I never really look at rating. I often head over to ESPN's site and check out the OBP/SLG/OPS against for pitchers.

McGwire went for $3 in my friend's A.L. league that year. I don't remember what Nelson went for.

Predictable Reaction Department

Peter Rose in an interview following the Mitchell Report:

"If you're going to put these guys that supposedly did steroids into the Hall of Fame, I mean I've got to get a shot somewhere."

And if steroids were prevalent in his day?

"I would have got 5,000 hits."

744 more? Maybe not. But he would have gotten more because no way would he have allowed competitors to get an edge. He would have gotten a shot somewhere.

Another problem with WHIP is it looks very much like Rating. Rating being a refined form of WHIP (H+.5*BB+1.5*HR).

Especially for Wakefield.

So I'd be inclined to start off with just Ratio and see if people complain.

There are clearly flaws to his hitting game (he swings too much) and he's not a good second baseman, which means that his opportunity to succeed is presented with a really small window. He screwed it up last year, and may not have the chops to get over this year.

But I think he's young enough and talented enough with enough pedigree that he'll end up being useful, rather than like Tim Raines Jr. and Tony Gwynn Jr. At least.

All the smart money was on Nelson that year. I think that was a reading of the platoon, which seemed darned sophisticated at the time. When we've finally compiled a serious minor league database I hope we learn something else.

I just searched the Ask Rotoman archives and don't find a discussion of Nelson vs. McGwire. Too bad, it was hotly contested.

I think having Ratio and WHIP isn't a big problem, but it does make things crowded and my eye doesn't always fall right on the information I want as a result. I'd say cut WHIP, but readers will say that's the one they want, so we should cut Ratio.

I think he's about 15th, and someone to go a few dollars beyond on if the situation calls for it, but that looks like a career year.

My intitial bid was $39. Then I saw what Peter and Mike had for their bids. Then I chopped $2 off.

Because Rollins did go crazy last year. The chances are he slides back a little bit.

And nevertheless, as I see it, Peter's mixed bid is way too timid. In mixed leagues, you identify the five or ten very best players and make damn sure you get two of them.

Does not Jimmy Rollins qualify as among the ten best players?

His wins were worth $15.

That being the case, owners happily lived with his neutral Ratio (Rotisserie-league average, worth $0). They weren't too pained by his ERA (a little higher than Rotisserie-league average and thus minus $4).

Interestingly, the folks at BBHQ think his ERA should have been a little higher (xERA 4.88); the Baseball Info Solutions folks think it should have been lower (ERC 4.14). I compare the ratings in this five-year scan to his actual ERAs and think his 2007 ERA was just about where it figured to be.

His hit percent percent dropped from 34 to 28, which could be attributed to bad luck. But his line-drive percent also took quite a dive: from 24 to 16. Don't bet on his hitting .300 again.

With a scoreless, if not spotless, inning last year, he lowered his career ERA to 2.72. Having faced major league hitters on 100 separate occasions, getting a little more than three outs each time, he has something to boast about to his grandchildren.

Got a little taste of the American game after 21 seasons in Japan.

Is Jury Duty a TV show? That would explain it.

Author Tony Horwitz is in my league and shares this great story:

"I was at lunch with a fellow owner today and asked him how many players he had on his roster who had been implicated. He wisely replied, "obviously, not enough."

Easy on the cultural references Rotoman; Alex never seems to know what I'm talking about!

He'll be frozen in most leagues.

If he qualifies in the outfield in your league, he's definitely worth a buck; that's how important position flexibility is.

If he qualifies at second, two bucks.

If he's retired, no bucks.

Hit .317 in the second half, slugged .516. Even though he hit more grounders, fewer flies and line drives in the second half. Despite Petco, which will always be a problem, he's poised for a breakout year, which probably means bidding wars that it's best to stay out of.

Interesting to compare last year to his rookie season. Quite a bit lower ERA last year, despite quite a bit higher rating. Might be a function of pitching 38 games out of the pen. Big rise in K/IP. Which could be a function of getting stronger as he fills out, which could be a function of...?