Saturday, June 28, 2008

Tom Gorzelanny

Anonymous wants to know if Tom Gorzelanny is worth picking up.
Gorzo just hit the FA pool in my super-deep NL-only. He's a $5 player in his last contract year.

I have been holding onto Rich Hill (also $5 in his last year) with the thought that he might be traded to an AL team. But with his awful start Friday for Iowa, I worry that any value he might have had was flushed down the toilet.

So, do I pull the trigger on Gorzo (and spot-start him), or should I wait for something better?
I'd pick up Gorzo as soon as you can. Especially if you can reserve him.

In incredibly deep leagues where you can reserve major league players, there's typically nothing out there. In the expert CBS Sportsline N.L. league that Toz is participating in this year, the cupboard is almost entirely bare. Runnelvys Hernandez is the only starting pitcher who is available at all.

Gorzelanny is currently on the active roster for the Rototimes squad. I'm not sure if that's where I'd want him to be right now, but Rototimes' only other options on reserve are Jeff Bennett, and Jon Lieber. Given those choices, I can see why Ryan Boyer would be reluctant to make a move.

Potential trumps mediocrity in deep leagues. Grab Gorzo, stash him on reserve, and see what happens. His last start against the Yankees wasn't inspiring, but he did grab the win. He's got the Rays tomorrow, which is another tough match-up. This might keep people away. I'd take him and stash him away. He's not a good bet, but you never know.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry to make such a long post here, but I was hoping you could talk me off the ledge. I’m in a 6X6 (W-L, holds, DT), 12-team, NL-only with 30-man rosters. We have a $300 cap as of July 1 and I'll have $13 by then.

My team is in second/third place, based on a great offense. Pitching is my problem.

We have a 1,200-innings minimum (we start 10 pitchers each night) and I’m hitting my target with a three- or four-man rotation and lots of middle relievers. I was banking on Manny Corpas being my closer, but that didn’t work out. I’m now second-to-last in saves (the last-place team has none), though that doesn’t bother me as badly as the fact that I’m in the bottom third in WHIP and about midway in ERA.

When I devised my plan, I figured that several of my relievers would post good WHIPs and ERAs, but I’ve been greatly disappointed. I knew I’d be terrible in Ks (I’m second-to-last), but I thought with W-L, I’d finish somewhere in the middle (I’m second-to-last here, as well). My plan isn’t working too well.

If I can improve my WHIP and ERA I know I can run away with this league. That's why I'm coming to you.

My starters are:
-Maddux
-Cain
-Banks (spot-start)
-McClung (spot-start)

My relievers are:
-H. Bell
-Broxton
-McClellan
-T. Pena
-Ayala (pitching way below usual)
-Corpas (ditto)
-Meredith
-Feliciano

On the DL or minors:
-J. Johnson (picked up two weeks ago)
-A. Sanchez (picked up two weeks ago)
-R. Hill (he was a keeper-starter who disappointed)
-Volstad

So, after that long-winded buildup, do I:
-Start benching struggling relievers like Ayala and Meredith and risk putting them in when they get shelled?

-Dump Rich Hill or Chris Volstad and pick up a decent reliever like Cory Wade who might be able to help my WHIP and ERA?

-Bench Banks and McClung and wait for Johnson and Sanchez?

-Make a trade with a low-place team for a good reliever?

-Ditch my plan and get more starters?

-Stay the course, knowing that Ayala, Meredith, Corpas and Cain are going to better their overall numbers —- then use Johnson or Sanchez as reinforcements either for my rotation or for a trade?

Knowing your advice, you probably have a better answer than any of my possibilities. Again, sorry for the long post.

Please help. Thanks.

Mike Gianella said...

I'll need a day or two to chew on this one...

Anonymous said...

Thanks.

Nick said...

I'm in a similar situation as the first commenter. Deep NL-Only league, only a 4x4 for me though. We start 9 pitchers and have a lower 900 inning minimum. I am doing well in hitting but poorly in pitching as well, having auctioned a bunch of under performers and then unloading most of my prospects for Harang and Cain a couple months ago which is obviously not helping. I'm also interested in hearing your strategy advice for teams looking to move up in ERA and WHIP in deep NL-Only leagues right now.

For the original commenter - I've learned the MR-based strategies will only work when you go all out. You can't pepper in a couple mediocre SPs or the entire strategy is ruined. One SP with bad numbers in ERA/WHIP will offset like 3 MR with solid numbers in those categories.