Most of my studying is done, now it's just a time to keep up with injuries and changes that spring training brings.
On vacation, I've had a chance to also catch up with some columns by fantasy writers.
These writers have our best interests at heart. They really do. They're like a movie reviewer. They think that what they like is what we'll like. In our hobby, like movies, everybody has different tastes. So, we'll either nod in quiet agreement or roll our eyes while they tell us that Meryl Streep is all that and a bag of Doritos.
What I dislike the most about the writers is the 'sounding smart' and being so dumb. Here's an example, and this was written by somebody close to us.
This writer states that David Murphy is a 'Must own' if being a Hamilton or Cruz owner.
Now, like I said before, he has his heart in the right place and it would be nice to have Murphy in your back pocket if owning Hamilton or Cruz.
The problem is that we don't know if somebody more desperate to own Murphy will overdraft him or that we will have already been forced to move in another direction once the draft hits those 20+ rounds. If we take Allen Craig instead of Murphy, we have the hope that both Hamilton AND Craig will be getting quality at bats once May begins. Or, maybe we're short on speed and need a base stealer.
At best if we take Murphy, he clutters the bench until Hamilton gets hurt. We are powerless. We can't start him. He is merely insurance. A nothing. A nothing is the worst to have on your bench.
Is Murphy better insurance than a faab once Hamilton gets hurt?
Probably.
Is a faab THAT much worse than Murphy should Hamilton get hurt?
No.
This is just another case of a writer sounding smart but being dumb.
Here's another-
'If drafting Craig Kimbrel, handcuff Jonny Venters'.
Sounds smart, but this is worse than dumb. It's stupid.
Lets' say we take the plunge on Kimbrel in the sixth round. If not wanting to corner the market on quality closers, this allows us to wait till the tail end of runs on closers to grab our second closer in the 14th or 15th round.
Venters is more valuable to another team that only drafted one closer. He is one of the top closer-in-waitings.
To handcuff Kimbrel, a drafter would have to overdraft Venters, probably in the 16-18 rounds.
By doing this, the drafter has lost his advantage of taking his second closer late. And worse, he doesn't even have that 'Half of a closer', he only has insurance for Kimbrel and a clogged bench spot.
Drafting any player early never creates a 'must pick' later. Each week brings different situations for lineups during the year. Those seven bench spots are valuable. Using them as 'just in cases' during the season usually brings heartache and then an eventual dropping of the player.
If it's smart to handcuff players during an NFBC draft, then I'm too dumb to see it.
I'll go back to vacation. I just needed one rant while taking time off from, uh, rants.
