Win $40,000 In The 2016 NFBC Cutline Championship

[Greg Ambrosius]

Thanks to everyone who provided suggestions and feedback on the new NFBC Cutline Championship, our points-style contest with optimal scoring. The Cutline is designed for quick, easy drafts every night of the week with the least-involved in-season management you'll find in any fantasy baseball game. Oh, and a nice grand prize for a low entry point.

We took all of your suggestions and tweaked the game, moving the scoring back to a format that mimics the 5x5 scoring of our other NFBC contests. We also extended the draft to 36 rounds at only 55 seconds per pick, meaning 360 players are being drafted, the same amount as in the Rotowire Online Championship. And we've reduced the expansion of rosters to just two FAAB periods: April 11th and June 6th. During those free agent periods, rosters expand from 36 players to 41 players, and then from 41 players to 46 players. After June 6th you never have to touch your roster.

This is an optimal scoring format that is very easy to manage, but without the two FAAB periods many teams would be short-handed or injury-riddled by season's end. By increasing the roster to 46 players with pickups to get you through the first two months of the season and then the last part of the season, every team should be competitive whether you draft in early January or early April.

Please check out the revised rules. We are still tweaking the prize structure and will finalize all of this shortly, but see below and then provide some feedback. Our goal is to start drafts in early January and reach around 130 leagues. That would be a fantastic debut.

Here's the tentative Rules:

OFFICIAL RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE NATIONAL FANTASY BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP (NFBC) CUTLINE CHAMPIONSHIP

1. Overview
The National Fantasy Baseball Championship’s Cutline Championship will consist of multiple leagues each comprised of 10 teams/managers. This is a “Best Ball” format where the computer will pick a team’s optimal scoring lineup each week throughout the season, giving owners the best possible lineup every single week. The top two teams from each league after the regular season will advance to the Championship Round and attempt to survive above the cutline in each of the three-week playoff periods. The next three highest scoring teams in each league move to the Wild Card Round, where they will attempt to win prizes and even earn a spot back into the Championship Round.

Teams will initially draft 36 players online with online drafts being held throughout the off-season. Rosters will be expanded to 41 players via FAAB by Week 2 (Monday, April 11), with owners having the option to add 11 new players without dropping any players (while still cutting and picking up other players). A final set of FAAB will take place on Monday, June 6. The NFBC Cutline Championship has a regular season, which concludes just prior to the MLB All-Star Break on Monday, July 11, and a championship playoff which runs for 9 weeks beginning in the week of the All-Star Break and ending in mid-September. Championship Rounds run from:

Round 1: July 15-Aug. 7
Round 2: Aug. 8-Aug. 28
Round 3: Aug. 29-Sept. 18

Teams will compete in a points-based system with the computer picking your optimal scoring lineup each week (Monday through Sunday) from the required 23 starting positions. Categories include:

For Hitters
For Hitters
Home Run: 6 points
Stolen Base: 5 points
Hit: 4 points
Run: 2 points
RBI: 2 points
At-bat: -1 point

For Pitchers
Win: 6 points
Save: 6 points
Inning Pitched: 3 points
Strikeout: 1 point
Hit or Walk Allowed: -1 point
Earned Run Allowed: -2 points

The Cutline Championship is a points-based league designed to approximate the relative contribution value of batter and pitcher outcomes in standard NFBC rotisserie leagues. The Cutline Championship has a regular season, which concludes just prior to the MLB All-Star Break, and a championship playoff which runs for 9 weeks beginning in the week of the All-Star Break and ending in mid-September. Cost of entry is $125 per team.

A starting lineup will consist of 14 hitters and 9 pitchers, with the same positions and position eligibility of standard NFBC leagues. Scoring is automatic, with each team’s highest scoring players assigned to the available starting lineup slots at the end of each week (Monday through Sunday). Accordingly, each week a team’s highest scoring lineup of 2 catchers, 1 first baseman, 1 second baseman, 1 third baseman, 1 shortstop, 1 Middle Infielder (2b or SS), 1 Corner Infielder (1b or 3b), 5 Outfielders, 1 Utility Hitter and 9 pitchers will count toward that team’s points.

DRAFT AND FREE AGENTS
Each league will consist of 10 teams participating in a 36-round draft. Rosters will expand to 46 players per team through only TWO FAAB periods during the course of the season.

Each team will have a free agent acquisition budget of $1000, but there will be only 2 free agent periods during the regular season and none during the championship playoff. Free agency will run on the following nights:
FAAB 1: Monday, April 11 (expands rosters to 41 players)
FAAB 2: Monday, June 6 (retains rosters at 46 players)
The first free agent period will be during Week 2, followed by the last and only other FAAB pickup on June 6. Players will be allowed to pick up as many free agents each time as they’d like, with 5 pickups being allowed without cutting a player during the first FAAB period and the same format during the second FAAB period. If an owner picks up less than 5 players during the first FAAB period, they have the right to expand to the roster limit in the final FAAB period. At no time can any team roster have more than the required number of players on their roster per period.

CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFF
The top two teams in each league will advance to the Championship Round, while the third place, fourth place and fifth place teams in each league go into the Wild Card Round. All other teams are eliminated from post-season action. The Playoffs will consist of 3 rounds and each round will be 3 weeks in duration.

Round 1 (July 15 through Aug. 7) – Each advancing team from the regular season will begin this round with their weekly average point total from the season, which will be combined with their 3-week playoff total and the All-Star partial week total for a Round 1 Total Score. The Top 95 teams in the Championship Round will advance to Round 2 of the Championship Round. All other teams move into the Wild Card Round. The top 5 teams from the Wild Card Round move into the Championship Round for Round 2, while the next 95 Wild Card Round teams also advance to Round 2 of the Wild Card Round. All other teams in the Wild Card Round are eliminated from the contest.

Round 2 (Aug. 8 through Aug. 28) – The Top 95 teams from Round 1 of the Championship Round plus 5 Wild Card Round teams will advance to this round, while the remaining teams from the Championship Round and the Top 95 teams from the Wild Card Round will compete in Round 2 of the Wild Card Round. Each team will begin this round with 25% of their Round 1 Total Score, which will be added to their total of the next 3 weeks for a Round 2 Total Score. The Top 18 teams in the Championship Round will advance to Round 3 of the Championship Round, while all other teams from the Championship Round will move into the Wild Card Round. The Top 2 teams from the Wild Card Round move up to the Championship Round for Round 3, leaving 20 teams in line for the Championship Round of Round 3. The Top 20 teams after the Top 2 teams in the Wild Card Round move on to Round 3 of the Wild Card Round. All other teams from the Wild Card Round are eliminated.

Round 3 (Aug. 29 through Sept. 18) – Twenty teams are competing now for the 12 Championship Round prizes. Each team will begin this round with 25% of their Round 2 Total Score, which will be added to their total of the next 3 weeks for a Final Playoff Score. The team with the most points wins the $40,000 grand prize. The same scoring formula is used for the Wild Card Round, which has prizes for the Top 5 highest scoring teams in Round 3.

2. Drafts and Fees
All NFBC Cutline Championship leagues will hold their drafts at nfbc.stats.com. The cost per entry is $125 and there is no events fee or co-manager fee. Leagues will be offered most nights during the off-season and many will fill the night of the draft, sometimes just minutes before the start time. Once a league is filled, draft spots will be automatically run, an email will go out to all participants with the draft order and the draft will start on time. Watch the Countdown link under Home to see available spots in each upcoming Cutline league.

Once you have signed up, you'll find your team link for this league under MY TEAMS. Click on your team and you’ll see a link called DRAFT. There you'll find a DRAFT PREP link where you can rank the player default list for that online draft and all of the players will show up in your draft room exactly as you have ranked them. If you don't do that, the player default list will appear as STATS has it. Your own player default list will follow you into every future NFBC Online draft, making it easier to update your list going forward. Then on the day of your draft, the DRAFT ROOM link will appear and you'll enter the room there and draft your team. Use the Flash version if you have Flash on your computer and pick the player you want when it's your turn. There is a DRAFT BOARD link within the draft room that allows you to see colored stickers of every player being selected and to easily see the draft results.

3. Prizes
Prizes are awarded for league and overall standings.
Overall Prizes
Championship Round
1. First Place = $40,000
2. Second Place = $20,000
3. Third Place = $10,000
4. Fourth Place = $7,000
5. Fifth Place = $5,000
6. Sixth Place = $3,500
7. Seventh Place = $2,500
8. Eighth Place = $2,000
9. Ninth Place = $1,500
10. 10th Place = $1,250
11. 11th Place = $1,100
12. 12th Place = $1,000
13. 13th Place = $950
14. 14th Place = $900
15. 15th Place = $850
16. 16th Place = $800
17. 17th Place = $750
18. 18th Place = $700
19. 19th Place = $650
20. 20th Place = $600

Wild Card Round:
1. First Place = $3,000
2. Second Place = $1,500
3. Third Place = $1,000
4. Fourth Place = $750
5. Fifth Place = $500

League Prizes
1. League Champion $250

Cash prizes are awarded in U.S. dollars and are awarded to the principal owner of the team. Teams can split prizes among multiple owners by filling out the proper paperwork with STATS' accounting department before season's end. In the event of a tie, cash prizes are divided evenly among those who have tied.

4. Draft
Each league will be comprised of 10 teams, and each draft will consist of 36 rounds, with each team selecting a player from the AL or NL in each round in a serpentine fashion (team 1 through team 10 in odd-numbered rounds, team 10 through team 1 in even-numbered rounds). In all NFBC draft leagues, you do not need to fill your 23 required starting positions with your first 23 picks; your No. 2 catcher could be selected with your 36th overall pick if you choose. However, you must have a legal starting lineup with your first 36 picks. Players will be selected from all 30 Major League Baseball teams and minor-league prospects are eligible to be selected on Draft Day.

