2002 Strato Guide Review
By Bill Vargus (Fox Sports Broadcaster) 3/26/02
Anyone who doesn't buy Terry Dell's
2002 Baseball Strategy Guide should be slapped around like a trailer park wife.
Okay, I don't really believe that, and I really hate violence against women, but
I've got to admit, the use of visual expressions (including trailer park wife
references) makes the Strategy Guide fun to read, whether you agree with its
theories or not.
Dell advises stocking lots of lefty hitters by saying, "Be all over those lefties like a cockroach on a cracker." He's not too enamored of a certain lefty hitter named Griffey, though, as he says, "Junior's stock is falling faster than Monica did on President Clinton." And, he warns, if you stack too many lefties together in your lineup, and the opposing manager can counter with a righty reliever who kills lefties, "Then you're boned like a salt-water haddock during lent."
Terry Dell is obviously a very colorful guy, and
very certain of the correctness of his ideas. Not everyone agrees with his
ideas, of course. In fact, I've talked to a couple of managers who don't much
care for the Guide because they don't agree with some of its conclusions.
But for me, I enjoy the Guide, even when I don't agree with it, because it
stimulates thought. I can read his arguments, and then try to figure out
where I disagree and why. I don't feel compelled to do everything the
Guide says, but I do feel compelled to know why I disagree with a particular
theory.
Let's face it, the
variations from one Strat league to another make it impossible for anyone to
make blanket statements that will apply in all cases. One of Dell's
cornerstone arguments is that you should never draft lefty starters. Most people
I know who manage in a draft league or play in the Star tournaments also follow
this theory. But isn't it also true that the more teams you have in a
league, the more valuable lefties can be because it becomes harder for opponents
to load up on those right-handed hitting part-time players who crush lefties?
So you have to take his
statements and evaluate them and tailor them to your own situation. In my
own league, for example, there are three or four teams that are actually more
susceptible to left-handed starters. I'm not going to carry an extra lefty
starter all year just to face a handful of opponents, but it does make the lefty
starter/reliever extremely valuable, as he can come out of the pen against most
teams, and get the occasional spot start against the team that has Helton,
Giambi, Larry Walker and Brian Giles in the middle of its lineup.
The unfortunate thing
is that the 2002 card set contains virtually no really good lefty
starter/relievers; they all give up lots of ballpark homers. Sort of
reminds me of what Dell says about this year's shortstops, after he discusses
the benefits of A-Rod, Jeter, Aurilia and Tejada: "You might actually hurt
your eyes looking for other shortstops of quality. It's recommended to use
a magnifying glass to prevent future retina damage."
Speaking of which, one of the ways this year's Guide has improved over the
initial version is that it not only discusses general principles, but gets down
to the specifics of analyzing this year's cards, position-by-position. Again,
how much value this has to you depends on your league. The Guide, like
many of the articles here at SOMWorld, evaluates all of the top cards, although
in keeper leagues you might never have a shot at those players. And you
may not even agree with all of the evaluations-Dell likes Billy Koch a whole lot
more than I do.
But where else can you
get card evaluations, draft day tips, advice on the art of making trades and
game day strategy all rolled together in one package? Dell's Strategy
Guide is the only place. For some reason, Terry also felt compelled to include
several pages on the merits of contraction. It seems out of place to me, since
part of the reason I play Strat is to just enjoy the game without all of the
peripheral B.S. of a sport that seems intent on strangling itself. Of
course, you can skip over the contraction discussion (contract the contraction?)
and get right to the Strat stuff.
There's another
addition to this year's Guide--$3 to the price. It now costs $15. I think
it's worth it, though, whether you're relatively new to Strat and
need to learn the nuances of the game, or a longtime veteran just looking to
stimulate your thinking. You might pick up a new idea here and there. And even
if you don't, you should be entertained.