Tactics and Strategy

We often talk about fantasy strategy here. I often talk about strategy. When we do so, we lump tactics and strategy together in a way that obscures the relationship between two similar concepts. Tactics and strategy must be executed hand-in-hand to find success, and it can be helpful to recognize when you’re employing a tactic and a strategy. It’s not a mind-blowing topic, but the offseason is a great time to make subtle adjustments to how you think about fantasy sports. I’ve identified this as a potentially valuable adjustment for myself, and I’m sharing it with you.

So what is the difference between tactics and strategy? Don’t bother with a dictionary, the definitions are muddied by their erroneous, interchangeable use in modern society. To simplify, strategy applies to the big picture while tactics are usually found in the details.

Here’s an example from a Glen Cook novel (a different genre of fantasy). A character who survived an assassination attempt went and “interrogated” an official after the event. The decision to do so was tactically wise – the character needed to learn why someone was trying to kill him. It was also strategically short-sighted – he revealed he survived the attempt. Our fantasy character was right to seek information, but he should have done so in a way that left his would-be assassins satisfied that the job was completed.

Stars and scrubs is a strategy. Loading up on scarce 30+ home run talents while skimping on the deep starting pitching market is a tactical use of the strategy. A successful owner will often employ the same strategy year after year in a given league. I have a couple keeper leagues where I know I will be streaming some position. Often it’s starting pitcher. Sometimes it’s outfield. Or maybe I’m streaming a stat like steals, runs, or strikeout rate. That I plan to stream is a strategy, how I stream is tactics.

Strategies tend to remain consistent over time while tactics can change frequently based on the market. For example, we’ve talked about reliever prices in ottoneu a lot recently. Strategically, all can agree that a winning ottoneu team probably has a healthy bullpen. The tactics used to build those great pens can differ.

In some leagues, owners are all over the potential relief aces – often before they reach anywhere near elite status. It can be tactically wise to pay a little for top relievers in those leagues, especially if you can identify another place to skimp without sacrificing talent. Other leagues pay less attention to relievers. In that case, it makes a lot more sense to go with a super cheap pen. If you can reasonably expect to grab a Wade Davis, Dellin Betances, and Ken Giles on a $1-2 contract as needed, why should you pay $20 for Craig Kimbrel?

The lesson today is to pick your strategy and stick with it. Don’t be a afraid to adjust your tactics. I’ve always preached flexibility – and that won’t change – but it’s useful to understand where flexibility is valuable and where it can be detrimental. Switching from stars and scrubs to a balanced approach 90 picks into a draft may be too late to adjust your strategy. It’s not too late to say, “oh, I’ll focus on different stars (or scrubs) than I originally planned.

I have a project in mind. I occasionally get this grand plan to create an omnibus of sorts on a specific topic. I’d like to create detailed posts for Strategies and Tactics. I don’t know if those posts will ever happen, but let’s talk about some of your favorites and how they’re classified in the comments.