The Whitecaps

This is my first attempt at a blog so bear with me. The Whitecaps had a very good year,

but '09 could be a little different. The acquisitions of C.Kotchman and J.Vasquez in the last few weeks have bolstered the defense in the infield and gave WHW another solid starter.
Also the RFA rights to C.Jones has caused me to think that I am overloaded at 3B.
It will be difficult to sign Chipper to a contract given the limited money I have to offer.

I got the name of the Whitecaps from the Class A (Detroit) affiliate. The name has come to mean a great deal to me. I chose that to honor my favorite team Detroit.

Now back to talking the team, the management has desired a strong 1b and I think Kotchman fills the bill. Casey is not a power guy. He has good range and is a backwards lefty. He wont steal a base either :). And with him playing in Atlanta hes has a good
chance of hitting 25 HR's and batting 300.

West Huron also acquired J.Vasquez from the Beavers and immediately the Caps have a #2 starter and with him going to Atlanta as well,he had to get away from that moron O.Guillen he should flourish. It gives the Caps another 200 inning SP.

Also if I have time to give some predictions I will do so. Well how did I do? Let me know
so I can be a regular blogger and have fun with this.

An Early Look at Defense ...

With the range ratings coming out over the weekend, I thought it would be interesting to see what DBA defenses look like going into the final week of the bidding and the FA Auction on February 28th (mark your calendars!).  There are no error ratings calculating in these rankings, and that could change a few things.  However, I don't think any error rating will make Burmese's defense better than Altenberg's :-).  To the ratings ...

THE LINK ... http://www.strat-o-matic.com/2008rate.htm

Williams

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Altenberg (54) -- Cream of the DBA right now with 1's in Pedroia (2b), Gonzalez (1b) and Victorino (cf).  Longoria is a 2 at third and Sweeney is a 2 in RF.  All defensive backups filled.

Bloomington (59) -- Second in the division and third overall with a 1 in Rollins (ss) and 2's across the IF; Swisher, Casilla and Wright.  Outfield is a part-time mess, but should stay average at all times.  All defensive backups filled.

Fairfax (63) -- Third in the division, 5th overall with Beltre (3b) as its only 1.  2's everywhere else, except firstbase (hodge-podge of 4's) and non-existant catcher.  FFF needs two catchers and a secondbaseman.

Normandy Lake (66) -- Derrek Lee is NLL's only 1 at first.  2's across the infield and 3's everywhere else (except LF).  The Landsharks still need a backup catcher.

Denver (70) -- Hudson (2b) and Sizemore (cf) are DEN's 1's.  A-Rod is a 2 at third.  4's at catcher, first and right really hurt.  DEN needs a backup shortstop.

Burmese (93) -- Coming in at dead last, BBM's has a lone bright spot of Scott Rolen as a 1 at third.  No twos and 4's at SS (Peralta), 2B (Hall) and LF (Soriano) doom this defense.

Koufax

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Elkhart Lake (58) -- First in the division, second in the league, ELR is led by Beltran (cf) and Iwamura (2b) with 1's.  2's in LF (Blanco) and RF (Drew) along with SS (Cabrera) make the three-headed 4 at 3B not hurt as much.  All defense backups filled.

Ottawa (63) -- Russell (ca) and Kotchman (1b) are OTT's 1's.  2's at SS (Jeter) and CF (Gonzalez) make up for the 4 (Braun) in LF.  All defensive backups filled.

West Huron (68) -- With one of the shallowest offensive rosters in the DBA (only 10 players), WHW puts together a league average defense.  The Whitecaps have no 1's, but 2's at five positions (Molina, Polanco, Hardy, Crawford, Francoeur).  If a CF is signed at the Auction, Crawford becomes a 1 in LF.

Ridgecrest (73) -- Put Jack Wilson at ss (he's a 1) and this is one of the DBA's best defenses.  As it stands, its near average.  A trio of CF will man the OF, all with 2's; Upton, Gomez and Wells.  Zimmerman (3b) and Soto (ca) are RID's other 2's.  Guzman, a 3, will man the ss position most of the year.   

Y-D Screaming (79) --  Another solid OF in the Koufax.  Pence, Granderson and Gutierrez (a 1 in RF) will all be 2's.  Howard (1b) is the only 4 in the lineup.  The rest of the starters are 3's.  YDL still needs backups at 1b and ss.

