February 19, 2004

So I went ahead and created and paid for a Sportsline Fantasy Baseball League (discussion inside)

posted by corpse to navel gazing at 09:40 AM - 38 comments

First of all, this is on ME, I don't expect donations, entry fees, or contributions from anyone, it is not required to play in this league. I'm not going to stop you if you want to send me 5 or 6 bucks though, but it is NOT required. I just want a good league with players that want to stick around for the whole season. Secondly, if you would like to participate just post your email and spofi username either in this thread, or you can email it to me at jheath at gerousia.com Thirdly, I've initially set the draft for March 20th, 2004 at 12 PM. This is on a Saturday, and can be changed, I'll go with whatever the majority wants. A draft robot will pick for you if you are not there, and there will be 120 second time limit on every pick. Fourthly, I've been going through the league settings, and I'd like every ones input on what they would like to see, this is my current configuration: Scoring System Rotisserie type scoring with the following catagories Batting: BA, H, HR, OBP, RBI, SB Pitching ERA, k-BB, kp9, S, W, WHIP So far I just have these set up to be weighted equally, but I can assign more weight to any of them. Leauge Rules Player Pool: Mixed (both AL and NL) Positions: Pitchers are just classified as P, not SP or RP. Outfielders are classifed as OF. We use the Position Utility, just one. A player must have 20 games played last year to be eligible at a position or 5 games played this year to be eligible. Roster Limits: 21 Max active players, 5 max reserve, 2 max IR, 0 max minor leaguers, 23 max total players, 21 minimum. Position by position, one of each infield position, 3 OF, 1 Utility, and 7 Pitchers. Illegal rosters score zero points in standings. Salaries and contracts: Player salaries and contracts not being tracked. Transactions: Set Lineups Daily, by owners. Use a waiver process to do add drops, waiver period is 2 days, and is run every week based on reverse standings. Trade deadline is August 27th. Fees: None, see introduction. Min/Max: Maximum innings pitched 1500. League Constitution: To be determined. Scoring Periods Weekly periods, starting on Mondays. Teams and Owners Once you get an invite, you should be able to change your team name and abbreviation (for the stats). So far just one division, but we could do two, if we get enough people, but I think I'd prefer one big one. Let me know what you think.

posted by corpse at 09:40 AM on February 19, 2004

I think it's good, and I'd like to join, my email is jbou at yahoo. I like the league settings the way they are now, but no daily scoring?

posted by jbou at 09:59 AM on February 19, 2004

ignore the other email my email is jbou89 at yahoo.

posted by jbou at 10:00 AM on February 19, 2004

like the draft time, like the idea. i'm going to try and do this one and the yahoo one.

posted by jerseygirl at 10:08 AM on February 19, 2004

Sign me up: [spofi_username]@localnine.com

posted by yerfatma at 10:10 AM on February 19, 2004

jbou, from the website: Scoring periods are primarily used for display purposes on stats and standings reports. All reports will show you overall, or year-to-date data, but you can also view stats and scores for specific periods of time - either weekly, bi-weekly (every two weeks) or monthly - depending on what you select here. So I think it will still update it everyday, that is just used in the stats? That is not quite clear. I could be wrong. Invitations sent out to yerfatma and jbou.

posted by corpse at 10:15 AM on February 19, 2004

Sign me up too: truxell AT bellsouth DOT net.

posted by trox at 10:33 AM on February 19, 2004

Sign me up: sb1986 A-T yahoo D-O-T com. And I'll send you some money for this, so include your address or Pay-pal (if it's easy for a dude to figure out).

posted by 86 at 10:39 AM on February 19, 2004

wow, thank you corpse! I'd still like to send you something in return for your awesomeness!

posted by jasonspaceman at 10:44 AM on February 19, 2004

I'm not joining, and don't know what your ideas are, except for the coolest one around. Props to corpse for fronting the loot!

posted by garfield at 10:45 AM on February 19, 2004

Paypal can be sent to jheath at gerousia.com For snail mail address, just email me, I'll send it to you.

posted by corpse at 10:46 AM on February 19, 2004

Can never be in enough fantasy leagues... spence_mk1 AT yahoo DOT com

posted by pivo at 11:43 AM on February 19, 2004

i'm in. oliver_crunk AT crunktrunk DOT com

posted by oliver_crunk at 12:19 PM on February 19, 2004

In, and I'll send a little paypal love your way. Firing off an email right now......

posted by mbd1 at 12:25 PM on February 19, 2004

*Not in, but giving corpse a big hug for his generous gesture.*

posted by squealy at 02:25 PM on February 19, 2004

sign me up shadowlab2000 AT yahoo DOT com

posted by YukonGold at 03:10 PM on February 19, 2004

Does the live draft have a chat aspect? If so, you may want to ban Yukon and I now. It'll get ugly, I promise.

posted by yerfatma at 06:13 PM on February 19, 2004

I'm going to pass, only because I don't think I have the strength in me to run two fantasy leagues PLUS my Scoresheet team. But thanks for the offer.

