Fantasy Baseball Rookie: First Impressions

Brad Lidge—Who are you?

I mean, really, who are you? As a player, I would like to know who you are and what role you will have on my first ever fantasy baseball team. Are you still the dominant Brad Lidge who sealed the deal for the Phillies in last year's World Series? Or will you revert back to the Lidge of early 2007?

This is one of many burning questions I have as I approach opening day of my inaugural fantasy baseball season.

As I scan my roster, I can’t help but be a little nervous.

David Ortiz—Can you tack on a few more homers with Manny gone?

Jay Bruce—Can you live up to the hype that Cincinnati fans have bestowed upon you?

Maybe it wasn’t so wise to set my draft on auto-pilot. The hand dealt to me wasn’t exactly All-Star caliber, with a few exceptions.

Maybe, though, my roster is the last thing I should be worried about. Maybe, my focus should be more on exactly how to play.

This isn’t exactly fantasy football. My game time strategy on the fantasy gridiron included plenty of mid-week planning before Sunday.

For the great pastime, I will need to be thinking constantly. Every morning and night I will want to study my players' and my opponents’ weaknesses.

First things first, I should probably learn exactly what stats will score points for me.

With two weeks left until opening day, I suppose I could try to find a few good steals in free agency. I suppose that would mean learning how the waiver process works.

So much to learn, so little time. All tips and suggestions for building a winning team are welcome!

I’ll trade you Brad Lidge for a guaranteed playoff spot.