Any thoughts on these rules/strategies?

1. Most places have an undroppable list. For original salaries, you'd
probably have to have the commish just go in and edit it.

2. There's always an owner that tries this. Never works that I've seen.
Anyone can use this policy which is why it's allowed, even though most
leagues have a minimum season IP requirement of around 1000. 9 pitchers
would need to log over 111 IP each. Problem is that when you tank
categories, you may have a better overall chance of finishing higher, but
your chances of winning the league actually go down as every category means
the same. You have a smaller margin for error. The best rounded teams nearly
always win. It's also really tough to predict middle relievers from year to
year. And just about any starter registers more K's than a middle reliever,
except the really elite ones, so I don't know how this team wins K's. Every
major league team is trying to find a great middle reliever. It's not like
it's easy in fantasy either if you have an active league. In HTH, any
reliever that had a bad week and he'd have a higher probability of losing
ERA and WHIP too because his badness is magnified by the fact they have less
IP. I think in HTH, it's usually around 20-24 IP a week as minimum. Though
your math is a bit off, if you don't start a pitcher, then your ERA is
undefined or infinite, not 0. I would tell said person that I dare you not
to start a pitcher and call him a wuss for not doing it as he later realizes
he loses ERA and WHIP.

--


Tony Shek
http://www.myspace.com/tonyshek
http://blog.myspace.com/tonyshek


"Squanklin" <squanklin.RemoveThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1168885783.011835.87870@s34g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>1 - not aware of any features to help a bonehead who would drop Pujols.
> (Plus, how does the team that dropped him automatically jump to the
> front of the waiver pickup priority list and get him back? Seems like
> one of the other 13 teams would be able to lock him in first.)
> 2 - try a "minimum innings pitched" requirement for pitching so that
> each coach HAS to start a pitcher or two to gain any pitching stats.
>
> Dave Hannes wrote:
>> I'm in a 14-team mixed, H2H, 5x5 league...two issues that came up last
>> year:
>> 1. Picking up cut players...we have a ruled that a team has to pay as
>> much
>> off the waiver wire as what was paid at the draft...otherwise, a team
>> could
>> have paid 47 for Pujols, cut him the week he went down, re-acquire him
>> the
>> next week for 14, and then retain him for the following season at the
>> lower
>> price...unfortunately, the FA portion of our software, TQStats, does not
>> incorporate the original salary...anyone know if the waiver wire feature
>> does that?
>> 2. One owner has "threatened" to spend all his money on hitters, and then
>> draft/start 6 pitchers that are either in the minors or on the DL...this
>> would guarantee him 14 points each week for ERA and WHIP (as he'd have no
>> stats in these categories, so his 0.00 would the lowest and the
>> best)...while giving him 1 pt. each week for finishing last in W, S,
>> K's...sounds stupid to me, but other owners are concerned...seems like,
>> in
>> our format, you could draft 1 SP, 1 closer, and 4 great middle relievers
>> and
>> score high each week in ERA, WHIP, and K's, while only getting a few
>> points
>> in W's and S's...anyone else see something like this in their league?
>>
>> D
>
 >> Stay informed about: Any thoughts on these rules/strategies? 

In HTH, the weekly IP min is usually 10-14 I meant to write.

