NFBC Weekly Profile - Glenn Lowy
Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 3:53 am
I've been writing NFBC profile columns on Fanball since the start of the season. Thus far, I've written columns about Nate Ravitz, Mark Srebro, Eddy Betancourt and Jack Haan.
I apologize for not posting them here previously but you can find them on Fanball's site and going forward I will post them here so everyone can read them. This week's column is about Glenn Lowy, who is currently fourth in the Classic.
Last year, Glenn Lowy jumped into the high-stakes world of the National Fantasy Baseball Championship for the first time and enjoyed every second of the ride.
In 2010, with a year's experience under his belt he has his sights set squarely on the big prize - the $100,000 that goes to that national champion. And through the first five weeks of the season Lowy isn't just dreaming of winning the title, he has a realistic shot at it.
His team is currently in fourth place in the event, having made a strong push up the standings in the past week. While Lowy acknowledges there is still quite a bit of baseball left to be played he believes the national title is something his team can attain this year.
"I think every single one of us thinks about winning the main event from the moment we register for it," he said. " I think I have a talent for this game, but so do many, many others in the NFBC. With a playing field so talented, so knowledgeable, and so deep, winning the overall would be an incredible accomplishment for anyone.
"I feel I had a solid draft and have made some good pickups thus far. Being (fourth) at this point certainly puts me in a position where the overall seems like a realistic goal. Still there's a long way to go and many decisions and moves still to make. If I'm still somewhere close come late summer, I'm sure I'll feel like the dream is lot more attainable."
Lowy is no stranger to fantasy sports. He has been competing in some fashion for more than two decades.
"It started when my brother and a friend talked me into joining a face-to-face Keeper Strat-O-Matic league that met weekly," he said. "I loved the bi-annual drafts, the trading, the building of a franchise and especially the competition. It made baseball so much more enjoyable for me and I remained in that league for a decade. In fact, baseball has never been the same since.
"Everything changed when my brother-in-law talked me into a local fantasy football league in '95. What was missing from the mail-in league I found in this football league - knowing your opponents, the rivalries, the year-after-year competition with the same group of competitors. I was immediately hooked and am still a part of that league to this day.
"A few years later, that group of friends started a local fantasy baseball league where I was either champion or runner-up for every year but the last of its seven-year existence. When that league disbanded, I joined another local league and finished in the money every year there. Local leagues though had started to lose its appeal for me. Trading seemed unfair, the politics were annoying and honestly the stakes weren't high enough for me. That's when I found the NFBC.
"The NFBC gives me everything I look for in a fantasy competition. High stakes, ridiculously tough competition, the names and faces of the people both running and playing the game, huge risk, huge reward and huge recognition for achievement. I couldn't ask for anything more in a game I love to play."
Well maybe he could ask for one thing more.
Or perhaps 100,000 more.
That's what everyone in the event is aiming at and Lowy is sitting in a prime position early in the season as he's near the top of the leaderboard with a little more than a quarter of the season in the books. Having the first pick in his New York draft didn't hurt when it came to building a strong foundation. Adding stud pitcher Tim Lincecum to join first-round pick Albert Pujols got his team off and running in fine fashion on Draft Day.
But Lowy didn't stop there when it came to building what he hoped would be a championship-caliber squad.
"Thus far, it looks like I drafted a very balanced team," he said. "Obviously, Pujols and Lincecum was a great start to my draft, but (Adam) Wainwright, (Brett) Anderson and Jaime Garcia have helped anchor a strong pitching staff to go along with the strong batting average and power base that I have on offense."
One strategy that has worked out quite well so far was not pouncing on outfielders or closers too soon.
"I thought there was significant mid- to late-round value in both and so far I have struck gold in Vernon Wells and Cody Ross and Ryan Franklin and Matt Lindstrom," he said.
As any NFBC champion will attest, the draft is just the start of the work that goes into compiling a $100,000 team. Lowy has also been working the Waiver Wire feverishly and has landed some quality pickups there as well, snaring Alex Gonzalez, Jose Guillen, Fred Lewis, Freddy Garcia and Brett Cecil.
Getting near the top spot after five weeks is one thing. Staying in contention for 26 weeks and ultimately winning the $100,000 is something else entirely. So what does Lowy believe his team needs to do to stay in contention and win the overall title?
"As of now my team is excelling in nine of the 10 categories," he said. "The one missing piece is stolen bases. Obviously, in order to win this thing I'll need to somewhat maintain my pace in the other nine categories while increasing my stolen base productivity.
"However, I do have stolen base reinforcements on my roster recovering from injury in Coco Crisp and Brian Roberts. I also may have bought some cheap stolen bases in the recent pickups of Fred Lewis and Nate Schierholz. Another positive is that cheap speed is one of the easiest categories to supplement via (free agency) if I still find that necessary and I still have significant dollars available.
"Another positive is I have pitching reinforcements on my roster who should be back in a month or so in Brett Anderson, Brandon Webb and Ardolis Chapman to help the cause. Lastly, though Vernon Wells, Alex Gonzalez, Colby Rasmus and John Buck may regress, I've yet to get anywhere near the expected production from high draft picks like Victor Martinez, Derek Lee or Howie Kendrick. It should all even out in the end.
"Of course, I also need (NFBC leader) Mark Srebro's team to slow down a bit."
Lowy just turned 44 last week and lives in Long Island with his wife of 15 years and their son. His wife Audrey is also pregnant with twins due next month.
"That'll give me three-fourths of the future Met infield growing up in my house," Lowy joked.
Lowy works as a senior project manager for a national development company that builds and operates its own hotels, shopping malls and restaurants across the country. But that's just what Lowy does now. He has bigger goals for the future.
"Eventually, I'd like to follow in the steps of Chad Schroeder and play fantasy sports for a living," he said.
