I'm stepping back into the Jeter conversation. I agree 100% that Jeter is an outstanding player and should be gone in the second round in every draft. I personally would have drafted him if he was available in the 2nd Round with the 10th pick but he was gone. He will likely lead all of MLB in runs, hit .300 plus, and steal 25 bases.
Knowing that, I STILL don't think he is first round material. The simple reason is that you don't want Jeter to be the best player on your fantasy team. WHY?? Think about it, can you name another first round player candidate who won't hit 30+ Hr's or 30+ steals or possibly even both. NO YOU CAN'T. Thats why he deserves to be a 2nd round pick and why that 1 owner clearly goofed up because his peers don't value Jeter as high as he does and it was a mistake to reach. He would have been available with the 3rd pick of the 2nd round.
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Originally posted by Dyv:
quote:Originally posted by eddiejag:
HOW THE HELL DOES TEIXEIRA GO IN THE 3RD ROUND. IT'S NOT POSSIBLE. Why? He's just another 1b. There are many of them.
Dyv [/QUOTE]Well, in NY Lg 2, the Top 1B went like this:
1.03 Albert Pujols
1.07 Todd Helton
1.13 Mark Teixeira
2.05 David Ortiz
2.12 Jim Thome
3.05 Carlos Delgado
3.11 Derrek Lee
4.11 Richie Sexson
6.10 Paul Konerko
Now... is it even a debate that Konerko is a landslide value victory in the 6th round there? I would ask "How can Teixeira go in the 1st round" (even though he's very good) when a player in the 6th round could easily post a better season without shocking anyone.
Aside from Pujols, and Helton if he's minus the back-pain supplying an AVG of at least .350, I don't think any 1B belonged in the Top 20 to 25 overall selections.
quote:Originally posted by eddiejag:
HOW THE HELL DOES TEIXEIRA GO IN THE 3RD ROUND. IT'S NOT POSSIBLE. Why? He's just another 1b. There are many of them.
Dyv [/QUOTE]Well, in NY Lg 2, the Top 1B went like this:
1.03 Albert Pujols
1.07 Todd Helton
1.13 Mark Teixeira
2.05 David Ortiz
2.12 Jim Thome
3.05 Carlos Delgado
3.11 Derrek Lee
4.11 Richie Sexson
6.10 Paul Konerko
Now... is it even a debate that Konerko is a landslide value victory in the 6th round there? I would ask "How can Teixeira go in the 1st round" (even though he's very good) when a player in the 6th round could easily post a better season without shocking anyone.
Aside from Pujols, and Helton if he's minus the back-pain supplying an AVG of at least .350, I don't think any 1B belonged in the Top 20 to 25 overall selections.
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JerseyPaul
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Konerko almost has the same HR potential of Teixeira but Teixiera will hit 30 points higher and score 30 more runs. My service has Teixiera at $32 and Konerko at $25. Masterball has Teixiera $24 and Konerko $18 (my service seems to be higher than most and MB lower, but the player differences are what matters).
I would say late 1st round versus round 6 is just about right.
The real value at 1B is Mike Sweeney who I got at the 10/11 turn.
I would say late 1st round versus round 6 is just about right.
The real value at 1B is Mike Sweeney who I got at the 10/11 turn.
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King of Queens
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Originally posted by JerseyPaul:
The real value at 1B is Mike Sweeney who I got at the 10/11 turn. How about Millar in the 17th round?
The real value at 1B is Mike Sweeney who I got at the 10/11 turn. How about Millar in the 17th round?
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Chest Rockwell
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Jersey Paul,
Do you know Sweeney's chiropractor or something?
Best value pick I felt like we got was Chavez at 53. In my analysis of avg picks from 10 randomly selected leagues throwing out the highest and lowest picks had Chavez going at 38.
Any avg pick analysis should probably throw out the highest and lowest overall pick for the guy as total outliers. I think KOQ did a great job of illustrating how much earlier a guy can go in certain drafts just by what may have been a bad pick.
