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Fantasy Baseball Dugout gives 50 tips that will help you win your Fantasy Baseball League this season. Follow these tips closely to enhance your chances to win your league championship in 2008 and beyond.

1. Be prepared for the draft. The league is often won or lost at the draft.

2. Stay focused. It’s a long season and a lot of players will drop out. If you stay focused on the prize, you’ll have a shot.

3. During the draft, track the positions your opponents have picked. Knowing this will give you a leg up on strategic picks in later rounds.

4. Go with established players over potential stars. Everybody likes to brag about picking up that rookie, but often the hype is bigger than the stats.

5. In the early rounds, pick the best available player, regardless of position.

6. Draft stolen bases. A player can be dominant in stolen bases and stolen bases are clearly over-weighted in fantasy baseball. Think Jose Reyes.

7. Draft closers. Make sure you have one more closer than your nearest competitor. Saves is an easy category to win and another over-weighted category in fantasy baseball.

8. If a player has been traded since last year, re-adjust his stats based on the park he’ll be playing his home games in. Pitchers sent to Colorado, Cincinnatti, or Philadelphia, for example, are likely to not have as impressive stats. Power stats should go up, however, if a hitter is traded to these teams. Alternatively, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, and Minnesota are pitchers’ parks.

9. Some leagues have minimal statistics to qualify at a particular position, sometimes as little as a single game. I recall Hank Aaron playing second base once. If that is your league’s rule, you have to look for opportunities like this and you may get the power numbers of an outfielder at a position that traditionally rewards defensive prowess.

10. Generally, it’s not a good idea to pick a catcher in an early round. They sit out too often and usually don’t put up huge stats anyway.

11. Do pick early in positions that are light or where some players are head and shoulders above the pack. Chase Utley at second base comes to mind.

12. Check out the league’s transactions every day. This is the only way to stay in touch. Being on vacation is no excuse in not checking your team daily.

13. Sign up for text message alerts from Google or Yahoo to keep up with fantasy baseball transactions and injuries. This will give you the information quicker than your competition.

14. Set your internet browser to come up with your league information. So, when you sign on to your computer, you’ll have the daily summary there and you won’t forget to check on your team.

15. If you no longer are interested in keeping a player on your roster, shop him to other teams before cutting him. Don’t assume other teams aren’t interested. You may get some value for him that exceeds what you’d get in the free agent pool.

16. If you are shopping a player, however, remember that this is a negotiation. You can’t let the other teams in the league know you are shopping this player. Try to cleverly put his name in package deals so that he maintains his value and your opponents won’t know they can pick him up for a box of old baseballs and used chewing gum.

17. There are no favorite teams in fantasy baseball.

18. There are no favorite players in fantasy baseball. Take the human element out of it. A player is just a bundle of statistics.

19. Don’t move a guy up in your analysis because he got hot in spring training.

20. Do watch the box scores the final two weeks of spring training. This is where jobs are won. You don’t want to be drafting a player who starts the season in Pawtucket.

21. If a guy is unusually hot in spring training, try to trade him then. His value may never be higher.

22. Every player that is on the major league roster needs to be ranked, even the sorry guys.

23. Don’t give away any categories. A championship fantasy baseball team needs to be competitive in every category, especially in 5 x 5 leagues. You cannot afford to give up a category and still win.

24. Just like regular baseball, starting pitchers can win it for you. Their stats count heavily in four of the five pitching categories.

25. Have a few extra starting pitchers in your minor league roster. If you play in a weekly league, bring up the guy who is getting two starts that week. Or, bring up the guy who is facing two week opponents that week.

26. If your league allows unlimited pitching moves, use them. A starting pitcher is of no value to you on the major league lineup when he’s not due to pitch for four more days.

27. Do the math on WHIP. I know its a pain, but it’s a category that you need to score well in.

28. Go to as many sources as possible for draft information. It’s the single most important thing you can do to be prepared.

29. Remember that statistics are relative to position played. All star statistics at catcher are often ordinary for outfielders or first basemen. The key is to get the best stats per position.

30. A trade has to work for both teams. Don’t make a ridiculous offer and hope you can bamboozle the other manager. He’ll be more open to making trades later in the season if you are bringing legitimate offers to him, even if he doesn’t take the first offer.

31. Watch Baseball Tonight! Cut the wife in on your winnings and she won’t nag you when you watch it every night…maybe.

32. Get the ESPN Extra Innings baseball package. Besides, if you live in the East, there’s nothing like listening to Vin Scully on local Dodgers telecasts. He’ll give you a lot of inside fantasy tips.

33. Check not only the stats, but lineup moves. Lineup moves can mean a lot to the stats your player will deliver, especially when it comes to RBI.

