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 A fan of the Yankees, Red Sox, and large sample sizes. 
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3.12.2004
HOW TO WIN YOUR PUBLIC YAHOO LEAGUE Every public Yahoo rotisserie league has exactly the same settings - 5x5, 12 teams, MLB universe, hitters (C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, OF, OF, OF, UT), pitchers (SP,SP,RP,RP,P,P,P), reserves (5 bench, 1 DL), and maximums (162 games/hitter position, 1250 total IP). This is the kind of league that most people sign up for when they play Yahoo. Because of its popularity and consistency, Yahoo ranks every team in one of these leagues, and maintains a top 50 list on the fantasy baseball homepage. It's always been a dream of mine to appear on this list. Maybe if one of you reading this finishes in the top 50, you can mention me in your awards speech. The number one rule of any league is to understand how the player pool affects your values. Because there are only three OF positions in these Yahoo leagues, OF are worth less than a traditional league. Lack of a second catcher reduces catcher values as well. And getting rid of the MI/CI has different effects. SS, 2B, and 3B all keep similar value, but since the top 12 1B are very similar, 1B take a hit. My rankings will follow below. You might be tempted to jump on those 2B/SS/3B early, and that wouldn't be a bad idea, but since the rest of your league probably doesn't realize their value, you should feel free to wait for one or two of those positions to fall, and then jump on 'em. Just like you don't want to follow the crowd, you don't want to be too far out in front of the crowd. Although you can't count on it entirely, keep your eye on the Yahoo rankings. Players that are higher tend to go earlier, even when they shouldn't. Another major aspect of Yahoo leagues are the playing time maximums. Let's take hitting first. Each position has a limit of 162 games played. As much as possible, you should try to get a player into your lineup any day one of your starters isn't playing. Becaue I'm going to recommend carrying 2 to 3 extra pitchers on your bench, that leaves 2 to 3 substitute hitters. If you can, get a player that plays at least two of the following positions - 2B, SS, and 3B. When one of those positions has the day off, put the sub in. The other spot should be a 1B/OF type guy who can fill in for those positions. If you decide to keep a third hitter on your bench, make it an OF. With three OF and a UT, there are 4 positions an OF can fill in. If possible try not to have many OF from the same team, as they'll have the same days off and you'll have to sub in multiple subs on the same day, which you might not be able to do. Finally, a word about stolen bases. In league like this, having a stolen-base guy in the OF will kill you. Most teams go for power power power. If you want to win SBs fine, but you'll have to do it with 5-category guys like Abreu, Soriano, Jeter, Beltra, etc. If you go with a Pierre or Crawford type, you'll get burned in the rest of the categories. Not because of valuation, but because of what the other teams do. A side benefit of getting a good SS and 2B is that quite often these guys have stolen bases. On the pitching side of things, I like to break the 1250 IP down like this: 3 75 IP closers, and 6 starters who will each pitch about 170 IP. The 3 closers will stay in your lineup permanently, while the starters will rotate in. Because you should be able to get 6 starters who will pitch more than 175 IP, you'll be able to be a little selective - maybe not put in a starter in Coors or when he faces the Yankees. If you like the idea of being very selective with your starts, grab a 7th pitcher and finesse your way to 1250 IP. Because anyone who knows what they're doing will get to 1250 IP, the strikeouts category really becomes a SO/IP category. Although I'm real high on John Thomson this year, he's not a good pick in Yahoo leagues because of his low SO totals. I'd much rather have a Ben Sheets type who you can sit against the better offenses. And yes, although wins aren't very predictable, pitchers on better teams earn more wins. I like to have maybe one pitching stud if available, then fill in with underrated bargains. I usually spend most of my top ten picks on hitters, but there are always a pitcher or two that fall a little too far that I jump on. Keep in mind that the high IP guys (Halladay, Unit, Schilling) aren't worth quite as much, because although their extra innings at good ratios are nice, they're using up IP you could get from other places (damn that IP limit). So, like I said before, proper valuation is the key. Here are my hitter rankings. Remember, stay just ahead of the flow, picking up the players that the rest of the league undervalues. Once you get into the $15ish range with hitters, load up on quality pitchers. Don't be afraid to pick a pitcher that didn't have a spectacular year last year. Pitchers are flukey.
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