Saturday, August 25, 2007
10 Things I Wonder About My Team at 2 A.M. on a Friday Night
1. Is John Redman the only player to have been an All Star in all nine seasons of the league? Can he do it again the next two seasons he's signed with me?
2. Is Junior Cuomo the only pitcher to have a 10 in all three talent ratings for Stuff, Control, and Movement? Even the Villatoros, Placencias, Nelligans and Ramirezes of the league have an 8 or a 9 to sully their talent ratings.
3. Is it possible that Ricky Peppers is still getting better? If so, where will he plateau?
4. Why is Martin Baker having such a poor season? Did Nate know something I didn't and let him sign with me last offseason?
5. Who the hell is going to play 2B for me next season? I have already promoted Roy Frederickson to claim the job, but he hasn't exactly shined. I could resign Jeffrey Drewry, but he can't hit righties. I also have Robert Young, who was given the starting job this season, but has been even more ineffective against righties than Drewry, and he just suffered a season ending injury. I was really hoping that Adrian Lee would shine in his fourth (!) season at AA, but he hasn't and probably won't be ready for the bigs until 2012 at the earliest.
6. Should I keep Boris Harris around for next year's rotation? He took a major step back this season, but I have a feeling that if I let him go, he'll just turn into the next Sherman Wheeler somewhere else.
7. Also for the 2011 rotation, should I resign Rocco Wojcik? He's going to be 38 next season, but has been solid this season for me. He struggled throughout much of August, but pitched a gem in his last outing and might still be effective next year.
8. What should I do with Willie "The Dutch God of Walks" Klopp for next season? He can't hit, but he sure can walk. I can afford to dump his salary, but at the same time, he does get on base and gives someone for Peppers, Luis Jeon, and Redman to drive in. But, can I possibly have a lead-off guy who hits .214 with an OPS of .606?
9. Is the big trade that I did with Seattle last season the reason Mack finally won the Cup and why my team has lagged behind River Cities the past two seasons? Do some players carry a winning gene, and others a losing gene? If so, that answers my questions about Boris Harris, Willie Klopp, and Robert Young, and gives me great pause about Anthony Koepp, whom I'm hoping can be a mid-season callup next year.
10. Finally, how can I be so disappointed about a team that's on pace to win 90 games?
2. Is Junior Cuomo the only pitcher to have a 10 in all three talent ratings for Stuff, Control, and Movement? Even the Villatoros, Placencias, Nelligans and Ramirezes of the league have an 8 or a 9 to sully their talent ratings.
3. Is it possible that Ricky Peppers is still getting better? If so, where will he plateau?
4. Why is Martin Baker having such a poor season? Did Nate know something I didn't and let him sign with me last offseason?
5. Who the hell is going to play 2B for me next season? I have already promoted Roy Frederickson to claim the job, but he hasn't exactly shined. I could resign Jeffrey Drewry, but he can't hit righties. I also have Robert Young, who was given the starting job this season, but has been even more ineffective against righties than Drewry, and he just suffered a season ending injury. I was really hoping that Adrian Lee would shine in his fourth (!) season at AA, but he hasn't and probably won't be ready for the bigs until 2012 at the earliest.
6. Should I keep Boris Harris around for next year's rotation? He took a major step back this season, but I have a feeling that if I let him go, he'll just turn into the next Sherman Wheeler somewhere else.
7. Also for the 2011 rotation, should I resign Rocco Wojcik? He's going to be 38 next season, but has been solid this season for me. He struggled throughout much of August, but pitched a gem in his last outing and might still be effective next year.
8. What should I do with Willie "The Dutch God of Walks" Klopp for next season? He can't hit, but he sure can walk. I can afford to dump his salary, but at the same time, he does get on base and gives someone for Peppers, Luis Jeon, and Redman to drive in. But, can I possibly have a lead-off guy who hits .214 with an OPS of .606?
9. Is the big trade that I did with Seattle last season the reason Mack finally won the Cup and why my team has lagged behind River Cities the past two seasons? Do some players carry a winning gene, and others a losing gene? If so, that answers my questions about Boris Harris, Willie Klopp, and Robert Young, and gives me great pause about Anthony Koepp, whom I'm hoping can be a mid-season callup next year.
