Hey all you loyal followers!
We have launched a brand new website TopTeamFantasy in which we will be providing the same advice and analysis you have come to love, just from a bigger and better source!
The site is equipped with fourms (so you can all ask questions about your fantasy teams), as well as scoreboards, news and articles from our growing group of fantasy writers. We are hoping to continue serving you all from that new website!
Thanks!
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
Bourn to be Wild: Impact of the Tribe Signing Michael Bourn
Hey all you loyal followers!
We have launched a brand new website TopTeamFantasy in which we will be providing the same advice and analysis you have come to love, just from a bigger and better source!
The site is equipped with fourms (so you can all ask questions about your fantasy teams), as well as scoreboards, news and articles from our growing group of fantasy writers. We are hoping to continue serving you all from that new website!
Thanks!
By: Russell Shaffer
Disclaimer: I was born (or should I now say Bourn?) and raised 45 minutes south of Cleveland and am a lifelong Indians fan. Despite my obvious bias, I believe I can restrain myself to offer objective analysis of the Tribe’s offseason and its fantasy impact.
It was awesome!
Okay, perhaps a little homerism just came out there but you have to agree what Cleveland General Manager Mark Shapiro pulled off this winter was nothing short of amazing. The Indians have effectively turned over a roster that was contending at the All-Star Break and then suffered a historic August collapse to finish with 94 losses. The final Hot Stove product as Spring Training opens is a clubhouse and fan base full of optimism and a lot of fantasy value now calling the Lake Erie shore home.
Monday’s signing of Michael Bourn is the exclamation point on what was already a surprising and productive offseason that now has to be seen as only second to Toronto in terms of potential impact.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
You Mocking Me? Practice Makes Perfect for Draft Day
Hey all you loyal followers!
We have launched a brand new website TopTeamFantasy in which we will be providing the same advice and analysis you have come to love, just from a bigger and better source!
The site is equipped with fourms (so you can all ask questions about your fantasy teams), as well as scoreboards, news and articles from our growing group of fantasy writers. We are hoping to continue serving you all from that new website!
Thanks!
By: Russell Shaffer
Let me start by saying your draft is not the end all, be all indicator of how your fantasy fortunes will fall. A good draft doesn’t automatically predict that you will win a championship any more than a lousy initial haul means you’ll be phoning it in by mid-season. Trust me, after 12 years of playing fantasy I’ve been on the plus and minus side of draft day results and I’ve both driven a virtual juggernaut into the ground and rode a giant dog all the way to a championship.
A lot of other things – including how well you comb the free agent list, your choosiness when using your waiver priority and the shrewdness of your trades – play just as big a part of your overall roster management as the draft itself.
We have launched a brand new website TopTeamFantasy in which we will be providing the same advice and analysis you have come to love, just from a bigger and better source!
The site is equipped with fourms (so you can all ask questions about your fantasy teams), as well as scoreboards, news and articles from our growing group of fantasy writers. We are hoping to continue serving you all from that new website!
Thanks!
By: Russell Shaffer
Let me start by saying your draft is not the end all, be all indicator of how your fantasy fortunes will fall. A good draft doesn’t automatically predict that you will win a championship any more than a lousy initial haul means you’ll be phoning it in by mid-season. Trust me, after 12 years of playing fantasy I’ve been on the plus and minus side of draft day results and I’ve both driven a virtual juggernaut into the ground and rode a giant dog all the way to a championship.
A lot of other things – including how well you comb the free agent list, your choosiness when using your waiver priority and the shrewdness of your trades – play just as big a part of your overall roster management as the draft itself.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Bradshaw Cut Opens Door for Wilson
Hey all you loyal followers!
We have launched a brand new website TopTeamFantasy in which we will be providing the same advice and analysis you have come to love, just from a bigger and better source!
The site is equipped with fourms (so you can all ask questions about your fantasy teams), as well as scoreboards, news and articles from our growing group of fantasy writers. We are hoping to continue serving you all from that new website!
Thanks!
By: Russell Shaffer
February roster cuts in the NFL are nothing new, and the league’s story-starved reporters typically do a decent job not overplaying a move’s relevance in a post-Super Bowl content wasteland. That’s because most of these cuts are salary cap motivated reductions of overpaid offensive or defensive lineman or linebackers and defensive backs who do not fit a new coach’s scheme. Occasionally you’ll see an aging QB or fringe WR be shown the door, but for the most part these types of post-season shufflings have little impact on fantasy leagues.