Rosters will expand to 41 players through FAAB by Week 2 on Monday, April 11 as owners can pick up additional players without cutting any drafted players, while still making additional pickups with cuts at that time. One last FAAB period to update your roster will be held on Monday June 6, allowing owners to again expand their roster by 5 players. Owners can expand their rosters to 46 players by picking up 5 additional players without cutting any drafted players, while still making additional pickups with cuts at that time. Each week the computer picks your optimal scoring roster from the 23 required starting positions and will add up your yearly point total. One key is to have depth at every position so that you have replacements that score each week if injuries or demotions to the minors occur.

Time Limit for Draft: There will be a 55-second time limit for each owner to make his/her pick during each round of the NFBC Cutline draft. If a participant does not make a selection in the allotted time, the computer will select the top player from that owner’s Player Que and if no player is in the Que then the top available player from the player’s default list will be selected. If there is a computer failure, an error made with a selection by an owner or any other type of technical malfunction, the draft moderator can stop the draft at any time and correct the error and then resume the draft. The NFBC reserves the right to allow the draft moderator to roll-back the draft if a technical error occurred, but if the desired player had already been selected before the draft was stopped, that player is no longer available to be drafted.

Commissioner Decisions: All decisions made by the NFBC commissioner are final. Tough decisions sometimes must be made about eligibility rules, lineups, etc., and NFBC participants must accept the unbiased ruling of the NFBC commissioner.

5. Random Draft Orders
The NFBC Cutline Championship will randomly select draft orders and announce them shortly after leagues are full. KDS is not used in the NFBC Cutline Championship.

6. No Trading
Trading is not allowed during the NFBC season and owners are not allowed to trade draft picks.

7. Roster Requirements
NFBC Cutline rosters have a maximum of 36 players on Draft Day, 41 players after the Week 2 FAAB on Monday, April 11 and 46 players after the final FAAB period on Monday, June 6th. Rosters remain at 46 players throughout the rest of the regular season and playoffs.

8. Starting Lineup Requirements
Starting lineups will consist of:
1. 2 Catchers
2. 1 First Baseman
3. 1 Second Baseman
4. 1 Shortstop
5. 1 Third Baseman
6. 1 Middle Infielder (2B/SS)
7. 1 Corner Infielder (1B/3B)
8. 1 Utility Player (any offensive position)
9. 5 Outfielders
10. 9 Pitchers

There is no minimum innings pitched limit in the NFBC Cutline Championship since the computer will pick your optimal scoring lineup each week. Your best nine scoring pitchers each week – and they could all be Starting Pitchers or all Relievers – will be in your starting lineup each week, so build your roster accordingly.

9. Position Eligibility
The NFBC will use the following position eligibility rules in 2016:
a) Players who played at least 20 games at any position in 2015 will qualify at that position for the entire 2016 NFBC season. Players who play 10 games at a new position in 2016 will be eligible at that position after they have played there for the 10th time during the 2016 MLB regular season. Any player who missed all of the previous season to injury or retirement will qualify at the position he last was eligible for in the majors.

b) If a player did not appear in 20 games at any position, he qualifies at the one position he played most frequently the prior season in the majors. Designated Hitter is considered a position for these purposes (pinch-hitting is not). A player who only qualifies as a DH may only be assigned to the UT position. If a player's most games played at a position is less than 20 and tied among more than one position, the NFBC commissioner will assign eligibility at one position only.

c) Those players who only pinch-hit in the majors in 2015 will be position eligible according to their minor-league games played status in 2015. They would qualify at the position they played the most games in the minors.

d) Players who played all of 2015 in the minor leagues will be awarded position eligibility for the 2016 NFBC season based on the most games played at all levels in the minors. STATS will determine that one eligible position before Draft Day and that will determine that player's status for 2016 once he is called up to the majors. Those players who only pinch-hit or DH in the minors will only be UT-eligible.

e) The NFBC commissioner will rule on player eligibility prior to the draft as he deems necessary. Those eligibility lists are final and will be available to all owners prior to Draft Day.

10. League Management Web Address
You can access your team and league via the Internet by going to nfbc.stats.com. You will need a username and a password to access the game site. Contact [email protected] if you are signed up for the contest and do not have a username and password.

11. Lineup submission
The NFBC Cutline Championship has an optimal scoring lineup format where the computer picks your highest scoring player from each of the 23 starting positions at the end of each week. Owners do not have to set their starting lineups at all during the season. Live league scoring and overall standings will be run in real-time, but the final calculation for each week is done after all Sunday games are complete. Weeks run from Monday through Sunday.

12. Free Agents
Any player who is not on a team roster within your league and is on a major league roster or once was on an NFBC team in your league is considered a free agent for that league. Even players on the MLB disabled list are eligible to be picked up during the FAAB bidding process. The player pool is deemed closed of new free agents each Sunday of the weekly FAAB deadline at 7 AM ET and a player must have played at least 1 MLB game to be added to the pool at that time. Once a minor-leaguer plays his first game in the majors, he remains in every NFBC FAAB pool whether he returns to the minors or not. Once in the majors, he remains in all FAAB pools. Participants should also note that MLB unsigned veteran free agents at the time of Draft Day are eligible to be picked up or bid on in all NFBC leagues.

