Drop the 2nd Catcher?
Feb 4, 2007 18:48:37 GMT -5
Post by Pun on Feb 4, 2007 18:48:37 GMT -5
Is this something people would be interested in? This was posted on the Sporting News fantasy site today.
Throw out the second catcher
February 4, 2007
Call it a metamorphosis. A change for the better. An evolution.
As you regular readers of Fantasy Source know and you soon-to-be readers will find out, we have begun a movement to change the "standard" league setup. Leagues still would have 23 players active each day/week, with 14 hitters and nine pitchers. But the standard setup has two catchers and one utility/DH option. As of about the last two years, we've reversed that to one starting catcher and two utility players.
So why am I just now introducing this change and urging the movement? Because a) Our change (in mock drafts, real leagues) was hardly noticed; and b) I'm just now embracing the change. Initially, I resisted it. To change the standard fantasy setup for which all dollar values and leagues in general are operated seemed anti-American, untraditional, etc. I felt like the digger you deep, the more fun it is because you actually must do some research on those catchers.
But after playing the new format, I realized that's not the case. Turns out most second catchers are very much the same, and there's not much advantage to be had there. Meanwhile, messing around with those utility spots is a lot more fun. While it does put better players in the lineup overall, I now feel there is a wider disparity, at least week to week, from, say, my second utility spot than someone else's utility spot. Plus, there's a lot more you can do with it in terms of versatility, which adds an additional strategy to consider.
In other words, it might not be as "challenging" fantasy-wise, but it makes playing the game more fun.
Years ago, few fantasy football leagues had "Flex"-option (RB/WR, WR/TE) setups. But that number has steadily increased and might even become the standard. Years and years ago, leagues didn't use team defenses. Now it's commonplace.
To quote the pop group En Vogue: "Free your mind, and the rest will follow." Introduce this change to your league mates, and urge them to embrace it.
Throw out the second catcher
February 4, 2007
Call it a metamorphosis. A change for the better. An evolution.
As you regular readers of Fantasy Source know and you soon-to-be readers will find out, we have begun a movement to change the "standard" league setup. Leagues still would have 23 players active each day/week, with 14 hitters and nine pitchers. But the standard setup has two catchers and one utility/DH option. As of about the last two years, we've reversed that to one starting catcher and two utility players.
So why am I just now introducing this change and urging the movement? Because a) Our change (in mock drafts, real leagues) was hardly noticed; and b) I'm just now embracing the change. Initially, I resisted it. To change the standard fantasy setup for which all dollar values and leagues in general are operated seemed anti-American, untraditional, etc. I felt like the digger you deep, the more fun it is because you actually must do some research on those catchers.
But after playing the new format, I realized that's not the case. Turns out most second catchers are very much the same, and there's not much advantage to be had there. Meanwhile, messing around with those utility spots is a lot more fun. While it does put better players in the lineup overall, I now feel there is a wider disparity, at least week to week, from, say, my second utility spot than someone else's utility spot. Plus, there's a lot more you can do with it in terms of versatility, which adds an additional strategy to consider.
In other words, it might not be as "challenging" fantasy-wise, but it makes playing the game more fun.
Years ago, few fantasy football leagues had "Flex"-option (RB/WR, WR/TE) setups. But that number has steadily increased and might even become the standard. Years and years ago, leagues didn't use team defenses. Now it's commonplace.
To quote the pop group En Vogue: "Free your mind, and the rest will follow." Introduce this change to your league mates, and urge them to embrace it.