posted by grum@work at 09:27 PM on February 19, 2004

So, what do you guys think about the scoring catagories. Should we have additional ones, like walks and runs scored for batting? Complete games, total strikeouts, and shut outs for pitching? I believe we had a few more of these last year. Also, what about OPS instead of OPB? It's actually called PP (Production Pct) with this software. here's an slightly formatted listing of all the stat catagories: Batting Stat Categories 1B Singles 2B Doubles 3B Triples AB At Bats ABRISP AtBat Runners in Sco. Pos. AST Assists BA Batting Average BB Walks (Batters) BP Bases Produced CI Catcher Interference COM Combo CS* Caught Stealing CSC Caught Stealing by Catcher CYC Hitting for the Cycle DPT Double Plays Turned DT Doubles Plus Triples E* Errors FC Fielding Chances FPCT Fielding Pct G Games GDP* Ground Into Double Plays GP1B Games Played First Base GP2B Games Played Second Base GP3B Games Played Third Base GPC Games Played Catcher GPCF Games Played Center Field GPCI Games Played Corner Infield GPDH Games Played Designated Hitter GPLF Games Played Left Field GPMI Games Played Middle Infield GPOF Games Played Outfield GPRF Games Played Right Field GPSS Games Played Short Stop GSHR Grand Slam Home Runs GST Games Started (Batter) H Hits HP Hit by Pitch HR Home Runs HRISP Hits Runners in Sco. Pos. IB Intentional Walks KO* Strikeouts (Batter) OBP On Base Pct OFAST OF Assists PBC Passed Balls by Catcher PO Put Outs PP Production Pct PPos Primary Position R Runs RBI Runs Batted In RBI-HR RBI Minus Home Runs RP Runs Produced RPA Runs Produced Average RdAB Runs per At Bat SB Stolen Bases SB-CS Stolen Bases - Caught Stealing SBA* Stolen Bases Allowed SBPCT Stolen Base Pct SDT Singles + Doubles + Triples SF Sacrifice Flies SH Sacrifice Hits SLG Slugging Pct TB Total Bases TPA Total Pct Average TPT Triple Plays Turned XBH Extra Base Hits Pitching Stat Categories 1BA* Singles Allowed 2BA* Doubles Allowed 3BA* Triples Allowed ABA At Bats Against AO Air Outs APP Appearances B* Balks BAA* Batting Average Against BBI* Walks Issued (Pitchers) BBd9* Walks per Nine BFP Batters Facing Pitcher BS* Blown Saves CG Complete Games CGL Complete Game Loss ER* Earned Runs ERA* Earned Run Average ER * 9 / INN GF Games Finished GO Ground Outs GS Games Started (Pitcher) GdAO Ground Outs/Air Outs HA* Hits Allowed HB* Hit Batsmen HD Holds HIP* Hits per Inning HRA* Home Runs Allowed Hd9* Hits per Nine IBBI* Intentional Walks INN Innings INNdGS Innings per Start IRS* Inherited Runners Scored K Strikeouts (Pitcher) K-BB Strikeouts Minus Walks Kd9 Strikeouts per Nine L* Losses MERA Modified ERA NH No-Hitters NHL No-Hitter Loss NW Net Wins OBA* On Base Pct Against PA Plate Appearances PG Perfect Games PKO Pick Offs QS Quality Starts RA* Runs Allowed RL Relief Losses RW Relief Wins Rd9* Men on Base/ 9 Innings S Saves SO Shutouts SOP Save Opportunities TBA* Total Bases Allowed W Wins W-L Wins Minus Losses WHIP* Walks + Hits / Inning WP* Wild Pitches WPCT Winning Pct Let me know what you think? Also, about everything else, especially the roster min/max.

posted by corpse at 07:16 AM on February 20, 2004

Also, I can create custom catagories, by combining any of the above stats in a formula. The only exception is you can't combine pitching and batting stats.

posted by corpse at 07:36 AM on February 20, 2004

I think Holds, Triples Allowed, Pickoffs, Games Finished and Perfect Games should do it.

posted by yerfatma at 09:27 AM on February 20, 2004

I like OPS instead of OPB, since that includes slugging and OBP. As for pitching categories, I'm a big fan of K:BB ratio (And despite yerfatma's enthusiasm, I really dislike the holds categories since I think that is even more of a manufactured stat than saves).

posted by trox at 09:32 AM on February 20, 2004

Just for reference, in last year's league, we had R, HR, RBI, AVG, SB, OPS for batting and W, K, ERA, WHIP, IP, K/9, CG, K/BB, SV for pitching.

posted by corpse at 09:49 AM on February 20, 2004

If you are going to use OPS, you should try a slightly modified version. Since SLG can range from .000 to 4.000, and OBP can only range from .000 to 1.000, one suggestion to properly balance the numbers is: modified OPS = (1.8*OPB + SLG) For pitchers, you might want to try a new category: TBper9IP = [(walks allowed + singles allowed + 2*doubles allowed + 3*triples allowed + 4*HR allowed)*9]/IP It's like opposition SLG, but it adds in the walks and makes it a comparable number for relievers and starting pitchers.