Do you know Sweeney's chiropractor or something?
Best value pick I felt like we got was Chavez at 53. In my analysis of avg picks from 10 randomly selected leagues throwing out the highest and lowest picks had Chavez going at 38.
Any avg pick analysis should probably throw out the highest and lowest overall pick for the guy as total outliers. I think KOQ did a great job of illustrating how much earlier a guy can go in certain drafts just by what may have been a bad pick.
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King of Queens
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Originally posted by Chest Rockwell:
Best value pick I felt like we got was Chavez at 53. In my analysis of avg picks from 10 randomly selected leagues throwing out the highest and lowest picks had Chavez going at 38.
Chavez was picked as follows:
19-23-25-25-26-29-31-33-34-35-36-36-38-39-39-40-45-47-53-58
Getting him at #53 was a great pickup, no question.
Best value pick I felt like we got was Chavez at 53. In my analysis of avg picks from 10 randomly selected leagues throwing out the highest and lowest picks had Chavez going at 38.
Chavez was picked as follows:
19-23-25-25-26-29-31-33-34-35-36-36-38-39-39-40-45-47-53-58
Getting him at #53 was a great pickup, no question.
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Originally posted by JerseyPaul:
Konerko almost has the same HR potential of Teixeira but Teixiera will hit 30 points higher and score 30 more runs.
I would say late 1st round versus round 6 is just about right.
The real value at 1B is Mike Sweeney who I got at the 10/11 turn. Huh? When has Teixeira ever shown great ability for average? Konerko is the better option for HR, has a better career AVG [and that includes a nightmare season of .237 mixed in]... Teixeira has no edge whatsoever going in on AVG. And, with the move from 5th or 6th to the cleanup spot, PK could easily be better in RUNS (30 behind???? what?? why??).
I mean let's not be silly. If you're going by some service's "value" then I can't debate an arbitrary number, but the difference between those two players is virtually nil and certainly not 5 rounds.
As for Sweeney, he's actually gone from underrated with promise, to overrated and fading. I mean the guy is not a kid in his 20s anymore, his back is a real concern, and he still has NEVER had a 30 HR season.
Konerko almost has the same HR potential of Teixeira but Teixiera will hit 30 points higher and score 30 more runs.
I would say late 1st round versus round 6 is just about right.
The real value at 1B is Mike Sweeney who I got at the 10/11 turn. Huh? When has Teixeira ever shown great ability for average? Konerko is the better option for HR, has a better career AVG [and that includes a nightmare season of .237 mixed in]... Teixeira has no edge whatsoever going in on AVG. And, with the move from 5th or 6th to the cleanup spot, PK could easily be better in RUNS (30 behind???? what?? why??).
I mean let's not be silly. If you're going by some service's "value" then I can't debate an arbitrary number, but the difference between those two players is virtually nil and certainly not 5 rounds.
As for Sweeney, he's actually gone from underrated with promise, to overrated and fading. I mean the guy is not a kid in his 20s anymore, his back is a real concern, and he still has NEVER had a 30 HR season.
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HAPPY EASTER EVERYBODY. O.K. TEIXEIRA OR KONERKO 1ST ROUND 5TH TO 6TH ROUND. Talk about gullien having a career year , well konerko just did.Look at konerkos 2003 season , he killed fantasy teams ,and thats with 444 at bats. He never steals a base and dosent score enough runs . He's a 270 hitter 30 hr 90 rbi guy.Look at his 3 year avg , 275 29 95, pretty close. HE went in the 8th round 4th pick, in the ultimate, i took sexson 8th round 2nd pick. As for sweeney 10th to 12th round sounds right, hes always hurt.TEIXERIA was a high 300 hitter in the minors , 281 last year and will go 300 this year .Also steals could go up a little maybe 10.He also had much better 2nd half numbers,
286 avg 20 hr 64 rbi.Teixeira has upside were konerko doesnt. My toughest choice was tex or cabrera at pick 17 in the ultimate and took cabrera . We will see later. p.s. the champ artie took konerko in round 5, one of his worst picks , didnt get value he reached.
