Spring Fever

With baseball players reporting to camps, spring training games about to start, and outside temperatures creeping towards tolerable, spring is here! Officially spring doesn't start until March 20th, but I'm not a slave to what 'The Man' says, it's here in my book. However, you can't talk about spring without mentioning the dreaded spring fever.

Spring fever manifests itself it several ways, but to fantasy baseball fans it often shows up with bad decisions. How so? For those who have had their draft, or are in keeper leagues, the desire to 'play' takes over. Since the season is still some time off, 'playing' happens in the form of trades. When you make a trade, your playing. This desire to play/trade is strong, so strong that bad offers are made in order to make a deal. For some reason we forget how good this player was, or how average that player performed and we offer lopsided trades, generally not in our favor. It's possible to 'play' your way right out of the post season without the season even starting! For those who haven't had a draft yet, you are protected as there is no bad decisions to be made... yet.

The bright side is that you are not alone. This fever affects other owners as well and this knowledge can be used to your advantage. To win the battle of spring fever and maybe come out ahead, follow these steps:

1) Know your team. There is nothing like making a trade for a player that fills a position that you already have nicely filled. Trades should always have the purpose of making your team better.

2) Research your trades. Do not be quick to pull the trigger. There is nothing wrong with offering trades this time of year, even lots of them, just do not be too hasty.

3) Test the waters. Send out trades that favor you (within reason, let's stay in the realm of fair) and see if you get any bites. Chances are, the fever is hitting someone and you can make some nice deals for yourself. Perhaps target some guys who are good but didn't perform well last year due to injuries, such as Jose Reyes, or Chien-Ming Wang.

Baseball is not too far off. The fever will subside. Until then, follow closely the above remedy and keep your yourself and your team healthy.

-Scout Monkey

( scout_monkey@gmx.com)

Trades Anatomy

Trading can be one of the most exciting and also the most nerve wracking part of Fantasy Sports. It can make or break your season. Make the right trade, and you’re on top of the world. Make the wrong trade, and you’ll feel like Vanilla Ice circa 1991.

As you can imagine, I am in a multitude of leagues. Different depths, formats, rosters, etc… One of my leagues is a fairly shallow, 10 team head-to-head league. This morning I executed a trade, which I’d like to break down for you to demonstrate the anatomy and thought process that should go in to each move. Let’s start with the brass tacks: I give: Matt Holliday, Matt Lindstrom I get: Alfonso Soriano At first glance it seems like a lot to give up to get Soriano; and maybe it is. When we take a closer look, however, the move makes sense for both my, and the other guy’s, teams. What you need to know ahead of time is that the league is shallow and there are plenty of solid players available. Also, my team has a need for steals and homers and I am weak at Shortstop because Stephen Drew is a lot like the first time I had sex: brief and disappointing. Well, maybe just disappointing in Drew’s case. My roster is stacked with five closers; three of them premier guys (Broxton, Bell, and Soria). That makes Lindstrom expendable. In a head-to-head you don’t really need more than three closers, so even without him I’m in good shape. First, I decide to seek out the team most in need of saves. Once I indentified that team, I perused the roster for any players that might pique my interest. The first spot I check is Shortstop, because that’s my main positional need. His Shortstop situation is a no-go, with only Jason Bartlett and Troy Tulowitzki on his roster. A lot of people would carry on in search of a Shortstop to trade for. I am not a lot of people. What I did instead was look for any other players that might serve as an upgrade for me at any position. That’s when I decided on Soriano. Remember, I also need Homeruns and Stolen Bases. Ok, so I want Soriano and I know I’m giving him Lindstrom, but he isn’t making that deal straight up; I need to add in another quality player. If I don’t give him an OF to replace Soriano, he’ll be less likely to make the deal and I’ll have five outfielders. That leaves me with Lind, Cruz, Choo and Holliday to couple with Lindstrom. Lind has the best numbers, but doesn’t have the name recognition to support his value. Cruz has massive upside, but is also lacking in name. Choo has been very solid and is one of my few sources of Stolen Bases. That brings me to Holliday. He has the name to catch some attention and he’s coming around just enough to be intriguing. His power numbers and steals are down in that abysmal Oakland lineup. Holliday is marketable enough that the trade makes sense on the other side, but not so much that Soriano isn’t an upgrade for me. Perfect, Holliday it is. If you look at the trade and only consider the players involved, the deal is slightly lopsided in his favor. What most people forget to consider is that I’m giving 2 and getting 1 and that means I am free to add a player from free agency, which has value. That means whatever player I add, in a sense becomes part of the deal. Creating an empty spot in my roster allows me to address my need at Shortstop without having to drop Drew, who I still think might pull it together. That kids, is the long and short of it. Identify an expendable player. Determine which opposing team is in need of the services of said player. Decide if that team can trade you a player to fit your need. If the swap isn’t even, decide who you can couple with your expendable player to produce an upgrade for your roster. Make sure to choose a player with enough of a name that you’ll get proper value. And don’t forget: if you trade two players for one upgrade, especially in a shallow league, you’ve in effect added another player to the deal by way of free agency, which might help you fill another need. Happy Trading! PCB Scout

