From: nss3@kimbark.uchicago.edu (Noel Steere)
Subject: Re: (LONG) My adventures at the Chi. Strat Tourn.
Reply-To: nss3@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 06:32:08 GMT

In article <1992Jul24.153741.4870@cs.tulane.edu> eebonar@sn01.sncc.lsu.edu writes:
>In article <1992Jul24.080306.1395@midway.uchicago.edu>, nss3@kimbark.uchicago.edu (Noel Steere) writes...
>> 
>>Cost:
>>Adult: $90
>
>	They've gone up since I last heard about them.  The idea is nice
>but there is no way I'd spend approximately $100 to play Strat for a weekend.
>Are there any smaller, non-cash prize tourneys?

None that I've heard of.  A few friends of mine here at the U of C
were thinking of trying to put together a tourney for a weekend, with
a smaller fee/prizes, but it never worked out.  I guess I never
thought about the adult fee, since I only turned 21 this year :-).

>>Anyway, here's the draft list.  You pick 25 players and 1 stadium.
>>The first stadium picked can be tailored to the manager's tastes, but
>>the L/R splits must be equal (People used to pick parks where
>>everything was a hit/homer for a lefty/righty and out for the other).
>>You must have a backup for each position (though not necessarily
>>someone you would actually play there, as you'll see):
>> 
>>Round 1:
>>1. Sandberg (Huh????  The three shortstops usually go 1,2,3.) 
>
>	I woulddn't pick Sandberg 1st but its not a horrible move.  I don't
>	have the 91 cards, is there a lack of good 2b?

No.  That's the whole point.  There are more good 2b then ss, and
Ripken, Larkin, and O.Smith are all better offensively than Sandberg.
Unlike '90, when Ryno walloped righties, he hurts lefties this time,
which makes him less valuable, since you're going to see 80-90% righty
starters.

>>2. Larkin
>>3. Ripken
>>4. Bonds (Interesting.  I'd take O. Smith, and I love power
>>            as much as this guy, but Bonds would be next)
>>5. O. Smith
>>6. Griffey
>>7. McGriff (Before Frank, wow.  What a waste of a pick.)
>
>	If McGriff still kills righties  like he did in 90 then he deserves
>	to be the first 1b taken; but not this early.

Well, he's pretty even.  Kind of a lesser version of what he's doing
this year (he's hitting over *.400* vs. LHP!  So's Whitaker, BTW!).
Thomas is unstoppable, though.  He has a 1-5 type card, but his 3
collumn is practically *solid*, except for a single-out split on the
3-5 (or is it 3-4?).  And that's against righties.  Against lefties,
he's even more destructive.  Still, there are many good first basemen
available, so why use a high pick to get one of them when you can fill
a position with much less depth?

>>Round 3:
>>7. Walker
>
>	I like Walker but is his card really that good?  

No.  He's a platoon player who plays rf, a position with only slightly
less depth than 1b.  He does play cf, though, albeit as a 3, so I
would have taken him if he was still around after D. Henderson.

>>Round 4:
>>4. Bonilla (passing up a chance on...)
>>3. Thomas (Bonilla was the last good 3b though)
>
>	With the outfield that #4 had he could afford to pass on Thomas and
>	get a good 3b.  

See below.

>> 
>>Round 5:
>>4. Villanueva (Unbelievable.  He could have had the Outfield From Hell,
>>                 Thomas, *and* Villanueva)
>>5. Julio Franco (since he's a 4 at 2b, this is way too early)
>
>	I'm not so sure about that.  His card should be very nice and
>	a four is livable (even at 2b) if the rest of the defense is solid.

The card's very nice, but the 4 will kill you.  Strat issued a new
rule this year that, if the runner is being held at 1st, the first
baseman and either the ss (if the batter is LH) or 2b (if the batter
is RH) are responsible for holding him on.  The fielders who are
holding the batter on incur a double penalty of having their range
reduced by 1 and the # symbols on the X chart counting as a single**.
This would make Franco a 5, with the # symbols giving the batter a
1-10 chance of getting a hit.  Also, 1's turn lots of double plays,
while 4's turn them once in a blue moon.

That said, Franco's card is really good, but he shouldn't go in a
single-digit round.

>> 
>>Round 7:
>>4. Mitchell (His 1st baseman, when Palmeiro is available.  Oh well...)
>>6. Miller (a decent 3rd baseman.  Maybe #4 should have taken Thomas after
>>             all and taken Miller in the 7th)
>
>	I don't know.
>
>	Bonilla		Miller
>	Mitchell	Thomas
>
>	Again, I don't have the cards but it seems like a wash.  

The Miller/Thomas combo have more on-base, a little less power (almost
solely because of Mitchell), and even better defense (Mitchell is an
e30 at 1b, and Bonilla is something like an e37 at 3b.  Both are 4s.
Thomas is a 4e6 and Miller is something like a 3e37.  Not *much*
better, but better nevertheless :-).  I don't mind the Bonilla pick as
much as the Mitchell pick.  Why not pick Palmeiro?  Not that I'm
complaining... :-)

>>Round 8:
>>7. E. Martinez
>
>	He lasted this long?  Was there a major flaw in his card?

Very little power.  He should go right about there.  Next year,
though...

>>Round 9:
>>Me: Palmeiro (The third best 1st baseman in the set.  Still a little early
>>                for 1st, but it *is* Palmeiro!)
>
>	You're very right; its not too early for one of the top 1b

Well, I would only make the exception for Palmeiro, W. Clark, or
Thomas, since they are *far* better than any of the other first
basemen.  After them, the difference isn't great enough to merit a
pick this high.

>>Round 10:
>>Me: Phillips (Whitaker's caddy and HoJo's defensive replacement)
>
>	No one took him for a starter yet!!!

He's awesome vs. LHP, but not very good against RHP.

>Dave
>__________
>Dave Bonar
>eebonar@lsuvax.sncc.lsu.edu
>__________
>

Noel Steere                  |...of the Dave Rossing fan club
GM/Manager, New York Knights |Knights' Run Total: 467 Runs in 93 games
Internet Baseball League     |Projected Season Total: 813  Target: 1000!
nss3@midway.uchicago.edu     |HECTOR VILLANUEVA FOR PRESIDENT
                             |(Heck, the Cubs sure aren't using him!)

Newsgroups: rec.sport.baseball.fantasy