Win Win?

Ok, time for my first fantasy baseball posting here. I realize this will be of absolutely no value to any reader except for myself and maybe the 1-2 guys from my fantasy league that read this blog (of course they make up my only readers). But what are blogs for anyway?

Chone Figgins going 6-6 last night prompted me with this idea. One of my favorite things about fantasy baseball is trading with other owners. There have been a few years in which trades are extremely hard to pull off, and I find those years very boring. Anyone that knows me knows that I like to try to pull off as many trades as possible. This year is no exception. So, here are all the trades I have pulled off this year and the result thus far:

1. Gave up: Adam Dunn
Received: Jimmy Rollins

This was a plan I had from about the 7th round of the draft. I had taken a plethora of early good OF's (Beltran, Soriano, Bay). The top shortstops were off the board early and when the 7th round rolled around, there were none that enticed me. I knew some medicore SS's would be around late such as Julio Lugo or Bobby Crosby. I saw Adam Dunn was on the board and while I did not need a 4th OF, I though this the perfect opportunity to grab 4 solid OFs and trade one for a middle infielder. Dunn had a monster of a first week hitting 2 HRs on opening day. Here was my chance. I saw another team in the league was extremely thin on OF yet had both Jimmy Rollins and Orlando Cabrera at SS (Cabrera was on his bench). I felt this was a very fair offer and he accepted.

Results: Overall Rollins is leading in points since the trade, but Dunn has outscored Rollins in as many weeks and the opposite result. Both teams I believe are better as a result. Its been a Win Win.

2. Gave up: John Smoltz and Todd Helton
Received: Erik Bedard and Lance Berkman

This was a preference trade. I knew my buddy had man love for John Smoltz and wants him every year. So I drafted him on purpose to work a deal. Coming into the season, I was thinking Bedard might be a top 5 fantasy pitcher. He has pitched like one, leading the AL in K's, but his bullpen and offense is so pathetic that he has more QS losses than anyone in baseball and more bullpen losses when he leaves with a lead. So, Bedard is 4-4. In my league, wins are worth a lot. On the other hand, Smoltz has pitched well but not great like in years past. Yet, he gets a win almost any time he pitches. He just knows how to win and the Braves have a solid pen. Smoltz is breaking down as I predicted...so I still like this trade. What has been more frustrating though is that I thought Berkman would outpace Helton over the season. This has been anything but true. Helton started out on fire but has cooled of late. Berkman has not gotten even remotely hot yet. I still like my chances in this trade for the second half.

Results: I would have been much better off keeping Smoltz and Helton to this point in the season, but as Smoltz is breaking down and Helton has cooled off, I still think this could be a good trade by season's end.

3. Gave Up: Scott Rolen, Anibal Sanchez, Chris Ray
Received: Garrett Atkins, Brett Myers

I was absolutely frustrated with Rolen as my 3B. Atkins had been awful too and I thought maybe this could be a good buy low candidate. At the time, Anibal Sanchez was pitching well and in the majors. Chris Ray had also come off 2 solid weeks in a row with several saves. Brett Myers had just been sent to the bullpen and I was hoping maybe I could get him and he'd return to the rotation shortly. While that did not come true, nor did Atkins get hot. I still really benefitted from this trade as Sanchez was sent down for no reason a week after the trade. Ray became human, and Rolen hasn't done anything yet either. This trade also set me up for a future trade.

Results: This trade didn't really do anything for either team other than frustrate both of us. It did set me up for trade #4 though.

4. Gave up: Garrett Atkins, Bartolo Colon
Received: Carlos Zambrano, Chone Figgins

Both teams were doing very well yet had not won in the H2H league in several weeks. We both wanted to shake things up. Zambrano had been a head case, yet I knew around this time each year he goes on a good stretch. Atkins hadn't done anything yet either, but both of us knew it was only a matter of time. I was nervous about Colon and his arm, and Figgins had been abismal since coming off the DL.

Results: This has been a Win-Win for both teams for sure. Atkins has really woken up and gone on a tear. Zambrano is 2-1 since the trade only losing a near no-hitter 1-0 to the Padres. Chone Figgins has been the biggest surprise, capping his nice 2 weeks since the trade with a 6-6 evening last night. The 6 hits in a nine inning game ties an AL record. I had been trying to turn one of my good starting pitchers around for a solid 3B in the last 1.5 weeks, but with Figgins play, I may not need to do that. This has been the biggest Win Win trade of them all this season.

Trades work well for both teams if they are architected and negotiated well. Even if they don't work out for me or the other team though, I'd rather be active trading in fantasy than not as it keeps the league interesting.

I'll post another trade update after the all star break.