How I Do It by Steve Bbbrunooo

Another segment of BBC is in the books and I was fortunate enough to finish on the Leaderboard (tied for 47th). The 2nd time on the Overall LB for me since I started playing in 2001. The other time was the 2nd segment in 2003. I was the Overall Leader for about 2 weeks before I went against the Yankees in a doubleheader in September and slowly fell to the mid 20's. Anyway, luck was on my side again this year and Gomer asked if I would post a blog entry with my personal strategy, key stats that I use, and advice for all of his loyal readers. So here we go....

The first thing I do is check out the pitching matchups at mlb.com - http://mlb.mlb.com/news/probable_pitchers.jsp

Record and ERA are the first stats that most people look at, but I always look at the WHIP. You always want to pick a starter who does not give up a lot of walks and hits. I usually like the WHIP to be below 1.3 or so.

Two more good stats to look at are Strikeouts per 9 innings (K/9) and Strikeouts per Walk (K/BB). Obviously you want a pitcher who throws a lot of strikeouts and NOT a lot of walks.

Picking a good starter is only half the battle because unless he throws a complete game you will have to deal with his Bullpen as well. I go here to check out the Bullpen Rankings - http://www.covers.com/pageLoader/pageLoa....gular.html&t =0It is sorted by Team ERA but it also lists saves and blown saves etc. I find this very helpful because some really good pitchers are on teams with really bad bullpens.

Finally and maybe most importantly, I go here to look at the opponent to see if they score a lot of runs or not. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/aggr....=0&season=2009. A team that does not have much offense can make an average pitcher look like a superstar and it is usually never a good idea to go against a team that puts up a lot of runs.

Once I decide on a pitching staff, it is time to pick my batters. I usually wait until all of the games are over for the day so I can see if anyone gets hurt. I also like to see who does well on a particular day and who doesn't. I always look for trends. Some guys are very streaky and will put up several good games in a row and other guys have tendency to go, good game/bad game/good game/bad game. Finding a hitter who is "Due" for a big game is huge in BBC.

AJ made his mark last year and taught us that "Loading up" against bad pitchers can win this game. It is a good strategy and can lead to very big scores. However, if you choose wrong and your batters get shut down it can backfire on you. I usually like taking 2 or maybe 3 batters from the better hitting teams that have good matchups. When I check out the pitchers for the day I always take note of the pitchers with really high ERA's to pick on. Usually a couple of the guys will come through for me, and one or two big scores are all you really need for a good day.

I start with my 1st baseman and work my way down the line. I sort by points per game. It is also good to sort by PP7 to see who is swinging a hot bat and who isn't. I make it a point to click on at least the top 5 guys at every position and check out their stats. Scroll down to the bottom of their page and it shows the players stats vs the pitcher he will face the following day. It also shows splits for hitting vs righties and lefties etc. For some guys the difference is HUGE. Kinsler, Braun, etc., all hit lefties really well, so I like to exploit matchups like that whenever I can. Other guys can't hit lefties to save their butt (Papi, Granderson, etc), so it is a good idea to stay away from those matchups. Bottom line is I click on a LOT of guys and check out their stats to see how well they have been hitting.

There are a handful of hitters that are capable of multi-homerun games. Pujols, Kinsler, Tex, Utley, Longoria, Manny, ARoid, etc. etc. I try to get a few of these guys on my team every day too. Last thing I want is for one of them to put up 15+ pts and NOT be on my team.

I NEVER worry about "Locking guys in" at a low salary. I have never and will never take a zero on purpose.

I check out JT's weather forecast every day too. He does a fantastic job and saves us all a lot of time and effort. If he flags a game as being risky, I usually stay away from it. There are almost always other options out there. Thanks JT!

Anyway that is pretty much it. Luck always play a big role in BBC. At the beginning of the segment I had very little and then I got hot midway thru the segment and put up three 400 pt weeks in a row. I am a stat guy, so my game always improves a few weeks into the season when they start to level out.

Hope this helps you guys out. A BIG Thank You to Gomer for starting and updating this Blog every day. You have helped many people out including myself. Great Job!

Good Luck in Segment 2 Everybody!

Steve Bruno - Team Bruno (Perukes)Proud Member of the Skydiving for Meatloaf Community - Home of The Best Freebie Players in The World!Come check us out at www.skydivingformeatloaf.com