Chicago 4 pick 14 does this team have any chance

clatka36 · Post by **clatka36** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 1:23 pm

Guys,

just curious to hear any thoughts on our main event team sencond time me and my co-owner have done the main event any and all comments welcome thanks and good luck to all

C M.Barrett (26)

C J.R.Towles (14)

1 K.Youklis (13)

2 A.Hill (12)

ss E. Rentaria (9)

3 E. Encarnacion (8)

mi E. Aybar (20)

ci L.Overbay (17)

ut D.Ortiz (2)

OF A.Soriano (1)

OF H.Pence (3)

OF S.Victorino (4)

OF J.Dye (7)

OF A.Jones(18)

bench A.Huff(24),R.Church(23),J.Uribe(28)

SP S.Kazmir(5), F.Hernandez (6), B.Arroyo (15), Z.Grienke(16)

J.Westbrook(21), D.Bush(22), P.Maholm(27),D.Bush(22),E.Santana(19),K.Millwood(25), J.P. Howell(30)

rp B.Lidge(10),T.Jones(11),M.Lindstrom(29)

[ March 19, 2008, 03:49 PM: Message edited by: clatka36 ]

RobG · Post by **RobG** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 1:27 pm

Nice squad. You need Aybar to beat out Izturis, but a solid team all around.

rkulaski · Post by **rkulaski** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 2:57 pm

Thanks Rob...

I am the other co-owner of the team above.

Some concerns/minor mistakes in hindsight:

Rd 4- did we reach for Victorino? We did, but we discussed it and decided we really liked him and didn't feel he would still be on the board when we picked near the end of round 5. Garrett Adkins was still on the board and he might have been the better pick but, if you really like a player, you have to go for it.

Rd 8- Edwin Encarnacion. According to the ADPs, this was a reach too, but we liked his upside. We might have taken Gallardo but he was drafted by team 15 so we drafted a player with upside and at the same time filled a need since we didn't have a 1B,3B,CI at this point in the draft.

Pitching: I'm not in love with B Arroyo as our 3rd starter but hopefully he'll pitch all of 2008 like he did in the 2nd half of last season. Overall, I like our pitching and feel our weakest category could be wins but it's a hard category to predict. We had a chance to take Buccholz as our 3rd starter but didnt get him...wish we would've taken him.

Bats: I was a little disappointed with our 2nd catcher. MI is our other questionable spot with E Aybar. Otherwise, I hope we have enough to compete.

thanks for feedback good or bad.

[ March 18, 2008, 10:34 PM: Message edited by: Hitless ]

rkulaski · Post by **rkulaski** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:43 pm

Okay, 3 replies now (including this one).

Keep them coming.

Dirt Dogs · Post by **Dirt Dogs** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:00 pm

Not a big fan of the pitching especially with Kazmir hurting. I think you will struggle in ERA & WHIP

kgrady · Post by **kgrady** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:06 pm

Originally posted by Hitless:

Bats: I was a little disappointed with our 2nd catcher (Barrett). I wouldn't be all that concerned about your second catcher. You should be able to make a modest upgrade or two at a low FAAB cost as the season progresses. Odds are you'll never get a player you're particularly happy with, but very few owners get strong production from their second catcher.

Kevin

NorCalAtlFan · Post by **NorCalAtlFan** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:17 pm

I can't knock your catching, that's my combo in a sat

I'm not a big fan of your IF. I like Hill and Encarnacian and even Renteria. But overall, it lacks pop and speed. But your OF is very nice. Nice combo of speed and pop. I think Dye and AJ bounce back. Maybe not all the way, but I can see them combining for .270-.275 60 180-200. I think that might even be a bit conservative.

Your pitching is kinda unsettled. You have some pieces there for sure. But some gambles. I'm not quite sure you have the true anchor, and this is someone who also has Felix. Then again, if Felix performs as you and I expect, and Kazmir comes back and makes even more strides, you could be good to go.

