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Sample Question 1 (Fantasy Football):
Quarterbacks are scarce in my league and the scoring system weighs them heavily. I drafted Big Ben but he will be out in week one, but I also need a reliable backup. I am torn between Brad Johnson, Mark Brunell, and Charlie Frye. Who should I choose and why?

Our Answer:
Tough Choice. First we need to eliminate Frye. Here is his stat breakdown for last season as a starter for 5 games and backup for 2. He posted 4 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, not the best ratio. He also had only 1 40+ yard pass. His main weapons of Edwards and Jurevicius are both coming off questionable injures during the preseason. Edwards does have the possibility to have a breakout season and the two have had time to develop, but his injured past is a red flag till he proves himself, and with Jurevicius now being over 30 his production may slip. If your league scores heavily for completions then Frye would be a safe bet, his percentage last year was near 60% and you can expect Jurevicius to be on the tail end of a lot of short route passes. Most likely you are scored on yardage and touchdowns and in this case Frye would not be such a good choice. The Browns will have limited opportunities in the red zone, which an average Rueben Droughns must be held accountable for. The browns defense has improved greatly as they average a bit better statistically than their opponents. This years schedule posts only 4 easy match ups with the Jets, Oakland, Houston, and New Orleans. The rest are all against above average teams with defenses that will shine against the browns.

Brad Johnson is our breakout pick for this year. Last year after the loss of Daunte Culpepper, Johnson stepped in and at one point led the team to 6 straight wins. The only downfall is most of Minnesota's losses came against strong defenses (TB, Bal, Chi, Car, Pit). Johnson's Td to Int ratio is impressive at 12 to 4 having started 9 games last season. Minnesota also boasts a deep deep core of receivers and tight ends. This will lead to a lot of receptions as Minnesota is no longer a predominantly running team. You also need to factor in the NFC North is one of the weaker secondaries in football. As long as Minnesota's offensive line can hold up Johnson would be a great free agent pickup. Minnesota has a very week schedule and could see a lot of big game numbers produced this year.

Lets not discount Mark Brunell. Last Year Santana Moss was second in receiving yards only to Steve Smith and with Joe Gibbs at the helm this style of offense should not see much of a change. Brunell however has been hurt during the preseason and may be a questionable pickup. Although now later in his career, Brunell will need to play hurt to maintain his level of excellence and remain a threat in the NFC. With an impressive ratio of 23 to 10 Tds to Ints and over 3000 passing yards Brunell will surely get you points. Washington does weigh heavily on the use of "trick plays" which did attribute to a lot of long passes last season. The addition of Randle-El from Pittsburgh to the offense may add to this but given the limited situations that he is used he will most likely be shut down when he's on the field. Washington is in an extremely competitive division with several solid defenses. Expect low scoring affairs for most of the year.

Our selection: Brad Johnson, Minnesota Vikings
Why: Weak schedule and divisional secondaries, deep receiving core, proven ability to step in a lead a team.
Why not Brunell: He will get you lots of points but injury and age are at question as is their difficult schedule and division.

UPDATE 9/11/06: Brad had the best game of the three and Jurevicius did go down for 6 weeks.

Sample Question 2 (Fantasy Football):
I am starting a new fantasy football league with 8 teams and want a scoring system that is weighed equally. I also want to know what the best roster setup would be, and I want to include defensive player, can you help?

Our Answer (Keep in mind we will not post the scoring and roster breakdown here as this is a sample):
A few things you want to think about when you decide on a scoring system is what kind of league do you want to run, a fun league or a frustrating league. A lot of scoring systems out there, like yahoo, do not give out a lot of points. This is the most simple system. Basically giving points out for TDs and bonus points for long runs or passes. This system works great in leagues with more than 8 teams. The reason behind that is the player pool gets thin and in order for multiple teams to compete the system must be kept simple. Everyone will eventually score TDs but everyone might not throw 30 passes in a game or get 10 receptions. The flip side to this and the system we recommend for you is to score as many points as you can. With that said you may want to include points for completions, lower the amount of yardage needed for points, receptions, tackles, and give bonuses for multiple TDs, sack, int, or FGs in a game. Here we would provide the breakdown, which when tested would average over 100 total points for a team and not weigh any position more heavily than others. Now for the roster. You only have 8 teams so you really can expand your rosters to include a lot of positions. Keep in mind your style of draft as the more roster spots you have, the longer the draft will take. Here we would include the roster breakdown, which would include why we choose these positions and how the point system would affect them.