Free Agent Bidding Process: The free agent system will be a "blind bidding" process for each individual league. Each team will start with 1,000 free agent "dollars" for the season, and will be permitted to bid for free agents four times per year with a minimum bid of $1 per player. Teams will not be able to see other teams' free agent bids. The team with the highest bid on any given player will be awarded that player. The amount of the winning bid will be deducted from the winning team's free agent dollars. JUST FOR THE NFBC CUTLINE: Owners will be allowed to add 5 free agents without cutting a player during each of the first 3 FAAB periods, and can add additional pickups by cutting players on their current roster. If a team's free agent dollars go to zero, that team will no longer be allowed to bid for the rest of the season. No bid will be accepted that is larger than a team's available free agent dollars. All bids must be in increments of dollars (no cents). Only winning bids and the runner-up bids on each player will be shown after the FAAB bidding period for each NFBC league.

Bidding Time Frame: There are only two free agent time periods in the NFBC Cutline:
FAAB 1: Monday, April 11
FAAB 2: Monday, June 6

The NFBC bidding process will start the week after Opening Day and run for the first time on Monday, April 11. FAAB will run one more time on Monday, June 6. Bids will be accepted on the league website from Tuesday at 3 PM ET until the day of the deadline at 10 PM ET in each of those weeks. Rosters will be updated shortly after 10 PM ET on those days with the results of all successful bids. First and Last Free Agent Bidding Deadlines: The first free agent bidding deadline is Monday, April 11, at 10 PM ET. The last free agent bidding deadline is Monday, June 6th at 10 pm ET.

The NFBC Cutline Championship has a unique FAAB system from our other games in which rosters are expanded after Draft Day by 5 spots on the first FAAB deadline and by 5 spots on the last FAAB deadline. During that FAAB period, NFBC owners can pick up 5 players without cutting anyone and still pick up additional players by cutting current players from rosters. There is no limit to the number of free agent pickups each FAAB period, but all owners are limited to their $1,000 FAAB budget. Rosters expand to 41 players after Week 1 and to 46 players after the June 6th FAAB period. Rosters remain that way throughout the rest of the regular season and the playoffs.

Conditional Bids: Conditional bids can also be offered. In the event you may lose out on a player, you can place conditional bid(s) for other players during the bidding time frame. Subsequent conditional bids will become relevant only if the previous conditional bid fails. Bids do not require conditional bids. Bids may have several sequential conditional bids. Participants should note that the computer takes the HIGHEST BIDS and processes each bid in that order if you have multiple FAAB acquisition bids. ALL BIDS WILL BE PROCESSED IN THE ORDER OF DOLLAR VALUE ASSIGNED TO THOSE FREE AGENTS, highest to lowest.

Example:
1. Acquire Kyle Gibson, $19, cut Trevor Bauer
2. Acquire Tommy Milone, $16, cut Trevor Bauer
3. Acquire Jake Peavy, $2, cut Trevor Bauer

Number of Bids Limit: There is no limit to the number of bids that may be submitted each week in which bids are permitted.
Tied Bids: If there is a tie bid during the season, the team that receives the player will be determined in order by
1. Worst league standing at the time FAAB was run (Sunday night using Saturday's standings).
2. Lowest standing the previous week.
3. Lowest draft position from Draft Day.

Any tied bids during the first FAAB period will be given to the team with the lowest draft order from Draft Day, whether there were a few games played before then or not.

Commissioner Review of Player Drops: All player drops for free agents are subject to review by the NFBC commissioner and can be revoked if the dropped player is deemed too valuable to be offered to that league's free agent pool, thus damaging the credibility of the overall contest. In the case of a "star" player being dropped in a league for a valid reason, the NFBC commissioner reserves the right to allow the cut but keep the player out of that league's free agent pool for any length of time, possibly the entire season. All decisions by the NFBC commissioner will be final.

13. Trades Between Managers
To minimize the possibility of collusion, there will be no trading allowed.

14. Scoring
The NFBC Cutline Championship is a “Best Ball” points style game and teams are trying to accumulate the most points in their league. Scoring is as follows:

PLAYER SCORING
For Hitters
For Hitters
Home Run: 6 points
Stolen Base: 5 points
Hit: 4 points
Run: 2 points
RBI: 2 points
At-bat: -1 point

For Pitchers
Win: 6 points
Save: 6 points
Inning Pitched: 3 points
Strikeout: 1 point
Hit or Walk Allowed: -1 point

Teams are ranked by most points accumulated each week. The top scoring team after the regular season finishes first and wins $250. The top two scoring teams in each league advance to the Championship Round and all teams after that from each league advance to the Wild Card Round. If teams are tied for second place, those teams will advance to the Championship Round. There is no tie-breaker in that case.

CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFF
The top two teams in each league will advance to the Championship Round and all other teams go into the Wild Card Round. The Playoffs will consist of 3 rounds and each round will be 3 weeks in duration.