Overall, I think you have some holes, but who doesn't. You'll probably have to ride the team out for a month to see how things shake out before you make too many dramatic moves.

rkulaski · Post by **rkulaski** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:26 pm

Originally posted by NorCalAtlFan:

I can't knock your catching, that's my combo in a sat

I'm not a big fan of your IF. I like Hill and Encarnacian and even Renteria. But overall, it lacks pop and speed. But your OF is very nice. Nice combo of speed and pop. I think Dye and AJ bounce back. Maybe not all the way, but I can see them combining for .270-.275 60 180-200. I think that might even be a bit conservative.

Your pitching is kinda unsettled. You have some pieces there for sure. But some gambles. I'm not quite sure you have the true anchor, and this is someone who also has Felix. Then again, if Felix performs as you and I expect, and Kazmir comes back and makes even more strides, you could be good to go.

Overall, I think you have some holes, but who doesn't. You'll probably have to ride the team out for a month to see how things shake out before you make too many dramatic moves. Kazmir and Feliz definitely come with some risk but so do some other top flight pitchers such as Hamels or Sabathia (workload). Of course we could have gone safer with a pick like Lackey but look where he is now. I do like our hitting more than our pitching and wish Arroyo was our SP4 instead of SP3 but, like you said, who doesn't have some holes. I hope your catchers do well this year

jamesmaples · Post by **jamesmaples** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:34 pm

I think your batting is very solid. Pitching is another story. I see so much risk on the pitching staff. You took a big gamble by not taking your third starting pitcher until the 15th pick.

rockitsauce · Post by **rockitsauce** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 5:56 pm

Originally posted by NorCalAtlFan:

I think Dye and AJ bounce back. Maybe not all the way, but I can see them combining for .270-.275 60 180-200. I think that might even be a bit conservative.

[/QB]"AJ bounce back"...if this is andruw jones then i am astonished you got him in the 18th rd...if it's adam jones (like i thought) what is he bouncing back from?

no matter who it is, of is def strength...sure atkins is the safer pk over vic (like you said), but ya still ended up w/ encarnacion and i think you'll end up happy w/ him as yer 3b.

NorCalAtlFan · Post by **NorCalAtlFan** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:31 pm

No, it's Adam Jones. I realized after I posted, but was too lazy to edit. Being a Braves fan, my automatic assumption when I see an A Jones is to think Andruw.

eddiejag · Post by **eddiejag** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 12:58 am

I like how you guys go for the players you want.

I love Victorino and i waited [seems forever 5th round pick 11] and he made the long run back.Pence is a little high but everybody likes [raymond] Hunter.Nobody talking about Greinke as his 4th pitcher who i think will have huge value this year.I paid 15 for him in the auction and got him in the 16th round in the 1000 dollar satelitte , but he really moved this week in Vegas.Really bummed not to get him.I actually got Arryo in the 15th round pick 4 on the swing back in the Vegas super, Greinke was gone in the 13th round.Just giving Greinke some love .[big upside]I like the E Santana pick too , its all in his head , if he puts it together that gives you 5 pitchers you can run out their every week.

Just think the pitching is better than most see, but Kazmir is the major key.He has to be ready and you should be middle of the pack easy.

good luck Eddie G.

Loops · Post by **Loops** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 6:40 am

I'm going to be in the minority (except for Eddie)here but I actually think your SP are functional especially if Kazmir pitches. I like Grienke, Maholm, E Santana, Arroyo so I think you can reap some value from those guys. I think you are vulnerable at RP which is sort of easier to solve in FAAB than most positions.

The major issue as I see it is your power. Only 1 legit 40-120 threat (Big Papi). Almost too many 5 tools guys and not enough concentrated power. I absolutely would have taken Atkins over Victo. It is hard to chase HRs and RBIs on the waiver wire. I think the teams sounds pretty good but you need EE to take a step up and you need guys like Pence, Dye, A hill and Sori to not take any sort of steps back with their power.

1 thing worth noting though is the seeming Youk power surge this spring. If he is in the 6 hole and hits 19-20hr in Boston his rbi #s could be a very pleasant surprise. Genearlly I like the squad though. Balanced and with upside. Best of luck.

Peace,

LA