UPDATE (new date) We need a couple of new league members in an awesome league with a live auction (3/4)?

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Scrantonicity
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Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2009 9:48 pm

UPDATE (new date) We need a couple of new league members in an awesome league with a live auction (3/4)?

Post by Scrantonicity »

Anyone interested in joining up in my other league? We are trying to fill a few open spots in our 16 team league.

Couple of key features.
- The absolute highlight- the live auction, which is the zenith of fantasy baseball experiences. If you have never spent an entire morning with a bunch of dudes battling it out for Matt Wieters, then you my friend are missing out! This year's auction is on Saturday, April 1st.
- The superintendent of the Ballard School in beautiful Santa Ynez is a league member, and grants us access to a classroom at his school for the draft. Perfect setting with dry erase boards and wifi available for all.
- Several WBO members are also in Santa Ynez League: Bisbee, Buxton, Manny and formerly Freeze. Trying to talk Amato into one of the open spots for a while now.
- It's a keeper league, with the ability to retain 6 players from the previous year. Their salaries go up 50% every year, so there are fun math games included.
- Weekly format, H2H, with mostly traditional 5X5 counting stats (OBP instead of BA the only exception). This allows for a very manageable additional team, if you are feeling maxed out on the # of teams you already have.
- FA pickups through the FAB system, which is also cool.

If you are interested in learning more, here is the whole constitution- it might seem overwhelming, but it really is straightforward:

CONSTITUTION
Constitution of the
Santa Ynez Valley Whiners Fantasy Baseball Association

2015 VERSION
(NEW for 2015 - Trading deadline - section 12.1)
(APPROVED for 2016 - Restricted Free Agent Designation - section 16.7)

NOTE: Owners are encouraged to explore and evaluation alternate no-cost platforms for league hosting (e.g., Yahoo!, ESPN, etc)

PREAMBLE

We, the People of the Santa Ynez Valley Whiners Fantasy Baseball Association (SYVWFBA), in order to spin a more perfect Game, drive Justice home, kiss domestic Tranquility good-bye, completely ignore Defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Puberty to ourselves and those we’ve left on Base, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the SYVWFBA, and also finish this run-on sentence.

OBJECT

To assemble a team of 23 Major League baseball players whose cumulative performance, compiled and measured by the methods described herein, exceed those of all the other teams in the League.


1. TEAMS AND ROSTERS

1.1. Each team in the SYVWFBA shall have an active roster of 23 players as follows:

2 catchers
1 First Baseman
1 Third Baseman
1 Cornerman (1B or 3B)
1 Second Baseman
1 Shortstop
1 Middle Infielder (2B or SS)
5 Outfielders
1 Utility Player (any non-pitcher offensive player, including DH)

4 Starting Pitchers
4 Relief Pitchers
1 Pitcher (can be Starter or Reliever)

In addition, each team may have up to

5 Reserves (any position, pitcher or batter), and
2 Injured players (as determined by the website’s “DL” designation, which typically follows Major League Baseball)


2. ANNUAL LEAGUE AUCTION

2.1. Players are acquired in the Annual League Auction, conducted at or near the beginning of each Major League baseball season.

2.2. Physical attendance at the Auction by each owner, or his agent, is required. There will be no telephonic or internet attendance. Under no circumstances will a current owner/participant be allowed to act as agent for another team.

2.3. Each team must acquire 23 players at a total cost not to exceed 260 Draft Dollars ($). A team need not spend the maximum, but saving $ at the auction is probably not a very good idea, since Draft Dollars hold no value once the auction is complete.

2.4. The owner of the team that finished first in the prior year's Championship Tournament has the privilege of nominating the first player to be auctioned. Player nominations continue from that point based on descending order of the prior year’s final tournament standings.

2.5. When their turn comes up, owners with an open roster slot on their team MUST nominate a player. There is no “Passing”.