286 avg 20 hr 64 rbi.Teixeira has upside were konerko doesnt. My toughest choice was tex or cabrera at pick 17 in the ultimate and took cabrera . We will see later. p.s. the champ artie took konerko in round 5, one of his worst picks , didnt get value he reached.
EDWARD J GILLIS
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Originally posted by eddiejag:
Teixeira has upside were konerko doesnt.Just could not disagree more. Anyone who judges Konerko on that one bad year is missing the point. That was a slump that became a mental thing and it just got bigger than him. That was the fluke.
Teixeira's minor league success with the average is a MYTH. His only full season on the farm he hit .317. That's not HIGH .300s.
Meanwhile, Konerko is the guy who won a AAA batting title with a .379 average.
With the White Sox, he hit .294, .298, .282 and .304 his first four years. Those are good numbers for a power guy. One terrible half of a season two years ago does not mean that this guy isn't a good average hitter. He is clearly one of the most underrated players in MLB because he's workman-like. How many people really think of him when they think of players who went over 40 HRs last year? And he's still right in his prime years... he was 28 until this month.
Sometimes people hear something, they read something, and a perception is planted like a seed. I remember hearing that Teixeira had some great numbers in the minors. Turns out that wasn't true and the real story was a great season in college when he was like 19. I don't get caught up with what players do while they're still allowed to use aluminum bats.
Both players are very capable of having a better or worse year than each did last year, and both could put up very big MVP-type numbers. Nothing leans more in the direction of Teixeira than Konerko. It's a false perception and nothing more.
Teixeira has upside were konerko doesnt.Just could not disagree more. Anyone who judges Konerko on that one bad year is missing the point. That was a slump that became a mental thing and it just got bigger than him. That was the fluke.
Teixeira's minor league success with the average is a MYTH. His only full season on the farm he hit .317. That's not HIGH .300s.
Meanwhile, Konerko is the guy who won a AAA batting title with a .379 average.
With the White Sox, he hit .294, .298, .282 and .304 his first four years. Those are good numbers for a power guy. One terrible half of a season two years ago does not mean that this guy isn't a good average hitter. He is clearly one of the most underrated players in MLB because he's workman-like. How many people really think of him when they think of players who went over 40 HRs last year? And he's still right in his prime years... he was 28 until this month.
Sometimes people hear something, they read something, and a perception is planted like a seed. I remember hearing that Teixeira had some great numbers in the minors. Turns out that wasn't true and the real story was a great season in college when he was like 19. I don't get caught up with what players do while they're still allowed to use aluminum bats.
Both players are very capable of having a better or worse year than each did last year, and both could put up very big MVP-type numbers. Nothing leans more in the direction of Teixeira than Konerko. It's a false perception and nothing more.
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Rolen lowest pick was #27, that was me in Las Vegas 9, thanks for confirming what I had already thought.
Some Assembly Required
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on konerko: forget 2003 1 bad year. go back to 2001, 2002. came back to where he should be last year. still 29. more likely he does decent again then not, and has batted 300 before. can improve on last year. triple a
Triple A
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If someone has the data already, do you have avg. top 100 or so calculated out?
I'm thinking just like my Bonds pick at #25 wasn't so great, my Sheffield pick at #36 was excellent value (In fact, I wish I could switch the two on the chart...)
Prior in the 5th about right? Berkman in the 11th? Say what you want about Carlos Guillen - but I got him in 12th round and that's good stuff.
Luis Gonzalez from AZ strikes me as a huge steal in the 16th round...
Anyone have a supercomputer to calculate who got the most 'value' compared to averages throughout all drafts? (i.e. if Sheffield was an average pick #25 then I get +11 for getting him at #36, etc.)
Would be a curious stat to find out who drafted 'well' based on average vs. who drafted poorly and see how that correlates to endyear rankings.