Cleveland (88) -- Ruiz is this team's lone 2 at ca.  The rest of the defense is in disarray and might see a pair of 5's in the OF (Burrell and Stairs).  The best CF on the roster now is a 4.  Look for some defensive upgrades at the auction.  CLE still needs a backup at 1b.

Gibson

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Homer (59) -- Youkilis (1b), Markakis (rf) and Phillips (2b) are 1's for the DBA's third best defense.  Add in a pair of 2's in the OF (Crisp, Ellsbury) and the rest of the defense are 3's.  A nice defensive ss will elevate this team even further.

Lebanon (66) -- A very nice middle-of-the-defense on LEB with 2's at each (Utley, Escobar and Young).  Add in a part-time 2 in RF (Church) and threes everywhere else.  LEB is shallow in theOF and still needs backups at lf and cf.

Carbondale (72) -- Pujols (1b) is a 1.  Young (ss) is a 2.  Bruce (lf/rf) is also a 2.  Threes everywhere else, except a four at 3b.  Minor upgrades in the middle would help this defense out.

Lehigh Valley (76) -- Pena (1b) is LVP's lone one.  Roberts (2b), Winn (lf) and Hamilton (cf) are all twos.  Keppinger's 4 at ss is killing this defense.  The Iron Pigs still need backups at 3b and ss.

Rio Brazos (79) -- An outfield of Ross, Hunter and Rowand is a bit above average, but the infield is a mess with Uggla (a 4) at second and Theriot (a 3) at short.  RBC still needs backups at 2b, 3b  and ss.

Saint Gabriel (80) -- You would think a defense with Mauer (ca 1) and Ichiro (rf 1) would be better than this.  Ichiro moves to cf and Ludwick (rf 2) plays rf.  The rest of the defense is bad at best, with Jacobs (1b 5), Headley (3b 4), Hanley (ss 3) and Lewis (lf 3).  ILL still needs a backup at ca and 1b.

When the complete defensive ratings come out later, the order will be jumbled up a bit.  But, you can get a good idea of which pitchers will be benefiting from this listing.  

An Early Look at Bullpens

Relievers are usually picked up en masse at the auction.  However, with the bidding process and what looks like a tendency to keep contracts around longer, even in sub-par years, six bullpens seem to be "full" as of this writing.  And four more are within one arm of the same.

Gibson

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HSD -- 4 RP, 8.3M CAP, 275 IP, 1.26 whip, 3.34 ERA

Homer is in position to compile the best RP corps in the Gibson, but will need to spend a few million to target 2-3 Grade A RP.  There are 16 of those out there.  One of youngest in the DBA (28.1 age) is led by Jonathan Broxton (1.17 whip, 3.13 ERA) and Scott Downs (1.15 whip, 1.78 ERA).

RBC -- 6 RP, 13.5M CAP, 376 IP, 1.29 whip, 3.38 ERA

Rio Brazos sits at #2 in the division with its nearly completed RP staff.  Look for Don to spend RBC's money elsewhere and pick up a bit player near the end of the auction to complete the requirements of 400 ReIP.  Joe Nelson (1.19/2.00), Heath Bell (1.21/3.58) and Darren Oliver (1.15/2.88) head up this seasoned staff.  Average age, 32.6.

CDC -- 7 RP, 10.0M CAP, 429 IP, 1.32 whip, 3.94 ERA

RFA (Thompson, 65 IP, 1.39 whip, 5.15 ERA)

Carbondale holds on to #3.  Don't expect much effort exerted to retain Thompson.  This staff is Carlos Marmol and the "others".  Marmol dominates with 0.94 whip and 2.99 ERA.  CDC will make some marginal improvements at the auction.  Second youngest RP crew at 26.7.

LVP -- 2 RP, 6.0M CAP, 187 IP, 1.33 whip, 3.41 ERA

With just two RP on the roster, Lehigh Valley streaks in at #4 on the fastball of Brad Lidge.  Lidge (1.23/1.95) will close the games, but the rest is up in the air.  Big money and this staff could hit top 2.  Normal moves will keep it in the middle of the division.

