NFBC Message Boards

Haven't had much content lately on the boards, so I thought I would share my log. Yes, I actually log my thoughts so I can go back and see "what the hell was I thinking" later after the inevitable bad decisions are made. I will start with Week Four Planning and the planning portions are what I actually thought with no post event editing to make myself look smarter (not hard to do).



Week Four Planning – I have decided to go for (i.e. spend more than $100 for) Rick Porcello. I was beaten out in Week One and Two on a couple of pitchers, so I bid $131 for Porcello, which I think is too much. I was out-bid again ($137 took him). Most of my back up bids were all well under $50, and all were much less that what the pitchers actually went for ($137 Bush, $40 Looper, $21 Pineiro), all of whom I have valued at $0 to $10 at best . I got my third choice (Correia) for $11. I am so happy. Not. But I no longer have Park on my roster, which I think is a good thing.



Absent getting another decent pitcher, I am going to stick with three relievers (Lidge, Gonzalez, and Soriano). My starters will be Kazmir, Vazquez, Danks, and Wandy leaving two to come from Sonnanstine (vs BOS), Arroyo (@PIT), and Davis (vs HOU). I am crying in my beer as Davis looks like the no brainer here. Arroyo gave up four HR in his last two starts, but being in Pittsburgh, he looks like the lesser of two evils. Sonnanstine has had two decent starts and two very rough starts. Boston wiped there feet on the Yanks last weekend, so I am going to sit Sonnanstine vs the BoSox even though it is a home start.



I have Church, Headley, Duncan, Rasmus, Hafner, and Overbay to split between the bench and two OF/one UT spot. Headley is playing on the road including three in COL, so he is in. Church is getting full-time AB and gets three at home and three in Philly. I think he is the next best option. Hafner will probably only play five of six games, but Duncan has cooled off, Rasmus has shown no power, and Overbay on had 11 AB last week which means he was being benched in favor of Millar. Not good. I am going to stick with Hafner and his four HR and 0.293 BA.



Week Four Results – On Monday, I find out that Lidge has fluid on the knee. By Wednesday, Hafner and Encarnacion are on the DL. I am not having a good week and I am going to miss some Saves and AB’s until Friday. If they do not put Lidge on the DL, I am stuck. I end up putting Duncan in for Encarnacion (probably should have done it to begin the week anyway) and Overbay in for Hafner. While Overbay was a non-entity, Duncan played two games over the weekend with one HR and a 0.375 BA.



Church and BJ Upton really held my team back, BA wise (0.1176 and 0.1724 respectively) though Upton did walk five times and steal 3 bases. Church's full time AB are seriously in trouble. After Crawford’s embarrassing success against Penny/Delcarmen/Varitek, Upton may be moving down in the line-up which is not a good thing. BA good news is Phillips/Rollins/Beltre have begun to show life. Hit my counting stats for Runs and SB, but was way short in the power categories of HR and RBI. YTD I am too far back in BA for any sort of comfort. I am right on track to record 7,500 AB, which is my target, but I am at least a half a weeks worth of stats on R and RBI and more than a full week behind in HR. No one on my team has more than four dingers and one of those is Hafner. I am pretty much on track with steals. In short, I am more than one “hot” week from getting back on track.



My pitching keeps getting derailed by two things. Blow-up starts and lack of save opportunities from the Braves and Phillies. Each week, a different set of previously solid pitchers hurt my ERA/WHIP. This week, it was Danks (two horrendous starts) and Kazmir. Last week it was Arroyo and Sonnanstine. I benched Sonnanstine this week against the BoSox. Though he won his game and had a good ERA, the WHIP over 2 and only one K with four BB leaves me real worried. Something ain’t right as he has been VERY hittable. I really need Sonnanstine to be a solid, keep in there every week fifth starter for my team. He will not rack up K’s, but he should have more than his fair shares of Wins, good control/WHIP and a decent ERA. Not happening yet.



Doug Davis and Bronson Arroyo surprisingly had two great starts which meant my week was only bad, not disastrous. I pretty much know what to expect from Arroyo, but Davis is a wildcard for me. Besides health problems, which is enough to worry about, Davis has always been the guy to give you fits with control/bad WHIP. And he allowed three walks in this weeks start, but only two hits and zero earned runs to go with good (7 K) power. I know he is going to blow up on me, trouble will be predicting when. If he is reasonably healthy (possible he will give 180 IP this year) and his new-found control is for real (unlikely), he could be a steal. Could be.



