The 2006 (and beyond) Detroit Tigers

[Sven Draconian]

To start this dynasty, I DL'd Halofans rosters as of 6/29, changed some ratings around (Rogers, Garland and several others) and then simulated the entire 2005 season with roster moves trades turned off (and disabled 40 man, waivers, ML options to try and get as few roster moves as possible).

I also edited many Tigers players to what I feel is more realistic. I made Brandon Inge, Carlos Guillen, Chris Shelton all better, created the 205 first round draft pick (Camron Maybin) and improved a few prospects (most notably Curtis Granderson).

I also knocked several players down far, such as Troy Percival, Dmitri Young, Kyle Sleeth....and several others 4 star players (prospects and a few guys I've never heard of).

In the end I might have improved the team a little, but it mostly zero'd out. I kocked down a lot of guys.

I didn't find the rosters to be all that accurate. However, they are still very good (though they gave some odd results). He did great work, better than I could have done, but there are some odd results.

This will start with the offseason following the 2005 season.

A few notes:
HFA is on
I play out all the games, so this will move somewhat slow, but not painfully slow.
This is played on 6.12, dont feel like dealing with some of the bugs in the expansion pack.
Coach's are off
40 mil Cash Max
Waivers are off (They are just not realistic the way the CPU uses them)
Arby, 40 man, MLOY are all on.

[Sven Draconian]

The 2005 Season (Recap)

Regular Season:
The Tigers won 90 games and made the playoffs, which was alarming to me.
However, it was only because the division was terrible. Only 2 Tigers had OPS over .800 (Guillen and Ordonez). The only real problem I saw was that we had a ton of SBs as a team, but a very low %. Other than that, most players were in line.

The computer also made some odd choices with who to play, starting a ton of prospects in place of major leaguers..

The Playoff teams were:
Yankees
Tigers
As
Mariners

and for the N.L.
Dodgers
Cards
Mets
Padres
The Yankees won the World Series, the Tigers beat the Mariners in the ALDS, but lost in 7 in the ALCS.

[Sven Draconian]

2005 Tigers Stats:

C:
Ivan Rodriguez- .263/.311/.392/.703-19-7-9-70-16 (AVG-OBP-SLG-OPS-2B-3B-HR-RBI-SB)

1B:
Carlos Pena-.267/.343/.450/.793/30-4-18-94-0

2B:
Placido Polanco-.284/.350/.431/.781/29-14-10-70-56

3B:
Brandon Inge (340AB)-.274/.349/.476/.825/20-2-26-47-7

SS:
Carlos Guillen-.316/.396/.536/.932/33-7-23-78-30

OF:
Jeff Inglin (Who is he?)-.270/.349/.438/.786/21-12-18-82-20
Curtis Granderson (420AB)-.220/.289/.377/.666/19-5-12-44-41
Craig Monroe-.245/.290/.395/.685/4-1-8-30-0
Magglio Ordonez-.336/.396/.531/.986/34-9-21-91-17

SP: (Note, I had to take the team over in June to get the right starters in, so Bonderman and Maroth are only half season stats....)

Jeremy Bonderman-11-4, 2.83, 127.00IP, 13HR, 23BB, 140K
Mike Maroth-10-6, 3.42, 126.2IP, 7HR, 29BB, 102K
Jason Grilli (who?)-8-6, 3.72, 130IP, 13HR, 34BB, 103k
Nate Robertson-14-14, 4.23, 217IP, 25HR, 54BB, 174K
Justin Verlander- 11-14, 5.34, 212.1IP, 30HR, 84BB, 164Ks

MR
Kyle Farnsworth-2-2, 6sv, 3.63ERA, 44.2IP, 1hr, 27bb, 51k
Troy Percival-2-4, 26sv, 4.71ERA, 72.1IP, 70K, 8HR, 30BB

No other RP is worth mentioning.

[Sven Draconian]

Re-Signings and Releases

Re-Signed:
Kyle Farnsworth-5 years, 2.5 mil per to be my closer or setup man next year
44IP, 3.63ERA, 1HR, 27BB, 50K. 2-2 with 6 svs. He is an extreme groundball pitcher, gets strikeouts and no homers? Seems like a perfect RP to me.