--


Tony Shek
http://www.myspace.com/tonyshek
http://blog.myspace.com/tonyshek


"Tony Shek" <tonyshek.RemoveThis@rochester.rr.com> wrote in message
news:45ac03e3$0$5204$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
> 1. Most places have an undroppable list. For original salaries, you'd
> probably have to have the commish just go in and edit it.
>
> 2. There's always an owner that tries this. Never works that I've seen.
> Anyone can use this policy which is why it's allowed, even though most
> leagues have a minimum season IP requirement of around 1000. 9 pitchers
> would need to log over 111 IP each. Problem is that when you tank
> categories, you may have a better overall chance of finishing higher, but
> your chances of winning the league actually go down as every category
> means the same. You have a smaller margin for error. The best rounded
> teams nearly always win. It's also really tough to predict middle
> relievers from year to year. And just about any starter registers more K's
> than a middle reliever, except the really elite ones, so I don't know how
> this team wins K's. Every major league team is trying to find a great
> middle reliever. It's not like it's easy in fantasy either if you have an
> active league. In HTH, any reliever that had a bad week and he'd have a
> higher probability of losing ERA and WHIP too because his badness is
> magnified by the fact they have less IP. I think in HTH, it's usually
> around 20-24 IP a week as minimum. Though your math is a bit off, if you
> don't start a pitcher, then your ERA is undefined or infinite, not 0. I
> would tell said person that I dare you not to start a pitcher and call him
> a wuss for not doing it as he later realizes he loses ERA and WHIP.
>
> --
>
>
> Tony Shek
> http://www.myspace.com/tonyshek
> http://blog.myspace.com/tonyshek
>
>
> "Squanklin" <squanklin.RemoveThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1168885783.011835.87870@s34g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>>1 - not aware of any features to help a bonehead who would drop Pujols.
>> (Plus, how does the team that dropped him automatically jump to the
>> front of the waiver pickup priority list and get him back? Seems like
>> one of the other 13 teams would be able to lock him in first.)
>> 2 - try a "minimum innings pitched" requirement for pitching so that
>> each coach HAS to start a pitcher or two to gain any pitching stats.
>>
>> Dave Hannes wrote:
>>> I'm in a 14-team mixed, H2H, 5x5 league...two issues that came up last
>>> year:
>>> 1. Picking up cut players...we have a ruled that a team has to pay as
>>> much
>>> off the waiver wire as what was paid at the draft...otherwise, a team
>>> could
>>> have paid 47 for Pujols, cut him the week he went down, re-acquire him
>>> the
>>> next week for 14, and then retain him for the following season at the
>>> lower
>>> price...unfortunately, the FA portion of our software, TQStats, does not
>>> incorporate the original salary...anyone know if the waiver wire feature
>>> does that?
>>> 2. One owner has "threatened" to spend all his money on hitters, and
>>> then
>>> draft/start 6 pitchers that are either in the minors or on the DL...this
>>> would guarantee him 14 points each week for ERA and WHIP (as he'd have
>>> no
>>> stats in these categories, so his 0.00 would the lowest and the
>>> best)...while giving him 1 pt. each week for finishing last in W, S,
>>> K's...sounds stupid to me, but other owners are concerned...seems like,
>>> in
>>> our format, you could draft 1 SP, 1 closer, and 4 great middle relievers
>>> and
>>> score high each week in ERA, WHIP, and K's, while only getting a few
>>> points
>>> in W's and S's...anyone else see something like this in their league?
>>>
>>> D
>>
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Any thoughts on these rules/strategies? 

As for Item 1, do you have a waiver process? In our league, to
eliminate that scenario we have 2 rules:
A. any player who is waived has a week to be claimed off of waivers at
the original salary and contract.
B. The owner waiving the player always has the lowest priority on a
waiver claim.
- thus, if this guy waives Pujols, he'd only get pujols back if no
other team claimed him and then it would still be at the old salary
contract. After that, he'd become a 1st come 1st served free agent.

2. His ERA and WHIP would not be 0. They wouldn't even be a number
mathematically speaking. My league also uses the 1000 inning
requirement - with a bit of a twist. If you finish in the money, then
you must have achieved 1000 innings throught the season. If you fall
short, you get last place in all of the pitching categories.

We have another rule that addresses the issue of players on the DL or
in the minors, if your team has 3 or more players not on an active MLB
roster for 2 consecutive weeks, the Commissioner will replace the first
3 (alphabetically) injured/demoted players with the 1st three players
(alphabetically) of of the Free agent list.

Bottom Line: You must keep your roster full.


