74 Million dollar Challenge

by novaoakland on Dec 29, 2005 5:07 PM PST Comment 61 comments

So every offseason I try to assemble a 25 man roster that I think would be able to compete using only free-agents, and within a budget of what I estimate will be at about the league's median salary.

Last years median salary (Ok not exactly median but the 15th highest salary) was the Tigers at 68.9 million. With all the new money around from new contracts and deals I think median salary will be about 74 million this year.

It is kind of a fun exersice I use to pass the time.

Here is my list at present (using only people who have already signed). I used the average amount they will recieve over life of contract.

Hopefully as more people sign I can make some improvements as I have 3 bench positions to fill and only .3 left.

SP    Loazia    7.1
SP    Burnett    11
SP    Paul Byrd 7
SP    Moyer    5.5
SP    Etherton    .4

RP    Danny Graves    0.65
RP    Rincon    1.5
RP    Witasick    1.4
RP    Bradford    1.4
RP    Chris Hammond    0.8
RP    Dotel    2.25
Closer    Jose Mesa 2.1

1B    Mientkiewicz    1.85
2B    Nomar Garcipara 6
3B    Bill Mueller    4.75
SS    Pokey Reese    .8
RF    Rondell White    3.25
LF    Matt Lawton    0.4
CF    Jose Cruz Jr    2.9
C    Ramon Hernandez    6.9

C    Sandy Alomar    0.65
OF    Bernie Williams    1.5
IF   Miguel Cario 1
Utility
OF
    Total    71.1

Interested to see other peoples lists or thoughts.

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Comments

those RPs look really familiar

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Dec 29, 2005 5:18 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

that team

doesn't look so hot

"Every year I'm asked if we're buyers or sellers, and every year we're both. Just once, it would be nice to buy without selling."-Beane

by pbruins92 on Dec 29, 2005 5:21 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

yeah

i'll take our guys.

what's our 2005 payroll? around $10 million under $74m, i assume.

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Dec 29, 2005 5:29 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Nice way to pass the time (rolls eyes)

the great playoff miss of 2004 followed by the good try of 2005.

by ak_A on Dec 29, 2005 5:29 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

C'mon, AlaskaA,

you should try one in the morning, or May, whichever comes first.

(I should talk--here in the "beautiful Bay Area" we've had so much steady rain that animals are starting to pair up.)

by Nico on Dec 29, 2005 5:41 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

What an exciting life

reading baseball blogs during the winter and scraping to make smartass comments as entertainment....and in turn suffering comments back (that send me into a midnight sun rage freightening and sending the numerous gerbels loose in the house to stampede over the discarded microwave dinner cartons)

the great playoff miss of 2004 followed by the good try of 2005.

by ak_A on Dec 29, 2005 5:47 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Don't feel bad:

I read baseball blogs during the Winter and scrape to make smartass comments as entertainment, and I live in a sunny climate in a bustling metropolis.

by Nico on Dec 29, 2005 6:54 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Id certainly find a way

to get Johnny Damon on that team

Bring back Hammer.

by OaktownPower on Dec 29, 2005 5:30 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

I say your team

will notch a 59W-103L season. W/ the way it's made up.

by richharden40 on Dec 29, 2005 5:52 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

don't get pissed at the haters....

nice work nova. seriously...

"i like things that are great...
that is great"
-t. bennett

Kiko Streetscherer...is where it ends!!!

by jrwolf on Dec 29, 2005 6:03 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

This is a tough exercise.

Here's a first pass attempt.
SP Rick Helling 0.85 SP AJ Burnett 7 SP Joe Mays 1 SP Jason Johnson 4 SP Sidney Ponson 1 RP Antonio Alfonseca 0.5 est RP Tom Gordon 4.5 RP Mike Myers 1.15 RP Jay Witasick 1.4 RP Bob Wickman 5 RP Felix Rodriguez 0.75 est 1B Olmedo Saenz 1 2B Mark Grudzielanek 4 3B Bill Mueller 4.25 SS Rafael Furcal 4 inc signing bonus RF Jose Cruz Jr 2.91 CF David Robets 2.25 LF Hideki Matsui 13 C1 Ramon Hernandez 4.5 C2 Todd Pratt 0.85 DH Frank Thomas 7 est IF Mark DeRosa 0.675 IF Ramon Martinez 0.5 est OF Bernie Williams 1.5 OF Matt Lawton 0.4

TOTAL: 73.9

Copernicus felt the same way about the geocentric crew.

by salb918 on Dec 29, 2005 6:28 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

It's a lot easier

if you ignore the back end of your team's contracts ... Furcal for 4.5, what a steal.