Placido Polanco: 5 Year deal worth 6.75 million
.284/.350/.431/.781/29-14-10-70-56

I might have overpayed slightly, but a middle infielder that can play good defense, steal bases and get on base at a .350 clip is pretty valuable. I was hesitant to pay that much for him, but hes a big reason why this team went into the playoffs, and I have no other proven options.

Releases:
Pat Mahomes
Danny Patterson
Dmitri Young
Fernando Vina

DYis useless to this team now, he was hurt all last year, and I have more than enough players that can play 1B/corner OF/DH. The other 3 are just journeyman not worth talking about.

[Sven Draconian]

Pre Offseason Notes:

Team payroll is 50,600,000. Last Season we made 85,000,000. I have plenty of money to spend if I thats what I want to do.

Starters and Backups heading into the offseason:

C:
Pudge Rodriguez-8,000,000 through '07. 34 Years old
He starting to slip, a sub .400 slg and only a .311 OBP. I can live with that at catcher.

My backups are starters at other positions (Chris Shelton and Brandon Inge).

1B:
Carlos Pena-2,750,000 through '06 (arby) 27 years old.
Hes an average 1B, .350 OBP, .450 slg. Less than 20 Hrs and only 30 Doubles but he plays gold glove defense. I can live with him starting, but he would be a great first option off the bench or trade bait if their is a FA.

No backup

2B:
Placido Polanco-6,750,000 though 2010-30 Years old
A good producer at 2nd. .350 OBP from 2nd base, can steal bases and plays good defense. Not a lot of power, but what can you expect from 2B.

Omar Infante- 914,286 through '06 (arb)- 24 years old.
I need to get him some ABs. He can play very good defense at 2B or SS, is a good base stealer, can play 3rd and is just 24. I want to get him atleast 300 ABs this year (double last years) to see what he can do.

SS:
Carlos Guillen-4,000,000 through '07. 30 years old.
Maybe the best SS in baseball......932 OPS, almost .400OBP, hit .326, 23 HR, 33 doubles and 7 triples, he'll steal 15-20 bases and he plays good defense a SS. 4 mil is a bargain.

3B:
Brandon Inge-1,832,000 through '06 28 years old
While he didnt play a full year last year, he also plays very good defense at 3B (also 1B/C/LF/CF/RF and has an absolute cannon for an arm). He'll post 15-20 HRs, hit around .270-.280 and have a .350 OBP. Very valuable, especially with all the versatility he has.

For my infield, I may only carry these 5 players and just platoon them around. Infante is a good defender at 2B and SS. Inge can play 1st, Guillen can play 3rd, Polanco can play 3rd...they are all multi-positional and I want them all getting plenty of ABs. I may sign or callup an emergency guy, but this should be my IF most of the year.

LF:
Jeff Inglin-350,000 through '06 (auto) 30 years old.
Who the hell is he? Never even heard of him before.... he hit .270, .350 OBP, 21 doubles, 12 triples and 18 HR. Plays average defense for the corner OF spots. If I can get a top flight player I may replace him and use him as a 4th OF since he can play all 3 spots.

CF:
Curtis Granderson- 350,000 through '06 (auto) 24 years old
Had a poor year last year, but he shouldn't have been in the bigs. He says he's ready now and had a great sept/playoffs. Not sure how valuable that really is, but he'l get a chance at this point. Great defender, awesome speed and has Bobby Abreu type potential. Really a good all around player that doesn't excel at any one thing.

RF:
Magglio Ordonez- 6,000,000 through '09 32 years old
Good D, can run, an MVP caliber hitter. Nothing left to say.

I have no decided on any backup OFs to this point.

DH:
Chris Shelton- 350,000 through '06 (arby) 25 years old
Edgar Martinez type potential. He may be a complete stud at C/1B/DH wherever he ends up.

SP:
Jeremy Bonderman-250,000 through '06 (arby) 23 years old
Posted a >9 K/9IP last year, shouldl finally become a true ace, Cy Young type guy this season. 140/23 K/BB, gives up a few HRs, but at 23 that could improve.

