NFBC Message Boards

I know a lot of guys are wondering what drastic changes we'll be making for 2005, but after getting plenty of feedback from 2004 members, I've decided that the NFBC is pretty good as it is. Here's the changes I've made that will be reflected in the new Rules link later today:



1. Owners will be allowed to draft any major-league or minor-league player on Draft Day. They can also keep those players on their reserve rosters even if they aren't on any MLB 25-man roster.



2. In-season eligibility has been changed to 10 games played at any position. The 20 games played at a position requirement before the season remains intact. Eligibility for minor-leaguers remains the same: If any prospect was called up late in the season and didn't play a full 20 games at any position, the position he played the most at in the majors would be the position he is eligible for to start the season. If a player didn't play at all in the majors in 2004 (i.e. Joe Mauer before this season), he would have eligibility at the position he played the most at in the minors in 2004. The NFBC will provide those eligibility lists to all NFBC owners well in advance of the draft.



3. The NFBC will continue to have weekly transactions, with the FAAB deadline remaining at 7 p.m. EST on Sundays. Starting lineups will be due on Mondays, five minutes before the start of the first game. More details on this as we get closer to the season and see the MLB schedule. I know there is interest in a Thursday night limited transaction period (no more than 5 mid-week moves per year), but I need to converse with STATS to see if that is even possible and how it would be tracked online first. I haven't closed the book on that, but at this time it's not in the rules.



4. The NFBC will provide two sets of Auction Leagues this year: $650 entry fee AL-only and NL-only Auction Leagues in each city, and $1,250 entry fee AL-only and NL-only Auction Leagues in each city. The prize structure and rules will be posted for those soon. If there is interest in a Mixed Auction League, I'll consider that as well. All of the Auction Leagues will be held on Friday, March 18th, with the NL Auctions likely starting around 10 a.m. and the AL Auctions starting at 4 or 5 p.m. More details later (Chicago, with the Cubs, could have a reverse time schedule of those leagues).



5. The NFBC main event will now consist of 30 rounds, one more than in 2004. Each team will now be allowed to have seven reserves, which will allow teams to deal more effectively with injuries and possibly to expand their interest in top prospects who start the season in the minors. No decision has been made yet on the reserve rosters for the Auction Leagues.



6. The NFBC will again award a $100,000 grand prize, with league prizes currently set at $5,000 for first place, $1,750 for second place and $750 for third place. There is some consideration to changing second place to $2,000 and third place to $500, but we'll see. For now, the goal is 300 teams and a prize structure similar to 2004, with the hope of adding to the league prizes if we top our goal.



7. Lifetime standings will be added by Opening Day, combining your final standings from 2004 to your daily standings in 2005. We'll figure out season-ending prizes for this category as well.



Again, Auction League rules will be updated tomorrow. Hope this helps everyone make their decision for 2005.

One thing you might want to consider is giving away free entries for the best four teams in September. This would keep teams active until the end. They would manage their teams and be active in the FAAb market.

As you guys know, I'm actively working to get sponsors involved with the NFBC as you guys are a perfect demographic for some companies. I would love to create a second half champion with a sponsored prize as that would again give everyone a chance to keep competing until the end. Plus it would be another set of standings to look at each day, which is always fun. I'll put it on my list of things to do and see if I can get it done.

Greg, I love the changes - especially the 30 round draft! Thanks for listening. Next season can't come soon enough.

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

I know a lot of guys are wondering what drastic changes we'll be making for 2005, but after getting plenty of feedback from 2004 members, I've decided that the NFBC is pretty good as it is. Here's the changes I've made that will be reflected in the new Rules link later today:

Nice job on the rule changes, Greg.



I'll be back, but before I can think baseball I need to get over the shock of the Cubs collapse and the Zefurs missing first place in the NL auction by ONE RUN! That hurt.

Is there a way we can look a league, other than our own's, draft?

Don,



Send me your e-mail and I will send you a spreadsheet of every league's drafts. They had a spreasheet earlier that you could download and I did.



Mike Ladd / Go the Distance (NY4)

[email protected]

I also have an Excel document with Average Draft Position from STATS. Mike, send me those league Excel documents as well. I think I'll ask STATS to make those available only on the NFBC game site for league members as that would be valuable research material for people preparing for 2005. I'll see if I can get that done this week or even find a way to e-mail our members those results. Thanks for asking.

Greg,



What I have is just the spreadsheet you posted. It had average draft position in one tab and each league's results in another tab. If you really want me to send it to you, can I get your e-mail address. I am [email protected]