Jay’s Note: I’m happy to present a unique addition to our preseason content, as one of the readers/commenters approached me about writing on the subject of “the Razzballer”. This story isn’t just unique to Webelos Willie, but to all of you as well, and maybe even the most human story I’ve ever read. Okay, maybe not to that degree, I’d probably give that award to L. Ron Hubbard’s “Battlefield Earth”, but regardless, this three-part series was such a great treat to read and because of that, I invite all fans of the site to tell us your story down in the comment section… How do you prepare for the upcoming season? How do you use Razzball? So, without further ado, here’s Webelos Willie’s Razzball story, and it just might be your story too…
It is four weeks before my draft and a lyric from a Tom Petty song plays over and over in my head. The waiting is the hardest part. MLB spring training games haven’t started. My commish hasn’t renewed our league yet. We aren’t even sure if all of last year’s owners are returning.
This is a crucial time for fantasy baseball and nothing has happened yet…
I have found that there are three components to success in fantasy baseball. Each week in this series I will mention one. The first is: Time Invested. Sometimes just showing up everyday leap-frogs you over the owners who are used to fantasy football and forget to change out their lineups some mornings. Look, fantasy football is checkers. Fantasy baseball is chess. Fantasy football takes a little bit of time every week. Baseball requires your attention every damn day for half of the year. But right now – before the baseball season has even begun – is when the time you invest really pays off.
Here’s how I am spending my time right now during the fantasy baseball preseason…
Watching The People vs. O.J. Simpson on FX – This has nothing to do with fantasy baseball, it’s just got me hooked. O.J.’s in jail, Marcia is piecing together evidence and Johnnie Cochrane is preparing a defense. I can’t wait to find out how all this is going to end! And since when are they allowed to say the F-word on basic cable?
Working Trades – In my 12-team mixed keeper league, we each declare five players we want to keep one week before the draft. Right now, I am working the phones trying to get whatever I can for the players I am not planning on keeping. Of course, no one wants Jason Hammel or Alex Gordon in this format, but some borderline players like Cano and David Price might fetch me a pick. I have found that being proactive by personally contacting the owners who have room for another keeper helps me get a leg up on the competition. You know, early bird gets the worm, and 80% of inspiration is perspiration, and all that shizz. I am usually willing to part with my “6th keeper” for next to nothing, as long as the other team isn’t much of a threat. Two tricks I like to employ: giving up a 10th rounder sounds much better compared to a single digit… you know, the old $19.99 trick. Also, refer to the player you are dealing by his first name only, as if he is some sort of superstar like Lebron. So right now, I am texting other owners stuff like: How about a 10th rounder for Yasiel? Why do I ask for such a crappy pick? First, it gets their attention. Most other owners value their “6th keeper” too much and are looking for a top-five pick. I see it as not only gaining a free pick from a player I wasn’t planning to keep, but also preventing a rival team from getting stronger by potentially receiving a high draft pick for their “sixth keeper”. It also results in the draft getting stocked with the quality players that other owners were unable to dish.
Reading Relevant Fantasy Articles – Every day I visit two fantasy sites: this one (all hail the mighty Grey and his sudden infatuation with Gregory Polanco! Wait, wasn’t everyone in the comments asking about dropping him in July? And it’s not like he finished the year strongly – he had seven less steals post-All Star Break and batted .224 in Sept-Oct with only 2 HR’s. So – insert Seinfeld voice – what’s the deal with Polanco?) and FantasyRundown. Since you are here already, I will assume you didn’t get here by Googling “Tom Petty + infatuation + O.J. Simpson” but that you are already a faithful Razzballer like me. Maybe you even bought Grey’s book (WTF was that?). But let me tell you about FantasyRundown – it lists links to articles posted on 20+ fantasy sites each day in one place so you can quickly scan them and pick the ones you want to read. For example, one may be called “Roto Rob’s Top Ten Second Basemen”. If you are not sure who you want to target at the keystone, you click the link to check it out. If you are already keeping Dee Gordon, you don’t waste your time reading that one. It’s a fantastic resource that helps you invest your time wisely…
Hitting Up Podcasts – I listen to Razzball’s pod at the grocery store, in the car, while I’m in the shower… uhhhh… ummm… there’s good acoustics in there! Yeah that’s it! But while they do a great job each Monday (or whenever the heck they record) I am a fantasy degenerate and want more. What am I supposed to listen to the other six days, actual world news? Again, Fantasy Rundown shows me each fantasy baseball podcast that was posted to the interwebs that day. And I listen to as many of them as I can. What am I listening for?; to find out where Yovanni Gallardo signs? Uhhhh, no. Sorry Yovanni, no one cares that you signed with Baltimore, including Orioles fans. I am trying to find value in relation to my league’s settings and draft rankings. I want to hear who is undervalued and who is overvalued. I want to find the player I can get in the sixth round who will perform like a third rounder, or the 12th rounder who will hit like a sixth rounder. This info helps me while I am…
Preparing My Draft Sheet – Whether I am drafting online or in person, this is something that I have in front of me when it all goes down. It’s basically my strategy for that draft, pick by pick. Most draft rooms will tell you where you are in the draft like this: “Round 7, Pick 5” but I want to know exactly what number pick that is so that I can determine whether picking my 81st ranked player at that time is a good value or not. Once our league’s draft order is determined, I open a Word doc and do the math and number each of my picks. If I were picking seventh in a 12-team snake draft, I would make a column like this: 7, 18, 31, 42, 55, 66, 79, 90, 103, etc..
After that, next to each number, I type the names of a few players that I would consider drafting at that spot.
On the reals though, you really want to win at fantasy baseball? Invest Time. Not just during the season, but right now. It takes time to formulate a draft strategy and a draft sheet, but right now you HAVE time. A few weeks from now during your draft, you will have less than a minute to make each decision that will determine your team’s fate. The time you invest now will pay off into the future. Don’t they say something like that in Gladiator? I have found that all the prep work is far better than just randomly selecting players, hoping to get lucky. Meanwhile the voice inside my head reminds me that the waiting is the hardest part / every day you see one more card / you take it on faith, you take it to the heart / the waiting is the hardest part.