Nate Robertson- 400,000 through '06 (arby) 28 years old
What you see is what you get, a groundball pitcher with a very good defense behind him. He is basically league average through, low 4's ERA .500 record....dont expect more.

Mike Maroth- 1,800,000 through '06 (arby) 28 years old.
RE:Nate Robertson, they are also both lefty's.

Justin Verlander- 350,000 through '06 (arby) 23 years old.
He's my top pitching prospect (outside of Bonderman). Rough rookie year, but has an UNBELIEVEABLE arm, it'll be fun watching him develop.

Havn't picked a 5th starter.

Closer:
Kyle Farnsworth-2,500,000 through 2010 29 years old
Not a great closer, but he has the role by default. Groundball pitcher with amazing stuff, doesn't give up HRs. Should be effective, but I still like him better as a setup man.

Setup
Troy Percival- 6,000,000 through '06 36 years old
A really expensive slipping former closer. Really should be a MR at best.

LOOGY
Jamie Walker- 775,000 through '06, 34 years old
Maybe the best LOOGY in the game, useless vs righties though.

And thats all thats decided on. I have 1 OF spot availible, 1 SP and several RPs. I want either a top flight starter or a big bat, either or....maybe both if I can. I dont want to waste money.

To give you a view on what I look for in a player, I want good all around guys. Guys that can field, run and hit. Bobby Abreu comes to mind, Carlos Beltran....people that can do it all, even if they arn't the best hitters. I like to be able to run, but I dont consider it small ball....like Ozzie Guillen says, "smart ball".

I really want to get Carlos Beltran somehow, he is the perfect player for my team. He is exactly what I want. Good all around. The short list of guys I just really want for my team (they arn't FA, just guys I want to acquire):
Carlos Beltran
Jake Peavy
Ben Sheets
Alex Rodriguez
Albert Pujols

They are all young studs. Beltran is #1 on my list. AROD, like Beltran can do it all, field, run and hit. Pujols is just a complete stud at the plate.

But more importantly, pitching wins in baseball.

[Sven Draconian]

The 2006 Free Agency Period:


Top Positional Players availible:
Paul Konkerko-1B
Alfonso Soriano-2B
Mark Lorreta-2B
Brian Giles-RF
Richard Hildalgo-CF
Corey Patterson-CF
Jacque Jones-LF
Johnny Damon-CF
Eric Byrnes-RF
A.J. Pierzynsky-C

Out of this list Im interested in Konerko, Soriano, Patterson, Hildalgo, Byrnes...maybe Jones and Pierzynsky.

Loretta, Giles and Damon are too old. Patterson isn't really good enough for me to spend the money on.

Top SPs:
Barry Zito
Byung-Hyun Kim
A.J. Burnett
Kip Wells
Esteban Loaiza
Vincente Padilla
Steve Trachsel


Top RP
Joe Nathan
Braden Looper
Trevor Hoffman
Octavio Dotel
Danny Kolb


There is quite a bit of talent in the FA class this year. In the interest of keeping hits readable, I didn't go through every quality FA, just the top ones.

[Sven Draconian]

Big Time Trade

I have the trading frequency on Normal, Netural, Very Hard.

To the St. Louis Cardinals:
Magglio Ordonez-RF
Carlos Pena-1B

To the Detroit Tigers:
Albert Pujols-1B/LF/3B

I felt uneasy about this deal, but the difficulty is on very hard and I did give back an MVP type guy and a good 1B. I take on an extra 3 million in this deal (big deal).

Free Agency
My top target is obviously Barry Zito. He won the Cy Young last year, outstanding K/BB ratio. the only other pitcher that I really want is A.J. Burnett. But I just really want Zito.

With this trade I need either an OF or a 1B. Im looking for Byrnes or Konerko to fill the vacancy. I would love Alfonso Soriano, who I could drop into CF if I wanted. Since I now have a vacancy Ill also look at Corey Patterson who is a good defender and can run.

Im also looking for any RP I can get....



