Murderers' Row owner replacement

It only took about 20 minutes to find a replacement for Anthony Citerella, who dropped out of the league due to work obligations. We welcome BWB new comer Kevin Connors to the league, and are still anticipating the draft submission deadline to be Monday February 15th evening.

Kevin joined the Hall of Fame league this year by picking up an orphan team, and had engaged me in trade talks early on, so Kev seems like he will be an active addition to the league.

Best of luck to everyone!

Murderers' Row league -- now with more Cowbell

The Murderers' Row league manager roster is now complete with BWB and Robot baseball veteran Chris "Cowbell" Bellina capping the field of 16 for 2010.

I have asked Jon to randomize the teams into the four divisions.

Please expect a list draft (regular-way BWB draft) deadline of December 15th.

Any suggestions on any aspects of the league are welcome.

Murderers' Row Manager Update

We have 2 more managers on board since the last update:

1. Don Kruse -- 2 time division winner this year
2. Joe Lano -- Experts League champion

That makes 15 slots filled with one left open. Please let me know if you want to participate.

New BWB Payout League for 2010: Murderers' Row League

Starting in 2010 there will be another "money" league in the BWB fold (much like the Beer League) called the Murderers' Row league. All the managers pay their usual team fee (although it's discounted in this case) plus pay some additional prize-money cash which is aggregated into the payout pool. Payouts are distributed according to finishing results at the end of the season. The all-in payment for each manager will be $75. With 16 teams, that would make $1,200 in pay-ins, and subtracting out the $550 league fee, $650 remains for year-end cash payouts.

The payouts will be as follows:

Division winners: $50 each ($200 total)
League Runner-up: $150 more
League Champion : $300 more


This league has been constructed to include the most experienced, active, and dominant BWB managers from all the existing leagues: a Murderers' Row. Of the 16 slots available, 13 are already spoken for:

1 Andy Marquis
2 Dave Regan
3 Jacob Vass
4 Jerry King
5 Leif Jonson/Scott Campbell
6 Mike Prohaska
7 Phil Dang
8 Sherman Wan
9 Tom Twomey
10 Adam Wilson
11 Jesse Roche
12 Anthony Citarella
13 Matt Strawbridge

I am now opening up the last 3 slots for anyone else who may be interested in joining. The selection process will not be strictly first-come, first-served, as I will additionally be considering number of years played in BWB and past performances, but being amongst the first to respond certainly won't hurt. I would like to finalize the manager lineup by Halloween.

If you are interested, please leave a comment or even better, e-mail me here.

Free Benchwarmer Baseball team for 2010

If you have been thinking about joining Benchwarmer Baseball for 2010 as a first-time owner, here is a great reason to join up before October 31st: you get your team for free.

From the Benchwarmer Baseball blog:

New Owner Specials - For brand new people who have never played Benchwarmer before, we're currently running a special through the end of October. They can sign up and get their first team in new leagues for free (normal prices apply for teams beyond the first). This is being advertised currently in USA Today Sports Weekly. Tell your friends - this is a great opportunity for them to try out Benchwarmer for a year at no risk!

Lenny Dykstra: Master of the Universe

A chronological walk through Lenny Dykstra's days as a financial guru.

Video: The World According to Lenny

Link: The Street.com "Lenny Dykstra will explain his deep-in-the-money call options (now 76-0 for the year) at TheStreet.com Investment Conference on Saturday, Oct. 25. Limited seating. Act now."

Video: Cramer praises Dykstra -- Stock Picking Genius "One of the great ones."

Video: Mike Francesa dismisses Bryant Gumbel's skepticism

GQ Article: Working for the devil ... one man's tale of working for Lenny Dykstra

ESPN Article: Dykstra's business: a bed of 'Nails'
Excerpt:
Even members of Dykstra's family are lined up on the list of those to whom he owes money. His older brother, Brian, has yet to collect a $12,000 judgment awarded by the California Labor Relations Board. His younger brother, Kevin, alleges Dykstra cheated him out of $4 million on the sale of the family-run car washes, though Kevin hasn't filed suit.

On April 16, Terri, Dykstra's wife of more than 20 years and the mother of their three boys, filed for divorce. Through her attorney, she declined to comment for this story.

