Snatch Catch
02-19-05, 03:41 PM
OK, by the results of our poll, it looks like our auction will be taking place on Monday, March 7th, as it is the only day that we will have the requisite number of people to fill the league.
I encourage everyone to purchase AT LEAST one magazine, as well as use other sources like the net, and RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH. It is very difficult to just show up to an auction cold and be successful, so the more you look into projected dollar values for guys and couple that with who YOU think will break through or fall off, the better off you are. The entire league would be best served if every owner is up on their player values, so lets do this the right way!
To start, here's an interesting article to look at regarding auction strategy:
The GM Way : Now I am sure someone smarter than me came up with this strategy first and deserves credit for it. But, since they haven't pushed like I have, I don't know who it is. This will be the Reader's Digest version. For my full approach to Rotisserie Leagues follow the hyperlink provided.The GM Way Basically, I play to position scarcity (which some experts argue does not exist). I will get the players in positions where there are not many choices at any cost. Then get low dollar players at the end in positions that have the most talent. So in 2002, Catcher and Middle Infield stand out as having little talent again and perhaps Starting Pitching. Usually Pitchers and Outfield have much more, so I will try to get Nomar Garciaparra or Ivan Rodriguez in the AL or Mike Piazza in the NL. With the increase in hitting, the elite pitcher can be added and the taking of Pedro Martinez in the AL or Randy Johnson in the NL fills the role as well. You have to have some one dollar players, all teams do. I would rather take a one dollar outfielder that has some upside and take my chances on him over achieving as compared to a one dollar catcher. I say the outfielder outperforms the catcher more often than not. I also do not worry about the wins category as it is unpredictable. I also like to concentrate on steals and saves as these are the hardest to get commodities which are hard to find after draft day. I won in my first year of Rotisserie with Ryne Sandberg at 49 and Will Clark at 41 and this style has had me in the money annually. The main reason is getting the above average talent in positions with limited talent and the one dollar players that emerge and allows you to overbuy for those same top notch type players. A cycle so to speak. However, a warning, as my above example of going into the 40's for players was back in the 80's! It is much tougher to pull off in today's game with the glut of info a click away from any player. It works for me, and it can work for you too! Again, this is a shortened version. You can get the full article by following the link if you want to.The GM Way
Punt One Category : In this strategy, you choose to "give up" or using the football term "punt" one category. The idea is to finish last in , for example saves, and thus save money by not spending it on closers and then it can be used to enhance your position in the other categories. I have seen teams do this and win. After all, with all the information available to players today, it is very difficult to have a balanced team. (more on them later) Wins, saves and stolen bases are the most often chosen categories to punt. This strategy can work, however any miscalculations on draft day leaving you weak in other categories could lead to doom. In research for the 2000 season, I found that this was a tough task though. Of the leagues I researched, only about 1 in 5 won by punting a category. This is not recommended if you are playing in a league that starts from scratch each year, at least not on draft day. At some point in the season you may have to punt a category to strengthen your position. However, somebody in your league is likely to be solid in all 8 or 10 categories and you do too to win. If in a keeper league, then you may have to punt a category on draft day just because of what is available. But still, you will have to contend with a team that will be solid in all categories.
Balanced Team Theory:In this theory, you budget your money in a manner to finish in third or fourth place in every category. I used to play by this rule and still do for the most part. I never punt categories to start the season. You try to work your draft so you are competitive in all categories. Very, very tough to do in this day and age. Easier to do in the past, as all you veterans know. This theory is still viable today, but takes a lot of planning and a draft that goes as planned. Problem is that to compete in wins, you often times have to spend more than you budget for pitching and then are left short on hitting. You also have to pass on "stars" or local favorites as they become too expensive. It leaves your team with a bunch of no namers and uninteresting players. Because of this, some call it "The Bernhard Plan" as aptly named by 1995 LABR winner Mike Vogel. He said " this plan is so ugly it is beautiful like Sandra Bernhard."
