A.L. FAAB Log 4/30/07

Cha Seung Baek $10
This is a high bid, though I'm actually not as surprised by the bid as by 1) the fact that no other team placed a bid and 2) the bidder is the owner who already bought Joakim Soria at $20. This leaves this owner with $66 left of FAAB. In April.

Mind you, I'm not an advocate of sitting on your FAAB all year long and waiting for Bobby Abreu or Carlos Lee to show up in early August. However, leaving yourself with such a low amount is potentially crippling later, especially since better talent tends to start appearing in the free agent pool by mid to late May.

Regarding Baek, his numbers in Triple-A last year looked solid, but the scouts don't seem to like him very much. I do like Baek because of the venue he'll be pitching in and the opportunity he seems to have with Jeff Weaver all but pitching himself out of the rotation. If you can FAAB Baek this week and reserve him do so, since he's due to face off against the Yankees this week.

Ryan Langerhans $5
Again, I'm slightly surprised that no one else bid on this guy, though I do think that $5 is too much. In an effort to look for nice things to say about him, I keep hearing that he's a great 4th OF and he should play a lot for Oakland with all their injuries. Dan Johnson's already back, though, and with Nick Swisher due back late this week, Langerhans won't be playing regularly for long, unless the A's decide to option Travis Buck to the minors. On his own merits, Langerhans is typical of a low-impact free agent pick-up. He's better than just about everything out there, but he doesn't really do much in the way of HR/SB, especially for an OF. If you buy him, don't get enamored.

Tomo Ohka $3
Two weeks after getting waived in my league, Ohka gets FAABed based on a strong outing against Texas, albeit one without a lot of strikeouts. I drafted Ohka before getting cold feet, so I obviously think he isn't a total zero. Ohka's problem is that he's living on the razor's edge with his low strikeout rate. He might run off a string of five or six decent outings in a row and then get pasted. When a pitcher like this is off his game, your ERA/WHIP will pay dearly.

Alex Cora $2
I bought him and it turns out I overbid by $1. My thinking is that Dustin Pedroia looks terrible and there's a good chance he gets sent down if he keeps hitting well below .200. If Cora plays regularly, he'll be a drag on your average, but he will move the chains in RBI and provide a handful of steals and the odd HR. Worth $1, probably not $2; I just added the extra $1 because I thought at least one other team might bid, given our league's love of Boston.

Lenny DiNardo $1
He got ripped in a short stint last year for the Red Sox, but don't forget that as recently as 2005 he put up a great year at Triple-A. He's put up great numbers in the pen so far for the A's. He was never considered much of a prospect, mainly due to an injury that wiped out 2004, but DiNardo's not old for a pitcher at 27. His value is limited by the fact that Calero and The Duke are ahead of him, but there are whispers that both Kiko and The Duke (sounds like a bad movie) are hurting, so DiNardo might see some more high leverage innings down the line. Don't expect him to start; the fact that the A's brought up Dallas Braden tells me that they don't see DiNardo as a starter short term.

Matt Guerrier $2. Other bid $1
He's clearly pitching way over his head right now (check out that 387 OPS against!), but Guerrier is a solid middle relief option in 4x4 Roto. The winning bidder knew something I wouldn't have known.

Brandon Duckworth $1
Why? I'm in a league with eight owners from Philadelphia, so this is especially inexcusable.

Sal Fasano $1
I finally replaced Chris Heintz with Sal. He's only played once since Gregg Zaun went down, but I'd imagine Sal will get his chances so that Jason Phillips doesn't wear down. Truth be told, you're better off if Sal plays once or twice a week. That way, he'll pop the occassional HR without hurting the BA.

John McDonald $1
He's on a hot streak, and now he's stealing some AB from Royce Clayton, but McDonald will go back to the bench once he cools off. He's like Fasano in that you're better off if McDonald doesn't play that often and gets the odd SB without hurting your BA.

John Parrish $1
With Danys Baez making a gazillion dollars a year to set up Chris Ray, Parrish won't be seeing any save opportunities even if Ray does falter. But that doens't mean Parrish isn't worth adding as a back-end middle reliever in 4x4. He's looked good since returning from TJ surgery, though the walks continue to plague him as they have his entire career.

Josh Paul $1. Other bid $1
Truth be told, I wanted Paul over Fasano. I think Dioner Navarro's injury is worse than either Navarro or the D-Rays are letting on, and Paul has already seen a healthy share of AB the last two weeks. Unlike Fasano, he won't hurt your BA, and he does have some speed. I should have taken that dollar from Alex Cora and added it to Paul.

George Sherrill $1
He's nasty on lefties and pedestrian against righties. A LOOGY, in other words. If J.J. Putz truly is still pitching hurt, Sherrill could see the odd save opportunity, but I have a feeling that Mike Hargrove has a man crush on Brandon Morrow, even though the word is that Morrow isn't ready yet and should be in AAA.

Hector Carrasco Claimed by 3rd place team.
He's off to a poor start, but much of that is from one horrible outing against the Mariners. Carrasco should still be a useful option this year given all of the innings he'll wind up pitching for the Angels, but you shouldn't be afraid to cut him if Escobar goes down again and Scioscia insists that Carrasco is a starter.

Reggie Willits Claimed by last place team and 7th place team.
With Garret Anderson ailing, Willits has started the last two days. He's speed and not much else; the intangibles he brings to the table, such as being a great contact hitter, don't help us much.