Happy Opening Day! (And a blessed Palm Sunday to you, too.)
This is the forth year that I’m in a Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball League with my wife’s family. My best showing, two years ago, was third place (out of 11 teams). Not that any of you really care, but here’s my team:
Our league has players at the traditional 8 defensive positions, plus a utility player who can be of any position (including DH) in the real world, for a total of 9 batters. In fantasy baseball, pitchers don’t hit. I drafted an extra batter who will start the season on the bench but who could replace any injured or slumping player in my line-up.
C – Kenji Johjima (Sea)
1B – Gary Sheffield (Det)
2B – Chase Utley (Phl)
3B – Ryan Zimmerman (Was)
SS – Edgar Renteria (Atl)
OF – Vladimir Guerrero (LAA)
OF – Bobby Abreu (NYY)
OF – Hideki Matsui (NYY)
UTIL – Chipper Jones (Atl)
BN – Freddy Sanchez (Pit – eligible to play 2B, 3B, SS)
Our league has two SP slots, two RP slots, and three P slots (to be used either by a reliever or a starter). I have more pitchers than slots, of course, but most of them will sit on the bench four out of every five games. My pitching staff looks like this:
SP – Roy Oswalt (Hou)
SP – John Smoltz (Atl)
SP – Aaron Harang (Cin)
SP – Justin Verlander (Det)
SP – Randy Johnson (Ari)
SP – Andy Pettitte (NYY)
SP – Jake Westbrook (Cle)
SP – Ian Snell (Pit)
SP – Kenny Rogers (Det)
RP – Scott Proctor (NYY)
RP – Scott Shields (LAA)
I actually have no closer, and will thus not gain any points in the Saves column. But my two relievers have lots of "holds" (From the Yahoo Fantasy Sports dictionary: "A hold is earned when a reliever comes into a save situation and gives way to another reliever without giving up the lead.") As the season progresses, I’ll probably drop a few starters and move toward carrying more relievers . . .
The Lutheran Zephyr 
I think that I read that Kenny Rogers had surgery. You need some more AL players…..Just saying….
Not a single Twin? Mauer? Morneau? Santana? Nathan? You should keep us updated. I do keep wanting to do fantasy baseball some year.
Well, LL, I was going to say the same thing, and then I thought, well, what would I know of the national league. I see that three of “our” guys are already on the leader board.
I love fantasy baseball. I’ve been playing for 14 years. I started a league to play with my family a couple of years ago. After roundly stomping them two years in a row, I was going to quietly let it pass this year, but my sister talked me into keeping it going.
Your team looks solid. I like not drafting closers. You can usually pick up enough saves from free agents to finish middle of the pack if you so choose. I drafted Jorge Julio this year. I may have been better off without a closer.
By the way, I just started a baseball blog. Check it out: A Swing and a Miss.