2011 Long Relievers

Player	Year	Control	Points	IP	Homer	Double	Single	Walk	FG	GB	PU	SO
Alfredo Aceves	2011	6	270	2	0	20	18-19	16-17	9-15	7-8	3-6	1-2

Jim Johnson

2011

5

350

2

0

0

17-20

0

14-16

7-13

3-6

1-2

Daniel McCutchen

2011

4

270

2

0

20

18-19

17

10-16

6-9

3-5

1-2

Guillermo Mota

2011

4

200

2

0

20

17-19

16

11-15

8-10

3-7

1-2

Chris Sale	2011	3	240	2	0	20	19	18	14-17	10-13	3-9	1-2
Burke Badenhop	2011	3	210	2	0	20	18-19	17	14-16	7-13	3-6	1-2

Jeff Grey

2011

3

180

2

0

20

18-19

16-17

11-15

5-10

3-4

1-2

Chris Jakubauskas

2011

3

130

2

0

20

16-19

15

10-14

7-9

3-6

1-2

Tim Wakefield

2011

3

120

2

20

0

18-19

16-17

10-15

6-9

3-5

1-2

Darren Oliver

2011

3

300

2

0

0

19-20

0

12-18

8-11

3-7

1-2

2012 Position Analysis: Long Relievers

            Some players love the 2 IP relievers and others seem to have no use for them. Many teams in the majors use their long relievers more than they wish. It is the dream of every manager to have a starter go 6 or 7 and then single innings out of each bullpen guy for the win. Teams with bad starters need to have bullpens who can carry the load. This is true in the majors as well as Showdown. There are 10 long men in this years class. Each one with value in the right situation.

2011 MLB Showdown Starters Under 200 Points

Jason Marquis	2011	4	150	5	0	19-20	17-18	15-16	12-14	6-11	3-5	1-2
Jake Arrieta	2011	4	130	5	20	19	0	15-18	11-14	7-10	3-6	1-2

Randy Wells	2011	3	190	6	20	0	18-19	16-17	10-15	6-9	3-5	1-2
James McDonald	2011	3	180	5	0	19-20	0	17-18	11-16	8-10	3-7	1-2
Zach Britton	2011	3	170	5	0	20	18-19	16-17	12-15	6-11	3-5	1-2
Tommy Hutner	2011	3	170	5	0	20	18-19	16-17	12-15	6-11	3-5	1-2
Brandon Morrow	2011	3	170	5	0	20	18-19	16-17	12-15	11	3-10	1-2
Kevin Correia	2011	3	170	5	0	20	17-19	16	10-15	6-9	3-5	1-2
Ubaldo Jimmenez	2011	3	160	6	0	19-20	0	16-18	12-15	8-11	3-7	1-2
Chris Capuano	2011	3	130	6	0	19-20	18	16-17	12-15	9-11	3-8	1-2
AJ Burnett	2011	3	120	6	20	0	19	16-18	12-15	8-11	3-7	1-2
John Lackey	2011	3	30	5	0	20	17-19	15-16	10-14	6-9	3-5	1-2
Esmil Rogers	2011	3	10	5	20	0	17-19	15-16	10-14	7-9	3-6	1-2

Ricky Nolasco	2011	2	190	6	0	19-20	18	17	12-16	8-11	3-7	1-2
Blake Beaven	2011	2	180	6	0	19-20	17-18	0	10-16	6-9	3-5	1-2
Nick Blackburn	2011	2	170	5	0	20	18-19	17	13-16	7-12	3-6	1-2
Gavin Floyd	2011	2	140	6	0	0	18-20	17	12-16	8-11	3-7	1-2
Hiroki Kuroda	2011	2	120	5	0	19-20	0	18	12-17	8-11	3-7	1-2
Bronson Arroyo	2011	2	80	6	20	19	18	17	10-16	6-9	3-5	1-2

Bud Norris	2011	1	170	6	0	20	19	18	13-17	10-12	3-9	1-2
Mat Latos	2011	1	170	6	0	20	0	19	13-18	9-12	3-8	1-2
Erik Bedard	2011	1	150	5	0	20	19	0	14-18	9-13	3-8	1-2
Mike Pelfrey	2011	1	150	6	0	20	19	18	12-17	7-11	3-6	1-2
Brain Duesnsing	2011	1	130	5	0	20	18-19	0	13-17	8-12	3-7	1-2

Bret Myers	2011	0	160	7	0	20	19	0	13-18	8-12	3-7	1-2
Paul Malholm	2011	0	150	6	0	0	20	19	14-18	7-13	3-6	1-2
Jeff Francis	2011	0	130	6	0	20	0	19	13-18	7-12	3-6	1-2
Jason Hammel	2011	0	130	6	0	20	19	0	12-18	7-11	3-6	1-2
David Moseley	2011	0	100	6	0	20	19	0	14-18	7-13	3-6	1-2