ILL -- 5 RP, 19.9M CAP, 388 IP, 1.35 whip, 3.99 ERA

Illinois will rely heavily on the arms of their "Three-headed Closer", Brian-KG Rodriquez.  Brian Fuentes (1.10/2.73), Francisco Rodriguez (1.29/2.24) and Kevin Gregg (1.28/3.41) will be great in the 8th/9th, but getting there will be a problem.  With little CAP room, don't expect many improvements.  The pen is just 28.8.

LEB -- 7 RP, 19.8M CAP, 478 IP, 1.39 whip, 3.73 ERA

RFA (Nathan, 68 IP, 0.90 whip, 1.33 ERA)

Lebanon has a solid but not spectacular RP corps already.  If Nathan is kept, it will move to mid-division.  At 34, do you FrRFA Nathan at 5yrs and let him walk if it hits 41M?  8M per year for an ace closer is not uncommon in this league.  No one really stands out on this elder (33.1) staff.

Koufax

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WHW -- 2 RP, 8.0M CAP, 92 IP, 1.12 whip, 3.12 ERA

RFA (Francisco, 63 IP, 1.15 whip, 3.13 ERA)

RFA (Lopez, 59 IP, 1.35 whip, 2.43 ERA)

RFA (Springer, 50 IP, 1.13 whip, 2.32 ERA)

RFA (Tejeda, 45 IP, 1.13 whip, 3.97 ERA)

West Huron defaults to the top of the division by the pure stats of his two RP on roster, Hoffman (1.04/3.77) and Saito (1.19/2.49).  If WHW can retain 3 out of 4 RFA's, it should retain the spot on the quality of the entire staff.  That will be a tricky maneuver, since the Whitecaps are severely limited by CAP.  All four should get the FrRFA tag for two years.  If bidding is heavy, each walks and WHW pockets a cool 4M to spend elsewhere.  Its a win-win.

RID -- 4 RP, 5.0M CAP, 269 IP, 1.18 whip, 2.71 ERA

Ridgecrest comes in at 1A.  The corps are led by Cory Wade (0.93/2.27) and Jim Johnson (1.19/2.23).  RID will need to pick up about 150 IP at the auction, so this rank could slip.  Expect this bullpen to stay in the top 3.

OTT -- 9 RP, 21.0M CAP, 615 IP, 1.16 whip, 3.38 ERA

The "Deepest Pen in the DBA" is indeed very deep.  It is also very, very good.  Ottawa is the only team with more than 7 RP on roster.  It starts with the absurd Billy Wagner (0.89/2.30) and Taylor Buchholz (0.95/2.17) and continues with RP "aces" of Manny Delcarmen (1.23/3.27), Rafael Perez (1.18/3.54), Yusmeiro Petit (1.05/4.31) and Jon Rauch (1.19/4.14).  Oh, and I forgot to mention 24 yr old phenom, Max Scherzer (1.23/3.05).  This staff is 28.2 and it ready to take over the "Best Pen in the DBA" mantel after the auction.

ELR -- 7 RP, 19.6M CAP, 480 IP, 1.23 whip, 3.61 ERA

Elkhart Lake would take the top prize in the Gibson, but is only 4th here.  The 9th will be manned by the best closer in the game, Mariano Rivera (0.67/1.40).  There may not be any hit chances on that card, fellas!  ELR also has specialist Brian Bruney (0.99/1.84).  ELR is out of CAP room, so this is probably as good as it gets.  

CLE -- 6 RP, 15.0M CAP, 403 IP, 1.36 whip, 3.99 ERA

Cleveland would love to move up a slot or two.  They should be able to do that with slight improvements in the back-end of the RP corps.  The front-end needs no help, with Jonathan Papelbon (0.95/2.34) and Jose Valverde (1.18/3.38) closing the door.  Versatile Ryan Rowland-Smith (1.37/3.42) makes up the bulk of the pen.  CLE should be a RP player at the auction.

YDL -- 2 RP, 7.0M CAP, 123 IP, 1.39 whip, 2.77 ERA

Y-D has the youngest RP two-some in the league with Joba and Zumaya.  However, Joba's role on the team hasn't been defined and Zumaya has just 23 IP.  This team will need to sign nearly 400 IP at the auction and will move up according to the amount spent.  Could Nolasco (200+ IP, RP rating) be in George's sights?

