Ok, I guess I'll start this off by posting my roster:
C - J. Baker 1B - Helton 2B - Utley 3B - Scutaro SS - Bartlett OF - Markakis, Ibanez, Hawpe UT - M. Bourn BN - S. Drew ('til I see some productivity) BN - Rolen DL - A. Ramirez
SP - Peavy, Verlander, Bedard, Lester, R. Romero, T. Hanson RP - F. Francisco, Wood, Wilson, D. Meyer
[It's always amusing to look at your roster a few weeks in and compare it to the team you drafted...I've been fortunate enough to pick up Bartlett, Francisco, Scutaro, Bourn (we'll see how long that lasts), Baker, and Helton (shocking) to replace......ahem, Carlos Guillen, Pierzynski (horrible), Maybin (crap), Lowrie, O. Cab, and Wheeler. Ricky Romero and Tommy Hanson are also recent additions.]
Anyway, ON TO THE BURNING QUESTIONS OF THE DAY: (1) Mat Gamel is available on the wire and, with A-Ram on the DL for who knows how long, my thought is to drop Rolen for him. I figure Gamel has better upside and Rolen's an injury risk and is fairly inconsistent (though batting in the middle of a great offense). On the flip side, I'm hearing Gamel's time in the bigs may be brief - and while he's up, his AB's will be limited.
(2) Should I drop Ricky Romero for De la Rosa? I'm troubled by this question, and have spent 3 days arguing with myself over it. I haven't heard any news on when or if Romero will be called back up, but this guy's stuff was electric early in the season. I've got one foot on the De la Rosa train but the voice in the back of my head says he's historically inconsistent and, heck, it's only been his past 2 starts where he's been dominant. PLUS, he pitches for the Rockies for God's sake. How could I possibly live with myself if I go through with it? Somebody tell me please.
(3) Thoughts on Aardsma and Andrew Bailey? My league counts holds, and either one can help me in that category. Which one's for real? Will Aardsma hold onto the CL role when Morrow's 100 percent? Assuming that Romero doesn't figure to get called up any time soon, should I stand pat on my SP's (with the hope that Lester turns it around and Hanson will perform as advertised) and look to pick up one of these guys instead?
Thanks for the help with mine. For the last two...I'm holding onto romero as well in hopes that he comes back soon, so lets cross our fingers. And I'm also in a holds league and luckily had aardsma. I think he used to close for Rice or some school in Texas if i'm not mistaken, and I like the clips i've seen of him on mlb tv. I'd hold onto him as well, because even if he loses the closer role, he'll still be the set up man.
July 4th, 4:51 pm: Big Pelf is going to be an all out star...Pick him up before someone else does.
I agree - I've been fortunate with some waiver pick ups as well.
To answer your questions...
1) I'm not a huge Rolen fan - 3 out of the last 4 seasons he's played less than 120 games with minimal pop in his bat. Why not pick up Gamel? He may not play everyday...but, he might...and if he does his upside is probably 20hrs. You're not going to get that from Rolen and my guess is you'll be able to pick him up again if Gamel is sent back down.
2) That's a tough question. Personally I think that Romero is going to have a tougher time in the AL East than De la Rosa will in the NL West (some awful offenses in that division).
3) Lester will get much better IMO. I'd probably stand pat with what you have.
2) Looks like De La Rosa is for real. I haven't seen any of his starts this season, but apparently he's changed his approach, relying less on his fastball and utilizing his slider much more often. Also, he had a strong finish to last year. Since last year’s AS Break:
On the flip side, he's been facing some pretty weak opposition. In the last 3 weeks his opponents have been: PIT, FLA, SDG, SDG, and ARI. He does play in the weak-hitting NL West, though, so this may continue.
3) Lester should turn things around. For the most part he's been pretty good, but so far he's been susceptible to huge innings. He's also been leaving the occasional pitch in the middle of the strike zone to get hammered, something I expect him to solve.
Ok, so what's the consensus here? Looking at my roster, do you get the impression my SP is strong enough - such that I should/shouldn't pick up De La Rosa, dropping Romero? OR do I need to strengthen my RP by getting Aardsma, dropping Romero?
1) You can afford to take a chance on Gamel, so there is no harm in grabbing him and seeing what he can do. I'll be that in a week if you wanted to, you could pick Rolen back up. That said though, Gamel will really only be useful during interleague play when he's used as a DH, otherwise, he's riding the pine as a pinch hitter. The problem with him is has always been his defense, so he may not get too much playing time.
2) Hold onto Romero for a little bit longer. Maybe watch one more De La Rosa start and then if he strings together 3 great starts, go get him. Romero will probably be back up after interleague play.
3) I like Bailey. Not sure in your league, but in ours he has SP/RP eligibility which is huge, and this kid has a lot of upside. Aardsma is solid, but I definitly think Morrow regains the closer role at some point next month. Aardsma is worth owning right now, but I think Bailey might end up being the better long term option.
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by ecannon80 » Tue May 19, 2009 3:15 pm 
