BigbadB

I think one of the problems is that rosters needed to be made legal too soon. If the roster deadline was March 23rd rather than the 16th, we might have a better idea what players are more likely to begin the season on the DL. Of course, other players can still get hurt between the 23rd and the 30th, so you can't solve all the worlds problems no matter what deadline you set. The biggest issue of all is the fact that the discussion regarding DL players took place in an exemption rule change thread. This should be found under a super duper handy dandy rules sticky thread. There should be 1 sticky thread for all the rules that govern Roadkill. There should be 1 sticky thread with a calendar of events. March 9- Draft March 16- Legal roster deadline March 31- Opening Day July 31- Trade Deadline Day after World Series- First day trades can be made. If we have this stuff in one thread where we can find it easily and reference it often, maybe we can answer a lot of our own questions and maybe teams would make themselves legal when they are supposed to.

Alright, I think I just needed to reread Juan's original response to DL players. And if I read this right, any player currently on injured reserve as of today that doesn't actually go on the DL to start the season MUST be dropped, period. Is that right?

Okay, I'm back online with Roadkill. Yeesh! While you are dropping people, Juan, check all the teams who have ineligible players sitting on their DL. There are several teams who show to be legal, but have players who aren't eligible to be on the DL per your post under the new exemption rule.

Anybody else having trouble logging into Roadkill? I've tried linking to CBS several different ways and can't connect. I made my team legal yesterday, so it's not like I have to be there. It's just frustrating when you want to go somewhere and you can't. I want to see who Juan is giving a hard time to. :D I deleted my temporary internet files, deleted my cookies, not sure what else to do.

If he doesn't figure it out in St. Louis, you can probably trade him to San Diego for Greg Maddux. ;)

I doubt he'll be DHing. At least not until Milton Bradley gets hurt running the bases during his home run trot. Bradley is penciled in to DH until his leg is better.

I'm shocked that Lackey is hurt. :wave: Unfortunately, Manny Parra is ripping up the Cactus League. But, he does have Ned Yost for a manager. :wink:

Probably too fat and lazy to bend over and pull his pant legs down. By the way, he does look pretty good in that picture. Yeah, I think I'll make that my desktop photo.

Rozner: "He's still a lazy, worthless bum." I kid. Maybe he can get some good press for a change.

If the deal hinged on moving DeRosa to SS and sliding Roberts in at 2nd, I'd be more in favor of making this deal. Right now, I'm tossed as to whether the Cubs should do it. While we are talking about 3 of the Cubs best pitching prospects, only Gallagher is someone I would actually miss. Cedeno doesn't have options and I'm not sure what kind of production he brings to the table as a back of the bench utility player, but I don't like his chances of being any better than Cintron in that capacity. The organization values Theriot above Cedeno, and it doesn't appear they will be changing their minds this spring. As far as Baltimore making a nice haul, I don't see it. From Tejada, to Bedard and now the rumored Roberts deal, the only real certain player to make an impact at the major league level, IMO, is Adam Jones. To me, that's not a very good score. I think Florida did better with trading Willis and Cabrera in a package deal. In other words, Baltimore got quantity, but I don't think they got quality. Sure, there are several guys who are a work in progress, but there are not many guarantees in the packages they received. Troy Patton is out for the season with some sort of surgery on his throwing arm. I absolutely want to win now. I think the Cubs could be in a win now situation with Mark DeRosa playing 2nd everday. Of course, in that scenario, I would have looked for an upgrade at SS which is where Hendry should have been spending most of his offseason looking to upgrade.

It's not about improving the baseball team over there, it's about outdoing what the team in the next county is doing, all to convince fans to switch allegiances. The Dodgers threw 50m at a crappy centerfielder, so Anaheim threw 50m at 2 centerfielders. Not to be outdone, LA came back and threw even more money at a second centerfielder. At this rate, the Dodgers and Angels will be playing CFers at every position on the field, all with 50m+ contracts. Vince Scully: "Now catching and batting lead off for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Juan Pierre."

Hendry learned real good from Mr. MacPhail. They like to keep their cards close to the vest and spend eternity working on deals while the rest of the world just passes them by. Not that I wanted Hendry to get Lohse, mind you. I just wished Hendry spent a fraction of a millisecond longer than the zero time he's spent looking to upgrade SS.

