Saturday, February 28, 2009

Cuts

Final pre-Draft rosters are due by midnight on the 6th (Friday). Feel free to report any preliminary cuts before then so I can get the rosters narrowed down. Nothing is official until Friday night, but if there are certain cuts still on your roster, email me and I'll dump em.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Two Rule Suggestions

The FFTs have proposed the idea of having a post-draft free agent signing of sorts. For all those wanting to stay up past the final draft pick, you could continue taking players - as many as you want or some specified number - which you would then have to, of course, cut when narrowing your roster down to 30.

This would be something like the NFL does. As soon as the last team drafting has made their last pick, all undrafted players are fair game. It might come in handy if you finished drafting and suddenly realized you didn't have enough at bats to cover the catcher position or something. The FFTs just like to cut a lot of guys after spending the night looking at their cards.

We'd need some rules to determine who gets to pick when. Probably just stay in draft order among the teams who want to participate.

It would seem harmless enough. Most teams have started passing when they get to the last two optional picks anyway, so not everyone wants more players. And as long as the selections happened AFTER the last official drafter was finished, I see no harm. I would suggest that an earlier deadline than usual be made for announcing cuts - like by Saturday afternoon - for any team taking part in the free agent signings. Your roster has to be down to 25 by the time you play your first game, anyway.

The other thing I'm suggesting - and no one has mentioned this to me - is that the SuperGoofs be allowed to change his ballpark if he so chooses this year. Now, he may not want to, but it seems only fair that he be given that option. Especially since it's a long time before we switch parks again.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Trade

The Warpigs traded Jason Bartlett to the Sidewinders for pick 61.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

2009 Schedule

Thanks to the Merry Mentor of Mediocrity, the 2009 Schedule is completed. And thanks to me nagging him about it, the Warpigs play all four of their double headers on the road. Again.

Go to NASOMA.org for the schedule. There is a webpage version and a printable one on Excel.

2009 Mock Draft

1. Fungoes - David Price. Moving up from pick 4 to pick 1 was expensive, but the Fungoes think the Price is Right. Price is rated either #1 or #2 in every prospect list out there and will make a nice battery with Fungo Matt Wieters, the OTHER guy ranked either #1 or #2 in those polls.

2. Wahoos - Ricky Nolasco. The Wahoos are loaded for bear, err, pig this year. Adding Nolasco's 200+ innings to the rotation AND the bullpen completes a very good staff.

3. Mavs - Chris Davis. Hard to figure what the Mavs are looking for here. Price would have been a nice selection, but with him gone, Davis is a good bet. He's local, and the Mavs attend a lot of games; the Mavs could use a big bat at 1B/3B; and Davis is going to be good for a long time.

4. Warpigs - Cliff Lee. The Pigs need a starting pitcher, and Cliff Lee is the best starter available.

5. SuperGoofs - Alexei Ramirez. Trading Rollins for Carlos Quentin made the Goofs younger and better, but leaves a big hole at SS. Ramirez can play several spots well now, and is scheduled to be the starting SS for the ChiSox this season. The Cuban defector has the tools to be a solid part of the Goof lineup for quite a while.

6. Warpigs - Grant Balfour. Balfour is probably the best reliever available and joins Soria and Wagner in a deep Pigpen.

7. Nads - Nate McLouth. The Nads could use a CF, and the best one falls into their laps here. McLouth is a Gold Glover with speed and youth, and he is probably the best full time player available in this year's draft. The Nads also need bullpen, but there should be plenty of good cards around for the taking in rounds 2-3.

8. Zaps - Justin Duchscherer. The Zaps could go with youth here or the pitching they need. The race in the AWD will be a close one, and the Zaps are in position to win it if they draft pitching. Duchscherer's card is as good as it gets this year, although he is somewhat short on innings.

9. Buckeyes - Taylor Teagarden. Although the Buckeyes have a lot of holes to fill, he's still probably the team to beat in the MFD, and Teagarden's card is the quintessential Buckeye card.

10. Killer Bees - John Danks. The Bees need help everywhere except 1B, so I have no idea which direction he goes here. Danks is the best young starting pitcher available, and probably has the most future value of any player on the board.