Immediately Zito, Konerko, Nathan and Dotel shoot me down with the "I dont like your Organization" message....ouch. So I go hard for Danny Kolb, 70 Ks in 70 IP, 64% GBs. 40 BBs is scary, but he is only 30 and has good control according to the scouting report. Hes a very good 30 year old RP...what more can I want? (besides Nathan and Dotel...) He is asking for 2.3 million or so.

A.J. Burnett is cheap in terms of asking price, only 1.2 mil for 3 years. I offered 1.5 (though I still want Zito). I make a small offer to Eric Byrnes.

**After the first day of FA I trade Mike Rivera and Luke French (journeyman, scrub) to the Mets for Criag Brazell....a decent looking 1B prospect (hit .320 with a .400 OBP in AAA as a 25 year old). They offered the deal**

On day 3 I sign Burnett to the 1.5 million dollar deal. Byrnes is getting better offers from Cincy and Kolb is being bid on by the Chi Sox.

On Day 6 I sign Braden Looper to a 2 million or so contract. He posted a 3:1 K/BB ratio over 78 innings. It was 3 years, which I sort of regret now, but we really need some RP help.

On Day 7 I sign Vincente Padilla for 400K for 2 years...a small risk/big reward type deal. And that is what I did for the rest of the FA period. I signed up David Riske and Ugueth Urbina to help the pen, and just a few guys like Padilla for risk/reward.

Signings log (for me):

Free agent P A.J. Burnett has been signed to a contract of $1,350,000 per year, for 3 years.

Wednesday 2/1/2006 :

Free agent P Braden Looper has been signed to a contract of $2,350,000 per year, for 3 years.

Thursday 2/2/2006 :

Free agent P Vicente Padilla has been signed to a contract of $400,000 per year, for 2 years.

Monday 2/6/2006 :

Free agent P David Riske has been signed to a contract of $3,400,000 per year, for 3 years.

Wednesday 2/8/2006 :

Free agent P Sidney Ponson has been signed to a contract of $400,000 per year, for 2 years.

Saturday 2/11/2006 :

Free agent CF Jose Cruz Jr. has been signed to a contract of $700,000 per year, for 1 years.

Monday 2/13/2006 :

Free agent P Ugueth Urbina has been signed to a contract of $1,600,000 per year, for 4 years.

Urbina will be my 7th inning guy (Urbina, Riske, Farny). Padilla, Looper are LR guys, Ponson is a AAAA guy who'll get a chance. Burnett is my #3 starter and Cruz Jr is just a body in AAA.


Noteables from around the league:
Blue Jays sign Juan Pierre for 7 mil
DRays sign Giles for 10 mil
*Traded Baldelli for Morgan Ensberg*
Inidans sign Damon for 12 mil
NYM sign Ryan Dempster for 14 mil....he pitched 20 innings last year....
White Sox sign Konerko for 18 mil
Braves sign Hildalgo for 7 mil
Braves gave Dotel 9 mil
*They traded Andruw Jones to LA for Kevin Millar and David Austen*
Cincy got Byrnes for 3.67 mil (Damnit, I could have afforded that, I thought he wanted more....pissed me off).
Dbacks gave Trachsel 9 mil
Mariners give Lorretta 11 mil
Orioles gave Zito 17 mil
Orioles gave Nathan 15 mil
Red Sox gave Jacque Jones almost 10 mil
Texas gave Bruce Chen 11 mil
Rockies gave Soriano 17 mil....he can post some scary #s their....

[Sven Draconian]

Amateur Draft:
1st Round:
LeLand Magdaleno: 3B: 20: College Player
Hit .343 with 8 jacks and 13 doubles, 21 walks for a .396 OBP. Slg'd at a .515 clip vs average competition. Still young for a college guy. Average defensively and can run a little as well. Good scouting report (Dont worry about taking a chance....bla bla). 59/80....

Without stars, ratings or talents the draft can be tricky.

2nd Round:
Ovidio Egozcue: SP: 23: College

53/80. Posted the best K/BBof the guys left at 132/26 in 117 innings, while Im not overly excited about him (though he does have a nice GB%) he is the best guy left.

3rd Round:
Cladiou Ruvalcada: RP: 20: College

52/80. Listed as a RP despite a 4/5 in stamina, Ill turn him into a starter. 111/24 K/BB ratio in 108 innings.

