Post by Cardinals GM(Jared) on Apr 13, 2012 1:09:15 GMT -6
I know you have all been waiting on this. Unfortunately, these aren’t near as much fun as if we are all trying to actually win as many games as possible this year. This may be the first year we have ever had teams just really punt. Yankees said he was in the first couple years when I dominated him all the time and when he didn’t make the playoffs. It worked out in his favor though, or at least he says it does, that his team is pretty good this year. We have some pretty gross imbalance in the divisions and due to this weighted schedule it is going to not reflect that, although it will put out the best team, or one of the luckiest team in that division.
First of all, filter all this through the fact that I think some managers are better than others and will alter their teams in season more to win than some will. I am also a Matthew Berry fan. I don’t agree with everything he says, but I do agree with some of his concepts. Facts are facts. I love the PPOBY theory. (See Lance Berkman in 2011) If you have more than 6 RPs on your MLB roster, you probably got cut down big time in these ranks because we can only run out 6 a day and that is more explosive strategy than standard league streaming of starters.
These ranks were easy and tough. The bottom third, middle third, and top teams really separate themselves. Twins to Marlins are close. Mets to Cubs is close. And so are the top 3. IMO.
16. Minnesota Twins - This one is self explanatory.
15. Kansas City Royals - Factoring in a lack of day in and out management skills with a JV squad already, they are managed by someone who isn’t building a winner this year, or even trying really. Dude, pick up your RPs!
14. Los Angeles Angels - The lack of quality starting pitching and outfielders and depth will surely sink this ship. A lot of this season is riding on if Soriano and Wells and Ibanez”. Trumbo seems to be on the outside looking in now on playing time. Maybe he could be traded to a place like Tampa or Oakland or Colorado and find some PT. Finding some way to aquire some upgraded SPs would really support CC and Holland.
13. Tampa Bay Rays - A lot of pieces here and no money to make moves. Some nice starters are weighed down some really bad ones with no upside. There won’t be enough offense in the outfield to win regularly.
12. Miami Marlins – The more I looked at this team the worse I realized it actually was. Mauer, Young and Pedroia should have been gone a long time ago to get some long term pieces in my opinion. I heard Rockies could use some offense. Nice starting 5 in Lee, Fister, J. Dirty Sanchez, Henderson Alvarez and one of (if not two) Hammel, Mcdonald, Richard or Braden have to have a decent year.
11. New York Mets – Yep, this is as bad as it looks on the roster sheet. Injuries are gonna hurt the mets for a while. Howard will be good again, in 2013. If Chisenhall can put it together and Hardy/Aviles contribute all year and Pagan and Rios can do what they are actually capable of, this team could move up as well.
10. Montreal Expos - With barely 6 starters on the roster and an offense that is good but compares with some of the tops teams in the league the expos with win their share of categories. This outfield is solid Hart, Cruz and Bruce. We all know what Werth is capable of (PPOBY).This is a no nonsense bullpen in which everything has happened in their favor so far. They will probably finish below .500 unless they get in on a couple more starters to boost their Ks and Ws. The Expos are in a good place though to move up in these ranks with the easiest thing in the league to find being starters.
9. Cleveland Indians – This GM has an uncanny instinct for always buying low or on guys whose value is present and ready to ascend. The key to this squad will be Berkman and Rolen staying healthy. A very solid rotation that has a few young pitchers emerging could really break out. Lorenzo Cain could make all the difference for the team. Too bad he just went on the DL.
8. Rockies – This isn’t as bad as it looks on the roster sheet. This squad has a solid pitching staff as always and will be winning holds and losing saves nearly every week. I’m just not sold on the idea that the offense is all it is cracked up to be. If a couple things go right he will be winning his division again. I hope the artist formerly known as Mike Stanton isn’t having long term health issues. It may be mid june before Montero escapes the DH spot for ESPN eligibility.
7. Red Sox – This is a good squad with room for improvement. Some SP depth would and another bat would really jump this club to a new level. Its tough to argue with Montero, Phillips, Victor, Morrison, Cargo…Pena is off to a good start. This squad has pitching on the way from the farm club.
6. Washington Nationals - This guys season rides on one player more than anyone else in our league. If Carl Crawford doesn’t preform this team doesn’t stand a chance. With him they are a much more sound team. Punting saves to win holds and this guy has a solid staff. I want to say this guy put together a team by chance almost from what I observed, but he seems to know what he is doing as these team could really rise this year.
5. Phillies - This guy got the pre season double whammy with Farnsworth and Madson getting hurt, luckily Farnsworth will probably be back and he had Sean Marshall as a handcuff. This team needs Granderson and Ellsbury to perform like they did last year again, a Kubel strong full season performance and Saltalamacchia to not get replaced since Doumit isn’t playing everyday yet. Potential is here, but a tough in division line up won’t allow for a cake walk.
4. Cubbies - A much improved offense and some good pitching pick ups will help this team to a better record than in the past but unfortunately he will still be looking up at two of the stronger teams in the league, Cardinals and Braves, all year long. This guy is taking RP streaming to a whole new level. We can only have 6 in our line up right?
3. Cardinals – A couple wholes at 2b, SS and some RP spots expose some weakness here but nothing that can’t be overcome. This team has a lot of pieces that can be dealt to improve. An embarrassment of riches at 3B will soon still erupt with Bautista, Pablo, Lawrie, Arenado, Castellanos and Juan Francisco is no scrub either. The starting pitching has the potential to be a top 3 staff while this is definitely the top offense.
2. Braves – This pitching staff cannot be denied and has a very solid bullpen to complete it. This will surely be the strength of this team this year. Braves will make a few moves to improve the offense which is desperately needed if he wants to finished ahead of Cardinals and Cubbies. Be careful of the star power on this team. “They aren’t who we thought they were”. This team slipped into its first playoff appearance last year due to some injury situations in his division. This will be a slugfest in 2012.
1. Yanks – You can’t deny the champ right? Everything has to click like it did last year for this squad to win again. Molina is a solid catcher, A-gon, 2nd is iffy, Jeter must stay healthy, Braun, J-Up and Maybin is about as good as it comes. They won’t have to even look at this bullpen this year unless someone gets injured. Kershaw, Weaver, Marcum, Niese and the Canibal will anchor this staff. Although this team doesn’t have the potential break out status some of the other teams in the league do, you know what you’re getting here or what you got last year.