Dave Hannes wrote:
> I'm in a 14-team mixed, H2H, 5x5 league...two issues that came up last year:
> 1. Picking up cut players...we have a ruled that a team has to pay as much
> off the waiver wire as what was paid at the draft...otherwise, a team could
> have paid 47 for Pujols, cut him the week he went down, re-acquire him the
> next week for 14, and then retain him for the following season at the lower
> price...unfortunately, the FA portion of our software, TQStats, does not
> incorporate the original salary...anyone know if the waiver wire feature
> does that?
> 2. One owner has "threatened" to spend all his money on hitters, and then
> draft/start 6 pitchers that are either in the minors or on the DL...this
> would guarantee him 14 points each week for ERA and WHIP (as he'd have no
> stats in these categories, so his 0.00 would the lowest and the
> best)...while giving him 1 pt. each week for finishing last in W, S,
> K's...sounds stupid to me, but other owners are concerned...seems like, in
> our format, you could draft 1 SP, 1 closer, and 4 great middle relievers and
> score high each week in ERA, WHIP, and K's, while only getting a few points
> in W's and S's...anyone else see something like this in their league?
>
> D
 >> Stay informed about: Any thoughts on these rules/strategies? 

"Squanklin" <squanklin.RemoveThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1168885783.011835.87870@s34g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>1 - not aware of any features to help a bonehead who would drop Pujols.
> (Plus, how does the team that dropped him automatically jump to the
> front of the waiver pickup priority list and get him back? Seems like
> one of the other 13 teams would be able to lock him in first.)

Thanks...we don't use waiver feature on TQStats...IOW, a cut player is a FA
that goes to the highest bidder...a team's record only comes into play if
two teams tied for the largest bid.

> 2 - try a "minimum innings pitched" requirement for pitching so that
> each coach HAS to start a pitcher or two to gain any pitching stats.

We tried that a few years ago, and the majority of owners hated it--a
starter goes down mid-week or gets rocked early, and you don't make the
minimums, etc....

D

> Dave Hannes wrote:
>> I'm in a 14-team mixed, H2H, 5x5 league...two issues that came up last
>> year:
>> 1. Picking up cut players...we have a ruled that a team has to pay as
>> much
>> off the waiver wire as what was paid at the draft...otherwise, a team
>> could
>> have paid 47 for Pujols, cut him the week he went down, re-acquire him
>> the
>> next week for 14, and then retain him for the following season at the
>> lower
>> price...unfortunately, the FA portion of our software, TQStats, does not
>> incorporate the original salary...anyone know if the waiver wire feature
>> does that?
>> 2. One owner has "threatened" to spend all his money on hitters, and then
>> draft/start 6 pitchers that are either in the minors or on the DL...this
>> would guarantee him 14 points each week for ERA and WHIP (as he'd have no
>> stats in these categories, so his 0.00 would the lowest and the
>> best)...while giving him 1 pt. each week for finishing last in W, S,
>> K's...sounds stupid to me, but other owners are concerned...seems like,
>> in
>> our format, you could draft 1 SP, 1 closer, and 4 great middle relievers
>> and
>> score high each week in ERA, WHIP, and K's, while only getting a few
>> points
>> in W's and S's...anyone else see something like this in their league?
>>
>> D
>
 >> Stay informed about: Any thoughts on these rules/strategies? 

"Tony Shek" <tonyshek.DeleteThis@rochester.rr.com> wrote in message
news:45ac03e3$0$5204$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
> 1. Most places have an undroppable list. For original salaries, you'd
> probably have to have the commish just go in and edit it.
>
> 2. There's always an owner that tries this. Never works that I've seen.
> Anyone can use this policy which is why it's allowed, even though most
> leagues have a minimum season IP requirement of around 1000. 9 pitchers
> would need to log over 111 IP each. Problem is that when you tank
> categories, you may have a better overall chance of finishing higher, but
> your chances of winning the league actually go down as every category
> means the same. You have a smaller margin for error. The best rounded
> teams nearly always win. It's also really tough to predict middle
> relievers from year to year. And just about any starter registers more K's
> than a middle reliever, except the really elite ones, so I don't know how
> this team wins K's. Every major league team is trying to find a great
> middle reliever. It's not like it's easy in fantasy either if you have an
> active league. In HTH, any reliever that had a bad week and he'd have a
> higher probability of losing ERA and WHIP too because his badness is
> magnified by the fact they have less IP. I think in HTH, it's usually
> around 20-24 IP a week as minimum. Though your math is a bit off, if you
> don't start a pitcher, then your ERA is undefined or infinite, not 0. I
> would tell said person that I dare you not to start a pitcher and call him
> a wuss for not doing it as he later realizes he loses ERA and WHIP.

