Starting tonight, I'm going to do a team-by-team rundown of the CBS Sports N.L. Expert League auction. In years past I've looked at this by position, but this year I'll take a look at what each team was doing and my analysis.
Team: Open Sports (David Gonos)
Year in League - 6 (2nd with Open Sports)
Finishes: 12th, 2nd, 5th, 11th, 7th.
Projected 2010 Finish (Sportsline Projections): 2nd.
The Roster:
Catchers: Ramon Hernandez $6, Carlos Ruiz $3.
Corner Infield: Casey Blake $11, James Loney $21, Bobby Crosby $1, Blake DeWitt $2.
Middle Infield: Jimmy Rollins $30, Chase Utley $42, Julio Lugo $1.
Outfield: Jason Bay $33, Drew Stubbs $13, Marlon Byrd $8, Melky Cabrera $2, Matt Diaz $2.
Pitchers: Stephen Strasburg $10, Matt Lindstrom $10, Adam Wainwright $27, Roy Oswalt $16, Brad Lidge $12, Jon Garland $3, George Sherrill $2, Brandon Lyon $3, John Smoltz $2.
Reserves: Garrett Anderson, Micah Hoffpauir, Ramon Troncoso, Aaron Heilman, Peter Moylan, Gary Sheffield, Sergio Romo.
Hitting/Pitching Split: $175/$85
Like me, it appears that Gonos went mostly for value as opposed to trying to throw away a category or push for certain types of players. He did go strong on middle infielders with Rollins and Utley, though Rollins' price isn't all that far fetched. He did a good job capitalizing late on Cabrera and Diaz, though he has a few possible gaps on offense with Crosby and DeWitt in the fold.
On the pitching side, he grabbed two relatively cheap closers in Lidge and the Lindstrom/Lyon combination at a combined $25. I was out of money when Lyon came up or otherwise would have pushed a lot harder. His rotation looks OK, though who knows when Strasburg eventually comes up and he needs Oswalt to come out of the gate healthy and effective. I like his middle relief strategy in the reserve round, though it does take him out of the strikeout game if one or more of his starters get hurt.
This team's categorical strengths are in runs, steals, RBI, ERA/WHIP and saves. Its weaknesses are in wins and batting average. I like Gonos' team a good deal, but that's probably because his philosophy seems to mirror mine: get as many everyday players as possible and hope for the best, and spend what's usually the "traditional" amount on hitting versus pitching. Stubbs and Strasburg are probably the players with the most upside/downside for Gonos; if both exceed expectations, he could be sitting in the winner's circle come October.
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