The joy and bliss of roto auctions has passed. Your fantasy team is not turning out how you planned and you are in panic mode. Relax, chill in the spirit of 4/20, and realize that anyone that is not in the lead at this point has an advantage over the league leaders. Say what?
Every league owner whose team is in first place is on top of the world. And I am not denying it is a great feeling to start the season off on top. But most of the fast starting team owners will subsequently place too high a value on their fast starters, hang onto them too long, and slide back to mediocrity.
Remember Chris Shelton? He was hitting a home run 2 years ago every day. Most owners were able to ride his power surge to the top of their April standings; I know that in my league an owner did. And when Shelton suddenly couldn’t hit his way out of a paper bag, those same owners clung to him like a Titanic passenger to a lifeboat. Suddenly trade offers would appear of Chris Shelton for my top line players, with the owner showing me how Shelton had more HR and RBI than the player he was trying to acquire. I laughed on the phone as I hung up on him. And smirked when I passed him in July.
Every year there are Chris Sheltons who explode out of the gate and Ryan Howards that start glacially. Don’t panic though. Now that steroids are taken out of the equation, there is unlikely to be another player that suddenly pulls a Brady Anderson or Bret Boone by posting astronomical numbers compared to their career averages. So while I love Chase Utley, I don’t see him hitting 64 HRs. Nate McLouth is a great player to root for, but I will renounce my rotoexpert status if he finishes the season batting .383. Carlos Silva is 3-0 after 3 starts. Don’t expect that to continue!
Instead of panicking, look for other slow-starting players you can acquire. Hunter Pence and Brandon Phillips have been awful. I should know…I own both players. See if the owner is willing to part with either (I’m not).
Don’t do something stupid because your team hasn’t shot out of the gate. Baseball is not like football; it is a long season, a marathon if you will. The best team always wins.