Anyone bored and have the number crunching acumen?
Dave
[ March 27, 2005, 10:04 PM: Message edited by: Dyv ]
I'm thinking just like my Bonds pick at #25 wasn't so great, my Sheffield pick at #36 was excellent value (In fact, I wish I could switch the two on the chart...)
Prior in the 5th about right? Berkman in the 11th? Say what you want about Carlos Guillen - but I got him in 12th round and that's good stuff.
Luis Gonzalez from AZ strikes me as a huge steal in the 16th round...
Anyone have a supercomputer to calculate who got the most 'value' compared to averages throughout all drafts? (i.e. if Sheffield was an average pick #25 then I get +11 for getting him at #36, etc.)
Would be a curious stat to find out who drafted 'well' based on average vs. who drafted poorly and see how that correlates to endyear rankings.
Anyone bored and have the number crunching acumen?
Dave
[ March 27, 2005, 10:04 PM: Message edited by: Dyv ]
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King of Queens
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Dyv, I have complete stats on the Top 30. I'm probably going to work on the next 30-40 sometime early this week.
Nevertheless, your instincts are correct on the two players you mentioned that I DO have stats on.
Sheffield at #36 was tied for 17th lowest. He was taken #36 in Chicago 4, #39 in Chicago 1, and #41 in New York 4.
The numbers on Bonds are all over the place:
15-16-17-18-22-24-24-25-25-35-35-35-38-43-44-49-61-63-85-88
The median pick was 35.00, while the average was 38.10.
Nevertheless, your instincts are correct on the two players you mentioned that I DO have stats on.
Sheffield at #36 was tied for 17th lowest. He was taken #36 in Chicago 4, #39 in Chicago 1, and #41 in New York 4.
The numbers on Bonds are all over the place:
15-16-17-18-22-24-24-25-25-35-35-35-38-43-44-49-61-63-85-88
The median pick was 35.00, while the average was 38.10.
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Would be a curious stat to find out who drafted 'well' based on average vs. who drafted poorly and see how that correlates to endyear rankings.
Would be interesting to find out. I know I'm behind the curve in this area. My strategy is to find guys like Konerko (in keeping with the spirit of this thread) who go in the 6th or 7th round, should go in the 2nd or 3rd round, and then go to my team in the 5th round, thereby creating value and assuring I get a piece to the puzzle regardless of whether I take them ahead of where they're supposed to go.
By the bye, for all the posts on here that told me there was no way to make an accurate prediction of where guys will go in the draft, I got my target picks in 19 of the first 23 rounds. Rounds 4, 15, 19, and 20 were the only problem areas and I'm rather pleased with how they turned out.
To be fair, I did switch around some of my picks when there was a run on certain positions or what have you, but despite where I took them I got 19 of the 23.
[ March 27, 2005, 10:26 PM: Message edited by: bjoak ]
Would be interesting to find out. I know I'm behind the curve in this area. My strategy is to find guys like Konerko (in keeping with the spirit of this thread) who go in the 6th or 7th round, should go in the 2nd or 3rd round, and then go to my team in the 5th round, thereby creating value and assuring I get a piece to the puzzle regardless of whether I take them ahead of where they're supposed to go.
By the bye, for all the posts on here that told me there was no way to make an accurate prediction of where guys will go in the draft, I got my target picks in 19 of the first 23 rounds. Rounds 4, 15, 19, and 20 were the only problem areas and I'm rather pleased with how they turned out.
To be fair, I did switch around some of my picks when there was a run on certain positions or what have you, but despite where I took them I got 19 of the 23.
[ March 27, 2005, 10:26 PM: Message edited by: bjoak ]
Chance favors the prepared mind.
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Brian, that's why I'd like to see the correlation to final standings. Obviously getting 'value' is important ... if Wily Taveras starts in Houston and swiped 30 bases then my 'average' will suck but my standings should benefit
Just Some Guy
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Originally posted by King of Queens:
Dyv, I have complete stats on the Top 30. I'm probably going to work on the next 30-40 sometime early this week.
