SOM Diary: 2013 replay - team selection

I've started thinking more specifically about the 2013 replay with the cards I ordered today (yay!). I've also started to write up some depth charts and charts where I can track each players games played to track performance and make sure I roughly hit the correct numbers of games per player.

Team selection

After some more thinking and reading, and also simply looking at the sheer number of games to be played, I have decided to go for the AL only option 2 in my earlier list. So there will be three four team divisions, dropping the fifth placed team in each:

AL East: BOS, TB, BAL, NYY
AL Central: DET, CLE, KC, MIN
AL West: OAK, TEX, LAA, SEA

Individual "player trades"

In general I will do the 2013 replays without and changes to the player rosters provided by SOM card selections. I will reflect major trades like Peavy or Soriano.

However, when I read the AL 2013 summaries in the Hardball Times Annual 2014, the idea occurred to me to make a few individual "trades".

In addition to trades that occurred in reality (e.g. the Iglesias/Peavy trade for the RedSox mid season) I could help out the worse teams and at least get a look at some of the key players from the fifth placed teams by moving one or two people from the fifth placed teams to a fourth place team with an obvious need.

For example, the Twins (? to be verified) seem to have struggled with below average starting pitching, and on the other hand with the Blue Jays placed fifth I was sad not to be able to run R A Dickey. So why not move Dickey to the Twins, give the Twins a reliable starter with good ERA and many innings pitched and get a chance to see some knuckle balls fly past batters and catchers? I guess he'll have to take Thole with him as a personal catcher - if only to get the passed ball stats roughly right...

I might also look into giving the Yankees some support in the injury plagued infield, e.g. by looking for some good infielders from the Astros or White Sox.