Chris B. Young or Francisco Liriano

[ChronicKerr]

I have Liriano and news came out that he could start in the minors this year for a few starts. I'm in a 12 team roto league and don't know if I can afford to wait a month or so into the season. Do you think I should do this trade? If not, do you think Liriano is going to put up real big numbers this year? Also, I could get Hart or Chris B. which one would you rather have?

[Basketball Jesus]

Depends on your league settings and your team depth. What are the categories and does your league differentiate between specific OF positions or all they all lumped into the generic OF designation?

I really like Young. Any player with 30/30 potential and CF eligibility is a legitimate Top-3 round pick in CF-eligible leagues. However, he doesn

[ChronicKerr]

I'm in a standard OF-OF-OF 12 team roto league with 10 categories avg,hr,rbi,run,steals,k,whip,era,win,saves.

My lineup is as such:

C Russell Martin
(LAD - C) CUtilBN -/- - - - - -
1B David Ortiz
(Bos - 1B) 1BUtilBN -/- - - - - -
2B Rickie Weeks
(Mil - 2B) 2BUtilBN -/- - - - - -
3B Ryan Braun
(Mil - 3B) 3BUtilBN -/- - - - - -
SS Hanley Ram

[Basketball Jesus]

The only offensive category Young won

[ChronicKerr]

Thanks a lot. Why do I need a reliver? I have four starting closers to start the season. My Saves should be fine if not in the top half ot he league. There are some teams thave only have 1 or two cloers in my league.

[Basketball Jesus]

Out of those four "starting" closers, Brian Wilson has the best job security, and he plays on the worst team in the league. There's a very good chance that both Jones and Lyon will lose the gig before June, especially since both sucked complete ass in spring training. And Accardo's only closer until BJ Ryan comes back. You have four marginally bad options

[ChronicKerr]

I see your argument in that my cloers aren't strong but the only thing tha tmatters is that they get saves. There are no starting closers available and unless dropping a starting closer for a setup man with a better ERA like broxton or something makes sense, which I don't think it does I'm going to have to live iwth my closers. Jones doesn't have anybody who can take his job even with his high ERA. He gets a ton of saves and that's what I need outta him. I just didn't see the use in wasting a top 10 pick on a reliever so I am going to have to live iwht subpar ERA, WHIP closers but as long as the Saves come in I'm okay with it.

[Basketball Jesus]

If you pull the trigger on the Young deal, that does give you some OF depth to work with. I

[ChronicKerr]

I picked up Patterson when I put Gallardo on the DL so I have no available bench spots currently. If this deal goes through and Longoria gets sent down to the minors (which they're saying to due to contract issues if he starts in the majors) is likely to happen then I'll probably drop him for a SP. The best available SP's in my league based on Yahoo O-Rank are:

Zack Greinke
(KC - SP,RP) FA 231 - - - - - - -
Hiroki Kuroda
(LAD - SP) FA 259 - - - - - - -
Tom Glavine
(Atl - SP) FA 267 - - - - - - -
Franklin Morales
(Col - SP) FA 270 - - - - - - -
Homer Bailey
(Cin - SP) FA 275 - - - - - - -
Ian Kennedy
(NYY - SP) FA 291 - - - - - - -
Scott Baker
(Min - SP) FA 292 - - - - - - -
Chuck James
(Atl - SP) FA 304 - - - - - - -
Noah Lowry
(SF - SP) FA 306 - - - - - - -
Dave Bush
(Mil - SP) FA 323 - - - - - - -
Orlando Hern

[Basketball Jesus]

I'd take Greinke over anybody. Actually, it's kind of strange Greinke wasn't already taken in a 12-team roto.

If the deal goes through, I'd suggest dropping Patterson and trying to package one of either Delmon, Ellsbury, or Kemp along with one of your closers in order to upgrade your RP corps. A package of Ellsbury + Jones should net you a mid-tier closer at the least.

[ChronicKerr]

Is there anyone else on that list besides Grienke worth taking a look at? Isn't Kennedy in the rotation now in NY? Also, why are you not high on Delmon this year? He's batting either 3 or 4 (I think) behind Maur and Morneua and has had a good spring. He's good in all categories and I'm thinking his power numbers will go up this year too. Also, people are high on Kemp this year but it looks like he is just about to beat out Ethier for the RF spot but his spot int he order looks towards the bottom. I'm surprised your higher on Hermida than Delmon or Kemp.

[Chach]

Everyone remembers the mental whateveritwas from days past, not the pretty sold second half of 2007.

I have the exact opposite approach. I really like your offense but don't care for your pitching staff. I think it would be a poor choice, long term, to give up a potential stud like Liriano when your staff can hardly afford that hit. Your staff will be carried by three starters the first month: Harang, Perez, and Young. I don't see you being too competitive in the pitching categories the first 2-3 weeks of the season so I'd rather just take the hit and wait out the storm. Pick up Greinke and wait on Liriano and Gallardo.

You can't look at closers as simply save makers, they influence your other stats too. If your relievers are giving up ERAs in the 5s, walking a lot of guys, and not striking anyone out, a solid performance by your rotation goes down the drain. You say there teams with few closers in your league? Try packaging Jones and Accardo together and offer him to a team that has only one closer. Or package three of your closers together and offer them to a team that has only one closer and see if they bite on the saves as well. When they ask why, say you need to clear roster spots and wanted to get value for your guys. Then pick up someone like Broxton or Manny Delcarmen or Juan Cruz who have a chance to vulture a few wins and saves and give you great peripheral numbers as well.

If that doesn't work, follow BBJ's advice of packaging a closer with Young and try to get an improved closer out of it. I like Chris B Young but in a 12 team league, you've got a pretty good offense but your pitching staff is going to hold you back. mahalo
~Chach~

[Basketball Jesus]

Out of that list, Greinke is the best option. I