After a flurry of deals... how'd I do?

[drapes]

14 Team Mixed H2H Dynasty League - 20 Keepers (1 player at each position, 2 DH - 10 total bats. Standard 9 pitchers)

Here's what I'm sitting on after Bod (league commish, mb forum troll, former master of the tiers of pitching) punches through my last three deals.

C - Mike Napoli
1B - Adam LaRoche
2B - Robinson Cano
3B - Kevin Youkilis
SS - Yunel Escobar
OF - Nick Markakis
OF - Andre Either
OF - Alex Rios
DH - Julio Bourbon
DH - Chris Coughlan

P- Javier Vazquez, Zach Greinke, James Shields, Ted Lilly, Brandon Morrow, Brian Wilson, Brian Fuentes, Jose Valverde, Frank Francisco


I have two minor leaguers (in addition to the 20 MLB keepers): Michael Stanton OF FLA, Fernando Martinez OF NYM

Remaining players from which I can keep just ONE more player. Ranked loosely how I'm leaning.

Drew Stubbs
Brandon Inge
Elijah Dukes

Dallas Braden

Kris Medlen
Gerardo Parra



The three deals I just made were: Curtis Granderson for Vazquez and Fuentes; Kevin Slowey and Mark Rzcepzcski (or something) for Valverde; Johnny Cueto and Scott Kazmir for Ethier, Inge, and Dukes.

Essentially: Granderson, Kazmir and Cueto for Either, Vazquez, and Fuentes... with change.

Thoughts from the crowd?

[AllstonRockCity]

14 Team Mixed H2H Dynasty League - 20 Keepers (1 player at each position, 2 DH - 10 total bats. Standard 9 pitchers)

Here's what I'm sitting on after Bod (league commish, mb forum troll, former master of the tiers of pitching) punches through my last three deals.

C - Mike Napoli
1B - Adam LaRoche
2B - Robinson Cano
3B - Kevin Youkilis
SS - Yunel Escobar
OF - Nick Markakis
OF - Andre Either
OF - Alex Rios
DH - Julio Bourbon
DH - Chris Coughlan

P- Javier Vazquez, Zach Greinke, James Shields, Ted Lilly, Brandon Morrow, Brian Wilson, Brian Fuentes, Jose Valverde, Frank Francisco

Thoughts from the crowd?

you need power, more power. you have many 'good' players who chip in all around but its highly likely you won't have a 30hr season (maybe even a 25) on your whole roster. i do think your corners will top 25hr, but i would not be shocked if they didn't.

[WillRoy]

My take:

Your hitters are (for a mixed league) very frowned upon commodity's...One could certainly say underrated, except that The BA guys and guys with lackluster/underperforming seasons tend to be the only grabs come draft day.

Though with 20 keepers (Might as well make it a dynasty league) who knows. Dang I'm dumb. You said dynasty.

Thought B.) I don't get the trades. You dealt hitting for pitching. then pitching for hitting. Honestly I don't really feel here nor there with either group.

On the plus side, if I had to pick a side, I like your side more. I personally would take Vazquez (a long-time mancrush and a seriously great pitcher...Read some recent stat about his K's from 2000-on and how he ranks top 2 or top 5 or something crazy), Ethier (Possibly underrated on the dodgers no less from what I've seen), and Fuentes (who is lightyears>Cueto. I personally think Cueto is a lost-cause without a big move/change for him.
Other positives: I like Valverde. Slowey is no slouch but Valverde's skills are top 5 at his position.

Finally, and this may be the most important piece, your team and its keepers is tough to analyze without some context. What trends seem to carry in this league? Is pitching frozen as much as hitting? How are the minor leagues followed? How did this team do previously? Stuff like that.

BTW Rock city, thanks for the Hail to the Thief props. Reminds me of the time I changed my teams look in one league to all Radiohead references and rumor spread from a ribald owner that I left the league. Oy....

Oh and on the Pop note: I think Napoli might have the Most HR for your team in 2k10. Don't remember what MB projected for his power/AB's though.

