I recently came across an offseason keeper league trade that looked a little like this:
Team A trades ATL 2B Dan Uggla to Team B for MIL 2B Rickie Weeks and TB Util Ben Zobrist
My initial reaction was that the team gaining Uggla was clearly the winner of the deal, namely because it was consolidating talent in fewer players, and as this league only allows 6 keepers (no penalties) it was much better to be on the "one" side of a two for one. Team B also has the benefit of knowing that with Uggla he'll get consistent production, something neither Zobrist, and especially not Weeks can attest to. There were other factors too. Uggla is has moved from a very difficult power park to hit home runs in to a much more favorable one. He's also moved to a lineup that, if Chipper Jones can have a modicum of health, will have much more protection for him. He'll even gain the added benefit of not having to face the formidable Braves pitching staff 15 times a year, which could realistically add 2-3 home runs by itself.
If my review had stopped there I would have simply congratulated Team B on an excellent job of selling high on Weeks and moved on. I happen to know both of the managers involved here though, and I could quite reconcile what I'd found with what I know of him. I decided to ask him why he'd made the deal. His response:
"As one of the quirks in this league we do not allow Yankees players to be rostered. Not only does that pull a great deal of offense in general out of the league, but especially offense at the premium positions of shortstop and second base. With Cano and Jeter off of the board it makes those two positions incredibly top-heavy. Now, obviously I'm taking a slight leap of faith here in that I'm hoping Weeks can stay healthy again for at least 400 at-bats, but Zobrist is a very realistic 20-20 candidate at both SS and 2B. He likely won't get the at-bats necessary for excellent counting stats because he's continually shuffled in and out of the lineup by Joel Maddon, but he'll still be a top-5 shortstop. That, combined with the fact that a healthy Weeks is a significant upgrade in speed over Uggla, and the fact that my other keepers include Brian McCann and Adam Dunn means that I have the flexibility to give up the 5-8 home run difference between the two second baggers. If Weeks improves at all I'll feel like a genius for managing to steal Zobrist as well."
Obviously, he'd thought this through. Zobrist is of course an extremely valuable player in real life because of his defense and positional flexibility, but he'd dropped off the fantasy map last season due to a terrible BABIP and a regression in HR/FB%. Maybe he's not a traditional keeper but at least in this league he has some underrated value. Thoughts? Are people interested in reading Third Party trade analysis articles?
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
BAP Kardashians: Short stop
No lipsticking here; "plus" power at short means a shot at 20 home runs, and sometimes an outside shot. When you're dealing with such a weak position even that few can help compensate compared to what other teams are packing, and if you're loaded up at your other spots (as you should be in this scenario), you can easily pick up 20 steals or 80 runs while not killing your batting average.
Home runs / RBIs:
Jhonny Peralta, DET
Juan Uribe, SF
JJ Hardy, BAL
I like Hardy here. He'll be cheap-cheap-cheap and I don't know of any players who've had their power stats hurt by moving to Camden Yards. He could easily pop 25 round-trippers. Uribe shows up on his third list, and really is a testament to how many headaches you can avoid with someone who's earned eligibility at multiple positions.
Runs:
Ryan Theriot, STL
JJ Hardy, BAL
Marco Scutaro, BOS
Miguel Tejada, SF
Alexei Casilla, MIN
Hardy shows up again here, and in my opinion is ranked too low (outside of the top 10) for his position. A healthy Scutaro should rebound to the 80+ range, and if he doesn't Jed Lowrie immediately gets added to the top of this list.
Stolen Bases:
Eric Aybar, LAA
Alcides Escobar, KC
Ryan Theriot, STL
Jason Bartlett, SD
I don't see Escobar hitting 40 steals like he was expected to last season, but a push for 20-25 is definitely reasonable, and all four of these guys should be right around that level. Aybar has some upside in the other categories, but keep in mind that all of them will have very low power ceilings, even for short stops.
AVG:
Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE
Yunel Escobar, TOR
Almost statistical clones of each other, these two could make a 30-30 run if you added them together. Separate they're still valuable for their .290+ batting averages, and it's nice to know that there's room to grow.
