Trading With The Pros
"That's where the money is."
That's a quote from a colleague who used to write for Baseball Prospectus regarding Fantasy Baseball. Now, here at Game Four, we haven't spent too much time diving into the intricacies of fantasy numbers or the such, beyond the announcement of our two fantasy teams (Baseballgeeks.com and SportsBlah.com teams). I'd like to change that a bit. There are a lot of websites out there that try to place a value on certain players, that try to predict what a player is going to do, and what players you should try to pick up and/or avoid. I'd like to offer a different service. I'd like to help your team get better through negotiations, rather than watching the waiver wire. Namely, I'd like to help you trade your players for others that will help you win. This offer may not be for everyone, but I think it will help more than a handful. There are a few simple things I ask of you and you can view them after the jump...
First off, I need to know what your roster looks like. Who's on it? What positions are available for each player? How many positions you are allowed to have/start.
Secondly, I need to know if it's a head-to-head or roto style league.
Thirdly, I need to know how many teams are in the league.
Fourthly, is it a so-called "expert league"? Private league made up of your friends? Public league? Amateur/first-timer league?
Lastly, is it a keeper or one-year league.
Pretty simple stuff. I may ask you little things once you inquire for my help, but it will only help me better aid you in your quest for the best possible fantasy team you can field.
Now, what makes me credible. Here are a few of the trades I have pulled off in the past 6 months in various leagues, some public, some private leagues.
Aaron Harang + Jerome Williams + Todd Helton + Brandon Inge + Derrick Turnbow
for
Ben Sheets + Barry Bonds + Jose Reyes
(I then turned Barry Bonds and a draft pick for David Wright in a keeper, head-to-head league)
Justin Verlander + Jeremy Bonderman + Willy Tavarez
for
Tadahito Iguchi + Lance Berkman + Joe Blanton
(in this case I had NO 2nd baseman and a plethora of SP, including Zito, Kazmir, Pettitte, Liriano, Baker, Harden...and it was a 20-team, one year, roto league...if moved from 15th to 5th in less than 2 weeks)
I find trading to be the best part of fantasy baseball. It brings you the closest almost anyone will ever get to being an actual general manager. It shows of negotiation skills and an eye for good talent. I've pretty much traded my way to the best team I feel i can field at this time so I'd like to help others do the same. If you're interested simply e-mail me and I'll get back to you ASAP with my thoughts. All you need to do is e-mail me your roster and I'll tell you some simple things you can do to better your team. If you have a trade in mind, send the proposal to me, along with your roster and the other team's roster and I'll dissect it. If it's a good one I'll post it on Game Four for others to use as precedent.
(Baseball prospectus may have started targeting Fantasy baseball fans for more money, but I'm doing it because, well, I am a Fantasy Baseball fan. As you may have noticed, there are no advertisements on this blog. In other words, I don't make any money from this thing. It's just something I like to do.)
I find trading to be easy to be honest. It's a simple act of finding out what you need, what you have, and where you can exploit others. Is that so wrong?
That's a quote from a colleague who used to write for Baseball Prospectus regarding Fantasy Baseball. Now, here at Game Four, we haven't spent too much time diving into the intricacies of fantasy numbers or the such, beyond the announcement of our two fantasy teams (Baseballgeeks.com and SportsBlah.com teams). I'd like to change that a bit. There are a lot of websites out there that try to place a value on certain players, that try to predict what a player is going to do, and what players you should try to pick up and/or avoid. I'd like to offer a different service. I'd like to help your team get better through negotiations, rather than watching the waiver wire. Namely, I'd like to help you trade your players for others that will help you win. This offer may not be for everyone, but I think it will help more than a handful. There are a few simple things I ask of you and you can view them after the jump...
First off, I need to know what your roster looks like. Who's on it? What positions are available for each player? How many positions you are allowed to have/start.
Secondly, I need to know if it's a head-to-head or roto style league.
