2012 Fantasy Baseball For Stakes And The Troops

[shilala]

I have created a Yahoo League the same as previous years, it'll be mostly default, but I'll be adjusting the scoring for high points and maximum fun.
There will be only ten players.
That will leave a lot of free agents on the bench. There will be no waiver priority or waiver time. You can pick up guys right up till game time. The more involved you are, the better your chances of winning. :tu

Buy in will be five premiums ($50.00 minimum value, NC and/or CC) and a fiver (minimum) for the troops, due prior to the start of the season. There is no dollar value amount for the troop smokes. Usually, quantity is better. Know that they LOVE Acids and other flavored smokes. It's a good idea to buy (a few) nice house bundles to bust up for your weekly bets, and some premiums never hurt if you want to go that way.

Payout will be 30 smokes to first place, 20 for second place, and a bare minimum of 50 smokes to the troops. I hope we break the 300 mark for the troops this year, that'd be insane. :tu
I can take care of receiving/sending smokes, I've done it lots of times before without a hitch and I have plenty of extra storage tubs.

I will personally put together a nice fiver for the winner of the playoff loser's bracket as an incentive to keep everyone involved to the end. If anyone wants to offer any other bonus prizes, that would kick ass. Maybe something such as "fiver for highest score for week" or something like that.
Or "beat me this week, and I'll send a fiver to the troops". We had tons of that going on this year in Fantasy Football For Stakes And The Troops and it made it super fun for everyone.

The key is generosity, banter, and fun. The more bets and banter, the more fun it'll be. The more smokes we can gather for the troops, the more fun it will be.
If you cannot stay available for the entire season, please, please don't sign up, or find a brother or sister to step into your spot.
I can't stress this enough. If you don't eat, breathe, and sleep baseball, or will somehow become unavailable before season's end, please do not sign up.
Disappearing will just hurt what we're trying to do for the troops. We sure won't crucify you because we understand things happen, we just can't afford the normal two guys who quit after two weeks. Please take this seriously and approach it with the pride and respect the troops deserve.
You do not need to be a Fantasy Baseball Genius to join, the guys will help you learn if necessary. The main thing is the desire to have fun and lose lots of bets so the troops win some sticks. :D

Live Draft will be announced asap. If you can't attend, your players will be picked for you by yahoo in the order of player ranking.

Only ten guys will be playing, I'll pm the league name and password to those who join.
1. shilala (scott)
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Please give a lot of thought to the "extra" bets. Not to belabor the point, but this league is gonna cost you some smokes if it's going to be successful, especially for the troops. So take that into consideration very seriously.
If you're a gamer, you could end up buying a number of bundles for the troops if you lose weekly bets. Or you could end up making us other knuckleheads buy lots of smokes for the troops. It's gonna take up some of your time, and a good amount of smack talking to keep guys on their toes. You'll also lose some smokes to your buds if you're playing right.
We'll use this thread as our banter thread once we get all signed up and get the league going.
Thank You for your consideration!!! :tu

[JenksAnejo]

Count me in brother,

I'm guessing this is a head to head leauge?

[shilala]

Yes, head to head league.

[shilala]

Get up there.

[shilala]

Bump

[shilala]

I gotta send out invites...

[shilala]

I made most of the settings except the draft date.
We'll all work on that to see what works best. Mind ya, it has never worked out that everyone could be available for the draft. If you're the one guy who can't make it, we won't be picking on you.
Fortunately we can all set up our draft priority list and Yahoo will auto-pick. :tu

[Stephen]

Mmkay, you tweaked my nipple enough. I'm in.

[Mattso3000]

Good god. My wife will keel me if she finds out I'm joining another fantasy league but what the hell. I probably had it coming anyway. I'm in.

[Mattso3000]

1. shilala (scott)
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo)
3. Stephen (stephen)
4. Matty (mattso3000)
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

[Mattso3000]

Don't worry, Scott...you're still set up as my cbid address. :lr

[elderboy02]

I would join, but I am just not a huge fan of all the side betting. I just like to put in a 5'er or so in the beginning like we did last year in Hugh's league.

[hotreds]

I have talked with Scott and will be offering a Yahoo league again this year. This will be Year Three for this league. I will be starting a thread in a few weeks. There is even an option to renew last year's league. We'll see......

[shilala]

For you guys who signed up so far, pm incoming. :tu

[shilala]

1. shilala (scott)
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo)
3. Stephen (stephen)
4. Matty (mattso3000)
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

[mkarnold1]

I'd like to play.

[shilala]

1. shilala (scott)
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo)
3. Stephen (stephen)
4. Matty (mattso3000)
5. Mark (mkarnold1)
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

I'd like to play.
Sweet!!! Thanks, Mark!!! :tu
PM incoming...

[Mattso3000]

I'd like to play.

Oh, it's on now...you're going down bro.

[mkarnold1]

Oh, it's on now...you're going down bro.

:gary Yeah right brother. It's on, and you're off.

[Mattso3000]

:gary Yeah right brother. It's on, and you're off.

Yeah, probably. You've played head to head before and I never have.

[Stephen]

Yeah, probably. You've played head to head before and I never have.
It's ok. I haven't played fantasy baseball of any kind in almost a decade. Hope I can get Barry Bonds and Randy Johnson on my team!:tu

[shilala]

We only need five more. I'm pounding on Mac real hard to bring him on board.
Let's get this thing filled up and ready to go, gentlemen. :tu
1. shilala (scott)
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo)
3. Stephen (stephen)
4. Matty (mattso3000)
5. Mark (mkarnold1)
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

[Mattso3000]

We only need five more. I'm pounding on Mac real hard to bring him on board.
Let's get this thing filled up and ready to go, gentlemen. :tu
1. shilala (scott)
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo)
3. Stephen (stephen)
4. Matty (mattso3000)
5. Marky (mkarnold1)
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

fixd

[shilala]

Bump

[Coach Deg]

Count me in!!!

[shilala]

1. shilala (scott)
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo)
3. Stephen (stephen)
4. Matty (mattso3000)
5. Mark (mkarnold1)
6. Mike (Coach Deg)
7.
8.
9.
10.

[JenksAnejo]

Come on fellas!! Let's help out the troops and support Jarrod's cigar stash!! Everyone will at least have a shot at 2nd place! :fu

[shilala]

5:51 bump.
We only need four more warm bodies. :tu

[JenksAnejo]

Bump

[shilala]

We need a few more good men. I invited Dom, and thought it'd be a good idea to invite the rest of the guys from out FF league, but haven't done that yet.
If someone wanted to beat me to the punch on that, it'd be okay by me. :)

We're trying to get filled up before Hugh starts his league which will be in the coming weeks. I suppose we can go with 8 guys, but I'd really like to get 10. It seems to work just right with 10 guys. :tu

[JenksAnejo]

I agree with 10 guys! 8 is just not enough it seems that every team would be absolutley loaded.

[shilala]

Bump

[JenksAnejo]

Come on fellas no one else wants in?

[shilala]

More bump

[mkarnold1]

Bumpity bump

[shilala]

Bump.

[mkarnold1]

Nobody out there wants to get :gary and give me some tasty smokes for it? :r :su

[JenksAnejo]

Figured there would be more takers on this..

[Stephen]

Yeah, as much as members here love baseball and supporting the troops on this site, I figured people would be all over this...:sh

[shilala]

Bump

[JenksAnejo]

Come on meow, let's get 10 and plan a draft!! I could get one for sure but I would rather them be from this forum!

[shilala]

Bumpity. :tu

[shilala]

Bump!!!

[Stephen]

Bump!!!
I thought you were liked round these parts. What gives?:D

[mkarnold1]

If this league fills up by midnight saturday, that is we get enough folks to have 10 participants, I will take on the field for troop sticks week 1. It's just 5 good sticks for entry and 5 to the troops, not asking for a kidney donation here.

