I've been thinking a bit about mine...gonna try and get a few more boosters in hopes of getting some options at C (I don't have any yet besides the pog!) and 3B (only Blalock so far)...gonna try and put a squad together tonight and see how they do.

Be interested to hear what people are thinking though...who they think is the best value, biggest rip-off, etc...

I will let you know what kind of teams I put together after my case comes next week, until then, I only have the starter set, so I dont have much of a team.

Yeah, between my brother and I we've bought 16 boosters and heres our teams

Mine
C: Pudge
1B: Casey
2B: using Michael Young since we lack another 2B (I should probably get one off ebay I guess)
SS: Izturis
3B: Beltre
LF: Griffey Starter
CF: Ichiro Starter
RF: Reggie Promo
DH: Sheff

SP1: Sheets (decent)
SP2: Kevin Brown
SP3: CC Sabathia
SP4: Beckett

RP1: KRod

His
C: Victor Martinez
1B: Ken Harvey (I was willing to relax the rules so he could play someone better OOP but he only had 1-star to spend)
2B: Boone
3B: Rolen
SS: Renteria
LF: Crawford
CF: A Jones
RF: Ichiro Starter
DH: Aramis Ramirez (I thought he was terrible at first but hes actually OK for a 1-star)

SP1: Randy Johnson
SP2: Johan Santana
SP3: Mark Mulder
SP4: Tom Glavine

RP1: Rivera

You'd think I'd have the offensive advantage but I lost our last game 5-3 (johnson vs sheets -- game 1 of our 7 game series). Most scoring comes when you roll the high extra base #s on the blue or red numbers. Or when you both roll low but your die says Home Run...

Sorry I can't EDIT but I missed the second part of your post about best values, rip-offs, etc

I think Starter Ichiro is insane really. Starts with 8 Blue and blue happens to be the best color offensively. Beltre is crazy good for 2 stars -- starts with 7 Red AND 7 blue. Another good one for 2 stars is Sean Casey IMO (starts 5-7-5). The other incredible 2 I see is Johan Santana. I was shocked that a CY winner wasn't a 3 or 4 star fig...but he rules for only 2 stars

In terms of big guns Tom Seaver 1969 has a TON of Paint The Corner which basically makes all his stats +1.

I don't see anybody great at C, 2B, or SS especially for the stars they cost. There are only a handful of stud OFs and almost all are 4 stars. Green Adam Dunn is a good hacker DH since he starts with 7 power and costs 1 star

There are also some 1-stars that strike me as solid bottom of the rotation starters: Kevin Brown, Esteban Loaiza, and maybe Sabathia although hes fairly predictable

Well, here's the best team I can throw together after my boosters tonight (yeah, I got my C!), using the 30 star, 9 hitters (DH included), 3 starters, and optional RPs.


C: Javy Lopez ** - Decent bat, contact hits 7 on 1st click up.
1B: Todd Helton *** - Tough choice over Pujols...doesn't have the big fly intangible but 7-8-7 on his hottest click is awesome.
2B: Jeff Kent * - Kent's a decent value...has a pretty good D of 5, and his dice values are very competitive compared to my 2* 2B.
3B: Hank Blalock ** - Kind of weak for a 2*, but he's the only 3B I have. Does get the Deep Fly intangible on his hottest click with a balanced 6-6-6 rating...but only so-so defense [4].
SS: Cesar Izturis * - Only other SS I have is Jeter, and his dice don't get that great until the 3rd click up. Izturis brings good speed [11] and D [5] at a cheap cost.
LF Ichiro *** - The guy's a monster. Plain & simple.
CF Ken Griffey Jr. **** - The bronze Griffey is my best figure. His numbers are a little slow to get going (doesn't hit 8 power till his 4th click), but Deep Fly all over his dial makes him very dangerous.
RF Gary Sheffield *** - Sheff clicks up to 8 power on his 2nd click up, faster than any other click I have (Thome, Pujols and Sosa all hit 8 on the 3rd click up). He's a little one-dimensional, but my other RFers are AWFUL (Jacque Jones, Jody Gerut) and Sosa is merely a poor man's Sheff at the same star cost.
DH - Sean Casey ** - A great value in my opinion...starts with 7 contact and looks real nice 2 clicks up at 6-7-6. Better than some 3* players, IMO.
SP1 - Randy Johnson *** - The Ichiro of pitchers. Keeps that 8 velocity for four clicks, with 3 clicks of flamethrower to put batters in a slump early.
SP2 - Pedro Martinez *** - Interesting dial...has intangibles on clicks 2-4 (instead of 1-3 like RJ) and has the opportunity to click up with Shut 'em Down on his 4th click. 7-7-6 on the 2nd click is nice.
SP3 - Ben Sheets ** - Decent value at 2*. His 2nd click of 7-6-6 is actually better than 3* Mudler's 2nd click of 7-6-5.
RP - Francisco Rodriguez * - Great dial on both his clicks (7-6-7).

