Gettin sidetracked for a few questions here...

The Teacher, Thank you for taking the time. I am in 12 team NL only w/ $260 auction minus the keepers money. We can keep 5-8 players. Hitters go for crazy prices in auction.( ) will be the year in contract; we can keep a player for 3 years. I MAY BE CRAZY MYSELF BUT I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT KEEPING PUJOLS @$49
My team Beltran (2) $37 A. Jones) $35 C.Ross (2) $6 Fla. L. Scott (2) $5 J. Encarnacion (FA) $14 A.Pujols(2) $49 O.Saenz (2) $1 C. Jones(2)$35 J.Carroll(2)$1 Blum(2) $5 W. Aybar (2) $5 Ja. Valentin (2) $6 D. Ardoin (2) $1
Zambrano (2) $28 Schmidt (2)$26 J.Weaver (2( $16 J. Sanchez(2) $6 J.Maine (2) $5 H.Kuo (2) $5 T. Armas (2) $1 Villarreal (2) $5 Linebrink (FA) $1 Gordan(2) $21 B.Wagner (2) $27 Thank You Jerry Hancock

Jerry,
Well you said 5-8 players and hitters go for crazy high prices. That said, i think keeping pujols is a must, you aren't crazy.
here is my top 5:
1. Pujols - best player in fantasy
2. Beltran - great overall player even stronger in NL only
3. Jones, A - contract year for a major power guy
4. Zambrano - most people will tell you to stay away from pitchers in low keeper number leagues, but Zam is one of a few pitchers who are annual cy young contenders
5. Schmidt - I expect a big year from him on that team, they should score a million runs

I dont believe in just giving you a list like some others will, i will explain my reasons so that you know why i picked these players and if you disagree you can change your picks accordingly. Also, i have the time to give you reasons unlike others, haha.
The combination of Pujols, Beltran are three of the top power hitters in the game, the fact that you would have them in an NL only league makes it even stronger. I think with these guys you will be able to fill in other positions with average to above average players and win the power categories (HR and RBI) and you should compete in Runs as all three should get around or upwards of 100. I think you are fairly thin elsewhere on offense which opens up the final two spots to pitching. I think you only have 2 guys really worth keeping. Zambrano and Schmidt. Zambrano in my opinion is an annual Cy Young candidate year in and year out at this point in his career. Even if you listen to those analysts who say pitching is too up and down to count on year in and year out, there are things that Zambrano does, that you can count on. He will get strikeouts, have a good ERA and a pretty solid WHIP. Only thing you'll have to worry about with Z is wins from year to year, but they should be alot better this year, so look for big things. Schmidt is a guy who is past his prime, yet still great. He is another guy that you can pretty much count on getting some of the major stats even if he wont get the wins youd like. He will get alot of strikeouts have a good ERA and a good WHIP. These two guys should allow you contend weekly in those 3 stats. Both are also on teams that improved during the off season and should therefore atleast keep their win totals. Schmidt should get more than 11.

If you are any where above 5 keepers, here is the additional list.
6. Chipper - just another power bat to add to a lineup that would turn dominating
7. Billy Wagner - should be a great closer yet again on a major winning team
8. John Maine - if he can continue to pitch like last season, he will be a nice cheap addition to your rotation


I know that i basically took the highest priced players on your team, and in my opinion the best way to attack a league like this would be to acquire the most stars that you can and then fill in holes with cheap guys. in a 12 team league there should still be enough talent to go around for you to get some players for cheap to fill your holes. Honestly i thinkj you have a great team to go with for the up coming season. Good luck, if you have any more questions, feel free....


12 returning owners of a 12 team 6x6 roto league want to go keeper after 2007 draft. 22 man roster 9hitters/9 pitchers active. It was suggested to have up to five keepers and lose a draft pick (starting with first round) for each player retained. Should a limit be set for how long a team can keep a particular player? How long is good? Any other rules to suggest with a set up like this? Thank you for your expertise.


Here are a few things id consider:
I would suggest just setting a keeper amount and sticking to it. When you get people having more keepers than another it just kinda screws things up. This being a new keeper league i would start with a low amount of keepers, as there are different strategies for keepers and one year leagues. Starting with a low number of keepers will more or less allow all the teams in the league to adapt their team to fit what style they want to pursue without feeling like they were screwed due to it being a former one year league.
In terms of how long a team should be able to keep a player, i think it is always been best for my liking to keep the player as many years as you want, as it is most like a real life situation. in real life if a team wants to keep a player for his whole career they pretty much can if they are willing to pay the right amount and thats how i feel. I have seen alot of leagues that only allow you to keep a player for up to 3 years at a time. That doesnt seem to be a bad idea, just not to my personal liking.
Only rule that i can think of is something that i would not suggest. I would not allow trades of draft picks. This confuses things and would mean that you have to have a very active commish to keep track of all this stuff. if you do allow it, id suggest that in a trade, no teams may have more picks+players than # of roster spots you guys allow. for example dont let someone have 5 players and 22 remaining picks when you only have a 25 man roster.


I also wanted to add this note. I would like for all you who submit questions to me to let me know what city and state you are from. Kinda like the live chats on ESPN and stuff. I am just curious to see where my readers are from. Thanks alot, and stay tuned for Monday's list of top 3b