[shilala]

It's just 5 good sticks for entry and 5 to the troops, not asking for a kidney donation here.
I know, right? I'm gonna have to put the Cigar Zombies on this, I'm afraid.

[Stephen]

I know, right? I'm gonna have to put the Cigar Zombies on this, I'm afraid.
They know that Ricky Vaughn isn't actually a baseball player, right?

[jonumberone]

Scottie, you can sign me up.

[shilala]

They know that Ricky Vaughn isn't actually a baseball player, right?
I don't really think it's pertinent at this point. If they want to draft Kevin Costner, it's okay by me.

[shilala]

Scottie, you can sign me up.
Thanks, Dom!!! :tu

[shilala]

1. shilala (scott)
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo)
3. Stephen (stephen)
4. Matty (mattso3000)
5. Mark (mkarnold1)
6. Mike (Coach Deg)
7. Dom (jonumberone)
8.
9.
10.

[Stephen]

I don't really think it's pertinent at this point. If they want to draft Kevin Costner, it's okay by me.
Hell, then they get a pitcher AND a catcher.:tu

[Stephen]

Scottie, you can sign me up.
Sweet! Welcome aboard, Dom.:noon

[Mattso3000]

Nuke LaLoosh is a first rounder easy.

[Stephen]

Nuke LaLoosh is a first rounder easy.
His WHIP will kill you, though.

[Mattso3000]

His WHIP will kill you, though.

As long as he keeps breathing through his eyelids ill be okay.

[Stephen]

As long as he keeps breathing through his eyelids ill be okay.
He must be doing something right. He already has a Porche 911 with a quadrophonic blaupunkt.

[shilala]

I'm shooting for Robert Redford and Bob Feller with my first two picks.
The Natural, Bay=bee!!!

[JenksAnejo]

Up to 7! Alright!!!

[Mattso3000]

He must be doing something right. He already has a Porche 911 with a quadrophonic blaupunkt.

He doesn't need a quadrophonic blaupunkt. What he needs is a curveball.

[shilala]

More bump. Just three more players and we can work out the draft!!! :tu

[Stephen]

He doesn't need a quadrophonic blaupunkt. What he needs is a curveball.
Oh yeah, if you're so smart, why is Annie avoiding him in the first round and not you?

[shilala]

More bump.
We just need 3 more guys. :tu

[shilala]

1. shilala (scott)
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo)
3. Stephen (stephen)
4. Matty (mattso3000)
5. Mark (mkarnold1)
6. Mike (Coach Deg)
7. Dom (jonumberone)
8.
9.
10.

Just 3 spots left!!! :tu

[shilala]

Sunday morning bump.

[shilala]

Sunday afternoon bump. :tu
With one more guy we can make this league go. Someone step up and be out hero!!! :tu

[Stephen]

People will come, Scott. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ1dZhh0_RQ&feature=related):)

[mkarnold1]

Peace, love, dope, now get the hell out of here.



C'mon now. Let's get a few more guys in here!!-(P

[Mattso3000]

Mark did you just try to kidnap Terrance Mann to bump the thread?
Edit: on my phone I didn't see stephen's link. Thought you pulled that line from the corn field Mark:r

[shilala]

More bump.

[Mattso3000]

Bump...

[mkarnold1]

Say it ain't so Joe...

[shilala]

We need at least one more guy bump.
Be a hero!!! :D

[shilala]

1. shilala (scott)
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo)
3. Stephen (stephen)
4. Matty (mattso3000)
5. Mark (mkarnold1)
6. Mike (Coach Deg)
7. Dom (jonumberone)
8.
9.
10.

Just 3 spots left!!!
One more and we can make this thing go.
Someone step up and help us help our Troops. :tu

[shilala]

Bump

[JenksAnejo]

Bump come on!!!

[Coach Deg]

My 13yr old wants a team. I will spot him the troop entry, if all agree.

[shilala]

My 13yr old wants a team. I will spot him the troop entry, if all agree.
I have no problem with that whatsoever, Mike.
Do realize it's a premium fiver and a troop fiver just like our FF league.

[JenksAnejo]

I have no problem with that whatsoever, Mike.

+1

[mkarnold1]

My 13yr old wants a team. I will spot him the troop entry, if all agree.

You will need to age the winnings for a few years for him if he takes it home...:r

[shilala]

More bump.

[mkarnold1]

Bump

[shilala]

Join up today and I'll come over and wash your car!!! :tu
;)

[mkarnold1]

2 more guys or gals needed to get a 10 team league.

[Stephen]

Join up today and I'll come over and wash your car!!! :tu
;)
Is this offer good if I quit and later rejoin?:hm

When washing my truck, I expect you to be wearing nothing but a pair of jorts and cowboy boots.

[shilala]

Jorts and cowboy boots it is.
Join up today and Stephen will buy you a pony!!! :tu

[awsmith4]

I'll play...even though I am very wary of a 13yrold ringer being added. I know how tough it is to play against them in video games :hm

I'll PM my address so you can send the Pony

[Stephen]

Jorts and cowboy boots it is.
Join up today and Stephen will buy you a pony!!! :tu
Well, it's more of a horse than pony. And I should warn you that it is brain damaged.

[awsmith4]

Well, it's more of a horse than pony. And I should warn you that it is brain damaged.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL37RDS2Qiw

[Stephen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL37RDS2Qiw
I was hoping someone would get it.:tu

[JenksAnejo]

I'll play...even though I am very wary of a 13yrold ringer being added. I know how tough it is to play against them in video games

:r sweet!!! Uno mas?

[awsmith4]

:r sweet!!! Uno mas?

Oh, yes I'm in!

[shilala]

1. shilala (scott)
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo)
3. Stephen (stephen)
4. Matty (mattso3000)
5. Mark (mkarnold1)
6. Mike (Coach Deg)
7. Dom (jonumberone)
8.Albert (awsmith4)
9. Coach Mike's Ringer (he who has yet to be named)
10.

Just 1 spots left!!! :tu
Albert will probably give up his pony in a couple weeks once he realizes it eats, poops, and stands on his foot a lot, so there's either a pony or a brain damaged horse in your near future!!! w00t!!!

[awsmith4]

Just 1 spots left!!! :tu
Albert will probably give up his pony in a couple weeks once he realizes it eats, poops, and stands on his foot a lot, so there's either a pony or a brain damaged horse in your near future!!! w00t!!!

Sounds similar to having kids :D

[JenksAnejo]

Awww yeah! 1 more.

[JenksAnejo]

My buddy wants in, if it's ok with everyone else. He is an avid fantasy sports guy so he will stay active the whole year. This will fill up the leauge?

[shilala]

My buddy wants in, if it's ok with everyone else. He is an avid fantasy sports guy so he will stay active the whole year. This will fill up the leauge?
Bring him in. We'll make it work, brother. :tu
It'd help if you'd get him to sign up so he can keep up with this thread and get to know us. It's a very interactive league and we seldom (if ever) use the message board at Yahoo.
Is he okay with the premium fiver/troops fiver thing? Does he know anything about cigars, or are you going to handle that?
And yes, that should wrap us up unless we choose to go to 12 guys (which I'd like to avoid, but it's tough to turn anyone away when it's for the troops).

[JenksAnejo]

He doesn't know much about cigars but I'll make sure we get 5 premiums and extras for the troops. I will definitely get him to sign up and stay active on this thread at least!

[shilala]

He doesn't know much about cigars but I'll make sure we get 5 premiums and extras for the troops. I will definitely get him to sign up and stay active on this thread at least!
I can't think of a single thing more we could ask, brother.
I look forward to meeting your buddy!!! :tu

[thecatch83]

I'm in again

[thecatch83]

and I have aged, delicious smokes to contribute......my fiver will probably be all Opus, Anejo, and/or Padron!