-

-

Questions? Comments? Random nonsense? Email me at: pcbscout(at)gmail.com

Ambulance Chasing

The thought of a lawyer just waiting for injuries to occur, ambulance chasing, is a disgusting thought to many. They are preying and trying to benefit from other peoples pain. However, say all the bad things you like, that lawyer is an opportunist. That same opportunist attitude, which we may view as despicable with a lawyer, could help your fantasy team. How? Look for players on the DL. There are many good, big name players on the DL to start this season. There is a possible opportunity here for you to get one of them for a low price. Make some trade offers. Generally you would need to offer something of equal value for these names, but since they are on the DL, you might be able to get a discount. The catch is that you need to have some patience. It might be hard to give up a healthy player for another player who won't help you immediately. But remember, it's a long season. Deal with the short term pain to get the long term gain. Here are a few of the name that you could target: Kelvim Escobar - He might not have even been drafted! He will be in the majors within a month. Arod - Probably won't get too much of a discount, but it's worth a shot. Scott Baker - Good pitcher, could get great value in a trade here. Ichiro - Big name, could be difficult to get much of a discount. B.J. Upton - Worth a lot to a fantasy team. Any discount would be a win for you. Ervin Santana - Excellent pitcher. Joe Mauer - Top catcher, will be out a couple of weeks at least. Someone may be desperate. John Lackey - Yep, another very good Angel pitcher. Jeremy Bonderman - Not as good as some of the other names here, but you might get him for real cheap. -Scout Monkey (scout_monkey@gmx.com)

Trade 'em If You Got 'em

Just to be very clear, I am a 'Trade Monger.' I LOVE to trade in fantasy sports (By the end of the day of the fantasy baseball draft I had already proposed four trades). I love everything about it - figuring out what kind of deal I could make, proposing trades, receiving trade proposals, and the anticipation of not knowing if someone will accept. To me it is like the 'pop' in popcorn, the 'bubble' in bubble gum, it takes a good thing and makes it better. However, not everyone feels like me. In fact I know some who feel quite the opposite. Their motto is, 'Dance with who you brought.' I respond to that, 'What if you brought someone who doesn't dance?' In any case, if you are a 'Trade Monger' like me, be sure to follow some simple steps in order to not be 'that guy' in your league. ('That guy' is the annoying guy who you wish wasn't in your league and may not be in it next year). Step One - Let people know that you are a 'Trade Monger.' Give them a heads up and give them a way out. Whether you are playing with friends or strangers, let them know that you like to propose a lot of trades. Give them the option to tell you that they don't want to deal with lots of offers. Now you can trade appropriately and respectfully. Step Two - Keep your trades in the realm of reasonableness. No one, even trade mongers, like to receive lots of trades of the 'are you kidding me' variety. Please, please do not attempt to offer (enter awful player name here) for (enter great player name here). If you do offer a trade that might be of the questionable variety give an explanation for why you are doing it - people can at least see where you are coming from and it's not just a 'I want your best player for nothing' trade. Good rule of thumb, if the position was reversed, would you consider your trade offer? Step Three - Give lots and lots of leeway for trades proposed to you. This falls in line with the 'if you live in a glass house...' saying. If someone offers you a trade that you think is bogus, do NOT overreact, do NOT send messages back to the proposer with how stupid he is and how stupid he must think you are. As a trade monger, you are in no position to give anyone a hard time with their proposals. That is a right you have given up, deal with it. If you are like me, you are always looking for ways to make a deal. By following these steps, you can be a successful 'Trade Monger' while not making the other teams upset (and risking not being invited back next year). Happy trading! -Scout Monkey