Punt Two Categories: In this strategy an owner punts two categories, usually home runs and runs batted in. They expect to finish last in those two categories , but use the money to dominate the other categories giving a possible total of 74 points in a standard 4x4 league. This strategy is often referred to as "The Sweeney Plan" named after an owner from the American Dream League that used it successfully. Alex Patton used this plan to finish second in one of the 1998 Tout Wars leagues. This strategy is good if you have low requirements, but bad if you have high requirements. For example, 900 innings and 3,500 at bats would encourage one to Sweeney. 1,200 innings pitched and 4,250 at bats would cause one to pass Sweeney up. You load up on high average guys with speed as well as securing a couple of closers. Then a solid pitching staff followed by several low dollar, but good average guys. The problem is you have to be near perfect, as mentioned before, a solid team in all categories could amass more than 74 points. On the up side, it is low maintenance and does not require you watching the trannies quite as close, and could be a good "curve ball" strategy in a very competitive league. For more on Sweeney here is a link to Alex Patton's column from Tout Wars in 1998. http://www.toutwars.com/column5_patton.htm
The Nine Dollar Pitching Staff Strategy: Tried by Larry Labadini in the 1996 LABR sponsored by Baseball Weekly. The thinking here is that you load up on hitting and win those categories and then do well in ratio and E.R.A. Trade for any weaknesses with your excess hitting. I think you could win with this, especially in a league that is short of the recommended number of teams. Tougher to do in a full twelve team league. It requires some roster management to be successful. The downside, you better know and I mean really know pitching. Larry didn't win, but did well enough to make others ponder the strategy. He was leading at the halfway point and faded to a fourth place finish. You also must be able to trade and have good relationships in the league so people will be willing to trade. I look for someone to try and utilize the Labadini plan again soon in one of the expert leagues as each year less and less is spent on pitching. Especially a league that has FAAB rules!
The Don't Draft Anyone Over $30 Strategy: Used by Irwin Zwilling and Lenny Melnick to win the Baseball Weekly LABR two years in a row, 1995 & 1996 I believe. If these two won one of the toughest leagues in the country with it, then you know it can work. The idea is to not spend over 30 dollars and amass a solid lineup of everyday players at modest prices. Very similar to the Bernhard Plan, but you can still get some stars for under 30. This is an excellent strategy for an owner drafting in a league that is in its first year. You will get a fair share of good players at good prices, and then get to keep them for future years. The drawback in this strategy is you can get closed out of of talent and end up overpaying for mediocre players. I have seen owners go crazy and pay 50 for Griffey and 45 for Henderson and 40 for Lofton and the 30 dollar theory guys finish the draft with 50 dollars left over! Probably not a good strategy if your league has inflation like mentioned above. This was also used to win the 1999 & 2000 NL Tout Wars leagues by John Coleman of the Sandlot Shrink. The big problem with it today is that because of the success of this plan in the expert leagues, many may copy it in your league and any strategy if tough to be successful with if several teams are employing it.
The LIMA Plan Utilized by Ron Shandler to win both Tout Wars in 1998, a 2nd in 1999 and another championship in 2000. LIMA stands for Low Investment Mound Aces and also as a salute to Jose Lima who fit the pitching profile and anchored Ron to victory, back in 1998. By using selected pitching stats Ron will project pitchers that will do well the upcoming season, many of which that are unknown to most. It also requires only using two or three starters. Thus, money is saved for hitting. The breakdown is 60 for pitching 200 for hitting. For more details visit http://www.baseballhq.com. Again, due to its popularity, many are employing this strategy and Ron has a legion of followers using it from his website. The problem with this plan now is that everyone finds out the pitchers that fit the LIMA profile and then bid them up on draft day, making it difficult to execute the plan. It is very similar to the strategy that I employ, but Ron usually does not spend over 30 while executing the plan and you already know I will at certain positions. A highly popular and successful strategy currently.
The No Starter Strategy: Developed by Alex Patton in the American Dream League. Because of it, most leagues have minimum requirements for innings pitched today. The higher the requirements the tougher to employ this strategy. The idea is to do well in Ratio, ERA, and Saves then use the money saved avoiding starters to get hitters. Still possible to win this way but watch the requirements. The downside is that once players realize your strategy, they will drive up the price of relievers in an effort to leave you short on money for hitting. Interesting though when guys like Matt Herges can win 11 games, more than a lot of starters without the risk of a manager keeping the starter that is getting shelled in the game to "get to the pen."
