Let's make a deal

i write a monthly baseball article for Dobberbaseball.com and if you're interested then i just want to put this down here also. if you're not interested then ... move on with my blessings, i'll post again on other issues later.

Welcome once again to An Expert’s Audit – baseball edition. In this article we take a look at the fantasy team of a reader to see if there are areas we can improve so that we’re moving down a winning road. If you’re interested in getting your baseball team audited you can begin the procedure by emailing your league and team particulars to ian@dobberbaseball.com

Well, this has been an interesting month. The team that I contacted about an audit … didn’t email back after the initial email and a couple other subsequent attempts also failed. I just don’t get it. I’m a nice guy and I shower regularly so I know it’s not that. So, I decided that I’d run down some of the moves that I’ve been making in my own leagues and deals that have been made with my influence. You’ll notice there’s no team breakdown this month but it’s because I must be more menacing than I think I am, seriously I’m not bad-tempered at all so what’s up with that?

Free Agent Options over the last month

Miguel Batista – nobody talks about holds. I like holds. Valuable MR can be invaluable to a fantasy team as you keep your ratios low. Batista’s value is found in the fact that he’s SP eligible so he doesn’t use up a RP slot but he also is one of the first options out of the pen so he’s got a decent shot at holds. His win totals so far this season have been a huge bonus for my team although the WHIP is too high for my taste. There’s a good chance he wouldn’t make my team if I wasn’t buried in injury.

Chan Ho Park – he’s 2-1 with 7 holds since the beginning of June, he’s dropped his ERA by nearly 2 runs in those 20 IP and he’s put up 12 zeros for ER in those 18 appearances. Additionally, he’s eligible at SP so I can slide him into one of those slots and just take those extra holds to my standings.

Yunel Escobar – Dobber dropped him in the Expert’s League and I thought hard over a weekend about whether I wanted to my #1 waiver priority on a guy that I think could make the jump into the elite tier of SS’s in the game. He has 12 hits, 3 dingers and 12 RBI in the 7 games since the break and has looked really nice in my utility slot.

Brad Bergesen – 9 of his 10 starts since the end of May have been QS. If the O’s can put some more offense together then I think Bergie is going to be a special option.

Casey Blake – he’s carried a significant weight while Manny’s been shelved, so much so that he’s 2nd on the team for RBI and tied for 2nd in HR. He’s not a glamour add but he’s a solid citizen if you’re struggling to find an option that someone like Garrett Atkins was supposed to fill.

Paul Konerko – just as he got dropped by Dobberbaseball’s own Rich Dillon in a fun league I play in, he went on a nice power streak. Rich is a NL fan and missed out on the 10 dingers Konerko has hit since mid-June. Thanks though Rich, it’s appreciated.

Jake Fox – as a general rule I don’t add some rook that comes along but I had space on my roster in the league that I care the least if I win. He’ll be a nice bench option for me and who knows, maybe he explodes and becomes a roster regular. He’s on a 30 HR pace if he were to get regular AB’s, which he isn’t.


Trade Options over the season so far

Traded Miguel Tejada for Paul Maholm – this happened in April and then Tejada was Player of the Month for May so that didn’t feel so good. Maholm’s stats at home until recently have been well worth the cost for a guy that was on my bench when I traded him anyway.

Traded Bobby Abreu and Chad Qualls for Adam Dunn and Javier Vazquez – I did this deal in May after I was lagging in power and had some speed to spare. I had tallied 15 SB’s out of Abreu when I dealt him and I certainly didn’t see that continuing so I loaded on a K pitcher and some dingers for guys that I didn’t see continuing at the same pace. I jumped to 1st place in that league so I think this deal was worth it.

Traded Pablo Sandoval for Bengie Molina and Jermaine Dye – I was languishing in RF after losing Nady there at the start of the season and running Jose Guillen out there as my best option. Sandoval is a special talent and I fully believe he’ll be monstrous down the road if he isn’t already but I absolutely had to improve my RF situation. This deal let me roster a catcher that I didn’t “hate” to roster and improved me at a traditional power slot. Dye’s avg has jumped 20 points since I made this trade and his SLG has jumped 35 points. I’ll take that. This trade was made with Dobberbaseball’s own Dan Hiebert, who came out of the deal just fine I’ve got to think.

Traded Jose Lopez and Raul Ibanez for Chone Figgins – I’m in 1st place in my money league and I need to move in runs and SB’s. I also have 4 LF options for only 2 spots, including Manny Ramirez, Carlos Lee and Carlos Quentin. Yes it is an 8 team league in case you’re wondering. I’ll continue to play Manny and Carlos in LF and I’ll slot Chone into the spot previously held by Lopez. I should be ok for power and I’ll undoubtedly improve my lot in the speed categories if Chone stays healthy.

March’s Audit Marcel traded Jason Bay and Angel Guzman for Ben Zobrist and Brian Wilson – Marcel was hurting at 2b and in saves and he had some depth at LF so made this move in an attempt to get better where he needed it. If he can get some SB’s then this team is poised for a run at the championship. I think we gave up a tiny bit too much but, you have to do what you can in order to make a big move. Z is the real deal and he’s got a shot to be viewed in the same tier as Bay sometime soon anyway.

April’s Audit Johnny traded Ted Lilly and James Loney in his NL only league for Matt Kemp and Hunter Pence – I just plain think we smoked the other guy across the board on this deal.

Conclusions

I tried to give you a view of moves that I’ve made from several different leagues and when I could I took a shot at a guy just because I can.

I’m leading 2 of my six leagues, I’m top three in 2 more leagues and I’m sitting in a playoff spot in the last 2 leagues. I figure I have a shot at a championship in just about any of those leagues. I’ll need some quick healing on my Expert’s team with 6 guys on the DL, 5 of whom are pitchers, and I’ll have to hold off the reigning champ in my money league but I have a 5 pt lead there. It’s always a fun season though eh?

If you want to get an audit done you’ll need to submit your team information … and it’ll probably also be wise to respond when I email you about it. Please?