Fantasy baseball league for (mostly) new players?

[tkenm356]

I've played in 4 Yahoo leagues the last 3 years. One of which was a stupid "Hey guys, let's start a league, just the 4 of us, for fun" and we all had the best lineups on earth. It wasn't fun.

 

The other 3 leagues I was in were 8 person leagues, and they were a blast. Fact of the matter is the first Fantasy Baseball league I was in back in 2004 pretty much resurrected my intrest in baseball to a whole new level.

 

I started one amongst my fraternity brothers and told them they'd get addicted, some didn't do it, and that pissed me off, but the ones who did are addicted to baseball now.

 

I have more experience than most of you, but I'd love to join. Experience doesn't really matter if you set the rules up nice. Plus I've never been in a league bigger than 8.

 

So yeah, I'm down if you wanna let me in

[hawkcub]

That looks like 10.

[Tracer Bullet]

That looks like 10.

 

Should I set up the league in Y! now?

 

EDIT: Note to self: look before you leap - we can set up the league in Y! on the 15th.

[MPrior]

Awesome. Here's our final list of ten:

 

MPrior

Cheapseats

Hawkcub

BalsaWoodKeyBoard

Karenmac

Reggiemiller rules

b_wiggy_66

GRCubsFan

CT Cubs Fan

tkenm356

 

With GRCubsFan as commissioner.

 

So - GRCubsFan, let us know (via this thread or PM) what we need to do as far as helping you out being the commissioner and all, and basically anything else.

 

Woohoo!

[Tracer Bullet]

Awesome. Here's our final list of ten:

 

MPrior

Cheapseats

Hawkcub

BalsaWoodKeyBoard

Karenmac

Reggiemiller rules

b_wiggy_66

GRCubsFan

CT Cubs Fan

tkenm356

 

With GRCubsFan as commissioner.

 

So - GRCubsFan, let us know (via this thread or PM) what we need to do as far as helping you out being the commissioner and all, and basically anything else.

 

Woohoo!

 

We have to work out a few issues. First and foremost - H2H or roto league? I suppose we should just vote on that.

 

I assume this is a 5x5 league (5 categories for hitters, 5 for pitchers). Although in my only fantasy baseball experience, we used different categories to better reflect the true value of players (I'd have to look up which categories we included). Let me know what people want.

 

The only other thing to decide is how many starters and bench spots each team gets. I think Y! standard is C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, Util, SP, SP, RP, RP, P, P, P. I don't know how many bench spots is typical, but in a 10-team league, I think we could easily carry 5-6 bench spots with 2 DL spots.

 

If we can get these details worked out, we can figure out how/when we're going to do the draft.

[cheapseats]

* I'd prefer H2H but wouldn't mind Roto.

* Since this will be a first time for most of us, I vote for traditional 5x5 categories, however flawed they may be. It would be nice to have experience with the norm.

* No preference on bench spots. We might want to come to agreement on whether to have a maximum number of innings pitched, though.

 

Without a maximum, owners will be free to drop and add pitchers everyday, creating an advantage in wins and strikeouts (and to a much lesser extent, saves).

 

However, picking a new pitcher everyday is not without risk. Engaging in such a strategy might negatively affect WHIP and ERA, and it's possible that an overzealous owner will drop a very good pitcher, leaving him to be claimed by the other owners.

 

I absolutely don't care if we go with a limit or not, but if we vote not to have one, there should be no whining if one or more owners churns pitchers.

[Tracer Bullet]

* I'd prefer H2H but wouldn't mind Roto.

* Since this will be a first time for most of us, I vote for traditional 5x5 categories, however flawed they may be. It would be nice to have experience with the norm.

* No preference on bench spots. We might want to come to agreement on whether to have a maximum number of innings pitched, though.

 

Without a maximum, owners will be free to drop and add pitchers everyday, creating an advantage in wins and strikeouts (and to a much lesser extent, saves).

 

However, picking a new pitcher everyday is not without risk. Engaging in such a strategy might negatively affect WHIP and ERA, and it's possible that an overzealous owner will drop a very good pitcher, leaving him to be claimed by the other owners.

 

I absolutely don't care if we go with a limit or not, but if we vote not to have one, there should be no whining if one or more owners churns pitchers.

 

1. I really don't care on H2H v Roto. I've only done roto for baseball (and both for hoops). I find both fun for different reasons, but H2H might be easier for first-timers, I guess (easier to correct early-season mistakes).

