Way back in October 2008, we discussed how streaming affects your fantasy league. The article defines streaming in fantasy sports, gives a few examples of streaming situations and offers a few suggestions on how to deal with a manager who streams in your league.
It seems fitting that not even a week after that article dropped, I personally began playing in a Yahoo! head-to-head public fantasy hockey league where I had to deal with a manager who began the season by streaming several positions on his roster. I didn’t think anything of it; perhaps he/she was just getting a feel for the players and trying to find the next diamond in the rough. Not the case. As we marched through the season, the streaming continued and other managers in the league seemingly ditched their teams with no hopes of beating out this manager without streaming players themselves.
By the time all was said and done, the manager ended up making 1,256 moves in the regular and post season combined. He/She ended up winning the league in convincing fashion by posting a 174-43-13 head-to-head record with a .785 win percentage and finished nearly 100 points more than the managers in 2nd place.
I contacted Yahoo! about halfway through the fantasy season and inquired about what (if any) actions could be taken to deal with the manager who was streaming. I got a very fast response saying that there was no policy in place at the moment for managers who stream but the instance would be re-evaluated and addressed if a change needed to be made.
Despite not being able to land a championship in the league, I was able to pull some insightful information away from the experience to help other managers dealing with a streamer to make the best of the fantasy situation. While we are focusing on Yahoo! fantasy hockey in this particular article, a lot of the information is applicable to other fantasy sports and services as well.
Is it possible to beat a manager who streams players?
Absolutely. It requires some serious patience and timing, but starting on a smaller scale can lead to greater accomplishments in the long term. Looking at the streaming manager’s season record (to the right) would lead one to believe that it’s a difficult task to upend them at any point in the season. Managers may not be able to beat a manager who streams in the beginning of the season, however, over time, consistency and attention can pay dividends for the manager willing to put in the effort to try and topple the so-called “cheater.”
Staying current with the waiver wire is key to building up a powerful roster throughout the course of the season. Taking a chance on rookies and call-ups is an important part to building a team as diamonds in the rough like Steve Mason and young guns like Bobby Ryan can complete a roster that is primed to make a deep playoff push. Also, make sure to stay up to date with players that are on injured reserve. We talked about making a playoff push in the 2nd half of the season by adding players on injured reserve. This strategy can certainly be applied at any point during the season (barring the space to stash a player on injured reserve) and will pay dividends if the proper players are stashed. We all know of Marian Gaborik’s proneness to injury, however, managers who were able to tuck him away and wait until he made his return were rewarded heavily for their patience at the end of the 2008-2009 fantasy hockey season.
What categories are not winnable in a matchup against a manager who streams?
Managers up against a streamer must realize that there are some categories that are going to be out of reach in a head-to-head matchup. Unless the streaming manager has 15 Pavel Datsyuks on his/her team, penalty minutes should be out of reach. Similarly, shots and games started may be out of reach, too. Lastly, unless the manager has a terrible week between the pipes, wins are more than likely a lock for them. There is no sense in trying to chase these categories as it is not conducive to the competing manager’s strategy to try and beat out a manager who has a player playing in his roster every night. Check out the image below to see how Gallica, our streaming manager, dominated the categories we just mentioned. It’s visual evidence telling us that efforts should be spent elsewhere rather than chasing these categories.
What categories are winnable in a matchup against a manager who streams?
By looking at the statistics from the image below, certainly consider +/- as a category to swing in your favor. Get players from good teams to improve the opportunity to win the category as a manager streaming players may not always have the best players available to get the job done in the +/- category; he/she is just looking for players to fill a roster spot from a relatively thin free agency pool. Goaltending stats are huge in a matchup with a manager that streams. Being victorious in the Wins category may not be attainable, however, having a solid goaltending core could provide the opportunity to swing Goals Against Average and Save Percentage in your favor. Also, there is bound to be a shutout with a solid core of tenders, so consider that a winnable category as well. Lastly, some custom leagues may offer Shorthanded Points as a scoring category. There are players out there that are certainly shorthanded specialists that may be worth owning, so consider one (or two in deeper leagues) as shorthanded points are often a swing category in any matchup
What steps need to be taken to ensure the best opportunity to compete against a streamer all season long?
Keeping up with the league is the most important part of beating a manager who streams. There is always a feeling of hopelessness that overcomes managers who get blanked by another manager streaming players, but certainly don’t abandon your team. There are bound to be injuries to players and mistakes made by all managers that could help you gain the upper hand. A careless drop or perhaps a player who is struggling could be an opportunity to buy low and wait for and under-producing player to get back to form. Again, stashing players on injured reserve is always a way to bring some punch to a lineup, especially as the season winds down and every category becomes crucial.
The opportunities will be there to make your move, so be prepared and see if you’re able to outsmart your streaming opponent. Good luck.
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