The computer drafted the teams last night.

This is how it works.  Each manager creates a team of twenty-five players for $80 million.  Then the manager ranks the players in order of how badly he wants them.  The computer randomly generates a draft order of all the teams.  The computer then looks at the draft order.  When it is a given team's turn, if the player the team wants is there, it is selected.  If not, a "matching" player is selected in place of that player.  I say "matching" because the resulting player is often nothing like the player desired.

As some teams will get screwed, the waiver system is designed to help.  All the teams are ranked based upon the number of players they did not draft.  Owners then assemble a chain of waiver moves, but they need to make sure that they have enough money to make a move.  As often happens, two teams will both want the same player.  If that happens, the team that misses out ends up with a chain of waiver moves that can't be resolved.

Once the waiver draft is complete, there is a free-for-all period.

Of the twelve teams, I ended up ninth in the waiver pool, so I got most of the players I wanted.  Of the players I didn't get, they are replaceable.  I ended up with $4.13 million unspent.

Starting Rotation

The person I chose to rank #1 overall was Johan Santana for $7.55 million and I got him.  I missed out on Chris Carpenter for $6.57 million.  I ended up with Jered Weaver for $6.32 million.  I will need to replace Weaver as he is ineligible to pitch every four games, but there is a wide selection of replacement right-handed starters.  My rotation fills out with David Bush ($4.28), Kenny Rogers ($3.83) and for emergencies only Tim Hudson ($.96 million).

Bullpen

I chose to use Fernando Rodney as my closer.  I only use my closers in the ninth, so his closer rating of three doesn't affect me.  At $4.07 million, he will do as well as many of the more expensive closers.  I missed out on Scott Shields and got Rafael Betancourt instead.  Betancourt gives up a bunch of power to right handers and I'm in a home run park, so he has to go.  I also ended up with Wil Ledezma instead of a left-handed reliever I wanted (but no longer remember).  I'm not very keen on him either.  My bullpen needs work, but there are always replacements.

I did get all my speciality relievers.  Eddie Guardado will be my lefty specialist.  This year I'm going to carry two righty specialists with Francisco Cordero and John Wasdin.

Catcher

I selected Ramon Hernandez as my catcher at $4.36.  Unlike most catchers who have an injury rating of two, Hernandez has a rating of only one.  That means my backup catcher can be just about anybody.

Infield

I got my whole infield with Justin Morneau ($7.52), Adam Kennedy ($2.29), Juan Uribe ($1.39) and Troy Glaus ($3.39).  Both Uribe and Glaus should do significantly better in my park.  Uribe and Kennedy provide that good defense up the middle that is so important at a lower price.  They will bat eighth and ninth in my lineup.  I also wanted Billy Hall as my DH.  He can play most infield positions as a backup in case of injuries.

Outfield

My outfield consists of Craig Monroe ($2.31), Gary Matthews Jr. ($5.74) and Michael Cuddyer ($5.32).   I didn't want Cuddyer, I wanted Jermaine Dye ($5.90), but I didn't get him.

Bench

My strategy doesn't leave much for a bench.  I usually have a bunch of league minimum salary players.  I didn't get the backup catcher I wanted, but there are a ton of backups at a cheap price.  Nelson Cruz is my backup outfielder at $0.80.  He is good defensively in all outfield positions and can hit for power against left-handed pitching.  He was important with Dye, but if I don't need him now, I can find another defensive replacement and use the extra money elsewhere.  Brendan Harris is a good hitter against left-handed pitching, so I'll keep him to pinch hit.  Jose Hernandez is my utility infielder and defensive replacement for Glaus.

Moving Forward

I need to make some changes, but I'm not in any rush.  I have $4.13 million in the bank so I can improve in a couple of areas.  I need to add another starter who can pitch every four games.  Looking at the free agent pool, my options are all cheaper than Weaver so I'll have a little more to spend.  This means I can upgrade a position.  Right now, I'm looking at third base.  I like Glaus's power, but he doesn't hit for average.  I need a little bit more batting average.  I'm not concerned about defense in that position, so Miguel Cabrera is an option.

One possible lineup would be:

Matthews - CF
Cuddyer - RF
Cabrera - 3B
Morneau - 1B
Hall - DH
Hernandez - C
Monroe - LF
Uribe - SS
Kennedy - 2B

What I don't know is if I can find better solutions for Betancourt and Ledezma.  If I can't, then I'll need to move some money from hitting to bullpen.  The obvious location to downgrade is outfield.  I can't downgrade left field any more.  I don't like my options in center.  That probably means right field.  I can downgrade Cuddyer to Ryan Freel.  Freel gives me someone who can lead off and steal.  I do lack speed at the top of the order.

Another choice is to downgrade Hall to Juan Rivera.  Rivera is very good in the clutch, ideal for the number five hitter in the lineup.  I do like Hall's flexability.  Although I plan to use him as a DH, I can use him in many positions in the field if needed.

First things first.  I have the free-for-all period to do the final tweaking.

JP Kastner is the Commissioner of the Strat-O-Matic Baseball Online Experts’ League and plays in three other Strat-O-Matic leagues.  He is also a second year member of Tout Wars in the Mixed League.