Can't Get Enough Baseball: Opening Day for Fantasy Owners Upon Us

For anybody who has ever thought through the process to becoming a Major League general manager, Step One is usually "Win a fantasy league."

Although it is considered "fake" and "not real" and "a waste of time" by many, fantasy baseball has its strong points in terms of strategy, team-building, and the mastering of witty team names, and message board zings.

I've come a long way from my first fantasy league, sophomore year of high school (2004), in which I had a couple no-name pitchers with good stats on my team (Cliff Lee, Ryan Madsen) and some curious offensive picks (Brandon Inge, Dmitri Young) as well. 

Every fantasy owner always has their strategies and tendencies. I never pick a pitcher until the third round, at least. In the later rounds, I usually go with hometown guys over "sleepers," which is why I have Jonathan Sanchez, Barry Zito, AND Matt Cain on my team. 

Being a writer at Bleacher Report also has its perks in terms of fantasy, especially because of the recent partnership with CBSSports.com and their Fantasy Baseball Commissioner League. 

This league is one of the ones that I would never have joined if it wasn't worth it, and trust me, it was. Like, "for free" worth it. For all your fantasy players out there who read my articles, take advantage, please. 

Live scoring, expert analysis, live chat messenger with other owners, and mobile management for all you mobile people out there. These are things that usually cost real GM salary to play with, but this year, you get the in for that student price of free dollars. 

First off, if you want to join the league, create an account , please send me a direct message with your email address and desired team name. If you want to check it out beforehand, go to CBSSports.com and search for Uncle Charlie's League.  There are 12 spots in my league, so it will fill up soon. 

Second, let me know in the comments section what YOUR favorite strategies are, and who your top 5 picks are in this years draft.

Does Ryan Braun continue to improve? Do you pick Albert Pujols or Joe Mauer to build your team around? Does Tim Lincecum have a sophomore slump?

All these questions will be answered this year, but they won't matter to you unless you're in the fantasy baseball game. Get in the game, and get your rosters ready. 

CBSSports.com is a Bleacher Report partner and paying sponsor of the Bleacher Report baseball communities. This post is one of a series of sponsor-endorsed posts related to the CBSSports.com Fantasy Baseball Commissioner League.

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