Williams

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FFF -- 6 RP, 10.5M CAP, 342 IP, 1.17 whip, 3.20 ERA

RFA (Thornton, 67 IP, 1.00 whip, 2.67 ERA)

Fairfax can lay claim to the "Best Pen in the DBA".  If they retain Thornton, it will be.  Joakim Soria (0.86/1.60) looks like a 24 yr old Rivera.  Jesse Carlson (1.03/2.25) looks nearly as good.  Solid perfomances out of Mike Lincoln (1.28/4.48) and Octavio Dotel (1.21/3.76) make this a well-rounded staff.

ALT -- 7 RP, 12.5M CAP, 496 IP, 1.36 whip, 3.31 ERA

RFA (Geary, 64 IP, 1.14 whip, 2.53 ERA)

RFA (Qualls, 74 IP, 1.07 whip, 2.81 ERA)

Altenberg has a complete pen right now, sitting in the #2 spot in the division.  Matching Geary and Qualls will solidify that ranking and make them a top-4 DBA staff.  ALT is lead by three lights-out rookies, Brad Ziegler (1.16/1.06), Jose Arredondo (1.05/1.62) and Justin Masterson (1.22/3.16).  The other end of the bullpen can use some improvements.  And the Aces have the CAP room to make them.

BSK -- 6 RP, 10.5M CAP, 349 IP, 1.33 whip, 3.81 ERA

RFA (Ohman, 59 IP, 1.24 whip, 3.68 ERA)

RFA (Street, 70 IP, 1.21 whip, 3.73 ERA)

Bloomington will be happy keeping Ohman and Street in the fold at the auction.  Doing this will make a very solid staff led by Grant Balfour (0.89/1.54) and his eye-popping numbers.  The rest of the staff is iffy, but retaining Ohman and Street will keep good pitchers in good situations.

NLL -- 3 RP, 7.0M CAP, 156 IP, 1.28 whip, 3.68 ERA

Normandy Lake's nearly invisible RP staff falls in at #4.  NLL will need bid on a big-time closer because I don't think Todd Jones (1.63/4.97) will cut it.  Look for them to make numerous splashes at the auction, possibly picking up 500+ ReIP.

DEN -- 4 RP, 5.0M CAP, 258 IP, 1.37 whip, 3.61 ERA

RFA (Guardado, 56 IP, 1.22 whip, 4.15 ERA)

Denver will need to make some drastic improvements in order to stay out of the Williams RP basement.  Funny, but this would be a mid-tier staff in the Gibson.  Brian Tallet (1.31/2.88) and Joe Smith (1.29/3.55) lead this closer-less staff.  Bobby Jenks, anyone?

BBM -- 2 RP, 5.5M CAP, 54 IP, 1.32 whip, 4.64 ERA

RFA (Wood, 66 IP, 1.09 whip, 3.26 ERA)

Burmese has an interesting situation.  First, the entire bullpen has to be built at the auction.  Second, Kerry Wood WILL get 8M per year.  What do you do?  I say, FrRFA Wood at 5yrs, and take the 10M plus draft pick, then sign 7 above average RP at roughly 30M total.  You've spent 20M at the auction for a solid bullpen that is only costing about 20M in cap.  And, if any of them repeat good performances, you have low-cost bargaining chips at the deadline.

Another Look at SP ... Free Agents

With all of the bidding craziness at hand, I thought a more detailed look into aspects of rosters was needed.  I've taken alot of information from various stat sources and have come up with my own ranking on how things might turn out.  This is my opinion and things can/will change.  There are quite a few SP out there that will help shape up DBA rotations.  I'm going to look at each team's top 4 FT SP and their relation to the rest of the SP out there.  With the rankings, your #1 starter should be in the top 20, #2 in the top 40, #3 in the top 60 and #4 in the top 80.

Oh what fun the auction will be this year!  We even have the bidding process to keep us interested prior to the real Free Agent Auction on February 28th (mark your calandars!).  And treasury money is flying left and right!  One area that was always interesting during the Auction was the starting pitchers.  Brad Radke 5/50?  Jake Peavy 5/80?  Those stood out, but there were more, many more.