UPDATE 9/13/06: Our answers regarding scoring systems, roster breakdowns, and drafts are primarily for new players. This does not mean that we don't receive questions from time to time from veteran league managers. If you are stumped on something, just ask.

Sample Question 3 (Fantasy Football):
I drafted RB heavy in my football league but ended up with third-string receivers. There are only eight teams in my league so there are some good free agents left, who do you think I should take and why? Also I have been offered a trade, Clinton Portis for Marvin Harrison, should I do it? I already have Tiki Barber and Warrick Dunn on my roster and we start 2 RB each week.

Our Answer:
We can discuss both of these questions together. First all of your current RBs have different bye weeks. Portis 8, Barber 4, and Dunn 5. Before you trade away Portis you may want to hang on to him until both of your bye weeks are up. Next we need to look at the current WR free agent market. Anytime you can pick up a player that costs you nothing, do it! Trade bait can help you midseason when you realize where your teams weaknesses are. If you have eight teams in your league most likely you will see free agents like Bobby Engram SEA, Troy Williamson MIN, Kevin Curtis STL, Andre Johnson HOU, Antonio Bryant SF, Eric Moulds HOU, and Amani Toomer NYG. After week one's performance Bryant is the favorite here. SF is showing some signs of having an offense and even though they played the Cardnials, Arizona's defense isn't that shabby but still below average (37 sacks, 21 fumbles, 15 interceptions in 2005). Now Troy Williamson had a similar week as Bryant. Both had 4 receptions and both had a long catch of 46 yards. Given Minnesota's recent track record of being a passing team and the fact that SF ranked dead last in total offense this year, we would recommend going with Williamson. Let's not discount Eric Moulds on Houston though. Two years ago David Carr threw for 3531 years and in the same year Moulds caught for 1043 yards. Carr looked good in week one (208 yards and a TD) against a tough Philly defense and has found a new number one in Moulds with 6 catches for 68 yards and a TD. If Houston's weak offensive line (allowed 68 sacks last year) can hold up this could be another Carr/A. Johnson type of year. Both Minnesota and Houston have pretty weak schedules so this call is up to the bye week. Moulds is 5 and Williamson is 6. Choose which ever fills a void in your roster. If bye weeks don't affect you then Williamson is our choice in his second season, against Houston's bad offensive line. As for the trade. Once the bye weeks pass and if you still are in need of a receiver, then it is a yes. Portis showed signs of life in week one (39 yards 1 TD as a second stringer) but he is also coming off injury and Washington did add T.J. Duckett to their roster for protection. Marvin Harrison is a stud on a stud offense. Manning to Harrison is to football as is Montana to Rice. You will get yardage and you will get touchdowns with Harrison and given your core of RBs on your roster and need for a WR this is a done deal.    

Sample Question 4 (Fantasy Baseball):
With Alfonso Soriano moving to the Chicago Cubs, is he worthy of a being my first round pick?

Our Answer:
Last year Soriano played in 159 games. That stat alone can be very useful in a league whose standings flucuate on a daily basis. He also posted 179 hits and 119 runs which also help in multiple categories. His most impressive and useful stats however come in the form of 46 Hrs and 41 SBs. In most leagues you either draft heavy into HRs or heavy into SBs. With a player like Soriano you can cover both of those areas with one pick. His strike out numbers did increase last year from a previous 125 to 160 in the same amount of games but his walks also increased from 33 to 67. Being in Wrigley Field will keep increasing this stat for sure. Wrigley is a hitter's ballpark, many pitchers would rather walk Soriano and face his speed than risk giving up a HR. With batters such as D. Lee, A. Ramirez, and M. Barrett behind him, Soriano's run totals can only go up if this is the case. The only thing that should stop Soriano from being a first round pick is if your league is heavily weighed on pitching statistics, then you are going to have to go with a Santana or Carpenter pick (but that's a whole other question). The only hitters right now that I would draft prior to Soriano are Pujous, Rodriguez, and Howard for their sheer ability to produce in multiple categories while dominating certain statistics such as HRs and RBIs. If you want a player that covers every point category, than draft Soriano first. He is hands down the best player when it comes to stats in MULTIPLE categories.

