The FAAB Issue: Rotoman Speaks

Brian Walton wrote a story earlier this week about his attempts to trade with a nameless owner who caused him fits. Brian was peeved and let the owner know it, but when he told the story he scrubbed it of any identifying information, to save the owner from embarrassment. It was a gracious gesture but unnecessary. The owner felt his actions were, with one small exception, above board and proper. I should know, the owner was me.
Continue reading “The FAAB Issue: Rotoman Speaks”

A FAABulous Move

Steve Gardner describes his midseason FAAB strategy, which Brian Walton touched on in a story at Mastersball, and looks at the thinking of the owners with the money at the trading deadline.

TOUT NL FAAB Survey

Last night Rotoman bid $5 on Jose Altuve and thought he had a chance. No way! Remembering similar debacles with Dee Gordon and Chase D’Arnaud earlier this year, Rotoman looks back at this year’s first-half FAAB results. Is aggression good? Read about it here.

Jason Collette’s Tout NL midseason review

If you were a subscriber to baseballprospectus.com you could have read Jason Collette’s midseason Tout Wars roundups two weeks ago. Jason and BP, however, are making them available to us all now, for which we are thankful. Jason Collette’s column appears at every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at baseballprospectus.com.

Playing in Tout Wars is a rewarding experience because of the exposure the league gets. It, like the LABR (League of Alternative Baseball Reality), are the two best gauges fantasy players have to see how the “experts” apply their knowledge at the draft table. It is one thing to read the work each of them publishes online, but it is another to see what they do with their imaginary money, or in the case of playing in high-stakes leagues such as the ones in the NFBC leagues, real money.

Last week, we looked at the AL-Only league and how Larry Schechter and Jeff Erickson have turned their profits into the top spots in the standings and how others have suffered some serious losses from the prices they paid at the draft table either due to bad valuations or bad luck related to injuries. This week, we look at the NL Only League that was won by ESPN’s Nate Ravitz last season.

Here are the current standings for the 12 team AL-Only League:

  1. Brian Walton – 103 points
  2. Chris Liss – 80 points
  3. Steve Gardner – 79 points
  4. Tristan Cockcroft – 78 points Continue reading “Jason Collette’s Tout NL midseason review”

No Schadenfreude Here!

Brian Walton has such a giant lead in NL Tout that it is hard not to be upset that he’s lost Albert Pujols to a fractured forearm for a month. Too bad! I feel really badly that his great season has been tarnished, and I really really hope he’s able to hold onto his lead.

USA Today’s Steve Gardner, another Tout NL competitor, feels badly for Brian, too, though he doesn’t come right out and say it.

Scott Pianowski Shops Braun. Uses Brains.

Last week in NL Tout Scott Pianowski, for his good hit-no pitch team, sought offers for his main stud, Ryan Braun. His requirements, an ace pitcher and an everyday hitter, were stringent, and few made offers.

This week Scott tells all, but doesn’t address the elephant in the room: Can anyone catch Brian Walton without making a bold pivot?

Tout NL Leader Brian Walton revisits the day…

…he didn’t put in a speculative claim Dee Gordon for buck. Read it at Mastersball.com. It was last Sunday, just seven days ago.

Despite the gaffe Walton increased his lead in Tout NL this week, and may have seeded even more success down the road.