2.6. Any player is eligible to be acquired at auction, provided the player is recognized by the league’s Stat Service and is capable of being assigned to a team as of the close of the auction. This includes Free Agents and Minor League Players. Owners purchase players at auction at their own risk. Any player not appearing within the website’s universe of players (or that cannot be reasonably added and tracked, and the Commissioner will try hard to accommodate) is deemed ineligible.

2.7. The bidding opens with a minimum salary bid of $1 for any eligible player and the bidding proceeds at minimum increments of $1 until only one bidder is left. The successful bidder acquires the player for the high bid amount and announces the roster position the player will fill. The process is then repeated until all teams have a full roster of 23 active players that fill all required positions.

2.8. Players eligible at more than one position may be shifted during the course of the draft. Players cannot be placed on the Injured Reserve during the Auction or Reserve Draft.

2.9. No team may make a bid for a player it cannot afford. For example, a team with $3 left and two spots on its roster may not bid more than $2 for one player.

2.10. If an ineligible player is purchased at auction and his ineligible status is not declared at the time of the auction, the team that selected the ineligible player must pick a replacement player from the free agent pool. This replacement will count as a free agent in all aspects, including salary.

2.11. If such an ineligible player should subsequently become eligible, the team that originally purchased the player at auction has absolutely no right or claim of right to said player. The player will be available to any team via the waiver process or as a Free Agent.

2.12. No team may bid for a player that only qualifies at a position the team has already filled. For example, a team that has already acquired two catchers and whose utility player spot is occupied may NOT enter the bidding for a player that qualifies only at catcher.


3. RESERVE DRAFT

3.1. Immediately following the auction, a Reserve Draft shall be conducted, in which each team will acquire five additional reserve players.

3.2. The Reserve Draft shall be a Serpentine (Snake) Draft.

3.3. The order of the Reserve Draft shall be based on the reverse order of the previous year’s final H2H Tournament standings.


4. PLAYER SALARIES

4.1. The salary of a player is determined by the time and means of his acquisition, and the salary does not change during the course of the year.

4.2. The auction establishes the salary for all players acquired via auction. The amount paid at auction will be the player’s salary for the entire season, even if that player is cut from a fantasy roster and acquired (or re-acquired) via waivers or free agency.

4.3. All players selected during the Reserve Draft shall have a salary of $5.

4.4. Any player not originally purchased at Auction and subsequently acquired as a Free Agent shall have a salary of $5.


5. IN-SEASON SALARY CAP

5.1. In order to minimize the likelihood of dump trading, all teams in the league shall abide by an In-Season Salary Cap.

5.2. At no time during the season will a team be allowed to have an Active Roster with total salaries in excess of $325.

5.3. Salaries of players on the Reserve Roster or the Injured List do not count towards the In Season Salary Cap.


6. POSITION ELIGIBILITY

6.1. An position player may be assigned to any position at which he appeared in 20 or more games in the preceding season.

6.2. If a player does not qualify for a position under the foregoing rule, he qualifies at the position where he played the most games during the preceding year.

6.3. A player’s number of appearances is used to determine the position(s) at which a player may be protected on a frozen roster and/or acquired at auction. Note: A player with 100 appearances in the OF, 15 appearances at 2B and 10 appearances at SS qualifies at OF and at MI.

6.4. Minor League appearances are used for players with no major league experience.

6.5. Once the current season is under way, a player becomes eligible for assignment to any position at which he has appeared in at least five games in the current year.

6.6. In any event, a player is eligible at a position only if the League website allows the player at that position.

6.7. For 2015, the website settings will be:
Last year Current Year
Position Players (appearances) 20 5
Starting Pitchers (Starts) 10 5
Relief Pitchers (relief appearances) 10 5

6.8 Ultimately, at the auction and during the season, we will default to the position eligibility as shown on the website.

7. FEES

7.1. The SYVWFBA League Fee is $60.00 per team.

7.2. Fees are due prior to the commencement of the Auction. Any team that has not paid the League Fee is not eligible to participate in the auction. All fees shall be collected by the League Commissioner or his designee Treasurer. Both are empowered to subject owners to public humiliation as needed to insure that all League rules are followed and that any payments due to the League are made in a timely fashion.