I encourage everyone to purchase AT LEAST one magazine, as well as use other sources like the net, and RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH. It is very difficult to just show up to an auction cold and be successful, so the more you look into projected dollar values for guys and couple that with who YOU think will break through or fall off, the better off you are. The entire league would be best served if every owner is up on their player values, so lets do this the right way!
To start, here's an interesting article to look at regarding auction strategy:
The GM Way : Now I am sure someone smarter than me came up with this strategy first and deserves credit for it. But, since they haven't pushed like I have, I don't know who it is. This will be the Reader's Digest version. For my full approach to Rotisserie Leagues follow the hyperlink provided.The GM Way Basically, I play to position scarcity (which some experts argue does not exist). I will get the players in positions where there are not many choices at any cost. Then get low dollar players at the end in positions that have the most talent. So in 2002, Catcher and Middle Infield stand out as having little talent again and perhaps Starting Pitching. Usually Pitchers and Outfield have much more, so I will try to get Nomar Garciaparra or Ivan Rodriguez in the AL or Mike Piazza in the NL. With the increase in hitting, the elite pitcher can be added and the taking of Pedro Martinez in the AL or Randy Johnson in the NL fills the role as well. You have to have some one dollar players, all teams do. I would rather take a one dollar outfielder that has some upside and take my chances on him over achieving as compared to a one dollar catcher. I say the outfielder outperforms the catcher more often than not. I also do not worry about the wins category as it is unpredictable. I also like to concentrate on steals and saves as these are the hardest to get commodities which are hard to find after draft day. I won in my first year of Rotisserie with Ryne Sandberg at 49 and Will Clark at 41 and this style has had me in the money annually. The main reason is getting the above average talent in positions with limited talent and the one dollar players that emerge and allows you to overbuy for those same top notch type players. A cycle so to speak. However, a warning, as my above example of going into the 40's for players was back in the 80's! It is much tougher to pull off in today's game with the glut of info a click away from any player. It works for me, and it can work for you too! Again, this is a shortened version. You can get the full article by following the link if you want to.The GM Way
Punt One Category : In this strategy, you choose to "give up" or using the football term "punt" one category. The idea is to finish last in , for example saves, and thus save money by not spending it on closers and then it can be used to enhance your position in the other categories. I have seen teams do this and win. After all, with all the information available to players today, it is very difficult to have a balanced team. (more on them later) Wins, saves and stolen bases are the most often chosen categories to punt. This strategy can work, however any miscalculations on draft day leaving you weak in other categories could lead to doom. In research for the 2000 season, I found that this was a tough task though. Of the leagues I researched, only about 1 in 5 won by punting a category. This is not recommended if you are playing in a league that starts from scratch each year, at least not on draft day. At some point in the season you may have to punt a category to strengthen your position. However, somebody in your league is likely to be solid in all 8 or 10 categories and you do too to win. If in a keeper league, then you may have to punt a category on draft day just because of what is available. But still, you will have to contend with a team that will be solid in all categories.
Balanced Team Theory:In this theory, you budget your money in a manner to finish in third or fourth place in every category. I used to play by this rule and still do for the most part. I never punt categories to start the season. You try to work your draft so you are competitive in all categories. Very, very tough to do in this day and age. Easier to do in the past, as all you veterans know. This theory is still viable today, but takes a lot of planning and a draft that goes as planned. Problem is that to compete in wins, you often times have to spend more than you budget for pitching and then are left short on hitting. You also have to pass on "stars" or local favorites as they become too expensive. It leaves your team with a bunch of no namers and uninteresting players. Because of this, some call it "The Bernhard Plan" as aptly named by 1995 LABR winner Mike Vogel. He said " this plan is so ugly it is beautiful like Sandra Bernhard."
