Keep repeating "it's still early"

[Sharky]

First few days went great, but since then my team has been snake bitten. Several days of 3 for 38 performances led to a precipitous drop in the standings (from first to second-to-last). Have to keep reminding myself it's early.

Not getting much from Betts or Cano, and waiting for injured players like JD Martinez and Jason Kipnis is killing me.

Argh!!!

[The Dane]

Honestly, I don't look at the standings, even a glance, until mid-May. And even then, I make no assertions about my team until after that. I figure months and months of research and planning when into building that team. I'm not going to toss that all away for just a few weeks of aberrant stats. So many times, I've bailed early and then found later that if I'd just stuck with it, I'd have been in the money.

Just watch boxscores and games. Forget the standings until Mother's Day.

[Hodor]

I was just thinking about this. In the midst of trying to decide which way to go after my first two weeks. I was thin on offense to begin with, but I lost 3 guys who were supposed to start or at least platoon to minor league demotion on opening day, then Melvin Upton gets cut and now Parker breaks a collarbone.

Goosefraba.

[Sharky]

Honestly, I don't look at the standings, even a glance, until mid-May. And even then, I make no assertions about my team until after that. I figure months and months of research and planning when into building that team. I'm not going to toss that all away for just a few weeks of aberrant stats. So many times, I've bailed early and then found later that if I'd just stuck with it, I'd have been in the money.

Just watch boxscores and games. Forget the standings until Mother's Day.

Thanks. Kinda what I was thinking, but helpful to vent. Really hate the early season injuries.

[chancellor]

I'm a little more attentive, at least in my two deeper leagues. Injuries and slow starts may equal opportunity.

[Gregg]

Honestly, I don't look at the standings, even a glance, until mid-May. And even then, I make no assertions about my team until after that. I figure months and months of research and planning when into building that team. I'm not going to toss that all away for just a few weeks of aberrant stats. So many times, I've bailed early and then found later that if I'd just stuck with it, I'd have been in the money.

Just watch boxscores and games. Forget the standings until Mother's Day.

I agree with sticking to the plan. My plan going into the auction was to have very little money because of a good keep list and the decision to keep Kershaw 45X and Bumgarner 32X in the last years of their contracts. A slow start with my offense combined with Dahl injuries tempted me to trade. I was offered Cespedes 35B for Bumgarner two days ago. I was so close, but turned it down to stick with the plan.

I will deviate from the plan if I lose players for the year, but this is not that.

[overkill94]

I knew my pitching would be a problem in my NL-only but when even your "safe" middle relievers are getting blown up (Strop and Hudson) it makes it that much more infuriating. Hopefully Finnegan can come back strong in a few weeks and Ross should be back next week but I'm still sweating it.

[Sour Masher]

Yeah, my team has started in a funk, with seemingly safe, consistent guys like Cruz, Encarnacion, Carpenter starting cold.

BTW, speaking of early season badness, is it just me, or are there more blister issues for pitchers than usual?

[Sharky]

Yeah, my team has started in a funk, with seemingly safe, consistent guys like Cruz, Encarnacion, Carpenter starting cold.

BTW, speaking of early season badness, is it just me, or are there more blister issues for pitchers than usual?

Nah, just "mainstream media" nonsense. Or some such poppycock.

Yes, more blisters than usual but probably not in any statistically significant way.

[YourPalChrisMal]

I keep repeating it... It's still early.

In my AL-only 5x5, I have Jose Bautista who is batting .130-something with 0 HR, Adrian Beltre who has been on the DL, Marcus Siemen who just went on the DL with 0 HR, Mookie Betts who did nothing until recently thanks to the flu, Hanley Ramirez who has also done nothing thanks to the flu. My speed was Jarrod Dyson and Leonys Martin (and Betts), who while they have stolen bases have otherwise sucked bad enough that the M's have started sitting them more frequently.

[rhd]

Yep, very early. So far, my pitching has been great and my offense very lousy:

League #1 - 2.69 ERA; .225 BA
League #2 - 2.59 ERA; .239 BA
League #3 - 2.94 ERA; .247 BA

And I didnt overspend on pitching.

I dont consider the stats and standings to be that meaningful until around 6 weeks in. Same thing in "real" baseball. Do you really think Cincy and Colorado will win their divisions or that the Indians will finish last and the Cubs will be at .500?

[Ken]

I dont consider the stats and standings to be that meaningful until around 6 weeks in. Same thing in "real" baseball. Do you really think Cincy and Colorado will win their divisions or that the Indians will finish last and the Cubs will be at .500?

Agree, after week 1 in one of my leagues, my team was in last place (15th) with 44 points.
In week 2, I GAINED 50 points, so I sit in 3rd place with 94 points.

The standings really mean nothing at this point.

[SlideRule]

I know it's early and all but this stat is pretty remarkable to me, and doesn't even cover the fact that Sam Dyson AND Bruce Rondon are on my team:

Teams 1-9 AVG: between .265 and .228
My team AVG: .179

My best hitter (by CBS's "rankings") is George Springer, then Robinson Chirinos, who is outpacing guys like Machado, Pujols, Cruz, Bregman, and C Gomez. Woof. I looked at the TB/BOS game the other day and thought "oh at least Odorizzi is pitching well as it's a 1-0 game in the 7th!" but no, he left with an injury after 1 IP. SMH

[The Dane]

Frankly, analyzing the standings now is not only distracting, but it's filling your analytical mind with noise. In the off-season, when you're prepping for your drafts, it's not so hard to be dispassionate and not be too swayed by small sample sizes. It's easier to look at them for the signs that they are, put them in the proper perspective, and draft accordingly. But during the season, when those samples are on your damn team, it's really tough. You start to panic and your analysis falters and you make rash decisions on information you KNOW is faulty.

I would argue that watching the standings now adversely effects how well you play out the rest of the season.

[The Feral Slasher]

Frankly, analyzing the standings now is not only distracting, but it's filling your analytical mind with noise. In the off-season, when you're prepping for your drafts, it's not so hard to be dispassionate and not be too swayed by small sample sizes. It's easier to look at them for the signs that they are, put them in the proper perspective, and draft accordingly. But during the season, when those samples are on your damn team, it's really tough. You start to panic and your analysis falters and you make rash decisions on information you KNOW is faulty.

I would argue that watching the standings now adversely effects how well you play out the rest of the season.

I agree with your overall message that owners need to be disciplined and not swayed by relatively meaningless early results...at the same time watching the standings can help you spot other less disciplined owners who might be panicking or looking to trade based on the early season stats.