Let's face it, if you're reading this, you are probably a lot like me when it comes to reading about fantasy baseball.
I don't want to see a word about trades. I don't want to see stupid questions. I don't want somebody to tout a player like Brandon Belt, go silent while he sucks, then thump the chest once he's on a streak.
Shawn's analysis is tailored towards us, the NFBC folks who just want the facts.
At this time of year however, Shawn is in the same boat as all of us other NFBC'ers. All analysis now, only covers a short period of time, September.
His analysis is filled with 'He could's' and 'He shoulds' instead of 'He will's'.
It's not Shawn's fault. Everything changes this time of year. We don't buy players, we rent them.
We are like major league teams trying to find those little parts to put our teams over the top.
It's why I feel like a failure if I have more than $50 of FAAB left going into this last month.
If I have more than $50, I feel like I left money on the table in terms of getting a great free agent earlier in the season.
All the faab money in the world cannot jump start a team that is struggling this time of year. The accumulation of stats leading up to this final month is just too much to overcome.
It's a time where football takes over the minds of those unfortunate enough not to have a baseball team near a money finish. These folks could abandon their teams completely or give a token five minutes to make some prudent lineup changes.
This will rankle some folks and they'll say that All teams should play out the string. But, we don't live in a perfect fantasy world and that won't happen in any fantasy sport.
I did, however, like the weekly prize that used to be issued by the NFBC. I felt that really kept the interest of most participants to the end of the season. Without it, there are more participants who simply turn their attention to other things in their lives.
Somebody will be stupid enough to insinuate that non-finishers somehow taints the overall winners prize.
Bah!
These giver uppers could be anywhere. They may have helped the overall winners competition more than the winner himself, we don't know.
It's just stupid to assume that the winner was helped by these folks.
This time of year makes us think of stupid stuff. Yesterday I bid on Justin Germano in some leagues.
Early in the year, he wouldn't be much of a thought. But, I figured out yesterday that due to fortuitous scheduling, Germano got one more start then every other free agent over the course of the rest of the year.
As with every free agent like Germano there are drawbacks. The chief one may be that we would have to suffer through one more start with Germano than other starters.
That, and he pitches for a bad team, is unproven, has a lousy bullpen, and little offense backing him....but other than that....he looks wonderful.
The usual suspects this time of year- Chen, Kendrick, any Rockies pitcher, any Twins pitcher except Diamond, and other rejects are still available....they're on most of our lists too and one of these guys may have a great September.
It can happen over a short time frame. It probably won't, but it could.
With our fresh 30 players in March, we never dream we'll be in the situation where Justin Germano could get us over the hump in September.
Those 30 players were our players and they weren't going anywhere. Now looking at our rosters, it's tough to remember who we drafted and who was picked up along the way.
September is a wonderful month.
Whether we've given up already,or counting on a good month from Justin Germano, September is the best.
Baseball becomes ultra-important and football fills the tv screens.
A super time of year.