A New Perspective

[kaviksdad]

I've been here pretty much from the start, and would be incredibly bummed if this game folded, for whatever reason. And because I feel that way, I applaud Litangel for bringing this out for consideration.

I have to admit that I am extremely frustrated with site performance these past few months. As a customer I expect a quality, functioning product for the money I pay - and I've spent more than I'd care to admit. There have been times these past few weeks where I've seriously thought of bagging the whole thing and giving up. Not that I want to do it, mind you. I've had so much fun both playing the games and meeting people that I consider friends. I would liken leaving to parting with a great old car that just can't run consistently.

I would be more than willing to act as a mentor to new players, to help out with some type of marketing program - through Facebook if that would work. I'd also consider doing other things that could help keep this great game up and running.

I truly love this game, and would miss both the game and my friends here terribly. I have often feared that this game/site might be too much trouble for TSN handle - the costs vs. benefits might not be enough to keep the game running. I'd hate to see that. But it also occurred to me that perhaps we could run the game - perhaps through some sort of revenue sharing program with a partner that would deal only with online SOM. Would that be economically feasible? Is there enough hard core interest in the members here to do it - perhaps under a subscription basis? I throw this out there to see what others have to say.

That being said, I'd prefer for things to remain the way there are - except with solid site stability. I think the vast majority of the long time vets here are more concerned with a having a viable, reliable site and a solid member structure, and a strong commitment from TSN/SOM than any sort of monetary compensation. We do appreciate the hard work you guys put in, despite our frustrations, and I for one would also offer to do what I could to keep my game up and running.

Kaviksdad

[Detroit-Tigers]

[quote:d14eb6351c="bernieh"]2. Your mentor idea is dead on, and we are actually embarking on that initiative. Tonight one of the things I'm working on is cleaning up that Contact Us link to get rid of all the extraneous junk, and I'll eventually include directions to a special upcoming section of the forums where beginners can seek help from volunteer experts.[/quote:d14eb6351c]

I don't know if any of you remember, but in 2003 when I started as a rookie, I put together a rookie league and recruited experienced managers to provide feedback on teams. I remember I got Penngray, and he helped me tremendously. I went from 79-83 for my first team to 88-74 (losing in the finals)

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2002/team/team_other.html?user_id=7559

Also, I love the 0% drop leagues. This would increase the ability of rookies to adjust and might be fun to try and do match-ups (until someone steals of of your players you were switching out).

[keyzick]

My very first team won the championship...had no clue what I was doing, just basically picked the names of players I liked. That proved to be the worst thing that could've happened, cause then I just floundered sub .500 for 3 years with no plan or strategies around my teams.

Got involved in theme leagues and on the boards - finally - starting with the 06 set. Learned a lot, and still learn a lot from everyone's posts.

I think a "Before you get started..." type of welcome when they sign up could go a long way. Sort of echoing everything that people have posted in this thread, but also important to remember to format something like that in a bulleted, or more "chunky" display...basically give it a format that someone will WANT to read, not just endless paragraphs (like the post I'm writing now...lol), which are great, but if you're just getting started, you may not read.

Seriously though, condensed and informative to get them some skills, and then lead up to the longer more detailed skills/strategies, should they pursue them.

[CHARLESBELL]

One of the things in my view that inhibits the online game from becoming more popular is the lack of interaction between managers in a league.

I know that's a factor of both playstyle and the number of leagues an individual is playing, but the fact remains that in a great many leagues there is virtually no communication between managers.

Another factor is that the reality of the online game is that once a team is fielded there really is not much that can be done with it in terms of player personnel.

