Or maybe you could blame Andy Behren’s bad luck with Kevin Youkilis. In any case, there is a race for first.
In this week’s Fantasy Insider column writes about how he’s shaped his Tout Mixed team, and also takes a look at his other teams and the different ways their fortunes have been shaped by his moves and Lady Luck. Most readers will see their teams in one of his scenarios.
Mike Gianella takes a look at how the Tout FAAB rules played a part in how Tout teams bid on the Biggest Day of the Year!
To add some context, we implemented the rule change for the transaction period following the ML interleague trading deadline because we wanted teams to be able to bid more than they had in their budget, including contingent bids. The Aug 2 rules allowed that.
In every other Tout Wars week, teams aren’t allowed to bid, for their main bid plus contingent bids, more than they have, total.
What is interesting is that in every other week of the year, nobody notices the contingent bid restriction. Also of note is that some owners this year asked us to simplify the rules and play like other leagues play.
I’m interested in hearing about how other leagues play. In the variety of leagues I play in there is a variety of ways FAAB or Waiver Dollars are dealt with. I’m of the opinion that whatever you all decide upon is fine, but there is a real virtue to restricting the total bids any team can make, actual and contingent, to the total amount of FAAB (Waiver Dollars) they have.
Why? I think it’s more strategic. Mid tier teams can strategize and capitalize on their analysis of other team’s needs. In a system that allows teams to stack contingent bids using all their available Waiver Dollars, mid level teams don’t have a chance.
But it’s okay if think they don’t deserve a chance. I agree to disagree.
Todd plays in Tout NL, but his advice in this story about FAAB applies to any league.
In this story for RotoTimes, Jason Collette takes inventory on how each Tout AL team’s draft day roster has performed.
This approach has the virtue of isolating what it was that teams did right (and wrong) on draft day, whether these things were in their control or not.
Most interestingly, only Jason Grey’s runaway leading team has posted a positive value since draft day, and that is just +$2.
Also of interest is the big draft day hit Mike Siano’s team has taken, in large part by paying $29 for Grady Sizemore on draft day. But, as Jason points out, Mike dealt Sizemore to Jeff Erickson the day before Sizemore crashed and burned for the season (for Cliff Lee–ouch), so it was Erickson who who paid most of the price. That doesn’t show in these numbers.
There are a lot of components to a fantasy baseball season. Draft day is one part. Jason’s survey gives some idea how important a good draft is to fielding a winning team. And how tough it is to overcome cataclysmic injury, unless you’re Mike Siano.
Glenn Colton and his partner, Rick Wolf, have had great success in LABR, and good success in Tout Wars. The Wall Street Journal noticed that Glenn is also a lawyer.
Tout AL participant Rob Leibowitz has seen his third place team turn into an eighth place team in just a month, and takes a look at what strategies are available to him (and other fantasy players) to regain ground. This is part of a weekly series of articles
from Mastersball.com about Tout Wars AL, NL and Mixed.
Ask Rotoman is here to kick some second half butt. That’s the message the frontrunners in Tout NL, Brian Walton and Nate Ravitz, should take away from this midseason report. They should be afraid, very afraid. Kreutzer isn’t in last place any more.
Granted, this is what happens when an active participant writes the midseason report. Hopped up on a two-week run that netted him something like 20 points, and brought him out of the basement and into the middle of the pack, the so-called Rotoman is psyched up by the reemergence of Lance Berkman, the chance that Aramis Ramirez won’t be a nightmare from here on out, that the heretofore worthless but free spirited Yunel Escobar will be invigorated out from under Bobby Cox’s authoritarian and crushing breath. If all that happens, it won’t be enough.
But the reemergence of Edinson Volquez, who has looked so good during his minor league rehabs, and the continued brilliance of Chris Carpenter and Roy Halladay, could be enough to get this team into running. And speaking of running, what happens if Carlos Beltran actually can run a little? Rotoman’s team gets a lot better, that’s for sure. Continue reading “TOUT NL: Midseason Report”
The public has voted…
Tout AL: Jason Grey 62%, Joe Sheehan/Steve Moyer/Jeff Erickson 7% each
Tout NL: Nate Ravitz 37%, Brian Walton 24%, Scott Pianowski 20%
Tout Mix: Andy Behrens 58%, Steve Gardner 13%, Doug Dennis 11%
Good luck fellas!