For the year to date, I am actually ahead in K’s thanks to Javier Vazquez. This is a good sign as I have not exactly been racking up the starts this year (two weeks I have had three relievers and one week I had four). Also wins are just one or two off pace. Saves are behind by a week and a half. ERA is just a bit high, but my biggest concern is WHIP. Much too high and I want to bring it down before it becomes too high too late to move much. Davis doesn't fit into this risk profile, but until Sonnanstine comes untracked, I have little choice.



Week Five Planning – I am trolling with the rest of the bottom feeders in the standings (especially batting wise), so with MLB teams getting a minimum of 13 games in the next 14 days, I am hoping that I can play a little catch-up on my stats. Having some situational part-timers like Church, Duncan, John Baker and Overbay in the line up will be a drag, but with two offensive starters (Encarnacion and Hafner) on the DL, my only other option would be to start either Rasmus (getting fewer AB than either of the other three St. Louis OFer’s) or Lugo, who hasn’t shown much yet and is still in “spring training” for all intents and purposes.



With this weeks FAAB, there was more opportunity than previously for pitching (though there is just not much out there hitting wise). There are several pitchers who had the potential to help my team, lead by Brett Cecil and Brett Anderson, but also the likes of Jo Jo Reyes and Todd Wellemeyer. None of these guys will make you forget Koufax or Gibson, but I am looking for a six/seven type starter. I waffled all weekend going back and forth as to who should be the prime target, and after mature advisement (OK Mr. Dave, you get all the credit or blame ), I decided to go for Cecil. Playing his home games in Toronto may not be ideal, but he is a groundballer and the Bluejays are playing pretty hot. It is rare for me to give a rookie so much consideration, but I am going to have him in the line-up for his two starts this week (CLE at home and at OAK). I way overpaid ($151 next highest bid $19). I feel stupid, but this is as much getting out bid three of the previous four periods as my density. It wasn’t a Scherzer-esque faux pas, but come September, I may want my $100 back.



I am so short Saves, I have no choice but to go with three relievers. Mike Gonzalez and Brad Lidge are obvious, but I have both handcuffs in Soriano and Madson. I will probably stick with Gonzalez as Bobby Cox is more of a hot-hand kind of manager.



Three of my other five starters will be two-start pitchers like Cecil (Vazquez, Kazmir and Davis). You know you have a problem when you are more concerned about your 1st drafted starter (Kazmir….Kent Stermon warned me it was a mistake) than your recent FA pick-up Davis. Wandy will be fourth and the fifth will be either Danks (at home vs TEX) or Arroyo (home vs MIL). Arroyo is no Danks when he is on, but MIL is no TEX. Tough call that will go down to the wire. I wish I could start Sonnanstine, but he is on the road vs the Yanks. That is as dangerous as it gets. Watch him throw a two hit shut out with 10 K’s!



So there it is. Once again I really liked my team coming out of the draft, but have gotten off to a poor start, especially with the sticks. I need BJ Upton to start playing up to potential (I remember feeling so lucky to get him in the third round), Phillips, Rollins and Beltre to continue to revive, St. Louis and NYM to settle on an OF, and my team as a whole to start turning walks into hits (preferably HR's).



On pitching, I need a fifth and sixth guy to be more reliable, and for Philly and Atlanta to generate some save opportunities. Nothing to it. Just think how lucky you will feel to have paid $1,300 to watch my meteoric climb to the top!



Anyway, hope this makes for some light reading. Feel free to comment.



[ May 04, 2009, 10:00 AM: Message edited by: Edwards Kings ]

Does Doug Davis = Cliff Lee?

Originally posted by CC's Desperados:

Does Doug Davis = Cliff Lee? Now here is a decent comparison.



[ May 04, 2009, 06:32 PM: Message edited by: KJ Duke ]

Originally posted by CC's Desperados:

Does Doug Davis = Cliff Lee? Despite his rough start last night where he reverted back to his wild ways (four walks, two wild pitches), which could have been worse without a triple play and a double play, Davis could be a candidate for the 2009 version of the "Cliff Lee" Award.

Were you ready to throw the remote when Kazmir walked the first two batters on 8 pitches and then served up a three run homer?



Your seat wasn't even warm in the Love seat!

Originally posted by CC's Desperados:

Were you ready to throw the remote when Kazmir walked the first two batters on 8 pitches and then served up a three run homer?



