Trust in Your Top Players

Team names of the week----

ThatsWhatSheetsSaid

Fukudome? Fukedoyou!

King fe-lix my balls

I wanted to talk today about trusting in your top players. A lot of top baseball players have slumped recently (or are still on a cold streak,) but this does not give you a reason not to believe in them, and you should know that they will soon return to their dominant form.  These players are the ones that have proven themselves to you and the league, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t get out of their slump and perform again.

Now don’t get confused here. I’m talking about once great players that have proven to be great before and have currently hit a bit of turbulence in their careers. Please do not think that everyone who was once good will always be good in the future.  Note- this also does not apply to former great players like Sizemore who are still battling injuries (he’s out another 4-6 weeks and going to have surgery, in case you didn’t know.)

Back to the main point- this rule is very important not just in fantasy baseball, but also in all fantasy leagues. But we are going to stick to baseball for today. If you do not have faith in your top performers, you are not going to win. It’s as simple as that. Play them every night. However, for example, if Tim Lincecum has been struggling in his last couple of starts, and he is scheduled to face a great team like the Phillies next, you might want to bench him.  But please, don’t panic and act like a maniac and post tons of messages on your league board, begging to trade him. He will prevail.

Here are some superstars (or those who once were) that hit a bit of a rough patch this year, but came through. And if some of these players didn’t come through yet, they will.

     1.  Joakim Soria- Came through- when he was removed from his role as closer, owners panicked. Even in my league. He was dropped for Aaron Crow, and I quickly snatched him up. Good move, huh?

     2.  Albert Pujols- Came through- it’s been a tough season for him, but he came back earlier than expected from his injury, and started hitting immediately. A lot of owners lost faith, and I’m sure they regret that, as we move closer and closer to the playoffs (can you believe it? I feel like the season just started yesterday!).

     3. Joe Nathan, Carlos Mormol- Joe Nathan officially reinstated as the closer as of last weekend, and Mormol was pulled out of his role, just like Soria. Wow, did we get a lot of questions about him. He will work on his mechanics, and be back as closer before you know it

     4. Carlos Gonzalez- he got off to a terrible start, but drastically improved. Coming into the season he was among the top outfielders in the draft. He is sure starting to live up to those expectations now

     5. Carlos Pena- I’m the one that actually suffered with him. He got off to a terrible start, and I didn’t stick with him. I dropped him, and another owner immediately swooped him up. Bad move on my part, so I hope he slows down ;)
    One final note on trust- my team this year got off to a terrible start. I had a decent draft for a 14-team league, and I didn’t know what to do after dropping to 10^th place and 20 points under .500. After making some adjustments ( but no trades) I prevailed. I’m in a position to move into second place after this week. I stuck with my stars and this is what happened. We hope you didn’t give up yet. 
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