When you consider the average production from the short stop position, it isn't really scraping the barrel to draft someone who will give you .270-70-10-50-5. Why waste a 9th round pick on something like Stephen Drew's .280-80-15-70-15 when a last round pick nets you 85% of the stats? If you've BAPed correctly you'll more than make up that difference by ignoring positional scarcity and going for pure talent. And as I've mentioned before, the best part about replacing one of the Kardashians (in real life as well as fantasy) they don't cost you anything.
Home runs / RBIs:
Jhonny Peralta, DET
Juan Uribe, SF
JJ Hardy, BAL
I like Hardy here. He'll be cheap-cheap-cheap and I don't know of any players who've had their power stats hurt by moving to Camden Yards. He could easily pop 25 round-trippers. Uribe shows up on his third list, and really is a testament to how many headaches you can avoid with someone who's earned eligibility at multiple positions.
Runs:
Ryan Theriot, STL
JJ Hardy, BAL
Marco Scutaro, BOS
Miguel Tejada, SF
Alexei Casilla, MIN
Hardy shows up again here, and in my opinion is ranked too low (outside of the top 10) for his position. A healthy Scutaro should rebound to the 80+ range, and if he doesn't Jed Lowrie immediately gets added to the top of this list.
Stolen Bases:
Eric Aybar, LAA
Alcides Escobar, KC
Ryan Theriot, STL
Jason Bartlett, SD
I don't see Escobar hitting 40 steals like he was expected to last season, but a push for 20-25 is definitely reasonable, and all four of these guys should be right around that level. Aybar has some upside in the other categories, but keep in mind that all of them will have very low power ceilings, even for short stops.
AVG:
Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE
Yunel Escobar, TOR
Almost statistical clones of each other, these two could make a 30-30 run if you added them together. Separate they're still valuable for their .290+ batting averages, and it's nice to know that there's room to grow.
When you consider the average production from the short stop position, it isn't really scraping the barrel to draft someone who will give you .270-70-10-50-5. Why waste a 9th round pick on something like Stephen Drew's .280-80-15-70-15 when a last round pick nets you 85% of the stats? If you've BAPed correctly you'll more than make up that difference by ignoring positional scarcity and going for pure talent. And as I've mentioned before, the best part about replacing one of the Kardashians (in real life as well as fantasy) they don't cost you anything.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
BAP Kardashians: Third Basemen
Third base is an interesting position this season, as it's been both one of the strongest and shallowest positions in fantasy baseball for the past few years. The cream of the crop is whipped and delicious, with legends aging gracefully ("When 900 years old you reach, not hit so good you will," - Alex Rodriguez) and their rising star replacements (Evan Longoria and the just slightly lesser Ryan Zimmerman). If you don't get one of the big guns it's a tricky position to navigate simply due to body type. Players who man the hot corner need to be big, strong men in order to make the throw across the diamond, and have the reach to soak up the line drives being sprayed all over their station. This naturally limits speed statistics, and if you're lacking speed by the 10th-15th rounds it's probably better to make up for it with your third or fourth outfielder. The whole point of the BAP Kardashian system is that you should never ever waste a round's pick selecting someone you feel you need. Aside from the top 20 players, anyone is "getable" through trades. Your roster, if your work hard enough, is the entire player universe. Okay, let's get to it...
Home Runs / RBIs
Pedro Alvarez, PIT
Ian Stewart, COL
Mark Reynolds, BAL
Edwin Encarnacion, TOR
Juan Uribe, SF
The first three names here are ones that you should recognize, but could go later that people think. 30 home runs is 30 home runs, and if you've sacrificed power earlier in the draft can do a lot of make it back up. Encarnacion is a huge sleeper if he can catch some of whatever possessed the rest of the Jays lineup in 2010.
Stolen Bases:
Chase Headley, SD
Macier Izturis, LAA
As I said, not much speed upside late here. Headley should be good for 10, and if Izturis can steal at-bats from Brandon Wood he might touch 20-25. My best bet is to get your speed elsewhere, and load up on the stats that are more readily available late here.