This auction will have some interesting twists and turns for players of the SP persuasion.  First, a little information on what is needed to fill out rotations.  Currently six teams have a "hole" at the #4 slot.  What this means is that there is no clear cut SP on the team to fill in 20+ starts.  There might be part-timers, but no one that can fill it for most of the year.  Those six teams are YDL, CLE, DEN, ILL, FFF and BSK.  We also have 13 potential "upgrade" slots available.  Those are slots that are filled with an SP that falls outside the Top 80 in rankings.  Remember, this is pure number speculation.  Your mileage may differ :-).  So, that gives us 19 slots that could/should be filled.  We will start from the top.

Historically in the DBA, a #1 starter gets an average of around 10M per year.  A #2 starter gets on average 6M per, #3 gets 5M and #4 gets 4M.  If you are looking at filling in the #5 slot with an average #5 pitcher, you'll spend 2-3M per year.  There are some range variances at the top, as shown by Peavy being the first player in DBA history to get 16M per year.  He's that good :-)!

Let's take a look at what's out there.

#1 -- Duscherer -- FFF/RFA -- 31 yrs, 22 GS, 1.00 whip -- Out of the roughly 50 FT SP in the Auction/Bidding, he's the best.  If FFF doesn't FrRFA this guy, he could see a 4/52 deal.  If franchised at 5, FFF might let him walk if over 40M and just take the 10M and a pick.  FFF's staff is the best in the DBA right now.  And Duscherer WILL be overpaid.

#2 -- Harden -- RID/RFA -- 27 yrs, 25 GS, 1.06 whip -- Here's the next best SP out there, with higher upside than Justin, IMHO.  The issue with Harden is his health.  Will he start 30+ games again?  Another issue with both of these guys is that each will only get 1 start in each post season series, since less than 150 IP.  RID has a tough choice here.  FrRFA him at three years and pay 40M+ at 13M+ per year, or don't FrRFA him at all and match any deal under 4/50.  Either way, RID keeps him an solidifies an already great rotation.

#3 -- Young -- LEB/RFA -- 30 yrs, 18 GS, 1.29 whip -- Sitting at #14 would normally guarantee you a 10M deal.  I'm not sure it gets that high with Young.  He's little over half of a starter, and gives you one start in the playoffs.  He has great history on his side.  I think he needs to be FrRFA'd at 3-4 years and you match anything under 8M per.  Its just too risky not to do that.  At least you'd get 6-8M out of him if he walks.  If not, I can see 4/40.  Match?  Where's Chris Carpenter these days?

#4 -- Dempster -- FA -- 32 yrs, 33 GS, 1.21 whip -- Just a tick under Young at #15 is our first real FT SP of the Auction.  And he's a free agent, which means BIG BUCKS!  Dempster will be sought after by those teams with holes still left after the RFA portion ... most likely YDL, CLE, DEN and ILL.  He could see a hefty 4/36 deal.  Most likely he will be the highest paid FA SP in this Auction.

#5 -- Lee -- FFF/FA -- 30 yrs, 31 GS, 1.11 whip -- Cliff Lee's rights were recently traded to FFF in a swap for Matt Cain and others.  This guy has "FrRFA me at 5 years" written all over him!  I know Lee is good, but he's left-handed and will not repeat this season.  If not FrRFA'd, he'll get a 5-6 year deal in excess of 9M per.  If FFF keeps both RFA SP's around, it will have one of the best rotations in the history of the DBA.  

#6 -- Lowe -- FA -- 36 yrs, 34 GS, 1.13 whip -- Derek is the last of the #1 starters in the Auction/Bidding process.  At 36, he shouldn't get more than 2-3 years, maybe 8M per.  But someone might try to throw out a 5/25 hoping to snag him at a low CAP value.  Anywhere from 2/18 to 5/30 is possible with this guy.  

#7 -- Nolasco -- FA -- 26 yrs, 32 GS, 1.11 whip -- One of two guys in the #2 starter tier, Ricky sits near the top.  And his numbers look like his performance could be Top 20.  He has no real history of being this good, but at 26, someone will take the chance he repeats.  Probably gets a 4/28 or something similar.  Anything higher and you'll be sorry.