Round 1 (July 15 through Aug. 7) – Each advancing team from the regular season will begin this round with their weekly average point total from the season, which will be combined with their 3-week playoff total and the All-Star partial week total for a Round 1 Total Score. The Top 95 teams in the Championship Round will advance to Round 2 of the Championship Round. All other teams move into the Wild Card Round. The top 5 teams from the Wild Card Round move into the Championship Round for Round 2, while the next 95 Wild Card Round teams also advance to Round 2 of the Wild Card Round. All other teams in the Wild Card Round are eliminated from the contest.

Round 2 (Aug. 8 through Aug. 28) – The Top 95 teams from Round 1 of the Championship Round plus 5 Wild Card Round teams will advance to this round, while the remaining teams from the Championship Round and the Top 95 teams from the Wild Card Round will compete in Round 2 of the Wild Card Round. Each team will begin this round with 25% of their Round 1 Total Score, which will be added to their total of the next 3 weeks for a Round 2 Total Score. The Top 18 teams in the Championship Round will advance to Round 3 of the Championship Round, while all other teams from the Championship Round will move into the Wild Card Round. The Top 2 teams from the Wild Card Round move up to the Championship Round for Round 3, leaving 20 teams in line for the Championship Round of Round 3. The Top 18 teams after the Top 2 teams in the Wild Card Round move on to Round 3 of the Wild Card Round. All other teams from the Wild Card Round are eliminated.

Round 3 (Aug. 29 through Sept. 18) – Twenty teams are competing now for the Championship Round prizes. Each team will begin this round with 25% of their Round 2 Total Score, which will be added to their total of the next 3 weeks for a Final Playoff Score. The team with the most points wins the $40,000 grand prize. The same scoring formula is used for the Wild Card Round, which has prizes for the Top 5 highest scoring teams in Round 3.

15. Taxes
If the principal team owner's prize winnings are $600.00 or greater (or any other threshold subsequently established by the IRS), the National Fantasy Baseball Championship (“NFBC”) must file a Form 1099 with the IRS at the end of this calendar year. We will request your social security number and signature on this form. The form contains the amount paid to you and you will receive a copy of the form for tax purposes. STATS pays the principal team owner of each NFBC team that was submitted on the entry form and you are responsible for paying any taxes that result from your cash prize; please consult your income tax advisor for filing advice. In the event that the awarding of any prizes to winners of the Contest is challenged by any legal authority, STATS reserves the right in its sole discretion to determine whether or not to award such prizes. After 12 months, any unclaimed prize will be forfeited.

16. Eligibility; Registration
The National Fantasy Baseball Championship is open to individuals who are at least 18 years of age (or the age of majority in your state of residence) and are a resident of the United States of America or Canada. Notwithstanding the foregoing, residents of Washington State, Louisiana, Montana, Arizona, and Iowa are not eligible to register or play in the NFBC. All registrations must be in the full legal name of the primary team owner, though owners will have the option to add a co-manager(s).

17. Official Rules
Registration for, and continued participation in, the National Fantasy Baseball Championship constitutes your full and unconditional agreement to these official rules (“Official Rules”) and to STATS’ decisions relating thereto. STATS’ decisions in regards to these Official Rules and all matters pertaining to the National Fantasy Baseball Championship are final and binding.

18. Refunds
Once a participant submits valid payment, no money will be refunded unless the NFBC event for which such participant has registered has been canceled. A team spot is considered filled when the entire entry fee is paid. STATS reserves the right to cancel any entries which are not part of a full league. In addition, STATS retains the right to deny, at its sole discretion, eligibility of any individual to register for any NFBC game or event and/or participate in any NFBC game or event, even after the registration fee has been paid, but in such case, the entry fee will be refunded. Under no condition shall STATS be held responsible for any loss or liability related to any expenses incurred by a denied entrant or any person affiliated with that denied entrant. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, in the event that any participant or co-manager is banned from the NFBC as the result of any violation of the Official Rules, then no refund will be given.

19. Cancellation
At its sole discretion, STATS reserves the right to terminate any NFBC game, event or league at any time prior to the completion of the season due to any acts of God, natural disasters, terrorism, change in applicable law, interruption of the season (including strikes, lockouts and/or use of replacement players), or any other situation beyond the control of STATS. In the event of any such termination by STATS, all entry fees will be refunded, with the exception of any live event fees (if such live event has already occurred).

At its sole discretion, STATS reserves the right to terminate any NFBC game, event or league (including the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Main Event) if there are an insufficient number of teams prior to the scheduled start of the league. In this unlikely event, STATS will refund all entry fees within 48 hours of cancellation notice and/or provide a new application form with the newly stated prize figures. In this situation, all pre-registered applicants have the right to a full refund or to agree to play for the newly announced prize structure. STATS is not responsible for any loss or liability incurred by any participant or co-managers due to cancellation of any NFBC game, event or league, including but not limited to travel or hotel expenses, time taken off from employment, etc.