Runs:
Scott Rolen, CIN
Placido Polanco, PHI
Jhonny Peralta, DET
Miguel Tejada, SF
Casey Blake, LAD
None of these guys will set the world on fire, but they're all also very underrated, very consistent producers in counting stats. As a bonus all of them should be good for at least a .275 batting average. Polanco is one to keep an eye on if Chase Utley has to miss a lot of time; his run scoring ability will be severely dampened if he's hitting in front of Jimmy Rollins instead of everyone's not-so-secret man crush.
AVG:
Pablo Sandoval, SF
Placido Polanco, PHI
Omar Infante, FLA
Alberto Callaspo, KC
Callaspo is more of a fill-in player as he'll be fighting for at-bats all season, but his tendency to go on long hot streaks plays well for h2h leagues and he'll cost you nothing. Sandoval still has the skills to hit .300+ and should rebound to near that level this season. Infante is especially valuable because you can shift him around your lineup to cover for injuries or strategic plays in other categories.
Third base is probably the Constantinople of the fantasy scene: palaces abut flop houses. There's still some value late, but really only home runs and .300 hitters are in abundance. We'll see some more speed in the next BAP Kardashian, when we look at short stops.
Home Runs / RBIs
Pedro Alvarez, PIT
Ian Stewart, COL
Mark Reynolds, BAL
Edwin Encarnacion, TOR
Juan Uribe, SF
The first three names here are ones that you should recognize, but could go later that people think. 30 home runs is 30 home runs, and if you've sacrificed power earlier in the draft can do a lot of make it back up. Encarnacion is a huge sleeper if he can catch some of whatever possessed the rest of the Jays lineup in 2010.
Stolen Bases:
Chase Headley, SD
Macier Izturis, LAA
As I said, not much speed upside late here. Headley should be good for 10, and if Izturis can steal at-bats from Brandon Wood he might touch 20-25. My best bet is to get your speed elsewhere, and load up on the stats that are more readily available late here.
Runs:
Scott Rolen, CIN
Placido Polanco, PHI
Jhonny Peralta, DET
Miguel Tejada, SF
Casey Blake, LAD
None of these guys will set the world on fire, but they're all also very underrated, very consistent producers in counting stats. As a bonus all of them should be good for at least a .275 batting average. Polanco is one to keep an eye on if Chase Utley has to miss a lot of time; his run scoring ability will be severely dampened if he's hitting in front of Jimmy Rollins instead of everyone's not-so-secret man crush.
AVG:
Pablo Sandoval, SF
Placido Polanco, PHI
Omar Infante, FLA
Alberto Callaspo, KC
Callaspo is more of a fill-in player as he'll be fighting for at-bats all season, but his tendency to go on long hot streaks plays well for h2h leagues and he'll cost you nothing. Sandoval still has the skills to hit .300+ and should rebound to near that level this season. Infante is especially valuable because you can shift him around your lineup to cover for injuries or strategic plays in other categories.
Third base is probably the Constantinople of the fantasy scene: palaces abut flop houses. There's still some value late, but really only home runs and .300 hitters are in abundance. We'll see some more speed in the next BAP Kardashian, when we look at short stops.
BAP Kardashians: Second Basemen
As I continue to examine late-round players who can operate as one category "band-aids" I'll take a look at my favorite position of second base. It's not only the position that I used to play in baseball but also one very close to my fantasy heart as I've owned the best player at the position over the last half decade in Chase Utley (the good) and still do (the bad, as he's likely missing several months due to knee surgery). A much shallower position than first base, there will be fewer players late that can help compensate for categorical defects earned early on. There's still value to be had, however, so I'll get started. All the players listed are likely to be available after the 10th round.
HR / RBIs:
Aaron Hill, TOR
Neil Walker, PIT
Juan Uribe, SF
Bill Hall, HOU
All of these guys should be right around or just over 20 home runs, a plus at such a weak power position. Hill is so much of a sleeper that everyone knows he is, but you should still be fine waiting until at least the 10th round. Hall is the real upside play here as he'll cost a last round pick but could produce 30 home runs playing in a smaller park.
