Difference between revisions 624346034 and 708505527 on enwiki

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The '''''Fantasy 411''''' is a [[Major League Baseball]] radio and television [[Broadcasting|broadcast]] on MLB.com. The hosts are primarily [[#Mike Siano|Mike Siano]], [[#Cory Schwartz|Cory Schwartz]], [[Casey Stern]], fantasy sports guru Broadway CJ Reo and Zach Simon, with occasional contributions from [[Vinny Micucci]], [[Brandon Costa]], [[Will Carroll]] and [[Joe Sheehan]] of ''[[Baseball Prospectus]]''. [[Jeffrey Ma]] of [[Protrade]] joins the show every Thursday at 12:40 p.m. The show airs Monday through Friday, from 2 to 3 p.m. ET, during the MLB [[season]]. The show's main focus is [[fantasy baseball]]. Schwartz and Siano answer fans' questions through [[telephone call|calls]], [[e-mails]] or [[instant messages]]. In the [[offseason]] the ''Fantasy 411'' airs once a week until the end of February, after which it airs twice a week. The show can be downloaded as a [[podcast]] through MLB.com or [[iTunes]]. The [[archives]] of the show are available through MLB.com.

==Hosts==
Mike Siano and Cory Schwartz are [[New York]]ers who both vehemently support the [[New York Yankees|Yankees]]. One caller dubbed the ''Fantasy 411'' as "infotainment" because the show combines much good fantasy baseball information while entertaining with pop culture references.

===Cory "Stats" Schwartz===
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====Tendencies and ideas====
Schwartz is the host that is more inclined toward statistical analysis and [[sabermetrics]], especially since he has been a member of the [[Society for American Baseball Research]] (SABR), hence his nickname: Cory "Stats" Schwartz. Schwartz tends to favor hitters who have good plate discipline, and proven track record (or performance record, as his father would say). When evaluating pitchers, Schwartz is a self-proclaimed "slave to the [[strikeout]]." Schwartz is also responsible for providing insight on the [[Minor lLeague bBaseball|minor leagues]] and upcoming prospects. In May 2006, Schwartz questioned the [[#Pitch and Ditch|Pitch and Ditch]] strategy and became depressed and annoyed after poor performances from [[Ian Snell]] and [[Juan Cruz (baseball)|Juan Cruz]] but has since retracted his doubts. Schwartz also likes to taunt Siano during the show whenever Siano misses a show due to apparent injury or illness. Schwartz, and Micucci when he hosts, do not hesitate to [[#Throw under the bus|"throw Siano under the bus"]], and to question his wisdom teeth surgery and innumerable other injuries.

===="DTM"====
Schwartz's signature phrase—which he actually adopted from Siano—is "DTM", which is an acronym for "dead to me". Schwartz uses the phrase during the [[#Pitch and Ditch|Pitch and Ditch]] segment of the show for pitchers who have drawn his ire due to poor performance while on his fantasy team and much improved performance after Schwartz cuts them, such as [[Ted Lilly]], [[Jeff Suppan]], [[Jeff Weaver]], [[Ian Snell]], [[Esteban Loaiza]], and of finding surprise breakthrough performers such as [[Cliff Lee]] and [[Chris Capuano]] in 2005 and [[Érik Bédard]] and [[Josh Johnson (baseball)|Josh Johnson]] in 2006. Pitch and Ditch can be considered a risky strategy because it increases the likelihood of having a very poor performance, which can severely hurt a fantasy team.  

Recently, the existence of a "Pitch or Ditch" curse has been suggested, citing that players whose names were included in the introduction montage to the segment often went on to get injured or perform poorly. The show's segment spawned a website dedicated to pitch or ditch in called pitchorditch.com.

====List of 12====
The "List of 12" is a list of [[pitcher]]s that Schwartz nominates for breakout seasons before each season using a secret calculated formula. The theory of the List of 12 is that once talented but inconsistent pitchers reach a certain level of experience, usually around 500 [[innings]]s pitched, they tend to improve significantly. Every preseason, Schwartz nominates his "List of 12 Special" for the season, and his 100% choices have been successful ([[Ben Sheets]] in 2004, [[John Lackey]] in 2005, [[Brandon Webb]] and [[Jeremy Bonderman]] in 2006 and [[Érik Bédard]] and [[Dan Haren]] in 2007).

===Mike Siano===

==Strategies==
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===Don't chase wins===
A strategy related to Pitch and Ditch. [[Statistical analysis]] shows that the number of wins, a fundamental [[statistic]] in [[fantasy baseball]], that a pitcher earns is not consistent from year to year. Win accumulation is dependent on offensive run support, and is not a good reflection of pitching acumen. Thus, Siano and Schwartz tell the listeners to focus on improving other pitching statistics, such as [[save (sport)|saves]], [[strikeouts]], [[Earned run average|ERA]], and (contracted; show full)
:26 − (the round number in which the player was selected) = number of weeks after which a player can be released or benched due to poor performance.

Thus, if a player does not meet expectations after being drafted in the 7th round of a fantasy draft, he can be cut or benched after the 19th week of the season (26−7).

===Max Out The Innings Limit===
Most fantasy baseball leagues have [[inning
s]]s pitched limits for pitchers. Schwartz often stresses that fantasy players need to use all of their innings to maximize the potential of their pitchers. The strategy is more complex than that however. Schwartz always mentions that it doesn't matter when one reaches his innings limit, as long as they get the best out of those innings. Using all of one's innings early can be beneficial because it allows a fantasy player to fill his or her team with position players in order to upgrade their offense (contracted; show full)
*http://www.athomeplate.com/interviewschwartz.shtml A 2005 interview with Schwartz on AtHomePlate.com
*http://www.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/fantasy/mlb_fantasy_columns.jsp?story=insider0515 Schwartz's 2003 article on plate discipline

{{Major League Baseball on the radio}}

[[Category:Major League Baseball on the radio]]
[[Category:Fantasy sports]]