Fantasy Leagues

Orleans Cardinals Takes the 2008 Head-to-Head Championship

There’s still one game to be played tonight but it’s safe to say that the Orleans Cardinals have one my 6×6 Head to Head League in 2008.

Some of the keys to success this year:

• Solid Trade Strategy: Several trades turned out in my favor this season.  In no particular order:
• Francisco Rodriguez for Carl Crawford - this trade turned out to be pretty good for both parties but I felt that half-way decent closers can be picked up throughout the season.  It’s no surprise that all 3 of my 4 closers were picked up after this trade.  Of course, that trade would have actually hurt me more if this didn’t happen….

Fantasy Baseball All-Star Injury Lineup

The 2008 baseball season certainly has been an interesting year with a large percentage of prominent ball players “hitting” the disabled list with all kinds of injuries. Injuries of course, are one of the major unknowns in baseball that can kill a fantasy baseball season.

(Source: AP Photo/Al Behrman)

Depending on how you come up with rankings, at least 7 of the top 25 players in spring training are on or have spent time on the DL thus far this season. Unfortunately, the trend of injuries to key players hasn’t gone down in numbers (and probably won’t as the season rolls on).

Pronk: Powerless At The Plate & On Your Fantasy Roster

I’ve given up on Travis Hafner. The recent news that Hafner’s lingering shoulder problem is still bothering him, coupled by the news that he won’t play until at least Friday (after receiving a cortisone shot Tuesday) and may need a trip to the DL sealed the deal.

Any sort of arm or leg problem usually leads to one result over the course of a fantasy baseball season: a lack of power at the plate.

Just look at Gary Sheffield’s season thus far for another shoulder injury example.

1st Quarter Report: Fantasy Baseball Duds & Disappointments

Here’s the third and final installment looking at the 1st quarter of the fantasy baseball season. This post takes a look at draft selections fantasy owners may have made that just have not panned out and the early round choices who may be making managers bang their head against the wall with frustration.

The Disappointments
The difference between major duds and disappointments is that you may have invested the mid to late round selection and hoped you picked up one of this year’s fantasy baseball surprises. Or, perhaps injury or misfortune are the root cause. Either way, there is still a chance these guys can pick it up as the weather gets warmer and the season rolls on.

1st Quarter Report: How The Preseason Top 10 Have Fared

One of the key differences between fantasy baseball and fantasy football is that the length and depth of the baseball season means that even a major injury to an early round draft selection may not have such a significant impact.

In both of my Yahoo leagues, I lost both 1st round selections to injury, yet somehow am still in 1st in one league and in the middle of the pack in the other.

Team Analysis in the 5×5 Rotisserie League

I enjoy playing in public fantasy baseball leagues, mostly because of the challenge faced with auto-drafting settings and unknown managers (I know you can adjust draft settings, but I like the challenge of a random draft). This year thus far, what I perceived would be challenges may not be the case, and what I thought would be strengths have largely been disappointments.

Here’s a look at my personal draft results, with some initial commentary as appropriate:

• Round 1: Alex Rodriguez (got him with the #2 pick, #1 was Grady Sizemore)