Punting HRs and RBIs, can it work?

[kab21]

Mock Draft Using This Stategy

sp-felix hernandez
sp-gallardo
sp-zimmerman
sp-tim stauffer
sp-jeff niemann
rp-craig kimbrel
rp-john axford
rp-mariano rivera

This pitching staff is average and it won't get it done if you're already punting 2 offensive categories and competing in two others.

But West said it best. It's not fun.

[dannahann]

do you win every championship drafting a balanced team?

In roto, yes, I have a good chance.
In H2H you can only win the regular season, than it is down to luck.

You brought up this

like the one kid said 3 league, 3 2nd place finishes...thats pretty consistent success

so I refrase your question:
did he win every championship by punting HRs and RBIs?

FWIW I won 2 out of 3 last season (1 H2H, 1 roto), and currently I'm over 90 % success rate at Yahoo baseball, (proof here, so I'm not just sayin something)


and I've never seen that strategy to win.
You can try that strategy in public leagues, but it only takes one owner who has the same strategy, or a knowledgable owner who likes to destroy casual public leaguers, and you are toast.

I have an eerily similar "baseball resume" (see below) and as I read through this thread I was thinking the ONLY PLACE this has any chance at all to succeed is a casual H2H public league. (success to me means winning ala syfo-das) I haven't played H2H or in a public league in many years, just 3 keeper roto leagues. But given the level of competition I remember from back in the day, numbers of owners who lose interest, and the huge impact chance plays in H2H, ANY "strategy" has a shot. In a competitive league you'll not only have very little fun as was pointed out, but you'll likely struggle in the standings too.

Baseball
Game Performance: 90% (27 eligible teams)
Best Finish: 1 (of 20), 2003
Worst Finish: 7 (of 10), 2010
Trophies: 23
Player Since: 2001
Teams Managed 27
League Commish: 7% (2 of 27)

[West]

Maybe I am a traditionalist but I just can't stand H2H and threads like this make me hate it even more. I like a format such as Rotisserie where the most balanced team usually wins. I don't like dominating all year and then losing the final matchup because A-Rod and Jeter got benched the last week of the season and Felix and Kershaw got their last starts of the season skipped to keep the innings down and my competitor got a couple nice spot starts out of Drew Pomeranz and Bruce Chen. To me that is just luck and two weeks is far too small a sample size to determine a championship.

I know that a lot of people like H2H because it is an exciting finish but I get little satisfaction out of playing it (and I have been in a competitive H2H league with some friends for 8 years).

If someone can win a league by punting HR's and RBI's then I don't want to play in that league. Fantasy baseball should at least have some semblance of real baseball.

Sorry if this is a negative post but...actually I'm not sorry.

[kab21]

Maybe I am a traditionalist but I just can't stand H2H and threads like this make me hate it even more. I like a format such as Rotisserie where the most balanced team usually wins. I don't like dominating all year and then losing the final matchup because A-Rod and Jeter got benched the last week of the season and Felix and Kershaw got their last starts of the season skipped to keep the innings down and my competitor got a couple nice spot starts out of Drew Pomeranz and Bruce Chen. To me that is just luck and two weeks is far too small a sample size to determine a championship.

I know that a lot of people like H2H because it is an exciting finish but I get little satisfaction out of playing it (and I have been in a competitive H2H league with some friends for 8 years).

If someone can win a league by punting HR's and RBI's then I don't want to play in that league. Fantasy baseball should at least have some semblance of real baseball.

Sorry if this is a negative post but...actually I'm not sorry.

I've played H2H pts for 4-5 yrs but last year was my first year in H2H 5x5. I loved it. The draft is my favorite part of fantasy but that league was the most fun that I've had on a daily basis. Every week you have at least one category being decided on Sunday (usually half of them). I finished 3rd or 4th in the regular season and finished 3rd in the playoffs.

But the most important part is that you play in multiple different formats because playing in just one type of league is a little boring imo. This year I'm playing in a 24 tm H2H pts dynasty, a 16 tm roto (cafe league) and a 14 tm roto (returning for a 2nd season). I'm not sure if I'll add a 4th league or not but it will definitely be a H2H 5x5 league if I do.

[West]

I think you're right. At the moment I'm trying to find an AL/NL only rotisserie league. It would only be my third league. I try to limit myself. I think I can only stomach one H2H per year. It's just too much of a time investment.

[bayside]

Maybe I am a traditionalist but I just can't stand H2H and threads like this make me hate it even more. I like a format such as Rotisserie where the most balanced team usually wins. I don't like dominating all year and then losing the final matchup because A-Rod and Jeter got benched the last week of the season and Felix and Kershaw got their last starts of the season skipped to keep the innings down and my competitor got a couple nice spot starts out of Drew Pomeranz and Bruce Chen. To me that is just luck and two weeks is far too small a sample size to determine a championship.

I know that a lot of people like H2H because it is an exciting finish but I get little satisfaction out of playing it (and I have been in a competitive H2H league with some friends for 8 years).

If someone can win a league by punting HR's and RBI's then I don't want to play in that league. Fantasy baseball should at least have some semblance of real baseball.

Sorry if this is a negative post but...actually I'm not sorry.

im almost the opposite.
I play in 2 H2H leagues and have way more fun than any roto leagues I've ever done.
Its just much more exciting for me to play one of my buddies every week and be able to talk sh-- back and forth, and adjust lineups to change your strategy based on specific opponents, than to play roto where half the teams lose interest by august and the winner is often determined by early september, a month before the season ends. I know thats not ALWAYS the case, but it happens often enough for me to not to want to invest much time into those leagues.

If I played for any significant amount of money Im sure I would be happier putting more time into roto, but as it is none of my leagues pay out the winner more than $200, so its mostly about having fun, enjoyig baseball, and bragging

[West]

I hear that but I'll take roto any day. I'm a purist so that's me. Luckily I'm the commish of my roto league so I routinely kick out people who bail on the league in August. That pisses me off more than anything. I keep the number of leagues I play in to three or less for the simple reason that I will then play the crap out of the league no matter how poorly my team is performing.

People who bail on their teams are worthless. Play it 110% or don't play at all.

H2H is fun but I prefer to play a format where the best team wins.

[NikkiSixx]

I dont play head to head but I can only imagine punting stolen bases would work, and loading your team up with pure hitters.

[kab21]

I dont play head to head but I can only imagine punting stolen bases would work, and loading your team up with pure hitters.

That's what I do. The only problem is that a lot of teams do this so it's not as big of an advantage as you think.

[ramble2]

If you try this strategy, it's probably worth reading through this thread from last season. gravenewworld tried a steals-focused strategy in H2H and won his league.

I'll repeat what I said last year: pick a strategy (or lack of one) that you enjoy playing. It's about having fun. You can make a steals based strategy work, and if you enjoy cutting against the grain a little, then go for it.