Then, when it's to your advantage, throw out players you know you would like to have. This is where you try to sneak your young players through or get adequate fill-ins. Don't throw away a category. Seven times in those 17 seasons mentioned, the second-place owner lost by fewer than five points and finished last in saves. Had any of those owners finished in the middle of the pack, they would have won the league.
Saves is a popular category to blow off.
Yes, closers are volatile statistically. Just because you have Albert Belle and Barry Bonds doesn't mean you're going to finish at least fifth in homers or RBIs. But if you have John Wetteland, you know that's at least five or six points in the bank. Steals is the other category that seems to get the brush off. It's more difficult to project steals than saves, but the way around that is to get one or two leadoff hitters who play for managers who don't believe in waiting around for three-run homers.