Thanks, Tony...that is what we're doing--basically telling him to try it; he
had Zumaya last year in lieu of a closer, and didn't do well over all.

Still, I would think that you could start 3 starters, 1 closer, and 2 MR's
of Zumaya and Shields' caliber, and still do well in most categories every
week...and only pay $1 for Zumaya and Shields.

D
 >> Stay informed about: Any thoughts on these rules/strategies? 

<mark.wolven.RemoveThis@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1168973087.018253.252090@11g2000cwr.googlegroups.com...
> As for Item 1, do you have a waiver process? In our league, to
> eliminate that scenario we have 2 rules:
> A. any player who is waived has a week to be claimed off of waivers at
> the original salary and contract.
> B. The owner waiving the player always has the lowest priority on a
> waiver claim.
> - thus, if this guy waives Pujols, he'd only get pujols back if no
> other team claimed him and then it would still be at the old salary
> contract. After that, he'd become a 1st come 1st served free agent.

Thanks...I am going to push for the waiver wire provision this year,
provided the software incorporates the original salary...but when we bid on
players, we have a 2nd pool of dollars, e.g. we have 230 units at the draft,
and then 100 units afterwards...not sure if the software can deduct the
original salary from the second pool.

> 2. His ERA and WHIP would not be 0. They wouldn't even be a number
> mathematically speaking.

Yeah, not sure how the software would handle it...I believe that if it shows
up as the lowest amount for ERA and WHIP, you still get the 14 points.

> My league also uses the 1000 inning
> requirement - with a bit of a twist. If you finish in the money, then
> you must have achieved 1000 innings throught the season. If you fall
> short, you get last place in all of the pitching categories.
>
> We have another rule that addresses the issue of players on the DL or
> in the minors, if your team has 3 or more players not on an active MLB
> roster for 2 consecutive weeks, the Commissioner will replace the first
> 3 (alphabetically) injured/demoted players with the 1st three players
> (alphabetically) of of the Free agent list.
>
> Bottom Line: You must keep your roster full.

This has not been a problem except in rare cases of multiple injuries...but
we are trying to design rules where the commissioner doesn't have to police
these things.

Thanks,
D


>
> Dave Hannes wrote:
>> I'm in a 14-team mixed, H2H, 5x5 league...two issues that came up last
>> year:
>> 1. Picking up cut players...we have a ruled that a team has to pay as
>> much
>> off the waiver wire as what was paid at the draft...otherwise, a team
>> could
>> have paid 47 for Pujols, cut him the week he went down, re-acquire him
>> the
>> next week for 14, and then retain him for the following season at the
>> lower
>> price...unfortunately, the FA portion of our software, TQStats, does not
>> incorporate the original salary...anyone know if the waiver wire feature
>> does that?
>> 2. One owner has "threatened" to spend all his money on hitters, and then
>> draft/start 6 pitchers that are either in the minors or on the DL...this
>> would guarantee him 14 points each week for ERA and WHIP (as he'd have no
>> stats in these categories, so his 0.00 would the lowest and the
>> best)...while giving him 1 pt. each week for finishing last in W, S,
>> K's...sounds stupid to me, but other owners are concerned...seems like,
>> in
>> our format, you could draft 1 SP, 1 closer, and 4 great middle relievers
>> and
>> score high each week in ERA, WHIP, and K's, while only getting a few
>> points
>> in W's and S's...anyone else see something like this in their league?
>>
>> D
>
 >> Stay informed about: Any thoughts on these rules/strategies? 

