Tonight, I'll cover the players moved to the N.L. from the A.L. and the corresponding FAAB bids in the regular N.L. league I used to monitor these bis.
Mark Teixeira. Winning bid $100. Other bids $100, $100, $66, $55, $51, $47, $37, $34, $29, $19.
What I said: ...Teixeira is the guy who you hold on to your FAAB for: the dream player who can make your season if you're otherwise in the right position to make a move in the power categories. Touts seem surprised that he's hitting so well in Atlanta (and are inanely ignoring the small sample size), but as an ex-Teixeira owner in my A.L., I can tell you that he seemed to be pressing and unhappy with his situation in Texas. A Georgia Tech product, Tex seems happy in Atlanta...for the moment. I can tell you that, with Boras as his agent, Tex will eventually be unhappy again at some point in 2008. But I'd expect some big numbers for him down the stretch. Break the bank, folks.
What happened: 208 AB, 17 HR, 56 RBI, 0 SB, .317 BA. $15
My take: Even if he had just duplicated his Texas numbers, Texeira still would have been worth blowing your budget on. However, he put up an unreal 1.019 OPS for 54 games for the Braves, and was one of the more high impact free agents in either league.
Luis Castillo. Winning bid: $48. Other bids: $29, $27, $19, $19, $18, $17, $5, $5, $4.
What I said: He's been playing on a gimpy leg for the last two years (as far as we know; it could be longer) and, as a result, his SB totals this year are way down. The average is no sure thing either; he was hitting .304 for the Twins, but only .268 in his last 149 AB. The arrow's pointing down on Castillo. This is why it's not a great idea to hoard your money.
What happened: 199 AB, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 10 SB, .296 BA, $8
My take: The arrow might have been pointing down on Castillo, but he stole one more base in New York than he did in Minnesota in 150 fewer AB. That was really the best reason to buy him; the batting average with Castillo is usually gravy. If you needed the steals more than the power, Castillo would have been a bigger impact buy for you at half the FAAB price. The bids, in retrospect, probably should have been higher.
Ty Wigginton. Winning bid: $26. Other bids: $24, $21, $15, $12, $5, $3, $2.
What I said: The Astros have already designated Morgan Ensberg for assignment, so they're clearly committed to playing Wigginton at 3B for the rest of the year. Clearly, Wigginton isn't as good as Teixeira in real life, but his value is pretty similar to Tex's so far, and there's a good chance Wigginton will keep hitting for power in his new venue. Most importantly, there are absolutely no guarantees at all that Tex will move to Atlanta....I still think Tex is moving on Tuesday, but there are no guarantees. If he doesn't move, Wigginton will look like a FAAB steal come October.
What happened: 169 AB, 6 HR, 18 RBI, 2 SB, .284 BA, $5
My take: I was right about Wigginton's performance; he actually increased his OPS from 787 in Tampa Bay to 804 for Houston. However, his HR and RBI per AB dropped, and if this bid prevented you from buying either Castillo or Teixeira, you probably regretted it.
Tadahito Iguchi. Winning bid: $18. Other bids: $9, $8, $6, $4, $3, $2.
What I said: ...Iguchi's numbers have been extremely disappointing this year. But Utley's out until at least the end of August, and Luis Castillo is the only other possible middle infield import on the horizon. Iguchi's certainly worth the gamble, and I'm willing to bet that there were a few teams sucking along on the likes of Cesar Izturis and Adam Kennedy at their middle infield slots who are already regretting their tepid bids.
What happened: 138 AB, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 6 SB, .304 BA, $6
My take: Iguchi was more valuable to the Phillies in real life (they wouldn't have won the N.L. East with a replacement level 2B while Utley was out) than he was for us, but I was right that teams with a hole at 2B or MI should have bid more aggressively. One month of strong production from a free agent second baseman can't be underestimated. Castillo was better, but not by as much, and there was no guarantee that he was coming over. Even if you dropped Iguchi in September after Utley came back and got nothing good in the free agent pool, you still would have improved your team.
Octavio Dotel. Winning bid: $17. Other bids: $14, $12, $10, $7, $5.
What I said: Dotel should get some saves even though he won't be Bobby Cox's primary go-to-guy in the 9th....the situation should be watched carefully. I might bid a little more than this on Dotel, even if he isn't the closer. His ERA/WHIP will be low, and I could see him picking up a few relief wins if the Braves offense ever cools off.
What happened: 0 W, 0 SV, 7 2/3 IP, 4.70 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, $1
My take: Dotel hit the DL shortly after he was acquired and had no impact on Roto races. The winning bidder was probably hopeful that Dotel might stay in the National League as a closer, but the Orioles are the only team Dotel's been linked to where he wouldn't be signing on as a set-up guy.
Rob Mackowiak: Winning bid $4. Other bid: $1.
What I said: ...He's one of those players who can put up sneaky little amounts of value because he has a little pop and a little speed, so he's worth starting in N.L.-only leagues as long as (Milton) Bradley's hurt. From a baseball standpoint, I don't think the Padres should have put together their team for the stretch run on the cheap.
What happened: 56 AB, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1 SB, .196 BA.
My take: One problem with pimping part-timers like Mackowiak is that small sample sizes can deceive. Mack has earned $7 or more every year since 2003, but he's the kind of guy who can also get buried if he's not going well. Thus the low bid. I'm sure the team that bought him was hoping for something more along the lines of the 6/36/3/.278 he put up for the White Sox in 237 AB, but probably just dropped him once he didn't get going.
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