Yesterday, I gave tips for teams thinking about packing it in this year. The other side of the coin is if your team is contending and you have to deal with teams that are playing for next year.
As we all know, Rotisserie baseball is tough, especially in competitive A.L. or N.L. only leagues where money changes hands. In carry over leagues, you probably won't have an opportunity to win every year, so you have to take the opportunities to win as they come along. This would suggest that you should take whatever you can get when you're playing for this year.
However, it's never that simple. If you trade $30 worth of this year value for $45 worth of this year value and your opponent trades $30 worth of this year value for $60 worth of this year value, your opponent is going to win. The most vital element to dump trades, therefore, is not only determining which players are valuable, but trying to squeeze every last once of value out of your team.
First of all, this is most challenging if you have a salary cap to contend with. In leagues without salary caps, I've noticed that the winner is almost always the team that stockpiled four or five great or nearly great young players. This owner can write his own ticket, and $500 rosters at the close of the season weren't unheard of.
With the cap, you've got to figure out how to put together the best team possible without blocking your team at key positions or with a $35 albatross who just isn't worth it, but who you can't waive because he's producing something.
With all of this in mind, here are today's helpful hints for contenders looking to optimize their next year for this year deals.
Your best chips have value for you as well. What I mean here is don't forget that these players are giving your opponent a big leg up next year, just like they gave you a big leg up this year. Don't give these guys away. You don't want to ask for four studs for your $1 J.J. Putz, but you certainly shouldn't be afraid to ask for two studs and a solid everyday player. If that sounds like too much, keep in mind that your opponent will probably give Putz a three-year deal at $11, and you'll probably wind up throwing all of the players you got back into the free agent pool.
Pay a little more for top starting pitching. Teams that are skilled or get lucky on top starters tend to be the teams that aren't dumping. So, when you do find a non-contender with a stud starter, pay a little more. It's much easier to acquire a power hitter in a dump trade than it is to get a Johan Santana or a C.C. Sabathia.
You can still blow off a category. Your goal is still to optimize your points, not to grab every player under the sun and hope to get 96 points. If you're weak in saves and can only gain two points, don't waste your top freeze on Joe Nathan and David Ortiz. Get Ortiz and another hitter instead.
Try to accumulate cheaper players in the last year of their contracts. Getting a $45 Alex Rodriguez is obviously helpful. But getting a $15 Alexis Rios in the last year of a long-term deal is better, since you now have $30 of salary cap room to play with. Speaking of the salary cap...
Don't be afraid to get creative. Don't be afraid to throw-in a disappointing $30 player to a non-contender as part of your dump trade. It frees up cap space, allowing you to add better players than your subpar albatross. Some owners don't like to do this; they feel they're giving a team a chip to deal. If anything, I love this approach because it ties down one of your competitors with the weak $30 player you've been stuck with half the season.
Position scarcity counts. If you can, get the best catchers and middle infielders you can. It's far more likely that you'll be able to either: a) pick up a free agent OF or CO who will produce something or b) grab a second-tier OF/CO at the deadline by trading a borderline minor leaguer or a draft pick. And, of course...
Dangle your minor leaguers. Don't hold on to Cameron Maybin if you get a solid offer just because you want Maybin to lead your team to victory in 2010. Your goal is this year. Which leads me to my final point.
Ignore any and all of the above rules if it means winning. If getting a top steals guy will put the league away and you know it, then overpay. Years ago, when Pedro Martinez was in his prime, I won by overpaying for Pedro and keeping him away from the team in 1st place. If the leader at the time had only dumped his best chip straight up for Pedro, the league would have been over and he would have won by 10-15 points. It goes against all of the advice above, but if you ever get an opening this obvious, take it before your opponents can blink.
If this is repetitive, forgive me, but the goal is to win. Worry about next year after the Super Bowl is over. You might not win back to back, but chances are you're not going to win even once unless you make a full-blown commitment to winning now.
No comments:
Post a Comment