The family rift runs so deep that until recently, Dykstra had spoken to his mother only once in the past three years, according to his brothers, and wasn't allowing her any contact with his sons, her grand children.

Last month, though, on March 23, Dykstra picked up the phone and woke up his mother with a call at around 6 in the morning, according to Kevin Dykstra, his younger brother. Lenny was stranded in Cleveland. He wanted to charter a jet so he could get to a business meeting on the West Coast, and his credit cards were maxed out. He needed nearly $23,000 and asked his mother for it, Kevin says.

His mother agreed to let him use her credit card.

Video: HBO Real Sports revisits the Dykstra story in 2009

Video: CNBC after-math interview His story about dealings with someone with a speech impediment (and his bankruptcy, of course).

What I would like to know is: was the Player's Club annuity a planned Ponzi scheme? It's seems like it.

UPDATE:

August 2009 update on Dykstra saga -- Lenny living in his car

Baseball's Best TV Broadcast Team?

Although I am a Yankee fan, I wind up watching these guys at least 80 times a year.

2nd Annual Draft Bug Blogger Invitational Results

The results are in for the 2nd Annual Draft Bug Blogger Invitational and I finished 5th of 10. [Or put another way, I beat 5 teams and lost to 4. A 5-4 record just sounds better to me.] Not so bad I guess considering I never played before. At least I did not embarass myself.

I had a solid pick with my starting pitcher -- Ubaldo Jiminez -- who racked up 31 of my 53 total points. Lester's Legends finished 1st with 68 points thanks to a bunch of his players hitting home runs (including Franklin Gutierrez). Congrats to Ryan of www.lesterslegends.com.

My team results are here:

OF Nelson Cruz TEX
1 K -1pts

OF Melky Cabrera NYY
1 1B 1pts

OF Jermaine Dye CWS
1 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K 5pts

1B Joey Votto CIN
1 R, 2 BB 3pts

2B Chase Utley PHI
1 1B, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 K 8pts

3B Pablo Sandoval SFG
2 1B 2pts

SS Marco Scutaro TOR
2 BB, 1 K 1pts

C Jorge Posada NYY
1 2B, 1 BB 3pts

SP Ubaldo Jimenez COL
1 W, 7 IP, 3 H, 10 K, 3 ER, 4 BB 31pts

This event had no entry fee, but offered some nominal prizes (credits for additional Draft Bug games). However Draft Bug participants can play for each day real money. If I could find an easier way to create a database of player stats and Draft Bug salaries in order to run my models, I would consider playing more games. If you like daily action, Draft Bug may be of interest to you. If it sounds like too much work, then Benchwarmer Baseball probably continues to be a better fit.

Thanks to Alex Zelvin at Draft Bug for the invite and I hope to participate more in the future.


================
For those who may be curious, all of the participants were as follows:

Alex - http://www.dailybaseballdata.com
Sean - http://www.27pitches.com
Dave H. - http://www.rotoguru2.com
Dave R. - http://dinksanddunks.blogspot.com
Charlie - http://www.fantasybaseball365.com
Josh - http://www.futureoffantasy.com
Jay - http://cardinalsfrontoffice.wordpress.com
Ryan - http://www.lesterslegends.com
Mark - http://www.pokerbankrollblog.com
Tim - http://www.rotorob.com
Troy - http://www.rotosavants.com
Carl - http://fivetoolfantasybaseball.blogspot.com

5 Differences between Draft Bug and Benchwarmer Baseball

I will be participating in the 2nd Draftbug Blogger Invitational on www.draftbug.com this Friday, July 17th. For those of you that may not be familiar with Draft Bug, I wanted to lay out the main differences between the play styles for that game versus the format generally discussed on this blog: Benchwarmer Baseball.

The styles are drastically different, with these aspects being the most significant:

1. Lineups: Daily v. Weekly

In Draft Bug, a manager purchases players for that day's games, and that's it. The focus is on maximizing expected points per salary dollar. In Benchwarmer, players are also purchased based on their salaries, but are kept for the whole year on a 40-man roster.

