Reelin' in the Years League -- Draft started

[tcochran]

Hey Tom, that was a good call on the salary cap. In reviewing the signup pages for the different seasons, I see there's been a gradual shift in the game, as it's grown.


We can have a DH league for all seasons, but the cap and penalty rules vary:

2001-02-03: $80M cap w/20% FA penalty

2004: $200M cap w/20% FA penalty

2005-to-now: $200M cap w/variable penalty choices (20% or 10% or 5-10-20%)


I think this means we can have the typical keeper league roster size from 2004 onward -- i.e., 40 total players w/25 on the active roster and free movement up-and-down. We would then shed 10-15 at the end of each season, prior to the annual draft.

Prior to 2004, we'll have to live with the $80M cap and 20% penalty rules, which limit both roster quality and movement. Perhaps we should have 30 total players w/25 active and then shed 10 at the end of each season?

[JMP1]

Would it be simpler just to start with 2004?

[tcochran]

I think we can probably adjust to the different rules, as we go along, right?

If possible, I'd like to go as far back as we can and play as many different seasons as possible.

Let me know if anybody seriously objects, now that we're aware of the different rules...

[tcochran]

In order to prepare for the league draft, I've been poking around the TSN/SOM site. There's actually a lot of information available, although it's not organized very well.

Here are the links to review the players available for the various years:

2001:
http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2001/draft/research.html?position_id=1

2002:
http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2002/draft/research.html?position_id=1

2003:
http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2003/draft/research.html?position_id=1

2004:
http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2005/draft/research.html?position_id=1

2005:
http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2006/draft/research.html?position_id=1

2006:
http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2007/about/research.html

2007:
http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/stratomatic/about/research.html?pool_id=2007

2008:
http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/stratomatic/about/research.html?pool_id=2008

[ggrover15]

1. tcochran - AZ
2. joekendall - NY
3. JMP 1 - PA
4. CATom - CA
5. ironwill1 - CT
6.ggrover - tx
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one question is this a live draft and if so how many players are we drafting. can we draft players that do not card until say 2004 season.

but count me in i love these leagues... also what about the stadium?

[padrenurgle1]

I'd love to do something like this, but having not done a keeper league, I just don't understand the mechanic. Can you answer a couple questions?

1. How do you ensure that your "keepers" fall under the following year's salary cap? You draft a 2001 rookie who later becomes a star, his salary balloons...

2. Please (briefly) explain the draft mechanic for the league.

2. For something that would last this long (years), decisions about rules should be made in the interest of all the teams...keeping 15 seems much better than 25, it lets you keep all your brilliant choices but gives the rest of the league a chance to improve the middle of their rosters.

Thanks!

[tcochran]

To ggrover: Welcome aboard! Yes, this will be an online draft, "live" in the sense that we each make our own choices (not autodraft), with the initial draft likely to take a couple of weeks.

Players to be drafted must have a card for the initial season in which they are drafted -- and yes, we will be drafting stadiums, too.

To padrenurgle: Yes, the first 3 years will be a bit of an extra challenge, with the $80M salary cap, won't they? Hey, at least we'll know how the salaries will vary, in advance -- no surprises, waiting for the next year's cards to come out!

As to rules, a number of us play together in other keeper leagues. I will edit the Summer-Winter Keeper League rules for these changed circumstances and publish them later this morning.

[padrenurgle1]

Allrighty. I'm going to sign up, at least until I understand how the draft works. If it's a live draft that requires me to be available for an extended period at a specific time, I may need to bow out. I'll take my name off the list to make room for someone else if that's the case. Thanks!

1. tcochran - AZ
2. joekendall - NY
3. JMP 1 - PA
4. CATom - CA
5. ironwill1 - CT
6.ggrover - tx
7. padrenurgle - CA
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[tcochran]

Hey padrenurgle, welcome aboard! [b:110e2a4a33]Please select another lottery state, however, since CA has already been picked.[/b:110e2a4a33]

The draft should not be too burdensome, I believe. I've been in 3 other keeper league drafts, typically getting 2 or 3 picks per day.

If you plan ahead, you can submit proxies to be entered at the appropriate times. Otherwise, just check in every few hours to see if your turn has come up yet.

See full set of rules below, in the next post.

[tcochran]

We will begin with the 2001 season and then move forward, one season at a time. It is anticipated that we will play almost continuously – with only a brief break between seasons – and thus play 4 seasons each calendar year.

