Lugnuts - Transactions

Roster Evolution

Here is how the roster has evolved over the season. Yahoo! currently says I lead the league with 45 transactions, the next closest has 30.

Transactions

There are two types of transactions I will keep track of here. First are Add/Drops - just free agent and waiver wire pick-ups. I’m not one to sit around and just watch my team. I like to move guys around – especially coming up with great trade ideas and trying to find the next great breakthrough guy on waivers. Second are Trades. But I will also try to keep track of potential trades.

Add/Drop

4/5/04 – Add Jose Cruz
Reyes goes to the DL. I decide that Jose Cruz started the season pretty hot in Tokyo so I will give him a shot.

4/8/04 – Drop Jose Cruz, Add Johnny Estrada
Stupid Bengie Molina isn’t playing. Turns out I’ve been playing a man short for a while. I need a catcher. I drop Cruz and add Johnny Estrada. (Turns out this was a good deal. Estrada has been playing great!)

4/10/04 – Drop Bengie Molina, Add Dave Roberts.
Now Molina is on the DL. I like Estrada so adios Molina. How about fleet footed Dave Roberts. He has a ton of steals. I bet he helps my team speed.

4/13/04 – Drop Tim Worrell, Add Brad Lidge
I realize that while the idea with Worrell was really good – low era, we grade strikeouts too highly in this league. So I pick up Lidge. (This has turned out great for me. Lidge has been leading relievers in strikeouts most of the early season.)

4/14/04 – Drop Bobby Crosby, Add Travis Hafner
Ok,the young shortstop is starting to bug me. He is in quite a slump. Hafner is hot, so I’ll add him.

4/21/04 – Drop Jeff Weaver, Add Jason Bay (put on DL), Add Joe Kennedy
Weaver is really annoying me with that bloated ERA. I don’t have enough pitchers to ride him out. Hopefully he will still be available later if he gets hot. I do decide to gamble on another youngster and pick up Jason Bay of the Pirates. He was a big part of the Brian Giles deal and is supposed to be quite the speedster. Plus it is just a DL slot so I can stash him away. I need another arm though, and this Joe Kennedy is looking good – especially at Coors. I bet I have to dump him at some point though. Pitchers and Coors Field are not friends.

4/22/04 – Drop Tim Redding, Add Paul Abbott
Good thing I was looking at pitchers yesterday. Redding imploded last night giving up 8 earned runs in only 3.2 innings. See ya! This Abbott guy looks ok. But he pitches for Tampa Bay. That’s almost as bad as Coors. What am I thinking!

4/26/04 – Drop Travis Hafner, Add Laynce Nix
Well, Hafner isn’t as hot now and I wasn’t playing him much anyway. But Nix is intriguing. He has a lot of power potential. Someone I had been keeping an eye on.

4/29/04 – Drop Shannon Stewart, Add Phil Nevin
Stewart hurt himself and hasn’t been playing much. He has a ton of walks, but isn’t doing much else. If Nevin gets hot then he could really take off. Let’s see what happens.

5/1/04 – Drop Adam Kennedy, Add Ron Belliard
Kennedy isn’t doing much for me. In fact, even though he has some runs scored and ok RBI’s, he is holding back my great infield. Let’s try something else. How about Belliard. He is off to a hot start. I will try another guy when he cools off.

5/6/04 – Drop Paul Abbott, Add Wilson Alvarez
I had been keeping an eye on Alvarez ever since I heard he might get to start again. He was lights out last season when he was starting. I jump on him when I hear he is starting the next day.

5/7/04 – Drop Jason Bay
Big changes coming. Put in a waiver claim on Johnny Damon and have a trade coming through. Bay is off the real life DL, but is still on my team DL. Yahoo! won’t like that.

5/8/04 – Drop Phil Nevin, Add Johnny Damon
Interesting how someone let Damon go. I’ll take a risk. And Nevin hasn’t heated up yet. I don’t have anywhere to play Damon, but that’s ok. I’ll figure it out.

5/9/04 – Trade Brandon Webb for Vernon Wells
This is interesting. I offered Zito for Wells but was countered with Webb for Wells. I bet Wells heats up. Plus I am trading a lower draft (8 th round for Webb instead of 5 th for Zito) choice for a first rounder. Now my outfield is really crowded.