#8 -- Garza -- bidding -- 25 yrs, 30 GS, 1.24 whip -- Garza's bidding is already silly at 49M. He'll be under contract at 3M per year for the next two years, so anyone will an upgrade slot could be interested.  3M is a definite steal as your #2.  Prior to the start of the bidding, I would have thought 20M would have gotten his contract.  Now, 60M might not be enough.  You have to remember that teams have more TREASURY this year and less CAP ROOM.  That makes all of these crazy bids possible.

Wakefield -- FA -- 43 yrs, 30 GS, 1.18 whip

Wellemeyer -- BSK/RFA -- 30 yrs, 32 GS, 1.25 whip

Slowey -- FA -- 24 yrs, 27 GS, 1.15 whip

Padilla -- FA -- 31 yrs, 29 GS, 1.46 whip

These are the four RFA/FA ranked as a #3 starter.  Since there are 11 potential spots for these guys, expect a few to get 4/24 type deals.  BSK definitely keeps Wellemeyer around.  I had heard that Wakefield retired, making a 2/14 deal likely for him.  Slowey doesn't get anything less than 8M per year and Padilla probably falls into the 3M range.

Saunders -- bidding -- 27 yrs, 31 GS, 1.21 whip

Rodriguez -- bidding -- 30 yrs, 25 GS, 1.31 whip

Current bidding for one year of Joe Saunders at 2M per is 15M!  And since he's a Free Agent after the contract, no rights either.  He fits in the #3 slot on most teams.  Saunders would help at team with wild card potential, but just be a good #4/#5 on division winners.  At least you'll get 10M back for making the playoffs :-).  One year at 3M of Wandy Rodriguez with RFA rights is bidding at 2M right now.  I expect to see that creep towards 10M before it ends.  He would be a solid addition for the teams with holes to fill.

Moyer -- FA -- 46 yrs, 33 GS, 1.33 whip

Cook -- RBC/RFA -- 30 yrs, 32 GS, 1.34 whip

Moehler -- FA -- 37 yrs, 26 GS, 1.35 whip

Maddux -- FA -- 43 yrs, 33 GS, 1.21 whip

Wolf -- bidding -- 32 yrs, 33 GS, 1.38 whip

Here's your #4 starters.  There are limited teams these guys would help.  Slight upgrades would cost around 4M per year.  I'm not sure Moyer or Maddux get more than a two year deal.  Cook could be a matching steal for RBC, or FrRFA'd for the TREASURY.  Wolf is locked in at 2M per year for two years; he's at a 7M bid already.

If you are tight on CAP, there are another 20+ FT SP out there.  You will be able to fill out the rotation with 2M starters.  They won't be good, but they will be starters :-).

Another Look at SP ... Williams

With all of the bidding craziness at hand, I thought a more detailed look into aspects of rosters was needed.  I've taken alot of information from various stat sources and have come up with my own ranking on how things might turn out.  This is my opinion and things can/will change.  There are quite a few SP out there that will help shape up DBA rotations.  I'm going to look at each team's top 4 FT SP and their relation to the rest of the SP out there.  My shorthand will be in the following form ... Overall Rank / Home Rank / Road Rank ... Each of those are adjusted ranks on how well the SP should overall, or with the majority of starts on the road or at home.  With the rankings, your #1 starter should be in the top 20, #2 in the top 40, #3 in the top 60 and #4 in the top 80.

Fairfax (FFF) -- Webb (3/27/9), Hamels (16/53/17), Baker (22/25/33), ????

Fairfax maintains its slight hold on #1.  With questions at #4/#5, it could slip with a bad auction.  FFF does have Cliff Lee's rights (he's a solid #1), and Duscherer's as well (he's the 2nd best SP) which would solidify its status.  Webb is the best starter in this division right now and Hamels is the best #2 SP.  Baker checks in as the best #3 as well.  If FFF keeps Lee and Duscherer, it will have five of the top 25 SP in the league.

Burmese (BBM) -- Peavy (7/22/14), Volquez (26/17/45), McGowan (56/115/48), Olsen (58/56/7)

Peavy is the second best #1 in the division and Volquez is the second best #2.  McGowan checks in as an average #3 SP and Olson is a good #4.  That puts BBM in as a solid #2, with #1 potential.

