Allow me to start by saying that I really dislike holds as a category. Saves plus holds makes plenty of sense – you’re basically telling owners to draft the best relievers regardless of role. Separating the two baffles me – at least in a standard league. I’m sure there are some unusual league configurations where it can work. I don’t like the category, but I still have to live with it in some leagues. What follows is how I cope with with holds.

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Imagine you own a $20 outfielder. It’s pre-draft, and he’s the only player on your roster. He costs $20, and he’s projected to provide $20 of value. You’re offered a $17 shortstop who is projected to be worth $17. The projections properly account for position-adjusted replacement level. Would you take the trade?

No, right? You wouldn’t give me a dollar for three quarters, so why should you trade $20 for $17. Who cares about the positions, that’s supposedly included in the price.

Dig down another layer and you might consider the swap. It’s a $3 loss, but perhaps you can make up the ground in-draft. Shortstop is such a scarce position that we’re probably talking about trading the 20th best outfielder for the third best shortstop. Is losing $3 in a trade worth solving the fantasy nightmare known as shortstop?

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I posit that some acronyms are ridiculous. For example, BATNA engenders images of the very worst of the Batman series. You know, like little inexplicable gremlins playing ice hockey with a giant diamond in a bank while Arnold Schwarzenegger rampages. Why doesn’t my bank have massive diamonds sitting out in the open?

However, BATNA can play a useful role in our ongoing discussion about spying and negotiating. It stands for Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement, which sort of defines itself. For fantasy baseball purposes, it means: “what will I do if I don’t make this trade.”

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Yesterday, we discussed how to be a spymaster in your league. It’s a role that’s both fun and rewarding. As usual, we had a good chat session in the comments. I was also emailed a reminder of a previous life – an article titled “Negotiation is not the same as haggling.”

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Last week, I wrote about collusion. The comments are a reminder that collusion is mostly a straw man. When it does occur, it’s usually a league conspiring against an individual rather than two owners working out a lopsided traded. Those seemingly one-sided swaps happen because somebody has divergent opinions from the fantasy norm. Either they really like a player who isn’t drawing much attention, or they’re eager to sell high on an established veteran who they think is due for a flop.

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Last week, fellow RotoGraphist Mike Podhorzer reviewed a $9 fictional pitching staff he created earlier in the year. I did something similar in my home league and the industry league Blog Wars. The success of the strategy was mixed, so let’s delve into the details.

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Before the season began, I decided to have a little fun by constructing a fictional $9 pitching staff using the winning bids from the 15 team Tout Wars mixed auction league. I didn’t bother to consider any relievers as speculating on starting pitching breakouts in significantly more exciting. So without further ado, let’s take a look at how my selections panned out, with Zach Sanders’ dollar values indicated. It’s not perfect since his values are based on 12 team leagues, but good enough.

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Last week, I wrote about ottoneu trinkets and gobbledygooks. Specifically, I wondered what you, the reader, do with them? I also hinted that I had a plan, it’s not a great plan, but “great” isn’t really on the table when we’re talking about a $3 Alex Rodriguez. We’ll talk about said plan today. First, the comments.

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I recently signed on as an editor with a great up-and-coming site. One of my first assignments is to compile rankings for the 2015 season. As an editor whose compensation is tied to site activity, rankings are my best friends. The denizens of readerland LOVE rankings. As somebody who’s trying to build a new fantasy brand, well-done rankings are an excellent vehicle. As a fantasy player, I have serious reservations about the whole process.

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A couple weeks ago, I covered the ever-fascinating topic of rebuilding. The crux of my rebuild strategy is to target valuable major league talent rather than a boatload of prospects. Your season will be more fun, and you can trade your talent for the best building blocks during the season. Now it’s time to look at the opposite perspective of the rebuild – going for broke.

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