performing badly not sure what adjustments need to be made

[kingman2003]

I am in an 11-team yahoo league and am near the bottom. I would like to think that I'm just starting out slow and my team will start to put it together, but in case it does not, I was wondering if you guys could give me some suggestions.

C Pierzynski, A.J.
1B Palmeiro, Rafael
2B Hairston Jr., Jerry
3B Pujols, Albert
SS Furcal, Rafael
IF Hinske, Eric
OF Ordonez, Magglio
OF Abreu, Bobby
OF Wells, Vernon
OF Gibbons, Jay
Util Huff, Aubrey
Bench Cabrera, Orlando
Bench Drew, J.D.
Bench White, Rondell

SP Wade Miller
SP Odalis Perez
SP Hideo Nomo
SP Jeff Weaver
SP Carlos Zambrano
RP Troy Percival
RP Jose Mesa
Bench Johan Santana
Bench Rocky Biddle

[BoSox2003]

I am not sure what type of league you are in (roto or head2head.) so i am going to give my advice for the overall best rounded team. first, you have a great OF and very good RP. I think you definatly need to work on your SP and your infeild.
i think Cabrera is too good of a player to have on your bench. I would compare him with huff and see who you would rather play at UTL. I would also reccomending packaging up Cabrera with White (who is of to a good start that i bet will quickly balance off, so i wuld dump him while hes hot) i would try to package these two and get a decent SP or a 2B.
Santana isn't a good pitcher to have for fantasy seeing as he is now a middle reliver. i would dump him and pick up a potential good SP (valdes, benson, armas jr.) anyone you can get your hands on.

write back if you need anymore advice.

[mustang50]

Well post which categories you are defficent in first of all. You look like you could use some wins, and maybe home runs/ rbi's. I would look into picking up a better second baseman and a relible sp wouldn't hurt either. Oh yeah and post some of the players who are available on waivers. You never know what kind of talent you will find there...

[isis]

Agreed you could use an upgrade at 2b. What about Marcus Giles? Is he available in your league. The slow starts of Hinske, Abreu, and Raffy have hurt you. They are heating up so that should help some now that Pujols is relegated to ph duties.

[kingman2003]

couple of questions. is hairston really a liability at 2nd. he's pretty hot right now, and he seems to have the potential to steal a bunch of bases w/decent pop and avg/obp. is he playing over his headm or living up to his potential?

second, is santana really not a good fantasy player. he helps me in k/9, era and whip plus i think he'll pick up close to ten wins as a spot starter/middle reliever. if he can pick up 9 wins in 100 innings isn't that like having half of an 18 game winner over 200+ innings?

Also, how much better is furcal then cabrera. i'm trying to deal one of them, but i feel that furcal's value is higher since cabrera had an off year last year.

[hooligan1]

While there are certainly better 2B out ther than Hairston, I think it is a case of him more living up to potential, rather than playing over his head.. I would stick with him for a while yet.

I like your thinking on Santana. I have him in a league that counts holds and K/9 and I'm loving him. If your league counts K/9, he's pretty huge. And do any of us truly believe that the Minnesota rotation will stay healthy the entire year? I think there is a better than average chance that he will be a starter sooner or later. It's also nice that he fits into either the SP or RP spots, giving you a ton of flexibility. It was looking like the Twins were going to put him in long relief instead of set-up, but that has changed. And don't count him out as a potential closer should Guardado go down.....

I'm not convinced that Furcal IS better than Cabrera. I personally prefer Furcal and he's on a better team (theoretically) but Cabrera has more power and will have more RBI opportunities, since he's not leading off like Furcal is.....and should still steal a bunch of bases. Remember, he stole 29 last year.

I actually like you rotation better than your bullpen. Miller is HORRIBLY underperforming right now; expect him to right the ship. Nomo has gotten blown up a couple times, but should be OK. Perez and Weaver have both been victims of poor relief pitching and will be very good over the long haul and Zambrano is a solid #5 starter.....with stud-potential. I'm not a huge fan of Mesa, or Joe Table as my friends and I call him, due to his penchant for "setting the table" for opposing batters.....I think you could use an upgrade at reliever more than starter!

I would see if there is anyone buying into the Drew/Huff hype and trying to package one or both of them in a deal to improve other areas. Rondell White is infinately droppable.

You have pretty good speed and most of your batters hit for average. You might want to seek more power.....and another more solid closer.

Hope this helps......

[kingman2003]

thanks everybody for the replies. do you think i would benefit from trying to parlay v.wells into a strong starter, or should i hold on to him.

also i noticed that for some reason todd walker is on the waiver wire. i know that he is better then hairston. should i drop hairston for him right now, or hold on to him and see if he keeps playing well. i don't think anyone is going to pick walker up, at least not right now.

last, what closer could i get for mesa + gibbons, or mesa + either furcal or cabrera?

[Guest]

With Pujuols relegated to PH duties for the next few weeks I wouldn't trade Wells just yet. That would decrease your power in two areas. I would keep Hairston for now because of the steals.