The most important category to look for is no doubt stolen bases, and in particular cheap stolen bases. SB�s are a huge category in the roto-style game along with strikeouts and saves. These are simply categories that are hard to make up after falling behind. And as anyone who follows baseball would know, stolen bases are increasingly hard to find in this power hitting era. There is also the very real possibility that a rookie or other unknown could conceivably end up among the league leaders in stolen bases (think Pat Listach in 1992). Players usually peak in SB�s early in their career, before injuries and the security of long-term contracts kick in. Last season provided a perfect example in that regard. Three players that astute challenge owners were keeping an eye on going into the season were Ichiro, Jimmy Rollins, and Pirates rookie outfielder Adrian Brown. Ichiro of course came in with a lot of fanfare, but Rollins and Brown were not known unless you noticed them the previous September performing well and getting some stolen bases. Since the Ichiro signing was well publicized while the other two saw action in September, all three made CDM�s pre-season salary list, with Ichiro at the normal rookie salary of 750 and the other two under 400 (for the challenge games). Adrian Brown wound up blowing his shoulder in April and was shelled for the year, making him a bonk. However, Ichiro and Rollins both enjoyed ROY type seasons, which included plenty of stolen bases. Those who had those two from opening day wound up being far ahead of the competition in the SB category. Those who didn�t and picked them up later wound up playing catchup, which was hard to do since by that time virtually all the top teams had the duo.

Morale of the story is to go ahead and to make a few speculative selections with potential impact breakthrough SB threats. 2B, SS, and OF are the best positions in attempting to scout these players out, since those are not traditionally power positions anyways. Keep an eye out on the CDM BBS board as well as other sources during the exhibition season to be informed on these potential hidden gems. A good guide is to reserve three or four positions for the speedy stolen base types. That will leave plenty of room to acquire your power hitters.

COORS FACTOR

After addressing your speed needs, the next step for building an offensive juggernault involves targeting Colorado Rockie hitters, for obvious reasons. Fortunately, the Colorado front office has been busy since last mid-season revamping the teams lineup. Colorado bargains for this coming season include their new middle infield tandem of 2B Jose Ortiz (750) and SS Juan Uribe (500), who have been highly thought of prospects over the past couple of seasons. Also, third basemen Jeff Cirillo was traded, leaving that position open during Spring Training for a possible bargain. In addition, OF Todd Hollandsworth returns from injury, providing another affordable COL option along with C Ben Petrick and speedy OF Juan Pierre. If you are able to budget at other positions then you can squeeze in offensive machines Larry Walker and Todd Helton as well.

Houston Astro hitters, who play their home games in a bandbox of their own, are also well worth consideration, along with Texas Ranger hitters - who also figure to be an offensive juggernault in '02. The end result is being able to platoon between COL hitters and HOU/TX hitters throughout the season - depending on who has the most home games and/or the more favorable schedule in a given week.

FINDING OTHER BARGAINS

Phase III in assembling your offensive players involves identifying players either (a) coming back from an injury and (b) young players in their second through fourth seasons who are due for a "breakout season". The salaries of these players usually come cheaper than established star players. The list of bargain players returning from injury this season is quite impressive and includes the likes of Ivan Rodriguez (C - 1360), Mo Vaughn (1B - 1120), Frank Thomas (1B - 1300), Nomar Garciaparra SS-1120), and Ken Griffey Jr (OF - 1400). If these players come back to near their previous production, you will be getting a great bargain. For instance, the salaries of Nomar and Griffey have hovered near the 2000 range, in 2002 you will be getting them at about a 30-40 percent discount.

Nice bargains among emerging stars include Paul LoDuca (C - 840), Alfonso Soriano (2B - 900), Aramis Ramirez (3B - 990), Jimmy Rollins (SS - 940), J.D. Drew (OF - 1010), and Gabe Kapler (OF - 940). Also keep in mind Soriano and Rollins project to be major pieces to the stolen base puzzle.

And be alert early in the season for rookies who unexpectedly burst upon the scene. For example, prior to the beginning of the 2001 regular season, Albert Pujols was though as a prospect for 2-3 years down the road. Not even the must astute follower of Major League Prospects could had envisioned Pujols ranking among MLB's offensive leaders last season. Those who jumped on Pujols' bandwagon early and took him at his 750 rookie salary benefitted.

With whatever positions you may have left to fill follow this rule of thumb - look for power/avg at the corner positions (C/1B/3B) and speed up the middle (2B/SS). Catcher, second, and short are the most vital positions - where high averages and power are hard to find. Also, the best strategy for the DH position would be to use outfielders or first basemen - since they tend to be the best overall hitters.

The beauty of playing the points game is that you need not worry about balancing average, power and speed. Feel free to employ 18 mashers if you must, just concentrate on finding the best bargains as previously suggested.

Part IV will deal with managing your roster on a weekly basis...