How does my team shape up given these unique leagueSettings?

[2times]

In a 7x7 league we have 15 starting hitters and a 1250 inning cap (10 generic P slots for pitching) The categories are 5x5 plus walks and total bases for hitters and IPs and Ls for pitchers.

CKendall (health risk, any word?)
CMarrero (rumored to Coors, any word?)
1B Olerud
2B Biggio (high upside w/ reportedly better health this year)
SS Nomar (same as Biggio i think)
3B DYoung
CI Ventura or McLemore (who is better given the categories?)
MI BBoone (please don't fall off TOO much)
OF Green
OF Stewart
OF Mondesi
OF PWilson
UT Cedeno
UT Aurilia
UT Lofton or Ventura or McLemore (again who?)

Bench Hatteberg (hopefully i can get some games in at C for him while he's still hot in OAK)

SP Sabathia (is he still 50 (!) lbs overweight this spring?!)
SP Halladay (please pan out)
SP Person (please pan out)
SP Ishii (please pan out)
SP Lawrence (please pan out)

RP Benitez (another fat ass, is he still hiding from the scale and 25 lbs overweight?)
RP Percival
RP Urbina
RP Gagne
RP Rocker
RP Dotel
RP Stanton
RP Remlinger

Obviously the Staff is full of questionmarks, but here's my strategy to date. Only use 4 of the Starters, whichever 4 are pitching best b/c obviously they won't all pitch well. That nets me 700-800 IPs then i use my great closers/relievers to finish up the remaining 400-500 innings. This will obviously hurt me in Wins, but it will help in losses and it's not like any of my 5 starters are going to win a ton of games anyway considering who they play for (w/ the possible exception of Person). The other advantage of using my relief is that they all get good Ks/innings, and my starters are surprisingly decent Ks/inning as well (w/ the exception of Lawrence) What do you think of this strategy? You too Arlo, i noticed your the one makin the most ofton/reasonable evaluations around here.

As far as hitting, I look good right now i think, definetly weak at the Corners, but my incredible MI and balanced OF helps make up for that i think. I like Ventura b/c of his patience at the plate in a league that counts walks, but Randa is also an available FA in addition to Mclemore, what do u think? Will Randa bounce back from injury and hit .300 as he did 4 out of the past 5 years? A second question, will i do ok in the power categories? Although i have a balanced OF, most of them tend towards speed except for Green, will i be able to get by or should i move Cedeno for a power guy?

Also, what do you think of Steve Cox this year? I could probably get him from this other guy for a reasonable deal b/c he covets my MI, would a two for two of a MI and Cedeno or PWilson for Cox and LGonzalez make sense? Which MI and OF should i try to move in this scenario?

All advice/comments appreciated.

[Dan]

Well, you have not posted how many teams are in your league, but I guess there are at least 12!

Overall your team doesn't look bad, but it has some weaknesses as you already mentioned.

The first thing I dislike is concerning your CI. I dont like both of them at all...even in a league counting walks, I don't thing Ventura is any good. I am almost a hundred percent sure, there are a lot guys better than these two, like Randa...! Their best campaings seem lightyears away and I dont see one of them bouncing back. So take a look at the wire and see what you can get.

The infield is ok, as long as Biggio and Nomar stay healthy, as you mentioned, keep your fingers crossed...I dont think Kendall is such a big health risk here.

Your OF really is great, but your team overall really is lacking power. So the trade you suggested would really be wise, lets see whom you can get, but Gonzo would be a real upgrade.

And for the Utility question: see above: the answer can only be Lofton....

Concerning your pitchers you really should start to pray...your SPs all have upside potential, but you have no real proven starter - of coz Sabbathia wasn't bad last year, but with a lacking run support this year his wins could falter, even if his ERA may get a bit better. I like Person, Halladay and Lawrence, they all should win many games in the future, just hope they start this year.

On the other hand, you relief corps is loaded, so your startegy using the SPs/RPs could work out well, especially with these settings. You may even go with less than four starters for a while if some are slumping, and use them more, when they are hot!

[Arlo]

Thanks for the kudos, 2times! I can't wait to read cwebb's reaction when he sees you calling me reasonable, though... Anyway...

