RotoRounders Blog: Grindin' Ain't Easy
The Roto-Rounder: 01/20/2011
About the Writer: Mike T., AKA “rototrain” is a 33 year old fantasy fanatic from New York and plays both daily and yearly fantasy sports. He’s been playing fantasy sports since 1993 before the internet kept track of stats. Mike enjoys all fantasy sports, but focuses mainly on MLB, and NFL. He has recently delved into the world of fantasy basketball. “Rototrain” is a huge Steeler, Islander, and Yankee fan, and in his spare time plays poker. In addition to playing fantasy sports, Mike also loves to play competitive baseball and softball. Mike is currently engaged, and is planning a wedding with his fiance Ashly for this summer._
Grindin’ Ain’t Easy!
| {Gri-n-ding} – Verb: The act of researching fantasy stats in an attempt to win at daily and season-long fantasy sports. |
I think it may have been Slick Rick who said “Pimpin Ain’t Easy,” or maybe it was Snoop-Dogg…I don’t actually know, but when I googled “Pimpin”, Slick Rick came up. So that’s who I’m going with. Now of course, as you can see from the title of the blog, I’m not actually talking about pimping…I’m of course talking about grinding. And lately, it sure has been difficult.
What could be to blame? I have been spending more time at work recently, and the new season of Jersey Shore has started, so maybe those are the excuses I will roll with. I’m coming off a night where I put up 286 points in the Wednesday Slam, and I wasn’t even close to sniffing the money. I’m starting to think that the competition is getting stiffer by the day.
As of this writing, there is $25 left in the bankroll. I got it all riding on the Friday NBA Slam! I honestly feel like I have a solid team, and absolutely must cash in this tournament. I have a weekend trip planned in Atlantic City, so replenishing the roll is integral. Here is a look at the lineup I am rolling out. If it doesn’t work out, I will have to make the dreaded trip to the PayPal machine. Here we go:
| Player | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ramon Sessions | $5600 | Great Fanduel value and has the starting gig for a while |
| Tyreke Evans | $6900 | Great matchup and averages around 30 fantasy points a night |
| Monta Ellis | $8900 | He is unstoppable at home |
| Joe Johnson | $6900 | Consistently very good…How is he only 6900?! |
| Carmelo Anthony | $7500 | Seems to be playing with a chip on his shoulder since the Nets backed out…Value! |
| DeMar DeRozan | $6400 | Pure shooter, and should have be focus of offense with Bargnani handling Zbo |
| Zach Randolph | $8900 | Luis Scola is offensive minded, so Randolph should have a nice matchup here |
| Ryan Anderson | $4700 | Counting on the Magic to push around the Raptor bigs |
| Dwight Howard | $9200 | I’m hoping he can push around Bargnani and have a big night |
The rest of my bankroll is wrapped up in the NFL. I have a few matches, but did not put a lot of time into it. Choosing from four teams just isn’t that exciting. In any case, here is my NFL lineup…Go Steelers!
| Player | Notes |
|---|---|
| Mark Sanchez | Hate the Jets, but he may actually be able to throw a bit vs the Steeler secondary |
| Matt Forte | Figured I had to take the two best backs left |
| Rashard Mendenhall | Same as above |
| Hines Ward | Love Hines vs Cromartie |
| Santonio Holmes | Santonio vs his old team could come up big |
| Donald Driver | Thinking Jennings gets the coverage and Driver gets open |
| Andrew Quarless | Didn’t have any cap room left, so I took a shot. Hopefully he gets the nod in the redzone |
| Nick Folk | Steelers bend but don’t break defense is conducive to lots of field goals…Rooting for him to hit them as long as the Steelers still win |
| Packers | Hoping Cutler has a rough day |
Wish me luck at the poker tables in A.C! Good luck this weekend
Bankroll Tracker – Fanduel
| Sport | Entry Fee | Place | Date | Bankroll |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBA | $30 NBA Slam | 17th place | 1/12/11 | 2 became $22 |
| NBA | $25 Heads up | 1st | 1/12/11 | $67 |
| NBA | $10 Heads up | 1st | 1/12/11 | $85 |
| NBA | $10 Heads up | 1st | 1/12/11 | $103 |
| NBA | $10 Multi 5 man | 1st | 1/12/11 | $148 |
| NBA | $10 Heads up | 1st | 1/13/11 | $166 |
| NBA | $10 Heads up | lost | 1/13/11 | $156 |
| NBA | $10 Heads up | lost | 1/13/11 | $146 |
| NBA | $5 Heads up | lost | 1/13/11 | $141 |
| NBA | $10 Mini slam | lost | 1/14/11 | $131 |
| NBA | $10 5 man | lost | 1/14/11 | $121 |
| NFL | $10 4k Blitz | lost | 1/15/11 | $111 |
| NBA | $10 5 Man | lost | 1/16/11 | $101 |
| NBA | $10 5 Man | lost | 1/16/11 | $91 |
| NBA | $30 Wed Slam | lost | 1/19/11 | $61 |
| NBA | $10 5 Man | lost | 1/19/11 | $51 |
| NBA | $25 Heads Up | lost | 1/19/11 | $26 |
| NBA | Friday Slam 25 | ? | ? | ? |