CFBL Team Preview: Sweeney

OVERVIEW:
2007 Record: 107-98-15
Standings: 5th place (5th seed)

Pat's team performed decently in his inaugural season. The team didnt have any major weaknesses and had a strong offense. The pitching held him back slightly but he easily could have made the run. This team is most similar to Joe and Mezak in that it has a lot of balance. I would imagine Pat will make the playoffs in 2008.


PROJECTED LINEUP:
C Mauer
1B
2B Figgins
3B Casey Blake
SS Peralta
OF Abreu
OF Ichiro
OF Swisher
DH

SP Dice K
SP Escobar
SP Washburn
SP The Gambler
SP Wakefield
SP Garza

RP Todd Jones
RP

DL BJ Ryan


OVERAGE FROM 2007: 6.07 MILLION

This team would cost over $140 Million to assemble... so thats not going to happen. He claims he's keeping Todd Jones, who would be the most sensible salary to cut, at 13.5. Your guess is as good as mine, folks.


NEEDS:
-1B
-DH. These are typically the easiest positions to fill, but you cant upgrade him that much because he might have to plug these holes with minimum salary players
-Back of the rotation guys. He's deeper than most but that could dissapear in a minute with two 40 year olds on his staff


STENGTHS:
-Good amount of offense
-Lots of offensive players who contribute in more than one category
-Very patient team
-Has two very good starting pitchers in Dice K and Escobar
-Lots of stolen bases
-Not a lot of needs. Plus, what he does need is in areas that are easy to find
-Joe Mauer and Nick Swisher are both awesome and young
-Has enough pitching and enough hitting to compete every week


WEAKNESSES:
-Broke as a joke. Cant even keep that roster above together and stay under the cap
-His best players are pretty much all overpaid by a few million. Constrains his budget, but not enough to do something drastic about it
-Offense and pitching are both good... but not great. With his salary constraints its hard to envision a way for him to get a lot better


PREDICTION:
The bad news is that Pat will have to hold off Mike and John to make the playoffs. The good news is that he has the inside track. He's not much different than the teams above him so it wouldnt be a shock to see him finish anywhere from 4th to 7th.

It will be interesting to see what he does before the auction. Ideally he would figure out a trade that saved him salary and filled two positions of need. An example would be Ichiro or Abreu for a 1B and an OFer that cost ~8 million. With the right move he could save money and find an OFer who will approximate the production he's losing while getting a 1B better than he would be able to afford at auction. Also, he simply can't keep Todd Jones. Doesn't make sense in the slightest.


FARM SYSTEM:
Pat has an average to below average system. He has some top tier guys who will help now/soon, but doesnt have a lot of depth. The jewel of the system is Garza, but his star has lost some shine over the last year. In fantasy he's still a great cheap option who should start right away in Tampa. After that I like Gio Gonzalez. Chris Mason, Dellin Betances and Glen Perkins are all mid-tier pitching prospects who could take a step forward in 08. After that its hard to find any depth or quality prospects. Salas is a good relief prospect. Then I suppose I would go Larish... but when a 25 year old AA 1B is your 6th or 7th best prospect we're not talking about a particularly deep system here.


OFFENSE: B
PITCHING: B-
FARM SYSTEM: B
OVERALL:B


PREDICTED FINISH: 6th