20. Code of Conduct
All participants and co-managers are expected to behave in lawful, respectful and sportsman-like fashion at all live draft events, throughout the NFBC season, and during use of any NFBC website, including, but not limited to comments posted on any NFBC message board. Additionally the NFBC events, games and/or leagues may not be used for any form of gambling. Any conduct or message board post by a participant, co-manager or other person which is deemed by STATS, in its sole discretion, to be unlawful, or to have the effect of intimidating, harassing, offending or otherwise harming any other participant, co-manager, guest, or NFBC/STATS representative, is strictly prohibited. STATS reserves the right, in its sole discretion to ban any person from current and/or future participation in the NFBC and/or from use of the message boards if such person engages in any such prohibited conduct or is otherwise in violation of any of these Rules. In addition, any person engaging in such conduct forfeits any rights to a refund, as well as any potential rights to a prize award. STATS shall not be responsible or held liable to any person for damage to property or personal injury or death arising from the acts or omissions of any third parties. Any participants or co-managers who collude, or attempt to collude, or who attempts to blackmail, bribe or otherwise influence any representative of STATS/NFBC, or who otherwise attempts to sabotage the league, in an effort to alter the results or outcome of any NFBC game will be disqualified and will be prohibited from winning any prize award. If a participant is banned from participation in a current NFBC game, then STATS reserves the right, to take those actions which it sees fit, in its sole discretion with respect to such banned participant’s team. Any criminal behavior may be referred to the appropriate authorities.

21. Errors
The deadline for submitting any dispute or claim regarding the operation of any league draft is one hour after the conclusion of the draft itself; further, leaving any live draft event without submitting any dispute or claim regarding the draft constitutes your waiver of any right to challenge any aspect of the draft. You are strongly urged to double-check your lineups, trades, and free agent moves throughout the season, as STATS/NFBC will not be held liable for any errors in entering lineups, trades or free agent moves, and STATS/NFBC will not intervene or alter a transaction after lineups, trades or free agent moves are due.

22. Prize Splitting
Prize splitting amongst the principal registrant and co-managers is available, provided that the principal registrant has authorized payment to his co-managers in writing and in advance of the completion of the season. In order to authorize prize-splitting, the principal registrant must completely fill out and sign the authorization form designated by STATS (including the name and address of the co-manager(s) and the applicable prize percentage to be paid to each co-manager(s)). Both the principal registrant and each co-manager designated on a prize-splitting form will be required to fill out a W-9. No prize money will be distributed until all necessary forms have been received by STATS. Both the principal registrant and the co-manager(s) will receive IRS Form 1099 reflecting the prize money paid to each. If STATS deems, in its sole discretion, that the appropriate documentation and/or authorization has not been received, or has not been received in a timely fashion, then STATS will pay prize payments only to the principal registrant.

23. Communication and Access
All NFBC team owners must have internet access and a valid e-mail address for communication. STATS is not responsible for any issues which impede or interfere with the transmission or receipt of any transaction, including but not limited to, draft selections, trades, free agent moves and lineups. STATS is also not responsible for the failure of any telephone networks/lines, internet connections, software/hardware, or internet congestion/transmission rates.

24. Hold Harmless
Each participant and co-owner hereby releases and holds harmless STATS and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries, and their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and representatives from and against any and all liability for any injuries, losses or damages of any kind to person (including death) and property, arising in whole or in part, directly or indirectly from participation in any NFBC event, game or league, as well as acceptance or use of any prize award.

25. Disputes; Limitation of Liability; Disclaimer
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[BK METS]

This is awesome news Greg!! I am in for at least 5 teams.

[Captain Hook]

Our goal is to start drafts in early April

Hoping this is supposed to be January?

[Greg Ambrosius]

This is awesome news Greg!! I am in for at least 5 teams. You do mean early January for drafts, correct?

Yes, sorry about that. Hopefully first week of January we'll be live and drafting every night. Thanks.

[ToddZ]

SWEET!!!

Time to knock out a projections update and include some rankings based on cut-line scoring, along with some points-leagues strategy essays.

[KJ Duke]

I'll take 2 teams for everyone who says they can't handle 2 FAABs per season!



Let's get drafting !!!!!!!!!

[croakerkane]

Will there be a separate ADP link for these leagues?

[Greg Ambrosius]

Will there be a separate ADP link for these leagues?

Yes

[Greg Ambrosius]

I was hoping to have a discussion on the second FAAB deadline. That one isn't set in stone. I didn't want to put it too late in the regular season, but I also didn't want to have it too early. The suggestion from a good customer this morning via email allows us to have this discussion. What are your thoughts to his proposal:

"Minor comment also on what is just my opinion about the "fun factor" of this game. Talented rookies tend to come up in waves. A bunch come up in mid-June as teams call up players that have been held back long enough to avoid Super Two eligibility. Your June 6 cutoff date will mean that many of those will be just missed. Is there a problem with just waiting another week or two to catch many more of them? For example, here are some recent big talented prospect dates for Super Two Prospects: Carlos Correa June 8th, Fransisco Lindor June 14th, Gregory Polanco June 10th, Wil Myers June 18, etc... Right now, most of those types would not be eligible in either FAAB, the April 11th or the June 6th, the only way to get them on your team would be to draft them during the first 36 rounds, which might be as early as January."

Thoughts?

