tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2445702964043538162.post5794247601247354877..comments2011-08-01T12:53:21.238-05:00Comments on Playing the Pros: How to Use RP in a 4x4 LeagueChadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03432571368116651596noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2445702964043538162.post-23517546842285353232011-04-18T14:43:29.812-05:002011-04-18T14:43:29.812-05:00Zach, you can get those numbers at ottoneu.fangrap...Zach, you can get those numbers at ottoneu.fangraphs.com/averageValues. Also, I would keep an eye out for SP/RP qualified relievers and consider picking them up and cutting one or two of the seven guys you currently have. Every inning you get out of one of the dual-role relievers is basically one less inning from your worst starters. I'd think a few mediocre relief innings would be a nice replacement for when Britton has 2-3 starts each against the Red Sox and Yankees. <br /><br />Bryan, my bullpen has been a debacle this year. Thornton has been terrible, Soriano has not been much better and Saito is hurt. But in past years, I have been able to snag guys like Sean Marshall or J.P. Howell for $1. Typically the guys who qualify at both roles are either prospects who aren't quite ready or failed starters. The former tend to already be owned and not that cheap (see Feliz a couple years back), but the latter tend to be free agents. Going back to last year, I was spending $8 on Bell, $5 on Thornton, $4 on Soriano, $5 on Billy Wagner, and $1 on Saito, along with Marshall for $2 and a rotating cast of characters including the likes of Jose Contreras for $1 or $2 as my swing guys. That's a $27 bullpen (probably more like $30-$31 if you include cap penalties on guys I tried and dumped) which probably gave me about 450 IP with very very good stats. Verlander, on the other hand, cost me $42 (after a trade) last year. Lincecum cost $60. So for half the price of Lincecum and 2/3rds the price of Verlander, I had 450 excellent innings.Chadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03432571368116651596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2445702964043538162.post-38488824578044520592011-04-18T13:51:23.308-05:002011-04-18T13:51:23.308-05:00By the way, where can you go to see the average pl...By the way, where can you go to see the average player salaries across all ottoneau leagues? That would be very useful info.Zachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01925038824172338977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2445702964043538162.post-44982936578514979342011-04-18T13:42:25.138-05:002011-04-18T13:42:25.138-05:00I agree that on a per-inning basis, RP perform bet...I agree that on a per-inning basis, RP perform better than SP. But, I went with a strategy of targeting cheaper RP rather then elite ones given the salary disparity between the Bells/Marmols of the world and the next couple of tiers, although the volatility is higher as you move down the list.<br /><br />I ended up with Bailey, K-Rod, Valverde, Hensley, Marshall, and Howell after the draft for $14 and added Crow last week for $2. The problem is that none of these guys qualify at SP, which will only surface once Bailey and Howell return.<br /><br />Adding these to my starting staff of Kershaw, Lee, Price, Danks, Cahill, Sanchez, Kuroda, and Britton (total cost of $116), and I like my chances to have a top-3 staff in my league, if not the best.Zachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01925038824172338977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2445702964043538162.post-91915239225952078432011-04-14T07:58:05.829-05:002011-04-14T07:58:05.829-05:00I had figured the same thing you had early on - th...I had figured the same thing you had early on - that on an inning-by-inning basis, over the course of the major leagues, relievers would probably average out to be a little more effective than starters.<br /><br />There's a point where you say that relievers are an undervalued commodity, and I agree to an extent. Their undervalued as a single asset. But as a collection, they're valued close to what they should be. Let's go back to your comparison of Verlander vs. Marmol/Bell/Soria.<br /><br />There's no arguing that the Voltron pitcher is a much, much better pitcher than Verlander. But there are two considerations I have to keep in mind:<br /><br />(1) Voltron takes up 3 roster slots, Verlander takes up 1.<br /><br />(2) Voltron will appreciate by $6 next year, Verlander will appreciate by $2.<br /><br />In 2011 - you may be paying $32.40 for Voltron's production compared to Verlander's at $33. But in 2012, you'd be paying $38 to Verlander's $35. And in 2013, you'd be paying $44 to Verlander's $37. I'm not saying that it's not worth the difference in price, but I do think that (and the loss of two roster slots) is worth thinking about. When tying that to reliever volatility, I think that this "proven-closer" method has it's flaws as well as its benefits.<br /><br />But when you talk about using $1-$3 relievers in the same way...and perhaps using them on a one-year basis, then tossing them...I see the wisdom of the approach. You're right in that the trick is finding high-peripheral guys that are poised for success. And you're right in saying with the small sample sizes and year-to-year changes, this could be a great deal more difficult than finding reliable starters.<br /><br />For reference, here's what my idea was in the beginning: get 5 "elite" starters, a couple of backups, and fill out my RP slots with really good $1 relievers - the same ones you've spoken of. If I didn't spend more than $5 on relievers (I spent $8), and didn't use up too much of my roster space, I'd have more money to spend on a few really great starters, plus I'd have more roster slot flexibility to stock up on prospects.<br /><br />I'll admit that my draft of starters didn't go quite as planned, but I wound up with seven starters that don't embarass me, and I wound up spending a total of $107 on them. After cutting a couple of my relievers (I made a few mistakes early on), I wound up with ten active pitcher slots (swelled to 11 when Britton was called up), and only $115 (plus $5 for Britton) spent on active pitching.<br /><br />I still think that if I would've executed my plan a little better, it would provide me with the best chance to win both now and in the future - but I'm going to seriously consider this 6-7 reliever setup going forward. I can't deny that the reliever advantage in the rate stats is substantive - the trick is not spending too many roster slots on them, nor spending so much cash that I can't improve my team in other areas.<br /><br />Do you mind sharing how much you're spending on these relievers? I'd like to see how your budget figures out.<br /><br />Thanks again!Bryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10841363631147732527noreply@blogger.com