Then along comes news last week the New York Giants decided to cut ties with starting RB Ahmad Bradshaw and his reported $2.7M cap figure for 2013. Despite being a major contributor on two Super Bowl championship teams and amassing a very respectable 1,050 rushing yards in 14 games in 2012, when you stop and assess this move it really should have come as no surprise.
Hot Fantasy Basketball Pickups - Week 16
Hey all you loyal followers!
We have launched a brand new website TopTeamFantasy in which we will be providing the same advice and analysis you have come to love, just from a bigger and better source!
The site is equipped with fourms (so you can all ask questions about your fantasy teams), as well as scoreboards, news and articles from our growing group of fantasy writers. We are hoping to continue serving you all from that new website!
Thanks!
In Week 10, when Isaiah Thomas was renamed the started for the Kings, we urged you to pick him up. Over the next 6 weeks, the ride has been anything but smooth, but IT2 is no longer just a hot pickup he is a must own player. Still available in 43% of leagues, Thomas has played at least 33 minutes in each of his last 5 games, and has taken the league by storm with insane averages of 19.4 points, 3 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.8 threes, and is even getting to the line almost 6 times per game. If he's still available in your league, stop reading this article right away and go add him before anyone else does. Make sure you come back and read the rest though, there's some good stuff here!
 |
| Isaiah Thomas is now a must own fantasy player |
The following players will not be discussed here because they are already owned in too many leagues, but should be owned: Byron Mullens, Andrea Bargnani, Danny Granger, Earl Clark, Nate Robinson and Jerryd Bayless
Now let’s take a look at the rest of the hot fantasy basketball pickups for Week 16.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Early Fantasy Baseball Rankings - SS
Hey all you loyal followers!
We have launched a brand new website TopTeamFantasy in which we will be providing the same advice and analysis you have come to love, just from a bigger and better source!
The site is equipped with fourms (so you can all ask questions about your fantasy teams), as well as scoreboards, news and articles from our growing group of fantasy writers. We are hoping to continue serving you all from that new website!
Thanks!
The top 25 fantasy baseball shortstops are presented here for standard 5×5 Rotisserie leagues (R/HR/RBI/AVG/SB and W/ERA/WHIP/K/SV). To better understand the difference between the SS options, the players are divided into tiers. For example, while Jose Reyes, Starlin Castro and Ben Zobrist are ranked 3 through 5, the drop off between Reyes and Castro is much less than between Castro and Zobrist. 1B and 2B rankings are also available for your viewing pleasure.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Oldies but Goodies: Five Aging Stars with Fantasy Upside
Hey all you loyal followers!
We have launched a brand new website TopTeamFantasy in which we will be providing the same advice and analysis you have come to love, just from a bigger and better source!
The site is equipped with fourms (so you can all ask questions about your fantasy teams), as well as scoreboards, news and articles from our growing group of fantasy writers. We are hoping to continue serving you all from that new website!
Thanks!
By: Russell Shaffer
Fantasy baseball, just like the MLB, is all about assembling the most productive team possible. But unless you play in a keeper or salary cap league, that’s about where the similarities begin and end.
Age makes a big difference in real-life baseball when it comes to contract length and cost and assessing whether a player is trending up or fading into the sunset. In a standard single-season 5x5 rotisserie league, however, age should be irrelevant. What difference does it make whether your fantasy SS hits .316 with 15 HR and 58 RBI and is age 38 or 25? None at all!
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Rudy Gay Traded to the Raptors
We had heard rumors about Rudy for months, but after the Grizzlies
shed some cap space by trading away forward Marreese Speights,
guard Wayne Ellington and guard Josh Selby to the Cavs just a few weeks
back, it looked like the they might keep their core four of Mike
Conley, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol together for one last
postseason run.
However, in the past few days talks had heated up again with the Raptors emerging as the most likely destination. The only obstacle was finding a landing spot for Jose Calderon since the Grizzlies had no need for another PG. Enter Detroit.
