An Option to Frustration

Jackstraw · Post by **Jackstraw** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 4:03 am

I brought this up in another thread, but I am going to bring it up as a topic just for discussion. I'd like to have a satellite league with daily transactions. Please don't misconstrue this as a request to change the Main Event rules. However, I do believe that the future of the NFBC needs to have daily transactions to continue to grow. It just seems pretty apparent to me that the majority of the players out there prefer daily to weekly. Just look at the success of Yahoo, ESPN, etc.

The main reason for their success is that they provide the customer with an opportunity to control their destiny. This year has been a fluke in my opinion, but it may be a sign of things to come. The way professional teams handle their players may continue to be extremely conservative. The average number of players on the DL at any given time may continue growing. In a way, it makes complete business sense for the teams because it protects huge investments in superstars and it gives an opportunity for minor leaguers to gain some big league experience. If all of the treehuggers are right then the weather is just going to keep on getting worse also. We may start seeing snow all the way into July! Or, what happens when we start seeing postponements due to heat... Both of these factors, injuries and the weather, are somewhat controllable by real-life managers but fantasy managers can't do anything about it all.

The addition of the Friday DL rule is a way to help managers gain a little control over DL'ed players, but it isn't a good way in my opinion. It offers a number of managers an opportunity to replace a DL'ed player but it doesn't offer that same option to every owner. If I have a replacement on my roster then I can put him in, but I'm out of luck if I don't have a replacement. This gives an unfair advantage to someone who drafts the "right" replacement guy. There is nothing that makes a manager good because he drafted the "right" replacement, just lucky is all. In my opinion, we should have left well enough alone with that rule. Or we should have gone to daily transactions.

Lots of people have posted that daily transactions do not require as much skill as the traditional format. I disagree. I believe it is a much more complex game. You need to be aware of what is taking place everyday. You would need to know when to put someone in and know when it is better to leave the spot alone. There is better control of luck in this format. The destiny is truly put into the hands of the manager. Right now, almost all of our destinies are defined two weeks before the season even begins. And I think that sucks... How many people out there got bit by players getting cut or sent down that were sureshots when you drafted them? Or DL'ed?

We spend a lot of money to play here. I like the traditional format, but it does leave a lot to luck. If I had my choices to spend $1300, I would rather spend my money in a daily transaction league where I could at least gain more control of my destiny. That way if I lose, then it is purely my fault or lack of ability. It is not because I had some player who missed five out six games due to inclement weather (if I get those games back then it will be just as much good luck as it was bad luck for it to happen to me in the first place).

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 5:33 am

George, if you are able to recruit enough folks to form a daily transaction NFBC satellite league next year I'll run it. I've already talked with STATS and we certainly can do it. If the demand is there for a private league like this, I'll run it.

bluenose · Post by **bluenose** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 5:41 am

I agree with you -- especially if both formats are offered. As it sits, it seems some of the rules are tailored to more casual players. This looks like one of those rules. Another is the idea that the FA pool is restricted to players on MLB rosters plus drafted minor leaguers.

Like me, I think you're a scrounger. I like to look through the sandbox every day and see what I find. Sometimes, it's cat poop. But on a day like today I'm dismayed I can't bid on Baek, even though he rates to start both tomorrow and on the weekend. Not on an MLB roster, that's the way the cookie crumbles.

Just as NFBC has accommodated owners who want deep drafts with 45-player leagues ("Draft Champion" leagues), and they accommodate Auction leagues in a big way, I agree with you that they should accommodate the crowd that wants daily bench switches by offering a handful of such leagues. But if they don't, I'm still very happy to play as is.

The only real criticism I have of your post is your writing about an owner wanting to 'control his destiny'. This cliche gets me the wrong way. It's Destiny! How can it be controlled???

Dirt Dogs · Post by **Dirt Dogs** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 6:27 am

"We spend a lot of money to play here. I like the traditional format, but it does leave a lot to luck."

