The Fantasy League Guru Due to unforeseen
circumstances, the last Fantasy League Guru was forced to resign.
Schain was the only writer whose head fit the Guru hat, so the job
was his by default. E-mail comments to [email protected].
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The trades and pick-ups you make this time of year can make or
break your fantasy baseball season. That being the case, you can
always count on the Fantasy League Guru to help you navigate some
of fantasy baseball’s most violent storms. I have compiled 10
tips to help you decide how to handle your team during the home
stretch of the season. 1. A few average players don’t equal
one great one. “¢bull; Don’t trade away a top tier player
without getting another one in return. If you are confused about
who the top tier players are, just think back to your draft.
Everyone you picked in the early rounds can probably qualify as a
core on your team, so don’t give them away.
2. Try to suck out good players from teams that are already out
of it. “¢bull; Team owners who already know they can’t win
the league might not care anymore, and thus might be willing to
give away good players at a cheap price. Make offers; the worst
that the other owner can say is no.
3. Pester, pester, and pester. “¢bull; If you pursue a trade
enough times, other owners might give you what you want just to get
rid of you. Once again, the worst that the other owner can say is
no.
4. Play psychological games. “¢bull; Pretend you are hesitant to
do any deal on the table. Doing this will make the other owner
think he is getting the better end of it, and thus make him more
willing to execute the deal.
5. Don’t discount September call-ups. “¢bull; If you have
players on your team that aren’t contributing, consider
replacing them with young players who might get more playing time
down the stretch on teams that are out of the playoff race.
Examples include outfielder Alex Escobar of the Mets, pitcher Chris
George of the Royals, and pitcher Nate Cornejo of the Tigers. a.
ESCOBAR is considered the Mets’ No. 1 prospect, and has
already seen limited duty in the majors this year. As the Mets fall
out of the race, Jay Payton will most likely be benched or traded
away so that Escobar gets a shot at the big leagues. b. GEORGE is
11-3 with a 3.53 ERA at Triple-A Omaha this season, and will most
likely be promoted to the majors within the next few weeks in order
to gain some experience for next year. c. CORNEJO is on a fast
track to the majors. He started the year at Double-A, and after
astounding success on that level he was recently promoted to
Triple-A Toledo. So far he has won both starts there while
compiling a meager 2.25 ERA. Tigers manager Phil Garner is high on
Cornejo and has requested that the front office promote him to the
majors ASAP. 6. Beware of underperforming veterans on bad teams.
“¢bull; Come August and September, older players having bad seasons
might see a lot of the bench in favor of younger players, so
consider trading them away. Examples include outfielder Tim Salmon
of the Angels, catcher Darrin Fletcher of the Blue Jays and
shortstop Royce Clayton of the White Sox. a. SALMON is having a
horrific, injury-plagued season. He is hitting just .204 with 10
homers and 28 RBI and questions marks still surround his health. If
his terrible performance continues, the Angels just might call it a
lost season for the outfielder and let him rest for next year. b.
FLETCHER is hitting just .205 with 6 homers and 36 RBI for the Blue
Jays. Unless his average rises, don’t be surprised if he sees
a lot of the bench in the last couple of months of the season. c.
CLAYTON, after batting just .217 with 4 homers and 31 RBI,
won’t be playing again until new batting coach Gary Ward
fixes his swing, which could be awhile. Dump him if he is still on
your roster. 7. Fill your holes. “¢bull; Make sure your team is as
balanced as it can be, before it is too late. Don’t concede
any category. For example, if you need a base stealer, go after
Roger Cedeno of the Tigers or Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees. If
you need wins, the Seattle starters can get plenty of them. If you
need saves, Ugueth Urbina of the Expos could probably be picked up
cheaply because of his bad year, and now that Bob Wickman has won
back the closers job for the Indians, he could be a good option
also. 8. Remember: All players go through slumps. “¢bull;
Don’t be so impatient that you trade away a talented player
below market value just because he has had a few bad games. 9. Only
trade with people less informed than you are. “¢bull; If you trade
with someone who follows every news report, then chances are he
knows more than you and thus could be ripping you off in a trade.
Try to take advantage of the less informed, and don’t be
taken advantage of. 10. Don’t get trade-happy. “¢bull; Avoid
trading just for the sake of trading. It will usually come back to
haunt you. Following these tips will help you when a deal is on the
table. In addition, remember to be smart, logical, and clever when
making a trade. After all, fantasy baseball is not just a game.
It’s life.