2. Scoring

Draftbug is scored using a point system as follows:

1B = 1 pt
2B = 2 pt
3B = 3 pt
HR = 4 pt
R = 1 pt
RBI = 1 pt
BB = 1 pt
SB = 2 pt
K = -1 pt
W = 10 pt
L = -3 pt
SV = 7 pt
IP = 3 pt
H = -1 pt
K = 1 pt
ER = -1 pt
BB = -1 pt

Benchwarmer is scored using a model that incorporates not only all of these same counting statistics for a team's players for a given game, but also those of the head-to-head opponent for that given game. Additionally, Benchwarmer lineups are built like in real baseball. The lineup order is critical in the scoring calculation as a Run scored in a MLB game will not count in the BWB game unless someone has an RBI lower down in the order.

3. Salaries

Draft Bug player salaries are driven off of supply and demand as in a secondary securities market, and change on a daily basis. This would be similar to having a daily auction draft in order to determine prices. Benchwarmer player salaries are generated once a year and are based on the past 2 years' performance.

4. Rosters

In Draft Bug, a team consists of 9 position players with 1 starting pitcher and 1 closer. In Benchwarmer, a team consists of a starting lineup, bench, full starting rotation, bullpen, and minor leagues.

5. Transactions

There are no add/drops or trades in Draft Bug as each team is dissolved after each day. Players can stay on teams for years in Benchwarmer Baseball as 28 keepers are allowed and transactions run during both during the season and in the off-season as well.

===============

The biggest take-away from this is that over a whole season, a given MLB ballplayer will perform within a reasonable range of expectations. However, in one given day, the player will either: 1. not play at all (bad outcome), or 2. perform within a very wide range of potential outcomes (not very helpful). This means that luck is a much greater factor for any given daily contest. We can be fairly confident that Prince Fielder will hit more home runs than Mike Napoli over a full season, but for a daily match-up, confidence drops precipitously.

The strongest of the Draft Bug players utilize forecasting models in order to determine which daily match-ups in the MLB games for that day are the most attractive, and then build a team within the salary constraints. Given the large luck factor, the utility of these models is diminished over a one-game period, but should provide an edge over many games played during an entire season. Much like a game of poker, a player with skill has very little advantage in any one hand, but an increasingly larger advantage over longer and longer time periods. In order to play this many hands, a systematic approach becomes a necessity.

Since I am only playing one game, building a team using models is probably not completely necessary, as it probably cannot overcome the luck factor. However, I did go through the effort of building my own model as the information will provide me with a window into what the model-driven players' preferences. Armed with this intelligence, one can (hopefully) build a differentiated (and winning) team.

I will be posting my final lineup at 7:00pm Friday July 17th.

Pittsburgh Baseball: Bad team, Great ballpark

Twelve voters have cast their ballots to date in the "Ballpark Poll" on this site, and PNC Park is the clear leader so far with 7 votes. As a lot of the visitors to this site hail from the east coast and lake region/midwest, it is not overly surprising that there have been more than a few visits to PNC. Over 50% of the voters chose PNC as one of their top three selections (me included).

I saw a game at PNC Park last year against the Mets in August with Pedro on the mound. The stadium was pretty near capacity and had a great atmosphere. My favorite things about PNC Park were:

1. Great bars outside. There are a few nice bars right outside the ball park entrance with outdoor seating. Compare this to Yankee Stadium (my local park), where all the bars are dark, dingy, and under the elevated subway train tracks, and Pittsburgh suddenly looks like Nirvana.

2. Souvenir ball chances. It is really easy at PNC to wander into the left field outfield stands during BP and maybe grab a fly ball. At Yankee Stadium, they have ticket-checkers at every possible junction and aisle to make sure your papers are in order and prevent seat-hopping. Phooey.

3. Great food. Primanti Brothers' Pittsburgh Style Pastrami Sandwich: fries right on your sandwich! A heart-attack special, but totally delicious. I understand you can also get some Polish specialties -- pierogies!, kielbasa! -- but I don't remember seeing them when I was there. (There's always next time...)

