Fantasy Baseball 2010

[DMCarson]

Almost everyone I know and personally it makes sense to me that pitching will be very deep next year. For that reason I believe it will be very competitive and we shouldnt worry about it offsetting fielding(batting). I have looked at many of out past match up scores and if you select scoring breakdown you can see that believe it or not in some ways batting weighs a little heavier so eliminating one batter(adding utility removing 2/SS and 1/3) it should make it very even. My pitching I claim to be my strength but just looking at a couple match ups my batting averaged about 300 and my pitching averaged a little below 250. Dropping one batter shouldnt be a problem. The only thing that shouldnt change in regards of real life depth is RP, I only added two because it will spread the closers out to everyone more which will cause drafting or choosing the right ones important. Does anyone have an opinion on lowering one of the RP spots to 2 from 3? I only suggested because of the suggestion I thing SLUG made in increasing saves to 10 pts and also raising "hold" pt value, if so I definitely believe we should give about 4 pts or 5 pts to quality starts. Any thoughts since saves with the IP and K pts ends up working out to be worth 10 already?

In the beginning of the year when we were reviewing the way pitching originally was I thought of something that could simplify scoring is making each "out" worth 1 pt making an inning 3 pts instead of 2.1 pts and maybe hits stay at -1 and earned runs -2. The ER being -2 would off set increasing the innings. I like how its set up now so bringing this up I was just curious if anyone had an opinion of its current set up.

I am a NL fan too, I love seeing a pitcher who can hit(kershaw), but like you say with that "challenge" of fielding the position... its part of it, it should be a challange and believe it should stay, I dont think a fourth outfielder is good, besides most DH are OFs and if not right away they work out to be after earning eligibility.

I like the divisions, just for fun, make it feel a little more real than just one big pool of teams feels kind of bush league and the divisions(or AL/NL kind of) they can be utilized by having the top 3 of each division advance. I really like the first of each division getting that initial bye. The sound of one week playoff weeks sounds great but I know that it will also cause strength to those who might randomly get hot, two weeks makes it more competitive but getting hot affects just like in real life so maybe 1 week would be fair and reward smart moves and hot pick ups. I believe we want this to be more like real life. Maybe the two divisions are based on the results of this year the teams are split and would help ensure that not one league is stacked or more competitive...
National League:
1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th

American League:
2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th

 

[MMTG]

Thank you James shields!!!

 

[MMTG]

Also, on a side note I asked a good friend Alfred if he'd like to take over the North Burb brewers spot. He's a big baseball fan and would, in my opinion, be a great fit for next year. So I'm vouching for him, and I hope the rest of the league would welcome him as well.

I understand that some may "worry" about me or Carson trying to pilfer the teams players as we head into the playoffs. That"s not my intention at all. Just wanted to throw that out there so there'd be NO conflict of interest. He'll be looking to set up his keepers for next year.

 

[JohnnyO]

I'm all for it! We tried out another outsider who was an acquaintance of mine at the beginning of the year without a second thought about it.

I'll send him the invite.

 

[MMTG]

I'm all for it! We tried out another outsider who was an acquaintance of mine at the beginning of the year without a second thought about it.

I'll send him the invite.

Cool! At least we won't have too worry about filling a spot next year

 

[JohnnyO]

Cool! At least we won't have too worry about filling a spot next year

Exactly. Love it when a plan comes together.

 

[MMTG]

Yo Johnny! What happened to the "trophies" for this past week...I thought I was High krausen. I'm sure you're busy

 

[JohnnyO]

Sorry about that. It's been insanely busy at work and at home. I hope to get your package out of East Coast brews very soon. I still haven't tracked down the final piece I was looking for.

 

[JohnnyO]

PLAYOFF TIME!!!

In week one, we have New England Stout Troopers (me-#3 seed) facing off against PEI Yankees (Adam - #2 seed) and Carson Urban Achievers (David - #1 seed and monster year) facing the Desert Rat Squad (Lin - #4 seed).

It is a two week playoff format. To those of you not in the playoffs, you are in head to head battles in the consolation ladder.

Again, I'd like to thank everyone for a great inaugural year. I had a great time with it, and look forward to tweaking the league to make it exactly what we want (no bye weeks, better scoring system, etc.)

 

[MMTG]

What a way to end the year...what a letdown for my team.

