it's Valatan's day to post, but since i promised an updated roster matrix i'll sneak it in now and then turn things over to V:
2007 ROSTER MATRIX
KENNEDY/WELLS UPDATE
| STARTING 8 | BENCH | ROTATION | PEN |
|---|---|---|---|
|
molina c $600K |
taguchi of $1m |
carpenter rhp $7.8m |
wainwright rhp $350K |
|
pujols 1b $15m |
spiezio ut $2.3m |
reyes rhp $350K |
looper rhp $4.5m |
|
kennedy 2b $2.5m |
bennett c $900K |
k wells rhp $4m |
kinney rhp $350K |
|
rolen 3b $12m |
miles if $400K |
--- --- |
johnson lhp $350K |
|
eckstein ss $4.5m |
j-rod of $400K |
--- --- |
flores lhp $500K |
|
duncan lf $350K |
schumaker of memphis |
narveson lhp memphis |
hancock rhp $350k |
|
edmonds cf $8m |
marrero ut memphis |
--- --- |
thompson rhp $400k |
|
en'cion rf $5m |
ryan 2b memphis |
--- --- |
rincon lhp $1.5m |
|
--- --- |
--- --- |
--- --- |
is'hausen rhp $9m |
|
TOTAL $48.0m |
TOTAL $5.0m |
TOTAL $12.2m |
TOTAL $17.3m |
| OVERALL | PAYROLL: | $82.5 |
essentially, the cards have $17.5m with which to buy two starting pitchers. we might even say there's $17.5m left to buy one s.p., with wainwright moving over to take the last spot. hello, barry zito / jason schmidt. . . .
if there are no further moves, the lineup's probably eck / dunc / pujols / edmonds / rolen / en'cion / kennedy / molina, although one might slot kennedy 2d vs right-handers, drop duncan to 6th, and bat en'cion 7th. . . . with tony managing it's meaningless to discuss lineups anyway, because he won't use the same batting order more than 25 times in a season, come what may.
according to pinto's lineup toy, that lineup should score about 5.0 runs per game, using conservative estimates of their performance. if you took the same batting order, dropped eckstein from 1st to 9th, and shifted everybody else (including the pitcher) up one slot, you'd gain about .12 runs per game --- or 20 runs (ie, roughly two wins) over the course of the year.
overall take on the signings: they're good low-risk, low-impact acquisitions. i'd liken them to good kitchen appliances in a home you're thinking of buying: they're not make-or-break amenities, but you do gotta have them --- might as well have decent stuff. wells and kennedy are reasonable buys who should do fine within their limited spheres of responsibility. gary bennett i don't get; he had one good series but otherwise was pretty useless. still, no real harm; he's what a backup catcher is.