11. Drillers - Hong-Chih Kuo. Kuo teams with Joe Nathan to give the Drillers a great lefty/righty bullpen duo.

12. Wahoos - Cory Wade. The Wahoos add another quality arm to their bullpen. The Hoos are set. Let the games begin.

13. Sidewinders - Joey Devine. The Snake bullpen is practically the only weak link in this team. Devine makes a good team better.

14. Fungoes - Shin-Soo Choo. Gezundheit. More young hitters for the Fungo stable.

15. Fungoes - Max Scherzer. More young pitchers for the Fungo stable. 2010, the year of the Fungo.

16. Rhinos - Kerry Wood. The Rhinos don't need much except bullpen, and the Fungoes are going to be claiming Lidge or Okajima off of his roster any day now. The list of RH relievers available is dwindling fast by now, but the Rhinos still get a good one. Still, like the Warpigs at pick 4, it sucks to use a first round pick on a guy you cut just last year.

Friday, February 20, 2009

UPS

UPS... When it absolutely, positively has to be there in a few weeks.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Schedule?

Will the Merry Mentor of Mediocrity bless us with a schedule soon?

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The Peanut Gallery

In case you haven't noticed, NASOMA has a new place to leave messages. The new site, The Peanut Gallery, can be reached thru NASOMA.org or by clicking here. It is set up so that any of us can leave a post or a comment to a post. You should have received an email inviting you to be an author of this blog. Accept the invitation and starting leaving posts.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Trade

The Wahoos traded Chris Young (SD) and pick 92 to the Killer Bees for pick 12.

Comments Needed

Re the Demerit Rule: Is everyone okay with it as it is written in the earlier post? I received no comments one way or the other. I don't know if that means everything is cool or that no one looks at this blog or what. I would rather not spend too much time at the Draft bitching and moaning about stuff we could bitch and moan about on here.

I tried to water it down enough so it's not fatal to get nailed with demerits, while still keeping it effective as a means of keeping us on some kind of schedule.

And while I'm begging for feedback, I'll bring this up again... I can open Big Innings to other authors. If you think you'd like to be able to post on here (not just comment, but initiate a post), I'm pretty sure it's possible. Any thoughts on that?

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Trades

The Fungoes traded pick 4, pick 20, and pick 21 to the Warpigs for pick 1, pick 34, a reserve pick, and Ryan Freel.

The Fungoes now own pick 1 and are on the clock.

The Warpigs traded picks 130, 145, and 161 to the DVs for their 2010 5th.

The Wahoos traded Justin Speier and pick 89 to the Warpigs for pick 81.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The Demerit Rule

Below is how the Demerit Rule will appear in the Constitution. There are a few minor changes from the way it was written last year. The changes are in red. The changes to part A are only moving the deadlines by one day so they are due on the first of the month instead of the last day of the previous month. It actually gives you an extra day. The change in part C deals with games played on a third party's computer. It is now each team owner's responsibility for getting his game files - not the responsibility of the computer owner. The change in part E clarifies the deadline for turning in final stats. The change in part F was discussed last summer as a way to penalize teams falling way behind on their games played more than those who fall only a few games short. And the changes in part G is a compromise of several suggestions.

The idea of the demerits is not to penalize anybody; it's just to try to keep things on a fairly even schedule where we are all playing games on the same pace. Call or email your opponent or me or the Commish if there is some problem with playing games or getting results or instructions, and maybe we can get things resolved without demerits.

Something I noticed... Part D may have been overlooked last season. It says that if you are not planning on playing somebody face to face or on netplay, that you must have instructions sent to them by July 4. I'll try to remember to send out a reminder before the 4th.


V. Deadlines and Demerits

A.The deadline for playing regular season games is as follows:
April 1 - 20 games
May 1 - 35 games
June 1 - 50 games
July 1 - 75 games
August 1 - 100 games
September 1 - 120 games
October 1 - 140 games
November 1 - 162 games

B.All teams must report the results of all games played to the webmaster within 24 hours of playing the games, except for games played on Draft Weekend, which must be reported by midnight Wednesday after the Draft. For games played throughout the season, only one of the teams is required to report the results as long as the email is copied to the other team.

