I get questions all the time about how to improve a team in the standings that reference the place in certain categories where more points are available.
Here is a better way to look at the category – What are the CURRENT rates of the teams around you in that category?
The tendency too often is to say…..well I can add Jose Tabata and pick up three points in stolen bases. Really? Are your current stolen bases plus Tabata more than the three teams ahead of you……on a per week basis? You need to look inside the category and see what the current rates are to more accurately assess your ability to gain places in the category.
How you do that depends not only on your time to put in the work but also what site scores your league. Tout Wars are scored at onroto.com and this is the way each category is shown:
|
STOLEN BASES |
||||
|
Team |
Year |
Wk |
PTS |
+/- |
|
Charlie Wiegert |
101 |
11 |
15.0 |
0.0 |
|
Paul Petera |
77 |
4 |
14.0 |
0.0 |
|
Andy Behrens |
71 |
4 |
13.0 |
0.0 |
|
Steve Gardner |
68 |
7 |
12.0 |
0.0 |
|
Perry Van Hook |
62 |
7 |
10.5 |
2.5 |
|
David Gonos |
62 |
5 |
10.5 |
1.0 |
|
Nicholas Minnix |
61 |
4 |
8.5 |
-1.0 |
|
Alex Cushing |
61 |
3 |
8.5 |
-2.5 |
|
Doug Dennis |
56 |
2 |
7.0 |
0.0 |
|
Eric Karabell |
54 |
4 |
6.0 |
0.0 |
|
J.P. Kastner |
50 |
2 |
5.0 |
0.0 |
|
Eric Mack |
47 |
2 |
4.0 |
0.0 |
|
Seth Trachtman |
45 |
4 |
3.0 |
0.0 |
|
Nando DiFino |
39 |
2 |
2.0 |
0.0 |
|
Derek Carty |
36 |
2 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
So here adding a steals guy looks like it would not only help me pass Steve Gardner, but have a shot at being second in the category if I could pass Petera (I should pass Behrens if current rates are normal). And that is another KEY – one week could be any aberration. Is that the case for several weeks? Actually, in the case of the TOUT Mixed league it has not been – using the site shows my team more in line with Gonos and Gardner, but better than Behrens - but might be if I ever get Covelli Crisp off the DL and into my lineup.
If your league uses All-Star stats (very good but also very expensive), “stats categories will give you a season and weekly view that is helpful for a current view but short of the real picture of rates you need.
Real Time Sports which hosts the WCOFB will give you a weekly view for your team both for the current week but individually for any past week, and they are all sortable.
On CBS.sportsline, you can view the stats by selecting “all teams” and “last 14/21 days” (in addition to the current period) but it will list all active players on all teams when you just want the totals – but they are there and it IS worth the work.
Current totals are just that, but with injuries, free agent additions, and trades (if you play in leagues that allow trades), you really need to know the current rates of production to have a better read on what your team can do.