Congrats those in the play offs, it's gonna be an interesting month watching you guys slug it out! Can't wait for next year....

 

[eagle61]

I still can't figure out how I made the playoffs! What was the tie breaker?
And now my reward is to play Carson for two weeks? Good Lord!

On a side note...Othon, did my brews make it to you OK? I was a little unsure of the packaging and you never responded to my private message.

 

[jds]

OK, you bums. Since the FBB season is winding down, who's up for some fantasy Hockey?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f19/2010-2011-fantasy-hockey-whos-194615/#post2261585

 

[MMTG]

I still can't figure out how I made the playoffs! What was the tie breaker?
And now my reward is to play Carson for two weeks? Good Lord!

On a side note...Othon, did my brews make it to you OK? I was a little unsure of the packaging and you never responded to my private message.[/QUOTE


Not sure what the tie breaker was, but it worked out for you. Not sure what happened to the email i sent you thanking you for the homebrews, but I have enjoyed sampling them!

I'm in for fantasy hockey!

 

[eagle61]

I would be up for fantasy hockey too.

 

[jds]

Rotowire can blow me.

From Cory leubke's popup:

Luebke lost his major league debut Friday, allowing four runs on five hits over five innings against the Rockies.
Spin: Homers by Jason Giambi and Troy Tulowitzki did Luebke in. Luebke is not worth using in NL-only leagues.

So two power hitters light him up in his MLB debut, and suddenly he's persona non grata?

He had the right answer, though. Six innings of shutout ball against the Dodgers tonight, 2 hits, 1BB, and 7K's. He may have just made my keeper list. Too bad I'm my division's basement dweller.

 

[MMTG]

Rotowire can blow me.

From Cory leubke's popup:


So two power hitters light him up in his MLB debut, and suddenly he's persona non grata?

He had the right answer, though. Six innings of shutout ball against the Dodgers tonight, 2 hits, 1BB, and 7K's. He may have just made my keeper list. Too bad I'm my division's basement dweller.

Oh Leubke, YOU KILLED US!!!! Damn rook put on a pitching clinic....I drove down to San Diego to watch the Dodgers play a terrible game and lose @ PetCo park:cross:

I love Petco! It's perfectly placed in the gaslamp district of SD. There's tons of bars/restaraunts within walking distance. Scored some sweet field level tickets behind home plate(12th row) and enjoyed the game with the GF.

 

[JohnnyO]

Othon, my apologies for not getting your "spoils" off to you yet.

Had my entire family up from Long Island last weekend for a barbecue, and have been away since Thursday of this week.

It'll ship out by Tuesday the latest.

 

[MMTG]

Othon, my apologies for not getting your "spoils" off to you yet.

Had my entire family up from Long Island last weekend for a barbecue, and have been away since Thursday of this week.

It'll ship out by Tuesday the latest.

Yeah, Yeah,yeah! You should include a few extra brewskis since I've waited so damn long! haha!!! Lucky for you I'm up to my ears in beer this week thanks to a local brewfest http://ocbrewfest.com/585-2


No worries, family comes first,-trust me I know!

 

[DMCarson]

took me a little bit to get back on here but i remember reading that a tie breaker would be hashed out based on the R column...I always thought it woul be used for match ups but also probably used in deciding ranking between two teams like DRS and NOLA, it also happened with the perlicks who also had more Runs and was ranked higher.

I still can't figure out how I made the playoffs! What was the tie breaker?
And now my reward is to play Carson for two weeks? Good Lord!

On a side note...Othon, did my brews make it to you OK? I was a little unsure of the packaging and you never responded to my private message.

 

[DMCarson]

In the spirit of the season wrapping up, batting and pitching awards to be given out, Reply to this post with a sort of personal report card.

Who was one of your more risky surprise picks(draft or early season) who came through for you? pitcher/batter

Who was one of your expected low risk picks who weighed your team down or didnt quite perform to expectations? pitcher/batter

What was your most beneficial trade?

Which trade made you second guess its value the rest of the year?

 

[jds]

In the spirit of the season wrapping up, batting and pitching awards to be given out, Reply to this post with a sort of personal report card.

Who was one of your more risky surprise picks(draft or early season) who came through for you? pitcher/batter

Who was one of your expected low risk picks who weighed your team down or didnt quite perform to expectations? pitcher/batter

What was your most beneficial trade?

Which trade made you second guess its value the rest of the year?

