Waiver Wire Vultures
C	J. Willingham	(Fla - C,OF) 
1B	J. Giambi	(NYY - 1B) 
2B	C. Utley	(Phi - 1B,2B) 
3B	H. Blalock	(Tex - 3B)
SS	O. Vizquel	(SF - SS)
OF	M. Ordóñez	(Det - OF) 
OF	B. Hawpe	(Col - OF)
OF	J. Edmonds	(StL - OF) 
Util	K. Johjima	(Sea - C)
BN	A. Huff	(TB - 1B,3B,OF) DL  due off Friday
DL	J. Cantú	(TB - 2B,3B) DL  due off in 2 weeks
DL	D. Lee	(ChC - 1B) DL  :_(  due off in 3-5 weeks
Pos	Pitchers	--empty--
SP	M. Clement	(Bos - SP)
SP	Jo. Santana	(Min - SP) 
SP	B. Sheets	(Mil - SP) 
SP	B. Penny	(LAD - SP) 
SP	B. Webb	        (Ari - SP) 
SP	L. Hernández	(Was - SP)
SP	N. Lowry	(SF - SP) DL due off next week
RP	Fr. Rodríguez	(LAA - RP)
RP	T. Gordon	(Phi - RP)
P	A. Otsuka	(Tex - RP)
P	K. Calero	(Oak - RP)

PP: even if Hudson's been kinda ass, you're trading 2 starters for 1 starter and 2 backups, which seems excessive, esp. if you already have depth. Jason Bay, tho ... *swooooon*

I don't really think Hudson has been ass. What I do think is that he's a 100k, 1.25 WHIP kinda guy on a team without a whole heckuva lot of offense, so I like the idea of moving him to, say, a Braves fan. But this deal, eh.

Bay is nice and everything but can anyone else on that team hit other than Craig T. Wilson?

Omar Vizquel/Jim Edmonds/Kenji Johjima

for

Jhonny Peralta/Jorge Posada

NO TRUST IN TODD WALKER???

Any deal that gets you Peralta is probably worth taking, I don't trust Edmonds because he's becoming increasingly fragile (he's always playing hurt with various minor injuries, and your opponents might not realize this yet), Johjima has been great so far but this is the time to sell him at a high price, so all told, I like your counter offer better than the original deal offered to you.

Hello! I want to include a ticker in all my posts from now on

I gave up:

Kenji Johjima
Omar Vizquel
Brad Penny

for

Jorge Posada
Jhonny Peralta
Jake Westbrook

Pending league approval of course...

HE GOT:
David Wright

I GOT:
JD Drew
Ryan Zimmerman
Cole Hamels

I AM:
so stoked

Sometimes I will make decisions based on that day's starting pitcher though. If I'm not sure about a non-star hitter and his team is facing Johan Santana on that day, I might think twice about starting him.

The catch is that if the waiver wire pickup was drafted in rounds 1 through 10, you STILL have to pay his original price. Very stupid, but I didn't make the rules.

ANYWAY, I have Nick Johnson, Lyle Overbay, Kevin Youkilis, and Frank Thomas as my 1B/Util options, and Todd Helton is available. He would cost $20 if I chose to keep him.

Should I drop one of those guys? My gut is maybe to drop Thomas, but Thomas has been one of my best hitters in the last two months, and Helton has been sub-par for the last two years. A valuable contributor, but arguably less so than any of the guys I've listed.

Thoughts?

BARRY IS WRONG. GO WITH THE NON-REDNECK.

if you really want Thomas, you better hope he hits 35 HR in the 200 AB's he'll get next year

but yeah, PITCHING

My staff:

$5:
H. Street
T. Hoffman

$1:
F. Liriano
C. Hamels
E. Bedard
B. Arroyo
J. Contreras
Jo. Johnson
S. Olsen
J. Jennings
N. Cotts (holds)
J. Zumaya (holds)

$30 Sheffield (will probably drop him unless I can afford him somehow)
$20 Jose Reyes
$10 Coco Crisp
$5 Jorge Posada

Others: $1

So I should be able to keep my entire team if necessary, although Helton will make that difficult.

When was the last time he fielded the position?

Out of the following seven players, who would you keep?
Manny Ramirez
Bobby Abreu
Michael Young
Justin Morneau
Troy Glaus
Chris Carpenter
Roy Oswalt

I have a good idea of the 5 I'll keep, but would like to hear outside opinions.

Glaus is still kickin' but how do you drop #2 in the Yankees lineup? Morneau FINALLY showed off his potential, but he's a 1B in a weak lineup, you might be able to do better off the waiver wire. That's a toughy.

I don't really like Young (if he stops hitting his OBP will crater) and Abreu may not hit for a ton of power again, but pitchers are too iffy to keep in a league that limited. You never know when Carpenter or Oswalt is just going to blow out his arm or have a bad year. I'm a devotee of the cheap pitcher strategy.