Check out some awesome music ...

by devo on Dec 29, 2005 7:40 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Rules is rules.

Copernicus felt the same way about the geocentric crew.

by salb918 on Dec 29, 2005 8:32 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Rules say

you have to use the average amount over the life of the contract.

Or were you being sarcastic and I missed it?

"You dumped a porn star? Friendship over. FRIENDSHIP OVER!"...Barney

by grover on Dec 30, 2005 2:14 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I was being dumb.

Missed that rule.

Copernicus felt the same way about the geocentric crew.

by salb918 on Dec 30, 2005 8:21 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

just rules I play with

just trying to have some fun.

Why don't they just lick their fingers?

by novaoakland on Dec 30, 2005 8:39 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

That team is certainly no worse...

...than the Red Sox.

Which fills me with much joy.

by Ozzz on Dec 29, 2005 7:35 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

ha

that team is far worse than the Red Sox.

The Red Sox disrespect, on here, is a sign of homer-ism, I think. Does anyone here HONESTLY think they won't be in the playoffs or at least the last team out next year?

by SeanR on Dec 30, 2005 5:08 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I do

I think they are behind the Blue Jays and Yankees in thier own division.

"Every year I'm asked if we're buyers or sellers, and every year we're both. Just once, it would be nice to buy without selling."-Beane

by pbruins92 on Dec 30, 2005 7:10 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I changed my mind

because of BP http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=4683

Now I don't know. Probably end up the same as last year, although I'm pulling for the Jays.

"Every year I'm asked if we're buyers or sellers, and every year we're both. Just once, it would be nice to buy without selling."-Beane

by pbruins92 on Dec 30, 2005 7:51 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Wild card is coming out of the West...

And I consider myself pretty subjective

by easyraider on Dec 30, 2005 9:53 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

That is a pretty lackluster team.

I think your exercise really points out how tough it is to improve this offseason on a reasonable budget. How does this team compare to the last few years? How did you make the choices?

Barry and the "Intangibles"

by Duke of left field on Dec 29, 2005 7:45 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Thank you for getting it

Yes two points.

Very difficult to win without developing young players you need a bunch of league minimum guys to help.
I think most of my teams are capable of finishing at 500 or at least competing. More than alot of actualy teams are capable of.

Why don't they just lick their fingers?

by novaoakland on Dec 29, 2005 8:34 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm gonna cheat

It's going to take me a bit to pull my roster together, but any player with an expensive option year that drives up their average will not see said option picked up. Thus I can lower their average salary for the purpose of this exercise.

I LUV being Evil.

"You dumped a porn star? Friendship over. FRIENDSHIP OVER!"...Barney

by grover on Dec 29, 2005 7:57 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

By the way

"How I met you mom" is the best show on TV and that is one of my favorite lines in TV history.

Why don't they just lick their fingers?

by novaoakland on Dec 29, 2005 8:35 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I like the show

But the male lead is such a putz! He's a weak actor and that keeps me from loving the show.

Harris and Hannigan rock though.

"You dumped a porn star? Friendship over. FRIENDSHIP OVER!"...Barney

by grover on Dec 29, 2005 8:40 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Nice diary

It's fun to speculate on, and it's pretty illustrative. It shows that free agent talent is, more often than not, overpriced.

A Beane in the hand is worth $60M in payroll

by jeepers on Dec 29, 2005 8:32 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Another thought

When I read the title, I thought for sure that the content would be challenging Wolff and Fisher to raise the payroll to $74M.

A Beane in the hand is worth $60M in payroll

by jeepers on Dec 29, 2005 8:34 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

The rotation and 'pen aren't bad

but this team is going to have a tough time reaching the 100 run mark on the season ...

