Sunday, January 24, 2010

WELCOME

Why do we play fantasy sports?  There are many reasons I suspect, and they most certainly differ in both scope and magnitude for each individual.  Some play for the competition, others for a chance at financial gain, and many probably join leagues as a good way to maintain old friendships (or start new ones).  For most of us, it is likely a blend of all three of these, in addition to many other specific individual reasons.  To that end, one goal of this endeavor will be an attempt to develop overall strategies that blend traditional advice and forecasting with your general goals for playing.

While I love playing in leagues, I also derive a great deal of enjoyment from setting up and running them as well, so another focal point will be taking a look at things from a commissioner's perspective.  Having your finger on the pulse of fellow league members as it relates to the above is crucial when determining your league's setup, rules, and administration.  Whether most of your leagues are "standard", highly customized or somewhere in between, gaining exposure to different formats is not only a great way to maybe find a little tidbit to make your other leagues more enjoyable, but also a great way to improve your overall fantasy ability.

As far as projections and advice go, I'm certainly inclined to take a very sabermetrical approach to things and base my numbers and opinions on the core underlying skills that players have demonstrated rather than the actual outputs they've produced. There are just too many variables in play to very accurately predict the future performance of one individual, but with some fundamental reasoning, one can certainly at least narrow the gap between predicted and actual stats and/or become more accurate at determining the likelihood of a player improving or declining.

In the end though, improvement and personal enjoyment should come from gaining information and applying it to your own opinions and thoughts.  That is the ultimate goal here, to provide a bit of knowledge or a different viewpoint you may not have considered before, and that maybe you can use that information for your benefit.  There are many great sites available and I encourage you to use every resource you can, but as a means to your end, not as the end itself. And remember, the lead-in was "Why do we PLAY fantasy sports?", so have some fun along the way.