Each week three of our resident Fantasy writers will answer three pertinent questions that all owners should be asking themselves. Feel free to submit your own questions for this feature and we'll tackle them in this space.
Fantasy Triple Play
With one month of games in the books, is it time to start wheeling and dealing if you are off to a slow start?
It's a marathon, people, not a sprint. One month is too small of a sample size for a Fantasy Baseball owner to freak out and compromise any chance his team could have in the long run. There's a balance to strive for here, though. Don't go having a total yard sale with struggling star players like Alfonso Soriano, Prince Fielder or Ryan Howard just because of their rough starts. At the same time, it's always a good idea to make small tweaks to improve your team's situation and you'd be doing yourself a favor by testing the waters on some of these struggling studs. You'd be surprised how cheap you can get these guys for from the Carl Lewis of your league.
Absolutely. Consider this one of the "small tweaks" mentioned in the first question and start looking to deal the upstart young pitcher. The numbers are amazing, there's no need to discuss those. But consider the track record. He only made the rotation as a fifth starter because of the injury to Kelvim Escobar and the other foot will drop at some point. Saunders has never been touted as a big prospect in the Angels system and has mostly been used in a stopgap role in the past. That isn't to say he'll become a horrible pitcher, but it's unlikely he'll have another prolonged run like this one once the league starts getting a closer look at his fastball-changeup style of pitching. Why not try to turn his early-season success into something that could last you all season?
Big Papi. No doubt about it. Sheffield is an aging slugger with a bum shoulder and a vicious swing -- a very bad combination. And Hafner's "slump" dates back to when gas prices were in the two dollar range. Ortiz is dealing with a bum knee that has affected his power stroke a bit, but it's something he was able to bypass last year when he hit .331 with 35 homers and 117 RBI.
Sure, a month is a good bit of an evaluation period, but always avoid buying high and selling low. That is not good for business, especially in relation to hitters. If a guy is outperforming his career numbers it is likely a cold spell is coming, like a Pat Burrell. You don't want to have it come after you trade a slumping Ryan Howard for him.
Why do you want to give up a great thing? And what will you be offered? How many people are going to overpay for Saunders at this point? Important questions to answer before you give up your pleasant bit of serendipity. It would take someone overpaying for you to deal the red-hot Saunders and you shouldn't expect that to happen. He is a good pitcher, but not a great one, so -- short of a mistake by one of your league mates -- it is likely you should just ride him out in your starting lineup.
Sheffield is old and injury prone, Papi is looking older than he actually is and Hafner looks like a shell of his former self. Papi showed signs of decline a year ago, but you still have to trust him to outperform those other two DHs at this point. If age and injury risk wasn't a factor with Sheffield, we might actually take him over Hafner. The Indians DH's numbers for the past calendar year are quite pedestrian.
Absolutely. It's not like you are admitting defeat for a poor draft. It's just that some things haven't panned out and making a few adjustments is needed. You could be loaded at one position and weak at another, so trading can help get you a more balanced team. Even if you are winning at this point, there is always room for improvement.
Unfortunately, yes. I hope I am wrong because I would like to see Saunders succeed. In fact, I don't believe I own him in any of my Fantasy leagues, but Saunders has worked hard for his shot at the majors and seeing him thrive would be a nice story. However, he has displayed in the past a decline as the season progresses. In 2007, he was 3-0 with a 2.97 ERA before the All-Star break and 5-5 with a 5.03 after. In 2006, he started 10-4 with a 2.67 ERA at Triple-A Salt Lake, but posted a 4.71 ERA in 13 starts with the Angels after the All-Star break.
There is no doubt in my mind it's Big Papi. He has been great as a DH since joining Boston in 2003 and he will iron out his problems at the plate. Sheffield worries me because he is at the end of his career and this nagging shoulder problem could linger all season. As far as Hafner, I do believe he will improve at the plate as well, but I would much rather have Ortiz in my lineup.
You can e-mail your Fantasy Baseball questions to dmfantasybaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Triple Play in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state.