Check out some awesome music ...

by devo on Dec 29, 2005 9:24 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Of course,

the team is naturally going to be worse than a normal team, because free agents obviously get more money than any other type of player, and are usually overpaid. So it's almost impossible to put together a good team with a median payroll using strictly free agents.
Here's an idea: you could check your team from last year, see how many Win Shares they ended up with, and figure out how many wins a team with these players would have had. Of course, that forgets about any players who would have filled in for injuries or other reasons...

by Philip Christy on Dec 29, 2005 9:59 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

weak year

it seems like this is kind of a weak year to try and put together a team of just free agents

by enz on Dec 29, 2005 10:16 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

my try

sp:
loaiza - 7.1
redman - 4.5
tomko - 3.8
armas - 2.1
moehler - .5

rp:
graves - .65
walker - 1.25
otsuka - 1.75
myers - 1.15
witasick - 1.4

closer:
mesa - 2.515

positions:
1b - mientkiewicz - 1.85
2b - polanco - 4.6
3b - randa - 4
ss - lugo - 4.95
rf - lee - 8.5
cf - cruz - 2.91
lf - lawton - .4
c - ausmus - 3.75
dh - konerko - 12

bench:
c - diaz - .65
if - cairo - 1
if - jimenez - .65
of - mabry - 1.075
of - palmerio - .95

74 mill on the dot.

batting order:
polanco
randa
cruz
lee
konerko
lawton
meintkiewicz
ausmus
lugo

thought about forgoing konerko, adding sanders and upgrading the SP

Baseball is like life. It's a day-to-day existence, full of ups and downs. You make the most of your opportunities in baseball as you do in life. - E Harwell

by peoples27 on Dec 29, 2005 10:41 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

You might want to do that,

or your rotation might get shelled in 80% of the home games!

by Nico on Dec 29, 2005 10:45 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Welcome to Arlington!

by socal on Dec 29, 2005 11:47 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

update

starters -

sp rogers - 8
sp moyer - 5.5
sp loaiza - 7.1
sp dessens - 1
sp ponson - 1

relief -

cl mesa - 2.515
set graves - .65
set walker - 1.25
mid otsuka - 1.75
mid borowski - .3
mid myers - 1.15
long moehler - .5

hitters -

1b sweeney - .9
2b polanco - 4.6
3b randa - 4
ss reese - .8
rf lee - 8.5
cf wilson - 4.5
lf lawton - .4
c ausmus - 3.75
dh konerko - 12

bench -

c/of fick - .85
inf cairo - 1
utl jimenez - .65
of palmerio - .95

73.615

lineup

reese
polanco
lee
konerko
wilson
randa
lawton
ausmus
sweeney

Baseball is like life. It's a day-to-day existence, full of ups and downs. You make the most of your opportunities in baseball as you do in life. - E Harwell

by peoples27 on Jan 7, 2006 9:19 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

No cheating required

Here's my 25 man roster.

SP Kevin Millwood $12 M
SP Estaban Loaiza $7.1 M
SP Glendon Rusch $4.2 M
SP Joe Mays $2 M (All incentives inc.)
SP Seth Etherton $400K (est)

RP Brian Shouse $725K
RP Rudy Seanez $2.1 M
RP Jay Witasick $1.375 M
RP Russ Springer $750K
RP Steve Karsay $600K
RP Danny Graves $575K
CL BJ Ryan $9.4 M

C Chris Widger $650K
1B Travis Lee $2 M (est...arb elligible)
2B Keith Ginter $1.5 M (He was on waivers!)
3B Joe Randa $4 M
SS Neifi Perez $2.5 M
LF Reed Johnson $1.425 M
CF Dave Roberts $2.25 M
RF Brian Giles $10 M
DH Rondell White $3.25 M

C2 Robert Fick $850K
IF/OF D. Jackson $750K
CI Olmedo Saenz $2 M
UT Eric Young $700K

Total: $73.8 Million

"You dumped a porn star? Friendship over. FRIENDSHIP OVER!"...Barney

by grover on Dec 30, 2005 2:11 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

nice

this is the only team I've seen so far that I think could have a shot at winning...good work

by SeanR on Dec 30, 2005 5:10 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

i like the subject

but not so much the team. Anyways, I'm back at the site, law school took me far away for a bit. Glad to be back and to see that fellow A's fans are filling the off season with interesting topics. Go A's

by DanvilleLegend on Dec 30, 2005 2:32 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

the Orioles approach

Pitching is more overvalued than hitting this year, I'd say, so with that in mind let's at least collect some big names on offense

OF Lawton $400 K
OF Matsui $13 M
OF Lee $8.5 M
1B Konerko $12 M
DH Thomas $5 M est
C Piazza $4 M est
SS Garciaparra $6 M
2B Mueller $4.75 M (this team is not about pitching and defense, so we'll let Mueller play some 2B)
3B Saenz $2 mil (see above)

This is potentially the best lineup in the majors.

