Cheap tricks. Like that band that sang that song “I want you to want me” from “10 Things I Hate About You.” Yes, I saw that movie. I got two sisters. And it was big when I was growing up. Leave me alone.
Anyways, cheap tricks. You can win with ‘em. You can place with ‘em. And you can go from last to first with ‘em.
Fantasy baseball isn’t all strategy, everybody knows that. Luck is a major factor, as is the talent, knowledge and luck of those others around you in the league. So, you may have made the absolute best choices in the draft, nabbed a couple of sleepers in the late rounds, picked up the right guys off the waivers and formed a perfectly balanced team. But, you still are dwindling in the middle of the pack. Why? Bad luck, injuries, those sleepers may not have paid off well, etc.
Then again, maybe you just had a rough draft or a rough start to the season and you’re not surprised at all that you’re sitting in fifth place.
Either way, you want to be winning your league. Obviously, otherwise you wouldn’t do this whole fantasy baseball thing.
So, I’m here to help. With a few strategies (OK, cheap tricks) to help get things started for ya.
Never Say Never
I’m taking a page out of Justin Beiber’s book here. That little dude (or chick) is on to something here.
It’s the middle of June. The season is not even half over yet. Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up. I’ve seen some crazy things happen in fantasy baseball. I’ve seen teams that look like they’re going to run away with the league in June tank in the second half and wind up in fifth place. You never know. Injuries happen. Owners get busy and forget to check their teams. Some owners get complacent and don’t want to waste their time checking their teams. Other owners get cocky and think nobody can catch them.
This is a game of luck, too. Don’t cash in your season mid-June. Hold out for that luck. You can always make some deals in another month or six weeks.
On Borrowed Time
And when you do start getting people in your league cashing it in for the 2011 season, cash in on their cashing in. Propose them some deals. Improve your squad via trades.
And when straight-up trades aren’t working for you, try another strategy—borrowing a player.
Remember when Manny Ramirez went to the Dodgers and put up some ridiculous numbers for the final 50 or so games of the 2008 season? You can do that in fantasy too, especially if you are in a keeper league.
So, let’s pretend you’re in a three-person keeper league. The team in last place has Hanley Ramirez as one of his/her keepers right now and you could use a shortstop, especially cause you took a chance on Derek Jeter and he was having a rough year even before he went on the DL.
So, you’re talking to the H-Ram owner about a trade, but H-Ram owner doesn’t want to trade H-Ram. Not when he’s the best keeper on the team.
So, offer him/her a borrowed trade. A gentleman’s agreement. Propose to trade your first round pick and a fourth-rounder for H-Ram and then at the end of the season, you guys can make a swap back—H-Ram for the first-rounder. That way, H-Ram owner gets a free fourth rounder, gets H-Ram off his/her team so he/she can wind up lower in the standings and with a subsequently better pick in the 2012 draft, and has a safety net in case you try to renege on the deal.
If you decide you don’t want to make the trade back, that’s a real jerk move, but at least H-Ram owner would have a first-rounder and a fourth-rounder to compensate.
And, if H-Ram owner decides to renege on the deal, at least you have H-Ram to keep then. And he’s one of the top keeper options in fantasy baseball (that is if Old Man McKeon ever plays him).
This may not be the most honorable trade, as there is a lot of room for people to bail and renege (that’s such a cool word, so I’m going to keep using it). So, I wouldn’t recommend going into the deal unless you really and truly trust the other person.
And this may be a rather unknown or obscure deal in fantasy leagues, but why not make it? It’s not immoral. It’s not illegal. It’s just the same as veterans getting loaned out to playoff contenders in real life.
Take a shot…if you dare.
Keep it going little man!
Big Daddy peeing-on-a-wall scene. Pee is like a stream. Streaming. Categories. You get it.
You’re short pitchers, or innings or at-bats. Below the league average in your roto league. How can you make it up? By streaming, of course.
On Monday, have one pitcher start, and then during the game, drop that pitcher and pick up a guy starting on Tuesday. Then drop him during the game Tuesday and pick up a guy hurling on Wednesday. Do the same for as long as you’d like, so long as there is no limit on pick-ups to abide by. And if there is a limit on pick-ups per week, stream pitchers until you reach that limit.
You can do the same in points leagues. More pitchers starting equals more chances for points, which equals a better chance to win the league.
And you don’t have to just do it for pitchers.
You can stream outfielders, infielders, catchers whatever. As Matthew Berry brings up, at this point in the season, just getting at-bats and innings on a regular basis could wind up as the best strategy.
4th and long
Punting, ya dig? If you’re playing roto and you’re losing out real bad in a certain category, such as steals, punt. Get rid of all the guys on your team that could possibly steal a bag and trade them in for guys with a good average and some power.
I don’t really advocate punting, as I don’t feel you should give up in any category, ever. Especially not in late June with half a season left.
But, it’s not a terrible strategy if you’re already in last place in a certain category. Rather than try to climb the ranks there, just punt and improve in all other categories.
High times
No, not the magazine. Get your head out of the gutter.
Sell stock when they are high. This may seem like a very normal, typical fantasy baseball strategy. That’s because it is.
So you got a guy like Michael Morse, who is absolutely tearing it up for the upstart Nationals (however his manager just bailed on the season).
Trade him.
I’m not so sure Morse won’t keep up his incredible pace of dropping bombs and doing everything else well. There’s nothing to show he won’t keep it up. He had almost the exact same stat line in 2010, but in 60 more at-bats. Extrapolated throughout an entire season, that could be great.
But, he’s not a proven commodity in the same way a guy like Lance Berkman is. So, trade him. Sell him high. Get the most out of it that you can and roll with the proven commodities.
Patience is a virtue
Don’t give up! It’s only late June! So you’re sitting in fifth place and guys aren’t performing like they should be. Don’t be a seller just because things haven’t gone right so far. Half a season is left. Don’t cash it in just yet.
Keep the faith!
I feel like you wrote this article because of ME.