Your seat wasn't even warm in the Love seat! I was ready to hurl alright, but not the remote (the TV gets hacked when I do that and we cannot make the majic box mad). Like I said in the article, my wise friend Kent Stermon very nicely told me it was a mistake to draft Kazmir and right now I agree. If he is injured, I am screwed, but if not, I still think he could rip off one of those hot streaks and bring his numbers in line. I am sticking with him as there is nothing in the FA pool that can match his potential.



Of course having Kazmir, Davis and Vazquez all get blown up in the same night was just a WONDERFUL sensation.

I feel like I need the announcer from the Muppets Show "Vets Hospital" skit..."The contintuing storrrrry..."



Week Five Results – Not much of a rebound week after horrible Week 3 and Week 4 performances. Would have been better but I guess I outsmarted myself again. I sat Sonnanstine and Danks, who should be my lock #5 and #3 starters because of tough games against the Yanks in NY and the Rangers in Chicago. Wrong again beanie! No wins, but together they pitched over 13 innings with a 2.025 ERA and a 0.825 WHIP and 14 K’s. Cecil paid off with two outstanding starts, but Doug Davis was up and down in two losses and Arroyo stunk. Neither Davis nor Arroyo got wins either, so it turns out in hind-sight I would have been better to stick with my pitchers with the best overall skills, and that should be Andy and John. Like Davis, Vazquez and Kazmir were up and down, so I ended the week with a respectable four wins (needed more out of so many two start starters), a 1.314 WHIP and 59 K’s (should have had more here too). Had three saves out of my three relievers, so this is mediocre as well and Lidge continues to STINK! With all the poor starts and blow-ups, my ERA for the week reeked at 4.886. I am digging holes in my non-counting pitching stats that will become increasingly tough to rebound from.



Hitting was less than acceptable. I hit my targets in most of my counting stats (runs, RBI and SB), but am still falling short in HR and BA. Rollins, Church, Headley, and Upton all had less than a .200 BA. The good news is Phillips seems to be coming around and Hawpe is hotter than a fire cracker. Overbay pitched in nicely in my UT spot for Pronk with a .2857 BA with two HR. My goal is to get about 290 AB each week from my starting 14, and this week (and YTD) I am slightly ahead of this target, but I still have too many empty AB. Overall, an “average” week when I need a couple of great ones to get back on track, especially with BA, HR, and RBI. It still looks like my team would be outpointed in power categories by the Independent Co-Ed League of Chunky and Geeky Kids Normally Picked Last in all Playground Sporting Events.



Week Six Planning – Having one of your kids diagnosed with a chronic disease will certainly cut into your planning time, so I did not do any scrubbing of the FA pool and my team stands pat. I left my roster pretty much as is leaving Rasmus and Lugo (my only healthy subs) on the bench in favor of Overbay, Church, and Headley. Probably should have sat a slumping Church, but Rasmus has shown no power or speed yet even though he is getting full time AB.



On pitching, after my extensive five minute planning session, I went with my three relievers (Lidge – who still sux, Gonzalez, and Soriano – who I think is about to formally displace Gonzalez). I am going to sit wunderkind Cecil who has a tough game at home versus the WhiteSox and Davis who is at Atlanta. The main reason behind this is that I think Danks and Sonnanstine have the superior skills and experience. The real person on the bubble was Arroyo-yoyo. He has a habit of having good next starts (and this time he is on the road) after his gas-cans.



As I write this, I already know I was wrong about Sonnanstine, who got lit up, and Arroyo, who stunk, but at least got the win. If Cecil has another good start later this week, he will probably and rightfully replace Arroyo in by SP line up permanently. I do not know what is wrong with Sonnanstine. I would like to start Davis from time to time as a seventh starter only, so I need Handy-Andy to turn it around.



[ May 13, 2009, 06:59 AM: Message edited by: Edwards Kings ]

Wayne, have you checked out Cincy's road record?

It's early, I know, but it is the best in baseball.

Why, they're on pace to.....

Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:

Wayne, have you checked out Cincy's road record?

It's early, I know, but it is the best in baseball.

Why, they're on pace to..... Actually, I did. That is why I started Arroyo against the "anemic" Diamondbacks (plus he will be @SD over the weekend). Five ER and ten hits in seven IP for Arroyo. Not horrible, but I had hoped for better, but three HR allowed will do that for you.

arizona has replaced washington as a must start for your pitcher. they just suck. although washington is still good for the win- i do think the lineup is tough. as long as johnson can stay healthy and bat in 2 hole they will be productive. dodgers= all the talk of player developement , drafting, farm system- forget all of it - finding a way for manny to get his roids seems like the best way for them to win.

Two thoughts that come to mind...



