Comments on: 2010 Giants Fantasy Baseball Preview

By: Fanta

Fanta — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:54:42 +0000

Well done as usual, Grey. I’m in a keeper’s league, with idiosyncratic rules–suffice it to say, we have large rosters, which allows us to carry minor leaguers (or even collegians). I’ve got Bryce Harper. Should I swap him for Jonathan Sanchez and Grant Green? I’m gunshy. Have traded superstars away before (inc. I’ll confess Albert Pujols after his rookie season); on the other hand, I was rewarded by following your Wandy advice of 2009. Yes, I need more pitching…but if he does what some predict he can do who doesn’t need a Bryce Harper?

I wish I could use code names for the players above in case my trading partner is also reading your most worthy blog. But that would only confuse you as well…so…

I remain, explicitly,

A Faithful Reader

By: Grey

Grey — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:56:52 +0000

@mmontice: Thanks!

By: mmontice

mmontice — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:21:51 +0000

Never showed my wife this website before tonight, but she got a serious kick (pun intended) out of the rerun video. Donation was a George Muresan “Do it for the kids” slum-dunk after that.

By: Simply Fred

Simply Fred — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 21:22:49 +0000

@Bob: Good to hear that your “draft SP later” strategy worked. Don’t think I can wait until the 10th. Seems as if the quality of hitting falls off about R5.

Have done 50+ mocks this off season. My problem with grabbing players that “fall” to me is that every time I do that I end up losing more ranks than if I “substitute” a prepared backup. I will end up with too many sluggers, or speedsters, and fall several spots for that lagging category without gaining in much in the other cat.

Am prepared for pitfalls of draft, and season, not going to expectations. It’s base-a-ball and I’m lovin’ it!

By: Bob

Bob — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 21:10:34 +0000

@Simply Fred: I’m more of a seat of the pants guy, who realizes that I should probably apply a bit more rigor to my approach. And Grey, as you said, seems to be good at it all.

Among my many leagues, I was in an RCL league as well, and ended up tied for first. I don’t have it in front of me, but as I recall, in that league, I didn’t draft any pitchers until around the 10th round, but drafted six SAGNOF closers. Predictably, I dominated hitting categories, and sucked in pitching categories, besides saves. I always draft pitching late, but in this draft, hitters who I like kept falling to my draft position, so I kept nabbing them. Too long and boring to explain here, so I won’t try.

Anyway, I’m always looking for the edge, too, thus my interest in your dialogue, but I think gut has a lot to do with it, and taking what the draft gives you, and fixing it later, is the other side. Plus, a big dose of luck. Anyway, I’ve been enjoying your dialogues as a lurker, and just wanted to weigh in briefly.

At guess at the end of the day is that no matter how hard you try to get it perfect, the season always unfolds, and it’s always not quite what you expect.

By: Simply Fred

Simply Fred — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:14:59 +0000

@Bob: Thanks for the feedback. It is a little bit of a balancing act. For some folks the stats discussion gets a little weighty. For others, it’s just second nature. Sometimes I get a little carried away. Unfortunately, I don’t seem to be able to help myself.

RE: strategy. We have two heads to our Dragon, Grey and Rudy, who agree to disagree on occasion. And, really, when I look back at RCL team successes last year, I see some teams that drafted starting pitching high, some hitting high, ….

Know that I just am programmed to give it my all to gain every little bit of perceived advantage going in, so that when the injuries/etc. hit, I am as well positioned as the next guy to survive. (I know I’m not alone in this endeavor.)

Grey, is a master at evaluating a bunch of those factors that you talked about–seemingly without thinking about it, on the cuff.

I have to spend hours viewing stats to feel as if I am anywhere close to understanding a given set of nuances. Thanks, again.

By: Bob

Bob — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:02:52 +0000

@Simply Fred: I love your questions to Rudy. My gut tells me that in addition to health, other factors include age (e.g. is the guy 25 v. 35), overall team quality, league, ballpark, steroid use (I’m actually not joking about this), and whether s player is being managed in a way that is consistent with good fantasy performance (e.g., Torre’s mismanagement of Matt Kemp). But I find it fascinating trying to figure out methods to determine when the best place is to draft for various needs. Go for middle infielders here, SP or RP’s there?

By: Grey

Grey — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:20:18 +0000

@TBone: Ha!

By: Simply Fred

Simply Fred — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:43:35 +0000

@royce!: Beginning to believe that staying healthy (which is UNPREDICTABLE) probably weighs much more heavily than all of the applied stats!

By: royce!

royce! — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:15:56 +0000

@Simply Fred: Interesting, thank you for sharing that information. I like to pretend that I am going to do something with it when I know that I am just going to go with my gut on draft day. Which is to say I'm just going to draft Stewart early and then struggle to remember which players are schmohawks and which are donkeycorns.