Team Management 101

Hey, thanks for coming back. I have sensed that a lot of people have kind of stopped their interest in fantasy baseball to go to football. I would hope that everyone sticks with it to the end, but to help out more people I will dedicate this article to football. By now, I am sure that most of you have drafted by now and have your teams all set so good luck to all for this new year. Here I will share some of my secrets and strategies for the upcoming NFL season.

One great way to get value and cover spots that you are lacking is to take advantage of the quarterback and wide receiver combo. As many of you know, a lot of people love to have a great quarterback and wide out from the same team so that when they hook up there are double the points. So with that in mind, the Peyton owner may give an arm in a leg for Marvin Harrison, where the McNabb guy will not. Keep an eye on things like these and look at who your players’ quarterback is. Note: this won’t always be in apply for you, because there is probably not a Matt Schaub guy for your Andre Johnson.

Another one of my theories that can be applied although is a little late. Do not be concerned about your defense! Unless you can get a Baltimore or Chicago please do not draft a defense in the first 10 rounds. In Yahoo settings, the 15^th ranked Green Bay had 8 points less than San Diego. Save yourself several rounds. For people who have drafted, do not pay a lot to move up. As I mentioned the difference between mediocre and select few is half a point a week. A sleeper d to keep an eye on is Minnesota. They were best by far against the run and will only get better against passing games. They start with Atlanta and Detroit so expect a good start.

Two receivers I like this year are Devery Henderson and Vincent Jackson. Although Henderson looked bad last night, last year he had the best average per catch with 23.3. He will get more looks this year because he will mature and because of the loss of Joe Horn. Vincent Jackson is a popular sleeper this year large in part because Eric Parker could miss six weeks. You can be sure the 6’5 Jackson will consistently be open because the double teams will be on Gates and LT. That’s all for today!

Dont Stop Believing!

Thanks for coming back The Hot Corner. Sorry about the lack of posting and I’ll try and get more current in these crucial final few weeks of fantasy baseball. If you have any questions or comments I will try and reply as quickly as possible and just submit them by clicking on the comments link. I’ve been noticing that people are giving up on their teams especially with football drafts lately. There is still a whole month of baseball to play and teams still have about a quarter of their games left to play. Stay active especially if you are in the running for the money. In a little while I may get some posts for football so stay tuned.

The important thing I must stress is to be aggressive and make trades especially if you’re not in first. Trade a closer to get some pop especially if you have some ground on the guy under you. Grab someone like Brad Hennessey to vulture a couple of saves that you lost. Probably nothing changes but you make gain a little in hitting. Another guy that I like, but may not be available is Raul Ibanez. After a career year last year, he had a slow start. However, this month he’s bounced back hitting over .400 with 9 bombs.

Looking for speed? Fantasy players in deep leagues might want to grab Kazuo Matsui. I’ll repeat that again. Fantasy players in deep leagues might want to grab Kazuo Matsui. I never thought I’d say that after his time with the Mets, but the less powerful Matsui has been a good option this month with 23 runs and is 11 for 11 in stolen base attempts. Plus he is showing that he won’t kill your average.

As I have always mentioned, look for guys in those tight pennant races. Chris B. Young, (Arizona’s speedy outfielder) is a player I like, who had two homers last night. Also Aramis Ramirez has been in a little bit of a struggle and it might be a great time to grab him if you can get him cheap. And after collecting 6 hits in the past two nights, Ian Kinsler may deserve another shot on your team especially if you have injuries as with Edgar Renteria. Thanks for reading.

Welcome back to the Hot Corner. Looking to fill an empty spot and get a leg up on your league? This article has some players that will help you. As I mentioned in the last few articles, stay active with your team and even some small trades can really sway your team a couple of points down the stretch. Many guys are heating up at the perfect time and making a big impact to your team. And in the words of the late Jimmy V, “don’t give up, don’t ever give up!”

Third Base

Well, for the record, kudos to anyone that has hung on to Garrett Atkins and has been starting him recently nonetheless. Today against a good young pitcher in Yovani Gallardo, Atkins collected four hits and cranked six RBIs. Ryan Zimmerman is another guy I like recently. The “Z Pack” as he is sometimes referred to has raised his average eleven points in the past seven games. He also collected 13 RBIs in his past 10 games, but may not be available in several leagues. Mark Teahen is probably a much more attainable option and is a good player for AL-Only Leagues.

Starting Pitching

If you’re looking for a spot start, take a look at Shawn Marcum of Toronto who has been pretty solid lately. He is pitching against the Royals on Friday and could get an owner a few good starts if you’re looking for a fill-in. Rich Hill has also pitched well recently and aside from a bad start versus the Nats has had a pretty solid July and is a good source of strikeouts. I like him for the rest of the year in the heated NL Central. And just in case you forgot, “It’s gonna happen.” Also another solid start for Orlando “El Duque” Hernadez even though he couldn’t pick up the win. Rick Peterson has done a great job this year with those Mets pitchers so I’d expect that ERA of his to stay around the low three area.