[shilala]

1. shilala (scott)
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo)
3. Stephen (stephen)
4. Matty (mattso3000)
5. Mark (mkarnold1)
6. Mike (Coach Deg)
7. Dom (jonumberone)
8.Albert (awsmith4)
9. Coach Mike's Ringer (he who has yet to be named)
10. Jarrod's buddy

We are full up. Congratulations, Gentlemen!!! :tu
If need be, we can go to 12 guys, although I'd really like to avoid it. Ten guys is perfect for the way I have the league set up and absolutely anyone can reach the playoffs with a minimum amount of effort.
I know Hugh is having a tough time filling up his league, just like we did. If we need to make room to take in those guys, I think we really have to do it. We'll cross that bridge if we come to it.

I had a sticky with the league name, ID# and password here, I can't find it. Will someone please forward that info to me so I can send a league-wide pm?
I'll figure out a draft date, too. I'm figuring on a Sunday evening at 8:00pm EST. That always works out best. I'm going to run the draft asap, that way guys will have lots of time to adjust for injuries, pre-season cuts, and working on making your team the best it can be for opening day.
It needs to be on the 18th, 25th, or the 1st of April. I want to shoot for the 25th. Let's make that the tentative date.

Jarrod and Mike, you guys will need to get your guys signed up immediately if not sooner. Please let me know when that's done.

Here's a biggie...
Your username at Yahoo ABSOLUTELY MUST include your CA screen name. Otherwise no one knows who they're playing, and that sucks. Right now we have four guys signed up, I have no clue who 2 of them are. It makes it impossible for me to pm guys or contact guys if I don't know who they are. It makes things really tough.

[shilala]

and I have aged, delicious smokes to contribute......my fiver will probably be all Opus, Anejo, and/or Padron!
Ty, we'll make room for you, but right now you're the odd guy. We'll have to get one more in order for you to play, and that has to happen before draft on the 25th.
I don't think it'll be a problem. Normally I wouldn't stretch the league at this point, but you played with us last year, so you got clout, brother. :tu

[shilala]

1. shilala (scott)
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo)
3. Stephen (stephen)
4. Matty (mattso3000)
5. Mark (mkarnold1)
6. Mike (Coach Deg)
7. Dom (jonumberone)
8.Albert (awsmith4)
9. Coach Mike's Ringer (he who has yet to be named)
10. Jarrod's buddy

On The Bubble...
11. thecatch83 (Ty)
12.

[Coach Deg]

If Ty wants in I will just share my team with my son.

[JenksAnejo]

Since Ty played last year bump my buddy Jake out for now. We can use Jake as a last resort if need be, lol. I would rather have regs from this board playing with us!

[shilala]

Both you guys can't drop your guys or we're down to 9. :)
I honestly hope you'll both just stand pat. Mike, this should be fun for your son. Same with Jake, Jarrod. It's no problem for both of them to play. It helps the troops and biggers the prize pool.
If we end up with 20 guys, that's fine. We'll just go to divisional play and I'll adjust how many guys we can keep on the bench and DL and trim position players back. We'll just have smaller teams.
Most importantly, I want everyone to play that wants to play. Having fun is far more a priority than keeping the league to 10 guys. :tu

[thecatch83]

I'm good either way....just let me know! Great cause and the first place haul sounds great!!!

[Stephen]

and that has to happen before draft on the 25th.
So was this your plan to dominate me, Scott? To, "conveniently" forget to tell me when the draft date was? Well played, sir.

[shilala]

So was this your plan to dominate me, Scott? To, "conveniently" forget to tell me when the draft date was? Well played, sir.
I'll do whatever it takes, brother. :D

[Stephen]

Couple observations...

1. Even though ten people have agreed to play, only four have signed up on the actual Yahoo website where your team will be drafted & managed.

2. Seriously, when's the draft???:D

[shilala]

I'm getting ready to send a pm with that info. I just found the league sign-up info yesterday, it was between my desk and computer.
Draft is Sunday at 8pm EST. (I still need to set it up in the system.)
The League ID is 39618
The league name is Cigar Asylum 2012
The password is cigars
Everyone needs to get signed up right away.

If it stands at 11 guys, I'll draft another team to make it an even 12 and assign that team to someone who jumps in late, or I'll give it to Weeze, or whatever.
That is all.

[JenksAnejo]

I'll have Jake sign up on both sites tonight.

[shilala]

I lied about the draft time. 8:00 on Sunday is not available. I coulod take 8:00 on Saturday, but I figured everyone will be busy.
It will be at 6:15 EDT, Live Standard Draft, it will autopick your team if you are not there. You can preset your draft rankings if you like.

[JenksAnejo]

Works for me Scott, should work for both of us as well.

[shilala]

1. shilala (scott)
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo)
3. Stephen (stephen)
4. Matty (mattso3000)
5. Mark (mkarnold1)
6. Mike (Coach Deg)
7. Dom (jonumberone)
8.Albert (awsmith4)
9. Coach Mike's Ringer (he who has yet to be named)
10. Jarrod's buddy

On The Bubble...
11. thecatch83 (Ty)
12.

We need one more player, be a hero!!! :D

[awsmith4]

I'm all signed up and I made a very cryptic team name

[shilala]

1. shilala (scott)
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo)
3. Stephen (stephen)
4. Matty (mattso3000)
5. Mark (mkarnold1)
6. Mike (Coach Deg)
7. Dom (jonumberone)
8.Albert (awsmith4)
9. Coach Mike's Ringer (he who has yet to be named)
10. Jarrod's buddy

On The Bubble...
11. thecatch83 (Ty)
12.

We need one more player, be a hero!!!

[blugill]

I suck at fantasy baseball but what the heck! My humidor overfloweth and I need to share the wealth!
I'll be number twelve and send you the entry fee!

[Mattso3000]

Hey, looks like we got our twelve!!! Now it's time for me to dominate the draft and constantly mismanage my team into an 8 month descent from first to last place!

[JenksAnejo]

AHHHH YEAH Andy's in!!! Let's do this!

[thecatch83]

It's go time!!! Fiver of Opus inbound.........BOOM!

[Coach Deg]

My stepson and I will get signed up Thursday night or Saturday. We are so busy with little league, school, soccer..... We haven't had a chance yet.

[shilala]

1. shilala (scott)
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo)
3. Stephen (stephen)
4. Matty (mattso3000)
5. Mark (mkarnold1)
6. Mike (Coach Deg)
7. Dom (jonumberone)
8.Albert (awsmith4)
9. Coach Mike's Ringer (he who has yet to be named)
10. Jarrod's buddy Jake?
11. thecatch83 (Ty)
12. blugill (andy)

That's a wrap, guys.
Everyone make sure you get signed up. :tu

[Stephen]

Who runs the Predators team?

[JenksAnejo]

Jake should be signed up this evening on both websites. He's driving back from Columbus, OH from an interview with the Blue Jackets!

[blugill]

Who runs the Predators team?

I do, I'll get my CA name in my team name.

[shilala]

You musta got signed up before I got you the info, Andy. Sorry about that.

[blugill]

No problem Scott!
It's all good!
I'll get my entry fee into you very quickly!

[TheGhoulbag]

Hello everyone. My name is Jacob and I am Jarrod's friend that will be participating in the fantasy baseball league. I wanted to introduce myself and tell you guys that its a priviledge to be able to play fantasy baseball with you all. I wish everyone the best of luck and I hope to get to know you all as the season progresses.

[JenksAnejo]

:) Welcome Jake! Glad to have you, prepare for 2nd place!

[Mattso3000]

:) Welcome Jake! Glad to have you, prepare for 2nd place!

Whoa, not so fast. I haven't even won yet...

Welcome to Jacob as well:tu

[blugill]

Welcome, I'd like to lay claim to last right now if I could.
Baseball is not my strong fantasy sport at all, it ranks right there with hockey for me in terms of player knowledge. Now the NFL on the other hand!!!!

