As the fantasy baseball head-to-head playoffs and the final month of a grueling, six-month battle in the rotisserie format crank up in September, your determination must remain fierce and your attention to every statistic needs to be laser-focused.
Most importantly, there is zero room for emotion.
The excitement for a new crop of rookies needs to be tempered, and your feelings toward certain veteran players must be put in check.
If a player isn’t performing to task, he must go. There is no time left for hope regardless of name, reputation or past performances.
Parting ways with veteran players can be difficult for fantasy managers.
We get nostalgic for the days when a player did something big for us, and we all have a tendency to cling to what once was.
Just get any group of fantasy baseball managers in a room together and start naming players from 10 years ago.
Remember that time Ben Revere stole 49 bases and led you to a championship?
Or that time Adrian Gonzalez led the league in RBI and was clutch down the stretch for you?
It becomes comical, but also a very dangerous game.
Paul Goldschmidt has long been a staple on fantasy championship squads.
Remember those two seasons from 2015-16 when he combined for 57 home runs and 53 stolen bases?
Those were tremendous years.
But how are we feeling about his .236 average with just 20 homers and eight steals this season?
Better yet, how do we feel about the measly seven home runs and 17 RBI he has produced here in the second half?
Goldschmidt was a tremendous player, but his time is over in fantasy.
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August has been disastrous for so many veterans, and you need to start cleaning up your roster and make some tough cuts.
How else are you going to add the likes of Roman Anthony, Matt Shaw or Quinn Matthews?
Forget about emotion.
Forget about the names. Take a long, hard look at the numbers and figure out what you need most.
If Luis Robert is on your team and you don’t need speed, how is his .217 average or two home runs helping you? So long.
How long did you stash Josh Jung on your IL only to receive a .232 average and two home runs this month? Farewell.
Randy Arozarena? Auf Wiedersehen!
Christopher Morel? Goodnight.
Be the real life general manager you need to be on a championship run.
Take all emotion out of your decision-making and stick to the numbers.
With one month to go, they are your only reliable help.
Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy baseball news and advice.