SP Armas $2.1 M
SP Ponson $1 M
SP Mays $1.5 M (average of sal and grover's figures)
SP Tomko $3.8 M
SP Etherton $400 K

This is potentially the worst rotation in the majors.

RP Graves $650 K
RP Karsay $600 K
RP F Rodriguez (no, not Sulk Off, the other F Rodriguez) $750 K est
RP Alfonseca $500 K est
RP/SP Moehler $500 K
RP Hammond $800 K
CL Dotel $2.25 M

Mediocre.

Unlike BB, I will not be interested in assembling a deep team this offseason...

C/1B/OF Fick $850 K
2B/OF E Young $750 K
IF DeRosa $650 K
IF/OF D Jackson $750 K

73.5 mill for your 2006 Baltimore Free Agents, I like them to win the 74 million dollar challenge

See, I'm a murderer, I kill what I eat. I'm a hunter-gatherer, I kill what I eat. I'm a steelworker, I kill what I eat. I'm a bricklayer, I kill what I eat.

by Cutthemullet on Dec 30, 2005 3:04 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

and...

if if Frank and/or Piazza were to exceed the estimates I list here, we'll cut Tomko, promote Moehler to the rotation, and sign Witasick, that creates an extra $2.4 mill or so

See, I'm a murderer, I kill what I eat. I'm a hunter-gatherer, I kill what I eat. I'm a steelworker, I kill what I eat. I'm a bricklayer, I kill what I eat.

by Cutthemullet on Dec 30, 2005 3:15 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

rankings

Cutthemullet's expansion year Colorado Rockies
novaoakland's 2004 Oakland A's bullpen
peoples27's Pittsburgh Pirates
grover's KC Royals

DQ: salb's got to answer to the IRS before he can be included, that Furcal salary if awfully low (I know, you're going by 2006 salary, the rest of us use average however so it makes for an unfair comparison...like your team was exempt from the new drug policy or something)

See, I'm a murderer, I kill what I eat. I'm a hunter-gatherer, I kill what I eat. I'm a steelworker, I kill what I eat. I'm a bricklayer, I kill what I eat.

by Cutthemullet on Dec 30, 2005 3:28 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

WHAT?!!

My team would CRUSH the Royals.

"You dumped a porn star? Friendship over. FRIENDSHIP OVER!"...Barney

by grover on Dec 30, 2005 10:02 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

But your honor

I didn't know the rules. It wasn't intentional! Oh great, now the tax man is going to watch everything I do.

Copernicus felt the same way about the geocentric crew.

by salb918 on Dec 30, 2005 10:05 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Some changes for me

With Pokey signed I like him at SS and Nomar at 2B. Cairo at utility

Someone mentioned Etherton and I really like that idea so I would dump Tomko and give Etherton a shot.

Why don't they just lick their fingers?

by novaoakland on Dec 30, 2005 8:47 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

I'll try...

SP - Roger Clemens, ~18 mil
SP - Esteban Loaiza, 7.1 mil
SP - Tony Armas, 2.1 mil
SP - Joe Mays, 1 mil
SP - Sidney Ponson, 1 mil

RP - Mike Myers, 1.2 mil
RP - Chris Hammond, 800k
RP - Jared Fernandez, ~300k
RP - Mike DeJean, 1.3 mil
RP - Antonio Alfonseca ~500k
SU - Octavio Dotel, 2 mil
CL - Trevor Hoffman, 6.5 mil

C - Brad Ausmus, 3.8 mil
1B - Paul Konerko, 12 mil
2B - Miguel Cairo, ~1 mil
3B - Tony Batista, 1.2 mil
SS - Royce Clayton, ~1.5 mil
LF - Reed Johnson, 1.4 mil
CF - Dave Roberts, 1.3 mil
RF - John Mabry, 1.1 mil
DH - Frank Thomas, ~5 mil

Backups
C - John Flaherty, 650k
IF - Damian Easley, 700k
OF - Matt Lawton, 400k
Util - Mark DeRosa, 675k

Total: $72.525 mil

What do ya think?

"You don't make a burger to make it look pretty." - Nick Swisher... RIP Richard Pryor

by JLaff on Dec 30, 2005 1:47 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Presuming your estimates sign

then I like it.

