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Fantasy football is always pretty easy to prepare for because in
the end, players are judged using one criteria: points.
Six points for a touchdown, one for every 10 yards rushing or
receiving, one for every 25 passing yards, etc. You can make a
prediction of how they’ll do and rank the players.
The same can’t be said about fantasy basketball and
fantasy baseball. How do you compare eight rebounds with nine
assists? Or 25 stolen bases with 90 RBI?
The ability to compare and contrast is what makes and breaks
most owners. If you find yourself asking, “I don’t
understand why my team is losing when I have such great
players?,” it’s probably because you don’t have
balance.
Owners who can’t distinguish between Rondell White and
Brad Fullmer are doomed to fail. Same thing goes for Allan Houston
and Steve Nash.
I’m dumbfounded every time an owner comes out of the draft
with five slugging outfielders who couldn’t steal a base, get
an infield hit or score from first on a double. Or how about the
ones who take only scorers, even if they can’t pull down
rebounds and refuse to pass the ball.
Falling in love with the glamour categories denies your fantasy
team the balance it requires.
For a real-life example, I bring you the Texas Rangers.
It’s impossible to win anything by outhitting your opponents.
Trying to outslug your opponent on a consistent basis is an
unattainable task, even for a team with A-Rod, Pudge, Palmeiro and
Co.
No team should ever have their top 10 players all come from the
hitting-end of things. When Rick Helling is your ace, chances are
you’ll be nowhere near the top of the standings at the end of
the season.
But the Rangers’ problems go deeper than that putrid
pitching staff. Both the New York Yankees and the Arizona
Diamondbacks reached the past World Series with lineups that mixed
speed with power and the ability to get on base. It’s almost
as if the Rangers chose to overlook the fact that there’s
more to hitting than just hitting the ball far.
It’s obvious the Rangers haven’t learned their
lesson when they traded for Carl Everett and signed Juan Gonzalez.
At least they spent money on pitching, adding Chan Ho Park. But
this team didn’t need two more sluggers and one starter. It
needed three starters and new offensive philosophy.
For another real-life example, I bring you the Portland
Trailblazers. Rasheed Wallace (19.8 points per game), Bonzi Wells
(16.5), Ruben Patterson (13.7), Derek Anderson (12.7), Damon
Stoudamire (12.2) and Scottie Pippen (9.4) may look like a good
combination on paper, but chemistry and balance was overlooked.
None of these players complement each other. Dale Davis, with
his rebounding skills, is the only one who plays a supporting role,
while the rest are players more inclined to shoot than pass.
All of them are athletically gifted but depth does not equate
balance. This is a very tough concept to grasp, and until you do,
chances are you’ll be congratulating someone else for a
league championship that should’ve been yours.
But at least you’ll get to say you have something in
common with the GMs of the Rangers and Blazers.