8. PRIZES

8.1. League fees shall first be used to pay for the league website, hardware and engraving costs associated with the league’s Perpetual Trophy, special awards and prizes, and other costs of the league; the remainder shall paid out to the top 4 finishers of the league’s H2H Tournament.

8.2. All Star Game MVP: $20.00 to the team that has the All-Star Game MVP rostered as of the date of the midsummer classic.

8.3. All Star Home Run Champion: $20.00 to the team that rosters the winner of the Home Run Derby.

8.4.* Rotisserie Champion (OPTIONAL): $20.00 to the team that has the highest overall ‘Rotisserie’ ranking at the end of the season.

8.5.* Moneyball Champion (OPTIONAL): A separate “Moneyball” league will be established based solely on the rosters created at Auction and during the Reserve Draft. The league will be established on Yahoo! or other suitable alternative, and will not allow any trades, roster moves, or add/drop of players. The format will be Rotisserie scoring, using the same statistical categories as our ‘official’ H2H league. The Moneyball league will run untouched for the season, with all Auction and Reserve draft players serving on the active roster. The Moneyball League Champion will be honored with a $20 cash prize and the knowledge that they had the best overall Draft Day results.

8.5.1.* Manager of the Year (OPTIONAL): The statistics accumulated by each team during the season will be used to determine rankings as if the league operated under a traditional Rotisserie scoring model, and those results will be compared with the Moneyball League results. The absolute value of the net change in Rotisserie Points will be multiplied by the net change in Rank, and the owner of the team with the highest positive result will be deemed Manager of the Year, and shall receive both a $20 cash prize and the right to hold the Perpetual Trophy for the year.

8.6. Championship Tournament Purse: The remaining League Fees shall be divided among the top four teams in the Whiner Championship Tournament standings as follows:

Final Standings:
First Place 50%
Second Place 25%
Third Place 15%
Fourth Place 10%.

* 8.4, 8.5, and 8.5.1 are noted as OPTIONAL because these require a lot of additional manual work, and the Commish may not be up to it in a given year!


9. LEAGUE FORMAT AND STANDINGS

9.1. The following criteria shall be used to determine team performance:

• Composite On Base Percentage
• Total Home Runs
• Total Runs Batted In
• Total Stolen Bases
• Total Runs Scored
• Composite Earned Run Average
• Total Wins
• Composite WHIP: (Walks +Hits) divided by (Innings Pitched)
• Total Strike Outs
• Total Saves

9.2. Pitchers' offensive statistics are NOT counted, nor are pitching stats for the occasional position player called in to pitch when the score is 16-1 and the relief corps is hiding under the stands.

9.3. Performance statistics of a player shall be assigned to a Fantasy team ONLY when that player is on the 23-man active roster of that team.

9.4. Head to Head Scoring

9.4.1. Fantasy teams will compete “Head to Head” in each of the 10 categories. Each fantasy team earns a ‘win’ for each of the 10 categories won in a given week, and the losing team gets a loss. A team can go 10-0, 0-10, or anything in between, in each matchup each week. Ties in a category will count as a tie.

9.4.2. The website and/or the Commissioner will prepare a game schedule prior to the beginning of the season, pairing fantasy teams in weekly matchups. On any given week, a team may have a “bye” or be paired against one or more teams.

9.4.3. Teams will be grouped into ‘Divisions’. During the season, teams will play other teams within their own division, as well as teams outside the division. The Commissioner will make every attempt to ensure that the season schedules are balanced, and that each team will play every other team an equal number of times.

9.4.4. Division assignments are based on the previous year’s Breakdown rankings, in an effort to achieve balance across the divisions. A division winner, regardless of Breakdown ranking, will be a Division top seed the following year.

