SEASON 7

It is Rule 5 draft day already and I have yet to post a single update on my team. I have joined a new world (Moneyball) and between the time I have needed getting that team set up for its first season, the time I needed just doing the offseason work with the Flytraps, and maintaining my other 3 teams, I have not had enough extra free time to post regular updates to this thread. Now that the offseasons are more or less over, I can get caught up here.

BUDGET
From day 1 with this team, I targetted this season as the year that I would be ready to not only make the playoffs but even take a shot at the league pennant. Unfortunately, I had targetted last season for at least a .500 record and came up short. But that does not mean that I don't believe this team can still make a playoff run - I just need to address its weaknesses, which primarily were the bullpen and the tail end of the starting rotation.

In order to address these weaknesses, I am finally ready to start spending money. Yes, I do have two huge contracts out there already for my top 2 starters (Fuentes and Price), but I need to add a #3 or #4 starter, a closer, a setup guy, and a third baseman (Marshall Ferrell played third for me last season but he is ready to move into his role as shortstop this year, and my shortstop last season was Ronn Campbell who honestly did not belong in the big leagues).

I start with about 45 million committed in payroll. I have a handful of arb eligibles, though several of them are the remainders of the mediocre players I signed to get me through the past few years and they can be released. The only significant arb guy is starting pitcher Lewis Locko who wants 6.3 million, but I can lock him up long-term for 5.3 (which I ended up doing after putting out a few feelers to see if I could get any trade value back for him and save payroll room here). I have no departing free agents I want to resign, and I then save about 4 million more by declining the option years on the final 3 lousy contract holdovers from prior management (thankfully the prior owner at least gave me team options when he signed these trash players to 5 year deals).

As my intent is to fill my 3 or 4 key roster holes in free agency, I budget 87 million to player payroll. While for some teams out there this is a low number still, given the size of my payroll, this gives me over 30 million to play around with, which should be enough to sign the guys I need (as long as I stay out of a bidding war). I drop international scouting down as low as I can (6 million) and put prospect payroll at 8 million in order to get my player payroll where I need it. As my draft pick is #9 overall, I keep college and high school scouting up at 14 million each, despite the fact that I anticipate not having any draft picks after my first rounder until the 4th or 5th assuming I sign Type A guys. I just dont want to risk blowing the #9 overall pick.

FREE AGENCY/ARB DAYS
With budgets set, I begin trying to put together my starting lineup for this season. Last season, I used Virgil Rodriguez and Mike Nady at second base due to Rodriguez's low durability. Nady played well and I am high on his ratings, so this year I decide to make him my starting center fielder (he has the range and glove to be great out there). As a result I am able to move Parker Bennett and Roosevelt Abbott to the corner outfield positions. These moves cover my problem that occurred in the final game of last season, when right fielder Matt Kirwan got hit with a significant injury that had a detrimental affect on his ratings which the offseason did not help him recover from.

I am actually able to trade Kirwan (he is still good, just no longer as good as he was), and acquire a low level prospect in exchange. While I also discuss several other deals during these 2 days, nothing comes together and I head into free agency needing one starting pitcher, one setup, a closer, and a 3B.

FREE AGENCY
I immediately targeted 3 guys in free agency. The best reliever, 27 year old Fernando Pena, a veteran 36 year old starter (Shannon Shields) who has lost his stamina (down to 55) but still has solid stuff and I believe he can excel in a setup role now, and the best starting pitcher on the market, 34 year old Ed Ransom. I also make a list of several options at third base including a guy listed as a shortstop but with defensive ratings all in the mid-70s. Davey Guerrero is his name and he is a solid bat with good speed, but wants 7.3m per year and is Type A.

I make offers to Shields, Ransom and Pena. Amazingly, I get no competition for Pena and ink him to a 4 year deal for 6.0m per year. He was a Type A so my second round pick is now gone. Shields sends me back a message that someone has trumped my offer, but after I boost it up once, he ends up signing a 2 year deal for 5 million a year. I would not have gone more than 2 years on a guy his age, so I am very happy to have gotten him.

