旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � INTRODUCTION TO THE DRAFT � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Each team will consist of a clearly defined roster of players. Player positions, of course, are the defining element. Perhaps nothing in the entire year is more important than the draft. The players on your Opening Day roster will do more to shape the character of your team than any amount of wheeling and dealing - because, remember, you can't get something for nothing. You can alter the hand you've been dealt, but unless you're especially shrewd, aggressive, and lacking any conscience (ok, I'm raising my hand), your team's overall level of talent won't change drastically. Unfortunately, almost tragically, we cannot hold an interactive draft. It is simply impossible. The times and distances involved with our participants dictate that. It is the fundamental purpose we created our "on-line" Exec-PC fantasy league. So, that being said, let me say that our off-line draft is NOT a compromise. It's the way it is, and that's that. Necessarily, it's going to be a little more random than some of us might like, but it's not a perfect world. If it were, I would've finished better than 6/12 last year. Anyway, not to worry. First of all, we're all drafting under the same rules. Secondly, our Draft Master, Scott Segrin, has outlined a method that I think will work like a charm. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � OUR TEAMS � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� The team roster composition will be the following: 1 Catcher 2 Catcher 3 1st Base 4 3rd Base 5 Corner Infield (1B or 3B) 6 2nd Base 7 Shortstop 8 Middle Infield (2B or SS) 9 Outfield (LF, CF, or RF) 10 Outfield (LF, CF, or RF) 11 Outfield (LF, CF, or RF) 12 Outfield (LF, CF, or RF) 13 Outfield (LF, CF, or RF) 14 Designated Hitter 15 Starting Pitcher 16 Starting Pitcher 17 Starting Pitcher 18 Starting Pitcher 19 Starting Pitcher 20 Relief Pitcher 21 Relief Pitcher 22 Swing Pitcher (SP or RP) 23 Swing Pitcher (SP or RP) As you can see, this gives us a 23-man roster. So we're close to the actual rosters. The last position player on a team is usually a light-hitting defensive specialist of some kind who wouldn't help our teams anyway. The same type of uselessness is applicable to the tenth pitcher on a real team. If we had a tenth pitcher on our fantasy team, he wouldn't hurt you too much if he hardly ever threw. But after you see the scoring method we'll be using, you'll see why he wouldn't be of much help. Pitchers are sometimes worth more to a team in real life than in fantasy baseball, especially that role pitcher who sees two batters every third day. Only if our League ends up quite short of twenty teams will that tenth pitcher be of any value. With twenty teams, you might be forced to carry a Roy Smith or a Darren Holmes, and who needs that? (Digression: If you ever took Economics 101, you might recall the term "structural unemployment." It's a reality factor economists consider. You see, even in the most thriving economic times, when job vacancies are plentiful, you will always have unemployment. Why? Because worker skills are never perfectly suited to the market, and in very prosperous times, they are invariably inferior. Worker skills simply cannot meet the demands of industry. Well, after compiling a year's worth of free agent lists in an 80% Rotisserie League, I can tell you that there is a severe case of structural unemployment in the MLB Pitching Corps. There are a zillion entry-level workers (i.e. rookies) who just can't cut it and are optioned up and down like an AC sine wave, journeymen who can't adapt to a changing marketplace, a bevy of skilled and able workers milking disability, and an older generation being forced into retirement because of diminished skills. The job vacancies are there, but the competent bodies needed to fill them aren't. Last year in the American League, I estimate that 5%+ of the pitching ranks was in a CONSTANT state of flux. I'd say 20% of the rest was comprised of guys who wouldn't be pitching if the Cubans were allowed in the Majors. That's adds up to 25%+ of the American League. So even in an 80% fantasy league, where only 77% of the available pitchers are used, team owners are pitching guys who really suck. And it sure seemed like more than 2%.) If you don't understand the previous paragraph, don't get scared away. If fact, it's probably better that you don't. -Ed. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � THE RESERVE SQUAD � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Oh, and what to do with the remaining seven players? Those players will comprise the RESERVE SQUAD. At the beginning of the year it will consist of 5 pitchers and 3 hitters. Once the season begins, and you've determined your starting line-up, the composition of your reserve squad may change as you wish. For instance, as extreme and unrecommended examples, the reserve squad can consist of eight pitchers, or eight catchers. Outside of players on Major League disabled lists, the reserve squad can never contain more than eight players. All unqualified player movement will occur only between the active team and the reserve squad. As many unqualified reserve promotions (and associated demotions) can occur per week as you wish. However, a player can only be outrighted to the reserve list three times. A player who begins the season on the reserve roster still has all of his options. After three times, that player is "out of options," and must be waived. A player waived in this manner can only be replaced on the active roster by another reserve player. The waived players' spot cannot be filled until the reserve draft. If an active player becomes injured, released, suspended, enslaved by Amazon Women, or otherwise rendered inactive, he can be replaced either by a reserve player or a free agent (see the section on free agents immediately following). Players who are injured (meaning that they are on the major league team's disabled list, 15 or 60 days) are placed on the reserve squad but do not count against the seven-man restriction. So how do you change the player composition of the reserve sqaud? Answer #1: with three supplemental free agent drafts held throughout the year. We'll use dates suggested by Front-Office rules for this: May 15 All-Star Break Labor Day Note that these dates are general. The exact date will fall on the Monday closest to these dates. It will be conducted in a pure reverse order draft, based upon team standings, with the last place team getting first choice. There will be no rotation in these drafts. Draft choices will not be ordered by player position. Draft choices will be submitted to the League Office on a list. A rank-order list may or may not be provided; you may be required to list the players in order of preference. A ranked list of your replaced reserve squad must also be submitted, in order of replacement priority. Only the players listed on the "replacement list" will be replaced. Since we are working with submitted lists, the submittal deadline will will be 12 AM marking the beginning of that Monday, which is Sunday night to most of