Nevertheless, your instincts are correct on the two players you mentioned that I DO have stats on.
Sheffield at #36 was tied for 17th lowest. He was taken #36 in Chicago 4, #39 in Chicago 1, and #41 in New York 4.
The numbers on Bonds are all over the place:
15-16-17-18-22-24-24-25-25-35-35-35-38-43-44-49-61-63-85-88
The median pick was 35.00, while the average was 38.10. That would be great KoQ - I saw someone's analysis of the NFFC draft which had me something like 35th best draft for value and somewhere around 30th for 'in season management' (he put in some data for putting in the right players each week and then points acquiring from FA)
Was interesting to see the data
Dave
Dyv, I have complete stats on the Top 30. I'm probably going to work on the next 30-40 sometime early this week.
Nevertheless, your instincts are correct on the two players you mentioned that I DO have stats on.
Sheffield at #36 was tied for 17th lowest. He was taken #36 in Chicago 4, #39 in Chicago 1, and #41 in New York 4.
The numbers on Bonds are all over the place:
15-16-17-18-22-24-24-25-25-35-35-35-38-43-44-49-61-63-85-88
The median pick was 35.00, while the average was 38.10. That would be great KoQ - I saw someone's analysis of the NFFC draft which had me something like 35th best draft for value and somewhere around 30th for 'in season management' (he put in some data for putting in the right players each week and then points acquiring from FA)
Was interesting to see the data
Dave
Just Some Guy
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Brian, that's why I'd like to see the correlation to final standings. Obviously getting 'value' is important ... if Wily Taveras starts in Houston and swiped 30 bases then my 'average' will suck but my standings should benefit
Uh-huh, how many guys will have to get injured before his spot comes up in the depth chart?
I thought Endy Chavez was a good pick for that, though he isn't exactly doing a good job of persuading management to let him keep his job.
I was sincere when I said it would be interesting. The antithesis to my strategy is to take the best possible ranked guy at your turn, which has value in and of itself. Some people believe that guys who don't overthink the draft tend to do the best, and there is something to that, but I could never be accused of being one of them!
Uh-huh, how many guys will have to get injured before his spot comes up in the depth chart?
I thought Endy Chavez was a good pick for that, though he isn't exactly doing a good job of persuading management to let him keep his job.
I was sincere when I said it would be interesting. The antithesis to my strategy is to take the best possible ranked guy at your turn, which has value in and of itself. Some people believe that guys who don't overthink the draft tend to do the best, and there is something to that, but I could never be accused of being one of them!
Chance favors the prepared mind.
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Just to clarify, Dyv, I know the antithesis I explained is not your strategy, I was just showing the opposite of what I do.
Chance favors the prepared mind.
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Originally posted by bjoak:
quote: Brian, that's why I'd like to see the correlation to final standings. Obviously getting 'value' is important ... if Wily Taveras starts in Houston and swiped 30 bases then my 'average' will suck but my standings should benefit
Uh-huh, how many guys will have to get injured before his spot comes up in the depth chart?
I thought Endy Chavez was a good pick for that, though he isn't exactly doing a good job of persuading management to let him keep his job.
I was sincere when I said it would be interesting. The antithesis to my strategy is to take the best possible ranked guy at your turn, which has value in and of itself. Some people believe that guys who don't overthink the draft tend to do the best, and there is something to that, but I could never be accused of being one of them! [/QUOTE]You might want to research Taveras a bit more, Brian ... zero injuries appears to net him the starting job with Chris Burke on the bench.
Dyv
quote: Brian, that's why I'd like to see the correlation to final standings. Obviously getting 'value' is important ... if Wily Taveras starts in Houston and swiped 30 bases then my 'average' will suck but my standings should benefit
Uh-huh, how many guys will have to get injured before his spot comes up in the depth chart?