Aaron Cook

2011

0

50

6

0

20

18-19

0

15-17

7-14

3-6

1-2

Chris Volstad	2011	0	40	5	0	20	19	0	15-18	7-14	3-6	1-2
Derek Lowe	2011	0	40	6	0	20	19	18	15-17	7-14	3-6	1-2
Fausto Carmona	2011	0	30	6	0	20	19	18	15-17	9-14	3-8	1-2
Brett Cecil	2011	0	10	6	20	0	0	19	11-18	7-10	3-6	1-2
JA Happ	2011	0	10	5	0	20	0	18-19	12-17	9-11	3-8	1-2

2011 MLB Showdown Starters Under 200 Points

            Last time we talked about the players who were trying to fight for a bargain quality start. These guys are hoping for a absolute prayer of a quality start. You will not consistently get more the 5 innings out of these characters. If you run into one when you are playing them then you should swiftly kick their rear end till it is hunched up between their shoulder blades. If you do not then you missed a golden opportunity. However if you can weather the storm with one of these players then you can get some interesting players else where on your team. You also have the option of using a few of these guys and really trying to smack around some of the better pitchers in the league on offense.

#ShotsFriday

The race is tightening up at the top. @MLBConnoisseur and @Tomwyliehart went shot for shot if you will the last few weeks to run away with the competition. This week @Tomwyliehart got his pick right with Josh Hamilton going yard for his third shot of the year and @Tomwyliehart's 11th putting him 1 behind @Mlbconnoisseur. Maybe the most impressive part is 8 for 8 in weeks he has picked. Never having a week off. The only other shot belongs to myself. I was fortunate enough to pick A-rod for an A-bomb which came true for his first and my third. Make sure to get your own picks in and get yourself on the board this Friday using #Shotsfriday. 

#PlayfortheCard

Time Machine Pitchers 200-290 points

Brett Tomko 00- This is another section where we will spot light odd looking charts for this point range. Tomko holds the oddest chart because he has the worst chart of anyone in all of Showdown. Him and Neagle tie with 3 extra base hits on the chart but the tie breaker is his 17 is a single where Neagle has 2 walks. For 230 points he is a steal compared to Neagle but he is going to get torched. 6 innings, 1-15 out, 1-7 none advancing are all average. Hope someone else drafts this bad boy and punish him with 15% of your rolls going to extra base hits. 

Team Builder Contact Factor

2011 Starters

Jason Marquis	2011	4	150	5	0	19-20	17-18	15-16	12-14	6-11	3-5	1-2
Jake Arrieta	2011	4	130	5	20	19	0	15-18	11-14	7-10	3-6	1-2

Charlie Morton	2011	3	280	5	0	20	18-19	17	14-16	7-13	3-6	1-2
Luke Hochevar	2011	3	240	6	0	20	18-19	16-17	13-15	6-12	3-5	1-2
Joel Pinerio	2011	3	220	6	0	20	17-19	16	11-15	6-10	3-5	1-2

Felipe Paulino	2011	2	230	6	0	20	19	17-18	12-16	8-11	3-7	1-2
Ryan Dempster	2011	2	230	6	0	20	19	17-18	12-16	8-11	3-7	1-2
Bartolo Colon	2011	2	210	6	0	20	18-19	17	12-16	9-11	3-8	1-2
Trevor Cahill	2011	2	210	6	0	20	18-19	17	15-16	7-14	3-6	1-2
Jason Vargas	2011	2	210	6	0	20	18-19	17	10-16	7-9	3-6	1-2

John Danks	2011	1	260	6	0	20	19	18	13-17	9-12	3-8	1-2
Carl Pavano	2011	1	260	7	0	20	19	18	13-17	7-12	3-6	1-2
Livan Hernandez	2011	1	260	7	0	0	18-20	0	12-17	7-11	3-6	1-2
RA Dickey	2011	1	200	6	0	20	19	0	14-18	6-13	3-5	1-2

Jeremy Gutherie

2011

0

210

7

0

20

19

0

12-18

7-11

3-6

1-2

2011 Starting Pitchers 200-290 Points 

            Alright, we are starting to get into the real bottom of the barrel here. Not below where I look for a majority of my starters when I like to mash. That is besides the point few if any of you managers have the dedication to read next weeks post for 3 or your 4 starters. This will be the 4 starter for some balanced teams. Maybe 3 and 4 starters for people who are a little hitting heavy.  The guys we have already covered are going to do well with a little help from the teammates. These guys are going to need a little help from the teammates to do average. Getting a quality start of 6 IP and 3 runs is going to be a nice accomplishment usually. Then after 6 innings you may be lucky to have a good lead and can stretch or coast into the win. If not then prepare for the dog fight. 290 or less points is just not enough for a quality starter but that has never stopped us from looking before.

