Anyone else looking for the new cards?? LOOK inside page 12

Sat Feb 14, 2015 12:55 pm

Sat Feb 14, 2015 1:05 pm

martinez is a nice card. i knew he was no defense wizard behind the plate but those defense ratings are unbeleivable. almost like he can't catch a pitch

Sat Feb 14, 2015 1:07 pm

scorehouse wrote:martinez is a nice card. i knew he was no defense wizard behind the plate but those defense ratings are unbeleivable. almost like he can't catch a pitch

Yeah no way i put him behind the plate, with the throwing rating, plus arm and that pass ball rating. 1b DH only.

Sat Feb 14, 2015 2:02 pm

Even if nobody ever puts Martinez behind the plate, there is no way anybody is getting that card on picks 3-25.

Sat Feb 14, 2015 3:34 pm

l.strether wrote:Even if nobody ever puts Martinez behind the plate, there is no way anybody is getting that card on picks 3-25.

Which would be a concern if I played auto draft leagues anymore.

Right now all I have to do is figure out how to pitch to him as I don't own him in a single keeper league.

Sat Feb 14, 2015 3:47 pm

I wasn't talking about anyone's concern, Niners. I was simply prognosticating, and there's no way he's going to last to pick three in many autodrafts.

As to keeper leagues, in 13 years playing on-line, I've never quite seen the appeal of playing league after league--with essentially the same team--against the same managers . You'll have to explain to me the particular benefits of that sometime.

Sat Feb 14, 2015 3:59 pm

it's my understanding that most people play in the keeper leagues because they know there no chance in hell of you joining!

Sat Feb 14, 2015 4:03 pm

If that's really true, those players have my sympathies. If I didn't want to play with someone, I'd just start a private league. I certainly wouldn't condemn myself to 4 or more of them in a row.

I, myself, am fine playing with people I don't like. I've even played many leagues with an ignorant racist like you, Scorehouse...

Sat Feb 14, 2015 4:09 pm

Sat Feb 14, 2015 4:30 pm

l.strether wrote:I wasn't talking about anyone's concern, Niners. I was simply prognosticating, and there's no way he's going to last to pick three in many autodrafts.

As to keeper leagues, in 13 years playing on-line, I've never quite seen the appeal of playing league after league--with essentially the same team--against the same managers . You'll have to explain to me the particular benefits of that sometime.

How about now, I have a little time to kill.

First, it's never the same team, if it is, you are doing a poor job as GM, and the appeal is simple, it's the closest thing to being the general manager for an MLB franchise there is IMHO.

My leagues, and most other too, are set up as follows:

Each team has a 40 man roster drafted in the inaugural season using the current cards. Unique stadium, some are unleashed some aren't. We use unlimited cap, as the idea is to maintain your team as well as you can long term. We use the online game to run the games, standard rules, most use DH. Your 25 man roster has to be composed of only guys from your 40 man no other free agents allowed even if they aren't drafted. You may shuttle guys from your 40 man to your 25 man as often as you wish hence the main reason for the unlimited salary cap as currently is no way to not have some sort of drop penalty. Most leagues will allow a roster expansion of some sort late in the season for "september call-ups", but not all.

Most league play at least twice with each years set of cards, after season one, the division are reassigned with the 4 playoff teams going into one of the division assuring that at least 2 playoff teams are different from season 1 to season 2.
There is usually some sort of mini draft between seasons one and two, a 24 or 36 pick draft that requires each team to cut between 1 and 3 players to participate.

Additionally most leagues also have a prospect draft or two during the season allowing for minor league players without cards to be drafted. Most leagues allow for a total of between 2 and 5 prospects between one or two drafts to be picked between each year. There is usually a time limit, 2 years being the most common, on how long you can hold a prospect as a prospect before he needs to be promoted to the 40 man roster even if he doesn't have a card. The idea being it forces turnover of the rosters.

When the new cards come out, each league will hold a spring draft of between 10 and 15 rounds, each team has to cut a certain number of players, usually between 10 and 15, every spring to participate in the draft. Divisions are again reassigned and the process starts again.

The best thing about being in a keeper however, TRADES. If you are the wheeler-dealer type, the guy who is always lamenting there isn't enough trades in auto leagues, then you should get in a keeper. EVERYTHING is tradeable, ( in most league) players, draft picks, future draft picks, prospects, prospect picks, future prospect picks, everything. I have seen teams go from 59 win seasons and literally because of trades and having a little luck in having the prospects blossom, turn around the next season and become 100 win juggernauts.

Keepers are also a big reason why I prefer not to have a separate unleashed set, and would prefer if all players were included. If you drafted that top prospect two years ago and he comes up and tears the cover off the ball for a hot September, the last thing you want is to have to wait a THIRD year to use the guy. But that's a separate topic.

I suppose the real reason I prefer keepers though is it they were my introduction to the game itself. When I started playing, it wasn't "lets play a game", it was "I know this league you could get into if you like baseball". We had 8 guys with 40 man teams ( didn't draft from the entire MLB though only 16 of the teams) and uncarded prospects ( remember when Chipper Jones was a SS

), pretty much the same set ups.

We had to schedule face to face times to play, which was a pain when juggling schedules and trying to remember pitching rotations, and was the reason the league didn't last. Keeper leagues here are the closest thing I've had to that experience, it's the way I enjoy the game, not simply playing to play, that's secondary to building a successful team ann franchise that is good over several seasons.

Also I LOVE drafting. It's the best part of fantasy sports (another hobby of mine) and with keepers I have lots of opportunities to participate in drafts.

I should say there is a downside, but it's only for one person in the league, and that's a lot of paperwork for the commissioner. It's a time consuming job and I wish Strat would do more to help keeper leagues in general with utilities built into the games to track trades, larger rosters, create drafts etc. I know there are a lot of net play and CnD keeper leagues as well that have the same issues and it feels sometimes, like Strats most loyal customers are ignored by the company.***

That's the keeper story in a nutshell. If you want more specifics on rules, look at the very first post in any of the following leagues in the individual chat thread: NAKL, USKL 3, GMKL, Unleashed Keeper.

***added after initial post

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