EDIT: Want to add a final thought. Your team is pretty darn interesting, perhaps special. The hitting could be very potent. Just doesn't look flashy on paper. I rarely see that sort of thing in my leagues (Sortof like a warrior who fights without weapons...Very unassuming). The pitching is a nice mix too! Especially w/ Greinke + vazquez leading the pack.

[Todd Zola]

I think the fact it is H2H somewhat mitigates the fact the power "looks" low. There is some hidden power on the squad that should play better in H2H.

That said, you will NEED your pitching to come through as you don't have SB locked either.

If there is trading, I would hope that Coghlan gets 2B eligibility then deal him for some pop.

[Bodhizefa]

I think a rebound from Rios sure would go a long way towards vindicating your roster. Also, I'm with Todd. I'd try to deal off Coghlan ASAP for either more power or more speed, whichever area you want to concentrate in.

I'll be very interested to see how this make-up of a team does in our league. You don't have any glaring weaknesses (other than maybe some power), but you also don't have any super strengths, either.

Can I post my team now?

[drapes]

Bod's kinda nailed the approach. I actually did have one power hitting uber-stud (Miguel Cabrera) who I dealt for quality depth (Youk, Markakis, Wilson and Francisco).

Regarding Todd's comments - I had a chance to take Victorino instead of Either. That would have gone along way towards locking up SB (putting less pressure on my pitching).

Generally when I build a team like this: trying to target a roster full of guys that hit close to 20 HRs (with a few over), one speedster (bourbon) and a number of 10-20 SB guys, a solid rotation of starters (where I'm 1-2 "solid" pitchers short) and enough closers to compete - spread the wealth essentially - I tend to do very well regardless of the league format (has worked in 12 mixed, AL Only, H2H).

When I go after 1st tier guys (targeted as opposed to developed/raised on your own roster) the relative cost and resultant weak spots generally allow me to finish towards the top, but I can't say that I've won a league using this approach (or some variant of Stars and Scrubs).

Part of that I think is that I'm a good trader and good on the wire, and a roster full of good-very good guys can be a lot easier to deal from than a roster of 1st tier guys that I don't want to move, and guys who aren't good enough to return much value.

All that said... I need more power.

[AllstonRockCity]

One other thought:

its a 14 team mixed and you have 4 closers. if every team has 2 closers, thats 28, 2 less than there are MLB teams. 3 closers would still be a strong position from you. as it stands now, your pretty much guaranteed to win Saves every week. wouldn't you still win Saves almost every week with 3 closers? perhaps 1 more trade (a closer and a bat for a bigger bat?) would help you out.

of course closers being as fickle as they are, having an 'extra' one has never hurt anyone. but if your as good at combing the wire as you claim, you should be able to pick up another dozen or so saves during the season.


WillRoy - your welcome. i'm always happy to see when sports and music (my 2 big thrills) intersect. its even nicer to see when people share the same opinions.

Bod - thought you were gone. glad your not. are those 120 posts mostly from the old board? i haven't seen you post yet this year, or if I have, I missed it. doin the tiers again this year?

[drapes]

One other thought:

its a 14 team mixed and you have 4 closers. if every team has 2 closers, thats 28, 2 less than there are MLB teams. 3 closers would still be a strong position from you. as it stands now, your pretty much guaranteed to win Saves every week. wouldn't you still win Saves almost every week with 3 closers? perhaps 1 more trade (a closer and a bat for a bigger bat?) would help you out.

of course closers being as fickle as they are, having an 'extra' one has never hurt anyone. but if your as good at combing the wire as you claim, you should be able to pick up another dozen or so saves during the season.

In this league, the top 3-4 teams have been hoarding closers and winning that way. Last year I tried to zig while they all zagged, and I went heavy on solid top starters. Didn't work out, so I'm going to edge closer to the middle with four closers this year. I think my starting pitching has or is developing a good track record of health and consistency (Morrow and Lilly's late start this year aside). So who knows. But I can always deal closers, and odds are I use a bigger name (Wilson/Fuentes) to draw some power early on.