My Team: Youth and SP injuries... **HELP**

[WSU Tony]

Hey Guys. I'm a long term baseball fan but this is my first fantasy baseball season. I did some reading before the draft and thought I had a pretty good drafting strategy going in. Will you please let me know how I did in my first draft and give me any advice? Did I draft too young? I'm wondering the value of Betancourt vs another closer. Will he come in handy since I'll be needing some spot starters for my injured pitchers? Should I drop the injured SP"ers, or wait them out till april? I know of a few guys getting a shot at closing to start the year and am wondering if I should pick them up in place of Betancourt or an injured starter....If you see any "holes" in my lineup or anything i need pitching please make sure to let me know. I'm also curious to how the pitching works. How many guys can I start in a given day? Do all of my RP'ers pitch if I didn't directly place them on the DL or are there certain spots I need to put them in before a game starts to ensure they are elligible to play? Thanks for the help guys, I'm open to any and all advice I can get.


C: Bengie Molina
1b: Paul Konerko
2b: B.J. Upton
3b: Arasmis Ramirez
SS: Hanley Ramirez
OF: Eric Byrnes
OF: Corey Hart
OF: Gary Sheffield
Util: Matt Kemp
BN: Adam LaRoche
BN: Willy Taveras

SP: A.J. Burnett
SP: Oliver Perez
SP: Tim Hudson
SP: Ted Lilly
SP: John Smoltz
SP: John Lackey
RP: Matt Capps
RP: Jason Isringhausen
RP: Kerry Wood
RP: Rafael Betancourt

[Eagle Baseball]

looks like a solid team. If anything you may be a little weak in HR/RBI but that is to be expected by taking Hanley first.

Is this a Yahoo league? Assuming it is your league settings will determine how many SP's, P's and RP's you can start on any given day. Check your settings on your league home page.

[WSU Tony]

looks like a solid team. If anything you may be a little weak in HR/RBI but that is to be expected by taking Hanley first.

Is this a Yahoo league? Assuming it is your league settings will determine how many SP's, P's and RP's you can start on any given day. Check your settings on your league home page.

This is a yahoo head to head 5X5 league. I figured I'm a little short on HR's but each of my guys are capable of 20 HR's. I have 5-6 guys capable of 20/20 seasons which was one of my goals before the draft. Picking up HR's at this point would be difficult (I'm assuming). How do I look on SB? I figure if I can at least dominate that category and remain competitive for HR's, I'll be in pretty good shape for the season.

It's a yahoo league but I'm not sure who's actually elligible to play and who's not. There are light colored backgrounds on some players and dark colored on others, I'll assume the light colored are the ones who are "eligible" to play?

Pitching wise, any suggestions? Will I be competitive in most categories? Where am I weak?

[WSU Tony]

Any feedback guys?

[WSU Tony]

Please help, WHIR.

[JJStokes]

You have a solid team. Your offense is balanced to remain competitive in all batting categories and I like your choices for closers. I was about to say that your pitching might be lacking some but then I noticed that I didn't see Smoltz. You starters are good. Overall, you have a good team, especially considering this is your first year playing. You didn't draft too young, as some owners would draft rookies way too early and expect them to contribute this year. Betancourt, if he holds on the closer role, should be serviceable. One Yahoo fantasy expert, Andy Behrens, wrote this: "If you added 30-something saves to last season's stats, Betancourt would have been an elite closer, similar in value to Papelbon, Nathan and Putz. That might be the best reason to pick him up." That might be best-case scenario though. I would put him as a middle-tier closer.

In yahoo, when you go to the "My Team" page, it shows a lineup, C, 1B, 2B, etc., that you could place your players (if they are able to play that position). So for example, Konerko, a 1B, can only be placed in the 1B slot, UTIL slot, or the bench (BN). If a player is on the bench slots, you don't get the stats he produced (if a player is slumping, it might be better to have him on the bench until he starts hitting). Same thing for pitching. On the day of games, starters who are pitching that day will usually have a " ^ " in front of the Opp column. Relievers (RP) don't have that, usually you just leave them in the lineup. For the "There are light colored backgrounds on some players and dark colored on others," I think you are talking about in the lineups and in the "Players" section, and anywhere actually. It is nothing. I think it is a way to help the eyes see as they go across the page.

One strategy for Head-to-Head leagues is streaming pitchers. Look / read around for more information as well as for other strategies or how to play Head-to-Head. Good luck in your season and I hope you enjoy playing fantasy baseball.

[yankees1088]

I agree about the lineup and that is a very nice strategy because you are going to stay competitive in all categories. Like you I did draft Konerko but I dropped him because I can't see him putting up big numbers as the lineup around him weakened and of course age. Besides that your infield is very solid. With Upton, Hanley, and Byrnes already starting I think you can drop Tavares because all he does his steal bases and your pretty well off in that category. I would look for some more pop from free agency, or look at picking up streaky hitters like Mike Jacobs, Kotchman, or Crede. Your starting pitching is a little shaky, Burnett is a health concern, Perez can have a big year but its not certain, Hudson is great, Smoltz is a solid pitcher (10 k's tonight) but injuries and age could catch up. Your closers aren't bad options either. Overall your offense has great potential with all the 20/20 candidates, just keep an eye out for some free agent pitching that could give you a boost. Randy Wolf is silently putting together a solid start to the year.

[yankees1088]

A little help if you can.
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