34. In a daily move league, check your lineup to see what pitcher your players are facing. Start lefties against right handed pitchers and vice versa. The righty-lefty analysis at the major league level is critical and is therefore critical in fantasy baseball success as well.

35. Keep up with injuries. An injured players does you no good in your lineup.

36. Be a contrarian during the draft. When everybody is making a run at relief pitchers, pick up a DH. There’s likely more value there.

37. Play in a league where all managers have a history of staying involved. A league is no fun if you don’t have active participating managers who have given up.

38. Play in a league with prize money for at least the top four finishers. This tends to keep players active.

39. In September, pick up prospects on teams that are out of it. This is going to be their chance to show what they’ve got for next season.

40. If your league uses playoffs, remember the adage: there’s no tomorrow. If you don’t maintain players for next season, drop a pitcher after he’s made his last start. He’s no longer of value to you otherwise.

41. In traditional Roto stats leagues, some statistics don’t matter. For example, strikeouts be a hitter don’t mean jack. An out is an out so don’t worry about picking Adam Dunn.

42. Look for most sleeper picks beginning in the 16th round. A sleeper is not a sure thing.

43. Be especially diligent in knowing who is going to be a team’s closer on teams where the job is up for grabs. You can obtain a significant amount of saves in later rounds this way by knowing who is going to be closing.

44. Starting pitchers are rarely first round material. Then, there’s Johan Santana and Jake Peavy. Prefer to load up on hitters in the first five rounds, then load up the majority of your starting pitching staff.

45. Avoid young pitchers in the very earliest rounds. They are simply too risky and prone to arm trouble.

46. Look at three year trends on players. Going any further back is useless.

47. Play in a league with old friends. It’s a great way to stay in touch.

48. If there’s an attractive single girl in your league, get to know her better. She’s almost definitely a keeper.

49. Support the advertisers on sites like Fantasy Baseball Dugout. Sites like this one that offer free fantasy baseball advice only survive because of revenue earned from its advertising.

50. When you go to a game, don’t ever yell down to a player: “Hey Ryan, you’re on my fantasy baseball team!” Do you really think he gives a hoot?

Written by: Anthony Wayne

Anthony Wayne is a writer for Fantasy Baseball Dugout which provides free fantasy baseball tips for winning your fantasy baseball league.

The spring training game on this Saint Patrick’s Day between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox didn’t fare well for the Red Sox. Unfortunately the Luck of the Irish wasn’t with them at Legends Field.

Nothing against the Yankees, but I’m a bit partial to the Red Sox considering the legendary Ron “Papa Jack” Jackson during his tenure with the Red Sox, was gracious enough to give a batting lesson to one of my son’s and his Little League team a few years back and he still has a personally autographed Red Sox T-Shirt that says “Somebody got-ta pay” “Papa Jack” 1918…2004…!

What clinched the win for the Yankees?……..Hideki Matsui, Bobby Abreu and Andy Pettitte. Matsui: With three solid hits, brought three of his teammates home. Abreu: Hitting his second home run of spring training, three runs were brought in during the second inning.

Yankee pitcher, Andy Pettitte - yep, that’s a pic of him above, (of whom which I never actually heard of him until recently via the Roger Clemens controversy - yes, I’ve been lost somewhere in the “sports closet”), anyways, he felt a bit fatigued in the third inning giving up two runs and grazing David Ortiz at the plate with one of his pitches.

However, all in all, Pettitte ended up throwing 65 pitches and pitched a pretty good game (from what I saw of highlights) considering he’s been out for ten days because of an mild injury to his forearm.

Final score had: Yankees: 8 and Red Sox: 4.

Pitching a little over one inning without pain during last Monday’s spring training game against the Oakland A’s, it seemed as if LA Angels’ top pitcher, John Lackey was off to a good start. However last Friday, MRI results examined by sports surgeon Dr. Lewis Yocum revealed a strain on his right tricep has proved otherwise. Lackey will be out of commission the majority of April. Lackey has a 79 win and 58 loss Major League pitching career record and a 3.01 ERA; in 2007 he threw 179 strikes with 19 wins and 9 losses.

With pitcher Kelvim Escobar out as well, with a shoulder injury with an estimated return in in the middle of May, it looks like Dustin Moseley (who recovered very nicely from shoulder surgery back in October) is a top contender to fill Lackey’s shoes on Opening Day. Escobar with a Major League pitching career record of 101 wins and 90 losses (18 win and 7 losses for 2007) and a 4.15 ERA, is expected to pick up a ball and work with trainers sometime this week.

Tidbit of Info:

ERA is a baseball pitcher’s earned run average; how many runs are scored off a pitcher during the game (not to due fielding errors). Often referred to as “how many runs a pitcher gave up”.

