So we got $33 to spend on 11 spots, an average of $3 each. If we use the $3 players as a baseline, this is where we can start off with:
 |
| 1987 Topps - Glossy All-Stars #15 Wade Boggs |
C - Buster Posey
1B - Jeff Bagwell
2B - Chase Utley
SS - Derek Jeter
3B - Wade Boggs
LF - Manny Ramirez
CF- Carlos Beltran
RF - Mookie Betts
DH - Edgar Martinez
SP - Roger Clemens
CL - Billy Wagner
Total Spent: $33 ($0 remaining)
Not bad at all! 3 Hall of Famers, 2 guys who would be if not for PED issues, a certain inductee in next year's class, and a bunch of guys with strong Hall cases. This line up would win a lot of games, but what fun would it be if we stopped here? If we can find a few $1 and $2 guys we can live with, then we can upgrade elsewhere. Right off the bat, I see 3 spots where lower dollar guys would be as good if not better than who I have now.
2B - Robinson Cano ($2)
SP - Pedro Martinez ($2)
CL - Craig Kimbrel ($1)
Who put Chase Utley above Robinson Cano? Cano is a no-brainer upgrade at a lower cost. Kimbrel seems like a worthy swap for Wagner, and for only a buck! I picked Pedro over Clemens because Pedro dominated during the steroid era, and in a league of super players, I think that would be an important factor. That gives me $4 dollars to upgrade on. Since I'm upgrading, I might as well procure arguably the best player on here, Mike Trout. I'll also upgrade LF and take the greatest leadoff hitter in history, Rickey Henderson.
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| 2015 Topps #510 Mike Trout (AW) |
C - Buster Posey - $3
1B - Jeff Bagwell - $3
2B - Robinson Cano - $2
SS - Derek Jeter - $3
3B - Wade Boggs - $3
LF - Rickey Henderson - $4
CF- Mike Trout - $5
RF - Mookie Betts - $3
DH - Edgar Martinez - $3
SP - Pedro Martinez - $2
CL - Craig Kimbrel - $1
Total Spent: $32 ($1 remaining)
There are 6 spots I haven't touched yet. Of those, C concerns me most. I'd ideally like to upgrade to I-Rod, but to do that I need another $1 somewhere. Jeter and Larkin have amazingly close resumes, so I don't think I'll lose much going with Larkin. That'll give me enough to afford Rodriguez.
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| 1992 Pinnacle #156 Ivan Rodriguez |
C - Ivan Rodriguez - $5
1B - Jeff Bagwell - $3
2B - Robinson Cano - $2
SS - Barry Larkin - $2
3B - Wade Boggs - $3
LF - Rickey Henderson - $4
CF- Mike Trout - $5
RF - Mookie Betts - $3
DH - Edgar Martinez - $3
SP - Pedro Martinez - $2
CL - Craig Kimbrel - $1
Total Spent: $33 ($0 remaining)
I'm not going to lie, I like this lineup a lot. Every one of my position players has won at least one Gold Glove, but they are primarily known for their offense. I've got speed, I've got power, I've got guys with great on-base skills. Yeah, I'll take my lineup over anyone else's!
Who do you got?
This was fun; here's my lineup:
ReplyDelete($4) R Henderson LF
($3) E Martinez DH
($4) Cabrera 1B
($4) Griffey CF
($3) Betts RF
($2) Arenado 3B
($4) Ripken SS
($1) Kent 2B
($3) Posey C
($2) P Martinez SP
($3) Wagner RP
I stopped at the graphic to make my roster before I read yours. We went through a pretty similar process of first impressions, then trading off where we thought we could get away with a compromise. I hope we're assuming peak years, right? Here is my lineup:
ReplyDeleteC: Joe Mauer
1B: Albert Pujols
2B: Jeff Kent
SS: Ozzie Smith
3B: Nolan Arenado
LF: Rickey Henderson
CF: Mike Trout
RF: Ichiro
DH: Edgar Martinez
SP: Clayton Kershaw
CL: Trevor Hoffman
This is fun and I'm looking forward to seeing more comments with teams. I think I would take:
ReplyDeleteC: Mauer ($2)
1B: Pujols ($5)
2B: Biggio ($4)
3B: Arenado ($2)
SS: Larkin ($2)
LF: Rickey ($4)
CF: Trout ($5)
RF: Betts ($3)
DH: Edgar ($3)
SP: Pedro ($2)
CL: Kimbrel ($1)
I've seen these on Twitter before, but those have never been quite as involved as this. You got yourself the makings of a good blog bat-around right here!
ReplyDeleteI mostly agree with what you did, but I'll move down to Ozzie at short so I can take Miggy at first.
ReplyDeleteHere's my team...
ReplyDeleteSS - Derek Jeter $3
CF- Mike Trout $5
1B - Miguel Cabrera $4
LF - Barry Bonds $5
3B - Nolan Arendado $2
2B - Jeff Kent $1
DH - Edgar Martinez $3
RF - Larry Walker $2
C - Joe Mauer $2
SP - Pedro Martinez $2
CL - Craig Kimbrel $1
It was really hard keeping personal favorites like Hoffman, Maddux, and Rickey off of my team... but I feel like Pedro, Walker, Kent, and Arenado are steals for $1 or $2. And any lineup built around Trout, Bonds, Miggy, and Arenado is gonna do some damage.
Fun exercise, for sure. I went with a team centered around speed, extra-base hits, and great gloves because it would make for exciting games.
ReplyDeleteLF – Rickey Henderson $4
CF – Andruw Jones $2
RF – Ichiro Suzuki $5
3B – Nolan Arenado $2
SS – Ozzie Smith $1
2B – Roberto Alomar $5
1B – Jim Thome $2
C – Jorge Posada $1
DH – Paul Molitor $2
Starter – Randy Johnson $4
Reliever – Mariano Rivera $5
Total: $33
LF Rickey Henderson ($4)
ReplyDeleteCF Mike Trout ($5)
RF Vladimir Guerrero ($4)
3B Nolan Arenado ($2)
SS Derek Jeter ($3)
2B Robinson Cano ($2)
1B Jim Thome ($2)
C Ivan Rodriguez ($5)
DH Edgar Martinez ($3)
SP Pedro Martinez ($2)
CL Craig Kimbrel ($1)
This was a super fun exercise. I tried to stay below the budget at first and found myself $7 under, so I made some upgrades that landed me Mike Trout, Derek Jeter, and Vlad Guerrero.