Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Clear your conscience
Posted by Paul Singman at 1:07amFor most teams there are 12 games left in the regular season. That's 12 games left for your fantasy team to move up or down in roto league standings. That's not a lot of time to make up any significant ground, unless you are involved in a couple of close races in particular stat categories. Perhaps you are tied in RBI with another team or down by just one stinkin' win . Over a full season's worth of play, it's incredible to be so close to another team in a stat. You don't think it will happen, but every year it seems it does. The difference, if any, is so small.
Speaking of small, think of all of the "small" things you could have done over the season that would better the current situation you're in. Maybe you forgot to update your lineup until 2:15 p.m. and Brett Myers was pitching at 1:00 so he stayed on the bench. He would go on to throw a complete game shutout and, more importantly, get a win. Or you didn't realize the night before that Alfonso Soriano was coming off the DL on the 14th so he remained on your bench for one game. He went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs, while the guy you added to replace him, Willy Taveras, went 0-for-4. You should have dropped Willy the night before, but you were too busy doing... whatever it is you do.
The point is most people go into these last couple of weeks without a clear conscience, myself included. You don't think it will matter over the long marathon that is the regular season in June, but where we are now you see how big a difference those little things can make. Despite how apparent this all may seem now, I guarantee sometime early next season you won't update your roster one day because you accidentally turn off your computer and don't feel it's worth the 4 minutes to turn it quickly back on and change things. Odds are, that September you'll have the same guilty feeling you (and I) have now. Rinse and Repeat.
I know what I'm saying isn't revolutionary and it is something you already "know", but really try to keep this in mind through next April, May, June and July. Right now that is one of my goals for next season—to enter September with a clear conscience. Are you with me?
Paul has been managing fantasy baseball teams for many seasons and writing for THT Fantasy over the past three years. He is currently a student at UPenn welcomes readers' thoughts at his email here or in the comments below.