posted by grum@work at 10:00 AM on February 20, 2004

Okay, so that last one, would be like this using sportsline's stats. This is a catagory where lower is better, correct? ((BBI+1BA+(2*2BA)+(3*3BA)+(4*HRA))*9)/INN Never seen that one, but I'd be up for trying it. Thoughts from everyone else?

posted by corpse at 10:37 AM on February 20, 2004

Just for clarification: I was completely joking. None of those categories should be used in a roto league with the possible exception of Perfect Games in a head-to-head weekly type setup. It's nice to see a player add 100 points to someone's weekly total every 10 years or so.

posted by yerfatma at 11:04 AM on February 20, 2004

I'm in, although Grum and corpse have totally freaking lost me with those equations up there. This is baseball, you pointyheads! My email is frazer_not_crane at yahoo dot com

posted by wfrazerjr at 11:43 AM on February 20, 2004

Simpler has it's advantages in that you can readily find stat info and make decisions for your team...at least I think I'm not smart enough to use the equation above. I'd also vote for having even stats 5x5, 6x6

posted by YukonGold at 12:22 PM on February 20, 2004

Okay, so that last one, would be like this using sportsline's stats. This is a catagory where lower is better, correct? ((BBI+1BA+(2*2BA)+(3*3BA)+(4*HRA))*9)/INN Yes, lower is better. If you throw a 9inning perfect game, your score would be 0.00. If your pitcher is in Colorado and is facing the Yankees in an inter-league game and goes 3IP 2singles, 3 doubles, 2HR, 4 walks, that would be a score of: 60.0. But if you're looking for a quick and easy stat to look up, then use WHIP (Walks + Hits per inning pitched) and TBA (total bases allowed). The problem with the second one is that it punishes pitchers that throw more innings (more opportunity to give up hits). So the easiest thing might be: TBA/IP It's the same as my stat, except not stretched over 9IP or including walks.

posted by grum@work at 12:37 PM on February 20, 2004

Fascinating. So your TBp9IP would be a good substitute for WHIP? Seems like having both of them would be an overkill, and the leader in would either be leading the other, or at least pretty close. So far, I'm looking at this: H, HR, BA, R, RBI, SB, mOPS for batting, and ERA, K, W, k-BB, Kp9, S, TPp9IP for pitching. Another question, what do you guys think about saves, since it is such a manufactured stat, but it's usually included in all the leagues I've played in. And what about balance? So far I have 7 stats each for pitching and batting, should we give one the edge? or rather, not put as much emphasis on one?

posted by corpse at 01:00 PM on February 20, 2004

Gotta keep pitching and hitting balanced. Kill TB stats and go with Whip, a down, dirty, and useful tool. TB stuff has too many non-pitcher variables (defensive ability of team, scorekeepers decisions, speed of baserunners, etc...) where Walks and Hits are almost all on the pitcher. I would keep Saves in there...I too think it is a crap stat, but in fantasy baseball gives values to closers and adds some nice strategy (take that closer or a 3rd starter or stockpile saves or dump them). I would go 6x6, with 3 ratio stats and 3 counting stats on each side. If 7x7, I would go with 4 counting stats and 3 ratios. Ratios get tough to move once they are establisheed but the counters are where points can be made or lost late season. No fun if the league is decided at the AS break.

posted by pivo at 02:09 PM on February 20, 2004

Third'd: saves suck, but they add an element of strategy to the construction of pitching staffs.

posted by yerfatma at 03:34 PM on February 20, 2004

The Rockport Rassafrass are all up in yo ass! Signed up and ready to rumble, boys! and girls :)

posted by wfrazerjr at 05:00 PM on February 20, 2004

I'd like to join, and send some money too. Haven't decided on snail mail or Paypal yet (kind of weary of Paypal). Invite me at my spofi username at yahoo dot com, please! I always like Grum's insight into categories, and I would really really really like a salary cap. Thanks corpse!

posted by qbert72 at 05:40 PM on February 20, 2004

UPDATE: We have 15 people now, and I ask you should we cap the league at 15? or continue allowing people to sign up? It might be more interesting to keep this one at 15, since the yahoo one is going to 20. Thoughts?

posted by corpse at 10:01 AM on February 25, 2004

keep it at 15

posted by jbou at 09:22 PM on February 25, 2004

I tend to agree. Anyone else have any thoughts? or have we scroll off the page. Also, I'd like to present to you, my team logo, Wittgenstien's Bunnies:

posted by corpse at 10:18 AM on February 27, 2004

I have a yahoo head to head league going if anyone wants to join a league like that. It's also autodraft. E-mail me if you want in.

posted by jasonspaceman at 12:26 PM on February 27, 2004

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