Ed Ransom ends up being the problem. I am in a bidding war for him, and though I led most of the way, I ended up increasing to 4 years at 10 million a year (more money and one more year than he was worth). When that number gets outbid as well, I finally drop out. Instead i find Pete Thornton, a pitcher with solid but not spectacular ratings who in my initial review of free agency was my 3rd best starter listed. (the second best unfortunately signed for a deal i would have been willing to top, but he signed while I had my money on Ransom - oh well). Thornton has no other bidders and quickly agrees to a 1 year deal at 4.6m per year. By only signing him to only 1 year, I avoid a long term commitment should he not pan out.

When i dropped out of Ransom, I also suddenly noticed that the SS/3B Davey Guerrero that I had on my target list is suddenly only asking for 5.9m per year - clearly telling me he has no suitors at all. I offer him 2 years at that rate, and after a couple of cycles he signs. Thus, by dropping out of the Ransom bidding I was able to fill my third base need and get a slightly lesser quality starter - a fair tradeoff, especially in light of the fact that I would have had to go 12 million per year for 4 years to have a shot at Ransom - too much in my opinion. I had a potential trade on the table for a 3B should I not have gotten Guerero, but the players had a 3 year contract for 6.0m a year, was weaker than Guerrero offensively and defensively, and would have cost me a pair of prospects (Guerrero does cost me my third round pick, but I can live with that).

I now have a full roster heading into the Rule 5 draft, and with the #9 pick (#7 actually as 2 players ahead of me have full 40 man rosters), I believe I will be able to pick up a solid player. Once the draft is over, i will present my roster for this season - a season that I believe will have the Flytraps playing postseason baseball for the first time in franchise history.

Your best bet is to take the guy with the worst health and overplay him in ST and hope he gets a minor injury. You can then throw him on the DL and free up a spot. [in real life, he'd get a nebulous "hamstring" injury]

4 csherwood ML 63-99 .389 4th No No
5 csherwood ML 54-108 .333 4th No No
6 csherwood ML 76-86 .469 3rd No No

I am going to spend spring training trying to find a trade that will free a roster spot by either moving one of the guys at the tail end of my bullpen or the last guy on my bench. If a deal does not go through, I may have to risk designating a pitcher that I doubt will clear waivers for assignment. I hate to lose a guy that I think has trade value, but I dont intend to let my R5 draft pick go.

SEASON 7 ROSTER - POSITION PLAYERS

This is my roster (position players -- pitchers will come in a later post once I get my R5 situation squared away) for my 4th season:

Starting Catcher: Eric Murphy. Murphy is a stud hitting prospect and at least solid behind the plate as well. He is the key addition to my lineup offensively this season, though given that he is a rookie, I intend to bat him near the bottom of the lineup.

Starting 1B: Denny Brown. Brown was a late season waiver claim last year and I think whatever team waived him made a huge mistake. While I normally like better offensive ratings than his at first, he looks like a solid player. Yes, defensively he is a lot better than 1B, but as you will see below, my outfield is so strong defensively that I can use this guy on the infield.

Starting 2B: Virgil Rodriguez. One of the old "Fab Five" prospects, Rodriguez should be ready for a breakout year offensively. He has great speed, though is only average defensively at second.

Starting 3B: Davey Guerrero. An offseason free agent acquisition, Guerrero is a shortstop playing third and should excel defensively. He has a solid but not spectacular bat, which is all I need given the offense found in the rest of my lineup.

Starting SS: Marshall Ferrell. They say you should be strong up the middle, and defensively I am not much more than average. However, Ferrell is an incredible bat for a shortstop and I am willing to sacrifice by having a weaker middle infield defense.

Starting LF: Parker Bennett. Another of the old "Fab Five", Bennett has all the tools to be a consistent batter with solid power.

Starting CF: Mike Nady. Nady has great speed and can hit the ball very well. I am seriously considering batting him leadoff despite the low eye rating.

Stating RF: Roosevelt Abbott. I have brought Abbott out to the outfield this season to replace the departed Matt Kirwan. He should excel defensively in right, and his bat is only going to keep getting better.

Starting DH: John Nakamura. Nakamura was originally going to play first, but when Denny Brown looked like my DH, I switched the two of them - thus putting the better fielder on the field. Nakamura has solid speed and can hit the ball very well.