5/10/04 – Add Chone Figgins
Figgins is on a roll and with all the injuries he should really get a chance to play. Plus, since I had to put Roberts on the DL he will fill in for the missing speed I have. But I still have too many outfielders!

5/14/04 – Drop Chone Figgins, Add Jason Bay
Figgins wasn’t playing for me. Of course, the day before I drop him he has 6 RBI’s from my bench -- Crap! Raul Mondesi is sitting out the rest of the year with Pittsburg so Jason Bay looks like a good bet to get a lot of playing time. “Experts” are saying he has a lot of speed and potential for 20-20 this year. Maybe I’ll stash him away on my bench.

5/17/04 – Drop Jose Reyes, Drop Jason Bay, Add Preston Wilson, Add Cliff Lee
After losing last week (even though I was up 14-1 on like Thursday) I decided that I need more pitching. Also, there has been talk that even if/when Reyes comes back he won’t be running much. I’ll stick with Belliard for the time being and by dropping Reyes and Bay, I have room to add Preston Wilson to my DL. Then I pick up Lee. His strikeout numbers have been increasing in the past month, but his ERA is great. I just need someone to give me innings and not get shelled.

5/18/04 – Drop Laynce Nix, Add Chone Figgins
The second player making a repeat appearance on my team. Well, I like Nix, but he just isn’t playing in my lineup so I should go for someone else. Figgins has been getting playing time in Aneheim, but with Glaus going down for the season, I am hoping that Figgins gets more time at third and will become infield eligible for me to give me a little more flexibility. I hope he keeps running. The steals were down this past week.

5/27/04 – Drop Jay Gibbons, Add Daryle Ward
I’m getting creamed this week and Todd Helton hasn’t played in almost a week, but isn’t on the disabled list. There is a chance he could get disabled, so I need to pick up another first baseman. Ward is really hot right now so I’ll give him a shot. Gibbons hasn’t produced as well as I hoped and he hasn’t been in my lineup much lately anyway.

6/1/04 – Drop Wilson Alvarez
Dave Roberts came off the DL and Alvarez got injured and sent back to the bullpen.

6/1/04 – Drop Chone Figgins, Add Jeff Weaver
Figgins wasn’t getting eligibility at other positions like I had hoped and he was in a bit of a slump. I still need pitching help, so even though Weaver’s ERA is a little high, he has good strikeout numbers.

6/8/04 – Note – Figgins stole like 7 bases in his last 12 games and now has third base eligibility. Doh!

6/4/04 – Drop Ron Belliard, Add Jerry Hairston Jr.
Belliard’s batting average has been dropping, and that’s what’s been driving his OBP and runs. Hairston is back from injury and had a favorable writeup on ESPN. He has good numbers in the past month – including 6 stolen bases – so even if he doesn’t play every day, he should be an upgrade in all categories expcept possibly runs.

6/8/04 – Drop Corey Patterson, Add Royce Clayton
I’m frustrated with Patterson and don’t think he will have the numbers to get him in the starting lineup on my team. Clayton has better numbers and plays infield.

6/17/04 – Add Doug Davis
Vernon Wells went on the DL so I needed another player. I couldn’t find a second baseman that I was interested in so I went with Davis who had a rank of 83 for the season with an ERA just over 3. He also had the most strikeouts this season of any pitcher available.

6/17/04 – Drop Joe Kennedy, Add Jason Lane
Hidalgo is getting traded to the Mets so this opens right field for Lane with the Astros. He has been the top hitting prospect for the Astros for a couple of years, they have just had no place to put him. I’m taking a gamble here. ESPN keeps advising against Kennedy – nice strikeouts but bad ERA (especially in the last month).

6/18/04 – Drop Royce Clayton, Add Edgar Renteria
Renteria was dropped a few days ago and I put in a waiver claim on him. I had last waiver priority, but it was worth a shot to try for it. Plus then I would have him the minute he became a free agent – in case someone was trying not to burn their waiver position. I hadn’t actually played Clayton but like once and he got some bad reviews on ESPN, so I will give Renteria a shot. Hopefully if he returns to the form that made him a top shortstop in the past couple of years I will be able to trade him for something good.