10. Playoffs

10.1. The final six weeks of the Major League Baseball regular season shall be reserved for the Whiner Playoffs.

10.2. The Whiner Playoffs shall consist of the Whiner Championship Tournament, and the Bottom-of-the-Whine-Barrel Keeper Tournament.

10.3. The Championship Tournament

10.3.1. The top twelve teams, as determined by the Power Rankings, earn a bid to the Championship Tournament.

10.3.2. The 4 Division winners earn the top 4 seeds and a BYE in the first round (the Wildcard Round).

10.3.3. The remaining 8 teams are seeded into the Championship Tournament based on their Power Rankings, and will play in the Wildcard round.

10.3.4. The First two rounds (Wild Card and Quarterfinals) of the Championship Tournament will each be one week in duration, and the Semifinals and Finals will be held over two (2) week periods.

10.3.5. If teams are ranked evenly by the Power Rankings, then seeding will be determined by those teams’ actual H2H play against one another, and if necessary, by their imputed H2H record against one another as if they had matched up every week.

10.3.6. During the Tournament, ties will go to the team with the higher seed.

10.3.7. The Tournament will be designed such that there is a matchup for every possible standing position.

10.4. Bottom-of-the-Whine-Barrel Keeper Tournament

10.4.1. The teams that do not make the Championship Tournament (those ranked #13 and lower in the Power Rankings) will be matched against each other for the duration of the playoffs, and the results will determine the number of keepers allowed in the following year. Format will depend upon the number of teams.


11. STATISTICS

11.1. The official statistics for the purposes of our league are those reflected by Sportsline.com (“Sportsline”). It is possible that the Sportsline statistics may differ from other, more ‘official’ statistics, but there will be no whining or crying about it.

11.2. The weekly player performance summaries and statistics are provided for the league by Sportsline. The effective date of any transaction for purposes of statistical calculation is the Monday of or immediately following the transaction date. In order for a transaction to be effective for the following statistical week (Monday-Sunday), the transaction MUST be reported on the website before games start on Monday (as allowed by the website.) Performance stats of a player shall be assigned to a Fantasy team ONLY when he is on the active 23 man roster of that team.

11.3. Illegal Rosters or teams that exceed the in-season salary cap will accrue a 0-10-0 record for each matchup in each week that the team violates the Roster or Salary Cap rules.

11.4. In the event that the league’s Draft Day is held following the official opening of the Major League season, statistics prior to the draft will not count for the players acquired. However, the Moneyball League will accrue statistics from the beginning of the major league season.


12. TRADES

12.1. From the completion of the Reserve Draft until midnight on July 31st, Fantasy League teams are free to make trades of any kind, without limit, and subject only to the in-season salary cap. Teams must be sure to balance any trade via free agent pickups or player cuts in order to abide by the league’s positional requirements.

12.2. No trades are allowed from the trade deadline until the last out of the last regular season game.

12.3. Any trade after season’s end and prior to the start of the subsequent year’s Auction may be made without regard to the in-season salary cap or positional requirements; however, any off-season trade will likely require Commissioner involvement as the trading feature will be deactivated on the website.

12.4. Trades can only involve players currently on the trading teams’ active and reserve rosters, and FAAB dollars (see Section 14). Under no circumstances may Draft Dollars, real dollars, draft position or choices, future considerations, or anything else be made a part of a trade.

12.5 There will be no trading allowed between the Keeper Posting Deadline and the completion of the Reserve Draft following the Player Auction.

13. RESERVES AND INJURED RESERVE

13.1. A team may freely move players between the reserve list and the active roster so long as all 23 positions on the active roster are filled.

13.2. Each team may place up to two (2) players on the league’s Injured Reserve (“IR”) if the subject player is placed on MLB’s Disabled List. Placing a player on the IR frees up a roster spot, which can be filled via trade, waivers, or free agency.

13.3. Once the player comes off MLB’s Disabled List, he must be removed from the league’s IR and the team’s roster must again be balanced. The website enforces this policy by not allowing roster moves if an active player is still on the team’s DL.