Why don't they just lick their fingers?

by novaoakland on Dec 30, 2005 2:02 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Here is an attempt....

Starting Pitchers
1-Burnett 11
2-Rodgers 8
3-Loiza 7.125
4-Helling .85
5-Dessens 1.7

Relief
MRP-Fassero .75
MRP-Witasick 1.375
Loogy- Myers 1.2
Long- Sturtze 1.5
SU-Dotel 2
Closer- Worrell 2

Lineup
2B-Devi Cruz .8
CF-Jose Cruz Jr. 2.91
1B-Konerko 12
LF-Sanders 5
RF-Encarnacion 5
DH-Everett 4
3B-Pablo Ozuna .5
C-Alomar Jr. .650
SS-Nefi Perez 2.5

Bench
OF-Lawton .4
IF-Amezaga .34
C-Flaherty .65
IF-Seanz 1
UTIL-Blum .650

Total 73.9

So hows it look??

"What an ending. Who would have thought that? A's win with a bunt." ~Macha on Ramon's Winning bunt in the '03 playoffs

by NvrFrgtRamon55 on Dec 30, 2005 2:53 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

You guys should set a time limit..........

to submit your line ups and compare win shares and VORPs at the end of the season.

Barry and the "Intangibles"

by Duke of left field on Dec 30, 2005 4:46 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Do geeks

compare win shares in the shower?

by Nico on Dec 30, 2005 5:29 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I thought part of being a geek..........

is the total fear of sharing a shower to begin with.

Barry and the "Intangibles"

by Duke of left field on Dec 30, 2005 5:59 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

You're both wrong

It's the total fear of taking a shower, period.

Copernicus felt the same way about the geocentric crew.

by salb918 on Dec 30, 2005 6:02 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Here's my team

The Roster:

C1 Brad Ausmus $ 3,750,000
C2 Todd Pratt $ 625,000
1B Julio Franco $ 1,100,000
1B/3B Olmedo Saenz $ 1,000,000
2B Junior Spivey $ 1,200,000
2B Bill Mueller $ 4,250,000
SS Royce Clayton $ 1,500,000
3B/LF Nomar $ 6,000,000
IN Lou Merloni $ 500,000
LF Matt Lawton $ 400,000
CF Juan Encarnacion $ 5,000,000
RF Brian Giles $10,000,000
LF/DH Rondell White $ 3,250,000

SP Kenny Rogers $ 8,000,000
SP Esteban Loazia $ 7,000,000
SP Paul Byrd $ 7,000,000
SP Rick Helling $ 850,000
SP Tony Armas $ 2,100,000

CL Jose Mesa $ 2,515,000
SU Steve Karsay $ 600,000
SU Danny Graves $ 600,000
MR Antonio Alfonseca $ 500,000
MR Chris Hammond $ 800,000
LR/SP Brian Moehler $ 1,500,000
LOOGY Mike Myers $ 1,200,000

Total Payroll $71,240,000
$2.76 million available to add a bat at the deadline

Batting Orders

vs. RHP

LF Matt Lawton
2B Bill Mueller
3B Nomar Garciaparra
RF Brian Giles
DH Rondell White
CF Juan Encarnacion
1B Olmedo Saenz
C Brad Ausmus
SS Royce Clayton

vs. LHP

2B Spivey
1B Franco
CF Encarnacion
RF Giles
DH White
LF Garciaparra
3B Saenz
C Pratt
SS Clayton

Estimated Production By Position

C .261/.333/.375/.708 12 HR 66 RBI
1B .266/.324/.444/.768 24 HR 95 RBI
2B .301/.378/.471/.849 16 HR 70 RBI
SS .270/.320/.351/.670 2 HR 50 RBI
3B .276/.325/.504/.829 31 HR 95 RBI
LF .275/.352/.423/.775 18 HR 78 RBI
CF .287/.343/.451/.794 20 HR 92 RBI
RF .301/.423/.532/.955 30 HR 110 RBI
DH .312/.342/.500/.842 23 HR 90 RBI

Team .283/.350/.452/.802 176 HR 746 RBI

2005 rank 1st AVG 3rd OBP 4th SLG 11th HR 8th RBI

Possibly the best offense in the league. The pitching is much harder to predict. Just based on IP, H, BB, and ER from 2005 the pitching staff would rank 13th in ERA and 15th in WHIP. Pretty much middle of the road.

