Zen and the Art of Football Fantasy: On Equanimity, Emergency Plans, and Staying Grind
Zen Time:
The past few weeks have been a blur both personally and professionally. I’ve been working too much, I’m always behind and I’m in a hurry – very frustrating, like I can’t fully engage with anyone or anything because I have so many things to think about and accomplish. Add to this the other human ups and downs we all go through, and, as any of us would, I feel like I’ve been underwater trying to lift my head long enough to take a deep breath – just to be okay. In many ways, I think this is a story of working and living in America’s fast-paced, me-now culture, so I suspect that anyone reading this shares my story.
In those very busy times, the Buddhist concept of equanimity gives me some level of comfort by reminding me that anxiety and stress and sadness all happen. So do joy and love and moments of fear. If I stay for a while, I suspect that any anxiety I feel now will somehow turn into happiness or a reason for pride soon.
Equilibrium, or the habit of always remembering, doing nothing, or balancing between the trials, tribulations, and celebrations that our lives bring us, is only achieved if we have an impermanent perspective: If something happening now is unpleasant, don’t worry – that will change. On the other hand, if something incredibly exciting happens now, don’t worry – that too will change.
With the realities of eternity in mind, it can be easy to think that since whatever I’m feeling right now won’t last, then the event or feeling probably isn’t all that meaningful. But Buddhism, as I understand it at least, approaches impermanence by acknowledging that because whatever happens in the present will not last, it is important for that reason. Knowing time, accepting it as it is, not wishing for change, just experimenting and having experience – that is the way to remind us that time has something to teach us, but that time does not need to be explained.
In fact, the word “equanimity” in its original Pali form apparently comes from one of two different words: 1) uppameaning to observe or watch with some degree of patience; 2) tatramajjhattataa combination of words that mean standing between things or being between things. In each case, the implication seems to be that we should not only look at what is in front of us, but all around us. If we know everything, we can have a better understanding of the relative impact of any moment – an impact that is often not as life-changing as we may sometimes feel.
How in the world does this work in fantasy baseball?
As I head into this weekend, I’ve finally reached the point where I’m going to slow down at work. So for the first time in what seems like a month, I’ve finally been able to sit down for a long time and look at the status of my teams. And oof. I knew I wasn’t really serving, but things are looking very bad right now. I win a few of them, and within shouting distance of the other number, but usually, I’m in the middle or worse. Yes. Are you sure you want to take fairy tale advice from me?
Part of my issue has been the wildly-consistent play this season from some of the players we rely on for bankroll stats — guys like Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and even Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Even more frustrating was the consistent jumping – Garrett Crochet and Jesus Luzardo didn’t serve anything as I was counting on Grapeed. But mostly, the problem comes down to the seemingly constant cycle of pitcher injuries.
I find that fantasy baseball is important in life, but obviously, the game is what I spend most of my time working on. It’s also a way to escape some of the pressures of life, but the situation in my groups is not convincing at the moment. And that’s where equity comes in, mainly in two ways. First, to note the time in its context: We are in the middle of May. The season ends in September. THE TESTICLE is the way to go. That makes me feel better, especially when I look at my list and think, “I still love all these guys.” I have to think that the slow start will end.
In terms of injuries, the second method of balance has helped me is that your practice has led me to be prepared for many emergencies in all situations. I learned that I can’t control the results, but I can control the preparation. If I prepare for contingencies that may not happen but do happen, then when they do, I am ready to respond, not react.
In general, that means I’ve picked player options that I can turn to when disaster strikes – which when it comes to riding, means I have a group of guys I can turn to for K’s help if any of my big guys go down. Well, my young men are going down, here are two players I have been paying attention to who are starting to bear good fruit in my teams. Maybe they can pay you dividends too. One is for minor league considerations, and one is for our deep league players, and coincidentally, they’re both Houston Astros.
Spencer Arrighetti
Arrighetti has been a favorite of mine for a few years. As is often the case, I was too quick to like his abilities, so even though I benefited from his early 2024 hitting, my teams got Arrighetti’s mid-season hitting. Going into 2026, I was happy that he was coming back from injury and I felt like with a few more seasons of training from the Astros factory, he would probably be a good option this year. I really enjoyed snapping him up late in every draft I could – until everyone seemed to hang on to his ridiculously low prices in the preseason and I kept drafting him before I got to him. Therefore, Arrighetti is a well-known asset to managers of strong opinions. But when I looked at my home league (10-team Yahoo) draw a week ago, I realized that somehow it was sitting out there waiting to be picked up. I just thought he’d be gone and hadn’t even thought to look him up (his NFBC list is 100%), so I couldn’t believe my luck. When I looked at the waivers on other sites, I saw that he was heavily subscribed to Fantrax (89%) and CBS (86%), but his Yahoo rostership is only 60%, and ESPN is 41.8%. This guy should be on the list everywhere – but with some insight.
Arrighetti knows how to get guys out – in fact, I think his current 23% K% is low compared to what he could do. In 2024, he had a 27.1% K%, which I suspect is close to who he will be. The problem is he can’t control it – his BB% is 13.8%, resulting in a 9.2% K-BB%. But he’s also carrying around a 28% Whiff% and is squeezing hard contact so far this season. While his fastball velocity is currently under 93 mph, he was 94+ in 2024, and the extension he gets when releasing his pitches is 99 percent, making those under 93 mph appear faster. This is reflected in the number of K’s he is able to get per game: He has 10 games and 8 Ks this season. But we also have to be aware of his potential consistency issues: He also has 3 and 4 K games this season, and 5 BB (yikes). His stuff can be messy at times: he’s racked up 119+ on his cutter, 112 on his sinker, 110 on his 4-seam, and 109 on his slider – outstanding bad stuff. But he also went down 63 in his changeup.
Arrighetti isn’t really a “set it and forget it” guy – I’d be hesitant to list him against offenses like Atlanta or the Dodgers, but against a weak AL West, I’m happy to have him in my lineup most of the time. If it’s on your phone, there are K’s waiting for you – go get them.
Kai-Wei Teng
Raise your hand if you’ve heard of Kai-Wei Teng. I just found him myself, and it looks like I’ve been missing something here. By the looks of his roster, we all have: 1.1% on ESPN; 4% on CBS and Yahoo, 7% on NFBC, and 23% on Fantrax.
If you’re like me, you’ve been ignoring a guy who’s putting together a 24% K% and 14.4% K-BB%. Teng, like Arrighetti, pushes for heavy contact (though he also benefits from some luck with an 85% LOB% and a low .244 BABIP). That said, he’s 68 percent in Barrel% and HH%, and his 4-seam fastball, slider, and cutter all come in just over 100 in Stuff+. Do I think Teng is going to win the Cy Young? No. But for someone who can be easily removed from the phone, his K’s and hard contact compression seem worth the wander.
A fantasy baseball season is never the same, and the managers who can respond to the bad luck of injuries and poor performance are the ones who will end up winning the leagues. Do I want to throw in Arrighetti or Teng instead of Crochet? Not really, but if these guys keep me afloat until my ace returns, maybe I’m in for a run. A little equality goes a long way.
Until next week. – Hamley
