Running a yahoo roto fantasy league

[HoustonGM]

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:

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.

[KowboyKoop]

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.

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.

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....

[OldFatGuy]

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.

[HoustonGM]

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.

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.

As far as the max, I think I get that, but is there a min?

No minimum.

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.

Uh, I'm actually not sure on that...I've never encountered anyone doing that.

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???

It's not broken down by position. You're simply scored on your overall AVG/OPS, etc.

[BINGLEBOP]

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.

[ragecage]

less than 2 hours away, oh snap

[KowboyKoop]

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.

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.

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...

[HoustonGM]

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.

Aha, yes, that's why people don't do it. Didn't even realize that.

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...

Yep. This is true.

[gosensgo101]

40 minutes! Hopefully the draft room comes up early so we can join and chat ahead of time.

[HoustonGM]

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).

[HoustonGM]

Yup, you can join the room now.

[TheNamelessPoet]

very contenet aside form 1 pick

[ragecage]

Same here, I will feel much better once Marcum is off my back

[TheNamelessPoet]

that tavaris pick... ouch

I wanted abreu with that pich which would have opened up stuff for me later on

[BINGLEBOP]

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.