4. Local beers. Whether local beers are tasty or not does not really matter to me. I just drink them regardless to add to the local experience. There was plenty of Iron City Beer to be had, and a few other kinds that I didn't get to try last visit. Much better than places that sell primarily Budweiser and Bud Light. (Yes, I'm looking at you Yankee Stadium!)

5. It's not really crowded. The NYC ballparks are often times sold-out so seats are hard to come by, and they're really expensive anyways. Seats behind home plate in Pittsburgh are reasonably available and you don't need to sell a kidney to buy a pair.

6. PNC has great views. The city views over the outfield walls are fantastic with those terrific yellow bridges. Also, the open stairway connecting the lower and upper decks in left field makes for a great viewing vantage point from the outfield.

NEXT VISIT >> I am glad to see Citizens Bank Ballpark ranking high (3rd) in the poll, as that is my next planned out-of-town ballgame destination. Either this year or next, I hope to also visit Miller Park (no votes yet?!?) and Kauffman Stadium. Kauffman is 5th on the poll currently, so the stadium must be offering more than mediocre baseball (and I hope it's ribs!!).

All-Star Break Baseball Recommended Reading

Here are some recent baseball articles I have come across that have been pretty fun reading:

Earl Weaver: A Mind For The Game from Tom Verducci at Sports Illustrated. Weaver was always fiery and I remember him getting tossed out of so many games against the Yankees. But he was money well before Moneyball.

This Rickey Henderson Sports Illustrated article isn't new, but it's another Tom Verducci classic. Also, Rickey wants to remind GM's to not forget about him just because he's going into the Hall of Fame this year.

Today marks the 30th year anniversary of Disco Demolition Night at the old Comiskey Park. Here is the New York Times retrospective and the old local news coverage (h/t for the video: 1980 Topps).

Good-bye Sister Disco.

Newbie School: Time to Cut Bait

An extremely important date is on the horizon for Benchwarmer Baseball: The Final Day for Salary Rebates. This year the deadline is July 15th -- a Wednesday, and just 10 days away.

Any player that you release by that day, you will receive back 40% of their salary. Release the player after that... you get stugots. It's like going to the Salvation Army with your old lava lamp, double-breasted suits, and Van Halen CD collection... and getting a tax receipt in return! It's junk you didn't want anyways, so why not monetize it?

I look through my roster and put to each player "The Questions": 1) is this player helping me this year to win a championship, and 2) will I keep this player for next year? If you have two "No" answers, either try to trade the dead-weight for a player that gives you a "Yes", or else just make an outright release. That's good money you can use to extend contracts or use in the off-season.

1987 Giveaway

If there are any card collectors in the audience, the Collective Troll is giving away team sets from 1987 Donruss Opening Day. I took the Royals, but there still lots of teams left. Good luck!!

BWB Newbie School: Starting Pitching, a Case Study

The New Fairfield Neanderthals were taken over this year as an orphan team after having a dismal year last season at the hands of The Notorious Kelly Smith. My early season prediction for the Neanderthals was at best a .500 record considering the many weaknesses of the team at that time. Team owner Russ has managed to guide the team to a 36-30 (.545) record to date, which stands at 4th best in the entire league! In looking at their roster, one would not think this would be possible: the lineup features Russell Martin, Adam LaRoche, and Chris B. Young as the 3-4-5 hitters! So what gives?

It comes down to one thing: starting pitching, period. New Fairfield has allowed the least amount of runs per game in the entire league (4.2) despite having only one closer and carrying an injured Hong-Chih Kuo.

Let's take a look:

P1 Josh Beckett 4171
P2 Carlos Zambrano 4220
P3 Edwin Jackson 2346
P4 Aaron Harang 4016
P5 Zach Duke 2062

S1 Ross Ohlendorf 267
S2 Jason Hammel 545

Although none of the starters were ranked in the Top 5 at the beginning of the season, they are mostly solid veteran pitchers (with the exception being Edwin Jackson's shorter career), and the rotation is dependable from 1 through 5. Additionally, Harang and Beckett came off of down years, so their contracts were reasonably priced. The spot starters are nothing to get excited about, but Ohlendorf has been healthy all year and can be relied on in case a starter misses a start or two. Basically, New Fairfield ranks very highly in the Starting Pitching ERA category -- simple as that.

