Power Pros Forum

1. Definitely sign Sabathia if he's not too expensive. He'll help shore up your rotation.
2. I'd sign Fuentes and/or F. Rodriguez, if they're not too expensive. Both are great relievers.
3. How much does LaRue want? Rodriguez, Pierzynski, and Ross are all better catchers, I'd sign one of them if they aren't asking for much more than LaRue.
4. Your infield is solid, signing Eckstein as a backup is a good idea. However, if Furcal isn't more expensive, it might be better to sign him instead.
5. You should sign Hunter (or Cameron) and make him the starting CF.
6. I think it would be smart to sign some of the outfielders and trade yours away. For example, sign Guerrero and trade Cuddyer or sign Byrnes or Dunn and trade D. Young (highly recommended). Money is the major factor, if the free agents are too expensive, then don't bother.
7. Remember that you can convert player positions in Spring Training. I (ab)use this option to convert players to a position that fits their skill set. For example, one of my favorites is signing Teixeira and converting him to CF or SS. I also converted Adam Dunn to 3B. However, if you want to be more realistic, you should sign Hunter and Cameron and maybe Byrnes, and convert Cameron to LF and Byrnes to RF, and trade away your other outfielders.
8. Also remember, you can offer players rip-off deals and they still might accept. When offering, look down and see if any other teams are negotiating. If there aren't any, you can offer the player a cheap deal perhaps half of what they are asking. Free agents also like 5 year deals, so offer 5 years to be most effective. I got Mark Teixeira for 5 years, 1000 points before.
9. Having said the above, don't go way over budget. I don't know how much the players are asking, so I can't be sure. Don't bust your wallet on a minor improvement.
10. Remember to release a couple of unimportant minor leaguers to make room for your free agent signings. Signed free agents will be put into AAA, and if there isn't enough room then they won't sign.

whew, that was a long post. Hope this helped!

First, thank you VERY much. Here we go...

1. #1 Priority
2. K-ROD is WAAAAAY too expensive. Fuentes, maybe.
3. Pierzynski is way too much. Pudge isn't a major priority, but maybe. I don't know about Ross.
4. I was going to sign Eckstein as a starter and trade Everett, but... I'll see.
5. If they're not too expensive, it could work.
6. If Dunn/Byrnes isn't too expensive, maybe.
7. Anything goes in the wacky world of Benny Leo It will depend on what I need.
8. Interesting thought. I could get Tex and convert him to short...
9. We're in practically a river of cash.
10. Buscher and Livan.

Thanks again. I'll do free agents today.

DAY ONE

MINNESOTA—The Twins signed SEVEN stars today, including M. Cameron, Hunter, Fuentes, LaRue, Sabathia, Byrnes, and Teixera. In other news...

E. Brown to the Rangers
M. Ramirez to the Astros
I. Rodriguez to the White Sox
Sexson resigned by Mariners
Tomko resigned by Royals
K. Wells back to Rockies
Bradley to Rockies
Eckstein back to Blue Jays
En. Chavez to Marlins

DAY TWO

MINNESOTA—The Twins have signed Francisco Rodriguez. After this signing, many questioned the amount of money the Twins have to spend, but team officials claim it is "no concern." In other news…

O. Cabrera to the White Sox
Grudzielanek resigns with Royals
Guerrero to the Angels
Hampton resigns with Braves
P. Martinez to D-Backs
Payton to 'stros
Helms resigns with Marlins
Furcal to Giants
Podsednik to Astros
Ensberg to Rays
Hendrickson to Indians

Twins, Rockies Trade Outfielders

MINNESOTA—In a grand conclusion to the Minnesota Spending Spree, Torri Hunter has been traded to the Colorado Rockies for Matt Holliday.

Cuddyer Traded To Phillies

MINNESOTA—Michael Cuddyer has been traded to the Phillies for Pedro Feliz.

Spring Training Goals

•Convert Teix to SS (Done)

•Bring Gomez's run speed to an "A" and Braun's to a "C"

•Get playing time with the new stars

•Brag about how we stayed under 100000 points (Never enough)

•Convert Cameron to RF (Done)

Minnesota Twins 2009 Roster

Rotation and Bullpen

Sabathia
Sheets
Cain
Lincecum
Liriano

Rincon
Neshek
Kobayashi

Nathan
Fuentes

F. Rodriguez

Lineup

Mauer
Holliday
Braun (Not in NL)
Teixera
Fielder
O. Hudson
Byrnes
M. Cameron
Feliz

Doumit
B. Harris
Everett
C. Gomez
Schumaker

AAA

Baker
Blackburn
Slowey
Reyes
Crain
Guerrier
Soriano
Korecky
Lee
Sowers
Cannizaro
Robbins
Tolar
Morales
LaRue
Gomez
Everett

If you don't make the playoffs with that roster, something has gone seriously wrong.

I accidentaly chose "Skip" for game play while I was fooling around with the settings. We lost to the Royals 4-3.

I really underestimated the ease of signing players in this game. Everybody said that trading was easy, but there's something to be said about free agency. And 90000 PP worth of spare cash.

My rankings:

Rotation: A+, I sense a huge number of shutouts coming your way.

Bullpen: B+, It's great, but you have TOO many good guys Just not enough room.

Lineup: A-, Top to Bottom, best in the league. But a one suggestion
> Mauer shouldn't bat leadoff, I don't care how much speed he has, he has to much driving in ability to bat leadoff. Orlando Hudson, Eric Byrnes and Mike Cameron all could be a better leadoff guy. The one problem is where Mauer fits in the order.

Bench: A+, very solid group, should execut their jobs well.

By the way, Fielder and Sheets love the help. They wished other teams had GMs like this

Since Cuddyer's gone, i will take Holliday.

…which is exactly why he hits leadoff. He has a "B" contact and a "C" speed, but only 2 TRJ. I'm not having a guy with that skillset batting 6th or 7th, and that would really be the only other place to go, besides 9, and that effectively kills the point.