Stolen Bases:
Chone Figgins, SEA
Brian Roberts, BAL
Ryan Theriot, STL
Macier Izturis, LAA
Eric Young Jr, COL
Steals are plentiful late at second this season, though hoping for any of these guys to hit over 10 home runs is likely a useless exercise. Izturis is the late play here in my opinion. If he can unseat Brandon Wood to earn a 450+ at-bats at third base he could easily top 25 steals.
AVG:
Howie Kendrick, LAA
Tsuyoshi Nishioka, MIN
Mike Aviles, KC
Omar Infante, FLA
Freddy Sanchez, SF
Skip Schumaker, STL
Like steals, .300 hitters aren't too difficult to find late at second base. Kendrick is primed for a post-hype .320 season but final round players like Sanchez and Schumaker can still net you a .290 average with very respectable run totals. Sanchez especially helps in average because his low walk rate produces so many at-bats.
Runs:
Gordon Beckham, CWS
Chone Figgins, SEA
Reed Brignac, TB
Dustin Ackley, SEA
Orlando Hudson, SD
"Upside" here is relative as I'd be surprised to anyone in this group eclipse 90 runs, but no one aside from Beckham and Figgins should get the at-bats. All of these guys will score when in the lineup however, so if you want a stop-gap to stabilize your lineup before you swing a deal with an also-ran, these guys will buy you the time to have others play themselves out of contention and lower the asking price.
Tomorrow: Third base, which is in its own way just as shallow as second base.
HR / RBIs:
Aaron Hill, TOR
Neil Walker, PIT
Juan Uribe, SF
Bill Hall, HOU
All of these guys should be right around or just over 20 home runs, a plus at such a weak power position. Hill is so much of a sleeper that everyone knows he is, but you should still be fine waiting until at least the 10th round. Hall is the real upside play here as he'll cost a last round pick but could produce 30 home runs playing in a smaller park.
Stolen Bases:
Chone Figgins, SEA
Brian Roberts, BAL
Ryan Theriot, STL
Macier Izturis, LAA
Eric Young Jr, COL
Steals are plentiful late at second this season, though hoping for any of these guys to hit over 10 home runs is likely a useless exercise. Izturis is the late play here in my opinion. If he can unseat Brandon Wood to earn a 450+ at-bats at third base he could easily top 25 steals.
AVG:
Howie Kendrick, LAA
Tsuyoshi Nishioka, MIN
Mike Aviles, KC
Omar Infante, FLA
Freddy Sanchez, SF
Skip Schumaker, STL
Like steals, .300 hitters aren't too difficult to find late at second base. Kendrick is primed for a post-hype .320 season but final round players like Sanchez and Schumaker can still net you a .290 average with very respectable run totals. Sanchez especially helps in average because his low walk rate produces so many at-bats.
Runs:
Gordon Beckham, CWS
Chone Figgins, SEA
Reed Brignac, TB
Dustin Ackley, SEA
Orlando Hudson, SD
"Upside" here is relative as I'd be surprised to anyone in this group eclipse 90 runs, but no one aside from Beckham and Figgins should get the at-bats. All of these guys will score when in the lineup however, so if you want a stop-gap to stabilize your lineup before you swing a deal with an also-ran, these guys will buy you the time to have others play themselves out of contention and lower the asking price.
Tomorrow: Third base, which is in its own way just as shallow as second base.
BAP Kardashians: First Basemen
As I prefaced earlier, I'll be doing some quick reference guides for late round stat-helpers throughout the week, sorted by position. These are players that you can have confidence you'll be able to snag late in drafts, allowing you to draft according to the Best Player Available mantra while still having the option of keeping the team, or at least dealing from a position of strength after the draft.
Here are the lists, organized by the category in which they can best help your team, and sorted by ADP (provided in this instance by mockdraftcentral):
Steals:
Gaby Sanchez, FLA
Michael Cuddyer, MIN
James Loney, LAD
Garret Jones, PIT
All of these guys stole 7+ bases last season, and both are an outside shot to get to double digits this year. Speed is obviously a weak category for 1B so it might be better to try and make steals up at a different position if you can, especially at OF.