It has been suggested in the past (by Andy, I do believe) that Benchwarmer Baseball comes down to pitching, and I am not sure I am a convert, but it is clear that having 5 strong pitchers in the rotation can turn a weak team into a contender fairly quickly.

Hey Russ! If you actually take Coco out of the lineup, replace Kuo and Howie Kendrick, you may even take a run for the division. (But since I'm first in the division right now, I hope you're not reading this!)

Experts League To-Date: Top 3 Positive Surprises

In my Benchwarmer Baseball Experts League season preview, I detailed my brief analysis for the outlooks for all of the Experts' teams.

After comparing my review with the current standings, these are my top 3 positive surprises in the league to date:

1. Jerry King's Rock Ridge Specials standing in first place in their division by 2 games (I picked them 2nd) despite losing Manny to suspension, suffering through Fatty Kruk's slow start, and having Carlos Quentin playing injured.

2. Tom Harms' Heat Wave Hot being 1 GB in a closely fought division. Honestly, the team still doesn't look that strong to me and may be susceptible to fading in the standings. If Tom can make some roster adjustments to sure-up a depleted starting pitching staff, perhaps he can hang around.

3. Brad Berreman's MVN.com Fantasy Outsiders having the overall best record in the league with a winning percentage of .682. Of course, it helps to play in the same division as the single worst team in the league, Collin Hager's Erie Warriors, who is mired at 13-31. Regardless, I figured the Fantasy Outsiders for 3rd in the division at the beginning of the season. Powered by A-Gone and A-Rod, the team is currently injury free and should put up a good battle versus Howard Bender's 2nd place RotoBuzz Boyzz (tied for the 2nd best record in the league).

The races are all fairly close and roster management very well may be the deciding factor in determining the division leaders at the end of the season.

Vote in the sidebar poll for (up to) 3 experts you think have the best chance of winning it all this year.

Dismantling a First Place Team

It's about that time of year when you have a pretty good idea if you should be a buyer or seller in thinking about a year-end game plan. Although my Jundland Wastes are tied for first place in the division in the Shadowball League, it seems unlikely that this team will be able to win the Championship this year due to injuries to Brandon Webb, off-season acquisition Aramis Ramirez, and recent DL tripper Grady Sizeless. In thinking about 2010 and beyond, the Wastes do have some fine young players to build around, so contention for next year is the goal of this rebuilding project. To that end, I look to be very active in the trading market over the next few months to hopefully acquire players to help the team next year and beyond.

Here is a quick overview of my team and forward-looking plan for each player:

Name ML Team Pos Salary Contract
Brandon Webb Ari SP 7205
>On the DL so I do not expect a lot of interest for this year. Very happy to keep him for 2010 when he'll have a lower salary.

Tim Lincecum SF SP 6491 2011
>It is my estimation that this signing is the most valuable in the league as no player with as high a productivity value as measured by salary is under a contract for as long as 2011. Lincecum offers about $16mm in value free and clear thanks to the long contract (all else equal). It would take a nice package for me to move him.

Grady Sizemore Cle OF 5920
>On the DL currently; may need elbow surgery. Will hold for next year.

Brad Lidge Phi RP 5730 2009
>Signed for this year, so despite the slow start to the season, could be a valuable piece for another team and a chip I would consider trading at the right price.

Aramis Ramirez ChC 3B 4624
>Biggest disappointment for me this year. On the DL. Will hold for next year but would entertain offers in a month or so after he's back from the DL.

Garrett Atkins Col 1B, 3B 4190
>Let's be realistic: No trade value.

Kevin Youkilis Bos 1B, 3B 3855
>Lots of value here with the productivity and position flexibility. Would entertain offers, but they would have to be very strong. Figures into 2010 roster.

Brian Roberts Bal 2B 3757
>Figures into 2010 roster. Great top-of-the-lineup guy.

David Bush Mil SP 3063
>Decent P4-P5.

Corey Hart Mil OF 3003 2010
>Signed through 2010, so he can play in the starting lineup or the bench and save a team some money. Figures into 2010 roster but would entertain offers.

Wandy Rodriguez Hou SP 2930
>I'll probably look to sign Wandy to an extension.