The name that was most commonly being bandied about in the 2nd trade rumor was Chone Figgins. For the life of me, I can't figure out how that would have worked, though. I seem to recall the rumor mentioning Pie, but I just don't understand why Anaheim would want another outfielder. They already have more outfielders than they know what to do with. Maybe it would have been some sort of 3 way deal that sent Pie somewhere else, Figgins to the Cubs and Anaheim getting the guy they are looking at.

Since Don started this thread, I'll analyze his team first. I'll start with the minors. Chris Davis, Chris Tillman and Austin Jackson were on my draft sheet last week. I didn't know Lars Anderson was available or he would have been on my sheet as well. Overall, nice depth. Decent talent. Very solid pitching staff. I loved Halladay when he was mine. Burnett and Sheets are injury risks, but when healthy can provide a nice run of points. I liked Garza better when he was with Minnesota, but the AL Central is pushing the AL East for the best offense in baseball. If Jason Bay can get back to what he's capable of doing, this offense will be electric. Hanley, Curtis, Markakis and Howard is an exciting offense no matter who you combine with them. I expect a lot more from Gordon this year as well. Urinal Cakes will definitely be a tough team to beat week in and week out. This team definitely has a chance to be in the thick of things down the stretch.

Now for my hitting....... I can't brag about my bats like I can brag about my pitching. I do have the best fantasy bat in the league in Holliday, but the talent level starts dipping quickly after that. C- Geovany Soto- He's so good, he's the only catcher I brought to camp. I have him penciled in to play 162 games this year. :D I'm hoping last year wasn't just an aberration. 1b- Carlos Pena- You'll notice I will use the word aberration a lot when discussing the offense. I brought it up here because Carlos Pena was just that good in '07. I don't trust that he can do it again this year, but he was the best option at 1b with the 7th pick in the draft, so I am gambling here. I do like Tampa's offense, so maybe he'll get plenty of opportunities to match last year's production. I certainly need it. He'll probably be hitting 4th in that line up, so plenty of RBI opportunities this year. 2b- Rickie Weeks- He was horrible to start the season last year. He turned it around and tore it up in the 2nd half. Lots of scouts say this is Weeks' break out year. Last I heard, he was penciled in to lead off in front of one of the best offenses in the NL. I like that. SS- Stephen Drew- Another guy predicted to bust out. What are the chances they all bust out? I'm not breaking out the champagne just yet. Slated to bat 2nd for Arizona. 3b- Edwin Encarnacion- This should be the year he really puts it together, but with a weak free agent class at 3b, I couldn't upgrade. I'm hoping the one youngsters will be ready to replace EE at the first sign of trouble. OF- Matt Holliday- I like this guy, ALOT. I'm working on giving him a 30 year contract for half a billion dollars. OF- Vernon Wells- He's my comeback player of the year favorite. He spent more time worrying about where to spend all that money he made off his new contract and forgot how to hit last year. He won't disappoint this year. OF- Milton Bradley- Everyone likes to have company on the DL, so I have Milton to keep the other guys company when they get hurt. I've always liked what he brings offensively, and I love a good bat in that park in Texas. Milton is slated to bat 4th when he isn't slated for injured reserve. Utility- Gary Sheffield- The old man still can swing it. And he'll be swinging it in the heart of the order of the best offense in the major leagues. I love me some RBI opportunities. Hopefully, Cabrera and Maggs don't hog all the RBI's. Bench- OF- Jack Cust- I have to find a spot for this guy. Oakland has him penciled in to hit clean up, and man this guy can make a ball fly far. 1b-Conor Jackson- Conor will probably open on my bench, but Arizona appears to be letting him play everyday this year, and it sounds like he'll be batting 3rd. I see Conor getting plenty of time in my utility spot while Sheffield is hanging out on the DL. This is supposedly Conor's coming out party season. SS/2b- Erick Aybar- I'd really like to keep this guy, but he's probably going to be a roster casualty. I have to have some pitching depth on the bench. I can't keep three bats. OF- Franklyn Guttierez- I have been waiting for this guy to do a Grady Sizemore impersonation, but once again, probably another roster casualty. OF- Jason Kubel- That injury a few years back really killed this guys career. He's not done by any means, but he's a long way from making my team. Minors (in order of closest to making the big club) OF- Jacoby Ellsbury- If Coco gets his walking papers in Boston, I'm going to have to trade or cut one of the major league outfielders to get this guy some playing time. How can you not start a guy who would bat in front of Pedroia, Ortiz, Ramirez and Lowell? OF- Wladimir Balentien- This guy is the real deal. The Adam Jones deal pleased me, as it paves the way for this future stud. Brad Wilkerson is apparently blocking him, but if that's the only thing blocking him, it won't be long before he pushes Wilkerson aside. Maybe not a stud, but he can probably match Jose Guillen's output last year in his first major league season. 3b- Ian Stewart- He's been working out at 2nd, and it sounds like he'll end up in AAA to start the year, but this guy is probably ready for the majors now, and in Colorado, he can do a lot of damage with the bat. 3b- Andy LaRoche- Looked to be the opening day starter for LA until an injury setback. Now it looks like Nomar will be there. I have no worries, Nomar will get hurt over at 3rd, which opens the door for Mr. LaRoche to provide respectable offense. 2b- Alexei Ramirez- Fresh from Cuba and probably starting at 2b for the White Sox after an injury to Danny Richar. Nice little pick up. I'm hoping I can stash him somewhere for awhile to get a better look. 3b- Dallas McPherson- I tucked him away in my minors after the draft, but I need to check with Juan on his eligibility there. From all the reports I've read, he's destined to start at AAA, especially now that he is nursing an injury. He did get more than 200 at bats in the majors in 2004, but he was a minor leaguer last year and doesn't appear to be earning a big league job to start. To me, that equals minor leagues, but I'll let Juan make that call. OF- Seth Smith- Due to my lack of outfield depth, I thought I'd take a look at Seth with one of my last picks in the draft. Looks more like a roster casualty at this point. But, if Matt Holliday's legs magically fell off, Seth just might get the call. It has to happen before Sunday, though. Okay, so I have the best fantasy player on offense, and a comeback player of the year candidate, a couple of swing and miss or swing and hit a home run boppers, 4 guys who need to break out, 2 guys who need to do what they did last year and a guy who spends more time on the DL than the field. Overall, average offense. Looking at the minors, help could be on the way.