6/24/04 – Drop Jason Lane, Add Michael Tucker
With Beltran coming to the Astros there is no room for Lane. I’ll add Tucker and reassess later.

6/27/04 – Add Glendon Rusch
Daryl Ward went on the DL so I filled the roster spot. Insterestingly, there aren’t that many people on waivers that I am interested in picking up. I couldn’t find a position player that I was interested in so I went with a pitcher.

6/30/04 – Drop Daryle Ward
Wade Miller is on the DL so since Ward was cooling off I will dump him and add a pitcher to replace Miller.

6/30/04 – Add Chris Capuano
I looked at this guy earlier, but he is doing well for the Brewers. Here’s the review that sold me: It's good to be a Brewers' lefty right now. Doug Davis is overshadowing Capuano right now, but Chris has been just as effective recently. Capuano has allowed three or fewer earned runs in each of his eight starts this season, and since coming off the disabled list earlier this month, Chris is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA and has allowed only 15 hits in 18 innings. He's still working to build up his arm strength after two disabled list stints, but he looks like a pitcher who could sneakily help a lot of fantasy clubs over the second half.

7/12/04 – Drop Michael Tucker, Add Jason Bay
Bay is back on the team – for the third time. I haven’t really been playing Tucker and Bay had 30 RBI’s last month, so let’s put him back on the team and see what happens.

7/16/04 – Drop Glendon Rusch, Add Justin Morneau
Rusch had been sent back to the bullpen and the young Twins slugger was finally going to get a chance to step into the lineup with an injury to their firstbaseman. Although, with Prior hurting his elbow last night, hopefully he won’t get DL’ed again making Rusch someone to add back. But I’ll keep an eye on it.

7/22/04 – Drop Jerry Hairston Jr.
Vernon Wells is off the DL and I now have Marcus Giles at 2B so Hairston is expendable. I tried to trade him, but that got nixed.

7/29/04 – Drop Preston Wilson, Add Bronson Arroyo
I need pitching. It was tough to decide who to drop, but Arroyo starts tomorrow and I don’t think Wilson will be picked up immediately. Plus, there appear to be other options available on waivers.

7/31/04 – Drop Chris Capuano, Add Orlando Hernandez
I’m about to lose to Krank and I could use some more pitching help so I think this could be an upgrade for me. If not, then I don’t think anyone else will pick up Capuano.

8/6/04 – Add Mike Cameron
Pat Burrell went on the DL so I needed a new player. Cameron has been on a roll and had the best stats in the last month of any available player. In fact, he was ranked #3 for the last month.

8/11/04 – Drop Adam Eaton, Add Wilson Alvarez
Eaton’s ERA in the last month is close to 8 and his strikeouts have tumbled. I had Alvarez before when he was in the Dodger’s rotation, and now he is back (both on my team and in the rotation). He offers low ERA, WHIP and decent strikeout numbers. I just need some pitchers that will give me some innings and not get shelled.

8/17/04 – Drop Dave Roberts, Add Endy Chavez
Roberts isn’t playing since his trade to Boston and my outfield is dying so let’s hope that Chavez is the hot hand.

8/17/04 – Drop Cliff Lee, Add Erik Bedard
Well, Lee got shelled again tonight to the tune of a 21.6 ERA – that’s 8 earned runs in 3.1 innings! Adios! Bedard got some praise on ESPN today, and his stats in the last month are ok – and the last week are better to me than Adam Eaton, the other guy I was going to pick up. So let’s see if the Orioles pitcher can do his thing.

8/24/04 – Drop Endy Chavez, Add Darin Erstad
Erstad has similar runs scored but more RBI’s so I’ll swap outfielders.

8/24/04 – Drop Erik Bedard, Add Freddy Guzman
Well, I was winning my pitching last week so I pulled Bedard and he never got a chance to pitch for me. Good thing. He was lit up last week. Guzman is predicted to steal a lot of bases and score some runs at the top of the Padre lineup. I’m lacking a stolen base threat, so here’s hoping he helps in the playoffs.

8/29/04 – Drop Wilson Alvarez, Add Josh Fogg
Alvarez was dropped from the starting rotation again. Fogg has been going well so I’ll try him.

