Bumping this thread for great justice. The draft is on Wednesday!
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Bumping this thread for great justice. The draft is on Wednesday!
I will not be denied 7th place.
three more days!!!!! Despite making a list for myself of the 'main' guys I still feel roughly unprepared and inexperienced compared to the people in the league :(
Sounds like a nice way to spend Wednesday evening. Wonder when Santana will be drafted because of his elbow.
League Full?
I've been wondering that myself. The only other pitchers around the same ADP I believe are CC Sabathia and Lincecum. With Sabathia I'm not sure I like an overweight guy who's logged a ton of innings in the past few years and with Lincecum you're giving up on a few extra wins.Quote:
Originally Posted by ragecage
I think all deserve to be taken highly, but personally I think I'm going to use the pick on someone else and pick up some other guys unless they all fall pass the 6th round.
LOL, you're forgetting this old fat arse!Quote:
Originally Posted by 200tang
I've NEVER been in a fantasy league before.
I DON'T have a list.
I have no clue how to even begin to make a list.
I'm doing this more to learn how the whole fantasy thing works, by watching all of the moves and trades and drafts that YOU GUYS make, cause I don't have a clue.
I'm fully expecting a 12th place finish.
I'm even thinking of just letting the Yahoo thing draft for me, because no way it could be worse, because I don't have a clue.
Mmmm, does any of that make you feel any better? :D
By the way, can someone explain it again to me??
I THINK I get it, but I just want to clarify.
There are stats that are accumulated by the people you draft (and those stats can be different in different leagues, right?, could someone tell me which stats are the stats for this league?)
Then, points are awarded based on those stats right??
But, they're awarded based on how you finish in regards to everyone else, am I right?
So, if my guys get 200 Home Runs, and that's more than anyone else's guys gets, then I get the most points (12???) for being in first, right? And it would mean NOTHING extra if they got 300 home runs instead of 200 as long as 200 was enough to be in first place, right? Do I have that basic part right?
I mean, you don't get X number of points for each HR, in which case getting 500 HR's might be worth it, you merely get X number of points for the position you finish in relative to the others in terms of Home Runs, right? (Assuming, of course, home runs is even one of the stats, LOL, I don't even know which stats we're using.)
Anyway, do I have that basic understanding right?
So, if you finish 4th in all 10 (or 12 or however many categories there are), then you would get 4th place fantasy points in all 12 categories, no matter what the raw totals were in each category, right?
I let the Yahoo auto-drafter make my picks for a draft I was in last year (because I forgot to show up! :p), and it was an okay team, but I wound up completely overturning the roster during the season. I think only one or two players that were drafted by me were still on my team at the end.
Here's some tips I've been able to pick up from others and experts in the 2 fantasy leagues I've been in and the info I've picked up getting prepared for this league's draft.Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFatGuy
Just remember that you should try and avoid injury risks and guys who will likely miss part of the season for whatever reason for the first few picks.
A general rule I go by and other do too is to not draft pitchers before the 3rd/4th round. They only pitch once, sometimes twice a week versus your position players who you expect to go out everyday. (Some pitchers do go very early in expert mock drafts so this isn't THE RULE).
Defense doesn't matter. The only thing you should consider about defense is how much playing time the player might lose because of their defense. (You probably already knew this but it's worth repeating).
Closers are crazy. For you I'd say wait until someone drafts Papelbon before you begin to think about drafting a closer.
Consider position strength. There are a ton of good 1B out there compared to few 2B/SS for fantasy purposes. If you can't get a top notch 1B you may want to focus on some other positions before wasting a high round pick on the 10th best 1B while one of the best SS/2B/C are still on the board.
Reputation. Usually guys who have a big reputation or burst on to the scene last year, they usually go higher than they should. People always want their favorite player or rookie of the year candidate on their team and some are willing to overdraft.
Consider home environment. Some guys (Matt Holiday) move from offensive stadiums to pitching stadiums. Although these guys may or may not see a big decline it's always something you should take in to consideration on draft day. This also works in the opposite for pitches moving from a place like Coors to a place like PETCO.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFatGuy
Correct. Your ranking in each category is what is scored. If you have the most HRs of any owner, it doesn't matter whether it is 200 or 2000. Same with every other category. So yes, I think you have a good understanding of how the scoring in this league works.
