FANTASY BASEBALL LEAGUE IS READY FOR YOU

If you wanted to play fantasy baseball, the league is ready! PLEASE email me at curvesball@gmail.com so I can give you the link to the league (which is head to head, by the way) and the password. If the draft date doesn’t work for you, we can discuss this as there is still time. Hooray!

So who wants to play fantasy baseball?

(img via) We are back from a long winter (and an even longer hiatus at this blog) and spring is in the air. Those boys go to spring training next week and baseball can take over its rightful place on the throne of America’s favorite sport (bye bye, football). So who wants to play fantasy baseball? A show of hands? If you have any questions or are interested in playing, reply here or email us at curvesball@gmail.com. And spread the word!

THE 7 RULES OF FANTASY BASEBALL

trawlingthegrey:

*this league is mixed, 5 x 5, and head-to-head.

Rule #1 - Don’t talk about your fantasy sports team. Nobody gives a shit.

For the most part, this is true, unless you’re  in the company of fellow fantasy geeks, which (based on a few comments on the blog and Twitter) I’m assuming I am. It’s not like this post is sitting in the bottom right corner of your TV screen for an entire episode of LOST. Reading this, and reading on, is totally optional.

Rule #2 - Try to get 75 HR and 75 SB with your first three picks.

I read this tip in a few magazines this year, decided to follow it, and failed. CHONE has Teixiera, Crawford and Phillips combining for 69 HR and 66 SB. (For the record, I think that projection’s a bit conservative, but it helps temper expectations.) Having the 8th pick in a snake draft was tough. Rather than “snake” referring to the style of the draft, it seemed like it referred to what kept happening. I’d have my sights set on a player, look down at my notes, look up, and he’d be gone. Maybe my cheat sheets and projected picks we a little ambitious.

Rule #3 - Wait until Round 7 or 8 for starting pitching.

I’m not so sure if this worked out for me. The theory behind waiting is that you can cobble together a pretty decent rotation without a guy like Lincecum, Halladay, Greinke, or Verlander using up a valuable early pick that could be used on a hitter that can help you in multiple categories. I rolled the dice with Nolasco (even after he killed me in the first half of last season) but the general consensus is that he’s poised to bounce back. Weaver’s in a contract year and is a solid #2 (pitcher…not a turd), Burnett will get me some Ws and Ks despite killing me in ERA and WHIP, and Happ could be decent. Feldman is a reach, but that’s what you do in the 21st round. The Hudson pick is on Matthew Berry. He gushed about Hudson in a podcast with Bill Simmons, and I drank the Kool-Aid. 

Rule #4 - Wait until Round 12 to 14 for a closer.

I back this “rule”. There are usually plenty of saves to be had without jumping on a guy like Broxton or Rivera in the 7th and 8th round in this league. I know Fuentes is going to drive me insane as an Angels fan, so I figured I’d double up and let him drive me nuts in fantasy as well. The Angels play in a ton of close games, and have had the MLB saves leader four out of the last five years, so I figured I’d take that chance. Franklin is projected via Fangraphs to have 32 SV, which should help, if Fuentes loses his job to the equally-awful Fernando Rodney. Frasor was drafted on bad information. I’m not sold on Kevin Gregg as the Jays closer though.

Rule #5 - Most years, even when you study up and follow seemingly sensible rules for Fantasy Baseball drafts, your team will suck.

OK, maybe that just applies to me. 

Rule #6 - When you actually do win a league championship, it will be in a league with no monetary payout, or prizes. If you win, and there is a prize, you will get stiffed.

This has happened to me in three baseball leagues and one football league, yet somehow, I keep coming back for more.

Rule #7 - Don’t follow these rules.

My draft for another mixed, 5 x 5, head-to-head league is Saturday, and since that league is the most lucrative re: payout, I can ensure that I will find a way to eff it up even more than I effed this draft up.