You messed up. Admit it and move on. The question in fantasy baseball is when to do something about it. Fantasy baseball players are fans at heart. They get attached to their players, especially that sleeper they were so happy to get on draft day. Then they wait too long and next thing you know Brandon Phillips has ruined the batting average. You do have to be more patient in keeper leagues. If you are in contention, or feel like you can be, try dealing a young player to a rebuilding team rather than just giving him up for nothing. Take Phillips and his .225 average. He is a big-time prospect, but if he continues like this, he will most likely be available before next season anyway. Injured guys are also an issue in keeper leagues. Florida Marlins starting pitcher A.J. Burnett is out for the season after having Tommy John surgery, but his owners in keeper leagues might be tempted to hang on to him. Don’t bother. He probably won’t be worth having again until 2005 and even then he will probably come cheaply. Cut him loose. The larger factor is who else is available. Don’t bother unloading a player with upside if there aren’t any good replacements available. You’d be better served hoping the guy you have comes around. Back to the example of Phillips. If Pokey Reese is your next option, keep Philllips. But if somebody like Marcus Giles or Mark Ellis is available, it’s time to stop waiting on Phillips. So who else do you dump? Diamondbacks’ outfielder Steve Finley is a definite dump in keeper leagues, maybe in regular ones. The 38-year-old has a habit of coming back just when you think he’s done, but at this age, he probably doesn’t have much left. The Tigers. All of them. Okay, Dmitri Young might be a little useful until his next injury and Matt Anderson does have three saves, but that’s about it. Indians catcher Josh Bard. Actually, any young player getting playing time in Cleveland is trouble. They are rebuilding, which means these guys will play a lot even if they are terrible

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