By Jesse Severe
League 3
If you still are reading columns for strategy in September, congratulations, because you must be close to winning your league. If you are out of the running, the low-impact strategy of middle relief does not lend itself to playing catchup … unless you need only a little bit of help in ERA or WHIP, that is.
Even if middle relievers are not keepers, especially in the five-keeper FBM format, you can still utilize middle relievers for putting yourself over the top in the last month of the season.
By Butters in D.C.
League 14
League 16
Well, folks, I’ve finally resigned myself to another year of moderate success. I only have a shot in one league … the non-keeper FBM staff league, where I currently sit in third place. I am also in third in Keeper League 14 and sixth in League 16 where I feel like I started behind the ‘8-ball’.
The reason I started behind the ‘8-ball’ is actually my own fault. I took over an abandoned team and built my keeper list through a new owner draft where I made mistakes on three of my five picks. Learn from my mistakes, and develop your own keeper list that can win your league.
By Dan in Los Angeles
League 19
I’ve always been a big fan of numbers, so here’s a depressing one: 198. That’s how many at-bats Victor Martinez had this season before landing on the disabled list with an elbow injury in mid-June. That’s also how many at-bats Martinez had to begin the 2008 baseball season without a home run.
with Chris from Atlanta
League 17
Week #22
The boys of summer are giving way to the monsters of the gridiron. As the leaves start to change colors, your attention will be pulled away from your fantasy baseball teams. This late in the season it is much, much harder to move up in the standings but very easy to fall down in the standings. This time of the year it is all about treading water. Field a competitive squad for the integrity of the league. No one likes a quitter. Keep paddling …
By Richard Schortemeyer III
In April 1923, Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees opened up Yankee Stadium with a four-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox. In the following 85 years, the stadium has seen numerous spectacular moments of baseball history.
Roger Maris’ record-breaking HR, Dave Righetti’s no-hitter, Aaron Boone’s walk-off series-clinching HR, and the greatest playoff comeback in MLB history only scratch the surface of the lifetime of instant classic moments this rivalry has provided.
By The Jersey Hitman
League 6
League 17
Labor Day! Already? How can that be? As summer comes to and end, so does an era in baseball. The replay-free era is over. Welcome to the video age, Bud Selig. While the Joe Torre era came to an end this past off-season, the Yankees playoff run comes to an end this season. Maybe the Cubs era of no World Series titles will come to and end too!! Ya’ know, I taught that Cubs second baseman everything he knows (wink, wink).
By Sean in DC
The magical date of September 1st is less than a week away! That means September call-ups and roster expansion for MLB teams … but, unfortunately, not so for your fantasy teams. For those of you making a push towards your league pennant, the decisions can be gut-wrenching.
Do you grab that hot young rookie who’s been tearing it up in AA or AAA, or do you hold onto someone like Ian Kinsler who says he will be back for the last few weeks of the season? After all, he is the one who got you where you are …
By Mike Thomas
League 13
This week’s trade comes from League 14 where ‘Forgetaboutit’ trades Nate McClouth to ‘Beaneaters’ for Jake Peavy. Everyone has fairly strong opinions about trading a pitcher for a bat.
By Dan in Los Angeles
League 19
Let’s play a game. Which one of these is not like the others: .282, .306, .286, .247, .292. If you were one of the unlucky managers who drafted Jason Bay as your top outfielder for the 2007 fantasy baseball season, you may already know that those are the batting averages for Bay in his first five full major league seasons … the last of which represents his combined average from his time with the Pirates and Red Sox this year.
By Bob in Cleveland
League 4
I know what you’re thinking. The trade deadline has passed. There’s nothing more you can do for your team, and now it’s time to turn your attention to bigger and better things … namely, fantasy football.
At this time of year, fantasy football’s siren song starts howling loud and clear, seducing us into leaving our baseball teams to manage themselves. Don’t let it happen, I tell you!