Monday, April 30, 2012

Weekly FAAB Report

BIDS:
Eldred- Owls:15, Highlanders:3
R.Cook- BSP:2
Byrd- Skwirls:20
Dyson- China:2
Below- CHina:8, BSP:3
Collins- CHina:2
R.Hill - Deal N/D:2
O'Day- Mt.Baker:2
L.Anderson- Chaos:1
Chavez- Highlanders:1

Monday, April 23, 2012

Weekly FAAB Report

BIDS:
Jeffress- Mt.Baker:2
Strop- Relay:1
Phelps- Big Sausage:1
Downs- Skwirls:2
Tazawa- Usuals:1
Maier- Relay:2
Janssen- Liefers:4
Mathis - Liefers:1

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Oh no! Jaco!

Just a couple weeks into the season, and it's already been an eventful year with some interesting storylines. 

But clearly the top story is Jacoby Ellsbury going down with a shoulder injury, which looked like it hurt a lot.  His shoulder is "subluxed" as opposed to completely dislocated, so that could be good news, but if there's a labral tear, as ESPN's Stephania Bell points out, it's tantamount to full dislocation.  

In his last season at $20, he was supposed to be the centerpiece of my Rally Skwirls.  Now, he could be out til the All-Star game, or if he has surgery, he could be out all year.  This is devastating to the Red Sox, myself as a fan, and my AL-only roto team. 

Lacking any actual timeline at this time, it's may seem difficult to decide whether to try to replace him for a couple months or the entire season, i.e., I could try to trade for a David Murphy ($12) type at a minimal investment, or pull out all the stops and look for a Alex Gordon/Josh Hamilton stud.  But really, if you're in my boat, you have to assume the worst.  Ellsbury's Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) last year was 69.2, which really puts some pressure on the RP part of VORP.  

This past week I put in a $1 bid for the immortal Clete Thomas.  And didn't win him.  I'm not sure if that's good news or bad news.  But this week I will make an aggressive bid for Johnny Damon, who has just finally signed with Cleveland.  If that doesn't work out, I think it'll be time for a panic trade.

Other than that, the team is off to a good start and is sitting in the final money slot in 4th place.   

Monday, April 16, 2012

Weekly FAAB Report

Cobb- Deal N/D:3, Highlanders:3 (Deal N/D lower in standings)
Quintero- Sausage:3
Wilk- Sausage:6
Herrera- Liefers:1
Wheeler- Liefers:1
Repko- Relay:7
Swarzak- Relay:3
F.Morales- Skwirls:1
E.Ramirez- Mt.Baker:1
Thomas- Chaos:2, Skwirls:1

Monday, April 9, 2012

Weekly FAAB Report

Santiago- Chaos:22, Big Sausage:12, Skwirls:7
Paulino- Troops:10
Laird- Mt.Baker:5
F.Cordero: Deal N/D:3
McGee- Skwirls:2
Feldman- Usuals:1
Godfrey- Big Sausage:1
Lindstrom- Skwirls:1
A.Jones- Troops:10, Usuals:6, Deal N/D:3, Chaos:2
Beaven- Mt.Baker:7, Big Sausage:2
J.Williams- Owls:1
N.Johnson- Troops:1, Skwirls:1 (Troops lower in standings)
Francisco- Usuals:4
Seager- Highlanders:4
Hammels- Relay:4
Izturis- Relay:2

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Auction Recap: Part 1 The Pitcher Chase

Having kept the maximum 10 players at $166 (highest keeper total in the league), I knew I had limited funds to fill out the remaining 15 slots on my roster. 

I toyed with the idea of going for Pujols or Fielder, which paired with Miggy Cabrera would give me 2 beasts. But I couldn't make the numbers work on that Star-Star-and-Scrubs plan.  But feeling good about my offense with Miggy, Ellsbury, Papi, etc., I decided my top priority was a #1/2/3 starter, preferably a big-K guy.  My second priority was to get a closer at auction. I budgeted $29 for the starter and $11 for the 2nd-tier closer.

Happily for me, there were plenty of top-end starters to choose from.  CC Sabbathia?  Went for $38.  Dan Haren? $39.  David Price?  Love him, but he went for $38.  CJ Wilson?  $35.  See a trend here?  I really wanted Justin Verlander, and somehow the bidding petered out at $38, but I wasn't able to pull the trigger, thinking that it was already way over my budget.  Immediately after the computer voice said "Sold," I started swearing and pounding the table, knowing I let the Cy Young winner go for a dollar less than Dan Haren.  Clearly I had to adjust my budget.  King Felix went for $37.  Hell, even Yu Darvish went for $31 while I sat on the sidelines hoping for the SP bargain.  So when Jon Lester was nominated, I jumped all in and rode the bidding all the way to... you guessed it: $39.  (Interestingly, both CC and Lester went for the same prices they went for last year.) 

No bargain, but I had secured the 15+ wins and 200 Ks I needed.

As for a closer, there were far fewer pickings.  Capps went for $11, but I didn't really like him.  Balfour went for $14.  When Bailey's price became $21, and his injury became known, I knew Melancon would go for more than the $4 or $5 I had him penciled in at.  When he hit $12, I bowed out.  This sucks, I thought.  Bard, perhaps the league's best closer who won't be closing, went for $11 -- $3 less than I had him last year -- but as a mediocre starter or a set-up guy, and with a very limited budget since I spent $39 on Lester, I couldn't justify it.  Finally, Broxton came up as my last hope, and bidding stalled at my $8 bid.  Thank friggin' god. 

To paraphrase Supertramp: "Not much of a closer, but he's the only one I got." 

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Meet the 2012 Rally Skwirls

ALL CAPS: KEEPER
*Long-term contract

Position      Player            $alary
C                MAUER         29*
C                Shoppach         1
1B              Barton              1
2B              JOHNSON     16
SS              ASDRUBAL  23
3B              MIGGY          47
CI               Parmalee         5
MI              Punto               1
OF              DE AZA         1
OF              ELLSBURY  20
OF              Ross               12
OF              Sweeney          1
OF              Dirks               6
DH             ORTIZ            14

Pitchers
SP              BUCHHOLZ      13
SP              HELLICKSON    1
SP              OGANDO            2
SP              McGowan            1
SP              LESTER             39
SP              PEAVY               12
SP              Cecil                     5
RP              Broxton                8
RP              Sipp                      1