Denver (DEN) -- Kuroda (20/20/31), Oswalt (33/14/62), Litsch (57/29/84), ????

Kuroda is an average #1 and Oswalt is above average at #2.  Litsch is average at #3 as well.  A nice addition in the four slot will solidify this staff.

Altenberg (ALT) -- Marcum (28/18/49), Floyd (38/84/37), Smith (73/52/40), Lohse (78/48/72)

Marcum is slightly below average in the 1 hole, with average potential if used properly.  Floyd comes in as an average #2, with huge downside at home.  Smith is below average at #3 and Lohse is just average at #4.  ALT also has Buehrle and Lackey, but neither have earth-shattering numbers.

Normandy Lake (NLL) -- Sheets (17/11/28), Jimenez (43/34/68), Maholm (46/51/1), Meche (75/46/50)

Sheets is installed as NLL's #1.  He's average there, but has good upside.  Jimenez sits at #2 and is average.  Maholm checks in as a good #3 with monster potential against the right lineups.  Meche is just average at #4.

Bloomington (BSK) -- Billingsley (21/55/23), Hernandez (35/76/41), Gallagher (135/114/163), ????

Billingsley and Hernandez are both nearly average in their slots, while Gallagher is in the bottom 10 SP available.  BSK has no other SP on the roster right now.  They will need to make a big splash at the Auction.  If they land a quality #3 and #4, look for this staff to move to mid-division in quality.

Another Look at SP ... Gibson

With all of the bidding craziness at hand, I thought a more detailed look into aspects of rosters was needed.  I've taken alot of information from various stat sources and have come up with my own ranking on how things might turn out.  This is my opinion and things can/will change.  There are quite a few SP out there that will help shape up DBA rotations.  I'm going to look at each team's top 4 FT SP and their relation to the rest of the SP out there.  My shorthand will be in the following form ... Overall Rank / Home Rank / Road Rank ... Each of those are adjusted ranks on how well the SP should overall, or with the majority of starts on the road or at home.  With the rankings, your #1 starter should be in the top 20, #2 in the top 40, #3 in the top 60 and #4 in the top 80.

Homer (HSD) -- Galarraga (5/89/6), Maine (25/67/27), Greinke (27/81/25), Jurrjens (41/36/63)

It was a toss up between HSD and RBC on which staff would lead the division.  I chose HSD because of the depth.  Galarraga has the best set of stats for a #1 in the division, but will need to pitch carefully at home to maintain it.  Maine is a high quality #2 SP and Greinke is lights out at #3.  Jurrjens is by far the best #4 SP out there at the moment.  Jurrjens is the reason this staff is #1.

Rio Brazos (RBC) -- Halladay (6/3/21), Lincecum (9/2/22), Danks (32/19/59), Sanchez (77/54/56)

Halladay has the second best #1 SP stats in the division, but will probably outperform #1.  Lincecum is THE best #2 SP out there and would be #1 on almost any other team.  Danks is a very high quality #3 SP.  However, at #4, Sanchez is just above average, which drops RBC into the #2 slot in the division.

Lehigh Valley (LVP) -- Matsuzaka (11/49/16), Santana (13/7/26), Haren (30/12/32), Byrd (88/126/89)

Talk about getting the short end of the stick.  In the other two divisions, this staff would be #1/#2 easy.  Here, its just a solid 3.  Matsuzaka is a great #1, but only the 4th best pitcher in the division.  Santana is outstanding at #2, while Haren is a solid #2 as well.  Byrd is average at best in the #4 hole.  If LVP upgrades at all, they will challenge the top of the division.

Saint Gabriel (ILL) -- Sabathia (12/4/10), Zambrano (40/13/77), Johnson (55/38/18), ???

Sandwiched in between Dice-K and Johan is CC Sabathia, ILL's #1.  He should do remarkably well in that role.  Zambrano is merely average in the #2, but proper usage could lead to overperformance.  Johnson is an average #3 SP as well.  The #4 SP slot is up for grabs right now.  A solid hold on the 4th staff in the division.

Lebanon (LEB) -- Shields (42/28/71), Carmona (87/107/98), Cueto (101/74/113), Robertson (135/124/137)

The drop-off is mighty to fifth.  Shields is an average #2 filling in the #1 hole.  Carmona is a marginal #4 filling in at #2.  Cueto is a decent #5 and there are only 5 SP worse than Robertson.