Home Runs / RBIs:
Paul Konerko, CWS (a little obvious for this exercise, but as of right now he's not being drafted as a starting 1B in many leagues)
Carlos Pena, CHC
Gaby Sanchez, FLA
Mike Napoli, TX (actually worth playing at 1B if your BAP somehow has you drafting 2 catchers)
Garret Jones, PIT
Justin Smoak, SEA
Kila Ka'aihue, KC
If you hadn't realized, 1B is crazy deep this season. None of these guys would be starters in a 12 team league, but all of them are a lock for at least 15 home runs with the ability to comfortably push past 20 if healthy. According to Yahoo the average 1B posted up 24 home runs in 2010, so if you're trying to compensate for a stat deficiency late you'll probably have to sacrifice some average batting average.
Runs:
Aubrey Huff, SF
Michael Cuddyer, MIN
Both of these guys aren't as good in real life as they are in fantasy but are very solid bets to pile up the counting stats. Huff is likely to regress a bit after his return to relevance last season, but with a full does of Buster Posey and the arrival of Brandon Belt he should still score close to 90 times even with reduced ratios.
AVG:
Billy Butler, KC
Derek Lee, BAL
Mitch Moreland, TX
James Loney, LAD
Freddie Freeman, ATL
Daniel Murphy, NYM
All of these guys should be right around .290, which can really help balance out a lineup. Remember, if you take Adam Dunn's 600 at-bats of .260 and add 600 at-bats of .290 you get .275, and with these guys you'll still average 30 home runs per person. That's a lot easier to swallow, and if you add just one more .290 guy at say, an OF slot, you're contending for the AVG crown in roto or at least putting some serious pressure on your opponents week to week in h2h.
Remember, these are just intended to be handy reference guides for your draft day. If you find that your BAP draft has you missing out on an elite 1B, take a deep breath, stick to your guns, and then consult this list late to help you address any statistical dearth you've stumbled into. Tomorrow I'll take a look at a slightly shallower position at second base. There's a smaller batch of cream at the top, but still valuable contributers to be found to pretty up that back end.
Here are the lists, organized by the category in which they can best help your team, and sorted by ADP (provided in this instance by mockdraftcentral):
Steals:
Gaby Sanchez, FLA
Michael Cuddyer, MIN
James Loney, LAD
Garret Jones, PIT
All of these guys stole 7+ bases last season, and both are an outside shot to get to double digits this year. Speed is obviously a weak category for 1B so it might be better to try and make steals up at a different position if you can, especially at OF.
Home Runs / RBIs:
Paul Konerko, CWS (a little obvious for this exercise, but as of right now he's not being drafted as a starting 1B in many leagues)
Carlos Pena, CHC
Gaby Sanchez, FLA
Mike Napoli, TX (actually worth playing at 1B if your BAP somehow has you drafting 2 catchers)
Garret Jones, PIT
Justin Smoak, SEA
Kila Ka'aihue, KC
If you hadn't realized, 1B is crazy deep this season. None of these guys would be starters in a 12 team league, but all of them are a lock for at least 15 home runs with the ability to comfortably push past 20 if healthy. According to Yahoo the average 1B posted up 24 home runs in 2010, so if you're trying to compensate for a stat deficiency late you'll probably have to sacrifice some average batting average.
Runs:
Aubrey Huff, SF
Michael Cuddyer, MIN
Both of these guys aren't as good in real life as they are in fantasy but are very solid bets to pile up the counting stats. Huff is likely to regress a bit after his return to relevance last season, but with a full does of Buster Posey and the arrival of Brandon Belt he should still score close to 90 times even with reduced ratios.
AVG:
Billy Butler, KC
Derek Lee, BAL
Mitch Moreland, TX
James Loney, LAD
Freddie Freeman, ATL
Daniel Murphy, NYM
All of these guys should be right around .290, which can really help balance out a lineup. Remember, if you take Adam Dunn's 600 at-bats of .260 and add 600 at-bats of .290 you get .275, and with these guys you'll still average 30 home runs per person. That's a lot easier to swallow, and if you add just one more .290 guy at say, an OF slot, you're contending for the AVG crown in roto or at least putting some serious pressure on your opponents week to week in h2h.