Go to the league lobby on Yahoo and you can look at the settings to see the stats and other rules.
Ive played a lot of pool in bars, and they have a term for what you are doing. And that is called "Hustler". ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFatGuy
LOL, yeah, I hear you.Quote:
Originally Posted by ragecage
I do know that I'm not stupid, and I've loved and followed baseball my whole life, so in that sense I'm not "totally green".
But, I really haven't participated in a fantasy league before. And I really am somewhat unsure of myself because I don't know the details as well as others.
But your point is fair, I'm trying to set the bar low purposefully. (Although to be fair to myself, it might work out that way :p)
I'm going to read some more, I'm going to give it my best, and whatever happens, it will be with my best effort, I do promise you that. I think I'll probably fail miserably, but I'm going to try to win my very first fantasy league. So you have fairly called me out on my purposefully trying to lower expectations.
See ya at the end of the year!:D
Quote:
Originally Posted by KowboyKoop
Thank you. I thought I had gathered that much from my reading.
Doesn't that make drafting strategies different though?
I mean, if you were to receive a set number of points PER HOME RUN, instead of WHICH POSITION YOU FINISH IN TERMS OF HOME RUNS, doesn't that change things an awful lot??
For example, let's say there are 12 teams and 40 guys that can hit between 35-45 home runs.
But, there are 12 teams, and there are only 10 guys that can be expected to strikeout 200 hitters (assuming strikeouts are one of the criteria).
Doesn't that dramatically change the value of the 200K pitcher versus the 40 Home run guy vis-a-vis if the league were scored points based on raw totals?
Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFatGuy
I'm sure strategy would change if it was a points league like you are describing. For this league...I would just say try to have some balance and don't overthink it...I mean....good hitters are going to be good in several categories and good pitchers are going to be good in several categories.
Nothing to worry about really, it's not as hard as you are probably building it up to be in your mind.
Kind of. If you draft shrewd, though, you can get around that.Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFatGuy
Say I pick up Tim Lincecum in an early round. That's a great shot at 200 Ks right there. But say other guys have players like Jose Reyes, Brian Roberts, Jimmy Rollins, Willy Taveras...I have a good shot at strikeouts, but I might lose stolen bases if I don't act fast. So I grab a basestealer - Juan Pierre - instead of another starter to lock up the whole K's category.
Or, there are some other strategies. Say you had Francisco Rodriguez, Jose Valverde, and Mariano Rivera. You'd have saves completely locked up by July - no one close, and you'd have maximum points. But say also that you couldn't buy an RBI. So swing a deal...maybe offer Valverde for Adrian Gonzalez.
Both these strategies have worked, and both have blown up.
Remind me to invite you in when I set up Fantasy Football later in the year...:DQuote:
Originally Posted by OldFatGuy
If you let the Yahoo thing draft for you, it could make the draft drag on for a really long time... I think 2 minutes per turn if someone is absent.
Yahoo will provide you with a preset ranking of all the players, so you can go by that to a large degree. The rankings are pretty accurate, so if you were to follow it as a guideline, you would be in good shape. You can sort these by position and such, so if you're thinking "boy, I could really use a 2B or SS right now" then you can just look at the top guys available there, according to Yahoo.
I personally won't be using a list of any sort for the draft... I feel like it's too time consuming to make a ranking list for yourself, where 91.66666% of the guys you spend time analyzing and ranking against each other will end up on other teams. And the draft will change a lot as it goes on, which can render a list useless. Like, let's say you're in the 7th round or so, and there's a run going on starting pitching... all the starters are getting snatched up, and you're staring at the next guys up on your list... and let's say they're all outfielders and corner infielders, and you already managed to pick up 4 or 5 top tier guys at those positions. You'd want to skip down on your list anyway and get in on the run on SP before it's all swallowed up.
In terms of strategy, it's really a matter of personal preference, and will have a lot to do with how the draft plays out. I look at a fantasy draft a lot like a real life NFL draft. You have to balance drafting for need with drafting for the best players available. A good strategy is sometimes to snatch up a player that flies in the face of any strategy that you've developed beforehand, just because he's such a bargain where you end up with him. Let's say you're drafting 4th or 5th, and somehow Pujols falls into your lap. Even if your plan was to stock up on skill positions like SS, 2B, CF, C, would you not pull the trigger on Pujols at that kind of bargain?
