Awesome, thanks for the answers.
I start this by taking a peak at the
Historical 1974 Red Sox. The first thing that jumps out at me (and I know that the stats don't necessarily translate, but it's just a guide) is how well Burleson did in 1974 for a SS. 284/320/372 for a 693 OPS and a OPS+ of 93 is just fine from a rookie SS.
So, to your first question -
Stick with Burleson. We aren't there yet, but this team has a budget, so having a "just good enough" rookie starter should really help us pay for the rest of the roster. Let's keep the overall picture in mind here, people!
Historically, Tommy Harper was pretty worthless in 1974. Between that and the fact that both Rice and Lynn are already better than him, I want to replace him in the lineup with one of them. Rick Miller is young enough that he should be able to handle the bench without going nuclear on us, so my vote is to
call up Rice and Lynn, and start them over Harper and Miller. Leave Miller on the bench, put Harper in our "trade for somebody's prospect" pool. I like shepard's idea of raiding other teams' future awesome players, because we have a pretty awesome roster right now, with several prospects who are better than our current starters, so we can trade the excess vets for future awesomeness...maybe.
Ah, the Carbo question. He was pretty good historically in 1974, but I think that we can do better, and that the ratings for Baseball Mogul trump what b-ref tells us. Looking at our roster and the historical 1974 Red Sox, I think we should
call up Cecil Cooper, and start him at 1B. Move Yaz to DH, and Carbo to the bench. Carbo is 26, and presumably young enough to not be too grumpy as a bench player/pinch hitter. He's also another backup OF with Miller.
Leave the pitching staff alone. Even though the historical 1974 Red Sox bullpen was crap, and the rotation was meh, if the simulator possibly understates injuries a bit, we could be in awesome shape. Historically, Moret and Drago were forced to start due to injuries to Marichal and Wise. While there are no pitchers in AAA, if this team is the contender that I expect it to be, in an emergency, we could call up Tudor to take some starts, or Aponte for relief.
So, other roster moves that should happen, IMO, based on what I have already suggested. Right now, I have suggested calling up Rice, Lynn, and Cooper, while trading Miller. That leaves two extra roster guys. The first, and most obvious move is to
cut or trade Tony Conigliaro. So let's say we add him to the "grab a prospect" pool with Miller. That leaves what to do to free up Cooper's roster spot. Montgomery must stay as the backup C. Griffin looks like the best 2B/SS backup, as I assume that the manager uses the backup 2B at SS if he lacks another IF. Carbo and Miller backup the OF/DH positions.
This leaves a choice between Danny Cater and John Kennedy to be cut or traded, as both are too old to send to AAA. Kennedy is 33, has a lousy rating, and sucked historically, but covers more positions if we don't want Griffin at SS. Cater is 34, has a lousy rating, but was pretty decent historically in 1974. To me, the decision comes down to minor-league depth. Both Cater and Kennedy are effectively the 3rd depth guys at their positions. My 1B depth chart goes Cooper -> Yaz -> Cater. My 2B/SS/3B backup is Griffin, so Kennedy is the 2nd backup. Ultimately, I
cut or trade John Kennedy, and keep Danny Cater as backup 1B. If an injury is suffered at 2B/SS/3B, we have Juan Beniquez to call up. There is no 1B to call up, and I don't want to waste trade assets on bench players if I can help it.
Finally, I
trade Tommy Harper, Tony Conigliaro, and John Kennedy for whatever prospect we can get, or cut them if we can't trade them. Harper should bring something back, maybe we have to cut Tony C and/or Kennedy.
Edited by JMDurron, 03 November 2010 - 05:48 PM.
