PSBL Notes
This page is for use in keeping notes about my PSBL simulation baseball league team. Rather than setting up another wiki, I figured this was a better way to do it.
Contents
Roster
The following players are the ones that matter, Im skipping the scrubs. Each player in this heading is either slated to be protected, on the bubble or worthy of inclusion in some trade or another. Eventually I might make individual player pages for increased discussion ability.
1B Albert Pujols
2B Tadahito Iguchi
3B Corey Koskie
SS Orlando Cabrera
LF Moises Alou
RF JD Drew
CF Coco Crisp
DH Travis Hafner
OF Aaron Rowand
P Scott Kazmir
P Greg Maddux
P Pedro Martinez
P Josh Beckett
P Brian Fuentes
P Joe Nathan
Reserve Roster
OF Sammy Sosa
C Humberto Quintero
P Chris George
OF Tim Raines Jr
Positions and Needs
The primary need is pitching. Kazmir is the only starter that could be considered dominant, and Maddux is the only other that is even above average this year. Beckett and Penny both have good future value, and Penny is relatively usable this year as well. Nathan is probably the best closer in baseball this year, and is in his prime.
Besides pitching third base and center field are mild needs, along with catcher. Crisp is good defensively but had an injury plagued year and has an anemic .702 OPS (worse vs R). His speed is nice and he is young enough to still have excellent value. At third base Bell is great defensively and has a respectible .337 OB, but has no slugging to speak of, he also brings a lot of plate apps to the table. Koskie is a thumper vs R, and solid defensively, for about half a season. He can be conserved by batting him low in the lineup and subbing Bell in when possible. Lieberthal is solid all around but only good for about half a season and could retire.
The tertiary need is young talent. The team has an acceptable amount of young players, but it is quite possible many could be dealt to increase this years title potential. If that doesnt happen, this team is a playoff also-ran.
Trades
I have already made some offers to other teams that would need to be honored if accepted. Barring that, everything here is to be discussed.
Old Proposed Deals
I have moved all the old trade discussion to: Pre-deadline Deals
Direction
Unless someone offers a really enticing package of great young players, this is a season to go for it all.
Plan
I have taken a hard look at the roster and I dont see a way to get down to 12, but maybe to 14 or 15. If the quality of the players is improved for some quantity, that would make the draft more critical, but certainly this is the kind of draft that could be very helpful. I have to stake it all on the Abreu deal. If that is made, the draft will need to be treated differently then if it isnt. If that deal does not go down, here is my current plan:
Trade Maddux, Penny and Bradley for Westbrook and Lackey, or some other combination that is similar for this year but better in terms of age and reduces the protected roster. Use the #1 pick on Russell Martin, Kenji Johjima or Ronny Paulino (assuming he is available, he was in the reserve draft last year). Trade up if needed. Place a slightly lower value on now in the draft (normally I value the current card as 55% of a players value). Go starting pitching heavy. Beyond that the team only needs a CF vs R and LF, RF vs L, plus relief pitching.
If Abreu is acquired:
Protect approximately 15-17 guys. Try and trade Bradley or Gonzalez to improve the draft possition, possibly to Cleveland or the Cubs. Needs are starting pitching, LF vs L and relief. Use a majority of early picks on a dominant reliever and prospects who are usable part time.
Team Building Philosophy
Since we had that mini-discussion about team stuff, I figured it might be good to get my thoughts written. This way we can find where we differ, and then bridge that gap and hopefully improve our ability to field a great team and win games.
Offense
I prefer to have a lot of speed at the top of the lineup, but OBP is more important. I prefer no more than 3-4 right handed hitters if possible. The #4 hitter should be a RH with a lot of power and good OBP, Pujols is the ideal #4 in my opinion. The #3 hitter should have great OBP, good average and good power and be a switch hitter or LH. The #5 hitter should be a LH batter with great power and OBP. I prefer not to stack more than 2 RH batters in a row, there are so many relievers that get them out, make the opponent either have a guy who is good vs both sides or use 2 relievers.
Defense
I prefer range over sure-handedness. I dont mind some errors if it means the guy gets to a lot of balls. In the OF I really like guys who can throw. With as much value as I place on taking an extra base for free, having an OF who can prevent it is a nice bonus, and often isnt too expensive. I really prefer a C who can throw, if he cant the pitching staff needs to be tailored.
Pitching
I prefer to have one left handed starter and one left handed reliever. Its crucial that both be good vs both sides, because they are so easy to min-max. The #1 starter must be right handed and dominant both ways. The closer must not blow games, those are wins thrown away. A bad start can be overcome, but a blown save is very difficult (less innings to work with) to beat.
Bench
I prefer to only carry 2 C so there are enough spaces to platoon a couple of guys and have some bats when needed. No more than one of the reserve OF should be veterans, and all of the reserve OF should have big bats vs at least one side. Its great to have a real fast pinch runner too.
Overall Philosophy
I prefer a well rounded approach to a team with one big strength. It seems to be much more difficult to stop a team that does a lot of things, than one that concentrates on one.
