woowoo crew wrote:we make changes weekly. does this make a difference to you?? if i can only get one: carpenter or scherzer... who would you suggest?
First things first, I just realized that you have McCann, Iannetta and Sandoval on your team. There is no need to have three catchers. In my opinion, I don't even like to carry two catchers. So, first thing you need to do is trade one of your catchers. I think their value goes McCann > Iannetta > Sandoval. I would try to trade Iannetta. He has more value than Sandoval and should get you more in return. Plus, Sandoval has the added benefit of eligibility at extra positions which is good insurance for future injuries. Also, Sandoval while eligible as a catcher will play most games in real life as a third baseman which means that he should play more games than most catchers. If I was going to have a back up catcher, Sandoval is the one I want.
Iannetta is no slouch though. Look at the other teams in your league and identify the two with the worst catchers. Then compare where you drafted Iannetta and analyze which players they drafted at that round, the round before you drafted Iannetta and the round after you drafted Iannetta. That should give you six players who are roughly at the same value as Iannetta. I would try to trade Iannetta to one of those teams for one of those players.
Also, as good as Iannetta is, he
should not be your utility hitter. Iannetta is good when compared against other catchers. Compared against outfielders and firstbasemen, he's below average. Catchers do not contribute as much as other position players. They don't play as often and they typically don't contribute as much.
Iannetta and Sandoval both have value and you shouldn't simply drop them both, but you definitely shouldn't hold onto both of them when you already have McCann and you definitely shouldn't play either of them as your utility hitter.
Now, onto the pitchers,... In a weekly league filling your bench with pitchers isn't as great of a move as it is in a daily league, but it is still a valuable thing to do. Pitchers pitch every fifth game. In a weekly league, a starting pitcher will typically get a two-start week, once every three or four weeks. By a two-start week, I mean a week where he pitches on Monday and then pitches again on Saturday or Sunday. That is very valuable.
In many cases, it is better to start a slightly inferior (slightly inferior, not grealy inferior) pitcher who is going to start two games over a slightly superior pitcher who is only going to start one game that week.
If you have Carpenter and Scherzer on your bench, and all of your players are healthy, there are going to be weeks where you will want to start Carpenter over another pitcher on your squad and there are going to be weeks where you will want to start Scherzer over another pitcher on your squad, especially when Carpenter or Scherzer is due to start two games in the same week.
If you have Francouer, Snider and murphy on your bench, and every one on your team is healthy (and also assuming that you have replaced Iannetta in the Utility spot), there is probably never going to be a week where it makes sense to start them over your other players.
Offensive players on your bench are typically insurance against future injuries (which is why Sandoval is valuable on your bench) or they are flyers on potential break out stars who might demand a spot on your active roster through utter dominance (Sandoval might fit in this category too).
As Francouer, Murphy and Snider are all outfielders, you are not even really doing much to insure against injury. Is it likely that two of your outfielders are going to be injured at the same time? Sandoval is eligible in most leagues at 1B, 3B, and Catcher. That means he is insurance against injury for three of your starting players (if he lives up to expectations). If Aramis Ramirez gets hurt, Sandoval can play for you. Of course, he's not as good as Aramis and you maybe still need to make a trade to get a better 3B, but you are better off having Sandoval due to his eligibility.
You need to trade Iannetta or Sandoval. You can target either a hitter or a pitcher. The choice is yours. You shouldn't keep them both. Assuming you make a good trade and get a decent hitter who you can put into your utility spot, then, if I were you, I would keep Sandoval and one of Francour, Snider and Murphy to fill two of my bench spots and I would pick up Carpenter and Scherzer with my other two bench spots.
Assuming you make a good trade and get a decent pitcher for one your catchers, I would then move Francouer, Snider or Murphy into my utility spot, I would keep the catcher you did not trade and one of Francouer, Snider or Murphy on my bench and I would drop the third of those three bench outfielders for either Carpenter or Scherzer.
As to which one to pick between the two, you can make arguements for either.
Two or three years ago, Carpenter was in many leagues a second round draft pick, just a tick below Johan Santana. Reports out of spring training are encouraging. If he is healthy, you might have caught lightning in a bottle. Worst case scenario, he plays well for two months and then gets hurt again. If that happens, he has at least helped you while he was healthy, and then you drop him for another free agent. Scherzer is entirely different in that he's a young pitcher with potential for growth. His upside maybe doesn't match Carpenter's upside but he should at least be healthy for the whole year (and Scherzer's upside is promising in it's own right). If either Carpenter or Scherzer were a free agent in my league, I would own them both.
Hope my input helps. It's your team, though, follow your gut and try to have fun. Don't freak out over every move or kick yourself over players that you missed out on.
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by dooho » Mon Mar 30, 2009 9:48 pm 
