Ping: Fantasy Baseball Players

[Vince]

Not to start a trend...but I've been offered a trade that I'm very intrigued by, so I thought I'd grab some people's opinions. 10 Team, All-MLB League, H2H, typical 5x5 stats (R, HR, RBI, SB, Avg.; Wins, Saves, Ks, ERA, WHIP). Most teams in my league stream pitchers; I am no different. Here's the trade:

Mark Mulder for Mariano Rivera

My SPs:
Sheets
Mulder
Sabathia
Carpenter
Webb
<Stream Slot>
<Stream Slot>

My relievers:
Dotel
Looper
Tsao
Guardado
Mike Gonzalez

I'm tempted to take the trade, then try to turn two of my less reliable closers into a more solid player -- this league is nuts about saves; closers are usually worth their weight in gold. Team offering the trade is punting saves, though. What do you all think?

[WSUCougar]

Take it.

[GoldenEagle]

Mulder will do much better for the Cardinals. Still, I do not see you turning that trade down. Gudardo and maybe Dotel could have some trade value.

[samifan24]

Take it. Dotel won't be the closer in Oakland for the whole season anyway, and you've got some other shaky guys back there. It's easier to find a patchwork starter than a top-flight closer.

[sterlingice]

Why in god's name do you have 5 relievers and how in god's name did you get 4 closers in a 10 person league? You must have some useless owners in that league. I'd do the trade because I think Rivera is in a slump versus Mulder, I'm not so sure whether it's a slump or permanent. Also, Mike Gonzalez is, um, well, worthless, isn't he? You could really use another decent starter or two. You're going to get killed on the other pitching categories unless you're using some weird version of LIMA with Sheets and Sabathia.

SI

[Vince]

Well, I have 5 relievers because I use all three allocated bench slots for my SP's who aren't pitching that day, and I like to get as many saves as possible. I don't really get killed in the other pitching categories because I usually have at least 2 pitchers pitching every day (I stream pitchers -- pick up the day's starters, then drop him that night for tomorrow's starter).

As for Mike Gonzalez...I guess I'm still holding out hope that he'll end up the closer. Haven't been able to follow up on the situation much, so I have no idea if he has any chance yet.

I don't think I can pass that trade up either.

[jbmagic]

Vince were you play at?
is it a pay site?

[GoldenEagle]

Someone you may can pick up is Matt Morris. He had a great start last night and from what I hear his stuff was really on. I would imagine that he will be the most sought after free agent in most leagues today.

Does anyone where I can find a comprehensive list of teams with the days off? That would be really beneficial.

[WSUCougar]

By the way, Mulder pitched very well on Monday.

[henry296]

Just remember both Mulder and Morris pitched against the Pirates, who might be the worst offensive team in baseball.

[sterlingice]

Just remember both Mulder and Morris pitched against the Pirates, who might be the worst offensive team in baseball.
Ooh. Ooh! Don't forget our team here in Kansas City. We've been making everyone look good.

SI

[Vince]

Vince were you play at?
is it a pay site?
jb, I play at ESPN, and they do charge. I think my teams are "only" $20 each because I'm a returning customer every year.

[jbmagic]

Thanks

Vince, is ESPN very active league? what do you win, if you coem in 1st in your league?

is head to head better than Rotisserie Games?

you recommend a 10 or 12 team league? and you recommend 5 x5 or 4x 4?



i try some free yahoo baseball fantasy league and it seems not many people do anything with there lineups, ect. Not very active.

[Vince]

As a follow-up (I pulled the trigger on the trade), I'm considering trading away two of my 'lesser' closers for an upgrade in the field and/or on the mound. The question is, how do I rank my closers? Here's my initial thought --

Rivera
Guardado
Dotel
Tsao
Looper

Not really sure how to think of my closers outside of Rivera.

[Vince]

Thanks

Vince, is ESPN very active league? what do you win, if you coem in 1st in your league?

is head to head better than Rotisserie Games?

you recommend a 10 or 12 team league? and you recommend 5 x5 or 4x 4?



i try some free yahoo baseball fantasy league and it seems not many people do anything with there lineups, ect. Not very active.
JB -- ESPN is usually more active than Yahoo leagues and such, but with any league that you join you're probably going to have inactive owners. In ESPN leagues, you win either a t-shirt or small banner (your choice) if you win the league. The league I am in is with 9 guys I know pretty well (one is my dad), and we have had a pretty tight league for 3 years now. We all put $100 in a side pot, and this year the payout is $100 for each divisional winner, $500 for first place, $200 for second place and $100 for third place.

As for league makeup...it really depends upon how you want it to be. I much prefer head to head to rotisserie, and I find the 'classic' 5 X 5 scoring system to be my favorite as well. 10 teams is the number I am most comfortable with, but I've had a good time in leagues with as many as 14 teams. I find that leagues with any less than 10 people, and it becomes much more a matter of luck than skill with who wins.

Hope that helps!

[samifan24]

I'd move Tsao first, then Dotel and Looper.