Opening Day Words of Wisdom From Your Friendly Neighborhood Thief

Finally, the longest stretch of non-trading action in fantasy sports officially comes to an end as we embark upon the 2011 Fantasy Baseball season. I’ve got huge expectations this year for you and me both. Judging from the recent poll and comments, Thief Nation is dominating basketball playoffs right now. Let’s carrry that momentum into baseball, and let’s kick it off with these five golden nuggets of wisdom.

Rockin the Roto League (Recap)

After a disappointing 8th place finish last season (coming in as the defending champion) of my rotisserie league, I am determined to do better this time around. Since my league is a little different in setup from the one Thief plays in, I thought it’d be a nice contrast to what you’ve seen so far. As opposed to the Head to Head with an Auction Draft setup, I run old school with a Roto league, Snake setup. Some of the strategies are different, some of the targets are different, but the overall theme is the same: Win.

America Was Built On Democracy, And Your Fantasy League Should Be Too!

First off, I’d like to thank the Thief for welcoming me back for some guest writing on FST. How many times have you joined a fantasy league with high hopes for a fun, exciting year, full of good competition and friendly trash talk, to only have your hopes dashed by an unorganized, disgruntled commissioner? If you’ve been playing fantasy for long enough, the odds are pretty good this has happened to you at least once. It sucks. Unfortunately, I too have experienced this, and I wanted to share my latest encounter in hopes of educating and preventing your leagues from being ruined by such actions. And I just want to blow off some steam!

The Moment We’ve Been Waiting For…

This is it folks, this is the playoffs. This is the moment we spend the entire season striving for. For every team alive in the dance, everything you’ve done up to this point gets thrown out the window and the slate is wiped clean. Today is day one of what really matters. Obviously, there’s going to be a huge luck factor working behind the scenes during your game, just as there is for any playoff game. But just like any good playoff coach, there’s a list of things you can and should be doing to nudge the odds further in your favor. Check it out.

The Only Way To Win Is To Work Harder Than Everybody Else…

It may seem to be an odd time to look at draft strategy, but it’s actually the best as you get a full season’s view. Good investments, wasted money, value picks and failed sleepers are all lessons to be learned for next year. Most people at this stage are either fully focused on playoffs, picking match-ups in roto, or have completely forgotten basketball and moved on to baseball. Not me though, I can’t get excited about a sport where the substance abuse policy is based on player honesty! So I’m here to review my own 2010 Fantasy Basketball draft in hopes to point out tips we can all carry forward.

Strategies To Rob Your Opponents Pt.2: Just Like Burger King!

OK I’ll admit it. If you send me an offer that includes me giving you a top 3 player in return, I’m gonna reject it. Heck, I won’t even consider it and I know that’s wrong, but it’s just my thing. I have an inherent bias that you simply wouldn’t give me what I’d need in return. So why would you even waste your time, my time, our trading karma, and your street cred by sending it to me? No no no son, you need to be thinking like Burger King when you send me an offer: Your Way Right Away. Check it out.

Strategies To Rob Your Opponents Pt.1: Timing is Everything

While your draft is certainly an important part of the season, it pales in comparison to the impact trading will have on your performance. It’s completely impossible to draft a team of superstars or even a team of players that start out hot and remain hot through the last day of the season. Yet through trading, if done properly, you absolutely can end up with a team full of superstars and (more importantly) a group of players that will be hot when it counts the most. The next few posts will cover some key trading strategies starting with the most important of all: timing.

Draft #1 Recap; Went So Well It Felt Like I Was Cheating…

Seriously, it feels like cheating. Here I am, mid-draft, plugging players into my Fantasy Baseball Team Analyzer app, seeing exactly which areas I need to focus on, and targeting specific players to address those needs. Meanwhile, my opponents are just firing away at will, hoping they end up with some semblance of a well balanced team. Let’s take a look at how my draft came out last night, and discuss the power behind the Team Analyzer, which is now available for use.

Revisiting The Deadline Deals

With the barrage of trades near the end of the NBA Trade Deadline, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the pre and post trade stats of players who were dealt as we near playoff time for fantasy basketball leagues. As players try to fit into different systems, you’ll see that the majority lose value overall through the close of the year. What’s important is to figure out who will turn it around and who won’t, before it’s too late.

Derrick Rose Does NOT Deserve The M.V.P.

That’s right I said it, Derrick Rose does not deserve the M.V.P. even though the hype train has almost guaranteed that he’ll get it. When I think of who most deserves the M.V.P in the NBA most, three criteria come to mind: How good are you compared to past M.V.P. winners at your position, how good is the team of guys you’re playing with, and how good is your team’s record. Come check it out while I breakdown the three leading candidates on each question, and then let you decide who really deserves the title. Oh, and yes, I know I’m going to feel The Wrath of Qwan (our resident Chicagoan) in the comments…….Bring it!

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