I thought Endy Chavez was a good pick for that, though he isn't exactly doing a good job of persuading management to let him keep his job.
I was sincere when I said it would be interesting. The antithesis to my strategy is to take the best possible ranked guy at your turn, which has value in and of itself. Some people believe that guys who don't overthink the draft tend to do the best, and there is something to that, but I could never be accused of being one of them! [/QUOTE]You might want to research Taveras a bit more, Brian ... zero injuries appears to net him the starting job with Chris Burke on the bench.
Dyv
Just Some Guy
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You might want to research Taveras a bit more, Brian ... zero injuries appears to net him the starting job with Chris Burke on the bench.
Mm, so all they have to do is sit the rookie-of-the-year and Berkman after he comes back? Seems more likely that Burke would play the outfield. Still, he's higher in the depth chart than I thought so you could always do the Dave-Roberts-I'll-just-play-him-and-when-he-only-gets-10-at-bats-per-week-at-least-it-won't-kill-my-average-too-much-and-he's-so-fast-he'll-at-least-get-a-couple-of-steals-in-his-t wo-times-on-base plan.
Mm, so all they have to do is sit the rookie-of-the-year and Berkman after he comes back? Seems more likely that Burke would play the outfield. Still, he's higher in the depth chart than I thought so you could always do the Dave-Roberts-I'll-just-play-him-and-when-he-only-gets-10-at-bats-per-week-at-least-it-won't-kill-my-average-too-much-and-he's-so-fast-he'll-at-least-get-a-couple-of-steals-in-his-t wo-times-on-base plan.
Chance favors the prepared mind.
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Well, I do have Berkman, too...
Taveras needs a good April to keep a job, that's for sure. I like his spring training numbers - quite a bit better than Burke's garbage production...
Dave Roberts numbers? Yeah, that might be okay
Dyv
Taveras needs a good April to keep a job, that's for sure. I like his spring training numbers - quite a bit better than Burke's garbage production...
Dave Roberts numbers? Yeah, that might be okay
Dyv
Just Some Guy
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Well, Dyv, I give you credit for seeing opportunity where I only saw bad management.
First, I had to spend many sleepless nights trying to decide whether to take Ensberg because they were thinking of playing Lamb. The reason coming out of Houston was that although Ensberg is a far better defender, Lamb has a better bat. I'm not going to bother trying to argue against this because it doesn't make any sense.
Then you have Biggio. Biggio is an even worse outfielder than he is a hitter. He is so bad that Houston decided they want to get him out of there. So what is Houston's solution? Sit him on the bench? Send him to Triple-A? Ship him to a team that needs a poor DH? Oh no. The solution is to use him as the starting second baseman. Gosh, I would have never thought of this brilliant solution to the problem of a guy who is too poor of a defender to cover left field. Yes, this will be far better than using Burke who was the Baseball America defensive player of the year. :rolleyes:
Meantime, they can also get some at bats for Taveras and other luminaries such as Orlando Palmeiro, none of whom will hit for average or power while Burke is wasting away on the bench.
On the bright side, Biggio is a fan favorite so that will really help Houston win games.
First, I had to spend many sleepless nights trying to decide whether to take Ensberg because they were thinking of playing Lamb. The reason coming out of Houston was that although Ensberg is a far better defender, Lamb has a better bat. I'm not going to bother trying to argue against this because it doesn't make any sense.
Then you have Biggio. Biggio is an even worse outfielder than he is a hitter. He is so bad that Houston decided they want to get him out of there. So what is Houston's solution? Sit him on the bench? Send him to Triple-A? Ship him to a team that needs a poor DH? Oh no. The solution is to use him as the starting second baseman. Gosh, I would have never thought of this brilliant solution to the problem of a guy who is too poor of a defender to cover left field. Yes, this will be far better than using Burke who was the Baseball America defensive player of the year. :rolleyes:
Meantime, they can also get some at bats for Taveras and other luminaries such as Orlando Palmeiro, none of whom will hit for average or power while Burke is wasting away on the bench.