Remember, these are just intended to be handy reference guides for your draft day. If you find that your BAP draft has you missing out on an elite 1B, take a deep breath, stick to your guns, and then consult this list late to help you address any statistical dearth you've stumbled into. Tomorrow I'll take a look at a slightly shallower position at second base. There's a smaller batch of cream at the top, but still valuable contributers to be found to pretty up that back end.
BAP Kardashians
BAP stands for "Best Available Player" in this case, a drafting strategy that is fairly common in fantasy leagues and that everyone should have at least a general understanding of. The rational is that you should always take the best player you can at your draft slot, regardless of position, and then try and fill in any gaping holes later on when the difference between available players isn't so great. Why take a 5th round talent in the 4th round, for example? If you don't like the 4th round talent you picked, you can always trade him for that 5th round talent and get something extra to sweeten the deal. It's a strategy that can necessitate a lot of maintenance, but if you're up to the challenge it can let you draft without worrying about positional runs or researching too heavily into deep sleepers.
Now, aside from ensuring that you have plenty of valuable trade chips by the 10th round, sometimes BAP drafting can actually result in a very impressive team on its own. This is where the "Kardashian Principle" comes into play. I call it that because basically you're prettying up a "nontraditional" looking team with a sweet back end of the draft. Feel free to finish laughing before you scroll down.
Say that you have a late middle round pick, the 10th in a 12 team. When your pick comes Robinson Cano is clearly the best pick available. A dynamic, solid contributor in 4 of 5 positions, and a good bet to stay healthy as well. Your second rounder nets you Roy Halladay, the best pitcher on the board by far. You're all set here, and looking good. Picks 3-7 however, net you Felix Hernandez, Adam Dunn, Mike Stanton, Drew Stubbs and Jay Bruce. All excellent picks, but at this point you A) don't have a first baseman, and B) have a team batting average that will be lucky to break .260. All of the traditional .300 hitters are gone by that point, and most managers are thinking about how they can flip some of their pitching or power for some singles. If you draft BAP consistently, you'll be in this situation. You can panic and start loading up on more power and pitching to trade, and lose out on the value that you should be taking on the 8th round, or you can stick to your guns and find creative ways late to keep your massive advantages in ratios and power intact while bringing that average up. A player like Billy Butler is an obvious fix, but Logan Morrison and Freddie Freeman can be taken much later and give you 500+ at-bats of a .300 average. Combine one of them with 500 at-bats of a super-utility like Ben Zobrist or (the cheaper) Jed Lowrie and you'll have a team average more in the .270-.275 range. It's that easy, and they'll be cheap enough fixes that if you find out that it's not quite enough of a modification you won't be burning down the house trying to get a deal done later.
I'll be doing a series of quick-hit columns over the week so that you'll have a reference as to what "Statistical Kardashians" will be available in the back end of your draft. A lot of drafting is not panicking when other managers deviate from your expectations, and having reference sheets are a great way to keep a cool head and put the pressure back on where it should be: on the competition.
As an homage to the above scenario first up are First Basemen, and then I'll try and get through the rest of the lineup by draft day.
Now, aside from ensuring that you have plenty of valuable trade chips by the 10th round, sometimes BAP drafting can actually result in a very impressive team on its own. This is where the "Kardashian Principle" comes into play. I call it that because basically you're prettying up a "nontraditional" looking team with a sweet back end of the draft. Feel free to finish laughing before you scroll down.