C.When a series is played on the computer, the one with the computer must send the other manager all necessary files (game files, box scores, subsets, etc.) within 24 hours of the final game. The receiving manager determines which files he wants sent to him. The receiving team should then acknowledge receipt of the files. If the computer used belongs to neither team, both managers are responsible for obtaining their own files from the computer.

D.Instructions for all games that cannot be played face to face or via netplay must be sent out by July 4th.

E.Final Stats must be submitted to the Commissioner and the Yearbook by midnight on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. For pitchers, the following stats must be submitted: games, games started, complete games, shutouts, innings pitched, hits allowed, runs allowed, earned runs allowed, walks, strikeouts, home runs allowed, wins, losses, saves, errors, and earned run average. For non-pitchers, the following stats must be submitted: games, at bats, runs scored, hits, runs batted in, doubles, triples, home runs, walks, strikeouts, errors, stolen bases, times caught stealing, times hit by pitch, and batting average. The season's final stats must also include a breakdown of the team's won-lost records against all other teams.

F.Failure to meet the deadlines in Rule V, part A will result in: 1 demerit for falling 1-20 games short of the minimum, 2 demerits for falling 21-50 games short of the minimum, or 3 demerits for falling 50+ games short of the minimum. This will apply each month. Failure to report results as stated in Rule V, part B will result in 1 demerit for each offense. Failure to send computer files or acknowledge receipt as stated in Rule V, part C will result in 1 demerit for each offense. Failure to send out instructions on time, as stated in Rule V, part D, will result in 1 demerit for each offense. Failure to submit stats on time, as stated in Rule V, part E, will result in 5 demerits.

G.Consequences for demerits:
0-3 demerits: no consequence
4 demerits: you are limited to a max of 20 players at the March cut down.
5 demerits: you are limited to a max of 19 players
6 demerits: you are limited to a max of 18 players
7 demerits: you are limited to a max of 17 players
8 demerits: you are limited to a max of 16 players
9-14 demerits: you are limited to a max of 15 players
15 or more demerits: you are limited to a max of 14 players

The number of Reserve Spots you own wouldn't affect the ruling. If you have 2 Reserve Spots, you will still have 32 players at the end of the draft, but you will only start with the max you were allowed. Example: if you have 2 Reserve Spots but earned 6 demerits, you start with a max of 18 players and use the draft to get to 32. And no protecting players for anyone.

Last Year's Draft

If you are interested in looking at the results of last year's draft, it is in the Archives section of the website.

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Trades

The Buckeyes traded Jeff Keppinger to the Warpigs for "Uncle" Dan Wheeler.

The Buckeyes traded pick 106 to the Wahoos for Augie Ojeda and pick 137.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Card Ratings

Here is the distribution of the top 100* players (based on current, not future, value) according to the Lamanna Draft Guide:

Warpigs - 13 players. 3 in the top 20 (Chipper 1, Pujols 3, Harden 8)
Rhinos - 9 players. 3 in the top 20 (H.Ramirez 4, ARoid 7, Sheets 18)
Wahoos - 9 players. 2 in the top 20 (Pedroia 2, Youkilis 15)
Drillers - 8 players. 1 in the top 20 (Lincecum 13)
Sidewinders - 7 players. 1 in the top 20 (Mauer 16)
Zaps - 7 players. 1 in the top 20 (Hamilton 17)
Fungoes - 5 players. 4 in the top 20! (Napoli 6, Halladay 9, Sizemore 12, Berkman 14)
DVs - 5 players. 2 in the top 20 (Utley 5, McCann 10)
Nads - 5 players. 1 in the top 20 (J.D.Drew 11)
Killer Bees - 5 players. None in the top 20 (highest rated is Teixeira 23)
FFTs - 5 players. None in the top 20 (highest rated is Rivera 27)
SuperGoofs - 3 players. None in the top 20 (highest rated is Guthrie 40)
Inmates - 3 players. None in the top 20 (highest rated is J.Santana 45)
Tweeners - 2 players. 1 in the top 20 (Roberts 19)
Buckeyes - 2 players. None in the top 20 (highest rated is Y.Escobar 53)
Mavs - 2 players. None in the top 20 (highest rated is Hardy 64)

Among the players eligible to be drafted, there are 10 in the list of 100 and 1 in the top 20 (Duchscherer 20)

The list included only batters with 250+ at bats and pitchers with 40+ innings. And again, this was based solely on their use this year, not their future value.