[shilala]

Welcome, Jake!!! Glad to have you on board. :)

[JenksAnejo]

Scott I've never played Head to Head scoring before can you explain to me how it works? Do you get 1 point for winning the stat against your opponent? Say like I have 7 HR's vs 5 HR's do I get 1 point for winning the HR category? There's 20 possible points for the week?

[shilala]

Scott I've never played Head to Head scoring before can you explain to me how it works? Do you get 1 point for winning the stat against your opponent? Say like I have 7 HR's vs 5 HR's do I get 1 point for winning the HR category? There's 20 possible points for the week?
Yup.
I think there's 20 possible points, it's dictated by how many categories we have, and I forget how many I made. The season scores by W/L/T, so weekly wins against a team don't really factor much unless you get to tie-breakers at playoff time.
If you can stay above .500, you're in good shape. .560 usually wins top seed in the playoffs, it's that tight.
Factor that stuff in your strategy, because if you go for all 20 points every week, you generally lose miserably. Target 10 categories and build a strong team around those, then do what you can with the other 10.
Some weeks your matchups will yield 18 points, but that's thin. If you haven't built around categories, the next week you'll end up winning 2.

[JenksAnejo]

Awesome I appreciate it brother! :tu

[blugill]

My strategy will be to let Yahoo draft for me:)

[blugill]

A question, with the staggered opening day games, when does the fantasy week start and end in a head to head league?

[thecatch83]

My strategy will be to let Yahoo draft for me:)

I've won a couple leagues using that strategy.....but I think I will try and make the live draft this time around. After playing fantasy sports for nearly 20 years, it all comes down to injuries and waiver pick ups! The season isn't won or lost on draft day :tu

[Mattso3000]

I've won a couple leagues using that strategy.....but I think I will try and make the live draft this time around. After playing fantasy sports for nearly 20 years, it all comes down to injuries and waiver pick ups! The season isn't won or lost on draft day :tu

So true. I'm the king of over-thinking things and mismanaging my team into the ground after a good draft. So much fun to draft, though.

[shilala]

A question, with the staggered opening day games, when does the fantasy week start and end in a head to head league?
It will start on opening day and end on Sunday.
The league week runs Monday-Sunday. If it's shortened for whatever reason (like the All-Star break or opening week) it doesn't matter.

[shilala]

1. shilala (scott) signed up
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo) signed up
3. Stephen (stephen) signed up
4. Matty (mattso3000) signed up
5. Mark (mkarnold1) signed up
6. Mike (Coach Deg) signing up tonight
7. Dom (jonumberone) on vacation, will sign up as soon as he gets home
8.Albert (awsmith4) signed up
9. Coach Mike's Ringer (he who has yet to be named)
10. TheGhoulbags (Jake)
11. thecatch83 (Ty) signed up
12. blugill (Andy) signed up
I'll amend a list with everyone's username/name/Yahoo name as soon as Dom, Mike and Mike Jr. get signed up. :tu

[blugill]

Thanks Scott!
I've just never tried a competitive baseball league before.
Forgive the newbie questions:)

[shilala]

Ask as many questions as you need to, Andy. It's really pretty easy, but the more you know, the more fun it is.
Make sure to root around at Yahoo, too. When you go to the main (league page), check the link to scoring and settings up top on the right. That's basically all the "rules". If not rules, it kinda tells you how this all works. If there are any terms or categories you don't fully understand, please ask. Someone will certainly help.
After the draft, you'll need to know how to pick up free agents from waivers. You can see that stuff by going to the "Players" tab on the league page. It's really very simple.
You'll also need to learn how to set up your team for the week. Some days you'll have guys that don't play. You'll want to put your bench guys in for those guys.
You can set your line-ups for 5 or 6 days ahead. The system won't tell when you're pitchers will be starting until like 3 days before their start. That's because no one knows what the rotation will look like in four or five days, all they could do is guess.
Once you get the hang of it, it only takes a cup of coffee to check your team, and you really only have to check it every few days unless you're super hard-core or really enjoy it.
I enjoy it. And I'm super hard-core. :D

[Stephen]

Ask as many questions as you need to, Andy. It's really pretty easy, but the more you know, the more fun it is.
Make sure to root around at Yahoo, too. When you go to the main (league page), check the link to scoring and settings up top on the right. That's basically all the "rules". If not rules, it kinda tells you how this all works. If there are any terms or categories you don't fully understand, please ask. Someone will certainly help.
After the draft, you'll need to know how to pick up free agents from waivers. You can see that stuff by going to the "Players" tab on the league page. It's really very simple.
You'll also need to learn how to set up your team for the week. Some days you'll have guys that don't play. You'll want to put your bench guys in for those guys.
You can set your line-ups for 5 or 6 days ahead. The system won't tell when you're pitchers will be starting until like 3 days before their start. That's because no one knows what the rotation will look like in four or five days, all they could do is guess.
Once you get the hang of it, it only takes a cup of coffee to check your team, and you really only have to check it every few days unless you're super hard-core or really enjoy it.
I enjoy it. And I'm super hard-core. :D
Because I'm too lazy to look it up, do we set our lineups daily or weekly? FTR, I despise daily lineups.:hn

Also, there's still two people not signed up yet...:tt

[JenksAnejo]

Weekly I believe! :noon

[JenksAnejo]

FYI, I think the max teams is set to 10. You may want to bump it up to 12 so the other two can get in the league.

[Coach Deg]

Guys if we are one short of the 12. I will let my son run my team is Hugh's league. Just let me know.

[JenksAnejo]

Mike I think we will have 12 including you and your son.

[Coach Deg]

I'm already in.

[JenksAnejo]

Dom is on vacation and will be signing up once he gets home.

[JenksAnejo]

Bump! Hopefully we can get the other two signed up soon; i'd like to know my draft position a little before the draft.

[Stephen]

Bump! Hopefully we can get the other two signed up soon; i'd like to know my draft position a little before the draft.
If I remember reading correctly, we won't find out until approximately 30 minutes prior. Boo.

[JenksAnejo]

Maybe we are rolling with 10?

League ID#: 39618
League Name: Cigar Asylum 2012
Password: cigars
Season Type: Full
Draft Type: Live Standard Draft
Draft Time: Sun Mar 25 5:15pm CDT [ Add to My Calendar ]
Live Draft Pick Time:
Max Teams: 10

[shilala]

I just changed the max teams thing to 12. My bad.

[JenksAnejo]

Oh no problem Scott! Have you heard from Dom?

[shilala]

Mike, Dom needs to sign up in order for your son to sign up. He was going to sign up last night, maybe the max teams setting held him out, I don't know. I didn't get a pm from him.
Nothing like taking her right to the last second, it makes it more exciting. :D

[shilala]

Because I'm too lazy to look it up, do we set our lineups daily or weekly? FTR, I despise daily lineups.:hn

Also, there's still two people not signed up yet...:tt
You can set your line-ups a week ahead. That won't help with starting pitchers because teams only release starting pitcher info three days out.
There's a minimum number of innings (40) a team has to pitch or they forfeit their wins for the week. I always wondered if that means you'd lose all the stats from your pitchers, and it does not. It's just W's.
A guy could use all closer and middle relief and keep their era and whip down, win saves, and be in real good shape for the week if he didn't even pitch a starter, so I always wondered why that rule is even in place. But it is.

[Stephen]

Mike, Dom needs to sign up in order for your son to sign up. He was going to sign up last night, maybe the max teams setting held him out, I don't know. I didn't get a pm from him.
Nothing like taking her right to the last second, it makes it more exciting. :D
Dang Scott, the lengths you'll go to in order to keep from losing to me...:r

[shilala]

I even stayed home from Family Day after I lulled you into false security. I'm gonna go couch until it's time to kick your ass.

[shilala]

Guys, I'm going to have to finalize our team list in order for our draft to go off.
Since Mike's boy is covered and I can't get in touch with Dom, as much as it pains me I have to push the button.
Sorry!!!

[JenksAnejo]

Word, let's do this!

