The legendary Alex Rios:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=neel/060406_qa&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab5pos1
“One of the players I’ll always gamble on is Alex Rios. Not because of his numbers, but because of the following story: Back in 2003 when he was playing for Caguas in the Puerto Rican winter league, Rios had a day off. In the late innings of a close game, he plopped down in the dugout with a giant hunk of chocolate cake and, to wash it down, a two-liter of warm Pepsi. Rios had just about finished this meal when his teammates loaded the bases and his manager called him up to pinch-hit. Rios burped, grabbed a bat, put on a helmet, burped some more, walked to the plate and cracked a double. For some reason, this makes me want him on my team.”
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And from the same article and since this is basically something I could have written (idea-wise, not funny wise) here is a great strategy for it all:
Having become something of an expert these last couple of years, what would you say are your top three fantasy tips? And don’t tell me to “do my homework” or “consider park effects.”
1. Don’t listen to tips. Ever. I know there’s a whole industry built around giving advice to Roto players, but the fact is that if anyone really knows something about a player from a credible source that’s clearly going to be useful, they’re not telling you. Other than building a solid team at the draft, the things that put you over the top in a fantasy league are avoiding injuries to big stars, picking up cheap players who have huge breakout seasons and knowing the other people in your league well enough to steal their ideas and exploit their weaknesses. Those “tips” have nothing to do with it.