 

2. 5x5 is fine with me too.

 

3. I'm going to suggest 6 bench spots and 2 DL spots and let other suggest something else if they prefer.

 

4. I prefer a max on IP (like 1350), but can be persuaded to leave it open.

 

I think no max with a H2H league is a dangerous mix for a league with inexperienced players. Lack of experience frequently leads to a few people who are less active. That makes it easy for a few active managers to really take advantage of the few teams that don't pay as much attention. I've run into it a lot of public hoops leagues and it can be annoying to watch people dominate in the counting stats because they churn through marginal players. In addition, a deep bench makes it easier to add/drop guys because the guys at the end of your bench will likely be of marginal value.

 

But I agree with cheapseats - if we decide on no max and a team has a bunch of injured or crappy pitchers, there should be no whining when they start burning through them.

[Tracer Bullet]

One other thing - my pet peeve with public leagues is league review of trades. Reason being, if you agree to a trade, for example, on Sunday, the league gets 2 full days to review it (so the rest of Sunday, and all of Monday and Tuesday), it will go through on Wednesday, and the guy will show up on your roster on Thursday. It's not a huge deal, but with commissioner review, the trade can go through on the day it is agreed to and the player will be on your team the next day.

 

I'm not looking for added power as commissioner. If a trade looks questionable, I can ask the league if they're opposed to it (either here or on the league page). I just hate waiting 4 days to get the benefit of a trade (it can be especially painful if you trade for a pitcher and he throws a gem for the other team while you're waiting to have him added to your team).

 

Just a thought.

[hawkcub]

I vote for H2H as their are many first timers. Also like the idea of max IP.

[Balsa]

* Roto please

 

*Max IP is a fine idea

 

*Don't really care about the bench

 

*Commish review is fine with me, I hated that trades took so long

[tkenm356]

Head 2 Head is all I like to play. While it takes away from the factor of your team just having a slump despite being overall better, it makes it seem just like real baseball. I'm not much for a points system.

 

5x5 is fine with me. Typically when I play it we have the offensive categories AVG, HR, RBI, R, SB, and K's to add a bit of strategy (like choosing whether or not to sit someone like Adam Dunn because he detracts points for his K's, despite his power). Same for pitching: ERA, W, L, WHIP, K, BB (works the same as K's for offensive players)

 

Really, as long as it's H2H I'll be fine with whatrever categories you choose.

 

I've never put a max on innings pitched... what difference does it make? Like what strategies would you use with that cap, I've never even heard of putting a cap on that.

[Tracer Bullet]

Head 2 Head is all I like to play. While it takes away from the factor of your team just having a slump despite being overall better, it makes it seem just like real baseball. I'm not much for a points system.

 

5x5 is fine with me. Typically when I play it we have the offensive categories AVG, HR, RBI, R, SB, and K's to add a bit of strategy (like choosing whether or not to sit someone like Adam Dunn because he detracts points for his K's, despite his power). Same for pitching: ERA, W, L, WHIP, K, BB (works the same as K's for offensive players)

 

Really, as long as it's H2H I'll be fine with whatrever categories you choose.

 

I've never put a max on innings pitched... what difference does it make? Like what strategies would you use with that cap, I've never even heard of putting a cap on that.

 

2 things - I would consider adding categories for the exact opposite reason. If you count AVG and Ks, Dunn is a pretty bad fantasy option. But if you throw in walks, weight XBHs more (2 pts for a double, 3 for a triple, 4 for a HR), and take out Ks - he's a great option. Rather than get into a category debate, I think 5x5 is better.

 

As for max IP - esp in deep leagues, it's pretty easy to just rotate in a bunch of fringe pitchers to bump up Ws and Ks (and to a lesser extent saves). There's a risk that you'll drop someone of value or that by doing this, it'll hurt your ERA or WHIP, but in really deep leagues, those fringe pitchers are nearly interchangeable, so the difference in ERA/WHIP isn't significant - certainly not enough to outweigh the benefit of the extra Ks and Ws.

 

It's not that big of a deal, but I don't think it's as uncommon as you make it out to be. Many if not most Y! public leagues cap IPs.

[tkenm356]

oh yeah, I forgot when I played we played with the SV category as well.

 

As I said, as long as it's H2H I'll be satisfied :)

[A New Era]

Cool! I've been looking around tonite for a fantasy league to join. Sure my friend does a payout league but I think they've started already anyway so. . .

