Quirks and Oddities in Our Management

[DOUGHBOYS]

We all have quirks as fantasy owners.
One fella I know in the NFBC puts in his Main Event lineup, then bets against that lineup in the daily game.
A certain pig farmer once wrote that he liked drafting west coast players because that was when he watched a lot of baseball.
An NFBC reptilian-type says he never watches a game, only follows the numbers.
And still another only watches the live scoring feed from the NFBC and his beloved Texas team.
Most of us have some kind of 'different' way to watch our hitters and pitchers accumulate their statistics.

For myself, I can't watch my pitchers.
I can watch my hitters and will even turn the channel going 'hitter hunting'.
To me, if a hitter makes an out...."No big deal, get 'em next time."
I wish I had the same attitude for my pitchers.
I don't.

Way back in 2005, my NFBC team was contending for the Main Event Overall.
I hung onto every pitch.
I would yell at the tv. Even a two-ball count was enough to raise my blood pressure.
"Brett Myers, you can't beat Andruw Jones inside!" "What are you thinking?"
Myers never listened to my ravings.
Later, Myers would find something he could beat...his wife.

At the time, I was coaching a Little League team.
My wife wondered how I could have so much patience with kids and so little with my fantasy pitchers.
"THEIR ADULTS! THEY SHOULD DO THE RIGHT THING!"
Of course this made little sense, since ALL baseball players are trying to do the right thing.
We just want the players we own, to do more right things than others.

I quit drinking alcohol when our kids were two years old. They were becoming more aware of the world. My dad was a brutish alcokolic and I did not want to follow in those footsteps.
Besides, I didn't like myself when drinking.
And I realized one day while watching a pitcher of mine getting beat up, anger rising, that fantasy baseball was bringing out the worst in me, as alcohol would.
I didn't like myself while watching my pitchers.
I decided to quit watching my pitchers altogether.
Why put myself and whoever was around me throuugh it?
If a pitcher of mine was throwing in the same game, I did not watch my hitters either.
Cold turkey.

It was a great decision. I don't watch them to this day.
I probably could. I've mellowed over the years.
Truth is, it has become more of a ritual or quirk now.
I may record a game and watch after results are known to 'scout' a pitcher, but never 'live'.
My wife enjoys reading. I enjoy watching baseball and we spend a lot of our nights together that way.
I still talk to the tv.
But never in anger or misery.
If I talk to the tv, it is rarely about fantasy. It is usually a stupid thing said by a broadcaster (Tim McCarver says so much stupid stuff that I avoid Cardinal games he works) or lack of playing the game correctly (Puig boners), or bad calls.
In other words, I watch games like Joe Baseball Fan.

NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS POST ALERT!
The other day, I was watching the Cubs game. Alex Wood was throwing for the Dodgers. If you've ever seen Wood, he has one of the oddest deliveries in baseball.
Jim DeShaies, the Cubs analyst said something to the effect that if Elaine from 'Seinfeld' tried to pitch, she would look like Alex Wood. Had me laughing for innings.....
Back to the post...

This isn't the only quirk.
When draft orders were announced back in the day, I would look from the bottom up.
In this way, I was hoping not to see my name till reaching number one in a league.
I miss those days.

When seeing a box score after a game is over and seeing a high score for the team that my pitcher was facing, I'll look at the errors column first to see if having a chance that those runs were unearned.

At one time, I thought the worst thing I could see from a hitter's box score was 5-0-0-0
Worse, is a 1-0-0-0 with that player replaced.
Usually meaning that our player was hurt.
So, I'll check a source, hoping that my player was thrown out of the game. Not hurt.
And if hurt, not too severely.
Crossing fingers till finding out.

I used to know a fantasy player who had to have at least three Atlanta Braves in his lineup.
We've lost touch over the years.
But, I wonder who those three Braves would have been this year.
Aand smiled as I thought that he would have little competition in obtaining those Bravo's.

In an opposite sorta way, I know a Yankee fan who NEVER drafts a Yankee.
Not wanting to mix business with pleasure.

A long time ago, a fella wrote on these NFBC Message Boards that we were all lightweights.
That he played in a league with (best guess, hard to remember now) 12 categories for hitters and pitchers.
He theorized that the more categories a league had, the smarter the fantasy player.
He really believed that.
He took a beating on the Boards and in NFBC Standings that year.

What about you?
Do you have an odd quirk or superstition for your NFBC teams?
Stories from the past?

[BK METS]

Great write up Dan! My issue is, as many of you might be aware, I am a die hard Mets fan. If one of my pitchers is facing the Mets, I concede that I don't want the win, but would want a low scoring game obviously.