4th Round:
Raymond Reid: 2B: 21: College
43/80, had a 29/29 BB/K rate, hit only .283 with little power, but is a gold glove caliber 2B and can run a little bit, plus he is a switch hitter.

5th Round:

Joe Lewis: 2B:18: High School
39/80, Fast, Can Steal and plays 2B and SS....played vs Tough Compeition and had #S comparable with the rest of the top players.

6th Round:
Norberto Lopez: LF: 23: College
32/80. The only decent hitter left, had a .488 slg...

7th Round:
Clyde Nakagawa: RP: 23: College
30/80 Best guy left.

[abailey3313]

Orioles signed much-needed pitching in Barry Zito and Joe Nathan. Verrrry nice!

[Sven Draconian]

Originally Posted by abailey3313

Orioles signed much-needed pitching in Barry Zito and Joe Nathan. Verrrry nice!

They spent a TON too....32 million or so in those two.....

[Sven Draconian]

2006 Team Preview

Rotation:
Jeremy Bonderman-R
Nate Robertson-L
A.J. Burnett-R
Mike Maroth-L
Justin Verlander-R

Bullpen:
CL: Kyle Farnsworth-R
Set: Dave Riske-R
7th: Ugueth Urbina-R
Ty Howington-L
Jamie Walker-L
Troy Percival-R
Braden Looper-R
Ryan Dreese-R

Swingman-Vincente Padilla-R

Im carrying way to many pitchers, 14.....I only want 12 but A) I dont have anybody worth calling up position player wise and B) Who to send down? I like having 2 lefty's, and I like having a swingman. Dreese will likley go down first, then Percy or Looper, they'll have to fight it out. But I have no real need for a position player right now (no fatigue yet).

Starting wise, Im not sure what to expect at this point. Bonderman is a true ace, Robertson and Maroth should give me league average to slightly above production....I dont know what to expect from Burnett or Verlander, both could be great or both could really struggle.

Bullpen wise, Im not strict about roles. I view the closer as the "ace" of the bullpen and I wont save Farny for just save situations, he'll go in when I need him to. Im just not sure he is what I want to be my bullpen ace, just not entirely sure of him yet. Urbina and Riske should both be good, but they arn't dominant forces either. Ill really just have to off the feel I have on that day.

**I picked up Ty Howington off the WW from Cincy, his scouting report is glowing (perenial all-star arm) and hes a 25 year old lefty. Hopefully he pans out for me**

Lineup:
Brandon Inge-3B-R
Placido Polanco-2B-R
Carlos Guillen-SS-S
Albert Pujols-LF-R
Craig Monroe-DH-R
Chris Shelton-1B-R
Pudge Rodriguez-C-R
Jeff Inglin-RF-R
Curtis Granderson-CF-L

Bench:
Omar Infante-2B/SS/3B
Byron Gettis-Lf/CF/RF

I have an awesome 1-4, Guillen and Pujols may be the best 3/4 combo in the league. Inge and Polanco both get on base pretty well and Inge has power. Shelton could be very good, Im not sure what to expect since I cant see his ratings and his scoting report gives prospect info still. Granderson is in the same boat, just not sure what he'll give me (though he has speed and defense to contribute).

Id like to upgrade the Inglin/Monroe RF/DH situation, since I dont expect better than average production from either, but it'll live for now. Pudge is slipping, I just need to know by how much.

Overall, this is a hard team to assess. I have 4 guys Im confident in in my lineup, and 3 starters I can count on, and a fairly deep bullpen even if lacking in star power. But I have a lot of unproven players as well.

Looking at the AL Central, nobody jumps out. Cleveland has a lot of young talent, but look to be a year away, Minny is rebuilding (or so it seems, lots of guys I've never heard of), Chicago is stuck in a rutt and KC is well....KC.

[Sven Draconian]

Now that the boring stuff is over with (the inital posting, I dont have much to post and it always seems so dry...oh well), I can open up now and give more opinions.