[Captain Hook]

Well is the reason for the FAAB? to augment players or have new players to root for - the second period is already much later than half way through the first (roughly) 105 days of qualifying play > April/May/June/first week(s) of July. If the 2nd FAAB is later in June it will be too late to help teams who actually NEED some new players have any chance to get to 2nd in their league and qualify for the Championship rounds.

[KJ Duke]

Someone earlier suggested moving FAAB to Friday at midnight, with those players being eligible for the following week. Friday's seem less hectic, thought that was a good idea. If done on Friday that would push it back to June 10.

[mbendar16]

Greg,
In regards to the suggestion below, and this is not intended to start a beat up IT thread, but it is possible given this is designed to be a different contest than the other NFBC choices, that you change the free agent section of the rules for all players to be available in FAAB regardless of whether they are in the majors or not? The code would just need to be switched to all that have been drafted in the DC leagues and/or any other NFBC league once the season starts, and everyone is fair game before the season anyway. This would add another element of strategy to the game, make the 2nd FAAB timing less relevant and potentially entice more people to draft early since there would be the option to pick up a potential callup during the 1st FAAB period as well as the 2nd. I'm guessing no, but didn't think it hurt to throw it out there.

Mark


"Minor comment also on what is just my opinion about the "fun factor" of this game. Talented rookies tend to come up in waves. A bunch come up in mid-June as teams call up players that have been held back long enough to avoid Super Two eligibility. Your June 6 cutoff date will mean that many of those will be just missed. Is there a problem with just waiting another week or two to catch many more of them? For example, here are some recent big talented prospect dates for Super Two Prospects: Carlos Correa June 8th, Fransisco Lindor June 14th, Gregory Polanco June 10th, Wil Myers June 18, etc... Right now, most of those types would not be eligible in either FAAB, the April 11th or the June 6th, the only way to get them on your team would be to draft them during the first 36 rounds, which might be as early as January."

[Cocktails and Dreams]

A few thoughts, opinions and questions.

1. It seems like there are conflicting statements on how the bidding will work in the overview section versus the roster requirement section. One place says rosters go to 41 the first period and then 46 the next. The other section says rosters go from 36 to 45 the first faab.

2. If bidding is on Monday nights, will they be eligible to be used even if they played on Monday? Not a huge fan of having to bid amounts needing to be changed based on actual results on Monday games if that is how it works. If they are not allowed to count until the next week, then I believe it would make more sense, as KJ mentioned to have the free agent period mid week. I think Thursday night would be idea, as it gives people more time to take on this project, and it will be a project. It separates it as far as possible from the Sunday free agent periods in your other leagues. KJ mentioned Friday specifically. Thursday is better as there is no lineup setting for regular leagues, and it is also further away from the Sunday regular bidding. Two completely different thought processes would be required for the two kinds of games. The more separation the better.

3. There is no way that this scoring system designed to mirror roto baseball, will do anything resembling that. This is not roto baseball. It is points baseball. Roto baseball cannot be replicated into a points system. So you have a scoring system that will be gamed. The type of offense that wins this will be asinine and will not resemble anything that remotely looks like a normal winning roto baseball team. Everyone will play by the same scoring so it doesn't matter much. But an odd system like this should not be used to try to replicate roto scoring. It is impossible. Roto baseball involves rankings in specific categories. Certain types of players are going to be insanely too valuable. It is really silly. Not awarding walks and HBP in points baseball is absurd. It is going to be absolutely comical looking at the winning offenses with this mess. I explained to Greg once already why this is horrific. He should reconsider immediately. I can already picture Mark at his computer gaming this scoring system.

4. I also wonder if way too much emphasis isn't given to offense with this. I have not spent much time trying to figure it out, but in roto baseball, pitching points are the same as hitting. At first glance, it does not seem like that will be anywhere close to being the case with this roster construction. One again, this is not roto baseball. It is points baseball. If you want pitching and hitting to be similar in scoring, the roster does not have to be the same as roto baseball.

5. Aside from the ridiculous scoring system, you are on the right track with this contest. It is so bad though, that I fear it will ruin the contest.

[DJMDJM]

Is HR 10 pts (6 pts + 4 pts)?
Or is HR 6 pts, and all other hits are 4 pts?

Thanks

[ToddZ]

Is HR 10 pts (6 pts + 4 pts)?
Or is HR 6 pts, and all other hits are 4 pts?

Thanks

The first -- except also keep in mind that you need to consider it's an RBI and a run too so it's really 14 points.

I ran the correlation between the ranks from my projections for 5x5 roto and this points system and R=.999 so the system does what it's designed to do. I'll run pitchers in a bit.

Now if only my projections were that accurate...

[BK METS]

Is HR 10 pts (6 pts + 4 pts)?
Or is HR 6 pts, and all other hits are 4 pts?

Thanks

The first -- except also keep in mind that you need to consider it's an RBI and a run too so it's really 14 points.

I ran the correlation between the ranks from my projections for 5x5 roto and this points system and R=.999 so the system does what it's designed to do. I'll run pitchers in a bit.

Now if only my projections were that accurate...