Thanks for putting this together. I'm already looking forward to next season, especially now that my hometown Rockies are mathematically eliminated from the postseason.

My best draft pick? Ubaldo, by a mile. I'd read interviews that he'd been working on mechanics during the offseason, and we've all seen how good he turned out to be, especially in the 1st half.

Best Trade? Probably Taylor Bucholtz for Tim Lincecum. I think I definitely ended up with the upper hand on that one.

Worst draft / Biggest Disappointment? Hanley Ramirez. Not that he's a bad player: Not at all. However, with a #2 draft choice, I could have done better, evidenced by the fact that some 25+ players outscored Ramirez this season. Hopefully, he'll get his elbow healthy in the offseason.

As for bad trades? I don;t think I made one. I didn't trade much this season: one trade acquired Taylor Bucholtz for Andre Ethier, and one acquired Lincecum for Bucholtz. I'd rate both as decent trades.

Looking forward to seeing you guys next season!

 

[DMCarson]

In the spirit of the season wrapping up, batting and pitching awards to be given out, Reply to this post with a sort of personal report card.

Who was one of your more risky surprise picks(draft or early season) who came through for you? pitcher/batter

Who was one of your expected low risk picks who weighed your team down or didnt quite perform to expectations? pitcher/batter

What was your most beneficial trade?

Which trade made you second guess its value the rest of the year?

I think everyone would agree that it was a lot of fun and we appreciate all the hard work NEST (John ORourke) did to setting and keep everything going, posting trophys. With the changes everyone has suggested Im sure it will make his job easier in deciding certain things if sometime between now and next draft everyone spend an active week on here or on the espn league page postin and replying to how and what changes everyone would like to see. Also If people dont partake in that discussion Im sure everyone would also agree they have no grounds for complaints when things change. So for my polling answers...

RISKY PICK SUCCESS:
I would have to say my biggest risk to reward: either Alex Gonzales or Vlad Guerrero because I wasnt sure if he would improve that much with the park factor. I was not able to be present for the draft so I can only comment on where I adjusted the preranked list but I was most familiar with him because of seeing him slump when dodgers would play the angels but it worked out. Also Cliff Lee worked out.

LOW RISK BOMBS:
Ben Zobrist, he wasnt that bad, and he definitely helps that first match up of the playoffs but he wasnt all that was expected. Joe Nathan...

GREAT TRADE:
Definitely Car Go

SECOND GUESSED TRADE:
This depends on if Lee and Reyes contribute to my down fall during these final few days and of course next year because wainwright like kershaw has been shut down right before his last start but Im hoping looking forward wainwright will have another great 20 win year.

 

[eagle61]

Slight variation on the categories:
Biggest surprise pick: 2B Martin Prado picked in 16th round. A league leader for most of the season in many batting categories.
Biggest Bust: OF Jacoby Ellsbury picked in round 2. OK, he has been hurt for most of the year and that is what makes him a disappointing pick. Didn't realize he was so fragile.
Questionable trade: I traded my 4th round(?) pick OF Nelson Cruz for OF Hunter Pence. Pence is by far the steadier of the two and I felt like that would be better in the long run over a very streaky player like Cruz. Cruz was on the DL at the time of the trade and I think he went on the DL twice more before the end of the season. If he hadn't gone to the DL again, this might not have been a good trade for me.

 

[JohnnyO]

Thanks for the kind words, David. I'm looking forward to tweaking the league rules/scoring to make it an even better experience for all next year.

As for a season review, I'm lucky to be in our first HBT World Series considering that my 3rd round pick, Grady Sizemore was yet again fragile this year. Add to that the dumb decision to pick up Mark Reynolds in the fourth round who fell off the map this year.

I made two big trades this season. One of which has been paying off so far, one of which was a bust.

First was trading Wainright for Cliff Lee and Jose Reyes. I think that Wainright has much more upside than Lee, but adding Reyes to the deal was too sweet to pass up. When healthy, Reyes can be a #1 or #2 pick. Add to that my fandom of the mets, and the deal was too hard to pass up.

The second trade was one where my mets-emotions got the better of me. Trade Oswalt and Randy Wells for Barry Zito and Jason Bay. Zito was red hot at the time, and got ice cold VERY quickly afterward. Bay was on the verge of heating up, when he ran his face into the fence in LA.