Ill update this monthly (unless some major happens) untill the Trading Deadline, then Ill go bi-weekly/weekly/daily depending on how tight the race is (and if Im in it).

April

American League Standings

East

Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Baltimore 13 11 .542 - 13-11 0 8-3 5-8 1-0 5-6 139 L3 3-7 Boston 13 11 .542 - 12-12 1 7-5 6-6 1-1 3-3 139 W1 6-4 Toronto 11 13 .458 2.0 13-11 -2 6-8 5-5 0-2 2-5 - L1 4-6 New York (A) 9 15 .375 4.0 12-12 -3 6-10 3-5 0-0 3-5 - W3 5-5 Tampa Bay 8 17 .320 5.5 9-16 -1 5-6 3-11 0-0 3-3 - L2 4-6

Central

Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Detroit 15 9 .625 - 15-9 0 6-5 9-4 2-1 3-2 138 W3 7-3 Cleveland 14 10 .583 1.0 15-9 -1 5-6 9-4 0-1 3-3 - W2 8-2 Minnesota 12 12 .500 3.0 12-12 0 5-5 7-7 2-1 5-5 - L2 3-7 Chicago (A) 9 15 .375 6.0 11-13 -2 3-7 6-8 0-2 4-6 - L2 5-5 Kansas City 9 15 .375 6.0 7-17 2 4-10 5-5 1-1 2-1 - L5 3-7

West

Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Oakland 17 8 .680 - 14-11 3 9-5 8-3 0-1 4-3 136 W4 8-2 Texas 14 10 .583 2.5 14-10 0 7-6 7-4 0-0 2-0 - W2 8-2 Seattle 13 11 .542 3.5 13-11 0 6-5 7-6 2-1 3-4 - L1 3-7 Los Angeles (A) 12 12 .500 4.5 12-12 0 5-6 7-6 3-1 6-2 - W1 3-7

National League Standings

East

Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Philadelphia 18 6 .750 - 14-10 4 10-2 8-4 0-0 8-1 136 W2 8-2 Washington 15 9 .625 3.0 15-9 0 10-4 5-5 1-1 2-3 - W1 8-2 Atlanta 14 10 .583 4.0 14-10 0 7-5 7-5 2-0 2-2 - L1 6-4 New York (N) 9 15 .375 9.0 9-15 0 4-7 5-8 0-2 1-2 - L2 4-6 Florida 6 18 .250 12.0 9-15 -3 5-7 1-11 0-0 0-3 - L10 0-10

Central

Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Chicago (N) 15 8 .652 - 14-9 1 6-4 9-4 0-0 6-4 140 W2 6-4 Cincinnati 14 8 .636 .5 15-7 -1 8-5 6-3 1-0 3-4 - W3 7-3 Houston 15 9 .625 .5 14-10 1 8-4 7-5 2-3 7-3 - W3 7-3 St. Louis 12 11 .522 3.0 12-11 0 5-5 7-6 1-1 3-3 - L3 5-5 Milwaukee 10 14 .417 5.5 11-13 -1 5-7 5-7 1-3 2-6 - L1 3-7 Pittsburgh 7 16 .304 8.0 7-16 0 2-9 5-7 2-2 1-4 - W1 4-6

West

Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 San Diego 14 10 .583 - 16-8 -2 8-4 6-6 1-0 3-3 137 W1 8-2 San Francisco 11 12 .478 2.5 9-14 2 7-6 4-6 1-0 4-0 - L1 4-6 Colorado 11 13 .458 3.0 10-14 1 6-4 5-9 4-1 4-3 - L1 4-6 Los Angeles (N) 9 14 .391 4.5 10-13 -1 6-8 3-6 0-4 1-6 - L3 3-7 Arizona 8 15 .348 5.5 8-15 0 2-8 6-7 1-0 2-2 - W1 3-7

Im in first, but nothing really noteworthy in the standings, pretty standard looking all around.


Players of the month were:
Vlad Guerrero-Angels
Todd Sears-Padre (Who??)

Jeremy Bonderman-Tigers
Pedro Martinez-Mets

Pedro was 2-1 with a 0.75 ERA....how are you only 2-1 with that kinda ERA?? Talk about a lack of run support eh?

