Newbie thoughts on this game

[newmish]

This will probably come across as a whine post, but I thought maybe a noob's position would be welcomed here.

I've played on trial league, and that was fun, bought a noobie 2 pack. Drafted on 99 league and one 2010 league.

My thoughts on the draft however are far from kind. I read and understood the rules, so I'm not going in blind, but I still think it is the wrong way to have the drafts. I'm talking about not moving up to your next pick.

For instance, my 2010 team that just drafted: http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/stratomatic/team/team_other.html?user_id=340778

My draft order was Hamilton, Tulo, Miguel Cabrera (all missed), Hanley, Choo (again missed). I missed my top 3 picks, and well as my 5th. There essentially went the middle/top of my potential lineup. If the draft followed a standard protocal, I would have gotten, again likely, at least 1 or 2 of them, instead of missing all of them.

What are your thoughts, is this something that should be changed. Having to know exactly whom to draft and where is a game within a game, and in no way favors noobs. I understand some of the established guys might not want a change, but seeing as there is an effort to wrangle in new people, I would think changing the draft would go a long way in helping out in that aspect.

[Mr Baseball World]

I agree which is why I avoid autodrafts as much as possible.

[JOSEPHKENDALL]

The autodraft is definitely a huge disadvantage for anyone that doesn't play very much or is new. I personally keep track of my draft list for each stadium. I find that I can tweak it as needed to come up with some type of draft strategy to get the best players as possible.

[Valen]

I agree 100% and lobbied for just that. You would not believe the objections raised by some on these boards. Appears some depend on the disadvantage losing a coin flip for a draft choice imposes and do not want a fair draft.

[theClaw]

I purposely draft guys higher than most would. Let's say a player most guys would have no higher than 3rd or 4rth I take 1st and 2nd. I draft my top 6 or 7 spots this way. Nothing worse than having your team a disaster going into waivers.

[JOSEPHKENDALL]

Add your thoughts to Mr. Baseball World's post in the ATG forum:

http://forums.sportingnews.com/viewtopic.php?t=626358

[keyzick]

I'm with you on the flaws of the autodraft...there is a TON of room for improvement, and precedent set from the thousands of fantasy baseball and football leagues that run much more logical autodrafts (ie, everyone on "autopick").

That being said, I still find it fun and challenging, but would not even give the slightest objection to a total overhaul of the current system

[mille1212]

Take this for what it's worth as I was in the same boat as you (think we're in the same league even)... Played the trial. Liked it and purchased the two credit special.

Then, we went exact opposite directions...

I drafted and got 23 out of the 25 picks that I wanted because I didn't know what I was doing with the stadium differences or how to really even read the years on the cards to get a gauge on their +/- worth for that matter (mystery year adds complexity, but I like it).

I made a trade before the draft which helped get me closer to what I needed and got me cash to spend.

Then, came the most important part of the whole process in my newbie opinion (maybe because I drafted so poorly), the waiver (and the time immediately after). I spent alot of time prepping for the four picks I made during the waiver and I was able to get two of those four. I held back my biggest move as I wanted to see what happened when the dust settled. Then, I was sitting at my computer the moment the waiver completed. I was able to make quite a few key transactions within the first 1/2 hour or so after the waiver hit (as teams kept adding and dropping players). I have continued to refine things even up to a few hours ago.

My team is not perfect for sure, but I do think I have made it competitive enought to have some fun. We'll see if I'm right or wrong on that shortly (lol).

Bottom line is if I was not able to spend the time researching my moves or more importantly if I had somewhere to be at the time the waiver hit (physically couldn't be at my computer), then the whole process would have been much more dissatisfying to me.

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/stratomatic/team/team_other.html?user_id=340286

[newmish]

The issue to me is that this system in inherently flawed. You could, theoretically mind you, get 0/25 picks. The fact that this could even be possible shows that the system is not only flawed, but incorrect. Especially since getting players that fit your ballpark is such an important part of the game.

Without having a traditional type of draft, where once your 1st pick is taken, it moves onto your next, you lose any chance of having a real equitable draft. You instead have the game, within the game. Many may like that, but it is a huge drawback to any new player.

[Knerrpool]

It's an interesting discussion. SOM does a pretty good job of explaining how the draft will work going in, so I never gave it much thought. But, yes, I guess I can see how it could be considered unfair. I think the main thing they are trying to accomplish is that you end up with a "comparable" player at every position. I don't know whether the way it runs now is the [i:1a6477e544]best [/i:1a6477e544]way to accomplish that or not. But, you know that everyone is in the same situation as you, and part (actually, a lot) of the enjoyment I get out of the game is finding ways to compensate for those players that I didn't get in the autodraft.