Winding down the baseball season

As we get close to the end of the baseball season you can't lose focus. I know it's tough with football season kicking into high gear, but you've come this far so what's another few weeks? Don't worry, I'm here to give you some more suggestions to bring home the victory this year in your roto league.

Analyze the categories - By this time you should know what categories you're "slotted" in. This just means that you're either too far behind the team ahead of you or well ahead of the team behind you in a certain category. What you need to pay attention to is those categories where you can gain or lose a few points. It could make all the difference. Most people tend to worry about the areas they can gain points it, but almost as important is protecting your lead in categories too. This will give you the information you need for the next suggestion...who to grab and who to drop.

Look at the numbers, not the names - Now that you know what categories to target, it's time to go after guys to get those stats. This is where you have to ignore the names and focus on the numbers. It's way past the point in the season to hope that struggling star rebounds. I recently dropped Robinson Cano. Sounds crazy, but he just wasn't getting it done. I needed to protect my batting average and get some power. Now if you're in a keeper league you might have to think twice about this strategy, but it could pay off. Look at the stats over the last week and grab that hot unknown hitter.

Pick on the weak lineups - We're also at the point in the season where the teams that are out of it are giving some young guys a chance to play. This gives you an opportunity to get an edge when selecting those last few starting pitcher pick ups. You can pick on the likes of the Seattle Mariners or the Atlanta Braves and usually have a shot at some good numbers, along with a chance at a win.

Maximize your innings - If your league has an innings pitched limit, then you need to be aware of where you are (actually you should have been watching this for a while). As the season winds down, there's one last trick you can employ. Most sites will count all of the pitching stats on the day you go over your innings limit, regardless of how far over you go. Say your limit is 1500 innings and on the last day you're at 1499. Well, I'd recommend loading up on pitchers that day and maximize your counting stats. Now one warning, if you're really close in ERA or WHIP, this could be dangerous and I'd probably recommend taking it easy.

So, hopefully these will help you in the next couple weeks as we wind down the season. Remember, flags fly forever, so do everything possible to raise yours this year. Good luck.