Written by Andrew McLean, The Reserve Clause
Welcome to my first post at The Reserve Clause. I’m here to give some occasional fantasy advice, and hopefully it’ll even be helpful at times. Either way, it counts toward my court-ordered community service hours, so I’m good with it.
One of your first thoughts is probably who I am and why I feel like I’m qualified to give you advice on how you run your team. Well, your first thought should have been what I did to get all those community service hours, but I’m not telling. That’s between me, my lawyer and the overnight staff of my veterinarian’s office.
So why do I think I should be giving fantasy advice? Well, I like fantasy sports a lot, probably too much, and I have a pretty mean track record to show for it. And yes, I realize bragging about being good at fantasy sports is right up there with showing off your prized collection of Journey cassette tapes. But if you care a little too much about your squad too, you’ve come to the right place.
Without any further ado, I give you part one of my Ten Commandments of Fantasy Ownership. Now please sign the form below so I get credit for my hours.
1. There is no room for homerism or loyalty in fantasy sports, unless you can take advantage of it in another owner.
I’ve selected this as my top Fantasy Commandment because it is the most widely broken of all my rules. You’re a Tigers fan? That’s great, but under no circumstances should you start Ryan Rayburn on your fantasy team, let alone even own him. You’re a Tampa Bay Bucs fan? Congratulations, but you didn’t need to draft Josh Freeman in the 1st round to prove it. On the same note, while it’s great that you appreciate Mike Tolbert going from free agent pickup to your team MVP for most of last season, it doesn’t mean you must make it your mission to get him again this year.
Homerism and loyalty cause fantasy owners to reach to get “their guy”. And once the league’s more savvy owners are able to recognize that you’ll pay a premium for your favorite players, you’ve given them valuable trade leverage. Listen, I love my mom and all, but if there were a fantasy family draft, I’m only picking her if the value is there. It’s not personal, it’s fantasy sports.
2. No one is untouchable; some just have higher price tags than others.
I’ve never understood an owner calling a player “untouchable”. It makes no sense. Love having Aaron Rodgers as your QB? Well you should, but if I swoop in and offer Tom Brady and Adrian Peterson for him, you’re not taking that? Never deem a guy off-limits because you won’t know what offer you’re missing out on.
In the past, I’ve often been asked how the hell I got Players X, Y and Z for Player A. It’s because I made him available and listened to other team’s trade offers. On my squad, no one is untouchable; some just have higher price tags than others. And some have such ridiculous price tags that no reasonable person is going to pay it. Fortunately for the smart owners among us, there are many totally unreasonable people playing fantasy sports. There’s always a chance that someone will get desperate, go nuts or overvalue a guy on sentimentality (see Fantasy Commandment #1), and meet your lofty demands. In short, never limit the ways you can improve your team, and that can include trading away your best player.
3. Come real with trade offers, addressing the other team’s weakness
We’ve all dealt with that guy who offered Michael Beasley for Kevin Durant. If we even feel the need to actually respond with a swift Decline, we automatically view any future offers from him as a joke. When making an offer, take a second to review the other team and determine their weakness. Every team has that spot to shore up. In order to develop a reputation as a solid trade partner, you need to show that you’re out for more than a screw-job. If he’s hurting at TE, look for ways you can help. Not every team will be a fit, but at least you’re not wasting both your time offering him another RB when he’s already got two on the bench better than what you’re trying to unload. Over time you’ll earn the respect as a legit owner, and will be able to swing deals with much more ease as a result.
4. Gather talent, even when you don’t need the position. Depth is power.
Like many of my Fantasy Commandments, #3 and #4 are closely related. Too often a team will pass up picking up a recently dropped star player because they’re already set at that particular position. There are a couple reasons why this is a poor choice. First, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but sometimes athletes get injured. Seems to come with pushing your body to the limits against elite competition. Who knew? Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, depth at a position gives you trade power, which in my opinion is the most effective way to improve your team. While you can plug holes via free agency, legit studs aren’t dropped, but they are traded in the right deal. Make it a goal to collect talent, then figure out the best trade partners to convert your weaknesses into strengths. Earlier this year an owner waived Ryan Zimmerman after his injury. I already had two nice 3Bs and my DL spot was being used, but I scooped him up anyway, and within days, traded him for a top 20 pitcher.
5. Play to win it all. Design your team for the playoffs.
While I loved my Zimmerman trade, I felt the other owner made a very smart move as well. Winning mid-season games is all well and good, but the point of running a team is to win the championship. (And if it’s not, you shouldn’t be wasting time playing.) He knew that he wouldn’t have Zimmerman for a month and a half, but he was willing to wait, since the stud 3B would be back in plenty of time for the games that really matter. Just last week I traded recently picked-up Freddie Freeman for Roy Oswalt. Oswalt’s owner was frustrated with the uncertainty of his back injury, and I needed a roster spot since another one of my players was coming off DL. I pegged Freeman as the guy I needed least, so it was either waive him or see if I can get something out of him. One offer later and I now have a potential stud pitcher on a good team back in plenty of time for the playoffs. If it doesn’t work, all I lost was a guy I was set to waive already. Low risk, high reward.
In the same vein, around mid-season in football, begin to look at matchups for the all-important playoff weeks. Target those guys playing the Arizona Cardinals of the world, as they’re lined up to have the biggest games when games matter the most. This has been an especially effective strategy for me when it comes to Team Defenses, as that’s a position I change week to week anyway.
No comments:
Post a Comment