The TSN/SOM software has evolved over the years, so we will need to start with one set of rules and then adapt as the seasons progress. Significant game engine rule changes include:
2001: $80M salary cap, 20% FA penalty, minimum active roster of 23 players, including at least 8 pitchers
2002: $80M salary cap, 20% FA penalty, minimum active roster of 23 players, including at least 9 pitchers
2003: $80M salary cap, 20% FA penalty, minimum active roster of 23 players, including at least 10 pitchers
2004: $200M salary cap, 20% FA penalty, minimum active roster of 23 players, including at least 10 pitchers
2005 and later: $200M salary cap, variable FA penalty, minimum active roster of 24 players, including at least 10 pitchers

LEAGUE SETUP
1) 12 teams with salary cap $80M for the 2001-02-03 seasons, and then increasing to a cap of $200M after that.
2) Roster moves limited by the game engine for the 2001-02-03 seasons and then becoming unlimited after that.
3) Free agent release penalty of 20% for the 2001-02-03 AND 2004 seasons and then decreasing to 10% after that.
4) We will use the DH.
5) Divisional assignments will change each season. Initially, divisions will be determined by draft order: 1-4-7-10 East, 2-5-8-11 Central, 3-6-9-12 West.
6) Divisional assignments for each subsequent season will be determined by the final win/loss records of the previous season, with the four best teams in the East division, the following four in the Central, and the remaining four in the West.
7) The league Commish shall maintain a record of all drafts, transactions and player movements and provide a copy to any owner on request.
8) All ties between teams will be broken by the previous season's regular season head to head win/loss records. If this does not break the tie, cumulative regular season win/loss head to head records will be used.
9) All rule changes must pass by a super majority of 8 owners or more.
10) There are no specific rules against "roster dumping." Owners no longer in a pennant race can use their best judgment in determining the makeup of their team, provided that all general roster size limits are met. However, it is expected that all owners will act in the best interests of the game.


ROSTERS
1) When we have an $80M salary cap, each team may carry a 30 man roster. When the cap increases to $200M, rosters may expand to a 40 man limit.
2) Each team must carry no more than the roster sizes stated above. In the event a transaction sends an owner's roster above the limit, said owner is allowed 1 day to release as many players as necessary to get back to the limit. However if an owner has fewer than the limit due to uneven trades, the owner cannot bring the roster back to the full level until the next annual draft.
3) During the 2001-02-03 seasons, the regular season begins with at least 23 players on the active roster (up to a maximum of 25). In subsequent seasons, the regular season begins with a standard 25-man active roster. The remaining players on the roster are the sole property of the team that drafted them and may not be used by any other team. These players are considered to be in your minors, even though teams will have to “release” them into the Free Agent pool, since the TSN/SOM site is not set up for keeper leagues.
4) During the 2001-02-03 seasons, player movement will be restricted by the game engine. With the 20% penalty in place, it may not be very likely that players will be called up from a team’s minors.
5) From the 2004 season onward, there will be no limits to transactions between an owner's major and minor league rosters, except those internal to the SOM game engine.
6) Also from 2004 onward, in the event of injuries, it will not be necessary to release the injured player. A replacement may be called up for the duration of the injury, but he or another player must be returned to the minors -- "free agent" status in the TSN/SOM system -- before the next series. Managers are responsible for doing this on the honor system.
7) Each team may add an additional 3 players to their active MLB roster (to a maximum of 28 players) after game 132 has been played. During the 2001-02-03 seasons, of course, this is limited by the game engine’s $80M salary cap.
8) Prior to each night's play, each manager will make sure his/her team has the appropriate total number of players on the active roster; i.e., no more than 25 or 28, depending on the number of games played in the season, with the exception (from 2004 onward) that injured players need not count against such total at that moment in time.
9) All teams must meet SOM roster requirements at all times.


INITIAL DRAFT
1) The initial draft is a 31 round live draft, the order to be determined by state lottery results.
2) Managers will select the state lottery of their choice when they sign up. Draft order of the first round of the initial draft will be from lowest-to-highest, based on the most recent Daily 3 winner for each state as at 8AM in the Eastern U.S. time zone on the first day of the draft.
3) Rounds 1 through 30 are for players.
4) Round 31 is for the stadium. Order of stadium selection will be the reverse of that of the first round of the initial draft.
5) Only those players who were issued SOM cards for the 2001 season and appear on TSN's website are eligible for the initial draft.
6) The initial draft is serpentine.
7) Draft picks are tradeable.
8) All drafts – initial and annual -- will be conducted with no clock for the first round and a 2-hour clock for subsequent rounds. If a manager fails to draft within the 2 hours, the next person is free to make a pick. The manager who was skipped may make his/her pick at any time, choosing from the players not yet picked.
9) The clock will run seven days per week from 10AM until 10PM in the Eastern U.S. time zone, until the draft is completed.
10) If possible, the draft will be completed online via the somdraft.com website. Use of that site's proxy selection program is encouraged, both so that managers will not miss their chances at the earliest possible draft slots and so that the draft will be completed as quickly as possible.
11) If an alternate draft platform is used, then the commish will accept proxy emails and enter them into the system at the appropriate times.