Punt Two Categories: In this strategy an owner punts two categories, usually home runs and runs batted in. They expect to finish last in those two categories , but use the money to dominate the other categories giving a possible total of 74 points in a standard 4x4 league. This strategy is often referred to as "The Sweeney Plan" named after an owner from the American Dream League that used it successfully. Alex Patton used this plan to finish second in one of the 1998 Tout Wars leagues. This strategy is good if you have low requirements, but bad if you have high requirements. For example, 900 innings and 3,500 at bats would encourage one to Sweeney. 1,200 innings pitched and 4,250 at bats would cause one to pass Sweeney up. You load up on high average guys with speed as well as securing a couple of closers. Then a solid pitching staff followed by several low dollar, but good average guys. The problem is you have to be near perfect, as mentioned before, a solid team in all categories could amass more than 74 points. On the up side, it is low maintenance and does not require you watching the trannies quite as close, and could be a good "curve ball" strategy in a very competitive league. For more on Sweeney here is a link to Alex Patton's column from Tout Wars in 1998. http://www.toutwars.com/column5_patton.htm
The Nine Dollar Pitching Staff Strategy: Tried by Larry Labadini in the 1996 LABR sponsored by Baseball Weekly. The thinking here is that you load up on hitting and win those categories and then do well in ratio and E.R.A. Trade for any weaknesses with your excess hitting. I think you could win with this, especially in a league that is short of the recommended number of teams. Tougher to do in a full twelve team league. It requires some roster management to be successful. The downside, you better know and I mean really know pitching. Larry didn't win, but did well enough to make others ponder the strategy. He was leading at the halfway point and faded to a fourth place finish. You also must be able to trade and have good relationships in the league so people will be willing to trade. I look for someone to try and utilize the Labadini plan again soon in one of the expert leagues as each year less and less is spent on pitching. Especially a league that has FAAB rules!
The Don't Draft Anyone Over $30 Strategy: Used by Irwin Zwilling and Lenny Melnick to win the Baseball Weekly LABR two years in a row, 1995 & 1996 I believe. If these two won one of the toughest leagues in the country with it, then you know it can work. The idea is to not spend over 30 dollars and amass a solid lineup of everyday players at modest prices. Very similar to the Bernhard Plan, but you can still get some stars for under 30. This is an excellent strategy for an owner drafting in a league that is in its first year. You will get a fair share of good players at good prices, and then get to keep them for future years. The drawback in this strategy is you can get closed out of of talent and end up overpaying for mediocre players. I have seen owners go crazy and pay 50 for Griffey and 45 for Henderson and 40 for Lofton and the 30 dollar theory guys finish the draft with 50 dollars left over! Probably not a good strategy if your league has inflation like mentioned above. This was also used to win the 1999 & 2000 NL Tout Wars leagues by John Coleman of the Sandlot Shrink. The big problem with it today is that because of the success of this plan in the expert leagues, many may copy it in your league and any strategy if tough to be successful with if several teams are employing it.
The LIMA Plan Utilized by Ron Shandler to win both Tout Wars in 1998, a 2nd in 1999 and another championship in 2000. LIMA stands for Low Investment Mound Aces and also as a salute to Jose Lima who fit the pitching profile and anchored Ron to victory, back in 1998. By using selected pitching stats Ron will project pitchers that will do well the upcoming season, many of which that are unknown to most. It also requires only using two or three starters. Thus, money is saved for hitting. The breakdown is 60 for pitching 200 for hitting. For more details visit http://www.baseballhq.com. Again, due to its popularity, many are employing this strategy and Ron has a legion of followers using it from his website. The problem with this plan now is that everyone finds out the pitchers that fit the LIMA profile and then bid them up on draft day, making it difficult to execute the plan. It is very similar to the strategy that I employ, but Ron usually does not spend over 30 while executing the plan and you already know I will at certain positions. A highly popular and successful strategy currently.
The No Starter Strategy: Developed by Alex Patton in the American Dream League. Because of it, most leagues have minimum requirements for innings pitched today. The higher the requirements the tougher to employ this strategy. The idea is to do well in Ratio, ERA, and Saves then use the money saved avoiding starters to get hitters. Still possible to win this way but watch the requirements. The downside is that once players realize your strategy, they will drive up the price of relievers in an effort to leave you short on money for hitting. Interesting though when guys like Matt Herges can win 11 games, more than a lot of starters without the risk of a manager keeping the starter that is getting shelled in the game to "get to the pen."