All in all, though, there is nothing I can complain about considering I'm only 10 points behind David with three games to play. If you guys stopped paying attention, keep on eye on the scoreboard. Should be a pretty exciting finish to the season.

BTW good luck David.

 

[HoppyDaze]

my season wrap up

Nice FA pick-ups: (where were you guys?)
Adrian Gonzalez
Tori Hunter
Chris Young
Delmon Young
Denard Span
Jeff Niemann

I only added this part because if it werent for these pick ups I would have not been competitive at all.

Disappointments:
Brian Roberts (I called that when I saw the auto draft results wtf)
Aramis Ramaris (dropped)
Brandon Webb (dropped)
Johnathon Broxton
Carlos Quentin (dropped)
Jimmy Rollins

Nice Surprises:
Tim Hudson
David Price

Only made one trade:Tim Hudson for Ricky Romero (very late in the season) I like this trade for keeper purposes

 

[DMCarson]

Wanted to state that the new playoff set up looks awesome. Curious if its top 6 overall or top 3 from each Division?

Also curious about the draft order, I ask not because Im placed at 12 right now which im sure this concern seems to be why I am asking but because if this is how we are doing this(seemingly the reverse of the previous years draft) then that would mean next year im 1st again?, not a bad thing lol but didnt think everyone would be happy with that. I have a suggestion that Othon(lipstick city LA) and I were talking about that would hopefully encourage people who dont make the playoffs to keep trying during the consolation playoffs even after they dont have a chance to place in the top rankings.

Option 1:

(Taking last years post playoff results(final results):
Starting with the rankings of the consolation round then the reverse rankings of the championship bracket http://games.espn.go.com/flb/tools/finalstandings?leagueId=45708)

1 BridgeTown(joined right before playoffs, had least ability to place in consolation)
2 Furies
3 GooseBoners
4 LipstickCity
5 5280 Sluggers
6 Portland Perlicks
7 Bayou Brewers(unsure of when joined and opportunity to place in consolation)
8 Hickory BrewCrew(unsure of when joined and opportunity to place in consolation)
9 Desert Rat Squad
10 PEI Yankees
11 Carson Urban Achievers
12 New England Stout Troopers

Option 2:
(we dont worry about the consolation round and them trying and we just do the reverse results of the Final Standings: http://games.espn.go.com/flb/tools/finalstandings?leagueId=45708)

1 Bridgetown IPA Junkies
2 Hickory Brewcrew
3 Bayou Brewers
4 Portland Perlicks
5 5280 Sluggers
6 Lipstick City LA
7 Dirty South Goose Boners
8 Baseball Furies
9 Desert Rat Squad
10 PEI Yankees
11 Carson Urban Achievers
12 New England Stout Troopers

Option 3:

Another random draft order drawing until we have the permanent playoff set up like the newly organized one. (Top 6 make it 4 to the consolation round)

 

[DMCarson]

Also curious about having both a DH and a Utility spot?

Also what is the difference between P and SP

what is the pitcher spot not to be confused with starting pitcher?

 

[eagle61]

I don't like option 3 at all, this is a keeper league. Of the other 2, I like Option 2 better. In option 1 a team that just missed the playoffs could have the #1 pick? Doesn't seem right to me. If you want to keep teams competitive, maybe go with a lottery of the 3 or 4 teams with the worst record, or maybe a winning % floor for the #1 pick?

As far as a utility position and a DH position... get rid of the DH. If we want to keep the same number of active positions as last season... go with 2 utility spots.

I am going to assume that the difference between SP and P is it forces you to carry SPs so you can't load up on relievers (wasn't an issue last season with SPs getting sooooo many points). Also it keeps a team from loading up on SPs. The only thing I really disliked about last season was the practice of dropping and adding starting pitchers to gain more points. Not pointing fingers at anyone since most of us did it to varying degrees (me included) and it was legal, but I would like to see something to curb that like lowering the number of weekly waiver transactions to like 2. Still not sure if that solves the problem or am I the only one who thinks this is a problem?

 

[JohnnyO]

Also curious about having both a DH and a Utility spot?

Also what is the difference between P and SP

what is the pitcher spot not to be confused with starting pitcher?

The Draft Order was determined based upon rankings from the entire season. I don't believe it took into account records from the playoffs. If you'd all rather it be based upon standings post-playoffs, we can do that.