Heath Bell SD RP 1751
>Looking like an extension here too.

Jack Cust Oak OF 1724
>Decent player and not very expensive. Not as attractive as Corey Hart.

Marco Scutaro Tor 2B, 3B, SS 1467
>I have Scutaro in a few leagues. Great year so far with great positional flexibility. Figures into 2010 roster plans but would talk trade here.

Alexei Ramirez CWS 2B, SS, OF 1289
>Great flexibility, but underperforming high expectations. Good bench player.

Rick Ankiel StL OF 1147 2010
>Just traded Beau Mills for Ankiel. Having a slow year (lost his HGH?) but I like that he's under contract. Figures into 2010 roster.

Mark Loretta LAD 2B, 3B, SS 910
>Good bench player.

Daric Barton Oak 1B 853 2009
>He's still on my squad?? Need to remedy that.

Clayton Kershaw LAD SP 719 2011
>Nice signing here. Figures into 2010 roster.

Carlos Ruiz Phi C 713
>Nothing to get excited about here. Would look to upgrade for 2010.

Elijah Dukes Was OF 629
>Could be a starter or bench player. DL stint and crowded outfield has taken away some early-season playing time. Definate 20/20 potential.

Frank Francisco Tex RP 603
>Doing a great job in TEX and will be extended. Figures into 2010 roster.

Willy Aybar TB 3B, 1B, 2B 560
>Nice bench player. Figures to get more playing time with Aki gone for the season.

Santiago Casilla Oak RP 446 2009
>Free player for this year with good numbers. Could be a trade piece to upgrade a bullpen at no dollar cost.

Chris Coste Phi C 406
>No comment.

Leo Nunez Fla RP 272
>Closer in waiting? I'm waiting. Figures into 2010 roster.

Rick VandenHurk Fla SP 216
>So injured, so often.

Homer Bailey Cin SP 127 2010
>AAAA pitcher? No one knows for sure.

Josh Outman Oak SP 106
>Nice start to season so far. Figures into 2010 roster.

Brett Anderson Oak SP 100
>More heralded than Outman, but making less outs, man. (That was bad... sorry) Figures into 2010 roster.

Andrew Bailey Oak RP 100
>Extending. Figures into 2010 roster.

So, there are some attractive players for other teams, most of which are under contract for this year. So for teams making the run in 2009, I should see some interest.

I will be posting finalized trades as the season progresses. If you're in Shadowball and have some prospects or other useful players to deal, please feel free to drop me an e-mail or trade offer and we can try to work something out to help each of us.

BWB Newbie School: Setting Lineups

I recently had an e-mail exchange with one of the new players to Benchwarmer Baseball for this year regarding the timing of setting lineups. I thought it would be helpful to post my thoughts from that exchange here, and ask for any additional thoughts from the experienced BWB players (as I may be wrong!):

Q: Our roster is illegal but the site is not allowing line-up changes.

A: In looking at the Transaction Schedule, the past set of add/drops were during Week 4, which means those players will be available for the Week 5 games. Although it currently says your lineup is illegal, you will have an opportunity to set your Week 5 lineups before that week starts, so you will not have an illegal lineup for any weeks.

In a sense, you are setting your lineups for a week in advance, so perfect timing is very tricky with BWB. I take an approach whereby I set a lineup that is fairly all-weather (one that can endure 1 or 2 players being injured) to avoid this difficulty.

So, don't sweat it like you would a regular ROTO league where you set lineups every Monday. The deadlines will be fluid over the season due to the nature of the real MLB games having rain-outs, so I just check-in when Jon sends out an e-mail, and when it says you can make changes to your team, that's when I do it. That approach has served me well.


Jon and others: any additional advice that you can impart on this topic?

Experts League Massacres

It looks like some of the experts in the Experts League are off to slow starts in Benchwarmer Baseball. Certainly, the talent evaluation was strong all around, but proper roster management is severely lacking in many cases.

When in doubt about how to structure a BWB roster, a manager should simply consider: How would I set the lineup/rotation/bullpen on a real MLB team?

