The Bargain Bin

The Pecklers have been so Gawd-awful, that it has been painful to write about the status of BABI. We’re floundering around the bottom with the Cartel and the Rips, and have spent a fair amount of time looking up at everyone.

We have 4 pitchers on the DL and Mike Pelfrey was mercifully sent to AAA yesterday. This is GOOD news, though, as we have all of 7.5 pitching points. Right now, less innings is better.

Today is Monday and the office is closed because we’re not all that busy after April 15. So I finally got brave and printed out the All-Star Stats reports for the league. After perusing the bad news for a while, I’ve got a long list of items to write about.

I’d like to start by looking at how all of those $1 players that got purchased in the auction are doing.

Ten BABI teams purchased 39 players for one dollar. This has got to be a record. The Pickled Pecklers did not participate in the bargain fest, and we looked on longingly as some players we wanted went for only a buck. The Cappers also avoided the discount shop, but all of the other teams bought at least two players at the lowest possible price.

There are a variety of outcomes when you buy a player. The best is that he actually does well, and is keepable for the following season. Often these guys get traded for at least a couple of expensive guys, as there is no denying a good player at a buck is a bargain.

The other alternatives, in descending order are:

OK – might be keepable, might be tradable, might end up sucking.

Doesn’t suck – this is the minimum you hope for when you get one of these guys.

Sucks – this is often followed by waivers, trips to the minors and worse. When you see the list of 39, you will, indeed, see worse.

Finally, some guys go for a buck because they are injured. The jury is still out on these guys, as none of them are back yet.

Here is our report on the 39 one-dollar players as of May 13:

There are four players who have been pretty good so far, all of whom may be kept next year:

Sergio Mitre, Falkuhns....Good so far, keepable
Jose Cruz, Lickers....Good so far, but be vewy vewy wary
Cody Ross, Bums....Good so far, keeper, on DL now
Juan Cruz, Old Rips....Good so far, might be keeper

We paid real money once for Jose Cruz, so I don’t believe it. Any of these players may end up sucking by season’s end, but so far, so good.

There are 4 more guys, below, who have been ok so far. Kevin Mench needs more at bats, but that really was an excellent purchase by Hank:

Ronnie Belliard, Old Rips....OK so far, probably temporary
Kevin Mench, Hobo....OK so far, needs at bats
Jamie Moyer, Any 9....OK so far, incredibly
Tyler Johnson, Any 9....OK so far, under the radar

The Hasn’t Sucked List has some players who have some marginal numbers, but they haven’t as yet hurt their teams, which is, frankly, a decent result for a buck.

Kevin Correia, Busch....Hasn't sucked so far.
Chad Paronto, Falkuhns....Hasn't sucked too bad, was on DL
Jon Coutlangus, Hobo....Hasn't sucked up to expectations.
Kevin Frandsen, Any 9....Hasn't sucked, back from minors
Cristian Guzman, Lickers....Hasn't sucked, but hasn't done much.
Olmedo Saenz, Lickers....Hasn't sucked, but hasn't done much.
Norris Hopper, Any 9....Hasn't sucked, hasn't played much

When Noel took Jon Coutlangus at the end of the draft, I wasn’t sure who he was. I couldn’t find him on the Rotolab list, so I inserted him as “Cunnilingus.” I’d like to say he sucks, but so far, he hasn’t.

Sixteen of the 39 have sucked so far. Three have been waived, two are on the DL, two are the minors, and one is dead. I’ve tried not to tease Kenny 9 about Josh Hancock, but it is impossible to resist. Most of these guys will hit the waiver wire sooner or later:

Aaron Cook, Cartel....Sucked
David Wells, Cartel....Sucked
Kip Wells, Busch.....Sucked bad, but did hit a homer.
Damian Miller, Pounders....Sucked
Jamey Carroll, Lickers....Sucked so far, as he blew his chance.
Alberto Callaspo, Lickers....Sucked so far, but should be decent.
Chris Snelling, Cartel....Sucked so far.
Brett Tomko, Bums....Sucked so far.
Marlon Anderson, Hobo....Sucked, on DL now
Brayan Pena, Hobo....Sucked, on DL now
Ronny Cedeno, Hobo....Sucked, sent to minors
Lance Niekro, Cartel....Sucked, sent to minors
Wade Miller, Bats....Sucked, waived
Mike Stanton, Any 9....Sucked, waived
Ryan Wagner, Cartel....Sucked, waived
Josh Hancock, Any 9....Sucked, waived, dead

I’m willing to bet Alberto Callaspo makes his way off this list. If the Lickers want to dump him, they should talk to us first. We’re not interested in anyone else on this ugly little list.

Finally eight guys who were on the DL at the beginning of the season were bought for a buck. This is a pretty interesting list. On draft day, our favorite was Jeff DaVanon (Pounders should talk to us if they want to move him).

Luis Ayala, Bats....Injured player pickup
Lance Cormier, Lickers....Injured player pickup
Jeff DaVanon, Pounders....Injured player pickup
Hector Gimenez, Hobo....Injured player pickup
Mike Hampton, Bums....Injured player pickup
Hong-Chih Kuo, Old Rips....Injured player pickup
Jason Repko, Any 9....Injured player pickup
Willy Aybar, Hobo....Injured, suspended, and now lost

We also really liked Willy Aybar, who seemed like such a sure thing, particularly backing up the oft-injured Chipper Jones. Unfortunately for Willy and the Hobo Boys, things have gone horribly, horribly wrong for the Aybar family. According to Rotoworld, not only is Willy hurt and suspended for drugs, but he has literally disappeared.

We did have a one dollar player on our opening roster: we kept our $1 pick from last year, Clay Hensley. He had a great 2006 season and was lock as a keeper. So far he’s got a 7.62 ERA and a 2.05 Ratio. Remember Hensley when you decide to trade for one of the guys in the good, keepable category.