-this is your comment. How can you say weekly transactions leave a lot to luck. Weekly uses more strategy with double starts, matchups, injuries etc.... Daily is just all about throwing in starting pitchers every day to rack up wins, saves, k's. And then you can bench guys with days off etc... You can have 2 guys on your bench that would never start in the main event but get random AB's and happen to hit a few HR's or steal some bases.

You have a guy thats hurting start him anyways it dosent matter cause if he is out a day just throw in some bum to get some AB's.

Sorry but i'm one owner that prefers the weekly and thinks daily takes the strategy out of managing.

And dont say weekly roster movements is luck. It's more strategy then luck, which is why the same people always finish in the upper ranks in these leagues. Luck is for the guy that wins a league one year and never finishes in the top 50 ever again!

bluenose · Post by **bluenose** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 6:45 am

Dirt Dogs...

it cuts both ways, doesn't it? I see your point. At the same time, rotating in pitchers to get Ks and Ws could kill your WHIP and ERA. Putting in bums to get AB lowers your AVG. (I guess there are ways to get around this -- upper limit on IP and AB, but whatever.) I think what the Brit is saying here is that he'd find daily switches more of a test of his managerial ability. I'm undecided which is more of a test of mine because I see your angle too.

The Phoenix · Post by **The Phoenix** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 7:04 am

Maybe, it'd be even better if there could be "in-game" managerial decisions. That should, by logic, be more strategic than daily.

You can decide if you want to pull your pitcher out in the third inning if he doesn't seem to have his stuff that day.

If Wily Mo Pena gets put in to pinch hit, you can decide if you want that at bat.

You can totally control your players with each and every matchup.

This would reward the players that REALLY stay on top of things. :rolleyes:

All sarcasm aside. If some people want the daily, Greg has said he'll facilitate. To each his own. It's a fallacy to think that daily lineups is MORE challenging and eliminates luck, however. In fact, I would argue that it favors those that are ill prepared and can't decide until all the facts are placed in front of them?

[ April 22, 2007, 01:13 PM: Message edited by: The Phoenix ]

Crazy Like a Fox · Post by **Crazy Like a Fox** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 7:20 am

IMHO, I agree 100%. Daily transactions allow for more control over your team and definitely takes care of the missing player for a few days due to an injured player. I would love to micro-manage my team due to batter-pitcher matchups, location, weather.

In Yahoo I use this strategy all the time, pick up and drop players every Tuesday and Thursday to set a full lineup to get an advantage in at-bats ie positive offensive categories. In the NFBC this would be more difficult to abuse this philosophy as there aren't many starters available.

I think what you would find with the advent of daily transactions is it would allow for more players available in the free agent pool over the course of the season. If there are an additional 1,000 pickups and drops, it would definitely make the use of free agents more interesting but the $1,000 money to bid on wouldn't be enough in my opinion as you can almost guarantee there will be a 3x fold in transactions.

I am all for this idea. Probably needs some fine tuning though.

Jackstraw · Post by **Jackstraw** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 10:31 am

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

George, if you are able to recruit enough folks to form a daily transaction NFBC satellite league next year I'll run it. I've already talked with STATS and we certainly can do it. If the demand is there for a private league like this, I'll run it. Thanks, Greg, for giving this an opportunity. Now let's see who we can get interested

Jackstraw · Post by **Jackstraw** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 10:38 am

bluenose --- Okay, okay, more control of your TEAM

Not destiny...

Jackstraw · Post by **Jackstraw** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 10:56 am

Originally posted by Dirt Dogs:

"We spend a lot of money to play here. I like the traditional format, but it does leave a lot to luck."

-this is your comment. How can you say weekly transactions leave a lot to luck. Weekly uses more strategy with double starts, matchups, injuries etc.... Daily is just all about throwing in starting pitchers every day to rack up wins, saves, k's. And then you can bench guys with days off etc... You can have 2 guys on your bench that would never start in the main event but get random AB's and happen to hit a few HR's or steal some bases.

You have a guy thats hurting start him anyways it dosent matter cause if he is out a day just throw in some bum to get some AB's.

Sorry but i'm one owner that prefers the weekly and thinks daily takes the strategy out of managing.