ANNUAL FREE AGENT DRAFT
1) A non-serpentine free agent draft of at least 10, and up to 15 rounds, will be held each year after the playoffs are concluded.
2) Only those players who were issued SOM cards for the current season and appear on TSN’s website are eligible for the draft.
3) Draft order is determined by the previous regular season win/loss records: Reverse order, worst-record first, NFL style. Ties between teams will be handled as in the League Setup rules.
4) Prior to the draft for the 2002-03 seasons, all owners must drop enough players to bring their rosters to a maximum of 20 players, allowing for 10 draft picks. Owners can drop below 20 players, but must not have fewer than 15 prior to the draft.
5) Prior to the draft for the 2004 season, when roster size expands, all owners must drop enough players to bring their rosters to a maximum of 25 players, allowing for 15 draft picks. Owners can drop below 25 players, but must not have fewer than 20 prior to the draft.
6) Prior to the draft for all subsequent seasons, all owners must drop enough players to bring their rosters to a maximum of 30 players, allowing for 10 draft picks. Owners can drop below 30 players, but must not have fewer than 25 prior to the draft.
7) There is no requirement for a team to drop a player who is not issued a card in the new year's set. For example, if a star player from 2002 is injured in 2003 but will be able to play again in 2004, then that player can remain on a team's roster while using the 2003 card set.
8) Player drops must be announced prior to the beginning of the annual draft.
9) All owners must have full rosters at the league limits (30 or 40, depending on the season) upon completion of the annual draft.
10) There is no clock for round 1 of each annual free agent draft. All subsequent rounds will operate with a 2-hour clock, as in the initial draft.


STADIUM DRAFT
1) Each player will draft a stadium during round 31 of the initial free agent draft.
2) Stadium draft order in the initial draft will be the reverse of round 1 of the initial free agent draft.
3) Players may trade stadiums with other players at any time, except while a season is in progress.
4) The final round of the annual free agent draft will be for stadium selection. Only those managers who have released their current stadium prior to the beginning of the annual draft will be allowed to draft a new one.
5) If a team’s stadium is replaced in real life (like Yankee Stadium), then that manager will have the option of keeping the new replacement stadium or releasing it to draft another.
6) Stadium draft order in the annual draft will be the same as for players.



PROSPECT DRAFT
There will be no prospect draft in this league, until we have played all of the older seasons. When we get ready to play a brand new season, along with all other keeper leagues, then we will adopt prospect draft rules similar to those in common use at that time.


SUPPLEMENTAL DRAFT
There will be no supplemental draft in this league, until we have played all of the older seasons. When we get ready to play a brand new season, along with all other keeper leagues, then we will adopt supplemental draft rules similar to those in common use at that time.


PLAYER MOVEMENT
1) Trading players is allowed and encouraged. Trades must be posted by both owners on the league website before they can be enacted. The trading of draft picks is also authorized. Unbalanced trades (two for one, three for two, etc.) are authorized, provided that the team roster limit is maintained at all times. In the event of an unbalanced trade, the owner of the team whose roster exceeds the limit is allowed 1 day to release player(s) to get back to the limit.
2) You cannot trade draft choices that you do not own. This means that if you trade a 9th round draft pick, you must release as many players as necessary to insure that you will have a 9th round pick. For example, you have a 40 man roster, and you have acquired extra 2nd, 3rd, and 6th round draft picks during the year. You have also traded away 7th and 9th round draft picks. This means you must release at least 12 players prior to the draft to insure that you will have a 9th round pick. If you plan to continue drafting beyond round 9, you will have to release an additional player for each subsequent round. You cannot drop more than 15 players.
3) There are NO free agent pickups during the season. This means that if you wish to do a 2-for-1 trade, the team getting back one player does not get to replace the player they lost on their roster until the annual draft.
4) Regular players can be released from the full (30 or 40 player) roster only for the following: a) Pre-draft release prior to annual free agent draft; or b) to bring a roster down to the 40 man limit, following an unbalanced transaction.


PLEASE BE AWARE OF THE TSN/SOM GAME ENGINE RULES:
1) During the 2001-02-03 AND 2004 seasons, you must have at least 23 players at all times. From the 2005 season onward, you must have at least 24 players at all times.
2) You may have no more than 28 players on your active roster.
3) You must have at least 13 and no more than 17 hitters -- and at least two of those hitters must be eligible to play catcher.
4) You must have at least 8 (in 2001), 9 (in 2002) or 10 pitchers (from 2003 onward) and no more than 12 pitchers.
5) You must have at least 5 pitchers who have "starting pitcher" endurance ratings (e.g., S7).
6) You must have at least 1 pitcher who has a closer endurance rating (e.g., C4).
7) After game 142, rosters cannot be changed.
8) At the end of the 162-game regular season, the 3 division winners plus the wild card team advance to the 2-round playoffs. The wild card team is the team that has the best record among teams that did not win their divisions.
9) The playoffs consist of a semi-final series (best of 5 games) and a final series (best of 7 games).