[shilala]

I just locked the teams and started the draft.
It's a snaking randomized draft. The order is posted right now, so everyone can plan their strategy.
I got the first pick and 20th pick. As God is my witness, I didn't cheat. I just about puked when I saw I drew first pick, I've never drafted above third.
Suck it, Stephen.

[Stephen]

I even stayed home from Family Day after I lulled you into false security. I'm gonna go couch until it's time to kick your ass.
It's a good thing your family isn't going to be around to witness you taking a beating, son.

[Stephen]

I just locked the teams and started the draft.
It's a snaking randomized draft. The order is posted right now, so everyone can plan their strategy.
I got the first pick and 20th pick. As God is my witness, I didn't cheat. I just about puked when I saw I drew first pick, I've never drafted above third.
Suck it, Stephen.
I'm relieved. I draft right next to you so I have no worries about getting my players snaked from me.:tu

[JenksAnejo]

Anyone wanna move up and let me move down? lol

[JenksAnejo]

It's a snaking randomized draft. The order is posted right now, so everyone can plan their strategy.
I got the first pick and 20th pick. As God is my witness, I didn't cheat. I just about puked when I saw I drew first pick, I've never drafted above third.

I believe you, even if you did cheat by all means please take the first pick! :D

[shilala]

I believe you, even if you did cheat by all means please take the first pick! :D
That's a painful, painful spot.

[JenksAnejo]

Who ya takin' Scott? :)

[Stephen]

Who ya takin' Scott? :)
My money is on Andy Van Slyke.

[jonumberone]

Just got in from vacation
Trying to register, getting error message that the league is locked and I can't join.
Help please!

[Coach Deg]

Scott I still can't sign in son. I talked to Dom he might be trying now also.

[Stephen]

Guys, I'm going to have to finalize our team list in order for our draft to go off.
Since Mike's boy is covered and I can't get in touch with Dom, as much as it pains me I have to push the button.
Sorry!!!
I just locked the teams and started the draft.

Just got in from vacation
Trying to register, getting error message that the league is locked and I can't join.
Help please!
Scott I still can't sign in son. I talked to Dom he might be trying now also.
I think Scott already locked the league.

[jonumberone]

Oh well, guess I'm S.O.L.
Have fun boys, and remember to take it easy on Scott! :noon

[shilala]

Sorry Dom and Mike. I had to lock the league so the draft would populate. If I didn't do it I'd have had to change the draft date.
Dom, Hugh has a league set up, too. I know they need bodies, hopefully you can help him out. :tu

[jonumberone]

Thanks Scottie!
I'll head over to Hughs league
Like I said have fun boys!

[Mattso3000]

Good draft all! Too bad we had a couple guys miss out there but it should be a good year!

[Stephen]

Favorite pick (my team): Probably Ryan Roberts. Similar stats to Howie Kendrick (save 35 points in BA) and I got him 15 rounds later.

Least Favorite pick (my team): Without a doubt it was Daniel Hudson. I meant to select Aramis Ramirez but after moving Hudson to my que he was still highlighted when I hit the draft button.

Favorite pick (other team): David Ortiz (137th). Being able to get a guy who's going to hit at or around .300/30/100 in the 14th round? Crazy. I had him all queued up and ready to go, but was taken two spots before my pick.

Least Favorite pick (other team): Not counting the two closers that were draft who are on the shelf for the year (I STOLE him!), I'm going to have to go with Stephen Strasburg (42). In my opinion it's a culmination of things:

1. First three picks were already starting pitching (Verlander/Halladay/Haren)
2. There were still a couple of bats on the board that represented good value (Hamilton/Beltre/Wright) where Strasburg was selected
3. It's likely that Strasburg would've fallen to the team's next pick

It's not that I don't like Strasburg, I just don't think it was the best pick for this team at that time.

[shilala]

Stephen, I had 4 of your starting pitchers in my rotation last year at one time or another. I try to minimize my starting pitchers by using as few as possible through the week because they will blow the era and whip right out of the water and produce few K's per 9 innings.
I sacrifice W, CG, and SHO to take the other 7 categories in pitching by using closers and middle relief. Some weeks a middle relief guy comes in and blows up. That's the breaks, and it's a bad week.

My least favorite pick is Aramis Ramirez. He scares me.
My favorite picks were Granderson at 20 and Reyes at 21.
Kimbrel, Axford and Papelbon at 60, 61, and 80 made me smile. Putz at 120 shocked me. I never thought I'd grab a fourth closer.
I was bummed that I missed Michael Young. He played into my lineup heavily and I almost went after him earlier but he wasn't worth the weight where I'd have had to take him.
I got tons of power, which is what I was after, and even picked up some speed in Reyes, Granderson and Young. That's something I usually have to sacrifice.
I really couldn't be more pleased with my team.

[shilala]

Guys, check this (http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/sports/fantasysports/baseball/signup/basedrlate.html).
It covers how week one will be scored.
Week One will run from March 28th to April 8th to cover the two games in Tokyo and the short week that starts the season on April 4.

[Stephen]

Stephen, I had 4 of your starting pitchers in my rotation last year at one time or another. I try to minimize my starting pitchers by using as few as possible through the week because they will blow the era and whip right out of the water and produce few K's per 9 innings.
I sacrifice W, CG, and SHO to take the other 7 categories in pitching by using closers and middle relief. Some weeks a middle relief guy comes in and blows up. That's the breaks, and it's a bad week.
K/9 isn't a category in this league, Scott. Another thing to consider is that you sacrifice total outs when going reliever heavy, which IS a category in this league. The way the league is set up I really don't see an advantage to going reliever heavy. Also worth noting that the way the league is set up I don't really see an advantage to going starter heavy, either. That, and the way the league is set up the best you can hope for is a 50/50 split of starters/relievers.

[shilala]

K's are, brother. I didn't mean to give the impression there was a k/9 category. My point was that middle relief and closers will yield far more k's than starters on a per inning average.

On the rest, we agree exactly. You can't go after all 20 categories on a regular basis or you end up mediocre in all of them.
The goal is to go .560. .500 will get you in the playoffs.
If I can regularly take 12 of 20, that's .600 ball. It's more than enough to win the season and get a shot at the playoffs. If I make it to the playoffs, it's a whole new season with a whole new cache of players either producing or not. Thats when a guy can make the changes he needs and watch daily matchups to get an edge.

Take a minute and break down what you're likely to get in each scenario. Reliever heavy, Closeer heavy, Starter heavy, Starter/middle relief heavy, etc.
I've found that it's best to go light on starters, normal on middle relief and heavy on closers. That's because I'll likely earn more than 5/10 categories per week, it's far easier to manage, and I can sit/swap out a starter who's blowing up.
I don't believe in a pitcher having a "bad game", for the most part. Seldom do they have one bad game, you can watch their stats and see something is wrong. I feel it's almost always injury. It doesn't take much of an injury to wreck mechanics because a guy will change his delivery to guard the injury, even if it's minor. Once he's gotten used to that different delivery, it takes hell for coaches to correct it, especially if they don't have enough accurate pre-analysis via film, slo-mo, etc. Most pitching coaches don't rely on computer-aided pitching analysis, they're old-school. That sets back and prolongs a guy's "bad game" syndrome for a good while till they retweak everything and get him back to where he started.
They'll push starting pitchers into the rotation forever. Middle relief and closers, they'll just sit them down and bring someone up, or whatever. They'll just keep his ass off the mound.
That's how I play it and a little of why. A guy can have just as much success with starting pitching/a little middle relief and no closers. I just feel it's more work and more risk. I've tried just about every combination and this one yields results for me.
The hitting side is tougher. I go with power-heavy, and those guys get hurt a lot. It makes things tough to fix if the injuries last and I don't have a comfortable margin.

