David Wright and Ryan Zimmerman, originally uploaded by Rob Bluey.

The past month has not been kind to me in fantasy baseball. After trading for Carlos Lee and Carlos Quentin this summer, both were lost to season-ending injuries. I was coping with Lee’s injury just fine, but Quentin’s came during the first round of playoffs. Meanwhile, Brandon Webb completely collapsed, singlehandedly costing me a win this week against my Dad that officially ended my season.

These developments are partly why I’ve decided to take a new approach to fantasy sports.

This year I played in four baseball leagues, including my first season in a Heritage Foundation league. The others included an old Utica, N.Y., league that dates to the time I was a kid (before these games were played on a computer), a league run by a journalism professor at Ithaca College, and my own, which I’ve operated since 2003.

I started my league and joined the others primarily to keep in touch with friends. Over the years some have dropped out and new people joined. I always managed to perform fairly well — until this year. For the first time, I began to lose interest, and as a result, began to lose matchups.

So I’ve decided it’s time to scale back my fantasy life. I quit three of the four baseball leagues. I’ll do the same in football next year, dropping out of one of the two leagues. That’ll leave me with just one in baseball and one in football — and hopefully help my winning percentage in the process.

Thinking back six years ago, when I put so much strategy into fantasy sports, it’s hard to imagine saying goodbye. But it also demonstrates how times change and life takes on new priorities.

As my former journalism professor, Mead Loop, said in an e-mail last week:

When I started the baseball and football leagues, my mission was — besides winning — to keep in touch with friends and colleagues. Mission accomplished, and I know we’ll keep in touch.

Well said. My friendships will last a lifetime, even if the fantasy leagues don’t.