6. Find Established Closers With Histories: Along with steals, saves are often one of the biggest question marks entering a season.  There were eighteen closers who reached the 30-save barrier in 2002 and just 12 eclipsed that mark last season.  Considering you will need to average at least 30 saves from each of your closers (more in smaller leagues), this is where you should start.  Saves are not an accident and they don't have to be the source of migraine headaches or the reason for your lower division finish.  Rule #2, balancing your roster, will allow you to spend the necessary money to assemble a winning bullpen.  Remember, while you will have proven closers in all spots, any opponents who don't follow this rule will find themselves sadly devoid of saves and miserably lagging (behind you) in the standings.  The closer spot can also be used to provide a much needed hand to your strikeout total.  Closers like Mariano Rivera or Troy Percival are great for saves, ERA and WHIP but offer relatively few strikeouts while Eric Gagne and Billy Wagner will give you over a hundred strikeouts to add to your total.  Remember also that big-inning closers (Keith Foulke) will have a bigger effect on your team ERA and WHIP than short-inning closers (Troy Percival).

7. History Repeats Itself:  More than any other sport, baseball follows in tracks more than likely previously walked in. For instance, most hitters produce their first career-year at the age of 27.  Given the duties of learning to handle a pitching staff as well, catchers tend to lag a few years behind that.  Juan Gonzalez and Manny Ramirez are just two of the many players who had a career year at 27.  Ken Griffey Jr cracked the 50-homerun barrier for the first time at 27 while Barry Bonds and Todd Helton cracked 40 for the first time in their careers.  Bobby Abreu turned 27 in 2001 and became the first Phillie ever to crack the 30-30 barrier. Ivan Rodriguez, an exception to every rule, established career-bests in HRs (35),  runs (116), RBIs (113) and steals (25) while hitting .332 at the magical age.  The list goes on and on.  Another area history repeats itself is in a player's mechanics.  A hitter who lacks patience and plate discipline will probably never become the hitter he was thought to be.  Pitchers eventually figure him out and sooner or later he finds himself riding the pine.  While Adam Dunn has massive power, his strikeout numbers (370 strikeouts in 1160 career ABs) suggest that without a major adjustment in mechanics, he will never become a .300 hitter. The same holds true for pitchers; the best prospects are the ones with good control and decent BB/K ratios.  Don't settle for anything less and definitely don't take a gamble on pitchers with control problems.

8. Focus On Proven While Minimalizing 'Gambles':  Whether you are in a salary league or a draft league, you will need to make room for one or two unproven players. There is no tougher major league position to step into as a rookie than a pitcher and you should approach all rookie hurlers with extreme caution regardless of the press clippings (Of course, Mark Prior was the exception).  If you have to gamble on a rookie, take a batter and if you must gamble in your rotation (never use a rookie closer in salary leagues), use a cheap veteran coming off a couple of upward years.  The next worst gamble to take besides a rookie pitcher is a sophomore pitcher. As with any position, it takes more than one year to create a history and one season cannot be an honest gauge to go on.  Consistency is what you are after.  It is better to balance out your roster spots, steering clear of over-priced stars in place of respectable (and well-rounded) gamers.   A gamble in the outfield will be easier to offset if it doesn't work out, while a gamble on the mound could do some hefty damage to a team ERA and WHIP.  It is highly advisable to start the season with a roster of proven veterans, even if you have to sit some stars, and watch the paths of the gambles before taking a chance.

9. Have Alex Rodriguez and Pedro Martinez:  In draft fantasy leagues, this rule doesnt come into play as any owner in his right mind would jump on either superstar. In salary leagues, however, when there is only so much money to go around, most stars can be overpriced in terms of what they give your team. As a general rule, these two will not be overpriced. The first player taken in any draft and the first name on your salary roster should be Arod.  Playing shortstop, usually reserved for speed and modest hitting totals at best, he is the clear front-runner at his position leaving a bigger gap between him and the next best (Miguel Tejada) than at any other position.  Though Arod is the creme de la creme of all offensive players, Martinez holds the same title among pitchers (with Mark Prior quickly making up ground).  In an age of offensive fireworks, it is essential to give yourself every advantage you can on the mound and the best way to do that is anchor your rotation with Pedro Martinez. Pedro has posted WHIPs under 1.00 in five of the last seven seasons and has kept his ERA below 2.89 for each of the past 7 years.

10. Expect The Unexpected:  After assembling the perfect lineup it is time to accept and embrace the final rule:  no matter how well you prepare and how much you know things will not turn out as planned.  How many people had Randy Johnson last season?  How many would have taken him if he was projected at a 4.26 ERA with just 125 strikeouts?  Not many.  Let's look at two groups.  Group A will be a lineup of Troy Glaus, Pat Burrell, Brian Giles, and Shawn Green.  Group B will be the quartet of Marcus Giles, Aubrey Huff, Carlos Lee and Dmitri Young.  While the person with Group A would have been the envy of everyone in the league after te draft, the person with Group B would have been laughing all the way to his championship.

Group A: .260 AVG/ 287 runs/ 76 HR/ 287 RBI/ 17 SB
Group B: .304 AVG/ 370 runs/ 115 HR/ 374 RBI/ 36 SB

If Group A's owner had no backup plan, he would surely have finished in the lower rung of his league.  Too many things can happen over the course of 162 games that you have no control of.  To lessen the impact of the unexpected, be sure to put as much thought into your taxi squad (or reserves) as you do your starting lineup.  For salary leagues, make sure you will still be able to stay under the salary cap if injuries strike.