Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Distant Early Warning

OK, after writing that headline, I've had my 80s Flashback (back when the "M" in MTV meant something) for the morning ...but I'm actually referring to some early roster warnings.

Danger Ahead!!! You may be on the way to a 50-100 finish in BWB. But it's not too late!

Here's a repeat of an email I sent out this morning to everyone --

I'm usually very hands off on team management, but after 2 weeks of play it's probably not a bad idea to check in and maybe raise a flag of warning. I assume that you're all looking at your game results and stats and rosters and attempting to shore up holes, but maybe you're not aware of any problems (or not paying attention).

The history of the game shows that you can overcome a bad start, but if you're inactive now and have roster problems, the history also indicates that you're going to check out for the rest of the season. It's your money, so that's fine (or your "expert reputation" if you're in the Expert League), but I also like to keep the leagues competitive and a team that goes 40-110 due to owner neglect doesn't help that.

So, just as a reminder - in case you're not paying attention (and count me as one of the guilty), here are some teams with some holes in the first two weeks. You may have already taken steps to fix, but in case you haven't looked at your roster in a while, you might want to check in before Friday's transaction deadline. Remember it takes a week between the time you sign a player before you can play him.

Or - maybe you play in a league with one of these teams and it's a friend of yours...maybe a gentle nudge from you can get him back in the game.

Not surprsingly, some teams appear on the lists below more than once. And, it's not the ONLY reason, but the fact that all the other teams in the Giamatti Division of the Commissioners League all appear twice may have helped South Park start off 11-1.

** Also - another strategy is to sign major league players making less than 250. You can store them in your minor league roster and they are immediately available to fill injury or other holes.

Links of note:

========== Hitting

Benchwarmer Batters - This is almost unavoidable over the course of the season (your starter and reserve will sit out the same game eventually). But if after 12 games you have more than, say, a half dozen BW Batters in your stats already, you might have some problems.

32 of the 272 teams fit that category - here are 14 teams with 10 or more BW Batters:

Reality Bites: Minneapolis (19)...that's me! I'm number one. Wow, I knew I had trouble at catcher, but now I see I've got issues at shortstop too.


Blue and Gray: Southern California (12)
Chevy Chase: Faber College (11) Gashouse (15)
Commissioners: Bellerose (14) Turley (11)
Deuces Wild: Bellerose (10)
Experts: NY/NJ Fantasy Phenoms (18) Lancaster (13)
Golden Throat: Boomer (11)
Longball: Sri Lanka (11)
Shadowball: BALCO LABS (12)
Three of a Kind: Johan Santana (15)
Triple Crown: Pittsburgh (12)

========= Starting Pitching

Pinesitter Pitchers - If you have ANY Pinesitter starting pitchers that means that you've got guys in rotation who aren't pitching AND spot starters who aren't pitching.

24 Teams have at least 1 PS Starter. Here are the 14 teams with 2 or more already.

Beer: Jamaican (2)
Commissioners: Turley (4) Bellerose (2) Shadow Ridge (2)
Deuces Wild: Grand Canyon (2)
Experts: Lancaster (2)
Golden Throat: Fulton Co. (4) Boston (2)
Longball: Southern California (2)
Redbirds: Baltimore (2)
Three of a Kind: Johan Santana (6!!!) Maryland (3)
Triple Crown: Uranus (4) New Brighton (2)

========= Relief Pitching

Pinesitter Pitchers - I know from my own experience that there has been a lot of injured relievers and guys going back and forth to the minors, so this have been tough to avoid. 86 of the 272 teams already have 1 or more PS relievers.

Here are 19 teams with already 6 or more...this means you might have major problems in your bullpen.


Beatleball: Roseville (10) Carlisle (9)
Bleed Dodger Blue: Team Japan (7)
Blue and Gray: Atlantis (7)
Chevy Chase: Gashouse (10)
Commissioners: Turley (23!!!) Shadow Ridge (14) Cleveland (10)
Experts: NY/NJ Fantasy Phenoms (11) Fantasy Bullpen (9)
Golden Throat: Fulton Co. (15) Austin (7)
Hall of Fame: Chincoteague Island (6)
Redbirds: UK (16)
Shadowball: Atlanta (9)
Three of a Kind: Johan Santana (19) Everett (6)
Triple Crown: Baldwin (18) Mars (11)

========= Relief Pitching

High "Innings Short" Average - Part of the bullpen scoring is based on total innings your bullpen puts in. These 9 teams have "average short" values higher than 3 innings per game. You may need to look at rearranging your order or find an innings-eater (or guys that pitch more often).


Beatleball - Brooklyn
Beer - Labatt's
Bleed Dodger Blue - Minneapolis
Chevy Chase - Quahog Faber College
Deuces Wild - St. Paul
Longball - Southern California
Three of a Kind - Vegas Strip
Triple Crown - New Brighton

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