Proposed 2012 NFBC Rules Changes

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 9:47 am

The dust has barely settled on the 2011 NFBC season and already plans are in the works for the 2012 NFBC season, our NINTH. Wow, time flies when you're having fun.

Tom and I have looked over our rules closely and like we do every year, we feel a few tweaks are in order. For the most part, we believe our rules are set up fairly in all formats. However, in trying to make our game even more fair and do things to reduce the luck factor, we might have bent things too far. So we're going to make some slight changes in our rules for 2012.

First order of business involves two changes:

1) We will not have any pitching moves to your active roster during the season. We will still have hitter Friday moves from your reserve roster to your active roster, but we will not allow ANY pitcher moves at that time. The idea behind the rule was to help owners with mid-week injuries that land players on the DL after starting rosters were set on Monday night. While it worked for hitters, it created loopholes for pitchers. We feel the best way to handle this situation is to allow hitter moves each Friday, but not pitcher moves. That will be reflected in the rules for all NFBC contests in 2012.

2) No September moves during the last two weeks. We have twice tried to give NFBC owners more leverage in roster management during the critical month of September, but it's created some controversy both times. In 2011, we allowed pitchers to be moved in and out of your starting lineup the last two weeks of the season on Fridays, but going forward we will NOT change the rules for the last two weeks of the season. The last two weeks will be handled just like the regular season, with only hitters having the ability to move from reserve to your starting lineup.

Those are the only changes we foresee right now. If you have suggestions for other rules changes, please let me know. One suggestion involves the locking of your starting lineup each Monday night and I am looking into that. We currently allow you to set your starting lineup 5 minutes before the early games on Monday and then to set the rest of your lineup by 6:55 pm ET. There has been a request for a setup like we do with the NFFC, where you get 5 minutes before the start of each team's first game of the week, whether that be Monday night at 7 pm ET, 7 pm PST or possibly even Tuesday. We will look into the best possible scenario for the players and our software and report back there.

Otherwise, we are happy with our 900 IP limit and how that worked in 2011. That will remain the current level for 2012. We believe that the position eligibility guidelines worked well in 2011 and the 1 game played rule for callups worked well, too. All rules remain intact for 2012 and hopefully beyond.

Feel free to comment on the proposed rules changes and add anything else you'd like to see. We are open for discussion before unveiling the new web site in November. Thanks all and enjoy the MLB post-season action for now. NFBC Draft Day isn't far away.

mrhambone · Post by **mrhambone** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 10:45 am

I would really like to be able to Bid more for a conditional bid that for the Primary Bid

Example:

Add Jim Thome $4 Drop Nick Swisher

Conditional A: Add Dee Gordon $16 Drop Nick Swisher

This was discussed two years ago when Fanball was running the show but was shot down. Is this something that you guys will consider again?

I also just wanted to say what a great year it was this year and I can't wait for March 2012. Thanks for all your hard work. It showed how hard you guys worked to pull everything together last year. Great job Greg, Tom, STATS and everyone else.

Glenneration X · Post by **Glenneration X** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 12:25 pm

I'd like a rule eliminating the practice of drafting under an alias.

Quack · Post by **Quack** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 12:48 pm

Greg: Although not a rule, I would like to see some way of ensuring that players called up to MLB squads officially are covered in the FAAB pool by 7am. If even this means moving that deadline to 8am to allow for a status check in the AM that would be worth the hour delay in my opinion.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 1:01 pm

Originally posted by Glenneration X:

I'd like a rule eliminating the practice of drafting under an alias. This will be addressed tomorrow morning with what I hope is a workable solution for all sides.

Rog · Post by **Rog** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 1:16 pm

I would really like it if when setting my lineup if I could see who the starting pitchers are my hitters are facing and who my starting pitchers are going against?just 2 examples when deciding if I am going to start seth smith it is nice to know how many lefties he will be facing .and if any of my starting pitchers are facing a verlander type? It gets very tiring flipping back and forth between sites or opening several web pages. ty

Gekko · Post by **Gekko** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 1:55 pm

As someone who participated in a lot of leagues the past couple years, I'd be in favor of allowing owners the option of having an alias.

This option allows owners the ability to draft without the fear of his/her picks being copied (stolen).

If aliases are "outlawed", what prevents a "friend" from signing up and someone else drafting the teams (esp with online drafts)?

Gekko · Post by **Gekko** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 1:57 pm

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

1) We will not have any pitching moves to your active roster during the season.

2) No September moves during the last two weeks. GREAT decisions greg/tom

mallorys killers · Post by **mallorys killers** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 2:41 pm

I would like to change the rules on free agents. I would like to pick up anyone in the minor leagues or major leagues. This avoids problems with who's available.

low talkers · Post by **low talkers** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 4:22 pm

For the issue of aliases.. would it be a possible solution to allow people in online drafts to just not have their name shown? No need to worry about deception, just an option to be anonymous until the season begins?