Now to the Tigers....

All together we had a pretty good month. The young guys are hitting the cover off the ball, Granderson has moved up to the leadoff slot, hitting .300 with a .355 OBP, 3HRs, 7 doubles and a triple. Chris Shelton is really hitting, .344/.429/.556 including 3 bombs and 10 doubles. Carlos Guillen is hitting well, 7HRs for the month and an OBP near .400. Brandon Inge is hitting .320 with 5 dongs plus a .365ish OBP.

Its also apparent that Omar Infante is a better player than Placido Polanco. Polanco is off to a slow start, and Infante has become a starter (I usually put him at 2nd or short and shift Guillen or Polanco to 3rd, Inge to C/1B/OF and bench someone....). Omar has 10 RBI already, a .340ish OBP and slugging about .400, while hititng .315 or so. Polanco is hitting in the .240s with a sub .300 OBP%. But the big reason I know he's better, is the team comparison screen (Polanco is usually the loser, while if I put Infante their, he's the winner).

But the real news hitting wise, Albert Pujols....and his .145 BA and .240 OBP.... he has just 1 HR and 7 doubles.....what? His scouting report is still glowing and he's the most sought after player in the trade screen, so Im assuming this is some sort of fluke. Likewise, Ivan Rodriugez has a sub .200 OBP (hitting like .110).....yikes.

I made two transactions as well, picked up a familar face off the waiver wire, Carlos Pena (yes, the man I traded for Pujols with Mags), which gives me some options. I also picked up Shea Hillenbrand for depth.

Now that I have Pena, I can move Shelton (who has a "4" rated arm) too catcher and trade Pudge, I could also package in Polanco...I have a decision to make. Pudge's ratings are also slipping (You can tell by looking at his scouting report, especially if I toggle him to DH....he's still an above average catcher).

Pitching wise, Bonderman has been amazing, 1.56 ERA, 5-0 leads the AL in K's, Wins and ERA. He's only given up more than 1 run iin a game once in 6 starts and has 46 innings pitched already (thats nearly 8 innings a start). The rest of the starteres have been .500 or so, Verlander has a 2.7ish ERA and is 3-0, but has been shaky control wise, Maroth has been pretty bad in 2 starts, and good the other 2, A.J. Burnett is 2-2 with a 3.98 ERA.

Nate Robertson was injured for 4 weeks, Ryan Dreee is taking his place. Strangely enough, Ryan Drese is actually my 2nd most sought after pitcher on the trade screen and has a glowing scouting report (premier pitcher ect...).

The bullpen has been shaky, Ty Howington has been ROCKED, just hammered....Farnsworth has been very shaky, though he has 6 saves (2 were .1 innings) he has 6 walks in 10 innings and 8 Ks....just shaky. Urbina is 2-2 already, and has had some great outings....and been hit pretty hard twice.

Dave Riske and Jamie Walker have been good. Riske has a 1.50 ERA (though, nothing to support it, K/BB K/9IP ect arn't great). Jamie Walker has a 0.00 ERA, but he is a LOOGY, so its not exactly a reliable sample.

Its far to early to make any moves with the bullpen though. However, I will be dealing pudge (his value can only go down).


I can make this deal, and talent/value wise, I would in a heart beat. But Im not sure if Im ripping the CPU or not.

I get Barry Zito, Dave Newhan, Adam Loewen
(Last years Cy Young, big time FA signee in Zito, legit ace. Newhan would be my UTI IF to replace Polanco, Loewen is th best pitching prospect in baseball.

I give Ryan Drese, Placido Polanco, Ivan Rodriguez, Marcus Thames and 7 mil.
Drese is apparently a legit #1 or #2...great scouting report, sought after in trades, Polanco is a good 2B, Pudge is still an above average C, Thames is a UTI OF.

I mean, it seems fairly even, Polanco is better than Newhan, Thames may be able to start for them, Drese is supposed to be a good starter, and Pudge is still effective (or so Im assuming). Cash why its pretty even (I take on some salary).

Would it be taking advantage of the CPU to do this? Trading difficulty is very difficult, and I cant see ratings....any input at all would be appreciated