Ron Shandler on BaseballHQ Radio
I am the featured guest on this week’s BaseballHQ.com podcast, with Patrick Davitt. My segment starts at the 44:50 mark of the 2+ hour pod and it runs for almost an hour. But I give you nearly 7 hours of content because I talk very, very fast.
Here are the major topics we discuss:
- How my teams are doing in the national competitions, and some commiseration about the current Tout Wars standings.
- Why I tweeted that Alex Rodriguez was a “roto god.”
- A complete explanation of the Broad Assessment Balance Sheet (BABS) concept.
- Some apparent anomalies on the recent BABS ranking list, and an explanation.
- My periodic rant about saves being a crapshoot.
- Why it’s so difficult to project prospects.
- Why I hate FAAB and how to fix it.
- My “studs and duds” for the balance of the season.
I have been hit with quite a few injuries lately (Stanton, Bautista, Choo) and am in a tight race for the championship in my 12-Team Mixed Roto League. I am very strong in hitting per the standings, but I am not sure how things will hold up having to absorb these injuries. Pitching wise my rotation moving forward is Strasburg, Carrasco, Hamels, Wainwright, Salazar, Matt Moore, and Koehler with Rich Hill on the DL. I have the ability to grab Tulo and a combination of Danny Duffy, Hammel, and Happ before our trade deadline Friday but I am not sure I have much left to trade away (my OF now is Braun, Kemp, Granderson, Judge, Grichuk, and Melvin Upton). My infield is Lucroy, Edwin, Dozier, Arenado, Xander, Brad Miller, and Votto. Do you think I have the pieces to make an offer for Tulo, Duffy, and one of the other arms listed above, and if so, how would you approach it? Miller would slide to OF for me if Tulo was acquired.
Without more context — league size, category stratification, etc. — it’s tough to judge what is tradeable. Best to note that the following players will probably not be major contributors or are risky commodities down the stretch — Wainwright, Salazar, Moore, Koehler, Hill, Braun, Kemp, Upton. That’a a lot of potential downside, but if another owner has interest, feel free to deal. If you can get ANY of the names you are targeting, that will be an improvement.
Would you hesitate trading away Melvin for Hammel? I have been given the option to trade him for Hammel or Tulo. Pitching is my bigger need but Tulo is probably the better player. Is it too much to offer Xander for Tulo, Duffy, and Hammel?
I’d do the Hammel trade without hesitation. In a keeper league, I’d do the Xander deal. Duffy (assuming Danny, not Matt) is a stud long-term but could see a little regression down the stretch this year.