I have a few suggestions along those lines. I wanted to provide ideas on how to keep managers engaged and active, and give managers with poor teams some tools and hope for improvement. These could be hard and fast rules or selectable options:

* Late season call ups - Like the September call up date, managers could be allowed to expand rosters late in the season. It could be a mini-draft from the FA pool, or the waivers process could be used. Teams could be ranked based on performance. There would also be a salary increase for the team. Another way it could be done is to establish a "farm system" where additional players are selected at the beginning of the season along with the rest of the players, paid for out of the same salary cap selected for the league. These players could be added to the expanded roster at call up, or replace existing players, whatever seems feasible.
* Another element of farm teams is that this could be a pool of players that could be called up any time, replacing a current roster spot, with 0% FA penalty. Call ups could be limited to one call up a week, or series, or quarter season, or for injuries, however we wanted it.
* Another advantage of farm teams with an "any time" call up is that it would facilitate trading. I don't know how many time a multi-million dollar deal could not be struck because one manager or the other was $10k short. By calling up farm hands with different salaries, trade flexibility would be improved.

* Trading is difficult and mostly not worth it, when it should really be a lot of fun and another way to engage your fellow managers. In addition to the farm team thoughts above, here are some more:
* Allow trades that are "close" to working. For example, let's say we use a 0.5% difference. Say a trade involves four players worth $10M total. 0.5% of $10M is $50K. So a manager can be short up to $50K in salary and the trade would still go through. Teams in that situation would have a negative value. If we wanted to be very strict about how often it could be used, a rule could be set that any player transaction involving a team with a negative balance would have to result in that team becoming non-negative in order to execute the transaction. Or at least reduce it.
* How about being able to trade an injured player at a reduced salary, depending on value and number of games?

Just some thoughts. Which I'd better get posted while the site is up.

[keyzick]

[quote:95341c244d="charliewb"]* Another element of farm teams is that this could be a pool of players that could be called up any time, replacing a current roster spot, with 0% FA penalty. Call ups could be limited to one call up a week, or series, or quarter season, or for injuries, however we wanted it.

* Another advantage of farm teams with an "any time" call up is that it would facilitate trading. I don't know how many time a multi-million dollar deal could not be struck because one manager or the other was $10k short. By calling up farm hands with different salaries, trade flexibility would be improved.

* Trading is difficult and mostly not worth it, when it should really be a lot of fun and another way to engage your fellow managers.[/quote:95341c244d]


I really like the Farm Team pool draft idea, with that 0% FA penalty you mention.

[LMBombers]

[quote:e8d774f9ed="charliewb"]Another factor is that the reality of the online game is that once a team is fielded there really is not much that can be done with it in terms of player personnel. [/quote:e8d774f9ed]

You can't say that about the mystery card games. That is the best part of them IMO. You HAVE to stay active and follow your players closely everyday and figure out if you have your star player's stinker card or is he simply in a slump. Fun stuff!!! Come try it out. :D

[voovits]

[quote:81fadad792="charliewb"]
* Allow trades that are "close" to working. For example, let's say we use a 0.5% difference. Say a trade involves four players worth $10M total. 0.5% of $10M is $50K. So a manager can be short up to $50K in salary and the trade would still go through. Teams in that situation would have a negative value. If we wanted to be very strict about how often it could be used, a rule could be set that any player transaction involving a team with a negative balance would have to result in that team becoming non-negative in order to execute the transaction. Or at least reduce it. [/quote:81fadad792]

For what it's worth, I absolutely love this idea, or any kind of reasonable variation of it. This would certainly increase trading.

Also for what it's worth, everyone should listen to what LMBombers said about the mystery card game. =)

[RICHARDMILTER]

The Detroit Tigers said:[quote:28a332c7de]
Also, I love the 0% drop leagues. This would increase the ability of rookies to adjust and might be fun to try and do match-ups (until someone steals of of your players you were switching out). [/quote:28a332c7de]


I think that is a great idea for new GMs. Is that an option with the auto draft leagues? Or are you talking about the Live Draft Leagues?

[RICHARDMILTER]

charliewb said:[quote:5bfe9026dd]One of the things in my view that inhibits the online game from becoming more popular is the lack of interaction between managers in a league.[/quote:5bfe9026dd]

I agree with this sentiment, and I think it is a shame, but can we really do anything about it?

I also love the late season call ups idea! That would be great if we could call up between 5 and 10 guys for between 5 and 10 million. Anything to make the rosters bigger and incorporate more roll players , specialized players, and marginal players giving the manager more choices during the season.