A Bridge over Troubled Water

[DOUGHBOYS]

Fantasy baseball incorporates the superior segments needed to make a great game, a great game.
It has layers.
The first layer is the study. Ciphering and visualizing what we saw from the previous years.
Measuring the statistics and discerning which statistics are important and those that are negligible.
The next layer is the draft. We have no control over who will be on our team. If we cherish a player, we play a self imposed penalty by taking him earlier than where others may take him.
The draft provides the base of our team, or for slow drafts, the draft IS the team.
Some of us will think to ourselves that these 30 players will carry us to greatness.
They won't.

Enter layer three.
The beginning of the season gives us insights into whether our studying was spotless or spotty.
It forms our thinking into how teams will play the game. Whether they'll play small ball, wait for the three run homer, go to the bullpen early, and more importantly, how OUR players will fare.
With this layer comes the first FAAB period. If a newer player that wasn't drafted has caught our eye, now is the time to pounce.
Once the season is underway, we discern between who is for real and who will fade. After a few weeks, we get a handle as to who to start and who to bench. Where our weaknesses may be and how to make our strengths, strengthier. (shuddup spellchecker, I know)

We've gone through these layers and now we are in the post All Star faze of our game. If we are near the bottom of the standings, resignation is overcoming us. Even with a great comeback, finishing in the money could be a pipe dream.
If in the middle of the pack, there is hope. We know that with just strong second halfs from certain players that we can move up and possibly even take over the top spot.
For those near the top or at the top, we start looking for any little thing that can help us. The strategies become SO much more important.
Do I pitch six starters? Seven?
Do I pitch the starter more likely for a win like Freddy Garcia, or do I go for strike outs and throw Samardzija?

This time of year, we start looking into what other teams around us in the standings are doing. Who they play and their strategies on a week to week basis.
The mistakes made by us seem amplified. A win or 10 strike outs left on the bench hurt a lot more now than when it happened at the beginning of the season.
The finish line isn't in sight, but it has entered into our thinking.
We find ourselves checking in on games a lot more than we did a month ago.
Our thinking on FAAB has changed as well. We were more free with our money earlier in the year, willing to take risks in trying to find that lump of coal who'll turn to a diamond.
Now, every player faab'ed has to serve a purpose.
We don't have much cash left and if we covet a player that we throw our money at, we better be right.

It's not white knuckle time, that's the final layer.
But, it is the time for us to adjust our collars a lot more often.
Our mindsets have changed from 'We have plenty of time' to 'Time is running out'.
Any injury slated for 4-6 weeks could be season ending in reality.
The injured player on our bench is a larger penalty now. He keeps us from mixing and matching in ways that we'd like.
The hot prospects on our bench are now, not hot.
They've either floundered at the lower level or their team will just wait till September.
Some, like Trevor Bauer were fools gold and hurt owners, both by performance and the rental fee of being on their benches till they got the call up to the Bigs.

Our WHIP's, ERA, and Avg never seem to move in the right girection much, but a bad daily performance still moves them down significantly.
Yes, we are in the second to last phase of our game.
September provides more moves and strategies and our budgets will be nearly maxed out.
Till then, this phase is exciting enough.
The bridge to that last layer.
A bridge over troubled water.