FOT Fontasy (Thanks Buffcoat!) Baseball. We need one more!

[dave from knoxville]

Why do we need an even number?

I am not going to have time to do my AL rankings the way I would normally, so that's disappointing. NL's good though.

[Gilly]

We have to have an even number because it's a head to head league and everybody needs to play against somebody every week. I figured we'd have a lot of rookie fontasy players and roto is pretty intimidating for new players plus it's pretty grueling. I figured, weekly lineup changes in a fun H2H setting should keep it interesting and fun for everyone.

Sorry Dave, I didn't have much choice on draft times. Yahoo's usually better at that. Why do you have to separate AL and NL though?

[dave from knoxville]

I am in my 24th season in an NL only league, so I know those guys, and have a system worked out. But it took all winter to get them ready; now I don't have time to apply the same hot science to AL guys. It's OK, though, it's just for fun. Right?

[Gilly]

Ah, I get what you're saying. Yeah, just for fun. I'd be interested in hearing about your "hot science" after the draft unless you need to keep it confidential for the season.

So is your 24 year old league a keeper and does it stick with the traditional 4X4 format? I'm intrigued! Most leagues don't last long, I'm in one with a bunch of sports writers and fantasy columnists that has existed since 2002...most don't last that long.

[dave from knoxville]

We have a very strong league; two guys travel from 2 states away to take part. Of the 12 teams, 9 have the original owners, and 7 of us have been present for every single draft, held in Nashville every Saturday after the first Tuesday in April. I will be glad to share formulas with you as we go on (in fact, I will probably make you sick of them before it's over.) In our league, the top 4 teams get money; I have been in the money 7 of the last 8 years, winning it twice since 2000. Classic 4 x 4 according to the bible, the first edition of Rotisserie Baseball.

I know that Eddie and Tom will make fun of it, but I am psyched. Baseball makes my world about 37% better.

[chrisfoll577]

i don't know which is cooler, dfk's hardcore fantasy baseball league or his movie club.

my 'hot science' is a secret mix of stuff i remember from skimming moneyball a couple years ago and a strict commitment to not picking any yankees out of foolish bostonian principle.

[Gilly]

We have a very strong league; two guys travel from 2 states away to take part. Of the 12 teams, 9 have the original owners, and 7 of us have been present for every single draft, held in Nashville every Saturday after the first Tuesday in April. I will be glad to share formulas with you as we go on (in fact, I will probably make you sick of them before it's over.) In our league, the top 4 teams get money; I have been in the money 7 of the last 8 years, winning it twice since 2000. Classic 4 x 4 according to the bible, the first edition of Rotisserie Baseball.

I know that Eddie and Tom will make fun of it, but I am psyched. Baseball makes my world about 37% better.

That sounds awesome, I hope my keeper league lasts that long. We lost one of our guys to the Red Sox a few years ago. He went to work PR for them and had to quit. But, otherwise we've had the same guys even though we've spread out a little bit across the country.

Tom can knock fantasy sports as much as he wants. I never thought I could enjoy baseball and basketball as much as I already did but it makes it even more interesting. Plus, it gave me interest in the NFL outside of the Vikings, a little bit of interest in the NHL and most of all it's kept me in contact with old friends throughout college and beyond.

[Swami]

Some unasked for baseball thoughts:
Is this the year that Mendoza crosses his line, and stays above it?
Instead of asking how would "X" play if he wasn't on steroids, try to imagine Dave Kingman (or insert one dimensional Teflon-gloved slugger from the 70's or 80's) on steroids. 1350 feet moon shots.
I worship Tom Seaver to the point where I would pay to watch him go grocery shopping.
I try not to think about how much money the guys warming the bench are making for spitting, giving hot-feet and scratching. Three innings equals one year of my salary.
No pro athlete was ever intentionally funny. Drunk ( Ruth, Mantle, Grover Cleveland Alexander), bi-polar (Rube Waddell, Billy Martin, Jimmy Piersall,), pathetic (Ty Cobb virulent racist and sociopath-- whoops that was society in general back then), but not truly funny. No wait- Ronald Reagan as Grover Cleveland Alexander. . . pretty darn funny.