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Q: I’m thinking of dumping Bill Hall so who do I add? Casey Blake has been hot and CLE has good lineup so do I use WW#6 on him?

FA
Adrián Béltre(Sea - 3B) //has been hot
Troy Glaus(Tor - 3B,SS)
Howie Kendrick(LAA - 1B,2B)
Rickie Weeks(Mil - 2B) //I dumped him and no one has bothered to snatch him up
Freddy Sánchez(Pit - 2B,3B,SS)
Josh Barfield(Cle - 2B)
Ryan Freel(Cin - 2B,3B,OF)
Mark Ellis(Oak - 2B)
Freddy Sanchez(Pit - 2B,3B,SS)

A: Those are all fine choices, so it really depends on what you need. If you need to fill the hole at SS or 3B that Hall is leaving, any of the available options are solid. I’m a big Josh Barfield fan and even though his average looks bad right now, it’s mostly because of a terrible start. He hit .317 in June and chances are his second half will be pretty good. Depending on what happens in Cincinnati, Freel could get lots of playing time in July, so there’s some stolen bases, too. If you’re looking for power and RBIs and can fill the position that Hall was at in your lineup, pick up Blake, who should give you a typical .270-25-90 line.

Q: Who do you like best from this list for remainder of year - 12-team, non-keeper, standard roto league...categories are wins, losses, era, whip, k/ip, saves.
choices are:
Andrew Miller
Scott Olsen
Matt Garza
Homer Bailey
Mike Pelfrey
Gil Meche
Mike Mussina
Dustin McGowen
Daniel Cabrera
Cliff Lee
John Danks

A: Most of these players are young and inexperienced, so it’s hard to assume what you’ll get if you pick them up. The top three guys - Meche, Mussina and Lee - are all solid picks. I’ve been incredibly surprised at how well Meche has thrown this year. His ratios are great and he’s been durable. Any of those three should give you wins, although Mussina probably has a better shot by virtue of playing for the Yanks.



Q: What’s going on in the Cubs bullpen? If Carlos Marmol is the closer, should I drop Burnett for him or Lincecum?

A: Marmol and Bob Howry will continue to split save opportunities while Ryan Dempster is on the DL, but once he gets back, there shouldn’t be any questions as to whether he’ll regain his role as Chicago’s closer. That being said, Marmol does provide good strikeouts and ratios, but may not offer many saves. Lincecum is a great add, especially since it seems like he’s regained his form from his first few starts. You never know what Burnett is going to do because he’s injured so often, so it might not be bad to just drop him for Lincecum anyway.


Q: I play in a 5x5 10 team ML and am looking for advice as to the best approach for the 2nd half. Here are my current points totals for hitting cats:
HR: 10/R: 9/ RBI: 10/SB: 8/AVG: 6
And for pitching:
K: 9/ S: 9/W: 6.5/ ERA: 1/WHIP:5

That's good enough for a share of first in this league. Should I punt ERA and WHIP?

A: If you’re going to do that, you’re not going to win if you can’t guarantee that you’ll win most of the other categories. Your hitting is doing fine, so you may want to consider trading from strength to help your weakness. The one good thing about ERA and WHIP is that over the course of the season, they will pan out. Pitcher’s ratios fluctuate so much, it’s not worth worrying too much about it. If you pick up a few solid middle relievers who offer Ks, that will do a good job at helping you in that category while dropping your high ratios.

Q: Who would you rather have for the rest of the year, Alex Gordon or Ryan Braun? Yahoo H2H League. Leaning towards Braun as the Brewers start to warm up... your thoughts?

A: Braun all the way. Gordon had a great June, but he’s back to slumping. Meanwhile, Braun has been a one-man wrecking crew at the plate the last couple weeks. That, and he’ll provide stolen bases. Like you point out, Braun also plays on a team that will help him produce more than the Royals. Pick him up and enjoy.

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