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Portfolio3 says we should draft three types of players: Core players, who provide a foundation to our team. High skills, no-risk, no real profit expectation. Mid-game players, who compose the majority of roster spots. High skills, moderate risk, high profit expectation. End-game players, who provide back-end upside. High skills, high risk, moderate profit expectation. And we set the criteria for identifying where players fall, and how we should fit them into our roster:
Jan 26 2007 12:00am
Optimal draft strategy involves integrating the elements of expected player performance, risk and market conditions. For well over a decade now, I have been writing about different elements of this process, trying to get a handle on the best way to win our leagues.
Jan 19 2007 12:00am
It may sound bizarre, but one of the most gratifying things I like to see on this site is when a forum thread has a title like, "Why Shandler is Dead Wrong." This tells me one of three things:
Apr 13 2006 11:00pm
"Irwin Zwilling... could name nineteen players he wanted before the draft and walk out owning every one of them." --Fantasyland When I read that in Sam Walker's book, it took me back to the early days of LABR and Tout Wars, when Irwin and partner Lenny Melnick were perennial contenders. They did have a knack for knowing the marketplace so well that they could build their roster before even sitting down at the draft. Irwin and Lenny always seemed to be in control of the table and won numerous titles.
Mar 31 2006 12:00am
Some history... When Rotisserie's Founding Fathers wrote their first book in 1984, rosters were stocked by means of an auction draft. Those of us who grew up in this industry saw that as the foundation of the game. Rotisserie was, after all, one part baseball and one part economics. As team owners, we had to consider how to build a roster within the limits of a fixed budget. There was no such thing as snake, or straight, or serpentine.
Mar 17 2006 12:00am
Our annual Straight Draft Guide, 2006 edition
Feb 28 2006 12:00am
Our annual Straight Draft Guide, 2005 edition
Mar 1 2005 12:00am
After six years of LIMA, most anyone can tell what you're doing within the first hour of the draft. Not so much with the RIMA Plan. RIMA is not easily recognizable from a scan of someone's roster, which is one of its hidden benefits. When I grabbed an $18 Esteban Loaiza early on in Tout Wars -- not a typical low-cost LIMA pitcher -- and then added a $15 Joel Pineiro, it was clear that something was different.
Apr 2 2004 12:00am
A post-LABR interview with Steve Moyer, formerly of Rotowire: BASEBALL WEEKLY: "When I talked to Ron Shandler, he said that you kinda knew his strategy. You might have thrown out a few guys that he would go for. Was there any kind of chance to play off of his strategy, to counter-program against him?" MOYER: "Totally, on purpose. I wrote down all his A and B+ LIMA Players and that's all I brought out all night long." BW: "So do you feel your strategy worked?"
Apr 25 2002 11:00pm
It's like a game of telephone. Somebody starts and tries to explain a new concept to somebody else. Person #2 then passes on his interpretation to person #3, who then adds his own take to person #4. By the time the original concept reaches person #20, "grand slam home run" has become "ground ham on a bun." And so it has become with the LIMA Plan. This was the first year that I have seen so many references to the concept in so many diverse places. And half of the time, they get it wrong.
Apr 18 2002 11:00pm
For the uninitiated, the Low Investment Mound Aces (LIMA) Plan is a strategy that allows you to target high skills pitchers at low cost, thereby freeing up dollars for offense. While the individual tactics are designed for Rotisserie play, the skills-based concepts have applications in any type of fantasy game. LIMA can be implemented in straight draft leagues, with some careful tweaking in
Feb 23 2001 12:00am
Portfolio3 says we should draft three types of players: Core players, who provide a foundation to our team. High skills, no-risk, no real profit expectation. Mid-game players, who compose the majority of roster spots. High skills, moderate risk, high profit expectation. End-game players, who provide back-end upside. High skills, high risk, moderate profit expectation. And we set the criteria for identifying where players fall, and how we should fit them into our roster:
Jan 26 2007 12:00am
Optimal draft strategy involves integrating the elements of expected player performance, risk and market conditions. For well over a decade now, I have been writing about different elements of this process, trying to get a handle on the best way to win our leagues.
Jan 19 2007 12:00am
It may sound bizarre, but one of the most gratifying things I like to see on this site is when a forum thread has a title like, "Why Shandler is Dead Wrong." This tells me one of three things:
Apr 13 2006 11:00pm
"Irwin Zwilling... could name nineteen players he wanted before the draft and walk out owning every one of them." --Fantasyland When I read that in Sam Walker's book, it took me back to the early days of LABR and Tout Wars, when Irwin and partner Lenny Melnick were perennial contenders. They did have a knack for knowing the marketplace so well that they could build their roster before even sitting down at the draft. Irwin and Lenny always seemed to be in control of the table and won numerous titles.
Mar 31 2006 12:00am
Some history... When Rotisserie's Founding Fathers wrote their first book in 1984, rosters were stocked by means of an auction draft. Those of us who grew up in this industry saw that as the foundation of the game. Rotisserie was, after all, one part baseball and one part economics. As team owners, we had to consider how to build a roster within the limits of a fixed budget. There was no such thing as snake, or straight, or serpentine.
Mar 17 2006 12:00am
Our annual Straight Draft Guide, 2006 edition
Feb 28 2006 12:00am
Our annual Straight Draft Guide, 2005 edition
Mar 1 2005 12:00am
After six years of LIMA, most anyone can tell what you're doing within the first hour of the draft. Not so much with the RIMA Plan. RIMA is not easily recognizable from a scan of someone's roster, which is one of its hidden benefits. When I grabbed an $18 Esteban Loaiza early on in Tout Wars -- not a typical low-cost LIMA pitcher -- and then added a $15 Joel Pineiro, it was clear that something was different.
Apr 2 2004 12:00am
A post-LABR interview with Steve Moyer, formerly of Rotowire: BASEBALL WEEKLY: "When I talked to Ron Shandler, he said that you kinda knew his strategy. You might have thrown out a few guys that he would go for. Was there any kind of chance to play off of his strategy, to counter-program against him?" MOYER: "Totally, on purpose. I wrote down all his A and B+ LIMA Players and that's all I brought out all night long." BW: "So do you feel your strategy worked?"
Apr 25 2002 11:00pm
It's like a game of telephone. Somebody starts and tries to explain a new concept to somebody else. Person #2 then passes on his interpretation to person #3, who then adds his own take to person #4. By the time the original concept reaches person #20, "grand slam home run" has become "ground ham on a bun." And so it has become with the LIMA Plan. This was the first year that I have seen so many references to the concept in so many diverse places. And half of the time, they get it wrong.
Apr 18 2002 11:00pm
For the uninitiated, the Low Investment Mound Aces (LIMA) Plan is a strategy that allows you to target high skills pitchers at low cost, thereby freeing up dollars for offense. While the individual tactics are designed for Rotisserie play, the skills-based concepts have applications in any type of fantasy game. LIMA can be implemented in straight draft leagues, with some careful tweaking in
Feb 23 2001 12:00am

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