MLB Mailbag :: Volume 3
by Adam Hathaway
Published: March 27, 2008, 5:07 pm
 Questions of the Week
 "I'm in a 10-team, H2H league. We can keep 5 players. Out of the 50 that have been kept, only 3 are catchers. I have the 10th pick in my league's draft, so that means including keepers, 59 players will be gone by the time I get my first pick. I didn't keep a catcher and Russell Martin is available. If he's still there, would he be a good pick here or should I hold off on taking a catcher so early? " - Ron, Tupelo, MS
Ron, Thanks for checking in from the birthplace of Elvis. First off you are in a 10 team league, 3 people have held on to catchers, and Russell Martin is not one of them? Either you have some pretty weak teams or people are valuing the catcher position higher than they should be. As for your question, I have seen Martin drafted often in the 3rd round and his average draft position is about 35th overall. So without seeing who else is left in your league I think Martin would be a great grab for you at #60 if he is still available.
 "We know all the big deal moves: Miggy, Johan, Haren, Bedard, etc. But what's the biggest under-the-radar or underrated signing/trade this off-season for a contender?" - Jay, Lansdale, PA
I think the signing of Francisco Cordero by the Reds was a great move that helps that team out immensely. Quick who was the Reds closer last season? Give up, David Weathers. Yeah I think they upgraded there. The Reds are a team that is getting better and so they should be in a lot of close games. They need that closer that doesn’t give up the runs and with Cordero they found him.
"I recently dealt Manny Ramirez and Cameron Maybin for Magglio Ordonez, Adam Jones, and Ian Kennedy in an 18 team, H2H dynasty league. Did I make a good deal?" - Greg, Highlands Ranch, CO
That looks like a good deal to me. Magglio and Manny should post about the same numbers. Jones and Maybin are both young players so what they can do has yet to be seen but Jones is actually starting so that works in your favor. Kennedy was just the icing on the cake that tipped the scales in your favor even more. Overall it was a great trade for you.
"HELLO--I'm looking for a deep sleeper that would only cost me $1 at my auction this week. Wondering if there are any AL catchers like that?? I WAS looking at Jeff Clement, but he got sent down. Any ideas??? Thanks."
Well I would pray that someone like Saltalamacchia is overlooked because he was sent down to the minors. It is only a matter of time before he is back. Guillermo Quiroz catching out of Baltimore behind Hernandez hit .333 during Spring Training and had a better OBP than Hernandez plus after 2005 and last season we have seen that Hernandez is injury prone. Another player to look at is Mathis who is behind Napoli at LAA. He had a better OBP and AVG than Napoli this spring and I would not say that Napoli is cemented into that starting position.
"a$$-hat, You are such a fraud with your Red Sox bias. How can you say Lester is going to have a better season than any of those other pitchers mentioned in your last article? Looks like that prediction is already failing to come true, after Lester was beat up by a weak A's lineup. Thanks for giving me advice on which young pitcher not to take in a deep draft (Lester)." - Brock in LA
Brock, Thanks for reading my article and no problem. Did you know that Justin Verlander in his first appearance in 2006? He went 2.2 innings giving up 7 runs on 7 hits striking out nobody? What did he do that year? Oh yeah he went 17-9 with an ERA of 3.63. Why do I say this? Because this is a long season and anything can happen.
"Hey Turkey-loaf, Moving away from cuisines, I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I finally got my boyfriend back from months of fantasy football hell and just when we were actually doing things on weekends again when fantasy baseball happens. Now we are going to have games every day which means we are not going to be doing much of anything. Could you give me some advice on how to get him back? Thanks and enjoy your turkey." - Lindsey in Milwaukee, WI
Sorry to hear about your loss. I am afraid that you have probably lost him until the end of the summer when fantasy baseball starts to leave the mind. Unfortunately for you that is exactly when fantasy football enters. So looks like you will have to look forward to the few weeks in late January when you can get some time in. In seriousness some obsessions are not good. You should tell your boyfriend that for 1 week a month he needs to set his baseball lineup ahead of time and anytime he is with you he is not allowed near the computer. Fantasy baseball is an everyday thing in many leagues and it wears on the soul. He should be happy to have some escape time. If this does not work, you can always start your own fantasy league. You can provide him a list of men that are attractive to you that you will be spending your fantasy time with when he is to busy. Good luck! That's all I have time for this week guys but get your questions into me for next weeks edition of FPM Mailbag. fpmadmin@gmail.com |