UPDATE 04/26/2007: Typical Chicago teams have a horrible April. Soriano did go down for one week but has returned. Patience will pay off. How many players will give you 170+ hits, 100+ runs, 40+ hrs, and 40+ sbs? Just one, and you were smart for drafting him. Given the amount of rain delays and cold weather reeking havoc around baseball, other than Arod, no one who was expected to has really produced outstanding fantasy numbers just yet. But now the loveable losers are a playoff contender, thanks to yours truly.

Sample Question 4 (Fantasy Baseball):
This is my first year in fantasy baseball, and I'm starting a H2H points based league with weekly matchups. Pretty standard scoring with singles=1, doubles=2, triples=3, home runs=4 and walks and Hit by pitch=1. Strikeouts=-1. For pitchers win=10, innings=1.5, K's=1, BB=-0.5, loss and blown save=-2, save=3. Complete game bonus=5 and shutout=5. 
We start 1 at every position, including one Utility or DH and 5 starting pitchers and 2 relief.  
8 team league - I have the 2nd draft pick. 
 
My question is about strategy during the draft. Just how important is starting pitching in this format? Should I take the leap with Santana here or should I wait? 

Our Answer:
Starting pitching is huge in a points league that is scored weekly. This isnt as much of a statistical question as it is an average breakdown. Here's an example:

Most Aces score between 12 to 15 points (not counting a win)
With a win that comes to 25 to 30 points per start.
Say that ace gets two starts in a week thats 40 to 60 points you just scored.

Take a power hitter who averages 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2k, 1Dou, and 15 hits a week = 23 points.
This is if RBIs are not scored and Stolen bases arent scored.

As you can see a pitcher even on a bad day because of stats like Ks and Innings pitched, can still get you a considerable amount of points. A hitter on the other hand who is having a bad day doesnt get you points for simply playing like a pitcher does.

Keep in mind also, if a pitcher gets rocked, he usually gets pulled, and inturn isnt always dealt the loss. If a batter is having an offweek it can hurt you bad because you expect those points on a daily basis and just like pitchers, hitters dont always play every day.

In week to week points league, you need consistent points providers, pitcher are those providers, and guys who hit for a high average. You can expect in the course of a season for ace pitchers to have at least 2 to three weeks with negative points. Most aces dont usually win every game, and a lot of them sometimes have a game where they are pulled in the early innings in the course of 40 or so starts.

Santana is the only pitcher we would take top 3. Arod is the only player we would take before him. Now if your league does score for stolen bases we could make a case for hram and jose reyes, but santana is still tops.

Even if santana doesnt get you a win he will average about 6ks and at least 5 innings, thats already 12.5 points. And with the Mets offense, he will see more than 15 wins this year.

The key in your league is the fact that it is only 8 teams. You also have the second pick, which means every other round you will basically have two picks in a row, so taking a stud pitcher and stud hitter back to back isnt unheardof. If you take Santana with the second pick you will most likely see players like Utley, Rollins, Crawford, Fielder, Texieria, Peavy, Webb by the time your second pick comes around.

We will add that in your league, since saves are only worth 3, be careful who you take as a closer. You want guys who dont blow saves like Jenks, putz, rodriguez, rivera. Guys like hoffman and jones may save a lot of games, but they also blow a lot. Not to mention, if you pick up a closer who will get you three saves a week, that is another asset to have on your pitching staff since their era and whip will be low in the process.

UPDATE 04/07/2008: Through two starts Santana is 1 and 1 has pitched 14 innings and has 11 Ks with 2BB and only a 1.93 ERA. That comes to an average of a 40 point week. Hram averaged 25 points in week 1 and Reyes averaged only 14 (all based on default H2H points scoring). No to mention Hoffman blew 2 saves in week 1 and the detroit tigers are winless which means Jones had no save chances last week. Rivera and Jenks both put up quality numbers and received an average of near 40 points!