1) David Wright has no swagger. No twinkle in his eyes like normal...like his confidence is very low, even though his numbers are not bad.



2) Rickie Weeks looks FAT. Looks more like Prince than a 20+ SB guy.

funny sports- i noticed both of those last night. in fact, when they showed weeks rounding the bases- i thought it was fielder. if you drafted weeks for sb's- you are gonna get homers. he is the minnie pf, no flyer now.

Originally posted by sportsbettingman:

Two thoughts that come to mind...



1) David Wright has no swagger. No twinkle in his eyes like normal...like his confidence is very low, even though his numbers are not bad.



2) Rickie Weeks looks FAT. Looks more like Prince than a 20+ SB guy. Very perceptive, Lance. After the first week of the season I felt even though Wright had decent numbers, that he was playing as if fighting through an injury. A month later and I still want to know what somebody did with David Wright.

In just over a month, Wright has 5 errors (gold glove last year), has been caught stealing six times (5 all of last year), struck out 40 times(almost a third of his at bats), and has three home runs.

In watching film of his swings, he seems off balance. He almost always takes pitches till he gets a strike, the aggressiveness and confidence with which he played with before is gone.





If owned by Crazy, I am sorry in advance for that perceived maliscious attack.



Nice pickup, Lance!



[ May 13, 2009, 05:10 PM: Message edited by: DOUGHBOYS ]

dan- i agree. nice to see posts about actually watching a player play instead of I LOVE THIS 3A GUY THAT I HAVE NEVER SEEN PLAY. ps- i bet all brandon phillips owners are thanking mr. gillis for calling him out. in fact second base has been a sweet surprise for most players. the late picks are playing well and so are the early ones. i would also like to thanks eddie for slamming the s.s. reyes is running and hitting again and hardy is somewhat hot also. wright- he really does look wrong. injury- or head case. hard to tell- of course he could be off roids. this is where we are today will all ball players.

YES Phillips has been bringing it as of late.Reyes still hasnt done enough just hitting over 270 .Still Jimmy Rollins killing team's and how about Uggla who has been ugly.Pat the bat Burrell has been brutal 1 homer but thats one more than Ortiz who went 0 for 7 today,when do they move him out of the 3 hole.He left 12 runners on base today in a one run loss.UNREAL.

Also my middle infielders are still giving me a great start for 20th round selections.

Asdrubal Cabrera my hero

The O Dog fu#k Manny dont need him.

C Guzman major league batting leader

Iwamura a sneaky 6 steals

Another day...another night when closers get lit up!

There is so much insta-karma on these boards (see David Wright, etc) you wonder if the players themselves are reading!



Some thoughts...



If MLB was all about winning and less about ego and competing (and above all...the ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS)...you'd see teams walk Adrian Gonzalez every at bat. That team has ZERO protection for him...yet he just keeps getting pitched to and keeps banging home runs!??? I wonder why Bonds got walked so much...black balled anyone? Adrian fits the Mark McGwire/Bengie Molina mold of clogging the bases with a walk...thus it's a double good thing!



It sucks how easily the consecutive games hitting streak can be crushed in its tracks. (See Zimmerman) All you have to do is walk him his first two at bats, or two of four...and then he's forced to go .500 or .1000 by getting a hit in his 3rd or 4th at bat...or lose the streak. Talk about putting the pressure on. That has to be one of the easiest to manipulate records around. (Manipulate in an ending sort of way). Throw him a bunch of junk, IBB, hit by pitch, etc. Just too easy for one manager/pitcher/catcher to take the streak right out of a players hands.



Reading about the incident with Tex and Gomez this morning...I went back and watched it, and loved the emotion in Tex. He felt he was justified and Gomez was in the wrong...and wouldn't you know it, that an inning later he gets an RBI and run scored to help in the dramatic comeback win. Emotions are powerful things!



~Lance



[ May 16, 2009, 11:33 AM: Message edited by: sportsbettingman ]

More thoughts....



So many nice things to do in San Diego, why would people want to go to a Padre game?



Rob Dibble being set up by his broadcasting partner, was told that next weekend the Orioles come to town and they've given up more runs than any team in baseball.

Dibble's reply, "They've given up more than us?"



If Nick Johnson and Adam Dunn stay healthy this year, Ryan Zimmerman will easily go 100-100 in RBI and runs.



The Rays and Mets running game is in full gear vs. the Indians and Giants.



Ben Zobrist wins the sixth man award so far.



Is Phil Hughes a AAAA pitcher?