"Dave Hannes" <dhannes1 RemoveThis @earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:Krzrh.12481$yx6.11213@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> "Tony Shek" <tonyshek RemoveThis @rochester.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:45ac03e3$0$5204$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
>> 1. Most places have an undroppable list. For original salaries, you'd
>> probably have to have the commish just go in and edit it.
>>
>> 2. There's always an owner that tries this. Never works that I've seen.
>> Anyone can use this policy which is why it's allowed, even though most
>> leagues have a minimum season IP requirement of around 1000. 9 pitchers
>> would need to log over 111 IP each. Problem is that when you tank
>> categories, you may have a better overall chance of finishing higher, but
>> your chances of winning the league actually go down as every category
>> means the same. You have a smaller margin for error. The best rounded
>> teams nearly always win. It's also really tough to predict middle
>> relievers from year to year. And just about any starter registers more
>> K's than a middle reliever, except the really elite ones, so I don't know
>> how this team wins K's. Every major league team is trying to find a great
>> middle reliever. It's not like it's easy in fantasy either if you have an
>> active league. In HTH, any reliever that had a bad week and he'd have a
>> higher probability of losing ERA and WHIP too because his badness is
>> magnified by the fact they have less IP. I think in HTH, it's usually
>> around 20-24 IP a week as minimum. Though your math is a bit off, if you
>> don't start a pitcher, then your ERA is undefined or infinite, not 0. I
>> would tell said person that I dare you not to start a pitcher and call
>> him a wuss for not doing it as he later realizes he loses ERA and WHIP.
>
> Thanks, Tony...that is what we're doing--basically telling him to try it;
> he had Zumaya last year in lieu of a closer, and didn't do well over all.
>
> Still, I would think that you could start 3 starters, 1 closer, and 2 MR's
> of Zumaya and Shields' caliber, and still do well in most categories every
> week...and only pay $1 for Zumaya and Shields.
>
> D

You tend to get what you pay for. If you pay $1, then sometimes it's a
bargain and sometimes it really sucks. Shields should probably have went for
more than a buck, given the way he pitches and how the Angels use him.
Zumaya was just a rookie. He won't go for a buck again. He put up elite MR
stats, sub 2 ERA, sub 1.2 WHIP, almost 100 k's, and 6 wins. As a huge Tigers
fan, I can only hopes he does it again and not burn out. Witness Gagne. Even
still, I don't think the Tigers will move him ahead of Rodney or Jones, so
last year's stats are about the best you can get from Zumaya. Him and
Shields make great fillers. They can tip the scales, but they aren't the
ones who win weeks for you.


--


Tony Shek
http://www.myspace.com/tonyshek
http://blog.myspace.com/tonyshek
 >> Stay informed about: Any thoughts on these rules/strategies? 

"Tony Shek" <tonyshek.DeleteThis@rochester.rr.com> wrote in message
news:45afd858$0$5732$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
>
>
> "Dave Hannes" <dhannes1.DeleteThis@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:Krzrh.12481$yx6.11213@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>> "Tony Shek" <tonyshek.DeleteThis@rochester.rr.com> wrote in message
>> news:45ac03e3$0$5204$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...

>> Thanks, Tony...that is what we're doing--basically telling him to try it;
>> he had Zumaya last year in lieu of a closer, and didn't do well over all.
>>
>> Still, I would think that you could start 3 starters, 1 closer, and 2
>> MR's of Zumaya and Shields' caliber, and still do well in most categories
>> every week...and only pay $1 for Zumaya and Shields.
>>
>> D
>
> You tend to get what you pay for. If you pay $1, then sometimes it's a
> bargain and sometimes it really sucks. Shields should probably have went
> for more than a buck, given the way he pitches and how the Angels use him.
> Zumaya was just a rookie. He won't go for a buck again. He put up elite MR
> stats, sub 2 ERA, sub 1.2 WHIP, almost 100 k's, and 6 wins. As a huge
> Tigers fan, I can only hopes he does it again and not burn out. Witness
> Gagne. Even still, I don't think the Tigers will move him ahead of Rodney
> or Jones, so last year's stats are about the best you can get from Zumaya.
> Him and Shields make great fillers. They can tip the scales, but they
> aren't the ones who win weeks for you.
> --
>
> Tony Shek
> http://www.myspace.com/tonyshek
> http://blog.myspace.com/tonyshek

