HDID: 10 team AL 5x5

[virgonomic]

After 9 rounds (90 players), this is my team:

Napoli 13* Konerko 12* EE 6* Pennington 6* Nishioka 17 Beltre 19
Crawford 40 Abreu 19 Damon 9 Jennings 11
Sabathia 31 Haren 10* Braden 2* Rzepcyznski 1* Valverde 14* Rodney 4* McGee 7 Bard 5
* = keeper

We are doing the rest of the auction on the 25th. Spots to fill: C, MI, OF, P.

I want Brignac or Getz at MI, Willingham or Cain at OF, and Matusz, Duensing or Nova at P. I need a second catcher, too. All but 8 are still out there. Any thoughts on who I should go after?

I advertised 3B available and 2 owners want Beltre. They are offering the following 1B/OF:

owner 1: Lee, Youk or Hunter
owner 2: Wells, Morales, Granderson or Cuddyer

Who should I flip Beltre for?

[joncarlos]

The only person I'd consider trading Beltre for is Granderson. And then it would depend on what you can get to fill your CI spot. Because Willingham and Cain are not that bad as 5th outfielders.

For AL catchers, I like AJ Pierzynski to fly under the radar, he'll still give you the same boring stats and Tyler Flowers kind of flamed out as his potential replacement. John Jaso is another one, though he gets more hyped. Brayan Pena would be a nice dollar guy.

[wombat104]

I don't trust EE as your only 3b, plus none of the Beltre offers are overwhelming. Beltre is a top guy at a weak position in the AL, I would think you could do better.

[Lucky]

I don't trust EE as your only 3b, plus none of the Beltre offers are overwhelming. Beltre is a top guy at a weak position in the AL, I would think you could do better.

I don't think any of those guys are as valuable as Beltre. I would keep him, or hold out for more.

In a 10-team league, are Brignac and Getz the best available at MI? I might try to upgrade there if possible.

[virgonomic]

Owner 1 also has Youk. I doubt I'd get him for Beltre, plus he will qualify at 3B after 20 GP. I guess it doesn't hurt to ask...

[mike9289]

Surprised you got Beltre for $19. I guess the injury dropped his value some.

[virgonomic]

Surprised you got Beltre for $19. I guess the injury dropped his value some.

I was too. I wasn't going to bid again but he was under value at $19.

[virgonomic]

BUMP - we finish the auction Friday at 10 PM EST. I have $16 left for a C, MI, OF, P

How should I spend it?

I figure a $1 C is a given as only 10 C have gone so far (2 kept, 8 purchased). If I can't get Willingham or Cain for $10 or less than I probably need to grab one of Melky, Kalish, Frenchy, etc. during dollar days. Ditto for pitchers like Matusz, Nova, Webb, Pineda (spend $5-6 or wait until dollar days).

[wombat104]

BUMP - we finish the auction Friday at 10 PM EST. I have $16 left for a C, MI, OF, P

How should I spend it?

I figure a $1 C is a given as only 10 C have gone so far (2 kept, 8 purchased). If I can't get Willingham or Cain for $10 or less than I probably need to grab one of Melky, Kalish, Frenchy, etc. during dollar days. Ditto for pitchers like Matusz, Nova, Webb, Pineda (spend $5-6 or wait until dollar days).

I am thinking a MI should be #1 on the list. Pennington & Nishioka are not proven commodities, so as you mentioned a guy like Brignac (who can play both SS and 2B this year) makes a lot of sense. After that I would go pitcher, getting Matusz would be nice but given you already have Haren and CC you don't need to overbid for him. Think OF and C are dollar day fliers, too easy to get replacement value or better in the OF.

[virgonomic]

Thanks. I guess the drop from Willingham to someone like Rivera won't be big. I can grab an extra OF in the reserve draft.

[virgonomic]

I rounded out my roster with:

Brignac 7 (thrilled to get him for less than $8)
Jaso 4 (better than the $1 guys)
Ogando 4 (forgot Feliz was moved back to the pen, but he may not spend the whole season there)
Sweeney 2 (if he hits 0.300 and nothing else I'll be happy)

[virgonomic]

Stay at the top

My team jumped out to a 13.5 point lead after last night's games. I am first in ERA, 2nd in WHIP, middling in W, SV, SB, low in HR and AVG.

I know it's early but I want to keep my team near the top. Are there any weaknesses I should look to address? Coming out of the auction I figured I needed a bat and had a surplus of speed. With Nishioka going down I figure I need to wait until he comes back before trying to deal some.

I do have some nice keepers to dangle in Jennings, Ogando, McGee, Bard, Brignac and possibly Howell if and when the time comes.