New team opinions

[LARRYLANG]

OK Strat pros: I would like some opinions from the vets. Here is the team I just drafted and completed waivers with. My BP is coors. The others in my div are another Coors-Wrigley and US Cellular. I think my lineup will be very formidable in my div however I am not so sure about my starting pitchers. I didn't spend alot on SP because of the Parks in my div: Here is what my lineup will look like:

B. Abreu rf
A. Soriano 2b
M. Tejada ss
A. Beltre 3b
P. Konerko 1b
J Burnitz lf
C. Beltran cf
V. Martinez c
C. Biggio dh

On the bench: T. Batista-J Valentin-B. Mayne-R. Mackowiak-G. Blum

Pitching staff:
Starters:
M. Mussina
B. Tomko
J. Johnson
J. Garland
J Suppan

PEN:
Guardado
Vizciano
Donelly
Takatsu
Percival
Wakefield--Spot starts and Mop up..

Is this pitching staff good enough in my hitters division with my lineup?? Help me out strat pros. I have been playing the board game for over 30 years but am kindof new at this online stuff. Any comments would be appreciated. Larry

[tyches_coin]

Take this with a grain of salt as not only have I never had much success in Coors but I'm also in your division (the Wrigley team).

I think you might need an innings eater in the bullpen. You've got 5 solid relievers but they are all R1's and 3 of them are heavily unbalanced (2 9L and an 8R). Depending on HAL and your bullpen settings, he might run through some of those guys quick by matching up against batters and leave you with just one R1 to pitch the last 2-3 innings. Especially if your bullpen is short a guy or two due to fatique (I think HAL prevents relievers from pitching 3 games in a row, but I could be wrong on that)

Wakefield could eat some innings but he's a 7L so against some teams he might not be able to keep the score down or stay in the game.

I'm worried about my team having enough bullpen to close out games in our division and I think my starters a more likely to go 7 than yours. Thats another reason to weigh other opinions more heavily than mine: I've never played in such an offfense heavy division and am a bit paranoid about whether I wasted all that money in my rotation.

[LARRYLANG]

Thanks for the reply. I went back and looked at it and agree. Some of my relivers although pretty good are unbalanced so I will have to be careful how I use em. I dropped Donally and picked up Halama and Lance Carter. I think my starters will all be lucky to make through 5 in most games w/I our division. I'll tell you, looking at all four of the teams and our parks we could set some kind of HR record. I really like your starters. But you may be right about paying to much for em' in this div. Thanks for the comments and it's gonna be a great season. Larry

[tyches_coin]

Heh, It seems like Carter has been picked up and cut by half the teams in the league. I know he was on my team for half an hour or so. That middle relief spot looks like its a tough one to fill.

You also might want to go through your staff and check for ballpark homeruns. I remember reading that Halama was pretty bad with them. Those could add up real quick in our division. I know Marte, Guardado and Takatsu have some on their bad sides so in division they're probably more like 10 or 11 R's and L's (not that such a thing exists). I just noticed that my long man, Brian Anderson, might as well be throwing batting practice in our division.

Anyway good luck.

[durantjerry]

1)Dump Soriano-his defense is too bad to play the field. I had Cora hit 18 HR's in Coors. He may still be a FA.
2)I think you may be able to do better than Biggio at DH, although I've seen him do well on some teams. B Williams is cheap and makes 1/2 a platoon.
3)Tejada can't be hurt(I think so, anyway) so there would be no need for Valentin.
4)Too much $$$ on the bench. Those guys will barely play given the low injury potential of your team(only Burnitz & Martinez<600 PA's). No need for extra dough spent on Battista or Mackowiak.
5)Bullpen-You need a couple of R(2) guys for Coors or you will have guys pitching fatigued. Tucker, Gregg and Jones are cheap and half decent. Wakefield and Donnelly must go due to #HR. I like Percival to close even in Coors, but you MUST only let him pitch the ninth inning or he will get rocked. He will do much better than if you bring him in in the eigth inning. I think Everyday Eddie should go also. You only need one closer, so Eddie is a glorified lefty specialist who can be replaced for the $.50 minimum. Try Mahay, Mota or Cormier for a few balanced rel;ievers in that price range. I would replace Takatso just because of the parks. Why have a guy with #HR's in that division. I don't like unbalanced specialists in Coors because you need all your relievers ready to go anytime IMO and can't afford to carry guys who can't pitch innings for you. Actually, ditching all of them wouldn't be bad, but I like Percival.
6)Starters-I don't know them well, but Suppan must go due to #HR. Try W Williams, Cook & Wright for a few around $2 or less that have few or no #HR. All of the pitchers under $2 are flawed. I usually sort them by ERA and go from there. Tomko will get rocked by lefties. I have seen Garland do well. It is tough to win with bad starters and bad relievers. I would use any money saved to upgrade pitching.