Overall, I think this team would compete for a wild card or win a weak division like the NL West.

When I was a boy, I laid in my twin size bed and wondered where my brother was-Mitch Hedberg

by gatling on Dec 30, 2005 9:19 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

name that movie...

Guy #1: 'I never heard of half these guys.'

Guy #2:'THIS guy's Dead!'

Woman #1: 'Cross him off then.'

by gorickeygo on Dec 31, 2005 12:03 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Major League

"Every year I'm asked if we're buyers or sellers, and every year we're both. Just once, it would be nice to buy without selling."-Beane

by pbruins92 on Dec 31, 2005 6:48 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Well, Here comes mine

Here's my team so far, Goog god, this thing took me an hour and a half to do.

Catcher - Kenji Johjima - 6.5
1st Base - Tony Clark - 1.0
2nd Base - Placido Polanco - 4.6
3rd Base - Geoff Blum - 0.6
Short Stop - Pokey Reese - 0.9
Left Field - Carlos Lee - 8.0
Center Field - Randy Winn - 5.0
Right Field - Juan Encarnacion - 4.4

____ Bench _____

Util - Damian Jackson - 0.7
Infield - Damion Easley - 0.7
Catcher - Chris Widger - 0.6
Outfield - Eric Young - 0.8

_____ Rotation ______

Starting Pitcher - Jason Schmidt - 8.1
Starting Pitcher - Kenny Rogers - 3.5
Starting Pitcher - Jarrod Washburn - 6.5
Starting Pitcher - Josh Fogg - 2.1
Starting Pitcher - Tony Armas - 2.2

____ Bullpen _______

Relief Pitcher - Lance Carter - 0.3
Relief Pitcher - Jeff Nelson - 0.4
Relief Pitcher - Julian Tavarez - 2.6
Relief Pitcher - Mike Myers - 0.6
Relief Pitcher - Chris Hammond - 0.7
Setup Pitcher - Mike Timlin - 2.7
Setup Pitcher - Todd Jones - 1.1
Closing Pitcher - Trevor Hoffman - 5.0

Grand Total - 72.5 Million
________________

Now im not sure if these are correct, I just went off what ESPN.com said. I had a hell of a time finding the players salarys and shit. My batting lineup would be like this.

Pokey Reese
Placido Polanco
Randy Winn
Carlos Lee
Jenji Johjima
Juan Encarnacion
Tony Clark
Geoff Blum
Widger/Young

__________________

Keeping these stored somewhere would be a good idea, then we could check them out at the end of the year or something.

by Devyn on Dec 31, 2005 4:08 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

My team

Including some estimations:

Lineup verse righties:

Kenny Lofton (CF)- 3.85 million
Tony Graffanino (2B)- 2 million est
Brian Giles (RF)- 10 million
Reggie Sanders (LF)- 5 million
Mark Sweeney (DH)- 1.8 million
Benji Molina (C)- 4.5 million est
J.T. Snow (1B)- .5 million est
Bill Mueller (3B)- 4.75 million
Roye Clayton (SS)- .8 million est

Verse lefties:

Lofton
Graffanino
Reggie Sanders
Giles
Benji Molina
Eduardo Perez (DH)
Bill Mueller
Wes Helms (1B)
Royce Clayton

Bench:
Wes Helms (3B)- .8 million
Eric Young (UT)- .7 million
Eduardo Perez (DH/1B)- 1 million est
John Mabry- (RF/LF)- 1.075 million
JOhn Flaherty (C)- .65 million

Rotation:

Jeff Weaver-7 million est
Kenny Rogers- 8 million
Esteban Loaiza- 7 million
Brett Tomko- 4.35 million
Sidney Ponson- 1 million

Relief:

CL: Jose Mesa- 2.5
SU: Octavio Dotel- 2 million
SU: Joe Borowski- .3 million
MR: Danny Graves- .3 million
MR: Rudy Seanez- 2.1 million
LOOGY: Scott Sauerbeck- 1.2 million

Total Payroll: 73.175 Million

This is actually a very good team. It took a while to find a good balance on offense on defense. Pitching wise, i decided to go with solid inning eating pitchers.

