I told you so ....

It's been a while since I blogged - I seem to twitter more these days. But I'll try to make an honest effort to get back to blogging about Fantasy Sports.

This season I have 2 roto teams on FoxSports whose lineups Include SP and RP and whose lineups are set daily. I also have 1 "Ultimate" team on Sporting News which includes SP and RP also and whose lineups are set daily. The difference is in the number of scoring categories and how scoring is kept. The FoxSports leagues are standard 5x5 roto, the ultimate has more scoring categories and has negatives for outs, strike outs, CS, and for pitchers for walks, hit by pitch, runs allowed, and hits allowed.

My other 3 regular fantasy teams are "once a week" leagues where you set your lineups prior to the first game being played on Monday. My CBS Sports team includes 5 SP and 2 RP while the MLB.com teams only include "team" pitching - you get points based on how well or poorly that team's pitching staff does in the game. I grabbed Boston in 1 league and was left with the Marlins in another. The first weeks the Marlins were the better staff to own but Boston has been looking much better of late. I added Seattle as an alternate in my league with Boston but have Boston going this week.

ALWAYS EVALUATE your team. Where are your weaknesses? Who is under performing? Who is on the Free Agent list in your league that can help you win now?

One of the keys to winning Fantasy Sports is making the right moves during the season as to who you have on your roster, and who you play versus sit on your bench. Don't get trapped by "names". It is stats that matter in Fantasy Sports and only stats. Adam Jones should be starting in your league above much more established "names". Chances are Adam wasn't even drafted or if it was it was a late inning "flier". He has been great. Detroits' Inge is another unheralded player who has been burning it up. I have no idea how long he will stay this hot but he has been one of the better players to own especially if you have him filling in your Catching position.

But both of these players should now be owned. Who is out there available? Look at your Free Agent list. Sort it by points if your league offers that option. If not, sort by RBIs and see who is at the top. Are they outperforming your player(s) at that position? Sort next by Runs and then SB. If your team is power Short you can also sort by Home Runs BUT the RBI sort should have given you those HR hitters also.

In Pitching I always sort by Strikeouts. And I then look at the pitchers who are striking out a lot of batters AND have either a good WHIP or good ERA - preferably both. Eventually a pitcher who strikes out a lot of batters and has a good (low) WHIP and ERA will get their share of wins or saves. If I am choosing between two similar pitchers, I choose the one that has the better offense behind them. This year that has been Toronto. One Pitcher who is worth a look (I grabbed him) is the Blue Jays Scott Richmond. His 2 Wins are nice but what entices me is his K/9 ratio and his low WHIP and ERA. He plays for a team that currently is hitting and scoring as well as any team. So he is a "pick up". Wandy Rodriguez of the Astros also has a great k/9 and a great WHIP and ERA but the Astros are not giving him any runs. If he pitched for the Blue Jays this year he'd be undefeated probably. I still like Wandy but right now I'd expect Scott to get more wins of the 2. Also Justin Masterson should be owned. Washington's Jordon Zimmermann should be owned or watched closely. He has already given me 2 wins and I expect him to only get better.

SP I like who haven't performed well yet are Liriano, Verlander and Kershaw. Ok Kershaw has had the 1 spectacular game that he followed by 2 duds. Liriano and Verlander have been victims of too many walks and too many home runs. I am holding both and looking for a turn around as they get "into the groove".

RP to watch - Marmol in Chicago and R. Soriano in Atlanta. IF they are ever given the closer role they will be worth owning. Until then I would watch them. IF Toronto's Scott Downs is still available in your league, he shouldn't be. Grab Him!