[Stephen]

With five required starters though, you really can't go reliever heavy in this format (at least to where you have any sort of viable edge). That's all I'm saying, brother.:tu

[shilala]

With five required starters though, you really can't go reliever heavy in this format (at least to where you have any sort of viable edge). That's all I'm saying, brother.:tu
They aren't required. You don't have to fill any spots any given night.
You'll see later that I'll only carry 1 or 2 bench bats and carry more middle relievers. That way I'll get just as many innings (or at least close to as many) as guys that are starter heavy. Enough so that I can compete for K's and W's and Outs. ERA, WHIP, L's, Saves and Relief Wins should already be bagged.
If I get five and the usually tie in SHO and CG, a 5-3-2 week is awesome. I'd take that every week all year, and it's very well within reason.
You'll see how the numbers mash out in a couple weeks. It's a great math game. But just like Fantasy football, you can have everything in place and lose your ass. Or vice versa.
With all the games and all the points, it's best beat with aggregate averages, or at least that's what I've found.
It sure helps to have Verlander, too. :D

[Stephen]

They aren't required. You don't have to fill any spots any given night.
You'll see later that I'll only carry 1 or 2 bench bats and carry more middle relievers. That way I'll get just as many innings (or at least close to as many) as guys that are starter heavy. Enough so that I can compete for K's and W's and Outs. ERA, WHIP, L's, Saves and Relief Wins should already be bagged.
If I get five and the usually tie in SHO and CG, a 5-3-2 week is awesome. I'd take that every week all year, and it's very well within reason.
You'll see how the numbers mash out in a couple weeks. It's a great math game. But just like Fantasy football, you can have everything in place and lose your ass. Or vice versa.
With all the games and all the points, it's best beat with aggregate averages, or at least that's what I've found.
It sure helps to have Verlander, too. :D
Two things:

1. I asked earlier if this was a daily or weekly lineup. You said weekly. Now you're saying it's daily? :pu

2. Any fantasy game I've ever played in required a full lineup submitted otherwise a forfeiture occurred. So if for instance I don't want to start a catcher I don't have to? I suppose to get around that if there's daily transactions and lineups you could just go and pick up joe blow that isn't starting that night...

[Mattso3000]

Thanks for the advice Scott. Just dropped Madson for Alexi Ogando. He was bumped back to the pen for the Yu Darvish kid and should be one of the best mid/long relievers this year.

[shilala]

Two things:

1. I asked earlier if this was a daily or weekly lineup. You said weekly. Now you're saying it's daily? :pu

2. Any fantasy game I've ever played in required a full lineup submitted otherwise a forfeiture occurred. So if for instance I don't want to start a catcher I don't have to? I suppose to get around that if there's daily transactions and lineups you could just go and pick up joe blow that isn't starting that night...
I just set my lineup all the way out till April 8th.
The system only shows pitcher starts for 3 days out, so if you have more than 5 starting pitchers, you have to check them to see who's up.
See, you don't need to carry 4 bench players in your hitter lineup as you have. You could dump any or all of those bench guys and pick up more pitchers (most guys only carry one or 2 bench batters so they can carry more pitchers). In this instance, you can only go out 3 days because that's all the farther teams announce their pitching.
So far as your hitters go, you can adjust that lineup at least 12 days into the future, because I just did it. You'll want to spot in bench players when one of your position players has a night off. Or maybe you don't. That's your choice.

Be aware of this...
If you set your lineup, you have to advance by calendar date.
So say you set your lineup for 10 days then change day 5, all the days after day five will be identical to day 5. It assumes you want to make the changes forever each time you make a change.

No, you don't have to start anyone if you don't want to.
As your team sits, you can set your lineup a long ways out.

You will find that at some point, strategically, you're not going to want to start one of your starting pitchers. Either to assure you win the L's column, or preserve your era and whip, or whatever.
So I guess the best answer to "weekly" is yes, if you want to. Or you can change your lineup all day every day, like I told you when I said I check mine every day over coffee.

One nother thing, you can make changes to your team right up till the player starts their game, every day. Even if a bunch of your guys played already, you can still make changes, you just can't use guys that have already played. Just like in Fantasy Football. You can change guys in your late game while the early guys are playing.
That help any?

[Stephen]

That help any?
I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.

[mkarnold1]

You guys put too much thought into this. I just put the guys out there that have the most chance of whoopin' ass. Good luck!
I love my team too, well rounded power, speed, starting and relief pitching.

Favorite pick- Joe Mauer in the 12th, high risk, higher reward!
Least favorite- Paul Konerko, Mariano Rivera. F'em. (I hate the pale hose and the spankees)

[shilala]

I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.
Polander.

[blugill]

I just picked people other teams weren't picking:)
Oh...and let autodraft round out my lineup while smoking a nice Padilla:)

[Stephen]

Oh...and let autodraft round out my lineup while smoking a nice Padilla:)
Scott should've done this, then maybe he wouldn't have ended up with a gimp.:lr:lr

[shilala]

I get a gimp every draft. Fortunately when I go to B-dubs for live FF draft the guys tell me so I don't pick them up. I wouldn't even feel good about a season if I didn't draft at least one dead guy. :)

[thecatch83]

Just watched The A's vs Tokyo Giants at the Tokyo Dome on Sunday....great game!!! Good luck everyone, sorry I didn't make the live draft, but it was 7 am my time, and I had to go into work!

[Stephen]

I get a gimp every draft. Fortunately when I go to B-dubs for live FF draft the guys tell me so I don't pick them up. I wouldn't even feel good about a season if I didn't draft at least one dead guy. :)
Good buddy of mine hates playing fantasy sports anymore. There's no art or skill to it because all the work is already done and all one has to do is sit in front of a computer and click some buttons. Even then you don't really have to do that, because if you don't show up for the draft, the computer will be nice and draft a competitive team for you.

[Stephen]

Just watched The A's vs Tokyo Giants at the Tokyo Dome on Sunday....great game!!! Good luck everyone, sorry I didn't make the live draft, but it was 7 am my time, and I had to go into work!
Understandable. You live halfway around the world!

[shilala]

I can't even imagine the volume of work you'd have to do to play fantasy sports if there was no internet. If it weren't for the help, I'd have no time or desire to play. The level of work necessary is exactly what kept me from playing fantasy sports up until 5 or 6 years ago.
I totally get his point.

[Stephen]

I can't even imagine the volume of work you'd have to do to play fantasy sports if there was no internet. If it weren't for the help, I'd have no time or desire to play. The level of work necessary is exactly what kept me from playing fantasy sports up until 5 or 6 years ago.
I totally get his point.
The greater the challenge, greater the reward. It's funny, any of the fantasy sports championships that I won 10 + years ago I treasure more, simply due to the amount of wrench time spent preparing and subsequently investing during the season. The one thing that the internet has brought to fantasy sports though is parity. Someone could be minimally invested (set their lineup when required, make any necessary roster changes) and still be close to .500, if they were to let the computer take care of everything else (drafting, telling you which players to pick up, etc.).

[shilala]

The greater the challenge, greater the reward. It's funny, any of the fantasy sports championships that I won 10 + years ago I treasure more, simply due to the amount of wrench time spent preparing and subsequently investing during the season. The one thing that the internet has brought to fantasy sports though is parity. Someone could be minimally invested (set their lineup when required, make any necessary roster changes) and still be close to .500, if they were to let the computer take care of everything else (drafting, telling you which players to pick up, etc.).
I can see that, too.
10 years ago I barely had time to sit down and watch a football game let alone do all that crunching. I enjoy it now because I have forced downtime. Now I enjoy it so much I'd struggle to make time even if I didn't have any.