Boston Redsox Centerfielder, Jacoby Ellsbury is being featured in Nike’s SPARQ cross-training promotion. He was even recently featured in the February, 2008 issue of Men’s Vogue. The Miami Herald has also named this MLB player one of 10 “young athletes most likely to become cultural touchstones over the next decade.”

Nike has teamed up with SPARQ, a performance training evaluation program in Portland; they will be revealing their newest cross-training line consisting of sports apparel and footwear. With a pricepoint from $65 to $90, the footwear line will feature the Air Zoom SPARQ Trainer Elite, Air SPARQ Trainer and the SPARQ Test Pro (all weighing nine ounces).

Latest Ellsbury MLB Highlight:
The twenty-four year old went up against ace pitcher, Johan Santana of the New York Mets, during Monday night’s spring training game at Traditions Field in Port Saint Lucie, Florida.

Santana gave up two pitches during the game, one of which was knocked straight out into center field by Ellsbury.

Tidbit of Humor…..(well to me anyways)

Okay girls.…..If two baseball teams are warming up and you’re asked how many outs are there…..Don’t answer!

During my oldest son’s Little League baseball game today, (Go Angels!) my brother asked me that very question, and…. I fell for it, turned to my boyfriend and asked him the same question to which he chuckled, “oh baby you’re amazing”, which of course just went over my head, and in turn I asked my Dad…so yes…they all had quite a good chuckle at my baseball naiveté! (In my own defense…I was a tad bit confused just for a moment and quite possibly in my own little world!)

Did Roger Clemens lie? U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey received a request from lawmakers today urging the Justice Department to begin a federal investigation against Roger Clemens and potential perjury charges for lying under oath in from of the US Congress about using performance enhancing drugs during his tenure in the MLB.

CA Democrat Henry Waxman and VA republican, Representative Tom Davis wrote, “We believe that his testimony in a sworn deposition on February 5, 2008, and at a hearing on February 13, 2008, that he never used anabolic steroids or human growth hormone, warrants further investigation.” Clemens testified to Congress, “Let me be clear, I’ve never taken steroids or HGH.” The bottom-line is that the Democrats and Republicans who heard Roger Clemens’ testimony believe its all a pack of lies.

According to Rusty Hardin, attorney for Clemens, “The committee’s decision is unwarranted and not supported by the facts. Roger will continue to fight these allegations with every ounce of strength he has.” Congress will make its decision by Friday whether or not they’ll ask the Justice Department to investigate Clemens.

Its still unclear whether the 45 year old pitcher will return to professional baseball. However, admist all the buzz in on Capital Hill and the barage of questions from reporters, Clemens still showed up at the MLB Astros camp in Kissimee, Florida where he is said to be entertaining offers of playing. The only thing comment he made was, “Everything’s been said that needs to be said on that,” Clemens finished by saying, “We’re moving forward. It’s baseball time.”

If found guilty, Clemens could potentially spend up to five years in prison, not to mention break the hearts of aspiring young baseball pitchers who have looked up to his talent.

Ever since Former Senator George Mitchell released his report detailing rampant drug use in baseball, aptly titled The Mitchell Report last December, recent weeks have brought steroid and human growth hormone strife at the forefront in Major League Baseball (MLB). The Report exposes this stinging little secret in baseball amongst some of the game’s top players. As many are aware, Roger Clemens, pitcher for The New York Yankees (in 2006 several ESPN analysts had named him as the greatest pitcher of all time) is at the center of this Report because of his vehement denials.

Thursday, LA Angels Owner Arte Moreno spoke out about drug use in the MLB at the Angels’ spring training camp at the Tempe Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Moreno told reporters, “I think it was really important to get it out. Anytime you’ve got things hanging around in the closet, eventually you’ve got to get hem flushed out.” Although many former Angels’ were mentioned in The Mitchell Report, only one of the Angels’ current players had been mentioned in the report, Gary Matthews, Jr. Moreno, who bought the Angels in 2003, has the position that there needs to be more stringent testing such as blood testing in the future. He commented, “A lot of people spend more time trying to hide the stuff than they do making the stuff right?”

Angel Outfielder Matthews along with former baseball player Jose Canseco allegedly had been on a customer list of Applied Pharmacy Services in Mobile, Alabama; one of several online distributors of steroids and human growth hormones (HGH). The Pharmacy’s owners have been indicted by an Albany County grand jury. In 2004, Gary Matthews, Jr. denied reports that HGH was supposedly sent to a former minor teammate’s address in Mansfield, Texas on behalf of Matthews. At the Angels’ camp, Matthews told reporters he didn’t know why his name was on the list mentioned in The Mitchell Report but is working on finding that out; he sad he was not, “in a position to answer any specific questions.”