Thirdly, I need to know how many teams are in the league.
Fourthly, is it a so-called "expert league"? Private league made up of your friends? Public league? Amateur/first-timer league?
Lastly, is it a keeper or one-year league.
Pretty simple stuff. I may ask you little things once you inquire for my help, but it will only help me better aid you in your quest for the best possible fantasy team you can field.
Now, what makes me credible. Here are a few of the trades I have pulled off in the past 6 months in various leagues, some public, some private leagues.
Aaron Harang + Jerome Williams + Todd Helton + Brandon Inge + Derrick Turnbow
for
Ben Sheets + Barry Bonds + Jose Reyes
(I then turned Barry Bonds and a draft pick for David Wright in a keeper, head-to-head league)
Justin Verlander + Jeremy Bonderman + Willy Tavarez
for
Tadahito Iguchi + Lance Berkman + Joe Blanton
(in this case I had NO 2nd baseman and a plethora of SP, including Zito, Kazmir, Pettitte, Liriano, Baker, Harden...and it was a 20-team, one year, roto league...if moved from 15th to 5th in less than 2 weeks)
I find trading to be the best part of fantasy baseball. It brings you the closest almost anyone will ever get to being an actual general manager. It shows of negotiation skills and an eye for good talent. I've pretty much traded my way to the best team I feel i can field at this time so I'd like to help others do the same. If you're interested simply e-mail me and I'll get back to you ASAP with my thoughts. All you need to do is e-mail me your roster and I'll tell you some simple things you can do to better your team. If you have a trade in mind, send the proposal to me, along with your roster and the other team's roster and I'll dissect it. If it's a good one I'll post it on Game Four for others to use as precedent.
(Baseball prospectus may have started targeting Fantasy baseball fans for more money, but I'm doing it because, well, I am a Fantasy Baseball fan. As you may have noticed, there are no advertisements on this blog. In other words, I don't make any money from this thing. It's just something I like to do.)
I find trading to be easy to be honest. It's a simple act of finding out what you need, what you have, and where you can exploit others. Is that so wrong?
posted by Howe at 11:36 PM
3 Comments:
As much as I like to think I know what I'm doing with fantasy baseball (and I think I have mastered an offensive draft with my playertrack ranking system), trading is thge hardest thing for me to do...
I fall in love with my players...
I did do a trade that has helped me immensely, where I traded Abreu and Borowski for Lew Ford and Roy Halladay... but trading, for me, is usually very difficult...
Ya, that's a major problem a lot of people have. They love their players too much. But if you can remember one simple thing: you play to win and their just names not actual people, it's MUCH easier. do you play in a keeper league? If you played in a keeper league and then a other one year leagues, trading in the one year leagues would be MUCH easier for you I think because you could fall in love with your keeper league players and not worry about that aspect so much in the one year leagues, since you'll lose all your players in September anyway.
Another problem I think a lot of people have in trading is that they wanna feel like they are making out better in a deal. That shouldn't always be the case. I traded Andy Pettitte for Brad Lidge earlier this season in one of my league. Did I get the "better end" of the trade? With a naked eye, no. But, if you looked at my stats I was last in saves and first in K's and toward the top in wins. (roto style) So, getting a guy who, yes has struggled but, has put up double digit saves so far was a great addition to my team. Plus, I sent Pettitte to a team that was much lower in the standings and wouldn't effect me, at last not yet. People need to worry about THEIR team and what helps THEIR team rather than worrying if the other team is making out in the deal. (Though if you do feel it is lopsided but you're doing ok in the deal, perhaps you could swindle something more from them, but don't get too greedy cuz they could walk away)
Conor,
Thanks for linking to my All Star Game idea about Neifi and Juan. We've been getting a decent number of hits from both of those sites you linked at.
After Deadspin and Baseball Musings posted about it, I'm a bit more optimistic about the chances of it happening. Either way, it's sure gonna be fun trying.
Thanks for the support!
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