[Stephen]

I can see that, too.
10 years ago I barely had time to sit down and watch a football game let alone do all that crunching. I enjoy it now because I have forced downtime. Now I enjoy it so much I'd struggle to make time even if I didn't have any.
I made time because it was one of my favorite hobbies. Sleep? Who needed it? I was young, dumb, and didn't know any better. Now I'm old and covet naptime.:D

[shilala]

I made time because it was one of my favorite hobbies. Sleep? Who needed it? I was young, dumb, and didn't know any better. Now I'm old and covet naptime.:D
Heard that. I'm under doctor's orders to sleep 10-14 hours a day. I literally laughed, I couldn't help it. :)
I banged out a solid 7 hours last night, I can run on that for 3 more days, I can go right back to 5 hours or so with an occasional nap. :)

Did you guys find an app for 2012 Yahoo Fantasy Baseball? I was looking, I came up with nothing. I'd think they'd have something ready by now?

[Stephen]

Did you guys find an app for 2012 Yahoo Fantasy Baseball? I was looking, I came up with nothing. I'd think they'd have something ready by now?
Android Market had it out a few days ago. Take that fanyboi. Neener neener...:fu :tg :fu

[blugill]

Fantasy Monster manages your team onYahoo.

[Mattso3000]

I made time because it was one of my favorite hobbies. Sleep? Who needed it? I was young, dumb, and didn't know any better. Now I'm old and covet naptime.:D

Never did baseball back then but I remember getting the weekly fantasy football scoring updates in the mail on Tuesday. 10 pages of spreadsheets to go over. Free agent pick-ups were a pain and trades took 3 phone calls minimum.

Now there's an ap for that. Downloading now.

[Stephen]

Never did baseball back then but I remember getting the weekly fantasy football scoring updates in the mail on Tuesday. 10 pages of spreadsheets to go over. Free agent pick-ups were a pain and trades took 3 phone calls minimum.
Getting the USA Today on Monday morning was of upmost importance to see how many points you scored. And yes, making trades was like pulling teeth. Our commissioner actually set up a, "teenager line" which was used for free agent pickups. You'd leave a message on the answering machine stating who you wanted to drop and who you wanted to pick up. First come, first serve.

[shilala]

I grabbed fantasy monster. It'll work for everything, all my teams. Nice. :tu

[thecatch83]

Scott, did you receive my message?

[blugill]

Woohoo!
Tied for first!
Do we divy up the winnings now or do we have to wait:D?

[shilala]

Scott, did you receive my message?
Just replied, Ty. Sorry it took me so long.

[shilala]

I just realized Outs is a pretty stupid category. It may as well be innings pitched. :rolleyes:

[Stephen]

I just realized Outs is a pretty stupid category. It may as well be innings pitched. :rolleyes:
Kind of like counting hits, then breaking up each individual kind of hit one could have into its own unique category?;)

Personally I'm not a fan of relief wins. We're rewarding mediocrity.:sh

[shilala]

Kind of like counting hits, then breaking up each individual kind of hit one could have into its own unique category?;)

Personally I'm not a fan of relief wins. We're rewarding mediocrity.:sh
The pitcher gets a point for every out that happens when he's on the field.
if he's out there for 7 innings, he gets 21 outs. 7 1/3, he gets 22 outs. It's just a pointless category, or at least directly mirrors IP.
At least with relief wins the guy generally holds the opponent's score while allowing his team to take the lead and win.
I didn't look at the box score for last night's game, but my pitcher gave up one run in 7 innings and didn't get the W. I'm guessing it was tied going into the 8th? I'm not sure who got the W, middle relief or the closer. The way W's are scored has always baffled me, anyways. :D

I suppose since we don't have an inninings pitched category, outs are just the same, and we needed something in there.
Strategically, a guy is taking a risk to try to win that category, so it's good.

[Stephen]

At least with relief wins the guy generally holds the opponent's score while allowing his team to take the lead and win.
I'd say more often than not a reliever blew a lead and his team bailed him out, thus preserving the win; or was already behind and his team rallied for the win and he just so happened to be the last pitcher on the mound.
I didn't look at the box score for last night's game, but my pitcher gave up one run in 7 innings and didn't get the W. I'm guessing it was tied going into the 8th? I'm not sure who got the W, middle relief or the closer. The way W's are scored has always baffled me, anyways. :D
I believe the game went 11 innings, Scott. So even if he was losing when he was pulled (which he wasn't; I believe the game was tied at that point) he wouldn't have received the loss because he didn't surrender the winning run.

[Mattso3000]

Game was tied until the 11th with RBIs by Ackley and Ichiro in the top.

Tom Wilhemson got the W, Brandon League the S. Ackley also had a solo HR.

This was probably answered earlier but I don't see it...what are we doing with the 40 inning min week one? Site states that if we don't hit 40 innings, we forfeit all pitching categories but there are many teams that only play 3 games week one. The minimum may be tough to hit here.

[Stephen]

This was probably answered earlier but I don't see it...what are we doing with the 40 inning min week one? Site states that if we don't hit 40 innings, we forfeit all pitching categories but there are many teams that only play 3 games week one. The minimum may be tough to hit here.
This period goes until April 8th, Matt.

[Mattso3000]

This period goes until April 8th, Matt.

With the exception of Seattle and the Yankees (5 games) and Miami and St. Louis (4 games) all other major league teams play 3 games in the first scoring period. The 40 inning minimum is going to be a problem.

[Stephen]

With the exception of Seattle and the Yankees (5 games) and Miami and St. Louis (4 games) all other major league teams play 3 games in the first scoring period. The 40 inning minimum is going to be a problem.
Scott posted this the other day, Matt.

There's a minimum number of innings (40) a team has to pitch or they forfeit their wins for the week. I always wondered if that means you'd lose all the stats from your pitchers, and it does not. It's just W's.
A guy could use all closer and middle relief and keep their era and whip down, win saves, and be in real good shape for the week if he didn't even pitch a starter, so I always wondered why that rule is even in place. But it is.
I'd reckon if a team went reliever heavy, they're not too concerned about the Wins category in the first place.

[Mattso3000]

Scott posted this the other day, Matt.

I'd reckon if a team went reliever heavy, they're not too concerned about the Wins category in the first place.

I knew I saw something on this earlier just couldn't find it. Thanks Stephen!

[mkarnold1]

How about FIP (fielding independant pitching)? Is that an option? I agree, I don't really like outs or relief wins as scoring categories. Holds can be considered if there are going to be middle relievers used a lot in this league. Just throwing out some other options.

[Stephen]

How about FIP (fielding independant pitching)? Is that an option? I agree, I don't really like outs or relief wins as scoring categories. Holds can be considered if there are going to be middle relievers used a lot in this league. Just throwing out some other options.
Personally I would've liked to have seen holds over relief wins as a scoring category, but this is the way that the commish set it up. Further, since the league has already held the draft and the season started, probably wouldn't be right to go and switch around scoring categories.:2

So in short, let's burn Scott at the stake.:D

[JenksAnejo]

I agree that I don't like a few of the categories; however, I drafted according to what scoring categories were already in place. Like avoiding Strasburg because he will be on a IP limit.

[blugill]

I just drafted who everyone else wasn't drafting:D
I'm going to enjoy the season as it is, everyone is on a level playing field with the same categories:)

[shilala]

I will definately set up any categories others suggest, but it'll have to be next year.
Initially I thought I'd just go ahead and change them, but Jarrod made a very valid point. People took into consideration the categories when drafting.
Next year I'll set the scoring categories and ask for input. We had plenty of time that I could have changed anything, but no one raised a concern. I just basically picked the categories that I thought were sensible and would have liked to let a few pitching categories out altogether, but had to enter something.
I'll make sure to get an extra early start next year and email everyone who played, that way we can talk some of this stuff out and make the league extra awesome. :tu

[JenksAnejo]

Scott you did a great job of setting this league up! I'm completely fine with everything you've done! This league will be a blast, and thank you for putting this together.

[blugill]

What he said^^

[mkarnold1]

Scott you did a great job of setting this league up! I'm completely fine with everything you've done! This league will be a blast, and thank you for putting this together.