#Shotsfriday

A quiet week around here for #shotsfriday and If you have read the past few posts you know exactly what the pattern is. Everyone else misses the picks and the two pros pick winners. We had an interesting scoring decision to make this week. Both @MLBConnoisseur and @Tomwyliehart both picked Edwin Encarnacion initially. The game was delayed. Both players picked second players (who did not homer). In @Tomwyliehart's defense he did say "if the game is postponed". The ruling is since the game was played on Friday the pick stands and alternate picks do not count. Both players get a homer getting @MLBConnoisseur to a year leading 12 and @Tomwyliehart to 10 in 7 weeks. He also continues his amazing 7 for 7 run of consecutive weeks with a shot. Pour in your predictions for this week folks and get some fresh blood in the mix. 

#Playforthecard

Time Machine

Denny Neagle 00- This is an odd point range where there is a lot of mediocrity. I aim to point out some of the more interesting cards in the 300-390 point range. Neagle is no exception and his stats warrant an interesting split. He allowed 1.8 HR/9 innings in 1999. He only had an ERA of 4.24. He won 9 of the 20 games he started. He is one of 2 pitchers I know of that allows 3 extra base hits on his chart. He has 20 HR, 18-19 2B, 16-17 BB. That kind of bottom of the chart is arguably the worst in all of Showdown. Even lovers of 6’s don’t have the patience to ride this guy out for his 350 points. 

Team Builder XBH Factor

MLB Showdown 2011: Starting Pitchers 300-390 Points

            Now time for the oddball players. The guys who have a 300 to 390 point range. These guys are not going to consistently shut even the most inept offenses down. They also should not get chased for 7 or more runs unless you play in a strategy card rich league. You are not going to get consistent +6 IP length out of these guys so get that thought out of your head. Budget for 3 bullpen innings from these guys unless you have a good reason to think otherwise. Extreme hitting line ups may have to use one of these players as a first starter. That does not make them an ace but they still need to perform. Most players are going to see these guys as a 3 pitcher and pitching heavy to extreme may have them as cabooses to their rotations. No matter what you use them for it is important to understand the player you are getting.

MLB Showdown 2011: Pitchers 300-390

Jake Westbrook	5	370	6	0	20	18-19	15-17	12-14	6-11	3-5	1-2
Colby Lewis	5	350	6	20	19	18	16-17	10-15	7-9	3-6	1-2

Mike Leake	4	380	5	0	20	18-19	17	12-16	7-11	3-6	1-2
Carlos Zambrano	4	370	6	0	20	18-19	16-17	11-15	7-10	3-6	1-2
Max Scherzer	4	350	6	0	20	17-19	16	12-15	9-11	3-8	1-2
Homer Bailey	4	350	6	0	20	17-19	16	10-15	7-9	3-6	1-2
Josh Tomlin	4	300	6	0	20	16-19	0	10-15	6-9	3-5	1-2

Joe Saunders	3	370	7	0	20	18-19	17	11-16	6-10	3-5	1-2
Phillip Humber	3	340	6	0	20	19	17-18	12-16	7-11	3-6	1-2
Michael Pineda	3	340	6	0	20	19	17-18	12-16	10-11	3-9	1-2
Wade Davis	3	320	6	0	20	18-19	17	10-16	6-9	3-5	1-2
Anibal Sanchez	3	320	6	0	20	18-19	17	13-16	10-12	3-9	1-2
Chad Billingsley	3	320	6	0	20	18-19	17	12-16	8-11	3-7	1-2

Ted Lilly	2	370	6	0	0	18-20	0	11-17	8-10	3-7	1-2
David Price	2	360	7	0	20	19	18	13-17	10-12	3-9	1-2
Ervin Santana	2	350	7	0	20	0	18-19	11-17	7-10	3-6	1-2
Guillermo Moscoso	2	330	6	0	20	19	18	9-17	7-8	3-6	1-2
John Lannn	2	330	6	0	20	19	18	14-17	7-13	3-6	1-2
Jhoulys Chacin	2	330	6	0	20	19	18	15-17	8-14	3-7	1-2
Tim Stauffer	2	330	6	0	20	19	18	13-17	7-12	3-6	1-2
Jordan Zimmerman	2	310	6	0	20	18-19	0	12-17	8-11	3-7	1-2

