Strat-O-Matic Baseball Players Championship 2015 (Rules)

I believe this all started due to my team in a regular 2015 league. Here is the link to that team:

http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/1396953

I am also playing in the mystery tourney, so I was not even paying attention to my salary percentage, just trying to field a better team. And so far I have succeeded. After losing 11 of the first 12, and 15 of the first 18, I have gone 25-26 since. Not great but closer to respectable. I can see both sides of the argument, but I honestly think that most of us work to hard to waste money by "tanking" a team. One man's "Salary dumping" is another man's honest attempt to make their team better. I don't consider my moves here as salary dumping. If you look at the players I dropped, none of them were even close to their 2014 numbers.

What would be my alternative at this point. Sit and let a bad team go on as is? Quit paying attention to the team and just "let it ride", ignoring injuries and match-ups because my hands are tied on making any more moves. There is really no incentive to continue monitoring the team. I have been in leagues where this has happened. And locking the team essentially does the same thing. To me, this is a worse scenario for all then someone who is honestly trying to improve there team. In my opinion, this would also be considered as a much worse version of "tanking". Who's monitoring these people? And what kind of advantage do I gain by being in a division that has a team that the manger can't even control their team? The Barnstormer tournament seems to be a great success without these type of rules.

I have done no research, and, quite frankly don't have the time to do so. I honestly mean no disrespect to anyone, just sharing my personal experience.

If necessary, maybe we could go to hard $10 million as the limit. Is it possible that the fine folks at Strato could add some technology that would not allow a player to make any more moves when they get to the thresh hold? That way there would be no reason to lock them out. Again, my only concern is that people will quit on their teams, which will also give managers in their division an unfair advantage.

Again, no disrespect to anyone, just my thought...

I plan on playing in the PC 2015 tourney and abiding by the rules as set forth. Good Luck to ALL !!!

ashleyjoe,

Thx for the post, I appreciate it.

The heart of the argument is where is the compromise? You suggest dropping no more than $10 mil, but 88% isn't a far reach from 90% either.

And what folks do in autoleagues to improve their team really has little bearing on a tour event spanning many leagues. So there is something of a judgment call to be made here. I totally get having some roster flexibility. The question is how much? I would like to point out some really pertinent situations from the 2014 tour, but I am not comfortable posting someone else's disastrous season. But if you look, they are there. I'm sure each manager can say they were doing their level best. But that doesn't help you, competing for points in another league, watching teams go 50-112 and giving those wins away.

So it comes back to "Where is the compromise?" If we have to go back to a 2001 autoleague to claim it's not 90%, than I believe 90% is a pretty good place to try for this year. If we find evidence to the contrary, we can always move it up or down for next season.

I agree it's a slippery slope. And you have clearly posted the rules, so if people don't want to compete, that's their prerogative. I plan on playing and hope I draft much better then the team I have in the "common" league, or least I hope my drafted players perform much better. If I had made no moves, hoping things would turn around, I feel like I would have essentially given up. It is my goal to surpass at least two teams and not have the worst record. Take' em down one at a time!!!

My only concern is that mangers will abandon their teams when they reach the threshold. I've seen leagues where managers have had two players, both with over 10 games injuries never change their line-ups, they just "let it ride".

To me that is far worse than giving up salary, in what I agree, in most cases, is a desperate attempt. But at least it 's an attempt.

And mangers who are in a division with a player that has abandoned their team gain a great advantage.

To be honest, I think we are making a little much of this. I don't think the percentage of players who near the threshold will be that great. I also don't think there are many people who would join the tour and abandon their teams. But I believe (i have no actual facts) that history shows that there are always manager who struggle in the first couple of events and essentially quit the tournament. Locking them out of their teams when making honest attempts to "turn the ship around" doesn't encourage continuing on in the tournament. Again, I find it interesting that this is not an issue in the Barnstormer league, where there are many more high-priced players to add and drop.

Again, no disrespect to anyone, just my views and experience.

The rules are posted. Like or not, if you want to play this is what we've got to work with. It's time to move on and get this thing going!!!

In two years of playing this tournament, I have never seen a single team go under the 90% threshold. That's 130+ teams playing 5-7 events for two years straight. And that's precisely what makes JPav's rule reasonable. The best of the best don't cut their teams down to 90% of starting budget, and the only time we'd expect that to happen is due to some aberration, like purposefully tanking a league out of spite.

The rule's great jpav, and people needn't join if it it offends them.

Here's some further information that shows players, including some of the best players, have cut their salary below 72m in previous tournaments. Under the present rules, they would have had their teams taken over.

Waynick is an excellent player who cut his salary to 64,490,000 in PC 2013 Event 1 League 6. I'm sure he wasn't tanking:
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/1106490
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/league/346662

Kihoover is another excellent player who cut his salary to 71,868,000 in PC 2013 Event 3 League 3. I'm sure he wasn't tanking either::
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/1110421
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/league/347042

JeffeSperman had a winning record with a 68,334,000 salary in PC 2009 Event 1 League 1:
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/279282
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/league/110966

Really? Don't you have enough to do with your science fiction thread in the other forum? Go away, already. You've been heard here and nobody cares.

I'm sorry the facts, hurt, Jeff. However, if you or others keep making policy assertions the facts deny, I will provide those facts. If you're interested in contributing to the Rookies/Science Fiction thread, though, I would welcome your contribution.

Good luck with the rest of the Tournament.

Lol at strether finding 2 teams out of 5 years worth of tournament play that went under 70. For someone supposedly ignoring my comments as a "foe" he sure seems to know what I'm posting. He still is in lust, good to know.

I read your post as I read this one, TN. I just knew you'd make a ridiculously false statement, and you didn't disappoint. And keep those weird fantasies of yours going. They do your fragile normalcy wonders.

JPav stepped up to be commish...he made rules for the tourney...if you don't like the rules, don't play. It's your option. So why would you spend such an inordinate amount of time trying to dis the tourney? You say you don't take this game as seriously as others, or have time to be the commish yourself (paraphrased, please don't get huffy and ask for a direct quote...not cuz they don't exist, I just don't have the time), yet you feel the need to try to undermine something you are not even involved in. Why?

Just go back to your little world of lifting scouting reports and posting them in your top 10 lists as if they are your own.

Of course, you've said you're deleting everything I message you, so hopefully I don't have to read a pompous, off-topic, irrelevant reply.