I ran the rankings of the top 100 players in adp, separately, for pitchers and hitters. It is almost identical to 5x5 and although some don't understand it, it is as close as you can get.

The only place it will differ is, since you don't need to worry about categories, drafting for positions are more important than drafting for categories, so you will see some later round draft choices differ slightly. Not having to worry about 5x5 changes things up but that is what the points system is all about. Trying to keep the rankings as close to the NFBC scoring in regular leagues is what this new scoring does, almost perfectly. Maybe the late round, pure SB guy, is not drafted in this format.

Pitchers being able to give up 3 walks in an inning and having it be the same as a perfect inning is just one of the huge flaws in DFS scoring.

Great job by KJ and others, forming this system and to Greg for recognizing it is best for what the NFBC represents. If someone is complaining they aren't getting a point for a BB, then so be it. A walk or hbp is not a plate appearance in real baseball either.

[BK METS]

Is HR 10 pts (6 pts + 4 pts)?
Or is HR 6 pts, and all other hits are 4 pts?

Thanks

The first -- except also keep in mind that you need to consider it's an RBI and a run too so it's really 14 points.

Its actually 13 points.

[ToddZ]

Is HR 10 pts (6 pts + 4 pts)?
Or is HR 6 pts, and all other hits are 4 pts?

Thanks

The first -- except also keep in mind that you need to consider it's an RBI and a run too so it's really 14 points.

Its actually 13 points.

Correct: -1 for AB

[Catch]

Bidding Time Frame: There are only two free agent time periods in the NFBC Cutline:
FAAB 1: Monday, April 11
FAAB 2: Monday, June 6


Greg, why not add a third FAAB to accommodate the replies that have been posted.
Majority do not want 4 FAAB periods.
A few of the posts mentioned that they want the last FAAB to be mid-June to accommodate Super Two prospects.
And a few of the posts mentioned midweek FAAB deadline instead of Monday.

I find the spread between the two FAAB periods (8 weeks) far apart and even worse if you move to June 20th (10 weeks).
Add a third FAAB period (five weeks apart):
FAAB 1: Thursday, April 7 OR Friday, April 8
FAAB 2: Thursday, May 12 OR Friday, May 13
FAAB 3: Thursday, June 16 OR Friday, June 17

[Gekko]

yes, 3 FAABs. one in early april. one in may and one in mid june

[Gekko]

I can already picture Mark at his computer gaming this scoring system.

i am in full baseball mode and looking for every angle in every contest i anticipate joining. i wouldnt be able to live with myself knowing i left an advantage on the table

[the icon]

I could probably live with 3. since it would be hard to do a 2nd one b4 the cutline aspect kicks in.

[the icon]

when we taken signups? just spent a shut ton on a Acura today so why not some fantasy baseball

[Cocktails and Dreams]

Is HR 10 pts (6 pts + 4 pts)?
Or is HR 6 pts, and all other hits are 4 pts?

Thanks

The first -- except also keep in mind that you need to consider it's an RBI and a run too so it's really 14 points.

I ran the correlation between the ranks from my projections for 5x5 roto and this points system and R=.999 so the system does what it's designed to do. I'll run pitchers in a bit.

Now if only my projections were that accurate...

I ran the rankings of the top 100 players in adp, separately, for pitchers and hitters. It is almost identical to 5x5 and although some don't understand it, it is as close as you can get.

The only place it will differ is, since you don't need to worry about categories, drafting for positions are more important than drafting for categories, so you will see some later round draft choices differ slightly. Not having to worry about 5x5 changes things up but that is what the points system is all about. Trying to keep the rankings as close to the NFBC scoring in regular leagues is what this new scoring does, almost perfectly. Maybe the late round, pure SB guy, is not drafted in this format.

Pitchers being able to give up 3 walks in an inning and having it be the same as a perfect inning is just one of the huge flaws in DFS scoring.

Great job by KJ and others, forming this system and to Greg for recognizing it is best for what the NFBC represents. If someone is complaining they aren't getting a point for a BB, then so be it. A walk or hbp is not a plate appearance in real baseball either.

This scoring system does absolutely nothing to resemble roto scoring. It is impossible to replicate roto baseball with points. Roto baseball is categorically driven. Points baseball is points driven. Not all that complicated. If you think this will be won by drafting a typical roto outfit, you are off your rocker. This doesn't resemble roto scoring in any way, shape or form. I understand Todd and KJ backtesting info to try. But it is an impossible task. Roto scoring and points scoring are completely different things. Companies like CDM, that have run points games for a long time, with a lot of success should have been taken more seriously than an ill fated attempt to replicate roto scoring with a points system. Further more, you probably shouldn't discuss daily DFS scoring as you clearly do not understand how most places score it.

[Cocktails and Dreams]

I can already picture Mark at his computer gaming this scoring system.

i am in full baseball mode and looking for every angle in every contest i anticipate joining. i wouldnt be able to live with myself knowing i left an advantage on the table

Exactly. You are a hell of a player. And you have to be licking your chops looking at this mess of a scoring system. I know I wouldn't want to play you in this.