{"id":3508,"date":"2011-04-08T08:00:47","date_gmt":"2011-04-08T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/?p=3508"},"modified":"2011-04-08T13:29:55","modified_gmt":"2011-04-08T18:29:55","slug":"my-first-week-of-fantasy-baseball-team-putouts-or-gtfo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/archives\/3508","title":{"rendered":"My First Week of Fantasy Baseball: Team Putouts or GTFO"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When I say this is my first week of fantasy, I don’t mean the first of the season\u2014I mean I’ve never participated in fantasy sports before this year. Previously, I assumed that I would make too big of a time commitment just to be stomped around by guys (and possibly girls) that have done this before and have, you know, strategies and such. When fellow Sombrero contributor Rick Berdelle invited me to his league, \u201cThe Sober Valley Lodge,\u201d I thought this was a great opportunity to finally make the plunge into fantasy. The Lodge’s settings look like this:<\/p>\n

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Teams: 8<\/p>\n

Scoring Type: H2H Total Points<\/p>\n

Scoring: (Hitting) TB (1), R (1), RBI (1), SB (1), BB (1), K (-1)<\/p>\n

(Pitching) IP (3), K (1), H (-1), BB (-1), ER (-2), W (10), L (-5), SV (5)<\/p>\n

Roster Size: 25 (22 starters, 3 bench, 1 DL)<\/p>\n

To my knowledge, this is about the best league an uneducated first-timer could have joined: very shallow with simple scoring methods. I don’t have to do well in certain categories like OBP or AVG, I just need to accumulate as many points as possible. The shallow league is a double-edged sword: my lineup is stacked with great players and few low-tier guys, but every team is in that situation. Since our rosters are huge, I can keep any poor performers on the bench and switch them out with someone else. An hour before our draft I find out I have the last pick (eighth), and I’m not excited already. I try to keep my hopes up: it’s a snake draft, so I’ll be able to pick up two elite players back-to-back. Here’s how my picks went, in order:<\/p>\n

Round 1 \u2013 David Wright<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 3B<\/p>\n

Round 2 \u2013 Miguel Cabrera<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 1B<\/p>\n

Round 3 \u2013 Matt Kemp<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 OF<\/p>\n

Round 4 \u2013 Dustin Pedroia<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 2B<\/p>\n

Round 5 \u2013 Buster Posey<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 C, 1B<\/p>\n

Round 6 \u2013 Mike Stanton<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 OF<\/p>\n

Round 7 \u2013 Josh Johnson<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 SP<\/p>\n

Round 8 \u2013 Alexei Ramirez<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 SS<\/p>\n

Round 9 \u2013 Jay Bruce<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 OF<\/p>\n

Round 10 \u2013 David Price<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 SP<\/p>\n

Round 11 \u2013 Carlos Marmol<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 RP<\/p>\n

Round 12 \u2013 Gordon Beckham<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 2B<\/p>\n

Round 13 \u2013 Drew Stubbs<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 OF<\/p>\n

(Note: Up until Round 13, I was on the phone with Mike and he was giving me ideas for who to pick next. He had to pick up his girlfriend from class, and then I choose Ted Lilly<\/a><\/strong>. I’m useless on my own, apparently.)<\/p>\n

Round 14 \u2013 Ted Lilly<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 SP<\/p>\n

Round 15 \u2013 Jonathan Sanchez<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 SP<\/p>\n

Round 16 \u2013 Vernon Wells<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 OF<\/p>\n

Round 17 \u2013 Starlin Castro<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 SS<\/p>\n

Round 18 \u2013 Gio Gonzalez<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 SP<\/p>\n

Round 19 \u2013 Madison Bumgarner<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 SP<\/p>\n

Round 20 \u2013 Chris Coghlan<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 OF<\/p>\n

Round 21 \u2013 Matt Thornton<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 RP<\/p>\n

Round 22 \u2013 David Freese<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 3B<\/p>\n

Round 23 \u2013 Mitch Moreland<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 1B<\/p>\n

Round 24 \u2013 Denard Span<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 OF<\/p>\n

Round 25 \u2013 C.J. Wilson<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 SP<\/p>\n

So that’s my lineup. I started the week with Coghlan, Span, and Moreland on the bench. After my first full week of fantasy baseball, I’ve compiled some notes and memorable tidbits:<\/p>\n