Carbondale (CDC) -- Campillo (85/63/65), Blackburn (99/61/114), Feldman (109/99/116), Martinez (121/114/125)

The basement of the division is filled with #4/#5 starters.  Campillo is the worst "best" SP on a staff and it goes downhill after that.  Blackburn has #3 potential if use correctly, while Feldman and Martinez are just no good.  Counting Martinez, CDC has four of the 9 worst SP on rosters right now.

Another Look at SP ... Koufax

With all of the bidding craziness at hand, I thought a more detailed look into aspects of rosters was needed.  I've taken alot of information from various stat sources and have come up with my own ranking on how things might turn out.  This is my opinion and things can/will change.  There are quite a few SP out there that will help shape up DBA rotations.  I'm going to look at each team's top 4 FT SP and their relation to the rest of the SP out there.  My shorthand will be in the following form ... Overall Rank / Home Rank / Road Rank ... Each of those are adjusted ranks on how well the SP should overall, or with the majority of starts on the road or at home.  With the rankings, your #1 starter should be in the top 20, #2 in the top 40, #3 in the top 60 and #4 in the top 80.

Cleveland (CLE) -- Hudson (8/37/13), Baek (49/97/46), Hochevar (66/102/66), ???

Hudson has the best overall SP numbers in the division and will be a great #1 for CLE, especially on the road.  Baek falls into a #3 SP role.  Hochevar will fit in nicely as a #4 starter.  CLE needs to fill the #2 slot with someone of high quality.  They also have very limited starts and will need to piece together a 7-9 man rotation this year.  Fourth staff in the division.

Elkhart Lake (ELR) -- Bush (29/45/39), Burnett (36/41/51), Weaver (60/31/86), Lannan (72/44/97)

Bush is the third best #1 starter, just slightly out of the 1-20 range, but will be very tough.  Burnett is the second best #2 SP in the division and will be very good results as well.  Weaver is the best #3 starter, but will have to watch his usage.  Too many road starts will spell disaster.  And Lannan clocks in as the second best #4 SP in the division.  Overall, this is the best starting staff in the division.  

Ottawa (OTT) -- Guthrie (37/23/64), Owings (62/57/80), Vazquez (69/47/90), Kazmir (70/72/5)

Guthrie checks in well below #1 standards.  Owings, while having the second best SP numbers on the team, will most likely see the bullpen, as OTT has already made moves to solidify the rotation.  Cain would slide into Owings spot at #2, upgrading.  Vazquez is a servicable #3 and Kazmir is a nice #4, especially on the road, where he turns into the ace of the staff.  OTT holds on to the third best rotation in the division.

Ridgecrest (RID) -- Pelfrey (39/91/36), Lester (53/42/12), Lilly (63/130/47), Looper (83/68/104)

This staff has the potential to dominate, or to be just average, depending on usage.  Pelfrey a below average #1 starter and has a huge home downside.  Lester is a slightly below average #2 starter with huge upside on the road.  Lilly is an above average #3 starter, with a monsterous downside at home.  Looper is an average #4 across the board.  In all, its a solid staff.  RID holds onto the #2 spot in the division, but just barely.  This rotation will take some creative thinking.

West Huron (WHW) -- Verlander (47/33/73), Contreras (61/88/69), Eveland (82/64/57), Silva (125/137/124)

Verlander checks in as a well below average #1 SP with the upside of an average SP at home.  Contreras checks in as a decent #3, Eveland a good #4 and Silva well below average.  WHW needs to upgrade with a #1/#2 SP in order to move into the top half of the division.  Otherwise, this rotation will always be one step behind.

Y-D (YDL) -- Santana (10/9/19), Beckett (34/24/60), Zito (98/87/44), ???

Santana has the second best SP numbers in the division and will be a stellar #1.  Beckett follows with the best #2 numbers, making a great 1-2 punch for Y-D.  However, Zito is a bad #5 and he's slotted in at #3 right now. The Landfish will be shopping at the SP Mart this off-season; looking for deals but paying millions.  5th staff in the divison right now; 2nd staff potential.