So that's my squad...sacrificed some talent in my MI to carry a few stud OFers and some stud SPs. Tough choice to make at 1B, as I also have Pujols and Thome (and Overybay...and Casey...and Thomas...lol, too many 1B!)

Looking through my clicks, I think that some of the best values are Sheets and Casey at 2* and Jeff Kent at 1*. Also, 3* Ichiro is probably better than some 4* players.

The most over-priced clicks (at least that I have) may be Sosa (3* for a one-trick pony with a 3 defense), Scott Podsednik (nice speed and D, but his dials are just brutal for a 2*) and Jody Gerut (he's just horrible...he should be a pog). I also can't see paying 2* for a RP like Danny Graves since SPs should be able to go quite a few innings before becoming ineffective, which makes Graves' extra click not as valuable when you compare his dial to K-Rod's.

wow, I'm ridiculously envious of your 1Bs...also I'm not so sure R Johnson is a great value compared to Santana. I would have to look at their dials carefully but Santana has a ridiculous 8-6-6 start and his second click is 8-6-7 with Paint The Corner (so really 9-7-8!!!!). And he basically never loses his 8 power...

It looks like Randy has a 7 in Control and has a little more Flamethrower but personally I would way rather have Santana

I completely agree with you...Santana is the better value pick at SP than Johnson. I only made my team out of players that I have...and I have not pulled Mr. AL Cy Young yet.

On a side note...how the heck is Santana only a 2* in this set?!? His season was one of the best for any AL pitcher in recent memory...

Oh, OK I was calling him to your attn bc you commented that Randy might be the Ichiro of SPs so I thought maybe you hadn't seen Santana :)

Even has a 2-star he has so many clicks I can't believe it would ever be an issue...

I do however think that Black is the best stat to have for a pitcher bc even if they guess right they can't beat you with one roll (best result is a single)

Hey, FBI...

Based on what you've seen/read, can you give me an example of a speed team?

;-)

I ain't got a lot of analyzing time, but might scrape together a team... You know how I like to play baseball, and you know the figs way better than I will ever.

I *will* acquire a Brooks Robinson, and I'll even let him play 3B...

:-)

Thanks!

There are ALOT of 12 speed players this year and I think almost every position has an 11:

C: Pudge. Only he Kendall and LoDuca (??) crack double digits in speed. While hes a 3-star which is pricey has ok numbers (esp contact which is the most powerful) and also gives you 6 big defense which should keep the opposing running game in check

1B: Who else but Rod Carew. I was sad to see he only played 1B, but hes awesome!!!! He has killer (non power) stats and alot of clicks of the bunt Intangible. The rules for bunting are so vague that I don't pretend to understand what the bunt intangible actually *does* but it ties bunting to speed and so that should be good for this team :)

Rod is hard to get by the way, he comes in a tin along with 4 other silver bases: Seaver, NYY Reggie Jackson, and the Yaz

I'm not sure about Out of Position rules yet, but Carew is one of the best players in the set even at 4-stars

