A Stupid Post

[DOUGHBOYS]

When we perform an action in fantasy baseball, we do so with a permanence in mind. When we draft a player, we think/hope that that player will be on our roster all year. Same with faabing a player, unless we're only 'renting' him for a two start week, we hope he stays on the roster for the rest of the year.
It is why 'projections' are so highly thought of at the beginning of the year. The churning of our rosters is left out of the equation.
We live for the moment, we die in the future.

It was said by a lot of folks that Ryan Braun would have a sub par year. That fans yelling stuff at him during games would distract him. These predictions were made when the Braun/Ped's subject was a hot item. But baseball fans are like any other people. When a President raises taxes, we yell and scream and threaten that President with our vote, but most go on with lives, forgetting even a month later that more taxes are coming out of our check.

The fantasy managers that look at their team as an ever changing endeavor have an advantage.
The secret is not to draft the highest performing players at every position.
The secret is to have as many high performing players as possible by the end of the year.
Conventional wisdom is stupid.
I like using that word 'stupid' because my daughter tells me it is not politically correct.
Which means it gets it's point across in a straight forward manner.
Too straight for some groups of people.
Screw those groups.
They're probably stupid.

Conventional wisdom tells us to hold off on Closers.
In doing so, Craig Kimbrel would be off the table to the 'conventional wisdomist' (stupid spell checker).
Craig Kimbrel not only leads baseball in saves, he also could help a weak starting staff with their strike outs.
Craig Kimbrel is a seventh starter/best closer in one body. If he were a golf club, he'd be a utility club.

Conventional wisdom tells us to draft power in the first round. That power is the foundation on which most teams are built.

Matt Kemp
Albert Pujols
Miguel Cabrera
Ryan Braun
Troy Tulowitzki
Adrian Gonzalez
Joey Votto
Jacoby Ellsbury
Robinson Cano
Jose Bautista
Carlos Gonzalez
Justin Upton
Hanley Ramirez
Prince Fielder
Evan Longoria

Care to guess how many of these NFBC consensus first round players are even in the top 30 of home run hitters?

Bautista-27
Braun-26
Cano-21
Cabrera-20
CarGo-17

Thats right, 30 players and only five first rounders among them.
Geez, we're stupid.
But, the stupidity is only momentary.
When the season begins, realization comes to us that Upton or Ellsbury, or Tulo, or AdGon is not going to return first round numbers.
We start working FAAB and see that guys like Reddick, and Plouffe, and Viciedo are outperforming these first round picks.
The projections were weak and worthless (Twisted Sister reference) hogwash, as they are every year.
The best pitcher on your staff is not Doc Halladay, it's R.A. Dickey.
Dickey was an after thought in the 20th round.
This, after suffering through the consternation of taking Halladay with the second pick.
Stupid Halladay.
Stupid pick.

The old cliche is that 'you can't win your fantasy league on draft day, but you can lose it'.
That's stupid.
You can't win or lose your league on draft day.
Draft day is a matter of being a little less stupid than your opponents. That's all.
And when the season begins, it's a race to cover up our stupidity (Ellsbury, Upton, Tulo, etc) with brilliance (Reddick, Plouffe, etc)

We begin the 16th week of the season today. With each passing week, it gets harder and harder to cover up our stupidity. Sure, we have those stupid first round picks staring at us from our rosters, but we've become used to that.
Now, we have the week to week stupidity.
Last week, I faab'ed Scott Moore on most of my teams. He hit a few homers and after looking at his minor league resume, I thought Moore might be a Major League player trapped in a Minor League uniform.
Then after faabing him, his Manager says he'll platoon and he doesn't get a hit all week.
I'm so STUPID!
The best thing about this stupidness is that it doesn't linger like an old fart.
That's what a bad first round pick does. He lingers on your roster, giving you the finger and making a stink.
No first round picks are out for the year, so they are all still on our rosters.
Sticking their tongues at us.
Calling us Stupid.
In the meantime, guys like Moore and other faab'ers are cut and replaced.
That mistake is forgotten, unless Moore goes off and hits four homers this week.
Then, I'll be stupid twice.

We can be stupid in other ways as well-
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,WELCOME TO OUR GAME SHOW.....
FANTASY RUSSIAN ROULETTE!
We've all played Fantasy Russian Roulette.
The game where we decide to play or bench a pitcher that is struggling or up and down, or is really good but facing the Yankees or Rangers or some other good team.
Many Lincecum owners have been playing the game most of the year. Some have pitched Timmy in every start, then decided to bench him for his eight innings of shutout ball.
They weren't stupid.
Lincecum just happened to hit on the only chamber that was full.
This week, new game and new gun and again, only one chamber is full.
No matter which way you go with Timmy, it won't be stupid.
Till it is.

My daughter won't read this.
She gives me the eye roll when fantasy baseball enters a conversation.
She thinks it's stupid, but she's too politically correct to say so.
Stupid daughter.