On the bright side, Biggio is a fan favorite so that will really help Houston win games.
Chance favors the prepared mind.
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Wow! I tend to be pessimistic about my drafts, but based on this I've gotta be pretty happy with my 1st 3 picks.
I picked #9.
With #9 I took Abreu.
With #22 I took Schmidt.
With #39 I took Thome.
The latest Schmidt was taken was 23. And it looks like 39 was the latest Thome went. Plus Abreu looks like good value at 9 (which I suspected) too.
Of course, knowing my luck all three will contract Ebola any day now.
Ed
I picked #9.
With #9 I took Abreu.
With #22 I took Schmidt.
With #39 I took Thome.
The latest Schmidt was taken was 23. And it looks like 39 was the latest Thome went. Plus Abreu looks like good value at 9 (which I suspected) too.
Of course, knowing my luck all three will contract Ebola any day now.
Ed
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Originally posted by bjoak:
Well, Dyv, I give you credit for seeing opportunity where I only saw bad management.
First, I had to spend many sleepless nights trying to decide whether to take Ensberg because they were thinking of playing Lamb. The reason coming out of Houston was that although Ensberg is a far better defender, Lamb has a better bat. I'm not going to bother trying to argue against this because it doesn't make any sense.
Then you have Biggio. Biggio is an even worse outfielder than he is a hitter. He is so bad that Houston decided they want to get him out of there. So what is Houston's solution? Sit him on the bench? Send him to Triple-A? Ship him to a team that needs a poor DH? Oh no. The solution is to use him as the starting second baseman. Gosh, I would have never thought of this brilliant solution to the problem of a guy who is too poor of a defender to cover left field. Yes, this will be far better than using Burke who was the Baseball America defensive player of the year. :rolleyes:
Meantime, they can also get some at bats for Taveras and other luminaries such as Orlando Palmeiro, none of whom will hit for average or power while Burke is wasting away on the bench.
On the bright side, Biggio is a fan favorite so that will really help Houston win games. There always exists the possibility that Burke isn't ready yet... ?
Then there's the fact their manager (Phil Garner) is pretty well known to be very tough on rookies and favor veterans (it becomes obvious that Biggio will be one of his favorites)
Add to that the fact that Taveras is proving in Spring training he might be ready and Burke really has not.
And finally, there's a slight chance Baseball America doesn't run any major league teams...
Baseball America does like Taveras, though - perhaps they are 1 year off in their Amazing Kreskin
The Future: If it all comes together for Taveras, he could be a superior version of Juan Pierre. After he spends a year in Triple-A, the Astros would love to make him their center fielder in 2006. Should be a fun season... all I need to do to win $100k is have Bond, Prior, Berkman all get healthy... the rest of my team play up to expectatoins. Get Taveras to break out, scoop up a 30 save closer from waivers and hope every other major player I don't own gets injured.
Same aspirations we all have in some fashion
Dave
Well, Dyv, I give you credit for seeing opportunity where I only saw bad management.
First, I had to spend many sleepless nights trying to decide whether to take Ensberg because they were thinking of playing Lamb. The reason coming out of Houston was that although Ensberg is a far better defender, Lamb has a better bat. I'm not going to bother trying to argue against this because it doesn't make any sense.
Then you have Biggio. Biggio is an even worse outfielder than he is a hitter. He is so bad that Houston decided they want to get him out of there. So what is Houston's solution? Sit him on the bench? Send him to Triple-A? Ship him to a team that needs a poor DH? Oh no. The solution is to use him as the starting second baseman. Gosh, I would have never thought of this brilliant solution to the problem of a guy who is too poor of a defender to cover left field. Yes, this will be far better than using Burke who was the Baseball America defensive player of the year. :rolleyes:
Meantime, they can also get some at bats for Taveras and other luminaries such as Orlando Palmeiro, none of whom will hit for average or power while Burke is wasting away on the bench.