And don't forget two things: you can always trade guys, and there will end up being several undrafted players that turn into fantasy studs as the season goes on.
Posting here as well for those that may not check their PMs, but don't forget that the draft is tomorrow, 8:30 PM eastern!
goggity giggity goo :D
I'll be there.
Unless this damned headache and ringing in my ears doesn't go away. (And why do I keep smelling bacon? :confused:)
KOONNNGGG. There it goes again. :D
Just HAD to take a screenshot of this, since it's likely the ONLY TIME EVER I'll see my fantasy virgins in first place. :p
Oh the standings actually go backwards so you're really in last place and the commish (HGM) is in first.
I am still confused about how the scoring could work, what is a "lineup", how the "Maximum number of games" and "Maximum Number of Innings" thing works. And I've read everywhere I know to read.
This is going to be ugly.
Well, your lineup is just who out of the players you have available you're starting, while everyone else is on the bench (and don't provide points to you as long as they're benched).Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFatGuy
Yep, your lineup is anybody you have in a position slot. Anybody in a bench spot is on the bench. Only players in the lineup count towards your stats.
Maximum number of games and innings....it's to prevent people from using playing time to their advantage, swapping out players that aren't playing for those that are ALL the time. For example, if I wanted to win counting stats like K's and Win's, without an innings limit, I could pick up pitchers every day off the waiver wire that are pitching that day, cut other guys, and just keep rotating pitchers through, and simply by virtue of always having multiple guys starting, I'd rack up tons of wins and strikeouts. An innings limit prevents this because once you reach the maximum number of innings, none of your stats count anymore. Same goes for the games limit at each position.
As for the scoring...it's pretty simple. If you have the most home runs, you get 12 points...if you have the 2nd most home runs, you get 11, etc. Same goes for all the other stats. The Help explains it pretty well:
Quote:
In a Rotisserie League, fantasy teams are ranked from first to last in each of several statistical categories. Points are then awarded according to the order of finish in each category, and are totaled to determine an overall score and place.
So, if you are in a 12-team league, the team with the most home runs will receive 12 points, the team with the second most will receive 11 points, etc. In the case of a tie, each team involved receives an average of the total points due—i.e., in the above example, if two teams were tied for first in homers, each would receive 11.5 points [(12 + 11) / 2 = 11.5].
Therefore, the maximum number of points that a team can earn is equal to the number of scoring categories within a league multiplied by the number of teams in the league. Similarly, the lowest number of points that a team can earn is equal to the number of scoring categories multiplied by one, which is the lowest score that can be achieved in any category.
So, if you were playing in a league with 12 teams and 12 scoring categories, the lowest point total possible is 12 [12 * 1 = 12] and the highest is 144 [12 * 12 = 144].
Rankings within the individual scoring categories (HR, RBI, etc.) are based on the cumulative stats earned by all active players during the season and not on any individual day or game.
Therefore, the overall ranking of your team will rise and fall depending on how it performs relative to the performance of other league members. So, the phenomenon of "losing points" can be explained as your rank falling in one or more of the statistical categories used in your league.
It will be easier to answer all your questions after the draft is over. After the draft, you can view your team and play around with things..it really is easier than it seems to you right now.Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFatGuy
When the draft starts and you are in the draft lobby you will see your team's positions and they'll all be blank to start. Just be sure to draft one player for each position (by the time the draft is through, you can draft in any order you want) and enough pitchers to fill all the slots. After that, you can pick whatever positions you want for your bench...but you obviously don't want to draft 6 SS or something like that). Just focus on filling each position with the best player possible and have a versatile enough bench. Also, remember that for the bench (BN) positions, that can be either a position player OR a pitcher....
Well, I understand a starting lineup in a baseball game, but I could've sworn I read on our league setup page that we have like 10 or 11 position players and 8 pitchers in a starting line-up. I don't get that.
As far as the max, I think I get that, but is there a min?