If Justin Masterson were a hitter, his nickname would be Bat.

Originally posted by sportsbettingman:

Emotions are powerful things!



~Lance Agreed. And these players, are for the most part, drones. Give me some FIRE!

Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:

More thoughts....



So many nice things to do in San Diego, why would people want to go to a Padre game?



Don't recall yet this season hearing from anyone "I went to the Padres game last night".



Front page of the Union-Tribune site earlier this week ...





A sparse crowd along the third-base line watched the

Padres play the Diamondbacks last week at Petco Park.



How much lost revenue just in this tiny slice of the stadium?



[ May 16, 2009, 11:54 AM: Message edited by: KJ Duke ]

San Diego is one helluva place. I enjoyed my short time living there!



More thoughts...



1) Maybe when an up and coming catcher looks really good...they'll just stop at "He looks like Mauer"

and lose the "with power" (Mauer is slugging well over .800 on the short season with his 6th HR)



2) I smell a DL stint for Jose Reyes. Without fully functional calves...there is no speed. Scary.



3) ...As a last-ditch effort in the "post PED's era of MLB" :rolleyes: (ahem...ok) where was I? Oh...MLB has installed "PLAN B" which keeps fans in their seats and beverage sales rolling on through the 9th inning. PLAN B = no 8th or 9th inning without scoring in 2009! May all games be blown save, super dramatic, SP win killing, RP era/whip killing, flip flop team winning events!



[ May 16, 2009, 03:01 PM: Message edited by: sportsbettingman ]

Week Six Results – Small wonders never cease. Despite very poor weeks from Beltre, Headley, Duncan and Overbay, I achieved or exceeded all my weekly hitting targets for the first time in 2009. Primarily lead by red-hot Hawpe and suddenly producing Rollins and Phillips, I ended the week with a decent .2842 BA with 45 R, 11 HR, 41 RBI and 11 SB (thank you Mr. BJ Upton…now, about that BA!?). However, due to the previous three weeks worth of poor stats, I am behind still YTD on all offensive categories except SB. Runs and RBI are only about a half weeks worth of stats behind, so I can make up ground there with a hot week. However, by BA stands at an anemic .2637 and that means I have a lot of ground to make up. As well, in HR, I am nearly two weeks behind. If the likes of Beltre and BJ Upton as well as my lessor power sources like Church and Encarnacion when he comes back don’t start turning it up, I will continue to be in trouble there. Hafner may be back as early as this week and if Pronk can get his power stroke back like he had the first two weeks of the season, it will certainly be a boost. Most of the bats that are showing up on the FA pool are on teams that cannot find their backsides with both hands, are 10-12 AB utility players/fourth OFers, or are rookies being mishandled, so I will continue to troll hoping to land the whale in the koi pond. My best bet, however, is in counting on the players I have playing to their history and potential.



For pitching, I hit my Wins target of four (in only eight games started), my Saves target with four, and my strike-out target with 50 in 51 2/3 IP. Not bad. My guys only walked 14, so I ended the week with a better than 3:1 K/BB ratio. My ERA and WHIP must have been great, right? Wrong. I had a 7.839 ERA and a WHIP of 1.723. Ouch! My guys were very hittable like Danks (ERA 21.000), Sonnanstine (14.086), Kazmir (18.902) and Lidge (three saves, 7.714 ERA). In Week 5, I sat Danks and Sonnanstine because they had been pitching poorly and I did not like the match-ups, and they pitched great. This week had better match-ups and they stunk it up. Certainly not the first time that has happened to me, but it still hacks me off every time. I think they do it just to make me mad. YTD I am only a win or two from my target and I am ahead of my target on K’s. I need to trim a run off my ERA in a hurry before the stat becomes immovable and hopefully my WHIP will follow. I am at least a week behind in Saves using two closers (Lidge and Gonzalez) and a set-up (Soriano). I can only hope someone gets hot.



Week Seven Planning – I actually was able to carve out an hour on Sunday to plan for the week and I had a player I thought was expendable now (Overbay). CJ Wilson was available in my league (I actually drafted him and released him). Since Gonzalez is one of my closers I felt I needed Soriano. Then I ended up releasing Wilson in favor or Madson since Lidge obviously ain’t right. Oh well.



I placed a bid for Wilson, but he went for nearly five times my bid. Too much in my opinion as I think/read Francisco will be back as soon as eligible, maybe as soon as this week-end.