On the bright side, Biggio is a fan favorite so that will really help Houston win games. There always exists the possibility that Burke isn't ready yet... ?
Then there's the fact their manager (Phil Garner) is pretty well known to be very tough on rookies and favor veterans (it becomes obvious that Biggio will be one of his favorites)
Add to that the fact that Taveras is proving in Spring training he might be ready and Burke really has not.
And finally, there's a slight chance Baseball America doesn't run any major league teams...
Baseball America does like Taveras, though - perhaps they are 1 year off in their Amazing Kreskin
The Future: If it all comes together for Taveras, he could be a superior version of Juan Pierre. After he spends a year in Triple-A, the Astros would love to make him their center fielder in 2006. Should be a fun season... all I need to do to win $100k is have Bond, Prior, Berkman all get healthy... the rest of my team play up to expectatoins. Get Taveras to break out, scoop up a 30 save closer from waivers and hope every other major player I don't own gets injured.
Same aspirations we all have in some fashion
Dave
Just Some Guy
Average Draft Positions
There always exists the possibility that Burke isn't ready yet... ?
Then there's the fact their manager (Phil Garner) is pretty well known to be very tough on rookies and favor veterans (it becomes obvious that Biggio will be one of his favorites)
Add to that the fact that Taveras is proving in Spring training he might be ready and Burke really has not.
And finally, there's a slight chance Baseball America doesn't run any major league teams...
Taveras is hitting .300 with 9 SB's; Burke is hitting .289 with 3 SB's and a homerun. Spring training #'s aren't important anyway. Burke has been showing he's ready every year. Meanwhile Taveras had one good year that seems like an outlier at this point.
Taveras=.252 with no power
Burke=.276, 12 homeruns in a full season
Still, I'm not arguing that you shouldn't have Taveras on your team. He could be a 40-50 SB fantasy guy. I took Podsednik in the 4th round so I get the value of such things, but we're talking about real ball, where SB's don't create that many more runs than they destroy. I'm arguing that he shouldn't start over Burke, especially if they're going to have to downgrade defense in other areas to do it (no problem with Taveras' defense, btw).
As for Phil Garner, my argument is that rather than favoring veterans or rookies, he should favor winning games, which he won't do the way he's running things.
Baseball America doesn't run their team and I never said they should, though they couldn't do much worse of a job. The point was simply to offer evidence that Burke is a good defender. Biggio is not and Houston knows as much which is why he's popping up at every position. It's not smart to think that a poor defensive player is going to do better at second base than left field.
Then there's the fact their manager (Phil Garner) is pretty well known to be very tough on rookies and favor veterans (it becomes obvious that Biggio will be one of his favorites)
Add to that the fact that Taveras is proving in Spring training he might be ready and Burke really has not.
And finally, there's a slight chance Baseball America doesn't run any major league teams...
Taveras is hitting .300 with 9 SB's; Burke is hitting .289 with 3 SB's and a homerun. Spring training #'s aren't important anyway. Burke has been showing he's ready every year. Meanwhile Taveras had one good year that seems like an outlier at this point.
Taveras=.252 with no power
Burke=.276, 12 homeruns in a full season
Still, I'm not arguing that you shouldn't have Taveras on your team. He could be a 40-50 SB fantasy guy. I took Podsednik in the 4th round so I get the value of such things, but we're talking about real ball, where SB's don't create that many more runs than they destroy. I'm arguing that he shouldn't start over Burke, especially if they're going to have to downgrade defense in other areas to do it (no problem with Taveras' defense, btw).
As for Phil Garner, my argument is that rather than favoring veterans or rookies, he should favor winning games, which he won't do the way he's running things.
Baseball America doesn't run their team and I never said they should, though they couldn't do much worse of a job. The point was simply to offer evidence that Burke is a good defender. Biggio is not and Houston knows as much which is why he's popping up at every position. It's not smart to think that a poor defensive player is going to do better at second base than left field.
Chance favors the prepared mind.