Say that you have a late middle round pick, the 10th in a 12 team. When your pick comes Robinson Cano is clearly the best pick available. A dynamic, solid contributor in 4 of 5 positions, and a good bet to stay healthy as well. Your second rounder nets you Roy Halladay, the best pitcher on the board by far. You're all set here, and looking good. Picks 3-7 however, net you Felix Hernandez, Adam Dunn, Mike Stanton, Drew Stubbs and Jay Bruce. All excellent picks, but at this point you A) don't have a first baseman, and B) have a team batting average that will be lucky to break .260. All of the traditional .300 hitters are gone by that point, and most managers are thinking about how they can flip some of their pitching or power for some singles. If you draft BAP consistently, you'll be in this situation. You can panic and start loading up on more power and pitching to trade, and lose out on the value that you should be taking on the 8th round, or you can stick to your guns and find creative ways late to keep your massive advantages in ratios and power intact while bringing that average up. A player like Billy Butler is an obvious fix, but Logan Morrison and Freddie Freeman can be taken much later and give you 500+ at-bats of a .300 average. Combine one of them with 500 at-bats of a super-utility like Ben Zobrist or (the cheaper) Jed Lowrie and you'll have a team average more in the .270-.275 range. It's that easy, and they'll be cheap enough fixes that if you find out that it's not quite enough of a modification you won't be burning down the house trying to get a deal done later.
I'll be doing a series of quick-hit columns over the week so that you'll have a reference as to what "Statistical Kardashians" will be available in the back end of your draft. A lot of drafting is not panicking when other managers deviate from your expectations, and having reference sheets are a great way to keep a cool head and put the pressure back on where it should be: on the competition.
As an homage to the above scenario first up are First Basemen, and then I'll try and get through the rest of the lineup by draft day.
Mission Statement
As the title indicates, this is intended to be a fantasy baseball blog that will "hopefully" offer some assistance in stealing, or "vulturing" those crucial extra points that mean the difference between a Champion and an also-ran. I'll have a few guest columnists stop by and try to incorporate their work, and hopefully you'll find at least some of the articles useful.
My credentials that support you listening to me are fairly mundane in expert circles but I'm working on building credibility through submissions to more substantial sites. I've been playing fantasy baseball since 1999 and have won 6 championships in both rotisserie and head to head, all under the Yahoo format. I recently finished first in a highly competitive 12 team h2h dynasty league and tenth in a 12 team dynasty rotisserie league (a rebuilding year as I transitioned my keeper core from an average age of 31 to 26). In 17 fantasy seasons I have finished out of the money 3 times.
My main philosophy when playing fantasy baseball is that winning is 20% luck, 30% preparation, and 50% learning your other managers. Any manager can prepare enough for a good draft. Any manager can get lucky picking up the next Jose Bautista off of the free agent wire. To contend year in and year out you need to be able to do both of those, and modify your team to counter any problems that crop up. Which they will. The best deals I've made would never have been consummated unless I initiated the trades, and the art of the deal is my favorite part of fantasy baseball. We'll deal with everything here, but the main focus of the blog will be to try and preclude disaster, and also how to mitigate and overcome it. The first article will go up tonight and I'll try and just jump in from there, but for now I'll leave you with this quote:
"A salesman sells you something that you want. A good salesman allows you to buy something that you need."
My credentials that support you listening to me are fairly mundane in expert circles but I'm working on building credibility through submissions to more substantial sites. I've been playing fantasy baseball since 1999 and have won 6 championships in both rotisserie and head to head, all under the Yahoo format. I recently finished first in a highly competitive 12 team h2h dynasty league and tenth in a 12 team dynasty rotisserie league (a rebuilding year as I transitioned my keeper core from an average age of 31 to 26). In 17 fantasy seasons I have finished out of the money 3 times.
My main philosophy when playing fantasy baseball is that winning is 20% luck, 30% preparation, and 50% learning your other managers. Any manager can prepare enough for a good draft. Any manager can get lucky picking up the next Jose Bautista off of the free agent wire. To contend year in and year out you need to be able to do both of those, and modify your team to counter any problems that crop up. Which they will. The best deals I've made would never have been consummated unless I initiated the trades, and the art of the deal is my favorite part of fantasy baseball. We'll deal with everything here, but the main focus of the blog will be to try and preclude disaster, and also how to mitigate and overcome it. The first article will go up tonight and I'll try and just jump in from there, but for now I'll leave you with this quote:
"A salesman sells you something that you want. A good salesman allows you to buy something that you need."
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