I just noticed that the owner that was whining about teams not fielding a
full roster of viable pitchers each week was also the one that picked up
Zumaya during the year, so he may have tried
this strategy of using a MR to lower WHIP and ERA...he's also the same guy
that went bottom fishing at the end for starters and wound up with Jarrod
Washburn and Paul Byrd in his rotation, having waited until the end to get
them for 1-2 units each. He didn't make the playoffs, so he'll likely look
at some higher priced pitchers this year.

Last year, I won Dontrelle Willis for 27 units, but Kevin Millwood for 4
units--obviously, Willis didn't progress with LoDuca gone to the Mets, while
Millwood's new pitching coach and home ballpark caused his former league low
ERA from '05 to jump past the 3's and into the 4's. Between injuries and
bad seasons, I'm finding it hard to bit more than 20 for any pitcher except
for Johann Santana, especially knowing that I'll be able to get a Scott
Kazmir or a Chris Young for 14 and a Chris Capuano or a Bronson Arroyo for
10 or less.

D
 >> Stay informed about: Any thoughts on these rules/strategies? 

>>
>> You tend to get what you pay for. If you pay $1, then sometimes it's a
>> bargain and sometimes it really sucks. Shields should probably have went
>> for more than a buck, given the way he pitches and how the Angels use
>> him. Zumaya was just a rookie. He won't go for a buck again. He put up
>> elite MR stats, sub 2 ERA, sub 1.2 WHIP, almost 100 k's, and 6 wins. As a
>> huge Tigers fan, I can only hopes he does it again and not burn out.
>> Witness Gagne. Even still, I don't think the Tigers will move him ahead
>> of Rodney or Jones, so last year's stats are about the best you can get
>> from Zumaya. Him and Shields make great fillers. They can tip the scales,
>> but they aren't the ones who win weeks for you.
>> --
>>
>> Tony Shek
>> http://www.myspace.com/tonyshek
>> http://blog.myspace.com/tonyshek
>
> I just noticed that the owner that was whining about teams not fielding a
> full roster of viable pitchers each week was also the one that picked up
> Zumaya during the year, so he may have tried
> this strategy of using a MR to lower WHIP and ERA...he's also the same guy
> that went bottom fishing at the end for starters and wound up with Jarrod
> Washburn and Paul Byrd in his rotation, having waited until the end to get
> them for 1-2 units each. He didn't make the playoffs, so he'll likely
> look at some higher priced pitchers this year.
>
> Last year, I won Dontrelle Willis for 27 units, but Kevin Millwood for 4
> units--obviously, Willis didn't progress with LoDuca gone to the Mets,
> while Millwood's new pitching coach and home ballpark caused his former
> league low ERA from '05 to jump past the 3's and into the 4's. Between
> injuries and bad seasons, I'm finding it hard to bit more than 20 for any
> pitcher except for Johann Santana, especially knowing that I'll be able to
> get a Scott Kazmir or a Chris Young for 14 and a Chris Capuano or a
> Bronson Arroyo for 10 or less.
>
> D


Heh, if you have an entire pitching group of 1 buck guys, then you'll
definitely be at the bottom. No one can pick out all rookies or bottom
feeders who spontaneously break out to career years. They wouldn't have gone
for a buck otherwise. In baseball, everyone has a track record and they will
perform to those degrees with some variance, but it's almost never to a
crazy deviation.

