Phil et al: I think we also badly need to toughen up the rules for the pacing of the draft. Regardless of whether gamesmanship is going on, the impact of the delays are unfair, unpleasant, and unnecessary, and we need to finish the draft before the cards come out. I would propose:
The draft is a tad slow, but I don't see it as a problem. First, it's not like other SOM drafts where you are just selecting players. It's an auction, so the 24 hour clock allows everyone to participate in the auction without time constraints. It also serves as a settlement process that allows me to track the auction results without difficulty. I agree that the draft needs to be finished before the card release, so the draft will need to be sped up. There are only 30 players left to sign, so I expect it will be all but finished in a week or so.
1. Starting the draft with 6 player nominations rather than 4, or even doubling it to 8...
I like the suggestion of starting with 6 players and move it to 8 if the pace is too slow starting next year.
2. Shortening the draft clock for the winning bid from 24 to 12 hours...
I like the 24 hour clock. It creates a clear and unambiguous settlement process which is easy for me to track, allows everyone across many time zones an equal access to the bidding process, and creates a real market for players, especially highly desirable free agents. It makes it harder for bidders to steal a player, which I like for competitive balance as well.
3. Creating an expectation that teams will bid within 1 hour of it becoming their turn unless it falls during a certain sleep period (10p-6a Eastern?), or to post on the league chat thread why they will be delayed and when they can reasonably commit to nominating a player (this is really the barest minimum that we should all be doing), and 4. Create a penalty for failing to comply with #3 (can't upbid on the current slate of players?).
I don't think this is a great rush to get your bids in quickly. I know some managers in this league live in different time zones than I do, and have jobs that may not allow for an occasional check into the status of bidding during a work day. I have been hobbled by care giving and work responsibilities myself, so I have been guilty of delaying the bidding as well. There is also a disadvantage to getting skipped since the initial bidder has the advantage of setting the price to beat. Anyone who gets their bid in first has the advantage to setting the table, so to speak. I've seen numerous bidders set a really high one year price on a desirable player, making the next offer a difficult decision. Over pay in dollars or years to win? There have been a number of desirable free agents who were signed on one bid because the initial bidder shut the door on others.
While this "draft" is a lot slower than the typical league drafts in SOM, I don't really see it as a draft. It's an auction that has to occur at a slower pace to be equitable and to create a real market for players.
I do agree, however, that lifting the number of active bids will help to speed up the process. We will raise that number next year, and I will increase it next week if we don't start seeing more signings soon. Having said that, I need to go raise chilliards on Guillorme.
Philip
Fri Feb 10, 2023 5:32 pm