I agree, you did a great job Scott. I've never been in a league with this many scoring categories and I'm curious to see some of the unconventional strategies utilized to win some of these. :tu

[Mattso3000]

I agree, you did a great job Scott. I've never been in a league with this many scoring categories and I'm curious to see some of the unconventional strategies utilized to win some of these. :tu

Yep, great job with the league. I will really enjoy squashing mark like a bug.:tu

[Stephen]

I will definately set up any categories others suggest, but it'll have to be next year.
Initially I thought I'd just go ahead and change them, but Jarrod made a very valid point. People took into consideration the categories when drafting.
He's exactly right, too. If, for example you were to change relief wins to holds beforehand, I would've made it a point to draft a couple of the better middle relievers in the game. With the draft already taking place, the toothpaste is already out of the tube, so-to-speak.
Next year I'll set the scoring categories and ask for input. We had plenty of time that I could have changed anything, but no one raised a concern. I just basically picked the categories that I thought were sensible and would have liked to let a few pitching categories out altogether, but had to enter something.
I'll make sure to get an extra early start next year and email everyone who played, that way we can talk some of this stuff out and make the league extra awesome. :tu
Nah, there was plenty of time to raise concerns, Scott. If it'd bothered anyone enough they would've said something. At best our gripes are trivial. You done good, old man.:tu

Now, if we could only do something about this daily lineup thing...:D

[blugill]

I'd really like to see MLB make opening day a priority again. Open it on American soil, if you want to play overseas for a series or two that's great, just do it a few weeks after the season has started. I mean you play a real game and then come back for more spring training games?

Who's the genius that greenlighted that?! Likely they consulted with some of the Hollywood geniuses that greenlight half of the garbage remakes that show up in the theaters now.

[shilala]

Who's the genius that greenlighted that?
I'm pretty sure it was the same guy that okay'd the DH. :D

[JenksAnejo]

Im curious to see what kind of tasty prizes are up for grabs! :dr

[Mattso3000]

Im curious to see what kind of tasty prizes are up for grabs! :dr

You have to win to see...:D

[Stephen]

You have to win to see...:D
Yeah, since you never posted your winnings from our fantasy football league, Matt.:sl:D

[thecatch83]

Yeah, since you never posted your winnings from our fantasy football league, Matt.:sl:D

good point....maybe a new bi-law, winners have to show pics of said winnings!:2

[Stephen]

What gives with me not being able to put Drew Storen on the DL? He's been on there since last Wednesday, while players who were put on the DL a couple of days ago are able to be moved there...

[shilala]

When a player goes on yahoo DL, there's a little red DL after their name.
How and when they put that on there, I have no clue.
I should probably add that, in the past, I've had players whose team played a game before the player was put on Yahoo DL. I can only remember that happening once.
I'm guessing they're not real concerned with updates just yet, being that final rosters aren't even set.

[Stephen]

When a player goes on yahoo DL, there's a little red DL after their name.
How and when they put that on there, I have no clue.
I should probably add that, in the past, I've had players whose team played a game before the player was put on Yahoo DL. I can only remember that happening once.
I'm guessing they're not real concerned with updates just yet, being that final rosters aren't even set.
I looked at the DL list on Yahoo (http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/39618/playerchanges?type=dl), and Storen is nowhere to be found. Weird, because according to ESPN he was placed on the DL back on March 28th.

[shilala]

I looked at the DL list on Yahoo (http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/39618/playerchanges?type=dl), and Storen is nowhere to be found. Weird, because according to ESPN he was placed on the DL back on March 28th.
I'd think they'd have that cleaned up before tomorrow night. I'd sure hope so. It might not even get fixed till after Thursday's games. You might just need to shake him off or take the hit till it sorts out.

[shilala]

Here's the updated list with our names/screen name/Yahoo team name for reference...
1. Scott (shilala) shilala
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo) SmokinJenksAnejo's
3. Stephen (stephen) Stephen's Shockers
4. Matt (mattso3000) ninja for hire(Matt)
5. Mark (mkarnold1) mkarnold1's Mashers
6. Mike (Coach Deg) Coach Deg
7. Albert (awsmith4) Awsmith4
8. Jake (The Ghoulbags) The Ghoulbags
9. Ty (thecatch83) thecatch83
10. Andy (blugill) Predators (blugill)

Entry sticks are due.
Here's where the entry payments stand...
1. Scott
2. Jarrod entry fiver 10 troop sticks
3. Stephen
4. Matt
5. Mark entry fiver troop sticks? (I lost his troop sticks, I need to ask him what he sent)
6. Mike
7. Albert
8. Jake entry fiver 10 troop sticks
9. Ty
10. Andy 1/2 entry sticks 12 troop sticks

[Stephen]

I'll get mine sent out by next week, Chief. Honest injun.

[shilala]

I'll get mine sent out by next week, Chief. Honest injun.
It's no big, but I should still pm everyone and remind them. It's an easy thing to forget. I haven't even gathered up my sticks yet and I don't even have to mail them. :D

[shilala]

There's already been more completed trades before the season started than there were all last season. That's awesome. :tu

[Stephen]

There's already been more completed trades before the season started than there were all last season. That's awesome. :tu
I'm a trade slut.:(

[mkarnold1]

Here's the updated list with our names/screen name/Yahoo team name for reference...
1. Scott (shilala) shilala
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo) SmokinJenksAnejo's
3. Stephen (stephen) Stephen's Shockers
4. Matt (mattso3000) ninja for hire(Matt)
5. Mark (mkarnold1) mkarnold1's Mashers
6. Mike (Coach Deg) Coach Deg
7. Albert (awsmith4) Awsmith4
8. Jake (The Ghoulbags) The Ghoulbags
9. Ty (thecatch83) thecatch83
10. Andy (blugill) Predators (blugill)

Entry sticks are due.
Here's where the entry payments stand...
1. Scott
2. Jarrod entry fiver 10 troop sticks
3. Stephen
4. Matt
5. Mark entry fiver troop sticks? (I lost his troop sticks, I need to ask him what he sent)
6. Mike
7. Albert
8. Jake entry fiver 10 troop sticks
9. Ty
10. Andy 1/2 entry sticks 12 troop sticks

I sent a few bundles, I think there was 65 troop sticks in the box.

[shilala]

I sent a few bundles, I think there was 65 troop sticks in the box.
Thanks, Mark. I meant to pm you, just haven't got to it yet.

[shilala]

Here's the updated list with our names/screen name/Yahoo team name for reference...
1. Scott (shilala) shilala
2. Jarrod (JenksAnejo) SmokinJenksAnejo's
3. Stephen (stephen) Stephen's Shockers
4. Matt (mattso3000) ninja for hire(Matt)
5. Mark (mkarnold1) mkarnold1's Mashers
6. Mike (Coach Deg) Coach Deg
7. Albert (awsmith4) Awsmith4
8. Jake (The Ghoulbags) The Ghoulbags
9. Ty (thecatch83) thecatch83
10. Andy (blugill) Predators (blugill)

Entry sticks are due.
Here's where the entry payments stand...
1. Scott
2. Jarrod entry fiver 10 troop sticks
3. Stephen
4. Matt
5. Mark entry fiver 65 troop sticks
6. Mike
7. Albert
8. Jake entry fiver 10 troop sticks
9. Ty
10. Andy 1/2 entry sticks 12 troop sticks

Once all entries are received, I'll change the format of this post to match what we had in Fantasy Football. That seemed to work pretty well.
For those of you that don't know what that means, we kept a running tally of weekly bets and a tally of troop sticks that guys had available to bet or what they owed.
Everyone will notice five sticks knocked off of their troop total, as that's the entry fee. Any other sticks you've sent, or send in the future will be added to the tally sheet.
I'll mess with that as soon as I have time.

[Coach Deg]

Scott hoping to get package out tomorrow.

[Stephen]

Hanley Ramirez is trying to get off of my Christmas card list. 0-8? Really?

[mkarnold1]

Strong 5 scoreless with 5k's for Johan, bummer that the Mets couldn't score til the 6th but I'll take it.