Winston's Empire · Post by **Winston's Empire** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 5:02 pm

Originally posted by Glenneration X:

I'd like a rule eliminating the practice of drafting under an alias. Totally agree Glenn! I want to know who I am competing with... from the start!

Edwards Kings · Post by **Edwards Kings** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 12:36 am

Originally posted by WINSTON'S EMPIRE:

quote:Originally posted by Glenneration X:

I'd like a rule eliminating the practice of drafting under an alias. Totally agree Glenn! I want to know who I am competing with... from the start! [/QUOTE]Of the many redeeming qualities of this contest and truly one of its greatest strength's has been the open and honest way Greg and Tom have created the rules and conducted events. Every aspect is open for discussion. Every detail enjoys, in essence, open air and sunshine. We trust this event because of the clarity and comfort that such openness provides.

To allow someone to use an alias would be the only example where important details would be hidden and where owners would not be provided a level field (i.e. not all owners would know who exactly they were competing against from the beginning).

As to Mark's point that one could simply enlist a friend to sign-up on a different players behalf, I do not believe that this is an issue. For live events, only those managers and co-managers, duly recognized, would be allowed in to draft.

As to online drafts, besides utilizing such controls as email verification, the NFBC could, if such subterfuge is discovered, simply invalidate the results of the fraud (i.e. if you win using a "proxy" owner, you would forfeit the rights to any financial proceeds) and the offender banned from further play in the NFBC.

I would endorse a rule that prohibited the use of an alias.

Glenneration X · Post by **Glenneration X** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 2:33 am

Originally posted by Edwards Kings:

quote:Originally posted by WINSTON'S EMPIRE:

quote:Originally posted by Glenneration X:

I'd like a rule eliminating the practice of drafting under an alias. Totally agree Glenn! I want to know who I am competing with... from the start! [/QUOTE]Of the many redeeming qualities of this contest and truly one of its greatest strength's has been the open and honest way Greg and Tom have created the rules and conducted events. Every aspect is open for discussion. Every detail enjoys, in essence, open air and sunshine. We trust this event because of the clarity and comfort that such openness provides.

To allow someone to use an alias would be the only example where important details would be hidden and where owners would not be provided a level field (i.e. not all owners would know who exactly they were competing against from the beginning).

As to Mark's point that one could simply enlist a friend to sign-up on a different players behalf, I do not believe that this is an issue. For live events, only those managers and co-managers, duly recognized, would be allowed in to draft.

As to online drafts, besides utilizing such controls as email verification, the NFBC could, if such subterfuge is discovered, simply invalidate the results of the fraud (i.e. if you win using a "proxy" owner, you would forfeit the rights to any financial proceeds) and the offender banned from further play in the NFBC.

I would endorse a rule that prohibited the use of an alias. [/QUOTE]One of the things I always liked about the NFBC/NFFC when compared to other sites is that they post the names for all their signups on the boards. I know it's done partially to create excitement and I know for me, it does. However, I'm not really sure why we even post signups to create excitement if the names posted aren't even real.

If players want anonymity, then don't post the names of any of the players signing up and don't make visible team or owner names on the draft site or the league boards until Opening Day. This way everyone will be anonymous.

However, this current condition where some can protect their identitiy while others don't creates an unfair advantage. Mark claims that he needs the ability to protect his targeted players from the peering eyes of others. Yet Mark last year, while being allowed to falsely state that he wasn't participating in the Main Events, reached out to me and others for their first weekend drafts. Not to pick on Mark, but again why allow the one hiding to gain a leg up over the one out in the open.

Everyone's out in the open or everyone's anonymous. It's the only way to assure an equal playing field for all participants.

Money · Post by **Money** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 4:11 am

Originally posted by Gekko:

quote:Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

1) We will not have any pitching moves to your active roster during the season.

2) No September moves during the last two weeks. GREAT decisions greg/tom [/QUOTE]These changes are in the best interests of the game. I applaud the NFBC for moving in this direction.

I also, am opposed to alias's. Greg just started a new thread which details the NFBC's direction in regard to them. I am satisfied with that direction as well.

I would also like to see us have the ability to move players in and out of lineups up until 5 minutes of their scheduled stating times on days when we can maneuver rosters.

Thanks.

Bama · Post by **Bama** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 6:56 am

One thing that i would like to see is that a player not be locked into your lineup untill his game has started for that period.

rockitsauce · Post by **rockitsauce** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 4:26 pm

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

2) No September moves during the last two weeks. We have twice tried to give NFBC owners more leverage in roster management during the critical month of September, but it's created some controversy both times. In 2011, we allowed pitchers to be moved in and out of your starting lineup the last two weeks of the season on Fridays, but going forward we will NOT change the rules for the last two weeks of the season. The last two weeks will be handled just like the regular season, with only hitters having the ability to move from reserve to your starting lineup.