However, in the past few days talks had heated up again with the Raptors emerging as the most likely destination. The only obstacle was finding a landing spot for Jose Calderon since the Grizzlies had no need for another PG. Enter Detroit.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Don't Sleep on the NL West: 2013 Fantasy Sleepers
By: Russell Shaffer
While most of America is sleeping, summer nights on the West Coast find some pretty good baseball going largely unwatched except by those in the Pacific Time Zone or the most diehard seamheads. When the National League West does manage to grab some headlines, it’s usually for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ free spending ways or the San Francisco Giants’ mini dynasty of two World Series titles in three years.
What falls below the fold is a wealth of fantasy goodness going on in baseball outposts like Arizona, Colorado and San Diego. To casual fans, these aren’t much more than the places Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki and (until recently) Justin Upton play, and the place where Adrian Gonzalez inexplicably used to hit 30 HR a year.
A closer look by the savvy fantasy player uncovers a number of compelling sleepers toiling away with the Diamondbacks, Padres and Rockies just waiting for you to snatch them up in the mid-to-late rounds of your draft while your opponents are busy stockpiling big name has-beens and unproven prospects.
The following list of unheralded yet productive fantasy sleepers coming out of the NL West’s smaller markets could help your 2013 fantasy dreams come true.
While most of America is sleeping, summer nights on the West Coast find some pretty good baseball going largely unwatched except by those in the Pacific Time Zone or the most diehard seamheads. When the National League West does manage to grab some headlines, it’s usually for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ free spending ways or the San Francisco Giants’ mini dynasty of two World Series titles in three years.
What falls below the fold is a wealth of fantasy goodness going on in baseball outposts like Arizona, Colorado and San Diego. To casual fans, these aren’t much more than the places Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki and (until recently) Justin Upton play, and the place where Adrian Gonzalez inexplicably used to hit 30 HR a year.
A closer look by the savvy fantasy player uncovers a number of compelling sleepers toiling away with the Diamondbacks, Padres and Rockies just waiting for you to snatch them up in the mid-to-late rounds of your draft while your opponents are busy stockpiling big name has-beens and unproven prospects.
The following list of unheralded yet productive fantasy sleepers coming out of the NL West’s smaller markets could help your 2013 fantasy dreams come true.
Six Fantasy Storylines to Watch on Super Sunday
By: Russell Shaffer
I must admit I am a little fuzzy when it comes to the NFL’s ridiculous trademark restrictions regarding the official name of this Sunday’s big game, so for the prudent protection of this website and myself I will hereby call it The Harbaugh Bowl.
Regardless of what you call it, you can’t overlook the fact this game is chock full of intriguing storylines. Never mind that the showdown between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers (and their coaches John and Jim Harbaugh) marks the first sibling coaching rivalry in the game’s illustrious history, there are ample subplots to follow. Like the fact the 49ers benched starter Alex Smith – the QB who took them to the NFC Championship Game last year – in favor of an unproven second-year scrambler out of Nevada. Or that the Ravens are making the big game in the same season legendary owner Art Modell passed away and that they boldly fired offensive coordinator Cam Cameron only 1.5 months ago.
And oh yeah, did you hear Ray Lewis is retiring?
If all these subplots along with the overhyped commercials and the opportunity to see if Beyoncé gives the halftime show the lip-sync treatment aren't enough to get you to tune in, consider these six fantasy storylines playing out at the culmination of the 2012 season that could have a major impacts on 2013 fantasy leagues.
I must admit I am a little fuzzy when it comes to the NFL’s ridiculous trademark restrictions regarding the official name of this Sunday’s big game, so for the prudent protection of this website and myself I will hereby call it The Harbaugh Bowl.
Regardless of what you call it, you can’t overlook the fact this game is chock full of intriguing storylines. Never mind that the showdown between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers (and their coaches John and Jim Harbaugh) marks the first sibling coaching rivalry in the game’s illustrious history, there are ample subplots to follow. Like the fact the 49ers benched starter Alex Smith – the QB who took them to the NFC Championship Game last year – in favor of an unproven second-year scrambler out of Nevada. Or that the Ravens are making the big game in the same season legendary owner Art Modell passed away and that they boldly fired offensive coordinator Cam Cameron only 1.5 months ago.
And oh yeah, did you hear Ray Lewis is retiring?
If all these subplots along with the overhyped commercials and the opportunity to see if Beyoncé gives the halftime show the lip-sync treatment aren't enough to get you to tune in, consider these six fantasy storylines playing out at the culmination of the 2012 season that could have a major impacts on 2013 fantasy leagues.