I haven't evaluated other teams. I've scoured those teams for potential trade targets, but haven't analyzed the potential of other teams. My team has some strengths, but it still looks like a tier below Tim and Adam. It sure will be nice when Adam loses all those nifty exemptions. :D Hey Juan, can we wait another year before implementing these new rookie rules? :D My team, as usual, is heavily weighted on the pitching side of things. I think my staff ranks right up there with the best in the league, but I do have injury concerns with Randy Johnson and Pedro, but if I can get a solid year between the two of them, that would be perfect. Brandon Webb- #2 fantasy pitcher in all of baseball last year. Nuff said. Pedro Martinez- Appears to be healthy, but hasn't crossed 90 MPH yet with his fastball. He still makes people miss though, so his deception can still keep his WHIP and ERA low. Randy Johnson- Great when healthy, even with an AARP card. James Shields- Pitching game 1 for the Rays this year with Kazmir out with an injury. He pitched in one of the toughest divisions in baseball last year and posted very respectable ERA, WHIP and K's. Baseball Prospectus really likes 3rd year starters. Matt Cain- Here's another 3rd year starter. Good thing they don't count wins in Roadkill, because I don't see the Giants winning 50 this year. Cain will probably win the biggest percentage of those games. He just needs to get his walks down to be an elite starter. No better year than this year to cut the walk rate. Javier Vasquez- I have always liked this guy. I really wanted the Cubs to get him from Montreal years ago. Nearly a "K" an inning and an excellent WHIP last year keeps me hoping he'll repeat last year. That he was available in the 3rd round is almost as shocking as Lackey falling to the 9th pick. Relievers Carlos Marmol- Who? :D Marmol for Closer! Marmol for Closer! Troy Percival- I needed an old man to keep Sheffield and RJ company. Nice WHIP last year and a team that will probably win more games than they lose, keeping the closer busy enough to get me some points. Tier 2 Daniel Cabrera- I probably don't have roster space to keep him since I have 6 guys ahead of him and a few rookies who I might give a major league job to, but I had to pick him up for a Spring Training looksee. He needs to cut his walk rate in half or no one will want him. He's always been able to bring it, but he's just never been able to put it all together. Brandon McCarthy- I knew he was going to the DL, so I wasted a pick on him. I'm sure my DL will be plenty busy with guys like Pedro, RJ, Milton Bradley and Troy Percival on my roster, but I won't be bashful to cut him. He's done nothing to get me excited about him, and I'm not particularly fond of the park he pitches in when I think about pitchers I'd like to have. He's only on my team because he's hurt. He'll quite possibly be a roster fatality on Sunday. Up and Comers Johnny Cueto- Dusty likes him. Oh good. I'll get 230 innings out of him this year and have 2 more exemption years of labrum surgery and/or TJ. It looks like he'll open the season on the major league roster, so I may have pitching to trade. Just not Johnny. Adam Miller- I really want to see this guy pitch. He reminds me a lot of Verlander. He just needs to get healthy and stay healthy. Carlos Carrasco, Felipe Paulino, Eric Hurley, Dan Moskos and Max Scherzer- 2 or 3 of these guys will likely be roster casualties on Sunday. Of this group, I like Carrasco and Scherzer the most, but neither will likely see any time at the major league level outside of maybe relief help later in the season. Paulino had a chance to open as the 5th starter in Houston, but to be the #5 starter in Houston isn't saying much. Hurley still could open up in the Rangers rotation, but yikes, I really hate that park. That's my pitching. I have a lot of it, and there's plenty of talent there. This pitching staff is capable of being the best in the league. Matt Cain and James Shields have exemptions remaining, so that allows me to keep some of my staff intact at season's end. K's are this team's specialty. 5 of these starters were in the top 30 in K's. 4 were in the top 30 in WHIP. 4 were in the top 30 in fantasy points last year. None of these include the injury riddled Randy Johnson or Pedro, who both have the capabilities to be in that group if they can stay healthy. Luckily, I don't think I have to count on them to stay healthy. My pitchers look so good this Spring that I'm going golfing tomorrow.

