I have 200K Howie Clark in an OL.  Real life stats: .302/.362/.396 in 58 PA.  For me he's hitting:

.409/.435/.545 in 46 PA

I have 2.5M Shane Spencer in a 90M theme.  Real life stats: .373/.411/.910 in 73 PA.  For me he's hitting:

.200/.310/.307 in 87 PA

(Spencer had 14 PA where his fatigue was between 92-97%, otherwise he was always at 100%.)

I am left to conclude that Howie Clark may, just possibly, be the better bargain.

Seriously, I've used Spencer about half a dozen times now, and always been disappointed.  I know a 73 PA batter will be more of a crapshoot than a full season batter, but has anyone ever had a Spencer season that was worth the salary?

You will never have a sample size large enough within a season to evaluate these guys properly.  In about 2000 ABs in his performance history, Shane is at .297/.349/.580.  Howie, in over 12000 ABs, is at .296/.341/.376.

Better value?  Better bargain?  Unquestionably Howie.  Only 15 fewer PA and $2.3 million less.  Better player, salary be damned?  Unquestionably Shane.

Shane Spencer can't crash into walls and catchers (and pizza delivery boys) in SIM, so he loses a little of his je ne sais quoi.  But no Yankee fan will ever forget August/September 1998.

Wilson Delgado and Howie Clark are the two best PH bargains in the sim.  At least 1 is on every team I have built since the last update.

I take Delgado every time unless I need the ~$49k.  Then Clark or Lee or somebody.  Clyde Sukeforth is on nearly every opening day roster of mine.

It's not unusual for me to pick up a Delgado or Foli in-season, either.

Posted by llamanunts on 5/15/2011 10:32:00 PM (view original):
I take Delgado every time unless I need the ~$49k.  Then Clark or Lee or somebody.  Clyde Sukeforth is on nearly every opening day roster of mine.

I normally only take 3 or 4 scrub bench players.   Wilson Delgado (if I can afford the $49K), Howie Clark,  the other two I use as defensive fill-ins, perhaps Tim Flanery or Scotty Barr.

Sukeforth is a no-brainer if you need a few extra PAs at catcher.  At 80 million you could live with his bat there for more PAs than he can play, certainly.  You just have to be careful and start him against teams without a lot of speed...

Or just keep him around for a little while and then dump him.

Waking up with drunken cowboys again, Micki?  At least you didn't wake up with Tiger (or did you?)  Always stay at their place so you can leave easily and plan your escape route the night before.  What is it they say about dead fish, unwanted houseguests and boyfriends who have outlived their usefulness?  Girlfriends are different -- pretty girls never get old.