2B: Even though a couple are faster than him (Soriano and Giles both at 11 speed) I have to recommend Loretta. I have to assume you'd never play Soriano anyway :D which is ok bc hes terrible

Luis Castillo is only a 10 just like Loretta but his offensive numbers are SOOOOO bad its not funny. Loretta is more or less the man at second right now

3B: Haha, I checked the spoiler and only A Rod has 11 speed. Hes not particulary impressive for 3 stars other than his 6 defense. He got 6 and Beltre got 4 :( Anyway, Beltre is a 10 speed and is probably the best player in the set for overall value so thats who I recommend

However, Brooks is the only +7 in the set and his dial gets INSANE later on. Doesn't start that well, but has Great Range to basically make his defense 8. He is going to pricey to get ahold of I think :(

SS: Well, the best choices are Izturis, Renteria, and Nomar (11 spd). They all have 5+ defense (Renteria is 6) but since you are likely going to have lotsa stars tied up elsewhere on offense, I probably recommend Izturis since he is a one star. If he clicks up twice, and anybody can get a few lucky hits in this game, he gets Speed Demon which makes him more of a threat on the base paths at least

Tejada is the best of the bunch overall at Shortstop, but I don't they figured out a way to statistically quantify how good a year he really had last year. He is also a poor spd 9 :(

LF: Carl Crawford -- for 2 stars he gives you 5 defense, 12 speed, and gets OK Contact of 6 after one click up. He gets Speed Demon on his second hot click which is pretty fast for players in this set so thats nice as well

CF: Well there are two different Ichiros. One who comes in every Starter set and can play OF. The other is a Bronze Ichiro (rare) who only plays RF and costs 4 stars. You are going to want the Bronze one bc hes the only player in the set who starts with Speed Demon. Both Ichiros are 12 speed and 6 defense. They also both start with unbelievable blue (8!)

What this means is you need someone else in Centerfield and thats Juan Pierre. The only problem I have with him is his 4 defense in CF. He gets high black early which means he should be able to draw some walks and give you high OBP as a tablesetter.

Black is good for the pitcher bc even if the result is on the batters die the best result is a single and normally a walk. So pitchers are likely to roll alot of black (although not to Pierre whos very unbalanced lol). Pierre is another 12 spd. You could also go for Podsednik at 2-stars and 12 speed but he has a terrible, terrible Dial.

RF: Super Ichiro! For most teams I'd suggest the other but for all out speed hes the best. Because blue is so good his 4 power doesn't matter, hes a great 3 or 4 hitter!!!!

DH: hmmm...there are no cheap speedsters other Izturis so maybe I should revise my recommendation at Short to be Renteria so you can DH Izturis. The AL/NL rules now seem to exactly mirror those of showdown -- you have to have a 9th batter and the home team chooses which type of game you play

So that looks like a pricey line-up
C: Pudge *** (10)
1B: Carew **** (12)
2B: Loretta ** (10)
3B: Brooks **** (10)
SS: Renteria ** (11)
LF: Crawford ** (12)
CF: Pierre or Pods ** (12)
RF: Ichiro Bronze **** (12)
DH: Izturis * (11)

Total is 24 which unfotunately leaves too few for pitching. The other OF configuration I considered was Starter Ichiro in CF at 3 stars and Abreu in RF at at **. That only saves you one star though and all Abreu has is power really.

I'll have to think about who to shave off but I can say this: speed had almost zero impact last year since no one ever got on base really so the only way to win was via lucky solo home runs. This year there are so many base hits and baserunners that speed is huge just on extra base attempts going home alone

Also whenever a throw is made to home plate every other runner advances a base. Thats almost like a free Overthrow. Finally, by the literal interpretation of the rules, it looks like you can get a hit then choose to have the batter try to stretch it by going for an extra base. The OF then tries to throw them out with the normal throwing rules. It seems like speed can wreck absolute havoc this year!!!!