I mean, suppose I pick my pitchers, and get EXTREMELY LUCKY, and on their first outings, they all throw scoreless, 3 K innings, with no walks, few hits, etc. So after day one my ERA is 0.00, my WHIP is something astounding like 0.10, and K/BB ratio is 15 to 1.
So, I cut all my pitchers, never sign any more. Have I now guaranteed myself first place in ERA, K/BB ratio and WHIP (while understanding of course I've also guaranteed myself last place in Win and saves, etc.
Same could be said for my starting catcher. He goes 4-4 opening day with 4HR's. His AVG and OPS are off the charts, so I cut all catchers, and I'm guaranteed wins for catchers in AVG and OPS???
Sorry, I know this probably doesn't make a lot of sense, but I told you I'd never done anything like this before.:o
For our league, you have 10 position players that "start" each day...one at each infield position, 3 outfielders, and 2 "utility players" which can be any position player whatsoever. There are 8 pitchers set...3 have to be starters, 2 have to be relievers, and the other 3 can be either starters or relievers. Only pitchers that you have in any of those slots will have their stats count. If a starter pitchers, but he's listed in your bench spot, his stats for that day won't count. So, there's a maximum of 18 players that can accumulate stats for you on any given day. Rarely will there be a time, though, when you have 8 pitchers all pitching on the same day.Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFatGuy
No minimum.Quote:
As far as the max, I think I get that, but is there a min?
Uh, I'm actually not sure on that...I've never encountered anyone doing that.Quote:
I mean, suppose I pick my pitchers, and get EXTREMELY LUCKY, and on their first outings, they all throw scoreless, 3 K innings, with no walks, few hits, etc. So after day one my ERA is 0.00, my WHIP is something astounding like 0.10, and K/BB ratio is 15 to 1.
So, I cut all my pitchers, never sign any more. Have I now guaranteed myself first place in ERA, K/BB ratio and WHIP (while understanding of course I've also guaranteed myself last place in Win and saves, etc.
It's not broken down by position. You're simply scored on your overall AVG/OPS, etc.Quote:
Same could be said for my starting catcher. He goes 4-4 opening day with 4HR's. His AVG and OPS are off the charts, so I cut all catchers, and I'm guaranteed wins for catchers in AVG and OPS???
I'm not in this league, but I've played the Yahoo Fantasy Leagues previously. OFG, if you had a lucky week and wanted to cut your pitchers, I'm pretty sure that you are still held to a minimum number of them (unless that's changed), so you would have to have active pitchers that week.
The challenge is determining which ones you want to have active. You won't be able to have all of them active when they make their actual starts either, so you may have an inactive pitcher throw a shutout, but since he wasn't on your active roster, you won't get credit for it.
It should be a fun league, because it keeps league members active if you really want to do well. If you're a lurker and drop in once a week or so, you probably will end up toward the bottom of the pack. You have to find out about the best matchups, which ballpark they're going to, who your starting pitchers are matching up against (IRL) in each of their starts, and so on.
less than 2 hours away, oh snap
You could do that for your pitching, but you'd probably just be guaranteeing yourself a 5th place finish or something like that....b/c you'd have to have an AMAZING offense to win the league if you are getting 1 point in three categories.Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFatGuy
Play to win..don't do that strategy. Trust me...once you get through the draft..many of your questions will be easy to figure out...and once we get going in the season....you'll find it a lot easier than you are making it out to be...
Aha, yes, that's why people don't do it. Didn't even realize that.Quote:
Originally Posted by KowboyKoop
Yep. This is true.Quote:
Play to win..don't do that strategy. Trust me...once you get through the draft..many of your questions will be easy to figure out...and once we get going in the season....you'll find it a lot easier than you are making it out to be...
40 minutes! Hopefully the draft room comes up early so we can join and chat ahead of time.
I'm pretty sure you can join the draft lobby a half hour before it starts (which means 3 minutes from now).Quote:
Originally Posted by gosensgo101
Yup, you can join the room now.
very contenet aside form 1 pick :D
Same here, I will feel much better once Marcum is off my back
that tavaris pick... ouch :(
I wanted abreu with that pich which would have opened up stuff for me later on
Yeah, LOL at you drafting Taveras. HoustonGM told me about it, and I laughed so hard that I wet my Depends, and I wasn't even wearing any.