As we run up to the All Star Break it is time for all of us to make an honest assessment of our teams.  We all start the season with visions of the Yoo Hoo Shower but mighty Casey still seems to strike out more times than not in Mudville, as does Adam Dunn and Mark Reynolds but that is for a different story! 

So we are looking at our teams at midseason still hoping against hope that Chone Figgins will rebound, Travis Hafner has something in his bat, Victor Martinez still has the magic that made us trust our 3rd round pick on him, and Roy Oswalt isn’t as bad as he has shown.  Under the guise that this may not happen, owners must have a contingency plan to push your team out of the doldrums and make a run at your league championship or at least push the upper tier to get in the money.  Let’s examine some ways to get there.

If you are in the upper third of your standings it is much easier to look for holes and deficiencies and make minor adjustments via free agency or minor trades to shore up categories that you may need help in. 

The mistake many owners do in this position is look at their team and think they need to make the “blockbuster trade” that will create huge buzz in your league.  What they fail to realize is that Blockbuster trades are HUGE shakeups and can be just as detrimental to your team as they can be successful.  I have seen teams trade themselves out of the championship because they did not want to sit tight with the solid team they drafted and traded for more so than people who were reluctant to pull the trigger in that 8 player deal.  On a side note, I agree with Patrick Dicaprio about those 8 player trades; lazy way to deal and hard to decipher.

If you are in this position, concentrate on category tiers where you can move up a few points here or there with minor moves.  If you are in a keeper league, move your keepers as late as possible for keepers with similar skills, or a 2 for 1 that can fill a hole without creating a vacuum in another position.  Most importantly remember, a big shake UP can create a big shake DOWN.

The hardest spot in Fantasy Baseball in my opinion is to be in the second tier of the standings.  Your team continues to tease you but has consistently fell short because of players with wild weekly swings; Justin Upton comes to mind. As a result you are within shouting distance of the top tier but the holes in your lineup create a ceiling that your team cannot punch through.  Here is where the owner has to determine what type of gambler you are.

I am almost always opposed to a drafting strategy that punts categories from the outset.  By using that strategy you have to have everything land just perfect to win your league.  Six months of perfection rarely happen in fantasy baseball and that is why I do not use that strategy very often.  But at the halfway point with nothing to lose I will employ this strategy because three months of luck is easier than six.  Let’s look at some of these strategies.

If you are in the mid tier you are for sure taking a 1 or 2 in a category.  You have two options: load up to make a move or punt it entirely and trade off the excess.  Three categories where this is common are saves, steals, and batting average.  If I am at the bottom of standings in steal and I have Ichiro and Victorino then they are not helping my team. Trading them to someone who needs help in those categories allows me to shore up my power numbers or my strikeouts.  Don’t fight over 2 points, concede the categories and make a 12 point run in homers and RBI plus your should get a boost in your run category.

High batting average guys like Joe Mauer are not helping me if I am getting 2 points in that category but if I parlay him to a better strikeout pitcher and low batting average catcher with power then I helping my team out immensely in multiple categories.

I am last in one of my daily leagues in saves due to closer injuries and I am also at the bottom in ERA and WHIP.  What I have done is the opposite of punting categories. I can’t concede THREE categories, so as a result I am trading for as many closers as I can get.  I now have six closers on my roster.  They will help in all three deficient categories and since it is a daily league I rotate my five starters as they pitch to keep up in Ks and wins.  It is a risky strategy but I am in 7th place, I have to do something!

Finally, if you are in the bottom tier of your standings you do have some options to keep you interested in your fantasy teams.  If you are unsure if you still have a chance I will quote a theory from my friend Johnny Archive.  He calls it the Firecracker 540 rule.  If on July 4th, you are 5 spots out of the money and/or 40 points behind in the standings you have to start looking out for next year.  I feel that theory is a great rule of thumb.

If you are in this position I hope you are in a keeper league.  If you are not then you still have an obligation to complete the league and stay competitive.  Take two minutes out of your day to check the standings and make a free agent claim, answer trade offers in a timely fashion, move injury players to the IR slot, and keep up with the September call ups.  Too many owners bag the season once football starts and miss out on preparing for the next season.  Also if you just quit you risk the chance of not being asked back to the league. 

If you are in a keeper league you want to offer trades to league leaders that help them to win this year and help you prepare to dominate next year.  The second place team has Hanley Ramirez but can make up a huge amount of points in wins.  You offer him Zambrano, Dice K, and Hardy for Hanley.  He has to look at it because he is in it to win it.  As an owner you want to bring back the 5 best players you can for next year.  Trade as many spare parts as you can to get those players.

Fantasy baseball is fun and I love playing it but let’s face it, it is a six month grinding season that takes commitment no matter where you are in the standings.  By using these tips you can still have fun and be part of the pennant stretch.