14. FREE AGENTS AND FAAB

14.1. Each team will start the season with a $100.00 Free Agent Acquisition Budget (“FAAB”). FAAB dollars are not real dollars.

14.2. If a team would like to acquire a Free Agent, a bid is placed on the website using FAAB funds.

14.3. The initial FAAB priority order will be determined by a random draw.

14.4. The FAAB priority order determines which player will first be acquired via the FAAB process. The team that acquires a player via FAAB moves to the bottom of the order. Ties are broken by priority – higher priority gets the player. (This means that a team may end up acquiring a player that was not its first choice – if that team had submitted the highest bid, and that player came up first in the process.)

14.5. The team with the highest FAAB bid acquires the player. The successful bid amount is deducted from the team’s FAAB budget. Zero Bids are allowed.

14.6. FAAB bids will be processed twice weekly – Thursday and Sunday nights.

14.7. FAAB dollars may be used as consideration in trades – however, both teams must email or post a message to the commissioner about the trade, as only the Commish has the power to tinker with the FAAB dollars on the website. Commish will make every effort to post the FAAB funds as soon as he’s heard from both trading partners.

14.8. FAAB dollars cannot be saved from one season to the next.

14.9. Player acquired via FAAB will have a $5 salary for purposes of the in-season salary cap. If kept, such players’ salaries will escalate to $10 in the following season.

14.10. Once an owner has exhausted his FAAB budget, he will only be able to pick up a Free Agent with a zero bid, unless he makes a trade that includes FAAB dollars as a part of the transaction.

14.11. No FAAB activity of any kind will be allowed once the final week of MLB’s regular season has begun (the final week of the Whiner Playoffs).

14.12. For clarity, the following text is taken directly from the Sportsline HELP DESK:
FAAB stands for Free Agent Acquisition Budget. Every add/drop is granted via a blind bidding system that is processed automatically. Each time an owner has an add/drop processed they will be placed at the bottom of the FAAB order. If there is a tie for a player, the FAAB order is used; the owner that is higher in the list will receive the player and be moved to the bottom.

Each owner will go to the Transactions add-drop page and select the players to be added and dropped, then a bid is entered. The team with the highest bid for that player will be awarded the player and the bid value subtracted from their budget.

Example:
Team #1 as listed in the FAAB order inputs a request for three players:
Player "a" bid of $15
Player "b" bid of $10
Player "c" bid of $10
Team # 8 as listed in the FAAB order inputs a request for three players:
Player "b" bid of $5
Player "a" bid of $25
Player "c" bid of $10

The system would look at Team #1 and look at the first player on his bid list (in this case, Player A). The system would then search through every bid submitted for Player A. The team with the highest bid for Player A would win that player. In this two team example, team 8 would be awarded Player A.
Since Team # 1 did not acquire the first player on his list (Player A), the FAAB system next references Team #1's second listed player (Player B). In the example above, Team #1 wins Player B.

The system now references the first requested player for the next team in the FAAB order.

15. USE OF WEBSITE

15.1. By participating in the SYVWFBA, reasonable computer literacy on the part of each owner/manager is implied.

15.2. Trades, Roster Moves, FAAB bidding, and other team management activities are to be handled by the individual team owners/managers and should not require Commissioner intervention. He will generally try to help if asked, however.

15.3. Commissioner is not an internet, computer, or baseball expert.


16. ROSTER PROTECTION AND SALARY FREEZES

Each team may retain, from one season to the next, players in the following fashion:

16.1. 1st through 4th place (money winners) may keep up to 3, 4, 5, and 6 players respectively. Teams that do not make the Championship Tournament (those ranked #13 and below in the Power Rankings) will be involved in their own playoff to determine the number of keepers they may keep (6, 5, 4, or 3). All other teams may keep up to six players.

16.2. A player’s salary increases from one year to the next by 50% of the previous year’s salary or $5, whichever is more. We always round UP (e.g. $6 becomes $11, $23 becomes $35).

