Westerman: Fantasy or Factual, Just Enjoy the Season

Having fun yet?  Sure you are.  At this point in time, everything is still fresh and new for both the fans and the players.  It’s important to understand that it’s a long season, and even though our temps are dipping just a bit, Cardinals’ bats are warming up a lot.

Do you play fantasy baseball?  ESPN version?  Yahoo! Sports version?  Did you create your own?  Regardless if you do play, I’m sure you’re looking forward to the end of this week where each of your pitchers has had the opportunity to pitch once to see how each will set a tone for the start of the season.  A word of advice, don’t freak just yet if your pitcher surrenders two pitches to the people as the opposing batters play yard against him.  It’s just his first outing this year.  He knows what to do.  Give it time; that’s the most important thing I’ve learned from playing fantasy baseball; there really are 162 games and lots can happen at different times of the year.  Major teams have already started 0-3 on the season through the weekend; that doesn’t necessarily mean that guys aren’t going to end up blasting 35+ homers this year or driving in 80+ RBIs or post a lower ERA than last year.

Enjoy it!  I played for years with my college buddies – yes past tense.  It takes a lot of time to play fantasy baseball.  I would – literally – spend hours in front of my computer trying to figure out the best combinations for pitchers vs. batters, who is streaky, who’s in a slump and who can I trade to get a stronger player.  Last year I had an average performance in a field of ten with Albert Pujols, Justin Verlander, CC Sabathia, Nick Swisher, David Ortiz and the like; all successful players who had great to phenomenal seasons last year – and I was average in the league.  Great players like that, and I didn’t even make it into the money pool ranks for our league.  Whatever.  My wife told me to take a break this year (we did have a honeymoon to pay for anyhow this spring).

Honestly, I felt like I missed half my summers messing with fantasy baseball – and I’m off during the summers!  That's not good for me, personally.

I always forgot about my team for a while, went back to it and realized that I hadn’t rotated my pitchers around, missed some complete games, 12+ Ks on the day or a couple of strong saves (which I was always the lowest in).  Oh well.  My money’s gone, and I’m pretty sure when one of my buddies who was in my league came in town for my wedding, some of the cash he used bought a couple of rounds before the reception for me and my bride.

I’ve found that not playing fantasy baseball this year has already been an enourmous liberating experience; there's less stress in my life.  I can spend time with my wife watching baseball games at Busch Stadium instead of playing around on my phone updating my rosters while I watch the matchup board above right field of the rest of the league and missing the action, or I don’t have to plan my day around catching up on the West Coast’s action early in the morning before work to make any changes for the coming day’s matchups and not worrying while I’m flying across the country wondering why I didn’t take the trade offer for Jimmy Rollins.

I’m enjoying the season a lot right now, and I would like to continue to do so in the coming summer months, chilling in my basement watching the Cards on TV with both my pups, snoozing away on their blankets.

Besides, I can’t be messing with fantasy baseball this year, I have a yard and garden to manicure now.  I'll leave the playing up to the actual players this time around.