One More $30+ Guy

There is one more guy out there who is sure to be bid up over $30: Dave Roberts. He's not going cheap. There are no steals. Repeat. There are no steals.

And particularly there are at this time no steals on the Pecklers. We've got Barrett, Tracy, Bell, Gonzalez, Mohr, Drew and Werth. JD Drew was the only guy on this list with more than 5 steals. Edmonds had more than any of them too. Werth will probably get a few, and Mohr, though a bonehead on the bases, could probably get a few, but this is a slow group. And they represent 7 of the 15 players we're going to purchase. Assume a typical 2nd catcher and Jim Thome (or another slow 1B), and virtually all of our steals are going to have to come from the last 6 guys we buy. We've got Patterson and Lawton in mind, but that's not going to be enough. And we may not get them. Assuming we pass on Beltran and Abreu is not available, we've got to at least consider Roberts.

Bidding on Roberts could easily turn into a war. Personally, I don't think he's worth it. But we're going to have to find another guy who can bag 20 steals somewhere. And THAT is a short list. And that may be the thing that justifies the big price on Beltran. Figure he's worth 33 as a SB guy alone. The power numbers (and they will be smaller in Shea than in Enron Park) have got to be worth another 12-15. It's possible people will faint above $45. But of course, it only takes 2 teams to make a mess of things.

I'm considering a preemptive $45 bid on Beltran. It's a Barry-like move. I don't think it will work, but if we get him there, we've got to be happy. And if we don't, well it ought to get interesting. And it will be an indication of how ugly the bidding is going to get on Roberts.