Buy Low Sell High

My weekly ritual involves doing laundry on Sunday morning. Not the most exotic of rituals, but at least it gets the chore out of the way before I head out to catch the games. So, being on a Sunday morning, the Laundromat was almost empty except for me and the elderly storeowner. The Laundromat was not close to my house so I had no choice but to wait there for my stuff to dry. So I began chatting with the storeowner – a Korean man in at least his 70s. I asked him how business was going, and he told me (word for word) “washing business no good, my wife business better, much better.” I asked him what his wife does, and he told me that his wife sold “moneymaking cat”. I was, of course, absolutely befuddled. He then showed me a giant cat made of bronze waving its paw back and forth. Dumbstruck, I asked how she could possibly make money selling these, and he told me “buy low, sell high. Big money!”
On my way home I thought about what he said. Buy low/sell high has become a cliché over time, especially in fantasy. But to hear it from the mouth of a 70-year-old Korean immigrant small business owner was still rather fresh. I couldn’t help but ponder how many people actually obey by this law. After all, for someone to buy low, someone must sell low, right? Who would do that? Who???
I recently completed a trade that sent Brandon Lloyd and Kyle Orton to a friend for Greg Jennings. Of course, I received an earful from my expert friends about how dumb that trade was, with Lloyd on fire and Jennings playing terribly. I just smiled at their concern. Here is my assessment: Brandon Lloyd, 1 of 4 good Denver receivers playing without Knowshon Moreno. With Maroney and Buckhalter unable to run past stick figures on defense, Kyle Orton had to be pass-happy. Out of the 4 receivers, I rate Gaffney as the most reliable, Lloyd as the best deep threat, Thomas the most talented, and Royal decent at all aspects. I knew that with Lloyd’s value at what it is now, and all the factors surrounding his success, now is the time to trade him. Greg Jennings, on the other hand, had 1 problem – he doesn’t get enough targets. That is it. Jennings has talent, we all know that, but after 5 weeks I think most owners were impatient – I would be too. However, with Jermichael Finley’s injury and Jennings’ outburst demand for more involvement, I knew that now is the best time to swing for him. And lo and behold, he breaks out on week 6 with a 6 catches, 133 yards, 1 touchdown performance.
So, how do you find your own buy-lows and sell-highs? First, look at your roster. Do you have a player that is overachieving? A guy you drafted as a sleeper that just came out hitting homers left and right? Another words, do you have your own Brandon Lloyd? A few candidates for sell highs at this point, IMO, are:

Javhit Best: The best time to sell him might already be over. People are beginning to catch on that the rookie is not the beast that we envisioned him to be by week 2. Both of his toes also get injured way more frequently than we are comfortable seeing. However, his name alone and his impression might still be able to swing for a solid WR2 or RB2.

Austin Collie: While I hate to trade away a target that Peyton likes, Peyton just likes too many guys. Wayne, Clark, Garcon, and Collie should be the correct pecking order, so trade away Collie before others come to this realization too. Collie had a nice game today so it shouldn’t be too hard.

LT: Yes he is hot. Boy is LT hot, but don’t let that fool you. He is old for a RB, and he doesn’t have the worst backup in the world either in Shonn Greene. I would sell him now for at least a RB2 if not a low-tier RB1 (Mendenhall, Bradshaw)

Now that you found that one guy or two that you want to trade, you want to aim for someone else’s player that is currently underperforming. It would be nice if your player fits your opponent’s needs, but it doesn’t have to. As long as the deal looks tasty, someone will bite.

Buy Low Candidates:

Peyton Hillis – Yup, he was banged up, had a mediocre game against the Steelers, with Colt McCoy as his QB…blah blah blah…TRADE FOR HIM!!! He will be solid the rest of the way.

Michael Turner – Turner had a subpar game today, and his lack of touchdowns this season is disappointing, but that is why you should jump on the opportunity to acquire him! His owner must be frustrated with Turner somewhat, and although he is injury prone, if you can get him cheap, do not think twice.

Santonio Holmes – He hasn’t had a great game yet, which is great news for you. Santonio was brought to the Jets to be their number 1 receiver, and although he is being currently outplayed by Braylon Edwards…well, it’s Braylon Edwards.

Louis Murphy – Murphy hasn’t had a good game in a while. Perfect, find an owner who is frustrated with him and trade for him. Once Bruce Almighty returns, Murphy is a solid WR3/low tier WR2 as Oakland’s number 1 option in the air.

Mike Williams (TB) – He played hurt today, catching 4 passes for 45 yards. Get him before he puts up the numbers he is fully capable of.