One RP slot was changed to a P slot. P slot allows the manager to have any type of pitcher in that active slot (SP or RP), as far as I can tell.

I don't like option 3 at all, this is a keeper league. Of the other 2, I like Option 2 better. In option 1 a team that just missed the playoffs could have the #1 pick? Doesn't seem right to me. If you want to keep teams competitive, maybe go with a lottery of the 3 or 4 teams with the worst record, or maybe a winning % floor for the #1 pick?

As far as a utility position and a DH position... get rid of the DH. If we want to keep the same number of active positions as last season... go with 2 utility spots.

I am going to assume that the difference between SP and P is it forces you to carry SPs so you can't load up on relievers (wasn't an issue last season with SPs getting sooooo many points). Also it keeps a team from loading up on SPs. The only thing I really disliked about last season was the practice of dropping and adding starting pitchers to gain more points. Not pointing fingers at anyone since most of us did it to varying degrees (me included) and it was legal, but I would like to see something to curb that like lowering the number of weekly waiver transactions to like 2. Still not sure if that solves the problem or am I the only one who thinks this is a problem?

Interesting. I am completely in favor of dropping the DH. Having 2 Utility slots is a nice idea too. How does everyone feel about that?

I'm also in favor of looking at limiting the amount of weekly waiver claims. I used that strategy to my favor many times last season, and is the major reason I took the trophy. However, I can see how it can become a problem. Anyone else in favor of looking at this?

Lastly, I started a thread for this year's league here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f19/2011-hbt-fantasy-baseball-season-222460/

 

[DMCarson]

I don't like option 3 at all,

lol, Wasnt really a serious proposal more of a push to see if we can make it a little fairer for our new league members in some way.

Also it keeps a team from loading up on SPs. The only thing I really disliked about last season was the practice of dropping and adding starting pitchers to gain more points. Not pointing fingers at anyone since most of us did it to varying degrees (me included) and it was legal, but I would like to see something to curb that like lowering the number of weekly waiver transactions to like 2. Still not sure if that solves the problem or am I the only one who thinks this is a problem?

At first thought I agreed because it definitely takes a lot of time to pick up and drop guys and plan out the week to try and manufacture a win.

But then after thinking more about it, Those with "good" SP's for the most part wont be dropping their star Sabathias, Lees, and Lesters, so the points that a star pitcher like them can make would possibly match that of a team who wasnt fortunate enough to draft solid SPs they could just throw out there, or even in my position last year: to make up for saves with the lack of RPs(from drafting 2 IR closers dumby me).

It takes more time but I do think it is an important part of the strategy in head to head offsetting it from roto.

I was just looking at the rules again and its 7 acquisitions total and 12 pitching starts. With the change from SP to P that means if you have 5 SPs in those spots only 5 of them can start on the same day, plus maybe you have 2 more on your bench, there goes almost half your pitching starts for the week. You could keep the acquisitions at 7 and maybe drop the pitching start limit to 10? or 11? Only the luckiest guys would have a 2 start week out of all 7 of the SPs he can have on his team. He would have to pick which 10 of the 14 possible starts he wants to trust in and thats without any pitching acquisitions on that very lucky week. On a bad week maybe only 2 of his pitchers have a 2 start week: thats 9 total starts already without a single aquisition.

The Draft Order was determined based upon rankings from the entire season. I don't believe it took into account records from the playoffs. If you'd all rather it be based upon standings post-playoffs, we can do that.

no problem I didnt think of that(reg. season standings) I had it in my head it was from the first draft order. Its up to everyone else and their opinion because it would only move me by 1, maybe if more people have input on if we care about people in the consolation bracket continuing to try?

One RP slot was changed to a P slot. P slot allows the manager to have any type of pitcher in that active slot (SP or RP), as far as I can tell.

I like that, Theres not many closers out there than you can actually trust in getting saves, did holds go up in point value?

Interesting. I am completely in favor of dropping the DH. Having 2 Utility slots is a nice idea too. How does everyone feel about that?

Sweet

I'm also in favor of looking at limiting the amount of weekly waiver claims. I used that strategy to my favor many times last season, and is the major reason I took the trophy. However, I can see how it can become a problem. Anyone else in favor of looking at this?

See my novel above

Lastly, I started a thread for this year's league here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f19/2011-hbt-fantasy-baseball-season-222460/

Ill try and copy this to the new feed.