Last year's world series was the most difficult for me as a fantasy player and Mets fan. I entered the post season contest, never thinking I would be faced with the wildest situation possible. My fantasy team was barely holding onto the first place lead in the contest and game 5 was the Harvey game. I had him, but only as a 2x player, so there were those that had him 3x that were right behind me. If the world series continues with a Harvey win, I don't win the contest. If the Mets win that game in any fashion, I lose the contest. As Harvey is standing on the mound losing the lead, I actually have a chance to win the overall 25k, if the Mets lose the series right there. I didn't want to watch, but I had to. The worst thing that could have happened would have been a Mets win and then a loss in game 6. If they were going to lose, they needed to lose right there and then. Obviously we all know the outcome.

The guilt, frustration and yet inner peace of a great season came over me, as the Mets lose that game thanks to Murphy and Familia. I will never again watch a Mets game without thinking of that moment when I actually had the feeling like it didn't matter if they won.

Thanks Dr Kenyon. Much needed therapy right there

[Edwards Kings]

At one time, I thought the worst thing I could see from a hitter's box score was 5-0-0-0
Worse, is a 1-0-0-0 with that player replaced.
Usually meaning that our player was hurt.

But what about if one of your players is 1-0-0-0-0-4-0? Remember, it means he has a good eye!

I admit I look at the stats every morning the same way. Start with my Auction team, check the standings on the league home page, move the "Stats" "Team Stats" page from "Fantasy" to "Standard", move the Period from "Week X" to "Yesterday", then look, cuss, and change back to "Period X", look, cuss again, then check the relative positioning on the "Standings" "League" page. Go to my Main Event team, repeat.

Don't know why. Kind of like not stepping on the chalk exiting the field I guess.

I always like having Braves on my team (in answer to your question, I would guess his pool would have been Freeman, Inciarte, Teheran, Vizcaino and maybe Smith or Markakis), but I really do not give them a premium, rather more likely a discount as I try not to cloud my judgement as a Braves Homey.

[Edwards Kings]

Just checked the Braves box. Talk about coming unglued the second/third time through a lineup...

"Giants fifth. Blair pitching. G.Blanco walked. Bumgarner homered to left on the first pitch, G.Blanco scored. Span walked on a full count. Panik homered to right on the first pitch, Span scored. M.Duffy was hit by a pitch. Posey homered to left on the first pitch, M.Duffy scored. O'Flaherty pitching."

Walk, homer, walk, homer, HBP, homer....damn.....

[Yah Mule]

I like watching my pitchers, but I'll turn the channel if they load the bases with no outs. Nothing worse than getting home, seeing your starter is cruising through four shutout innings, then the second you turn on the game he gets into trouble. I'll watch Kershaw over anybody even if I don't happen to own him that season. I also pull for my pitchers when they face my hitters for the reasons Dan mentioned. Which seems counter intuitive when I own the hitter on way more teams, but I hate seeing my pitchers get rocked.

[DOUGHBOYS]

It also goes to personal players to avoid and covet.
For instance, this year I am gold with Javier Baez. Whenever I bench him, he doesn't play or is benign for the period.
When playing him, I get home runs or stolen bases.
The opposite for CJ Cron. A total bum when I play him. When benched, he turns into the Incredible Hulk.

Sometimes I'll avoid pitchers in drafts because they don't perform for me.
Michael Wacha hates me.
So does Drew Smyly.
Ian Kennedy enjoys giving me the middle finger,
Chris Tillman loves me.
So does John Lackey.
I know it sounds like a strange phenomenom, but certain players come through/screw me over more than other players.
And when draft season comes around, those players are remembered.

[Driver Love]

Doughboys,

Great post. I am glad to see/read that I am not alone in my neurotic approach to monitoring my teams. I deploy some of the similar quirks that have already been listed. From checking yesterdays results starting with the period, then yesterday, then checking other teams who are doing well in my league and comparing my team to theirs. I have quirks when looking at my phone at game results during the day. I will click the app but place my thumb in a spot where I cannot see the score of the games and scroll slowly. I will stop at the games where my pitcher is going and move my thumb to see if my pitcher got run support and then peek at what his opponent scored. When watching games on TV i often slow motion the pitcher in his delivery and watch the pitch come in frame by frame panicking if he has too much of the plate and it looks like the hitter will get the barrel on it and rejoice if the pitch seems to be headed for a strike or strike out...

I enjoy rooting for my individual players and that is one reason why I cannot have countless teams to where I have some combination of most or all players. That would be hard to root for. I suppose the quirky way I monitor things is a sign that it means a lot and that is where the fun is. I cannot imaging a summer now without the NFBC.

[Yah Mule]

This has been true for me, too. Pull up Mike Mussina's page on Baseball Reference. See those few down seasons that dot that stellar career? Those are the seasons I owned Moose.