Who doesn’t love to show their frenemies their fantasy baseball teams in October and say, “Look at what I won with?” Then they see Mike Aviles and they’re confounded, “How did you win with Mike Aviles?” That is the secret to fantasy baseball in September, young ninja. (BTW, if you’re gonna be a ninja and dress like a ninja then you’ll want to get a better shampoo, the dandruff is kinda giving you away on that black.) If you win your league, I guarantee someone will look at your team at the end of the year and be completely confused by some of the guys you own.
Daniel Hudson? Wilson Betemit? Did the other teams in your league quit? No, frenemy, I was playing hot guys. This is imperative at this time of the year. And imperative is an important word to know. Mike Aviles has not only been incredibly hot, but Aviles will confound your frenemies! Adam Jones wasn’t great this year, he’s hitting in September. Even Carlos Gomez is stealing bases like he was born to do. You also need to cut any dead weight. This is, of course, for redraft leagues more than keepers. You can’t go dropping Matt Kemp in all leagues. (Though it would feel nice to, wouldn’t it?) Alfonso Soriano was good… Five years ago. Later! You loved Jimmy Rollins so much when you drafted him you sang Boogie Down Productions’ “The J, the I, the M, the M The Y, the J, the I, the M… It’s Jimmy!” Then your friends mocked you and now you’re stubbornly holding onto Rollins just to save face. Lose face and Jimmy. There’s no reward for winning with Josh Hamilton instead of Casper Wells. If you can, load up on guys that are playing in games that matter. Jose Guillen has a lot more incentive than Alex Rios. Will Venable’s games matter a whole lot more than Nick Markakis. Players that are trying to prove their worth for a starting job in next year’s lineup are lot more enticing than vets who are just coasting. You, on the other hand — yes, the hand you’re scratching your butt with — you should not be coasting.