Dontrelle couldn't progress because he had low expectations for his entire
team. Florida started however many rookies and he was expecting to be traded
all year. You never play 100% knowing that. He also didn't have Burnett,
Beckett, and Todd Jones around him. He had Borowski, and 3 rookies named
Scott Olsen, Josh Johnson, and whatever Sanchez, plus one of the worst
fielding groups all time. As for Millwood, he melted in the Texas summer
heat at one of the best hitters parks around. Think he had something like
5.8 ERA for July, oops. With pitchers, there just aren't as many guys that
leap out at you where there aren't viable similar alternatives. The question
mark is more of whether or not someone gets injured. Pitcher injuries to
your fantasy team get gruesome much faster than hitters.

--


Tony Shek
http://www.myspace.com/tonyshek
http://blog.myspace.com/tonyshek
 >> Stay informed about: Any thoughts on these rules/strategies? 

"Tony Shek" <tonyshek RemoveThis @rochester.rr.com> wrote in message
news:45b5a7d2$0$28089$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
>
>
>>>
>>> You tend to get what you pay for. If you pay $1, then sometimes it's a
>>> bargain and sometimes it really sucks. Shields should probably have went
>>> for more than a buck, given the way he pitches and how the Angels use
>>> him. Zumaya was just a rookie. He won't go for a buck again. He put up
>>> elite MR stats, sub 2 ERA, sub 1.2 WHIP, almost 100 k's, and 6 wins. As
>>> a huge Tigers fan, I can only hopes he does it again and not burn out.
>>> Witness Gagne. Even still, I don't think the Tigers will move him ahead
>>> of Rodney or Jones, so last year's stats are about the best you can get
>>> from Zumaya. Him and Shields make great fillers. They can tip the
>>> scales, but they aren't the ones who win weeks for you.
>>> --
>>>
>>> Tony Shek
>>> http://www.myspace.com/tonyshek
>>> http://blog.myspace.com/tonyshek
>>
>> I just noticed that the owner that was whining about teams not fielding a
>> full roster of viable pitchers each week was also the one that picked up
>> Zumaya during the year, so he may have tried
>> this strategy of using a MR to lower WHIP and ERA...he's also the same
>> guy that went bottom fishing at the end for starters and wound up with
>> Jarrod Washburn and Paul Byrd in his rotation, having waited until the
>> end to get them for 1-2 units each. He didn't make the playoffs, so
>> he'll likely look at some higher priced pitchers this year.
>>
>> Last year, I won Dontrelle Willis for 27 units, but Kevin Millwood for 4
>> units--obviously, Willis didn't progress with LoDuca gone to the Mets,
>> while Millwood's new pitching coach and home ballpark caused his former
>> league low ERA from '05 to jump past the 3's and into the 4's. Between
>> injuries and bad seasons, I'm finding it hard to bit more than 20 for any
>> pitcher except for Johann Santana, especially knowing that I'll be able
>> to get a Scott Kazmir or a Chris Young for 14 and a Chris Capuano or a
>> Bronson Arroyo for 10 or less.
>>
>> D
>
>
> Heh, if you have an entire pitching group of 1 buck guys, then you'll
> definitely be at the bottom. No one can pick out all rookies or bottom
> feeders who spontaneously break out to career years. They wouldn't have
> gone for a buck otherwise. In baseball, everyone has a track record and
> they will perform to those degrees with some variance, but it's almost
> never to a crazy deviation.

I agree, but with a caveat. Two years ago, one owner couldn't make the
draft, so we let him pick his roster from what was leftover. Had that
happened last year, he could have picked
from these starters that went undrafted:

Bronson Arroyo
Chien-Ming Wang
Gustav Chacin
Steve Trachsel
Kenny Rogers
Tomo Ohka
Vincente Padilla

Now you could say we were dummies for not drafting some of these guys over,
say, and Orlando Hernandez (which I won for 1 unit), but, given the
randomness of head-to-head,
you could have formed a halfway decent starting rotation at the end, and cut
and picked up guys like Josh Johnson and Anibel Sanchez when needed.