Outfield

If you’re looking for a replacement for Alfonso Soriano, look no further than Braves’ Jeff Francouer. He has tweaked his batting stance and has changed his batting average. Also keep an eye out for Jermaine Dye, who has been playing great of late. This year, Dye has always had fairly good power numbers, except now he is hitting for average and looks like a solid option for those missing Soriano. (Or Victorino)

The Trade Deadline’s Affect on the Fantasy World

Recently I have heard a lot of people wondering what the fantasy impact from the trades that occurred during the trade deadline. So, I will dedicate this article to explaining the effects and what it means to the owners of players involved as I will name some players that have values go up and the ones whose value is going down.

Value Increase

• Mark Teixeira: Tex’s value definitely goes up by going to Atlanta and any of you in NL leagues definitely are affected by his move to the NL. Anyway, now his value is going up because he is in a much better lineup and in a pennant race for the Braves. He will be batting cleanup with much better hitters around him as Renteria and Chipper are better than Sosa and Wilkerson. Expect more runs and RBIs as he will have at least some protection. He is a nice guy to grab if you need first basemen.

• Edgar Renteria, Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Brian McCann, Jeff Francouer, and Kelly Johnson: I just picked this guys because those are the players that come to mind that are probably owned Braves hitters unless you are in much deeper leagues. These players definitely have more protection meaning increase in average and more runs. For the last three I mentioned, possibly more RBIs because of the increase in runners on base. (Also, Braves pitchers will probably get more run support, leading to more saves from Wickman. That’s just a thought.)

• Jared Saltalamacchia: His value is going way as it looks like he is going to a starting role in Texas. He has always been a decent player, but now gets a chance to play all the time unleashing his fantasy potential. I think he is a pretty decent option and is a must have for anyone in leagues that require two catchers. Definitely could hold a decent average.

Value Decrease

• Eric Gagne/Octavio Dotel: Obviously Gagne and Dotel’s value is not going up. Both will be lose their closing jobs to act as set up men. Gagne will fill middle relief and set up man for Papelbon, which costs some of his value. On the same token, Dotel will be used to set up Wickman. Unless you are in a holds league or need the low ERA/WHIP, then your best bet is probably setting both of them loose and maybe looking at a guy like C.J. Wilson.

Down the Stretch

Hey, thanks for stopping by the site once again. Do you want to find out large but subtle ways to improve your team? Today I am going to talk about strategies that will help you (mainly focused on ROTO leagues) down the stretch. As you know July is coming to an end and the fantasy baseball season is going into the last third of the year. Everyone is trying to make a trade that could push them over the edge or for keeper leagues figure out which guys to keep for seasons to come. Make sure that you send some e-mails out to managers. One very important thing to look at that often goes unnoticed is looking at your stats compared to teams close to you especially the one right above you. Say the owner one place better than you is just ahead of you in steals.

However, say you have three really good closers and have a ton of saves and the other guy is last in saves. Go ahead and give him one of your closers, but get one of his speedy players. Now in two months, he can’t really gain far on you or any of your league mates in saves, but you maybe got like 7 or 8 steals all depending on the player. Currently, there are over 25 players who are averaging 8+ steals in 2 months, so getting a player like that is not that difficult. But when you do addition by subtraction that trade has helped you jumped about 15 steals, which is a large difference.

For many leagues, the difference of 15 steals will probably be enough to leapfrog the guy above you. So all of a sudden players like Abreu or Beltran can win you a championship. In many instances, a subtle trade can have a major impact for you. Sometimes people forget the Roto baseball is all about having the best overall team. If you are the best in your league in one particular area by far such as homeruns, go ahead and trade away Adam Dunn and get a good pitcher or fill a spot you need. At this point you can trade away players supplying your strong points to get guys that fill needs. Many times you must think of the categories and not so much match up the talent and numbers. Now I’m not saying to go out there and trade a superstar like a Reyes but if you also have like Damon and Figgins, go out there and grab a guy like Sizemore or Byrnes to fill many needs.

Deadline Watch

Keep in mind to watch for players on teams in a pennant race. Mark Teixeira is on a last place team right now, but if he is traded to Atlanta, he may heat up and have much better RBI totals with good players around him. Ryan Braun is a player in a pennant race that looks to be the real deal. Braun has 10 home runs and is batting .356 in July. Freddy Sanchez has been a good option at second the past month for those looking for a replacement for Utley. Two veterans who have played very well of late is Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez, who had two bombs last night. Tim Lincecum and Javier Vasquez are both pitchers that have been fantastic recently. Also watch Ted Lilly, on the contending Cubs, who has given up only 1 run in 4 of his last 5 starts. That’s all. Good luck with all of your leagues.