I think Kendall is no more of a health risk than any other catcher - maybe less, since he may still see time in the of which would reduce any risk of injury. Sure, injuries can happen, but he's a stud who wants to prove something this year. His steals may be a bit disappointing, but he should bounce back in the other categories.

No definite word on Marrero as of two minutes ago. I'd give this about a 15% chance of happening (which is actually pretty high for a rumor like this). O'Dowd is certainly not disinclined to deal (putting it mildly), and it might help both sides if the Rockies toss the right package together.

You're right about Biggio and Nomar - I like Nomar more for this year, though.

Shuffle Ventura and McLemore according to matchups. I agree with using Ventura more, but keep in mind that he'll be on a pretty short leash.

Yeah, Boone will fall off, but it won't be a disaster.

As for your last util slot, it depends on how Lofton does. If he seems motivated and is getting on base, use him.

Sabathia scares me. I was never on his bandwagon to begin with, and his weight trouble doesn't help. That's just my opinion, though - lots of folks like him more than ever. Of your other starters, I think they'll work out pretty well, although Lawrence may fizzle as the season progresses.

Yes, Benitez isn't in the greatest shape, but he'll be fine. The rest of your pen is stellar (I'll hold the Rocker comments).

I love your strategy as long as you make absolutely sure you use up all your innings. This shouldn't be much of a problem with a 1250 limit and ten slots, though. I don't even see you doing that badly in wins - the relievers aren't bad in w/ip. Depending on how many innings you use, you may even want to shift to 2-3 starters / 7-8 relievers later in the season.

I have to admit I'm biased, though - I'm a huge fan of stacking the pen with high k/ip guys. In a league I drafted tonight, I picked up only two starters and ten relievers (holds count too, though). Anyway, the strategy can do well, and your players should make it work out very nicely.

Stick with Ventura and McLemore for now, but keeping an eye on Randa is a good idea - he's being overlooked by far too many (perhaps due to all the rookie 3b's). Hitting .300 seems to be expecting too much, but it's certainly possible. Expect .290 or so.

Your power depands on how well your infield does. You're right - another power bat in the of would help, but Cedeno may be too valuable to trade unless you pick up a truly great player in return.

Steve Cox makes for a good sleeper, but he's far from a sure thing. He'd make a decent side dish in a trade for Gonzo. In such a trade, I'd try to move Wilson rather than Cedeno, if only for the fact that you have enough question marks already. Start with an offer of Biggio+Wilson, and see what happens.

Anyway, I hope that covers all your questions. I like your thinking about using your league's rules to your advantage. I think the inning cap will wind up being even more important than the 7x7 scoring - those 1250 ip will get used up very quickly with so many slots, which could lead to some very nice trade opportunities in the final quarter of your season. One idea that might work is conserving your innings by benching sp's even more than you planned, and then picking up some true stud sp's from teams at or near the limit later on for much less than they're worth...

[Arlo]

Ok, didn't see Dan's post while submitting mine. Interesting view on Lofton - he certainly has potential at the top of the order in Chicago. We'll still have to wait and see, but the more I think about it, the more I believe Dan's view is right.

[2times]

Thanks for the responses, it's always good to hear feedback from ppl not biased by other interests (like the 11 other guys in my league). Is the concensus that Wilson/Biggio for Cox/Gonzalez would be a move in the right direction? I've got Ventura in the line up for now, especially w/ the Yanks playing the O's in the first series, we'll see where it goes from there. There's also a possibility i could swing Benitez/McLemore for Pujols though which would help me at the hot corner greatly and allow me to move DYoung to CI. This would be better than the LGonzalez deal even though it hurts my pitching strategy a bit right?

[cwebb]

Considering the heaps of talent available at 3B, you should definitely get an upgrade, and it should come quite cheap!

[Dan]

I would say yes to a Wilson/Biggio for Cox/Gonzalez trade if I would be you!

[uanap]

I agree with Dan. Trade sounds pretty fair to me. Pull the trigger on it.

[Arlo]

Yes, if you can grab Gonzo for that price, do it.

I think the deal for Pujols sounds good, too, depending on who you can pick up (either as a free agent or have added to the deal as a toss-in) to replace Benitez. Obviously, you won't get a top level closer, but there might be some decent middle relief out there. Sounds like a solid move!