Doug Fister

1

300

7

0

0

0

19-20

11-18

7-10

3-6

1-2

#Shotsfriday

                The game has become a 2 horse race right now. @MLBConnoisseur picked a winner with his lefty hitters against Yankee Stadium. Curtis Granderson gained the 4th long ball of the year for himself but the amazing tenth for The Connoisseur. The only feat that may be as impressive is @TomWyliehart going 6 for 6 in #Shotsfriday picks. He was successful having 2 selections. One of his selections was Curtis Granderson as well keeping the 6 for 6 with 6 different picked players still alive. He added a freebie with Miguel Cabrera. With those picks Granderson ties Dunn with 5 on the player board and @Tomwyliehart has 9. This should be an interesting race to the finish. Make sure to get your own picks in using #Shotsfriday on twitter and earn your own shout out.

#PlayfortheCard

Time Machine Starters 400-490 points

Scott Erickson 2000- Quick trivia: who has the most GB outs on their chart? Erickson is impressive but he is beat by Mike Morgan (9) and Jimmy Anderson (10). Scott Erickson does have an impressive 8 GB outs on his chart. Morgan is a 0 and Anderson is 1 control to give some perspective. Erickson is a 4, 1-15 out for 400 points and he can pitch 7 innings. In that regard no player has the double-play as such a weapon as Erickson. Erickson had a good career but nothing to write home about. In Showdown he is a bit of a double-play legend.

Team Builder Power Factor 1B

MLB Showdown 2011: 400-490 point pitchers

            Not only did the elite guys have great years last year but the whole league pitched better then normal. Today we are talking about players from 400-490 points. These are not ace pitchers but guys who could easily throw really good games. Hard to describe these guys with any sort of story but when the name shows up you will all have stories of your own. These are all guys we hope to see make the jump to the Ace Club next year. I will spot light James Shields season as just the horse of the league. He had a huge part to do with the Rays making the playoffs again. He is putting himself up there as one of the great grinders in the game. Watch the kid pitch a few times, it is something. Now let us see what we have in our mid level market.

Derek Holland	6	450	6	0	20	17-19	15-16	11-14	7-10	3-6	1-2
Aaron Harang	6	450	6	0	20	17-19	15-16	10-14	7-9	3-6	1-2
Ivan Nova	6	400	5	0	19-20	18	16-17	12-15	6-11	3-5	1-2

Jamie Garcia	5	450	6	0	20	18-19	16-17	12-15	7-11	3-6	1-2
Yovani Gallardo	5	450	6	0	20	18-19	16-17	12-15	9-11	3-8	1-2
Shaun Marcum	5	450	6	0	20	17-19	16	11-15	8-10	3-7	1-2
Dillon Gee	5	440	5	0	20	18-19	16-17	11-15	7-10	3-6	1-2
Brandon Beachy	5	430	5	0	20	17-19	16	11-15	10	3-9	1-2

Justin Masterson	4	480	7	0	20	18-19	17	14-16	8-13	3-7	1-2
Randy Wolfs	4	480	7	0	20	18-19	17	10-16	7-9	3-6	1-2
Jeremy Hellickson	4	470	6	0	20	19	18	10-17	7-9	3-6	1-2
Scott Baker	4	470	6	0	0	18-20	17	10-16	8-9	3-7	1-2
Chris Carpenter	4	460	7	0	20	17-19	0	13-16	8-12	3-7	1-2
Gio Gonzalez	4	460	6	0	20	19	17-18	12-16	8-11	3-7	1-2
Jon Lester	4	450	6	0	20	18-19	17	14-16	9-13	3-8	1-2
Bruce Chen	4	440	6	0	20	18-19	17	10-16	6-9	3-5	1-2
Daniel Hudson	4	440	7	0	19-20	18	17	12-16	8-11	3-7	1-2
Matt Harrison	4	440	6	0	20	18-19	17	12-16	7-11	3-6	1-2
Javiar Vazquez	4	440	6	0	20	18-19	17	10-16	7-9	3-6	1-2
Mark Buehrle	4	420	6	0	20	17-19	0	11-16	6-10	3-5	1-2

Matt Garza	3	480	6	0	0	19-20	18	13-17	9-12	3-8	1-2
Madison Bumgarner	3	480	6	0	0	18-20	0	13-17	9-12	3-8	1-2
Johnny Cueto	3	470	6	0	0	18-20	0	15-17	8-14	3-7	1-2
Wandy Rodriguez	3	460	6	0	20	19	18	12-17	8-11	3-7	1-2
Ryan Volegson	3	450	5	0	20	19	0	13-18	7-12	3-6	1-2
Brandon McCarthy	3	440	6	0	20	18-19	0	12-17	7-11	3-6	1-2