Snaring the $100,000 prize after Week 26 might prove to be a good way to get that next career started in fine fashion.
I apologize for not posting them here previously but you can find them on Fanball's site and going forward I will post them here so everyone can read them. This week's column is about Glenn Lowy, who is currently fourth in the Classic.
Last year, Glenn Lowy jumped into the high-stakes world of the National Fantasy Baseball Championship for the first time and enjoyed every second of the ride.
In 2010, with a year's experience under his belt he has his sights set squarely on the big prize - the $100,000 that goes to that national champion. And through the first five weeks of the season Lowy isn't just dreaming of winning the title, he has a realistic shot at it.
His team is currently in fourth place in the event, having made a strong push up the standings in the past week. While Lowy acknowledges there is still quite a bit of baseball left to be played he believes the national title is something his team can attain this year.
"I think every single one of us thinks about winning the main event from the moment we register for it," he said. " I think I have a talent for this game, but so do many, many others in the NFBC. With a playing field so talented, so knowledgeable, and so deep, winning the overall would be an incredible accomplishment for anyone.
"I feel I had a solid draft and have made some good pickups thus far. Being (fourth) at this point certainly puts me in a position where the overall seems like a realistic goal. Still there's a long way to go and many decisions and moves still to make. If I'm still somewhere close come late summer, I'm sure I'll feel like the dream is lot more attainable."
Lowy is no stranger to fantasy sports. He has been competing in some fashion for more than two decades.
"It started when my brother and a friend talked me into joining a face-to-face Keeper Strat-O-Matic league that met weekly," he said. "I loved the bi-annual drafts, the trading, the building of a franchise and especially the competition. It made baseball so much more enjoyable for me and I remained in that league for a decade. In fact, baseball has never been the same since.
"Everything changed when my brother-in-law talked me into a local fantasy football league in '95. What was missing from the mail-in league I found in this football league - knowing your opponents, the rivalries, the year-after-year competition with the same group of competitors. I was immediately hooked and am still a part of that league to this day.
"A few years later, that group of friends started a local fantasy baseball league where I was either champion or runner-up for every year but the last of its seven-year existence. When that league disbanded, I joined another local league and finished in the money every year there. Local leagues though had started to lose its appeal for me. Trading seemed unfair, the politics were annoying and honestly the stakes weren't high enough for me. That's when I found the NFBC.
"The NFBC gives me everything I look for in a fantasy competition. High stakes, ridiculously tough competition, the names and faces of the people both running and playing the game, huge risk, huge reward and huge recognition for achievement. I couldn't ask for anything more in a game I love to play."
Well maybe he could ask for one thing more.
Or perhaps 100,000 more.
That's what everyone in the event is aiming at and Lowy is sitting in a prime position early in the season as he's near the top of the leaderboard with a little more than a quarter of the season in the books. Having the first pick in his New York draft didn't hurt when it came to building a strong foundation. Adding stud pitcher Tim Lincecum to join first-round pick Albert Pujols got his team off and running in fine fashion on Draft Day.
But Lowy didn't stop there when it came to building what he hoped would be a championship-caliber squad.
"Thus far, it looks like I drafted a very balanced team," he said. "Obviously, Pujols and Lincecum was a great start to my draft, but (Adam) Wainwright, (Brett) Anderson and Jaime Garcia have helped anchor a strong pitching staff to go along with the strong batting average and power base that I have on offense."
One strategy that has worked out quite well so far was not pouncing on outfielders or closers too soon.
"I thought there was significant mid- to late-round value in both and so far I have struck gold in Vernon Wells and Cody Ross and Ryan Franklin and Matt Lindstrom," he said.
As any NFBC champion will attest, the draft is just the start of the work that goes into compiling a $100,000 team. Lowy has also been working the Waiver Wire feverishly and has landed some quality pickups there as well, snaring Alex Gonzalez, Jose Guillen, Fred Lewis, Freddy Garcia and Brett Cecil.
Getting near the top spot after five weeks is one thing. Staying in contention for 26 weeks and ultimately winning the $100,000 is something else entirely. So what does Lowy believe his team needs to do to stay in contention and win the overall title?
"As of now my team is excelling in nine of the 10 categories," he said. "The one missing piece is stolen bases. Obviously, in order to win this thing I'll need to somewhat maintain my pace in the other nine categories while increasing my stolen base productivity.
"However, I do have stolen base reinforcements on my roster recovering from injury in Coco Crisp and Brian Roberts. I also may have bought some cheap stolen bases in the recent pickups of Fred Lewis and Nate Schierholz. Another positive is that cheap speed is one of the easiest categories to supplement via (free agency) if I still find that necessary and I still have significant dollars available.
"Another positive is I have pitching reinforcements on my roster who should be back in a month or so in Brett Anderson, Brandon Webb and Ardolis Chapman to help the cause. Lastly, though Vernon Wells, Alex Gonzalez, Colby Rasmus and John Buck may regress, I've yet to get anywhere near the expected production from high draft picks like Victor Martinez, Derek Lee or Howie Kendrick. It should all even out in the end.
"Of course, I also need (NFBC leader) Mark Srebro's team to slow down a bit."
Lowy just turned 44 last week and lives in Long Island with his wife of 15 years and their son. His wife Audrey is also pregnant with twins due next month.
"That'll give me three-fourths of the future Met infield growing up in my house," Lowy joked.
Lowy works as a senior project manager for a national development company that builds and operates its own hotels, shopping malls and restaurants across the country. But that's just what Lowy does now. He has bigger goals for the future.
"Eventually, I'd like to follow in the steps of Chad Schroeder and play fantasy sports for a living," he said.
Snaring the $100,000 prize after Week 26 might prove to be a good way to get that next career started in fine fashion.