* The top 100 list, for whatever reason, has one player listed twice - at 54 and again at 62 - so I went to number 101 to get the top 100 players.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Version 14 New Features

There are, as always, new features in the newest CD version of SOMBB. My favorite is...

3) SPECTATOR MODE - Spectator Mode has been added. Now you can watch as other guys in your Netplay league go head-to-head in regular season or playoff games!

Trade

The FFTs trade picks 121 and 130 to the Warpigs for Wilson Betemit and future considerations.

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Trade

The Warpigs traded Travis Hafner and pick #2 to the Wahoos for Dexter Fowler, pick #6, and a reserve spot.

Rolling Bones

Just curious... which managers, given the option, prefer to roll dice in a face to face game? My guess is the dice rollers include the Pigs, Inmates, Wahoos, Snakes, and Tweeners. Any others prefer dice to the computer game?

I know the computer allows for quicker games and stats that are done for you, but I would rather NOT hurry through the season. I don't want to just "knock em out," ya know? And I LIKE doing stats. I know... I'm weird.

Another question on the same line... Are the SuperGoofs ready to roll dice? With the master of dice rolling strat players right there under the same roof, I like to think they have rolled about a million games preparing for the Goof's first full season in the league... but I suppose in this computer age, with all of life's distractions pulling us in so many directions, it's possible they have not rolled any.

And while we're at it, how many of us have netplay capacity for mail games? Is it all 16 yet?

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Trade

The FFTs traded a reserve spot to the Fungoes for picks 68 and 84 and a 2010 reserve spot.

Draft Issues

Anybody have any issues to bring up at the Draft? We could get some of it hammered out now and save a bit of time. Does anyone have any rules to introduce? Any rules you need explained? Any questions you need answered. Here are a couple of things to get the ball rolling...

1. It has been mentioned to me that we should bring up for vote again the rule the Wahoos proposed last year regarding the Draft order for the 1st round. The rule missed out last year by one vote, but at least two of the nays have said they have reconsidered. Here's the proposal:

In the first round of the Draft (and ONLY the first round), the Draft order among the non-playoff teams will be reversed. Of the ten non-playoff teams, the team with the best record would pick first. Second best record would pick second, and so on. The six playoff teams would still pick 11-16. Rounds 2+ would not be changed from the way we do it now. The reasoning is that it gives teams more incentive to win down the stretch, even after it becomes clear they are not going to make the playoffs. It also prevents tanking - whether in the form of drafting an all-prospect team designed to lose or just flat out not trying your best to win games. The new rule, if passed, would begin with the 2010 Draft.

2. I was asked this week about the number of uncarded players you can draft. The current rule says that a team can only protect/draft/own as many uncarded players as they have Reserve spots. If you have your two spots, you may protect 2 uncarded players before the Draft and not take any more. Or you could not protect any and then draft two. Or protect one and draft one. But you cannot own more than two at any time - and that includes trading for an uncarded player - from the time of roster cut down until you set your official roster for the season.

Example... Let's say the Sidewinders have two reserve spots, and they list on their protected roster two uncarded players (like Willis and Brignac). Then their turn in the Draft comes up and the Snakeman realizes he could draft heralded 7-tool prospect Ben Dover. He's thinking, "I'll draft Dover and just cut that bum Willis." Sorry, but you can't do that. Once you protected the two uncardeds, you took away any chance you had of drafting an uncarded player.

If you have three Reserve spots, you can protect/draft as many as three uncarded players (and so on). And if you have NO Reserve spots, obviously, you cannot draft an uncarded player.

And just to be clear... you do not HAVE to take uncarded players. The rule just sets the maximum you may own.

The number of Reserve spots you own is listed beside your team name on the rosters page. If it says (32), you have 2 spots.