Focus on Categories

I can not say this enough to any fantasy owner who is in contention for a fantasy championship, THIS IS THE TIME TO FOCUS AND ATTACK CATEGORIES. I have a few friends who have asked about how to really win a championship or even hold a lead in a league, well this is how you do it and it is very simple.

The first thing you need to do is look at the standings in an UNBIAS way. I this is hard since you love all your players and you think they will have career years every year, well this is wrong. Don't expect some player to all of a sudden turn it around and hit .320 the rest of the way when he is a .275 hitter and he is currently hitting .295. He'll most likely hit around .270 the rest of the way to bring his average back down to his career average, remember the law of averages!

Secondly, sort each category and see where you sit compared with the rest of the league. If you are behind by say 30HR's don't expect to make that up unless you find a way to deal for Dunn, Howard, or A-Rod. At this point in the season, barring injuries, you can find yourself overcoming a 15-20HR's difference and maybe even 25 if you have a huge power surge and the people above fall into hitting singles. Make sure to sort each category and see if you can realistically climb up and gather enough points to be in first. REMEMBER, don't just look above you in the standings but also look below you. Someone who is 2HR's behind you or .001 point in average behind you can easily surpass you.

Thirdly, now that you have sorted each category and you know what is above and below you, you have to choose which categories you are very strong in and which categories you need to improve. So in my situation, I have a lead of around 20-25 in saves (I have been trying to deal closers forever but with no luck) so it is the time to send a closer or two to someone for a player you need. If you need steals try for a player like Taveras, if you need average look for Ichiro, and if you need power look to Dunn or Howard.

Fourthly, many of my friends have never thought about this but trade players to a team that can take points away from a team above you. For example, if the team above you in the overall standings is competing with someone over saves give a closer to the person via trade and see the guy above you lose a point in a category. This is completely fair and breaks no ethics issues.

Fifth, the baseball season is very long and players tend to tire throughout the season so expect many players to slow down their pace from earlier in the season. This really applies to rookies who have not endured a full season of MLB baseball and are almost running on fumes. This is particularly true for young pitchers who are approaching their season high in innings. The more innings a pitchers throws over his career high the more chance he will tire and lose his effectiveness.

I hope this little post helps you keep you in the lead or gives you what you need to know to climb in the standings.