Here is some helpful guidance for those team off to slow starts in the form of some practical applications (you know who you are):

1. Drop non-useful players off your Taxi Squad if you need to stash players on long-term DL stints.

Application: It's time to drop Brandon Backe from the Taxi Squad to make room for both Alex Gordon and Ryan Doumit in his place. Don't worry, Backe will still be a free agent when you want to sign him again. After Gordon and Doumit are on the Taxi Squad and off the bench, add 2 bench players that will actually play.

2. Put minor league players... in the Minors. You can stash 12 of them there (and even major leaguers making 250 or less), so don't take up a spot on your active roster.

Application: Neither Joe Mather nor Homer Bailey made their big clubs, but each make 250 or less, so it's time to shuttle them down to the minors and pick up some major leaguers.

Application: News flash! Dayan Viciedo is not the starting 3rd baseman for the ChiSox; time for Plan B.

3. Have a back-up catcher. Catchers are the starting players that get the most days off during the season; you don't need to be an expert to know this. Therefore, a backup catcher will be used a lot on your Benchwarmer team.

Application: If your starting catcher is Joe Mauer and your back-up catcher is Matt Weiters, you are actually currently playing with NO catchers on your team. Any catcher is better than no catchers. A ghost-player (a Benchwarmer Batter) will be used when no one is available, and will go 0-for-5 with 2 Errors *every game*. Even Matt Treanor is better than that.

4. Your bullpen should have 2 MLB closers in R1 and R2.

Application: Even though your current R2 reliever may be a better major-league pitcher than your 2nd best closer (let's say Brad Ziegler), your pitching score will be optimized with Zielger's saves being counted in the R2 spot rather than discarded in the R5 spot.

Parting thought:

At the beginning of the season, I marked Joe Lano's FantasyPros911.com JerseyHitmen as the "Best in League" due to player quality. In order to win the championship this year, however, the Experts will need to show a large amount of roster-management savvy. My suspicion that experience may prove the difference in the long-run -- specifically with Leif Jonson and his Hogan's Heroes -- is looking to be an even larger difference maker than I had originally thought. Benchwarmer Baseball is much more like running a real team and organization than is traditional Roto or Head-to-Head. We shall see over the season which experts have merely a collection of players like a Roto squad, and which ones have assembled cohesive, winning teams.

Benchwarmer Experts League: 2009 Season Preview

Here is a quick preview of the Benchwarmer Baseball Experts League from my perspective based on the lineups as they stand currently:

=== 20th Century Conference ===

PRINT DIVISION: Predicted Final Standings

1] Men Injecting Men - Fantasy on Roids -- Christian Ingram

The Frankie and Johnny bullpen with K-Rod and Papelbon; it doesn't get much stronger at the top. However with Joba looking like a starter, bullpen slots 3 through 5 look so polluted. Lineup is quite strong as well, with the starting rotation showing quality with Francisco Liriano and Daisuke Matsuzaka.

2] Rock Ridge Specials -- Jerry King

It's nice to see Manny and The Big Puma (aka Fatty Kruk) back together again. This duo helped power my Boar's Nest lineup for many years. Bullpen needs a few things to fall their way to ensure at least 2 closers are on staff, but starting rotation is solid.

3] Colter's BeanStalks -- Craig Bennett

Offense has good speed and power combo with Jimmy Rollins, Denard Span, Lastings Milledge, Aramis Ramirez, Jermaine Dye, and Derrek Lee. Perhaps the strongest starting rotation 1 through 5 with Johan Santana, Chad Billingsley, Adam Wainwright, Josh Johnson, and Ryan Dempster.

4] Lancaster Massacres -- Dan Massey

With only 53 Benchwarmer Bucks left, Lancaster looks like a team that ran out of cash before the finishing touches were completed. Fortunately the roster has lots of great players as a foundation and some more money coming for week one. The lineup features Sizemore, Jeter, Uggla, Mauer, and Delgado. This team has a very AL-centric vibe to me with 19 of 27 players coming from the junior circuit.