Backup Catcher: Phillip Powell. Yes, this is my backup - and yes, he is good enough to start for most teams. I actually do foresee him getting some significant playing time, as he may DH some as well.

Utility Infielder: Dennis Delaney. Delaney has a decent bat and can play any position other than pitcher or catcher.

Pinch Runner/Backup Outfielder: Rabbit Hudson. The aptly named Rabbit is a rookie with great speed and high contact and eye ratings. He won't hit for much of an average, but his primary use will be as a pinch runner anyhow.

Utility: Eugene Simmons. Simmons provides a decent bat off of the bench and can play the corner infield or outfield positions. His spot on the team may not be guaranteed as I am willing to move him or send him down to AAA in my attempt to find a roster spot for my Rule 5 draft pick.

My pitching staff for the season will be posted soon.....

SEASON 7 ROSTER - PITCHING STAFF

Starter #1 - Julio Fuentes. My big pickup prior to the start of last season, Fuentes is simply one of the best pitchers in the league.

Starter #2 - Johnnie Price. Price is entering his third season with Cincinnati and his ratings continue to say he should be great. However, his first 2 years were rather weak. If he can put together a solid season, we will have the best 1-2 punch in Addicted Users.

Starter #3 - Pete Thornton. A free agent acquisition this season, Thornton has solid stuff. He is on a one-year deal and his performance this season will determine whether or not he will be back again.

Starter #4 - Lewis Locko. An example of what happens when a guy comes to the bigs too early. I believe he is finally ready to pitch up to his ratings though, and expect a real breakout year from him.

Starter #5 - Emmanuel Martin. Rookie starter should excel with my short fences due to his ability to keep the ball down in the zone.

Long Relief - Luther Rupe. Rule 5 draft pickup that I am very excited about. He may end up getting his fair share of starts if anyone struggles or if I have any injuries.

Long Relief - Pasqual Viriato. Depending on how well he pitches, Viriato may get some setup duty as well.

Setup - Fernando Navarro. A guy with huge potential. He spent his rookie season as my closer, but I am able to take the pressure off of him this year as he continues to refine his skills.

Setup - Shannon Shields. One of my free agent pickups this season in my attempt to bolster the bullpen. Shields is being converted from starting and should have a couple good seasons in the bullpen in him.

Setup - Tim Hart. Hart is a former Rule 5 pickup. He is not anything spectacular, but he is a solid right-handed reliever in a 'pen full of ies.

Setup - Fausto Herrera. I keep thinking I will get rid of this guy each season, but his stuff is so good that I keep bringing him back. Used on a short 10/15 pitch count, his 0 DUR should not be a major problem, especially in his lower Setup B role this season.

Closer - Fernando Pena. One of my key offseason free agent signings, Pena should be solid as a closer (if he does struggle, Navarro can replace him in this role). His addition, together with Rupe and Shields, provide a significant upgrade to my team's weakest point from last year.

In all, the additions to my bullpen, and 2 new starters in Martin and Thornton should provide a huge boost to my pitching staff. And with Fuentes and Price at the top of the rotation, there is no reason these guys cannot become an elite staff.

Season starts tomorrow. Les Nessman will provide reports at regular intervals. Let's play ball!!!!

I wouldn't bat Nady in the leadoff spot. His career .313 OBP is way too low in my opinion.

Quote: Originally posted by lccooler on 2/06/2008I wouldn't bat Nady in the leadoff spot. His career .313 OBP is way too low in my opinion.

I dont make decisions based on prior season numbers, I make them based on ratings. That said, Nady ended up 8th in my lineup, Rodriguez is batting leadoff.

Late Roster Change:

Just taking one final look at free agency and I find this guy available for 1.2 million on a one year deal. Victor Gonzalez.

My first thought is to sign him and send him to AAA because he has one option year . My second thought is that in fact he hits better than Eugene Simmons, the last guy on my bench. So I send Simmons back to the minors and assign Gonzalez to my major league roster. I then move Jon Nakamura from DH to first base, place Denny Brown on the bench, and stick Gonzalez in the starting lineup as my new DH. If he doesn't work out, he didnt cost me much and I can put Brown back in the lineup.