The general concept works like stocks and shares. You buy low and sell high.

There are a number of games out there that meet this salary cap ideal where you have a finite budget to assemble your squad and where the players’ values rise and fall throughout the season based on performance and demand.

Different thinking

There are a number of schools of thought about how to select your team.

My thinking is that a ton of people will select the guys like Han Ram. That is fine. But he costs $44m of your $250m budget.

The scoring is based on 1 point for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a three-bagger and 5 for a home run. You then get an extra point for each run and rbi and 2 points for each steal. You lose 1 point for every 3 outs made.

Let’s consider Hanley then.

Don’t get me wrong, he is a beast. I have him down in my projects to be the 2nd most valuable player in the game behind Pujols.

I have him penciled in to get 177 hits, 38 doubles, 5 triples and 34 home runs. That alone would score him:

100*1 = 100
38*2 = 76
5*3 = 15
34*5 = 170

= 361 points.

Added to that are 104 and 95 rbi for another 199 points, plus a further 50 from 25 projected steals. That all adds up to 610 points. Now, we know Han Ram is going to play every day, so let’s deduct 133 points for his estimated 400 outs.

That gives us a grand projected total of 477. So theoretically, you are getting almost 11 points for every $1m you pay.

Sounds good right?

Wrong.

Mistake

Why spend $44m on Han Ram when you could get, say, JJ Hardy for $6m?

Hardy has been tearing it up this spring. He will not out-perform Han Ram, but is still very capable of 30 home runs and 80+ rbi and runs. I have Hardy down to score 339 points – a massive 42 points per $1m spent.

With the extra $38m you save, you could almost do anything you wanted. You could get another stud – someone like Grady Sizemore or Roy Hallady.

If you have, for example, just 4 hitters on your roster at $6m who perform well and make $4m of profit each, you could then upgrade another position.

How great would it feel to be doing so well that you could just replace a Billy Butler or Jason Giambi with Pujols at 1B?

With that in mind, here is my cost-effective 2009 batting lineup:

C: Pablo Sandoval
1B: Mike Jacobs
2B: Jose Lopez
3B: Kevin Kouzmanoff
SS: JJ Hardy
OF: Jay Bruce
OF: David DeJesus
OF: Adam Lind
DH: Adam Laroche

This lineup would cost $57m. Pujols would cost you $44m alone!

Of course, depending on your pitching staff which could be equally as cost-effective, you can then make your upgrades.

For example, you could replace Kouzmanoff with Aramis Ramirez ($19m) or David Wright ($42).

Let me know how you would select your team. And let me know if you are taking part in this salary cap game. It would be great to hear your thoughts and to see how different strategies work.

For me, it’s value all the way, with upgrades in the middle tiers.