10. Finally, how can I be so disappointed about a team that's on pace to win 90 games?
# posted by Michael Weintraub : 2:00 AM
Comments:
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Here are my Sunday afternoon ponderings...
1. What happened to George Rawlins this year? He was the MVP last year and his ratings are virtually unchanged, but his performance fell off the map. Very disappointing. That said, if his ratings hold up, I won't be surprised to see a bounce back year next year to a .800+ OPS. It won't be for me since he's a free agent, but I could see it happening.
2. What do I do with Franklin Jackson at the end of the year. I've always liked his ratings and his combination of speed and power, but he's never lived up to what I thought he could be.
3. Why are all of my best hitters either lefties or switchhitters who are better from the left side of the plate? I've tried to figure out a trade for a big right-handed bat to balance it out (one reason I went after Carmelo Deleon in trade talks when I was looking for a SS), but I just haven't found anything that worked.
4. Most importantly, will I be able to pull off my long-term plan? I've targeted certain veterans as long-term building blocks:
1B Gregory Mudge
OF Sean Arant
SP Chad Nelligan
SP Christopher Hester
RP Timothy Hester
Around them, I'm trying to build a nucleus of young talent. Already in the majors are:
3B Eugene Alustiza
SS Carmen Deleon
OF Armando Cedeno
1B/OF Lonnie Machen
SP Isidro Frau
SP Isaac Diehl
And, in the minors, I have:
OF Mohammad Stelly (AAA)
SP Joseph Macaluso (AAA)
2B George Labarre (AA)
C Alberto Granado (AA)
IF Bill Bivens (AA)
Am I really going to be able to bring all of these players together, at the same time, given salary considerations? The extra year plus of service time that Hester picked up through a game bug isn't going to help here.
It's ironic. After losing the title to Nate in 2008, I tore down my major league roster with the intention of it coming together in the 2011-13 time period. But, I was unexpectedly strong last year and altered the plan to trade for Nelligan. As a result, I won the title I had been trying for for so long in the very same year I tore the roster down.
The question now is whether I can keep my plan together.
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1. What happened to George Rawlins this year? He was the MVP last year and his ratings are virtually unchanged, but his performance fell off the map. Very disappointing. That said, if his ratings hold up, I won't be surprised to see a bounce back year next year to a .800+ OPS. It won't be for me since he's a free agent, but I could see it happening.
2. What do I do with Franklin Jackson at the end of the year. I've always liked his ratings and his combination of speed and power, but he's never lived up to what I thought he could be.
3. Why are all of my best hitters either lefties or switchhitters who are better from the left side of the plate? I've tried to figure out a trade for a big right-handed bat to balance it out (one reason I went after Carmelo Deleon in trade talks when I was looking for a SS), but I just haven't found anything that worked.
4. Most importantly, will I be able to pull off my long-term plan? I've targeted certain veterans as long-term building blocks:
1B Gregory Mudge
OF Sean Arant
SP Chad Nelligan
SP Christopher Hester
RP Timothy Hester
Around them, I'm trying to build a nucleus of young talent. Already in the majors are:
3B Eugene Alustiza
SS Carmen Deleon
OF Armando Cedeno
1B/OF Lonnie Machen
SP Isidro Frau
SP Isaac Diehl
And, in the minors, I have:
OF Mohammad Stelly (AAA)
SP Joseph Macaluso (AAA)
2B George Labarre (AA)
C Alberto Granado (AA)
IF Bill Bivens (AA)
Am I really going to be able to bring all of these players together, at the same time, given salary considerations? The extra year plus of service time that Hester picked up through a game bug isn't going to help here.
It's ironic. After losing the title to Nate in 2008, I tore down my major league roster with the intention of it coming together in the 2011-13 time period. But, I was unexpectedly strong last year and altered the plan to trade for Nelligan. As a result, I won the title I had been trying for for so long in the very same year I tore the roster down.
The question now is whether I can keep my plan together.
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