> Dontrelle couldn't progress because he had low expectations for his entire
> team. Florida started however many rookies and he was expecting to be
> traded all year. You never play 100% knowing that. He also didn't have
> Burnett, Beckett, and Todd Jones around him. He had Borowski, and 3
> rookies named Scott Olsen, Josh Johnson, and whatever Sanchez, plus one of
> the worst fielding groups all time. As for Millwood, he melted in the
> Texas summer heat at one of the best hitters parks around. Think he had
> something like 5.8 ERA for July, oops. With pitchers, there just aren't as
> many guys that leap out at you where there aren't viable similar
> alternatives. The question mark is more of whether or not someone gets
> injured. Pitcher injuries to your fantasy team get gruesome much faster
> than hitters.

I definitely agree...I think Willis missed Paul Lo Duca more than the
others.

I won't try this strategy this year, but will likely reduce the amount of
dollars budgeted for starters.

D

> --
>
>
> Tony Shek
> http://www.myspace.com/tonyshek
> http://blog.myspace.com/tonyshek
>
 >> Stay informed about: Any thoughts on these rules/strategies? 

>>> D
>>
>>
>> Heh, if you have an entire pitching group of 1 buck guys, then you'll
>> definitely be at the bottom. No one can pick out all rookies or bottom
>> feeders who spontaneously break out to career years. They wouldn't have
>> gone for a buck otherwise. In baseball, everyone has a track record and
>> they will perform to those degrees with some variance, but it's almost
>> never to a crazy deviation.
>
> I agree, but with a caveat. Two years ago, one owner couldn't make the
> draft, so we let him pick his roster from what was leftover. Had that
> happened last year, he could have picked
> from these starters that went undrafted:
>
> Bronson Arroyo
> Chien-Ming Wang
> Gustav Chacin
> Steve Trachsel
> Kenny Rogers
> Tomo Ohka
> Vincente Padilla
>
> Now you could say we were dummies for not drafting some of these guys
> over, say, and Orlando Hernandez (which I won for 1 unit), but, given the
> randomness of head-to-head,
> you could have formed a halfway decent starting rotation at the end, and
> cut and picked up guys like Josh Johnson and Anibel Sanchez when needed.
>

There are always players that get through and people will say how'd that
happen, even in 14 team leagues. Arroyo goes from Boston to Cinci. I never
worry about guys going from AL to NL. NL to AL is usually bad for guys like
Padilla. CM Wang, healthy Yankee starters are always worth a floater just
from win values alone. Chacin was injured in preseason and remained so,
except when he came back to pitch terribly because he was still injured. I'd
take Rogers, he always has a good pre all star, just terrible afterwards.
Probably since he's 42. Ohka was bad, as was nearly everyone on Montreal
..... er Washington. Think Trachsel had Tommy John surgery the year before so
should have been avoided.

>> Dontrelle couldn't progress because he had low expectations for his
>> entire team. Florida started however many rookies and he was expecting to
>> be traded all year. You never play 100% knowing that. He also didn't have
>> Burnett, Beckett, and Todd Jones around him. He had Borowski, and 3
>> rookies named Scott Olsen, Josh Johnson, and whatever Sanchez, plus one
>> of the worst fielding groups all time. As for Millwood, he melted in the
>> Texas summer heat at one of the best hitters parks around. Think he had
>> something like 5.8 ERA for July, oops. With pitchers, there just aren't
>> as many guys that leap out at you where there aren't viable similar
>> alternatives. The question mark is more of whether or not someone gets
>> injured. Pitcher injuries to your fantasy team get gruesome much faster
>> than hitters.
>
> I definitely agree...I think Willis missed Paul Lo Duca more than the
> others.
>
> I won't try this strategy this year, but will likely reduce the amount of
> dollars budgeted for starters.
>
> D

I think Dontrelle will enjoy this year and be great. You know what they say
about parity in baseball? The parity has spilled to fantasy. There are less
top pitchers than ever before.

>
>> --
>>
>>
>> Tony Shek
>> http://www.myspace.com/tonyshek
>> http://blog.myspace.com/tonyshek
>>
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Any thoughts on these rules/strategies?