I did get my second choice, Bonderman. Not sure what Detroit will do with him, but I just do not buy the reports saying the Tigers were considering putting him in the bullpen. They have him worked up to 90+ pitches in his ML starts. His velocity is not back, but is hitting the high eighties and he is working his slider well (against ML hitters). With Bonderman, I have too many pitchers now and too many players on the DL. I plan on rectifying both situations in the next couple of weeks.



I am going with seven starters for only the second time this year. My ERA and WHIP are so bad, this cannot hurt and with luck, some extra quality innings might help. I will only get one start out of each, but that sets me up next week for six guys with at least two starts barring injury (knock on wood). If I can hold my pitching numbers this week, I can make up some real ground next week.



Arroyo is at home, so he rides the pine. For better or worse, I am going with Kazmir, Vazquez, Danks, Wandy Rodriguez, Sonnanstine, Doug Davis and Brett Cecil. I need Kazmir and Sonnanstine to turn it around. If not, I am pretty much sunk. I think they will turn it around, so the question will be who to lock in on as my primary #6 and #7 starters. I have little faith that Davis can keep up this pace for a whole year, but with the ground-baller Cecil pitching on a hot team and with Bonderman’s rehab going well, I may have some decent options. Arroyo has the chance to get hot, but he is on the bubble right now and the pin is in my hand.



With Overbay gone (he only got 11 AB last week), and with Headley going to be playing at home for six games, three against left-handers, I am going to play Rasmus and Lugo. Lugo is at home for six and is coming off a fair week. I hate having a SS as my UT (my other MI are Phillips, Rollins, and Felipe Lopez), but with the injuries I really have no choice. My CM will remain Konerko, Beltre, and Duncan (until Encarnacion comes back). Rasmus will finally play everyday now, so he joins BJ Upton, Hawpe, Pence and Church (whom I am very concerned with right now). Church really needs to show something or he or Headley will not be on my team much longer. A good fourth OFer is better than either of those guys right now.



My catchers are Baker and Hernandez. They have good weeks and bad weeks, but generally, given when I drafted them, I am satisfied with their collective .280 BA and Bakers surprising 5 HR. I would like to see Hernadez crank a few, too. We shall see.



Good luck all this week.

Just wanted to note how much I enjoy this thread.

I find it fascinating to read about the thought processes others have in running their teams (along with the exhiliration/anguish we all share associated with the various performances of our players or our winning/losing FAAB bids).



It reminds me of how I did a quick Google search on NFBC drafts a couple weeks after drafting my Main Event team and found several blogs/websites where various players of various experience detailed their draft and the thought process that went into each pick....great stuff.



I even found a blog from the person who had the pick right in front of me and detailed his reactions about picks I made stealing a couple players right before he was about to pick them (wish I had let them slide....lol). Just a great read all around.

I just took a moment to see what I left on the table by using an extra reliever for five weeks of the first six of the contest (I used seven starters one of the weeks).



If I used the best start(s) of the starters on the reserve roster, over those five weeks, and looking mainly at counting stats, I have given up two wins. On the other side of the ledger, I have gotten two extra saves. As to K's, my relievers (primarily Soriano) actually have two more K's than the available starters (each week except for the very first, the benched starter only had one start). Also, my ERA and WHIP would have also been higher if I used the extra starter. In short, I left the draft short of quality starters and it shows, but using the extra reliever mitigated the damage a bit.

Originally posted by Edwards Kings:

I just took a moment to see what I left on the table by using an extra reliever for five weeks of the first six of the contest (I used seven starters one of the weeks).



If I used the best start(s) of the starters on the reserve roster, over those five weeks, and looking mainly at counting stats, I have given up two wins. On the other side of the ledger, I have gotten two extra saves. As to K's, my relievers (primarily Soriano) actually have two more K's than the available starters (each week except for the very first, the benched starter only had one start). Also, my ERA and WHIP would have also been higher if I used the extra starter. In short, I left the draft short of quality starters and it shows, but using the extra reliever mitigated the damage a bit. There is something to be learned from that. If there are no reasonably productive starting pitchers available, running out a high K, low e.r.a./whip middle reliever can not only help your e.r.a./whip, give you competitive strikeout totals to the scrap SP's that you could pick up, but can also vulture a win or a save here and there. I find it interesting that you compare what stats you would have had had you gone a different route. That's one way to figure out what's working and what's not, but shows that you take this very seriously which I can appreciate.



I remember Bjoak telling me one time he kept track of how his FA pitcher pickups did last year (as fill-ins for injured pitchers) and the e.r.a./whip was staggering (high). It really made me appreciate more a "healthy" track record.