"We have twice tried"...sounds like a guy who can't believe his customers actually don't want MORE control at the most critical juncture of the season. I appreciated the fact that you gave us that leverage Gregor. Gonna miss it.

oh well at least you didn't let them talk you out of playing the last 2 weeks

plus you're gonna be quite sad soon after the Phillies dispatch the Brewers on their way to another World Series

Zazie · Post by **Zazie** » Thu Oct 06, 2011 4:57 am

I would like to have the ability to take a player who's in my lineup, and whose Monday or Friday game has already started, and shift that player to a different position so that I could make a substitution.

OK, that's confusing. Here's an example from last year. Martin Prado's in my lineup at MI. His game has already started so he's frozen in my lineup. But I'd like to be able to move him to OF so that I can take out an injured Jayson Werth

for a taxied Alcides Escobar, assuming their games haven't started.

In other words, the "bench" option would not be available for Prado but, as long as he stayed active, I could switch him to a different position.

By doing this, I'm not gaming the system at all.

TRAIN · Post by **TRAIN** » Thu Oct 06, 2011 5:03 am

I have two suggestions:

Suggestion 1.

Can a "compare different players" function like Fanball had last year which allowed comparisons between multiple players for the last 7, 14, 21, and more days be added?

EXAMPLE: If I am thinking about picking up a SP and there are 3 possible choices that I am looking at. I should be able to compare all 3 pitchers' stats for the last 7, 14, and 21 days. This function should also allow me to compare players already on my roster as well. In other words, the entire player pool of free agents and already rostered players should be able to be compared to each other for at least the last 7, 14, and 21 days.

Suggestion 2.

Unless I DAILY print out my league statistics for each of the 10 individual categories, there is no way to verify the previous day's individual category standings and totals to make sure the current daily stats are correct.

EXAMPLE: Today I looked at my WINS total and it said 41. I could swear that yesterday it also said 41 - yet I did get 1 WIN last night and in my mind should be 42.

There should be a way to be able to at least look at the PREVIOUS day's 10 individual categories to verify that TODAY'S 10 individual category stats are correct.

This could be remedied by adding the PREVIOUS day's 10 individual categories, as well as TODAY'S 10 individual categories, to the DAILY EMAILS that you send out.

The integrity of the stats of this game should be paramount, and adding this capability to ensure peace of mind to the individual owner, while also adding a further level of verification that the stats are correct, should be done.

mallorys killers · Post by **mallorys killers** » Thu Oct 06, 2011 9:56 am

I would like to change the rules on free agents. I would like to pick up anyone in the minor leagues or major leagues. This avoids problems with who's available.

Jim Christie · Post by **Jim Christie** » Thu Oct 06, 2011 1:43 pm

I believe players who draft using an alias for fear of having their picks copied/stolen, should use a huge pin to deflate their inflated egos. If you're going to draft just use your damn real name. Lets get REAL here.

Gekko · Post by **Gekko** » Thu Oct 06, 2011 2:52 pm

Originally posted by Jim Christie:

I believe players who draft using an alias for fear of having their picks copied/stolen, should use a huge pin to deflate their inflated egos. If you're going to draft just use your damn real name. Lets get REAL here. you'd be wrong. and yes, i'm being REAL

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Thu Oct 06, 2011 3:07 pm

I only know of two of the anonymous people. They are also the first to try and weasel info about others drafts.

They think others are like them.

For the most part, they aren't.

Put 15 anonymous owners in a league and the others draft as before.

Problem solved!

Gekko · Post by **Gekko** » Thu Oct 06, 2011 3:11 pm

Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:

I only know of two of the anonymous people. They are also the first to try and weasel info about others drafts.

They think others are like them.

For the most part, they aren't.

Put 15 anonymous owners in a league and the others draft as before.

Problem solved! "The most valuable commodity I know of is information." - Gordon Gekko (Wall Street)

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Thu Oct 06, 2011 3:17 pm

It's a lot like poker.

All the tendencies are out in the open for those to see.

No anonymous'....

just guys hiding behind weird sunglasses and pulled down caps.

[ October 06, 2011, 09:26 PM: Message edited by: DOUGHBOYS ]

Glenneration X · Post by **Glenneration X** » Thu Oct 06, 2011 4:31 pm

Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:

It's a lot like poker.

All the tendencies are out in the open for those to see.

No anonymous'....

just guys hiding behind weird sunglasses and pulled down caps. I think Dan has a solution that works for us all. Disallow anonymous drafters, but allow sunglasses & pull down caps.