us. With that said, the draft list deadlines will be the midnights marking the days of: May 18 July 12 Sept 6 Further rules will be posted on this matter as we approach deadline time. Answer #2: Another way to change the composition of your reserve squad is through trades. With a reserve squad, multi-player package trades are possible. Without a reserve squad, if you wanted to trade Trevor Wilson for Edgar Martinez, you'd have to throw in an extra pitcher and 3B to keep the roster balanced. Though this is only a minor inconvenience, it just doesn't seem right. Now we have a lot more flexibility. Example: you trade OF Jose Canseco and 2B Robby Thompson for SP Jack McDowell, RP Brian Harvey, and OF Phil Plantier. Plantier replaces Canseco on your active roster. Now you need to replace 2B Thompson, but the only infielder on your reserve list is Scott Leius, who is only eligible for 3B. But that's ok, because before you made the trade you knew that you could move Gregg Jefferies from 3B to 2B, and then slide Leius into your the now vacant 3B spot. Your worst active starting pitcher, maybe Charlie Nagy, gets demoted to your reserve list, to make room for McDowell. If your reserve squad was at full capacity before the trade, Nagy takes Leius' spot on the reserve list. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � FREE AGENTS & INJURED PLAYERS � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� The free agent pool consists of any undrafted players, or players not on an active or reserve roster. These players are all available for the three reserve drafts. They can be acquired for only one other purpose: filling a roster vacancy created by the the injury of a player. Since we have the convenience of time-stamped messages, free agents will be allocated on a first-come first-serve basis. Only a player that is officially listed on the disabled list can be replaced in this manner. A pitcher who misses a start because of a blister, or a Chris Brown/Eric Davis type of player that is sidelined every two games with hangnails, psoriasis, or tension headaches cannot be replaced by a free agent (they can however be demoted to the reserved list). We'll be following the standard Rotisserie convention of "linked" players. That is, an injured player and his free agent replacement are, in effect, one player. They cannot both be active at the same time. When the disabled player is activated, either he or the linked free agent must be waived. A disabled player must be activated by his fantasy team within two weeks of his activation by his major league team. If he is not, he is automatically waived. This is one area where a very casual owner may be hurt. Also, a linked free agent can never be reserved. If he is to be replaced by a reserve player, the linked free agent is waived. A reserved player that is replacing an injured player can never be replaced by a free agent, unless he himself becomes disabled. In that case, he can be replaced by another reserve player or a free agent, and so on and so on. The reasoning behind the linking rules, and the automatic waivings, is to prevent hoarding of players. The reserve squad drafts are the only method we have of introducing mid-season parity measures (or is it parody?), so it is important that those with injured players haven't profitted from misfortune. Sure, the method is still subject to abuse. I could promote a disabled player off my reserve list and replace him with a superior free agent. Well, Front-Office has a rule to defeat that abuse. A disabled reserve player activated specifically for replacement must spend two full stat cycles on the active roster (that's zero production, folks), and his free agent replacement can only be selected on the final day of the second stat cycle. But let's alter the situation a little bit. Let's say that Mike Henneman goes down. Lo and behold, Norm Charlton is out there. So I pick him up for the short haul, and he does well for me as a reliever. But then Henneman comes off the DL. I have no choice but to waive Charlton. The league bottom feeders can profit from this if they are paying attention, as we will see in the next section. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � THE WAIVER WIRE � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Players who are waived can be claimed by another team. This is NOT on a first-come first-serve basis. Rather, the lowest team in the standings that claims the waived player shall receive him. The extra bonus here as that the claimed player can displace any like- position player on the active roster, or any player on the reserve squad. The displaced player is in turn put on waivers. All players on waivers will be included in the weekly reports or otherwise posted in the Sports Conference or the Mahoney Collection. Players will remain on waivers for one week only. After one week, they will be re-allocated into the free agent pool. The original team can reclaim a player off of waivers, but only if no other team claims that player. The original team can claim rights to a waived player, but they are last rights. The waiver wire is VERY important in fantasy baseball, and should bear close observation. Last year in my AL Rotisserie league, the following players appeared on waivers and played very productively (or will next year) for their new owners: Bill Wegman, Mike Pagliarulo, Mike Gardiner, Bill Gullickson, Steve Olin, Wilson Alvarez, Edwin Nunez, Mike Timlin, and Charles Nagy. That was in an 80% league; in our loaded league the names will surely be even better. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � TRADES � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Trading players has been discussed in some detail already, ususally by example. Basically, you can trade any number of players from your team in exchange for any number of players from another team, AS LONG AS THE POSITION REQUIREMENTS ARE MET. This means that your active roster must always have an active or disabled player at every position. If a trade is unbalanced, a pitcher for an outfielder for instance, eligible players from each team's reserve squad must be available to fill the vacated spots. In trades where one team receives enough players to exceed its active and reserve squad roster limit, players of the team owners choice can and must be waived to bring the total number of players back down to 31 total players. There is another kind of unbalanced trade: one in which one club, for whatever reason, trades talent(s) for crud(s). Sometimes this owner has been manipulated or swindled, fed bad info or has a weak mind. Or blame it on simple ignorance. Well, we can't let extreme cases of this occur. After all, we are emulating major league baseball, not the Cleveland Indians. Occassionally we will have to pull a Bowie Kuhn and negate trades for the better good of the league. I never expect this to happen. But we ought to be prepared. Should we allow someone to trade away Will Clark for Mark Lemke? Especially if Will's going to a contending team? It will take a clear-cut and vocal majority ( > 50%) to negate such a trade. I suspect this will never happen though. It just has to be said -just in case- it does happen.