James Shields

2

490

8

0

0

20

19

14-18

11-13

3-10

1-2

#Shotsfriday

              We need some fresh blood folks. The pros have taken over the leader board. Find your friends and get them to play #shotsfriday to keep the pros from running away with this one. As incentive to keep the this somewhat competitive I will give 1 extra pick to anyone who has a friend send in a pick to #shotsfriday this week. Have them tag you and you get to pick 2 instead of 1. They also get their own pick (for their own score). Now for the reason for my outburst. A humble Dr Juice @Markrom3 scored some sweet revenge with his pick of Hanley Ramirez against his former team the Marlins. Hanley's first and number 4 for the Doctor. Now to the impressive feats by our pros. @MLBConnoisseur scored his second Single-Double Shot. He had the single from Giancarlo Stanton, A free pick. This was Stanton's second shot of the year. He also scored the double shot with Adam Dunn's pair. That makes a crazy 9 shots for the Connoisseur on the year. The only feat that may rival this is another one of our pros. Brahmin, The Creator, A man I first met on a mountain near Jerusalem praying to God for forgiveness for the Saracen blood he had spilled, @Tomwyliehart. This man has an unrivaled 5 for 5 streak going on the year. 5 weeks, 5 different players with a homer. No one else has more then two on the year consecutively. Here is the kicker, He picked Adam Dunn as well for the double shot. Still not impressed? He had Miguel Cabrera last week so he got him free this week. Dunn now has 5 on the year to lead the player board, Cabrera has 2. @Tomwyliehart has 7 shots in 5 weeks. Send in the picks boys to #shotsfriday because it is becoming a 2 horse race at the top.

#Playforthecard

MLB Showdown Time Machine

Randy Johnson (00)- 1999-2001 Randy Johnson had 23, 10+ strike out games. That is gold, silver and bronze for that award with only Nolan Ryan sharing the prize in 1973. In 1999 he had a mind blowing 364 strike outs. With his NL leading 2.48 ERA he won the Cy Young Award that year. This earned him a 630 point 3 control, 8 IP, 1-18 out, 1-10 K card. This is the best chart of any pitcher in the league regardless of control. He has better charts than all the 0’s with freak charts. Small ball was not as prevalent as it is now in Showdown. This card would be lethal in modern leagues and was good even then.

Team Builder

Player	Control	Points	IP	Homer	Double	Single	Walk	Out(fb)	Out(gb)	Out(pu)	Out(so)
Roy Halladay	6	630	7	0	20	17-19	0	14-16	9-13	3-8	1-2
CJ Wilson	6	600	7	0	20	18-19	16-17	12-15	8-11	3-7	1-2
Ian Kennedy	6	600	7	0	20	18-19	16-17	11-15	8-10	3-7	1-2
CC Sabathia	6	580	7	0	20	17-19	16	12-15	8-11	3-7	1-2
Tim Lincecum	6	580	6	0	19-20	18	17	12-16	9-11	3-8	1-2
Vance Worley	6	570	6	0	20	18-19	16-17	10-15	7-9	3-6	1-2
Zach Greinke	6	560	6	0	20	17-19	16	12-15	9-11	3-8	1-2
Jiar Jurrjens	6	540	6	0	20	17-19	16	9-15	6-8	3-5	1-2

Justin Verlander	5	670	7	0	20	18-19	0	12-17	10-11	3-9	1-2
Tim Hudson	5	580	7	0	20	18-19	17	14-16	7-13	3-6	1-2
Clayton Kershaw	5	580	7	0	0	18-20	17	13-16	10-12	3-9	1-2
Dan Haren	5	560	7	0	20	17-19	0	11-16	7-10	3-6	1-2
Kyle Loshe	5	540	6	0	20	18-19	17	10-16	6-9	3-5	1-2

Cole Hammels	4	560	7	0	20	18-19	0	16-17	7-15	3-6	1-2
Jered Weaver	4	580	7	0	20	19	18	13-17	11-12	3-10	1-2
Ricky Romero	4	510	7	0	19-20	0	18	14-17	9-13	3-8	1-2
Josh Beckett	4	500	6	0	20	18-19	0	12-17	8-11	3-7	1-2

Cliff Lee	3	580	7	0	0	19-20	0	15-18	11-14	3-10	1-2
Matt Cain	3	540	7	0	0	19-20	18	12-17	8-11	3-7	1-2
Felix Hernandez	3	520	7	0	0	18-20	0	14-17	9-13	3-8	1-2