My 2011 in Fantasy Baseball: Weeks 6 & 7; plus, an update

Posting has been sporadic recently due to my dissertation being in full swing and various personal and family matters, some good (hooray impending wedding!) some less good (not for public consumption). I do have a few posts I'm working on, some of which I hinted at in my last post, but the time available to work on them has decreased in both amount and regularity. At this point, I fear I'll only be able to do a few posts a month, but I'll try and keep these updates weekly. Unfortunately, I was out of town and unavailable to blog last week.

Similarly, instead of going through the usual rigamarole, I'll be condensing this series of posts; the truncation will be at least for the next few posts. Anyway, here we go....

Waveland & Clark (H2H Points)

Record: 3-3 (3rd, 1 GB)

Update: The season hasn't been going as well as planned, in part due to injuries and in part because I'm not too good at managing weekly lineups yet. I swung a major trade recently, giving up Stephen Drew (whose constant day-to-day status was irritating) and Marcum for Hanley Ramirez and Kyle Lohse. I hate Lohse. But Han-Ram was worth the trade, and maybe Lohse is productive. In fact, I've overhauled my staff entirely. Three weeks ago, it was Weaver/Chacin/Liriano/T Hudson/Marcum/Zambrano/Wade Davis/Pineda; now Marcum, Davis and Liriano are out while Lohse, Ian Kennedy, and Homer Bailey are in and I'm contemplating a roster move that will allow me to get Jonathan Sanchez off waivers (short version: I don't want to drop Lohse just yet, but I'm also reluctant to drop Matt Wieters, by far the best backup catcher available).

Cubbie Blues (5x5 Roto)

Standings: 1st place, 88/100 pts

Update: I keep flirting with 90+ points for short periods of time, but my batting average always brings me down. I picked up Hosmer, Logan Morrison and Matt Joyce and swung a trade of Cordero/J. Sanchez/Fuld for Tommy Hanson and Jason Heyward. I have at least 8.5 points out of ten in every category except average; moreover, average is the only category where I couldn't theoretically be in first place next week if I had a good week. It's a fairly inactive league, which blunts the thrill of domination, but I'll still take it.

Cubs Expatriot (H2H Categories)

Standings: 44-11-5, 1st place

Update: Here's another league where I'm dominating. It took me until mid-May to have double-digit category losses. No notable moves, aside from the standard streaming pitchers and occasional roster replacements (Joyce and Hosmer, mainly). I keep losing at least one of (and usually both) ERA/WHIP for some reason, given that my pitching is quite good. Brandon Morrow won't help those categories, but Brett Anderson/Jered Weaver/King Felix/Pineda/Marcum should be enough, though lately it hasn't been. I have little incentive to fix what isn't broken, which is probably why I'm still holding onto Juan Pierre and his .242 batting average. I'd do just as well to pick up Rajai Davis.

Cubbie Blues (7x7 roto)

Standings: 5th place, 76/140 points

Update: This certainly represents my highest standing at the end of a day so far this season, if not my best point total. After being mired at the bottom of the standings, I've embarked upon a major roster overhaul. The idea is to put myself in a position where I have a lot of assets, regardless of need/balance. If I'm competitive, then great. Otherwise, I use them to get keepers for next year. Since there's no value (all keepers cost the same regardless of anything), this means making godfather offers (like "I give you Jose Reyes, Ian Kinsler and Matt Cain for Hanley Ramirez). But until I'm definitely out of it, I'm waiting on those. Of the two big moves, the first was trading Marcum, Gaby Sanchez, Brandon Phillips and Anibal Sanchez for Lincecum, Brett Anderson and Uggla. The second was trading Mitch Moreland straight-up for Ian Kinsler.

Now here's what I mean about "regardless of need/balance." My first baseman is Matt LaPorta. In two weeks, I traded Billy Butler, Gaby Sanchez, and Mitch Moreland- three productive first basemen. I have Kinsler, Aviles, and Uggla all 2B eligible. Kinsler was a complete non-need; the occasional power is nice but I didn't really need the average or speed he provided. But Kinsler is more likely to be a tradeable asset than Moreland; people may want to keep Kinsler and he has higher name value (if not actual value).

I can only keep five players, at the cost of my first available pick for each. My major assets are Reyes, Bautista, McCann, Uggla, Kinsler, Kemp, Hamilton, and Lincecum- eight potential keepers, depending on personal preferences. If I can only keep five, then I can use these players and lesser lights in trades to overwhelm a contender for a player. For example, the current 2nd place team has needs in WHIP, steals, and saves. If I offer him Kinsler, Reyes and Paplebon for Hanley, that's a good deal for him (addresses needs) and for me (I get a major keeper). It's not "fair," since I'm giving up so much value for one player, but it leaves me in better shape for next year if it gets to that point.

I don't know if or when it will get to that point- my weakness is pitching across the board, but a staff anchored by Lincecum, Chacin, Brett Anderson, and Cain (with Way-Rod and Colby Lewis to boot) should be more competitive than dead-last for pitching stats.