AIRWAVES DIVISION: Predicted Final Standings

1] Hogan's Heroes -- Leif Jonson

Benchwarmer's reigning BASH CHAMP has perhaps the best pitching staff in the Experts League with Felix Hernandez, Roy Oswalt, Anibal Sanchez, Cliff Lee, and Brett Myers with Kerry Wood, Heath Bell, Brandon Morrow, Francisco Cordero, and Justin Masterson. Good morning, good afternoon, and good night. The lineup looks like it needs an upgrade somewhere to be considered well above average, but as an experienced BWB'er, I'm sure Leif will tweak this team just right. Fun fact: the only team with 5(!) catchers in the lineup/bench.

2] PhilMackey.com's Doctors of Don Juan -- Phil Mackey

This team looks very strong and balanced except for one glaring hole: a #2 closer. The lineup looks like it will produce runs with Chase Utley and Kevin Youkilis in the middle, and the starting rotation is strong with Scott Kazmir, Rich Harden, and Matt Cain, but Brad Lidge needs some support.

3] Benchwarmer Mendoza Liners -- Jon Swanson

Starting rotation is the strong suit here, with an effective bullpen if Troy Percival can hold onto the closer's job for the entire season. The Commish will need to shore up the offense a bit as the lineup lacks legitimate run scorers at the top.

4] NY/NJ Fantasy Phenoms -- Jason Sarney

This team is incomplete and in a little disarray currently. There are some great players in Hanley Ramirez, Matt Holliday, Nick Markakis, Carlos Beltran, and Josh Beckett, amongst others, but this teams needs to be completed with some everyday players in starting roles.

Best in Conference: Men Injecting Men - Fantasy on Roids -- Christian Ingram

Christian has the best team right now, but Leif's experience may prove the difference-maker between his winning the conference title or not.

=== 21st Century Conference ===

WEB DIVISION: Predicted Final Standings

1] FantasyPros911.com JerseyHitmen -- Joe Lano

Best team balance between offense, starting pitching, and bullpen. No real shortcomings on this team. Highlights include Ryan Braun, Miguel Cabrera, and Evan Longoria hitting 3,4,5, and a rotation topped with Tim Lincecum.

2] RotoExperts Renegades -- Doug Anderson

Close second, but a question mark in the bullpen with Jason Motte. If he can be effective, Renegades will stay in the hunt. Also need Ryan Theriot and Vernon Wells to set the table well for Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard.

3] NYC FantasyBaseballSherpa.com -- Scott Swanay

Close battle between #3 and #4 in the division. NYC gets a small edge for deeper starting rotation. Run production will rely on a healthy season from David Ortiz.

4] Heat Wave Hot -- Tom Harms

Good offense, but back-end of rotation containing John Lannan, Cha Seung Baek, and Russ Ohlendorf may easily struggle.

BLOGS DIVISION: Predicted Final Standings

1] FB Buzz Boyzz -- Howard Bender

A mix of young and old, David Wright and Jason Bay look for support from Raul Ibanez and Paul Korenko. Starting pitching and bullpen are very solid as a staff, if not individually spectacular.

2] Erie Warriors -- Collin Hager

Offense is relying on Diamondbacks to come through: Steven Drew, Conor Jackson, and Chris B. Young. Starting rotation solid, but bullpen only has one closer.

3] MVN.com Fantasy Outsiders -- Brad Berreman

Solid starting lineup and very deep bullpen. Bench has 4 backup outfielders and Nick Swisher (OF/1B), just in case none of them are available. This type of bench worked for the Milford Mohawks in their Hall of Fame League Championship year.

4] Fantasy Bullpen -- Alex Geshwind

Very solid starting rotation with Brandon Webb, Justin Verlander, Manny Parra, Andy Pettite, and Scott Baker. The team however is currently incomplete, so the outlook is not great.

Best in conference: FantasyPros911.com JerseyHitmen -- Joe Lano

Joe did a tremendous job drafting a team that is well balanced to compete for this year, but also looks like it has longevity with quality prospects.

Best in League: FantasyPros911.com JerseyHitmen -- Joe Lano

Good luck to all -- we'll be watching closely and look forward to reading about your thoughts along the way.

George Brett 1976 Topps featured

By the way, I need this 1976 card to complete my George Brett Topps series collection. If anyone has it and wants to deal it to me, please let me know.