RIP Bill King "By the Beard of Zeus!" "I don't know if you heard me counting. I did over a thousand"

by ohad on Dec 31, 2005 7:57 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

If I had to pick one word

to describe your starting rotation, ohad, it would have to be...volatile.

by Nico on Dec 31, 2005 5:27 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Here we go

This was a lot of fun, and decidedly challenging. Starting pitching was probably the toughest part. With the tremendously high prices free agents were commanding, you could easily spend $30M on your rotation and still think 'Uhhh...'. Relivers, however, once you get past the B.J. Ryans, offered a lot of bargains. In the end, I went with a couple of vets mixed with 3 younger pitchers in the rotation, and what seems to me like a stacked (if somewhat risky) bullpen.

Rotation:

SP Kenny Rogers - $8M (Has been consistently good despite age and a lousy environment)
SP Jarrod Washburn - $9.375M
SP Elmer Dessens - $1M
SP Rick Helling - $850K
SP Seth Etherton - $400K

Bullpen:

Closer Bob Wickman - $5M (After you adjust for park factors, Wickman's year was as good as Ryan's, and better than Trevor Hoffman's)
Setup-Man Octavio Dotel - $2M
LOOGY Mike Myers - $1.4M
ROOGY Chad Bradford - $1.4M
MR Tim Worrel - $2M
MR Joey Eischen - $1.2 M
Long-Man/Spot SP Joe Kennedy - $2.4M

Starting Lineup:

C Kenji Johjima - $5.5M (Hit .309/.381/.557 in 2005 in Japan. Is going to hit much better than Ausmus, maybe better than Ramon)
1B Mark Sweeney - $900K (Quietly had an excellent season in 2005. Will have maybe 1/3rd the production of Konerko at 1/13th the cost)
2B Mark Grudzielanek - $2M (Decent value at a thin position. Not a ton of options)
SS Rafael Furcal - $13M (Expensive, but Nomar can't play short anymore, and people are forgetting just how bad a hitter Pokey Reese is)
3B Bill Mueller - $4.75M
LF Dave Roberts - $2.25M
RF Reed Johnson - $1.425M
CF Kenny Lofton - $3.85M (Look at his numbers last year before you laugh.)
DH Matt Stairs - $1.35M

Backup C - Todd Pratt $850K
Backup MI - Pablo Ozuna $500K
Backup CI - Olmedo Saenz $1M
Backup OF/IF - Eric Young $700K

Total cost: $73.1M

"[Your blog is] pretty funny. Although I kinda wanna slap Charlie in the mouth. But I guess that's the point if you're an A's fan :-)" Blez

by Nate on Jan 1, 2006 2:05 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

problem

Grudz will make 4 million. This can be replaced with Graffanino though, who surely won't make more than 2 million.

RIP Bill King "By the Beard of Zeus!" "I don't know if you heard me counting. I did over a thousand"

by ohad on Jan 1, 2006 3:02 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Dammit

Crap on a stick. For some reason I thought Grudz's deal was for 2 years. The Royals are paying him $4M why? Anyway, I still like Grudz@$4M better than Graffy@$2M, so let's see where I can shave. That puts me up to $75.1M. Y'know, Worrel, I think, I don't need. Replace him with Chad Harville, who signed with the D-Rays for $525K. That drops me down to $73.625

"[Your blog is] pretty funny. Although I kinda wanna slap Charlie in the mouth. But I guess that's the point if you're an A's fan :-)" Blez

by Nate on Jan 1, 2006 5:12 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I know I'm late to the party, but...

Spring Training hasn't started yet, and I wanted to add my $72.2 million lineup. I used the ESPN.com Free Agent Tracker for my list of free agents.

Starting Lineup
Ryan Freel - 2B
Rafael Furcal - SS
Frank Thomas - DH
Brian Giles - RF
Mike Piazza - C
Preston Wilson - CF
Mark Sweeney/Matt LeCroy - 1B
Rondell White - LF
Bill Mueller - 3B

Bench
Wes Helms - 3B/1B
Pokey Reese - SS/2B
Matt Lawton - OF
Miguel Olivo - C
Sweeney/LeCroy

Starting Rotation
Esteban Loaiza
Jason Johnson
Brett Tomko
Byung-Hyun Kim
Brian Moehler

Bullpen
Octavio Dotel
Rudy Seanez
Chris Hammond
Felix Rodriguez
Steve Karsay
Joe Mays

David
29Sunset - My "Band"
Sportszilla - My sports writing

by deadteddy8 on Feb 9, 2006 11:50 PM PST reply actions 0 recs