nilodnayr

Z isn't anymore, hes middle of the pack. Maddux gets more GBs but I wouldnt categorize him as a GB pitcher.

At least BA is awesome in the field.

You know what I think we need to fix that...more LH hitters.

Yeah, as much as I dislike taking a leak in a giant tub - it's incredibly quick and efficient. I don't understand why people don't like peeing in a trough. Its fun!

There's also a camera that routinely takes updated photos of Wrigley. I know people here posted some when they started digging up the field. Red Ivy works for the cubs.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/2007s-most-historic-and-impressive-team-splits/ Very interesting read...

That leaves us with 0 back up shortstops. Lou didn't exactly like the Fontenot experiment. Assuming no trades, I'll drop Hart and replace with Marquis and drop Fontenot and replace with Cedeno. I think Marquis might get traded in the first month of the season as opposed to in ST as any team that would want Marquis can just sign Lohse.

Putting aside the obvious potential for innuendo (hehe, he said "just the tip"), yes. That's what all the official releases say and somebody said they showed him in the dugout during today's broadcast, and he had the protective metal cast only on the tip of his finger. Wedding Crashers reference.

Some would consider Martin the #1 catcher. Hes not close to a #1 catcher on your team though since you are going to be losing steals every week. I'd try and trade him for VMart. On the converse, if you are punting steals, Tulo gains value. I really like the balance and depth on the team even though.

Its hard for me to be in the mindset of judging a 16 team league, but I would say that you have major deficiencies at SP, and OF and possibly saves if neither Marmol nor Wood wins the closers role. I'm not a huge fan of Zambrano in fantasy due too his BBs. God only knows whats going to go on with Schmidt. Zito is undervalued but that doesn't mean hes going to be good and his offense is going to suck. Bonderman's offense will get you the wins, but hes also quite iffy.

Agreed. However, there are many teams out there that would find value in having Marquis in the rotation, depending on the cost. Marquis wants to start and that's really all that was said. I don't think it hurts his trade value. Either a team has a need for a starter or they don't. I agree that stuff like this gets overblown in terms of lowering trade value. It might mean more teams will be calling on Marquis, but like Bruce said, Marquis' arm is going to affect his trade value much more than his mouth. There definitely is a market for innings eaters. Unfortunately, Kyle Lohse is still out there on the market and will probably sign for roughly the same $ as Marquis is owned, is better, and won't cost anything players in return. We lose much more leverage in the fact that there is a viable alternative for teams out there than Marquis acting like a baby. That theory may be correct if the team just needs an arm and nothing more. The perfect fit would be a team that has a contract comparable to Marquis that limits them from signing someone like Lohse. If a team is in a position where they cannot extend their budget, but need to add a pitcher that would be the ideal situation. I don't know who that team is, but if the Cubs are intent on trading Marquis I hope they find that team. Yeah, our best shot would be taking back a player that is also somewhat useless to his team and (obviously useful for us) and has a decent sized contract.

I agree with this, the marginal drop off losing Berrian is more than Briggs. Briggs is good, but his impact in 2007 was nothing comared to his 2006 (although you can say that for just about every bears player). I think the Bears felt them had to do it though because of Urlachers back. Yeah, hopefully they use this signing to get a little more aggressive on defense. At least switch it up with Briggs in the middle and Urlacher on the outside. Briggs is better at shedding blockers, Urlacher is better at rushing the passer from the outside. Not much dropoff in pass coverage either way. Jeez, I never really thought about it, but you are right, Urlacher makes all the sense in the world moving to an outside position. Hes really nothing more than an above average middle when we have a crap D-line that allows guys to get out to Urlacher and block him. Although moving to an outside means more lateral movement which probably isn't good for his back.

Agreed. However, there are many teams out there that would find value in having Marquis in the rotation, depending on the cost. Marquis wants to start and that's really all that was said. I don't think it hurts his trade value. Either a team has a need for a starter or they don't. I agree that stuff like this gets overblown in terms of lowering trade value. It might mean more teams will be calling on Marquis, but like Bruce said, Marquis' arm is going to affect his trade value much more than his mouth. There definitely is a market for innings eaters. Unfortunately, Kyle Lohse is still out there on the market and will probably sign for roughly the same $ as Marquis is owned, is better, and won't cost anything players in return. We lose much more leverage in the fact that there is a viable alternative for teams out there than Marquis acting like a baby.

I agree with this, the marginal drop off losing Berrian is more than Briggs. Briggs is good, but his impact in 2007 was nothing comared to his 2006 (although you can say that for just about every bears player). I think the Bears felt them had to do it though because of Urlachers back.

