by cirills » Tue May 09, 2006 8:10 am
Ok gang, here's how I see it.
According to our Original Thread in the Old Forum we agreed to go with an English Premiere League System. Unfortunately, for some of us, I don't think we realized just what the hell that meant at the time. :roll:
We also agreed to change it after we had played out the first year which was to have included TWO seasons, but of course we only ended up playing one.
The major dissents that I have read to this have come mainly from two fronts -- AFDickie and Kaviksdad.
Af wondered why a) he wasn't in the East and b) there was only one team moving per division.
The answer to both THOSE questions is the divisional structure system of the English Premiere League System (which I googled and researched today). It is exactly how FD described EXCEPT for his flip flop of east and West.
KD wants a structure that allows the Draft Order to become the divisonal alignment for the sake of clarity. True enough that will apply to the FIRST season but NOT to the Supplemental Draft or the Second season in each year. Also, our overall standings or the bonus points that determine them do not have to and should not have to determine our Divisions.
My take on this issue is twofold. Whether or not we understood it at the time we agreed to a system. Now finally understanding that system, I like its merits. Over the long haul it promotes a structure in which the top teams will resemble the best teams. I know that Bubba Hotep recently described a third alternative based on long term standings but that too creates a heirarchy that I don't think we need to have in our divisional makeup. As far as movement is concerned, how many teams move in a given season from one division to another isn't a huge concern of mine. Heck, if we were keeping as close to the tradition of playing REAL baseball as much as possible we would keep our diviions intact -- which would breed healthy rivalries in my opinion and bring in the strategy of playing to beat the teams in your divison since you would have an acute knowledge of their team.
But, the English Premier System DOES provide for movement and the Central Division actually changes out two teams (50% turnover) each time. The EAST only changes one because the TOP team has nowhere to go and the WEST division only one because the BOTTOM team has nowhere to go (which is how it should be).
I certainly know that I will be motivated to NOT be a regular player in the West and I don't think I should end up there if I happen to have one bad season of unlucky rolls and injuries (which I would if we did it on Straight Standings).
With slightly less turnover we would have some semblance of divisonal rivalry while also providing a system that will allow for movement in an upwards fashion, creating another side goal of achievement.
Thus, not only am I endorsing the system we agreed upon I am installing it so that we may proceed and load our leagues in.
However, we will not simply "flip-flop" the scenario FD described but actually BE CONSISTENT and do it the way it should have been done.
We will also do it after EACH SEASON so that we get as much movement as possible.
Here's how it works:
[b:026f29d272]EAST = A Division
The Division winner stays (no place "up" to go)
Middle two teams stay put
The bottom team in this division moves "down" to B
CENTRAL = B Division
The Division winner goes "up" to A
Middle two teams stay
Bottom team goes "down" to C
WEST = C Division
Division winner goes "up" to B
Middle two teams stay
Bottom teams stay as they con't move down any further
Goal: End up the Top (EAST) division, stay out of the bottom (WEST) division.[/b:026f29d272]
Our Final Standings from our last season were as follows (Our new owners have been subbed in for the ones they replaced):
Final Standings: USKL1
EAST
Detroit-Tigers 97 65 .599
fowldawg 86 76 .531
Ninersphan 85 77 .525
bigmahon 74 88 .457
CENTRAL
Ineluki 104 58 .642
Stoney 91 71 .562
Bubba Hotep 69 93 .426
sandlotshrink 60 102 .370
WEST
AF Dickie 93 69 .574
kaviksdad 76 86 .469
nythawk 72 90 .444
Cubit/Qk 65 97 .401
Thus, using these standings and the above formula we wind up with the following:
[size=22:026f29d272][b:026f29d272]EAST
Ineluki
Detroit-Tigers
Fowldawg
Ninersphan
CENTRAL
AF Dickie
Stoney
Bigmahon
Bubba Hotep
WEST
Kaviksdad
Nythawk
Cubit
Sandlotshrink[/b:026f29d272][/size:026f29d272]
[b:026f29d272]I am going to create the league right now and the EAST teams listed above may start joining asap.
I think this system provides for enough variability over time to satisfy those who want that, while also providing some stability for those who don't.
But MORE importantly, IT IS what we agreed to (thus providing us with stability AND consistency), it has now been correctly applied, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, it allows us to proceed forward now with the playing of our league.
When we address the possible changing of our homeparks after season 3 we can readdress how and if that should affect Divisional Realignemnet.
But for now, this provides us a system that has [i:026f29d272]elements[/i:026f29d272] of all those mentioned, AND ALLOWS US TO MOVE FORWARD.[/b:026f29d272]