 

Yes, I have NEVER played fantasy league baseball before and yes I think it would be alot of fun to play with posters here at NSBB!!

 

So please consider me IN!! (it's not too late is it? Please tell me I'm in.)

[A New Era]

Nevermind. :cry: I read through the whole thread after I posted. :cry:

 

great. have fun guys.

[MPrior]

Two things:

 

One - should we include GilesBros, but then cap it absolutely after that? I vote yes, given he just missed the cut and seems pretty excited. Everyone with an opinion chime in.

 

Two - as far as all the stuff we've been considering, I'm all for a standard game, given that many of us are new to it - so standard 5x5, even though it's stupid from an actual baseball standpoint, is fine by me (it also minimizes debate about which stats to include, which is nice). I'm pretty much okay with anything, though, so if everyone thinks differently, I'm along for the ride.

 

I like an IP cap, because I know I am NOT going to rotate pitchers in and out - I'd like a low-maintenance game, if at all possible, and the results should be about how your team does, not how much cheap micromanaging you're able to pull off. Again, if enough people disagree, no problemo, I'll be fine either way.

 

I don't care much about H2H or Roto. Whatever you guys think is best.

 

I'm all for commissioner review of trades - get it done quickly.

 

As far as spots, whatever's the standard is fine for me. Bench spots I'm not too concerned about. I vote we have two DL spots, not one, if that's a debate, though. Having more than one guy hit the DL at once is bad enough as it is. There's no reason to make it worse by having to "play" one of them.

[A New Era]

I vote yes for me. please please please please please.

 

I've read the whole thread. I know what you guys are talking about. You were discussing H2H vs. roto. leaning toward yahoo. I thought there was only 7 signed up, but found out there were 10 on page 2.

 

oh please don't leave me out. :cry:

[NCCubFan]

Two things:

 

One - should we include GilesBros, but then cap it absolutely after that?

Just FYI, Yahoo requires all H2H leagues (if that is what you decide to go with) to have an even number of teams. Otherwise one team wouldn't have an opponent each week.

[MPrior]

Two things:

 

One - should we include GilesBros, but then cap it absolutely after that?

Just FYI, Yahoo requires all H2H leagues (if that is what you decide to go with) to have an even number of teams. Otherwise one team wouldn't have an opponent each week.

 

Very good point. Things you don't think of when you've never played fantasy baseball AND you're stupid.

 

So we can either just stop at 10 or open up for him and one more (assuming we want to leave H2H open as an option).

 

Lastly, I just stumbled across this website of ESPN's. It looks like they're gonna start their own free fantasy hosting site. So I guess that's a possible Yahoo alternative, if you guys care.

[A New Era]

I'll stick around incase there is a way to fit me in. I hope it all works out.

[NCCubFan]

I'll stick around incase there is a way to fit me in. I hope it all works out.

If not, there will probably be other leagues started by NSBB members. There usually are a number of them each year; you can keep an eye out in this forum for people posting about starting leagues.

[Tracer Bullet]

I'll stick around incase there is a way to fit me in. I hope it all works out.

If not, there will probably be other leagues started by NSBB members. There usually are a number of them each year; you can keep an eye out in this forum for people posting about starting leagues.

 

Nothing against TheGilesBros, but I agree - there will be a bunch of these popping up in the next few weeks. The difference between 10 and 12 teams is about 40-45 players. That's kind of a big difference in fantasy terms. With so many new people, I'd prefer to keep the league more shallow.

 

But that's just my vote.

[Tracer Bullet]

Y! opens tomorrow, so I'll set up a H2H 5x5 league with a cap of 1350 on IP. The standard starters I listed above with 6 bench spots and 2 DL spots. Commissioner review of trades.

 

If anyone is terribly upset about that, post here. We're forming a league backwards here (usually you set up the league and then look for teams to join), so it's going to be difficult for everyone to have exactly what they want.

[cheapseats]

Y! opens tomorrow, so I'll set up a H2H 5x5 league with a cap of 1350 on IP. The standard starters I listed above with 6 bench spots and 2 DL spots. Commissioner review of trades.

 

If anyone is terribly upset about that, post here. We're forming a league backwards here (usually you set up the league and then look for teams to join), so it's going to be difficult for everyone to have exactly what they want.

 

Looks good to me. I can't wait to play.

[karenmac]

this is good with me too - do you need our yahoo id's to get things set up (or email address?). I'd be happy to PM to whomever is setting up the league if that's necessary.