It also means that unlike in Showdown, there is a premium on OF defense for the *right* reasons. If the ball goes to RF on a base hit, a runner going first to third gets +1 due to the 3 zone modifier so you better have a good arm in right lol

Oh one pitcher you definitely need is Santana. Somehow he get downgraded to a 2-star, but they didn't downgrade his dial. Hes awesome. As for relief, if you have both Kolb and KRod,both one stars, that looks to be more than enough.

The best pitchers out there are Seaver 1969 and Ryan 1989 IMO. Both are studs who fear no batter...unfortunately both run 4 stars...I can't say whether they're worth it yet bc I don't have them but my suspicion is that the game is too heavily weighted toward offense to make them worth their pts...

FBI, out of curiosity where in the new rules does it say that a throw home advances the other runners. I know that was an old rule, but I didn't see it anywhere in the new ones, so if I missed it could you point it out because I think it adds to the realism of the game and was dissappointed to not see it.

Oh, I just assumed that rule was still in effect...perhaps its not. That would be lame if they removed it...:(

You can still use it.

I'll be thanking you very much. A couple of notes, though.

Brooksie is the man. Being an Oriole, and one of the greatest of all time, I *must* have the figure. I would most likely go with Kendall at C (I'm stupid that way...)

1B: No Derrek Lee? ouch. I was hoping to go with only *1* HOF

SS: As long as Renteria is in a Cardinals uni, I'd be ecstatic to use him. If it's Boston, then just OK. What of my man Furcal?

OF: Personally, Crawford, Pierre, and Ichiro sounds like fun.

P/RP: Whatever. If Santana is under-priced, his figure will be over-costed ($). When in doubt, go with Cardinals and Orioles... ;-)

Really, thanks for the help. Once my starter/boosters arrive, I can begin to assemble a team. Of course, It'll be good to look at the rules.

BTW - Does anyone here have a 2004 Tejada in his Orioles uniform? That's the only one I'm missing...

Well, just playing around I came up with this squad with the figures I got.

1. Juan Pierre CF **- for me get hot quick and on base
2. Ichiro RF ****-Even with a 6 DEF always finds a way to roll low fielding attempts, but gotta love the 8 in the middle.
3. Todd Helton 1B ***-A 6 DEF and a 7 in the middle what's not to love.
4. Adam Dunn DH *- One trick pony with the 7 in the top position, but he has hit a HR for me already.
5. Scott Rolen 3b ***-Again with the DEF and not to bad with the stick
6. Joe Mauer *- One * you got to be kidding me. Strong DEF and 6 in the middle to start
7. Mark Loretta **-How he doesn't get on base with the 7 in black is beyond me.
8. Khalil Green * Had to try the ROTY, however will probobly change to Bobby Crosby
9. Carl Carford **-How can you not love putting a 12 speed at the bottom of the line up to kick start the top.

SP. Randy Johnson ***-1st game we played he got rocked for 7 runs in the 1st 2 innings, then shut them down.
SP. Ben Sheets **-Me being a big Brewer fan had to put the next CY young winner on the team, and for only 2 **
SP. Johan Santana **- If this guy is not in your rotation asnd you have him you don't know how to play.
SP. Kevin Brown *-Hoping to see the domiate man from the 2004 set. For being a one * I think he'll live up to it.

RP. Francisco Rodriguez *- Since you really don't need a RP in this game K-Rod is a great bargin for 1 * and will dominate.

The way we play here is each team has 30*'s for both pitching and batting, and we play with a DH. We have only played a few games but the games are taking the same amount of time as the 2004 game took us. We must be slow. As for the make up of this team I tried to use the speed and defense rule that dominated last year's game. Not much power in this squad but loaded with speed at the top and bottom of the lineup.

Overall I still like collecting the little guys, still trying to get used to the 2005 set. If the rumors are true I hope they will have 2 more sets this year.

I'll post my "power" team next time after I play with it for a awhile.

I hope a lot of players from 2004 give this game a try if baseball dosen't sell we can all forget Football Sportsclix.

Until next time,

MLBClix