Live draft options/information/tips

[teepack]

This year, the Tour will have two options for live drafts. We will continue to use the [url]www.somdraft.com[/url] site, and we can also use TSN's new live draft application. I have not yet used TSN's live draft application, by the way.

We have had problems with live drafts in the past, namely with managers not checking in and/or not leaving proxies. If you participate in a draft that uses the somdraft.com site, please make sure you leave plenty of proxies and check in regularly. The proxy system is designed to keep things moving and works really great. I love the proxy system if used properly. It can really move a draft along for you.

If it is important to you that you see every pick that has been made before you make your next pick, then you should use the TSN option, unless you are in a position where you can check in with the draft about every 30 minutes to see where it stands. The TSN system requires all managers to pick a time, and then you all show up and do the draft in a matter of hours - just like a fantasy baseball draft.

If you have never used the somdraft.com site before, here are some helpful tips.

If you do not have a USERID, when you sign up for a live draft, whoever is creating the draft will create an ID for you. It will be your TSN ID name, but it will not have any spaces, and the password will be "test" without the quote marks, of course. Once you get in the site, you will be able to change your password.

The proxy system is a little complex, but once you get used to it, it is quite easy and intuitive to use. You have two ways to use the system: You can set proxies for each round, or you can set groups of proxies.

[b:46b413c311]Round approach[/b:46b413c311]

You select a handful of players that you want and rank them in order of preference for each round. Once it is your turn to pick, the site will automatically give you the highest ranked player left on your list FOR THAT ROUND. If you put five players in your list for your first-round pick, and they are all gone when it is your turn to pick, the computer will not automatically skip down to your second-round picks. You would have to come back and make a first-round pick manually. You can list players in more than one round so in case you have a guy lower down your first-round pick, you could also put him in your second-round and third-round groups, if you wanted.

[b:46b413c311]Group approach
[/b:46b413c311]
The group approach allows you to put players in groups, and then you can have a little more flexibility with your picks. Let's say you have the No. 10 pick in the draft, which means you would have the No. 3 pick in even-numbered rounds. In the first two rounds, then, you would have the 10th and 15th overall picks, and you want to get a SS and a starting pitcher with your first two picks. Let's say that you think there are only two SS worth a first-round pick - Jimmy Rollins and Derek Jeter. And there are 3 starting pitchers you think worthy of a first-round pick - Peavy, Carmona and Sabathia. You would set one group of consisting of Rollins and Jeter. You would then mark Jeter as "delete if group picked," which means that if you get Rollins, then the system deletes your selection of Jeter so you won't wind up with two SSs with your first two picks. Then you would set the next group up with Peavy, Carmona and Sabathia. If you get either Rollins or Jeter with your first pick, that group is exhausted, and so when it came time for your next pick, the system would move to your next grouping. However, if Rollins or Jeter were both gone when it was your turn to make your first pick, the sytem would automatically move to your second grouping and pick from among the 3 pitchers you have listed. Again, you would rank Carmona and Sabathia as "delete if group picked" so that you wouldn't wind up with two pitchers taken with back-to-back picks.

I like to use the Round approach in the early rounds, because usually you are just taking the best player available in those rounds. But then as you get farther down the list, you might decide to start picking specific positions for a round, but there aren't a lot of options available, so you start using the groups option.

[b:46b413c311]One other important tip:[/b:46b413c311] Make sure you create your SOM team BEFORE the draft, and you put the players into your roster as you are drafting so you will keep an eye on how much money you have available. In an 18-round live draft (17 players and one stadium), you can only spend $76 million, because you have to leave $4 million to fill out the 25-man roster so you will have a team that is under the $80 million mark. Every manager is responsible for keeping up with his salary cap.

If anybody else has any tips/suggestions to share, please feel free to do so.

[Paul5757]

If TSN's draft application is used, will the $80 million cap still be in effect?

If you use TSN's application, an uncapped league is created. It would be very easy to accidentially go over $80 million if it is used.

[Willie Randolph]

I can't figure it out, maybe I'm slow?

[teepack]

Yes, the $80 million cap is in effect. You would need to create your team separate and start filling out your draft card as you select players. That way you'll always know how much salary you have left.

[SteadyEddie33]

so does the calculator in the somdraft site have a glitch or something? Seems to be working fine..but the recommendation to enter the league first has me curious..