While I can agree that he is probably not the most ideal CF platoon guy defensively, Pie more than makes up for him there in that regard. Pie becomes a good late inning replacement guy for Ross since it gets Pie's lefty bat in the line up in the late innings against RHP, but the improved defense will be helpful for the pen. I see Pie playing every game against RHP and Ross playing until the LH starter gets knocked out. There are a lot of lefty starters in the NL these days. It would be nice to have a RH complement to Pie. Where's Dustin Mohr when you need him? :D I agree that we can hide his defensive issues so it won't be that big of a problem. Also, even though 2007 was for sure an abberation, he did have roughly a 250 IsoP in the minors in 2005 and 2006. Although, he was playing in Las Vegas so its not terribly impressive, he did have 36 HRs in 631 ABs those 2 years. Also, I don't think it would take a ton to get him. If it did take more than an arm or two, then I would definitely pass.

Better to group the brutal hitters at the bottom of the order than to spread them out (re: Theriot batting 2nd) in the order. Best to give them the least amount of ABs

For every Hundley trade there are 5 Sosa trades. Everyone keeps on bringing up Hundley as the rule, but thats the exception. Also, poor Infante.

You don't have HR as an offensive stat?

Eeek, I don't even think I like that in a 15 team league.

Fun fact...if you filter for pitchers who pitched over 180 innings, in 2007 Marquis was 5th to last in the league in FIP. In 2006 he was last. In 2005 he was 6th to last. Over those three years, NO pitchers have been in the bottom 6 more than once.

Son of a B, I was trying to trade for Hart, but the other really smart manager in my league is going to get him before me...hes trading Pence and Byrnes for him. His keepers will be: HanRam Wright Fielder Crawford Hart Thats a nice way to start off the draft.

How in the sam hill did McCann fall 5 rounds below his ADP in a 2 catcher league? Pena fell 7 rounds, Hawpe fell over 10, and basically your entire pitching staff averaged 3 rounds below ADP. Did you draft against retards?

http://draysbay.com/images/admin/bonds.jpg Jeez, he could at least try to smile He's playing for the Rays (or would be). Would you smile if you were on that team? Yeah, it would be fun to be part of makng them a .500 team and having the media absolutely kiss his butt.

It's possible to still get value out of his career. The key is to keep him around for his peak years, limit the financial commitment, and be prepared to cut ties when he becomes expensive. Jacque Jones level production, at minimum wage, and as the 5th or 6th best bat on the team, isn't bad. That's especially true if he's a CF. You'd then have to commit financially to having greater production elsewhere. Ideally you'd trade him as he approaches 30 and before he hits his last year of arbitration. Maybe you can sucker some team into getting quality. But even if you just let him walk, by and large that would have to be considered a successful investment. the problem is, what if felix pie turns out to be a good everyday player. i mean, i guess that's not a problem, but colvin will in no way be good enough to man one of the corner spots. i suppose he could be a 4th outfielder, but I'd just rather trade him now before everyone realizes that he isn't that good. Fukudome and Soriano aren't going to allow him to play a role in the corner. If Felix turns out to be good, you trade Colvin. But that is a long way away, and by no means anything close to a certainty. As you pointed it, it's not really a problem. I look at it this way. I think Colvin is a low risk low reward guy right now. I think he's a safe bet to do something at the major league level. So, you try and strike gold with Pie for now, and keep letting Colvin develop - this also allows you to delay his arbitration clock, and makes it easier to keep him during what should be his peak years. Well considering we took him with our only pick out of the first 148 in the draft, I wouldn't exactly call it a low risk move. That's a bit of a different point, I mean we didn't have Soriano or Kosuke when we drafted Colvin. Its not like we were going to be filling the OF with Jacque Jones' just waiting for Colvin to come in and save us. My distaste for Colvin has 0% to do with anyone else on the team or in the organization and 100% to do with Colvin himself.

It's possible to still get value out of his career. The key is to keep him around for his peak years, limit the financial commitment, and be prepared to cut ties when he becomes expensive. Jacque Jones level production, at minimum wage, and as the 5th or 6th best bat on the team, isn't bad. That's especially true if he's a CF. You'd then have to commit financially to having greater production elsewhere. Ideally you'd trade him as he approaches 30 and before he hits his last year of arbitration. Maybe you can sucker some team into getting quality. But even if you just let him walk, by and large that would have to be considered a successful investment. the problem is, what if felix pie turns out to be a good everyday player. i mean, i guess that's not a problem, but colvin will in no way be good enough to man one of the corner spots. i suppose he could be a 4th outfielder, but I'd just rather trade him now before everyone realizes that he isn't that good. Fukudome and Soriano aren't going to allow him to play a role in the corner. If Felix turns out to be good, you trade Colvin. But that is a long way away, and by no means anything close to a certainty. As you pointed it, it's not really a problem. I look at it this way. I think Colvin is a low risk low reward guy right now. I think he's a safe bet to do something at the major league level. So, you try and strike gold with Pie for now, and keep letting Colvin develop - this also allows you to delay his arbitration clock, and makes it easier to keep him during what should be his peak years. Well considering we took him with our only pick out of the first 148 in the draft, I wouldn't exactly call it a low risk move.