So here we are again, making decisions in June that will affect the outcome in September.  Who to start, who to sit?  You certainly don’t want to leave a guy on your bench that is facing pitchers he eats alive.  Likewise, those struggling OFs in your active lineup could sink even further if they have a stretch of pitchers they do poorly against.  Got pitchers going to Coors Field?  Gotta get ‘em out.  Got batters that are hot?  I mean really hot?  Like her—-> ?  This stuff could seem too trival to bother with, but it is attention to detail that can make a second place team a winner.  So read up!  Get those lineups in shape!  Here are this week’s highlighted matchups.  (more…)

You find yourself in the bottom half of the standings with no real hope of climbing out.  Since it is a keeper league, the natural course of action is to trade away non-keeper types to a contending team for one of their better players.  Another possibility; you find yourself at the top of the standings and hope to win if you can just make your team a little better.  The natural course of action is to trade away one of your keepers for a package of lesser players.  It seems like a match made in heaven.  Two teams at opposite ends of the standings, working on a mutually beneficial deal.  This relationship, however, can absolutely ruin your league if you are not careful.  The “dump deal” is something that must be monitored in order to keep your league fair. (more…)

Did you ever just have one of those nights?

The moon is in the seventh house?  Jupiter’s aligned with Mars?  Peace guiding the planets?  Love steering the stars?

I mean, it’s better than the Age of Aquarius!!!  Maybe not as fun as watching a bunch of naked dancing hippies, but it’s pretty damn close.  You’ve spent your entire day and early evening busy with other things going on.  You haven’t had minute one to sit down, catch your breath, or even glance at the slightest image of baseball.  But finally your day is over.  Nothing left to do but check your live scoring;  see how the boys of summer did you for the day.  And it’s just the most outrageous sight you’ve ever seen.

Did you ever just have one of those nights…? (more…)

I remember the day as if it were yesterday.  It was the summer of 1981, school was out, and I was wandering around a Sam Goody waiting for my mother to finish her shopping.  I was pretty jazzed to leave since the one thing I really wanted, Intellivision’s AstroSmash, was already in my hand.  At this point in my life, I hadn’t really explored my appreciation for music so I wasn’t looking for anything in particular; just meandering.  I was at the front entrance of the store sifting through the cut-outs* when I saw it — Peter Frampton’s 1976 live masterpiece, Frampton Comes Alive.  I never actually listened to it before, and at that moment, had you asked me to name a Frampton song, I would have been at a loss for words.  But I had heard of him.  One of my old camp counselors was a big fan.  I felt compelled to have it.  So I convinced my mother that it was a smart purchase, and the rest is history.  That album helped open the doors to music that shaped my life;  Led Zeppelin, the Doors, the Who, Van Halen, just to name a few.  So what does this have to do with fantasy baseball?  Well, I’m standing here at the entrance to my Yahoo! league and I’m sifting through the cut-outs. (more…)

 Decision, decisions.  Who to chose to give out this week’s Buzzie award for MVP.  So many hotties to chose from.  Let’s see.  Well, let’s go with someone that never gets old.  Ok, I just got off the phone with her, and Angelina Jolie said she would love to present for us.  Those lips and the accent just drive me nuts.  So now the question is, who will she give it to?  You have to think that Marcus Thames is hoping his name will be called with his outrageous HR performance over the last two weeks.  Then again, Willy Tavares has been a terror on the base-paths stealing 14 bases in 2 weeks.  But they will both be disappointed.  This week’s winner of the Buzzie for MVP is………………………….. (more…)

Another week, another chance to get that lineup into top shape. The match-ups are right there for you to look at, but who wants to do all that work.  Well, we do.  So weigh your options and remember that making these moves (even though it is early in the season) could make the difference between winning or not.  It could mean the difference between listening to that jerk that won your league for the entire off season, or BEING that jerk for the entire off season.  I choose the latter. (more…)

Like in most things, timing is everything.  If your timing is off, whatever you are trying to accomplish will not happen at its best.  Trading in fantasy baseball is just like that.  Your window only stays open for so long before it closes and you have missed your chance.  Just because your window is open doesn’t mean that you must trade the player.  if you have needs though, it helps to get maximum value for the guys you are going to trade.  So here are some players that have value that has or could change in the near future.  If you are looking to deal, check it to see if your window is open.  You have to time it right.  If you try to trade a player too early, you will be denied.  If you try too late, you will crash and burn.  Do it just right, and you will trade players at their max value.  Don’t miss your window!!! (more…)

So back in early May, I wrote an article entitled “The Future is Now” with the hopes of helping some of you grab a few players from the next wave of supposed rookie stars.  It was a pretty nice class to pick from this year with several guys having already been brought up to strut their stuff.  How did it turn out for you?  Between the four leagues I am in, I own nine of the thirteen players previously mentioned and I feel that by season’s end, several of them should have some type of positive impact for your fantasy team.  Let’s check out their progress… (more…)

You know the saying: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.“  It couldn’t be more true for fantasy baseballers….well, the savvy ones.  I’ve spoken to so many people that still insist that what’s consistently left on their waiver wire is plain old garbage.  If that’s the case, then I’m expecting an award for #1 garbage picker for 2008.  I can’t believe the stuff that sits out there.  You won’t believe the stuff that’s out there if you look hard enough.  Why just last week I douched an owner in my head to head league that was trying to sneak an extra pitcher onto his roster for the weekend and left Brian Roberts exposed.  Since my waiver priority was just ahead of his, I put the claim in.  Why not?  How often does a player like that get made available at this point in the season?  I wish I could share the profanity laced email he sent berating me and my 146 roster moves.  Now sure, that’s an extreme case, but you never know what’s out there if you’re not checking on a daily basis.  This week there’s a good number of guys that you should still be able to grab and quite a few you can pitch off to make room on your roster.  Welcome to this week’s Picking Up and Dropping Off… (more…)

They are dropping like flies.  Players that had everyday jobs at the beginning of the year are just losing their jobs all over the place.  While this may piss off the players themselves, they have guaranteed contracts.  They are going to be paid either way.  They are still big leaguers.  WE cannot say the same thing.  Our chances to win our fantasy leagues are severely diminished because these bums weren’t able to hold the jobs we drafted them to hold.  Freakin’ bums!!!!  They only silver lining is that with every player that loses his job, there is a replacement which may be available for you to grab.  Good luck, cause if you are in a deep league it is going to be a race to get these guys. (more…)