And dont say weekly roster movements is luck. It's more strategy then luck, which is why the same people always finish in the upper ranks in these leagues. Luck is for the guy that wins a league one year and never finishes in the top 50 ever again! I have to echo bluenose's sentiments on this one. Anyone who has played much with daily transactions knows that you don't just plug anybody into an open slot. I'm not going to start a super low batting average in an open slot, and it wouldn't make much sense anyway. I'm not going to start someone with a mega-high ERA just to get a shot at a win or some strikeouts. And that is part of the strategy for this type of game: who to play and win.

All of the strategies that you mentioned in your post also apply to daily transactions except for two-turn pitchers. But there are many more strategies that apply to daily but not to weekly. And you need to know the weather in each city

Jackstraw · Post by **Jackstraw** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 11:09 am

Originally posted by bluenose:

Dirt Dogs...

it cuts both ways, doesn't it? I see your point. At the same time, rotating in pitchers to get Ks and Ws could kill your WHIP and ERA. Putting in bums to get AB lowers your AVG. (I guess there are ways to get around this -- upper limit on IP and AB, but whatever.) I think what the Brit is saying here is that he'd find daily switches more of a test of his managerial ability. I'm undecided which is more of a test of mine because I see your angle too. You must have read my other post about daily does a better job of putting you in the game. That about managerial ability is exactly what I'm getting at.

Think about this: a real-life manager controls each of the spots in his lineup every day that they play. MLB dictates that teams play 162 gms. A real-life manager is responsible for fielding a team of nine players for 162 games per year. Why can't we have that same responsibility and flexibility of controlling those roster spots?

But the real question is do you really care or want fantasy baseball to resemble the game itself? My personal answer is that I want to be as close as sitting in the dugout if possible. Some people don't want the game to be like that so let them be general managers and pay attention to their rosters every payday (Sundays for us).

I think the heart of the discussion that lies between daily and weekly is what role do we want to play when we play the game. Do we want to be players, managers, or general managers? If you want to be a player, go join a softball team. If you want to be a manager and really involved in your team, then play daily. If you don't have the time to get that involved then play the traditional format as a general manager. The internet has really changed the game, and it has really expanded the possibilities of what we can do with this game.

Jackstraw · Post by **Jackstraw** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 11:29 am

Originally posted by Crazy Like a Fox:

IMHO, I agree 100%. Daily transactions allow for more control over your team and definitely takes care of the missing player for a few days due to an injured player. I would love to micro-manage my team due to batter-pitcher matchups, location, weather.

In Yahoo I use this strategy all the time, pick up and drop players every Tuesday and Thursday to set a full lineup to get an advantage in at-bats ie positive offensive categories. In the NFBC this would be more difficult to abuse this philosophy as there aren't many starters available.

I think what you would find with the advent of daily transactions is it would allow for more players available in the free agent pool over the course of the season. If there are an additional 1,000 pickups and drops, it would definitely make the use of free agents more interesting but the $1,000 money to bid on wouldn't be enough in my opinion as you can almost guarantee there will be a 3x fold in transactions.

I am all for this idea. Probably needs some fine tuning though. I think that the combination of the NFBC format and rules with daily transactions could be a really great evolution of the game. One of the issues with playing on Yahoo is getting a deep league going. All too often I get into leagues with only 8,10, or 12 teams and the free agent list is still too deep for anyone to have any real love for players on their team, i.e. drop/add multiple players every day. With 15 team leagues and a large roster requirement, there will be just enough players to help when needed but not enough to feed a revolving lineup. The roster size and requirement could actually be altered to give the best percentage of players available in the free agent pool.

In regards to the $1000 FAAB, I don't think that I would change it. It would help to normalize values of players and make budget management an even bigger part of the strategy. You really don't want to set up a system that allows full-fledged streaming, and I am sure that we still need to rely on FAAB for picking up free agents.

I want to micro-manage my team, too

For all those same reasons... Since I started playing in the NFBC, I don't know what the weather is like anymore. I used to know when it was raining and where, what direction the wind was blowing at every stadium in the country, etc. All sorts of useless information.