9/1/04 – Drop Vernon Wells, Add Austin Kearns
Well, I didn’t want to drop Wells, but he is 0 for his last week and isn’t playing all that well. No sense having someone on the bench who I won’t put in the lineup. Kearns might give me a little pop in the playoffs.

9/2/04 – Drop Freddy Guzman, Add Placido Palanco
I haven’t been playing Guzman and he hasn’t turned out to be the source of speed I was looking for. Giles isn’t playing as well as he can at second, and Palanco offers the same number of runs scored in the last month, but more RBI’s, steals and fewer K’s.

9/9/04 – Drop Pat Burrell
I hadn’t even activated Burrell off the DL for the past week or so, and I am unlikely to play him so it’s time to finally cut him loose.

9/9/04 – Drop Austing Kearns, Add David Wright
I wasn’t playing Kearns all that much, and the move to pick up Wright is more of a preemptive move to make sure that no one else picks him up instead. But, Rolen has a day off next week, so I will get that spot filled with Wright instead of Palanco.

9/13/04 – Drop Josh Fogg, Add Jeremy Bonderman
Bonderman has been on a real role in the last month and Fogg was starting to slip a bit. They offer similar stats, but Bonderman has more K potential. Let’s see if he can help in the playoffs.

9/21/04 – Drop Darin Erstad, Add Vernon Wells
Wells is on fire the past week and Erstad is slowing down, so let’s ride the hot hand in the final round of the playoffs!!!

9/22/04 – Drop Mike Cameron, Add Brett Tomko
Tomko has been amazing of late and Cameron has been out sick and now potentially hurt his wrist. This does leave me with only three outfielders, so another move might be in the works.

Trades

I had some offers made to me and made some offers earlier in the season (before starting to keep track of them) that I don’t remember. I’ll have to pick up with what I remember.

1. Brandon Webb for Vernon Wells (Hot Pants)- 5/9/04
I first offered Zito for Wells, but Casey did some research and decided to ask for Webb instead of Zito. That worked well for me because Webb is slumping and Wells is really picking up steam. She did tempt me with a verbal offer of Sosa for Zito. I was likely going to take that, but then she decided to let me have Wells.

2. Potential Deal with Cubbies
Offerend Damon and Willis for Mark Mulder. Didn’t hear back so I pulled the deal when I offered Damon and Willis to Krank.

3. Potential Deal with Krank
I’m working on a deal with Krank for some pitching. He will need some outfielders with Chipper in a huge slump (and potentially battling another injury) and Magglio Ordonez considering surgery. I offered Corey Patterson for Carl Pavano. He said that Patterson was worse than his existing 6 outfielders but we could talk about Giles or Burrell, countering with an offer of Giles for Pavano. I don’t think that is fair, so I countered back with Damon and Willis for Pavano and Jermone Williams. Offer declined. End of discussions.

4. Johnny Damon and Dontrelle Willis for Mark Prior (Fat Kids Play Ball 2)
I tried to trade for Prior earlier in the season, but was declined. Now I upped the offer and Dover is 41.5 games out as of this week. Regardless, now I have Prior and should be better poised for the stretch run at the end of the season into the playoffs.

5. Potential Deal with Cubbies
Offered Zito and Preston Wilson for Jason Schmidt. Cancelled trade offer due to lack of response.

6. Doug Davis for Marcus Giles (You Get Sprung)
While waiting to hear back from Cubbies I decided to see if I could land a new second baseman. Giles is still injured, but hopefully he will come back and play like last year and the first half of this year. I offered Dave to choose out of most of my pitchers, not Lidge, Zito, Prior or Glendon Rusch (who I just dropped because he is headed back to the bullpen). He chose Davis.

7. Preston Wilson and Jerry Hairston, Jr. for Livan Hernandez (Hot Pants)
Casey needed a second baseman and liked the potential for Wilson to return to most of his form from last season. The league decided this was an unfair trade that was the fantasy equivalent of a salary dump and then implied foul play because Casey and I are married! That’s always pleasant.

8. Edgar Renteria for Bartolo Colon (Evil Empire)
I’m still lacking pitching and I have two good shortstops and a good utility player in Justin Morneau. Empire had Royce Clayton at short, but reports are coming out that Colorado is thinking of giving their new young shortstop a chance to play soon, so I went shopping for a pitcher. I’m hoping that Colon can keep pitching like he has lately.