2009 SDMB Fantasy Baseball

The Game Room
1

Well boys and girls, it’s that time of the year again! Yahoo has opened up their fantasy baseball registration!

We’ve been having a league here on the SDMB for at least six years now, there’s about 12 people or so that have been playing for most of that time, but we are always looking for fresh blood. Kiros won the league last year, I’m sure he’ll be back to defend his title.

Last year’s thread.

The league is a little unusual, in that our settings are chosen for a much deeper league than normal. We usually wind up around 18 teams, I think last year was the first where we reached 19.

The settings are:
Roster Positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, IF, LF, CF, RF, OF, Util, SP, SP, RP, RP, P, P, P, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, DL, DL
Stat Categories: R, HR, RBI, SB, OBP, SLG, W, SV, K, HLD, ERA, WHIP

So a bit different from standard Yahoo - deeper rosters, with the IF and OF positions, plus the added twist of LF/CF/RF instead of generic outfield.
And then in stat categories we use OBP and SLG instead of average, and we add Holds to the standard five for pitchers.
Max Games Played 162, Max innings 1300.

As last year’s commissioner, I’ll be glad to start the league going (and send out the invites to all the regulars). I’d be fine with being commissioner again, but am fine with letting someone else do it.

So, are we ready for some fantasy baseball?

2

I look forward to having to draft in one of the last 3 slots again this year. And taking a pitcher who throws his arm out within three starts with one of my first 3 picks.

3

I look forward to drafting 6 players coming off of injury inadvertently and then pretending it was some sort of strategy.

4

You started this thread! My hero. The coming of spring is officially nigh. And defend I shall!

5

Waiting with baited breath…

6

I’ll be ready and waiting. :slight_smile:

7

If there are any open spots, I’d love to play.

8

I’ll be back to build upon my third place finish as a rookie. This time I won’t even take Travis Hafner within the first 40 picks.

9

Put me in [del]coach[/del]…er, commish…

10

I’d certainly be interested in joining if you have room for a newbie.

11

How “newbie” are we talking? Because I don’t want to say no to you - this is the league where I cut my fantasy teeth - but there is a very significant commitment you’re making when you sign up for this league. It’s big. REALLY big. The draft alone runs about 3.5 hours, which is a minute fraction of the time necessary in managing your team.

Inactivity is the death of fantasy leagues. And with as many teams as we have, the odds of an inactive manager increase. And we have a few nuanced changes made to the setup, so you can’t just mimic the advice given in fantasy mags or fantasy websites - you have to adjust everything you hear/read to incorporate on-base percentage and holds, as well as the extra infield spots and outfield-specific positions.

If by “newbie” you mean “haven’t been in this league” before, you still might want to get some input from last year’s rookie, Least Original User Name Ever.

Again, by no means am I dissuading you - but you do need to come in with your eyes wide open.

12

I’m definitely back in. This draft is one of the highlights of my year.

13

I’m certainly not new to fantasy baseball, although I’ve never played in a super deep league before. I have no problem with a long draft, although I’d love for it to be on a weekend. I follow MLB every single day and I was a very regular poster on the MLB monthly threads. I’ve never been an inactive manager in any of the leagues I’ve been in the past.

My only potential drawbacks:

I work 4 ten hour days M, T, Th, and Fri from 8:00 AM until 630 PM Pacific time during baseball season. I’m not able to access personal email or any fantasy sports site during those hours. So, if I get a trade request during those hours, I"m not able to review it. I think 12 hours is a reasonable amount of time to respond to a request, but other people may not.

14

dale, I don’t see any issues why you wouldn’t be welcome. Knowing your limitations beforehand is 90% of avoiding any issues (imo), and those aren’t serious by any stretch. I’m in the same boat at work as well (though I can access things via my phone, in case of a pinch).

Like I said, even people brand new to fantasy baseball could join this league and do well. But they can’t join on a whim - you have to know you’re coming into a group that is pretty serious and dedicated to a long-running league. We enjoy the depth, and welcome the opportunity to bring more people on (as we always lose a handful each year) to maintain that depth.

Plus, it’s fun to hit the 23rd round have no idea who you’re drafting. Omni got Jason Werth in the final round, no one expected him to even start, and he became a 20/20 contributor pushing him to 2nd place.

15

Here are my fantasy baseball credentials, if there are any more spots open:

[ul]
[li]played since 2001[/li][li]placed 2nd in a 12-man Yahoo public head-to-head league in 2003[/li][li]placed 2nd in a 12-man Yahoo public rotisserie league in 2004[/li][li]placed 1st in a 12-man Yahoo public rotisserie league in 2006[/li][li]placed 1st in a 12-man Yahoo public rotisserie winner’s league in 2007[/li][li]inexplicably took 2008 off in Yahoo public leagues, destroying my chance for a three-peat[/li][/ul]

Other than public leagues, I play in two others each year - one with friends from high school, the other with friends I met in college. We hold live drafts in person. I’m used to daily lineup changes and checking the news each day for injury reports, probable starters, match-ups, and hot rookies getting their call up to “the show.”

I’m looking to be a part of a highly competitive, active league that also remembers that, when it all comes down to it, fun is the first priority.

16

Don’t know about that. My priority lately seems to be peaking in July with an absolutely dominating team, and then spinning wildly out of control into a 4th or 5th place finish. Seriously - in a 19 team 6x6 league, there is a maximum of 228 points. I had like 210 in July. I finished in 5th place. What the hell happened?!? :slight_smile:

17

I’d love to join if this is H2H. I’m guessing it’s still ro-crap-erie tho…

18

Football doesn’t start until September, so no - it’s not H2H.

19

'Cest la vie. Have fun y’all!

20

Didn’t someone (Kiros?) get Mussina in the next to the last round? Can’t get to the draft results from work to check…

I’m going to send out invites to the returnees tomorrow. We’ve already had one regular say he’s bowing out; we haven’t heard from at least three others (rackensack, brianjedi and Kid_A}… so there will be quite a number of spots for newbies. I’ll also be able to announce the (tentative) draft slot then as well.