I had some brewing, but everyone quit contacting me all of a sudden. I didn't think I was gouging anyone, but they sure seem gunshy all of a sudden. I've got lots to offer. I have too many minor leaguers, too deep of a bench and I'd still like to improve my line up. Granted, a few of my guys will clear waivers after I cut them, but I thought I would at least get a few more nibbles than I've gotten.

Just about every team in MLB had a sucky SS in 1981. It was okay to have someone like Ivan DeJesus playing SS when you consider the three All Star SS's in 1981 were Dave Concepcion, Ozzie Smith and Manny Trillo. Nowadays, there are good power hitting SS's. Teams with a decent sized payroll typically have a SS with a good to above average bat. Cubs? Hendry is living in 1981.

Bailey is going to be in AAA. He's 3rd on the young arms depth chart right now. Oh, Baker likes young pitchers. We won't argue with you there. He liked Prior so much that he left him out there inning after inning after inning after inning, infinity. Prior was a rookie in 2002. He pitched 59 innings in the minors and 116 for the Cubs. 2003 was his first full season in the majors. All told, Prior threw 211 innings in the regular season at the ripe young age of 22. If 211 innings isn't bad enough, let's add 23 more during the 2003 playoffs. At age 22, Prior threw 234 innings. Now let's look at his 2003 game log. 130 pitches or more- 3 games 120-129 pitches- 6 games 111-119 pitches- 10 games 101-110 pitches- 7 games 99 or less pitches- 4 games A lot of folks gave up on Mark Prior with this team. A lot of people called him a wuss. A lot of people got very frustrated that he always seems like he's hurt. Truth be told, Dusty Baker beat the hell out of Prior in 2003, and he never recovered. Let's look at my favorite game from 2003: On September 1st, the Cubs had a 7-0 lead on St. Louis after 6 innings. Prior ended up pitching 8 innings and throwing 131 pitches. Brilliant! Not to be outdone, Zambrano threw 232 innings in 2003 at the age of 23. Wood threw 241 innings in 2003. Kerry had a 141 pitch outing on May 10th. The game logs from 2003 say it all. Someone else can post the PAP numbers from the Dusty era in Chicago. Cubs starters were at or near the top every year Dusty was in charge. I want to say that all three (Prior, Wood and Zambrano) were in the top 5 for pitcher abuse in 2003.

Do you really expect Cedeno to push Theriot for the SS job or is it just wishful thinking? We all know Theriot is a weakness on this team but he's a better player than Cedeno. Lou can't keep putting out lineups based on "upside and potential" hoping Cedeno figures it out. I don't see that happening any time soon. All we can do is hope that Cedeno figures it out. What Theriot provides just isn't going to cut it.

If I was a Giants fan, I think I'd have a tough time dealing with the mess they are in right now. Think I'd rather be a Pirates fan.

I think Braun will regress a bit, but I also believe that Corey Hart, Billy Hall and Rickie Weeks will do better than they did in '07.

No.

Pretty good class this year, so to win it would be saying something.

A beautiful description of Mr. Jim Hendry. =D> That's a pretty good description of Ed Lynch, too.