16.3 Final Keeper Lists MUST be posted on the website by midnight of the Wednesday preceding the Auction (the “Keeper Deadline”). If no keepers are posted, then it is assumed the owner will not be keeping any players.

16.6. A team owner may make trades up to the Keeper Deadline. No trades are allowed after the Keeper Deadline, until the close of the reserve draft following the Player Auction.

16.7 (EFFECTIVE 2016) RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS

16.7.1 Each team will have the opportunity to designate one non-kept player from the previous year's season-ending roster as his Restricted Free Agent ("RFA"). When that player comes up in the next year's auction, the owner with the RFA rights does not participate in the bidding; however, when the bidding stops, but before the player is added to the winning bidder's roster, the owner with the RFA rights has the opportunity to roster that player by matching the winning bid amount.

16.7.2 RFA's are named at the same time keepers are posted.

17. CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP

17.1. It is the desire of the SYVWFBA to be an ongoing league, with committed owners and managers. However, it is recognized that stuff happens.

17.2. If, during the course of the season, an owner finds it necessary to withdraw from the league, regardless of timing or circumstances, he is to notify the commissioner such that his roster can be immediately frozen. No trades or roster moves will be allowed for the duration of the season and the winter.

17.3. Players on the rosters of such teams will be available in the expansion draft, if any, in the following season; otherwise, they will revert to the player pool.


18. LEAGUE EXPANSION / OWNER REPLACEMENT

18.1. From time to time, it may be deemed by the Commissioner to be in the best interests of the League to allow for Expansion Team(s) to join the SYVWFBA, or to invite a new owner to replace an outgoing owner.

18.2. New owners, at the Commissioner's discretion, may be offered (1) to take over the roster of the exiting owner; (2) the opportunity to select “keepers” from among the previously rostered players that do not appear on the FINAL Keeper Lists submitted by midnight of the Thursday preceding Draft Day, or (3) to start with a fresh slate and $260 draft dollars at the auction.

18.3. In the event there is more than one new owner, and the Commissioner has opted for #3 above, the owners will alternate their Expansion selections in a ‘snake’ format; initial selection order is determined by random draw. The Expansion Draft will take place immediately prior to the League Auction and Reserve Draft.

18.4. The number of players selected by the New Owner(s) shall not exceed the fewest number of players that a returning team is allowed to keep.

18.5. Salaries for New Owner selections will inflate in exactly the same way as Keeper salaries for Returning teams (see Section 16.2)

18.6. New Owners shall be at the end of the line for nominating players to be auctioned, and first in line for the Reserve Draft; the first Expansion team to have chosen an Expansion Keeper will be the first Expansion team to nominate a player at auction; similarly, the last Expansion team to choose an Expansion Keeper will be the first to select a player in the Reserve Draft.


19. GOVERNANCE

19.1. The current Commissioner (self-appointed for life) is Mike Floyd. The Commissioner, with help from the Vice Commissioners (Cris Avery and Allan Pelletier), is responsible for keeping the everyday operations of the League running smoothly.

19.2. The decision of the Commissioner supersedes the rules herein and is final in any disputes. He also has the power to add or change rules to enhance or improve the game, or to change a rule with an unforeseen loophole after the fact for the benefit of the league. In making such changes, the commissioner shall always keep in mind that the good of the league as a whole will always be greater then the sum of the benefits to any of its constituents.

19.3. Rule changes, pronouncements, and acts of whimsy by the Commissioner may be implemented after consultation with the league as a whole, the Founding Members, a subset of either group, or no one at all.

19.4. Owners of teams in the 2004 inaugural SYVWFBA season are deemed FOUNDING MEMBERS, and as such are vested with all the rights and privileges thereof, whatever that means, so long as they continue to be an active owner and member of the Association.

19.5. Payment of League Fees indicates each owner’s consent to the foregoing.
C Varsho
1B Joe, Smith
2B Torres
3B Bohm, Kim
SS Witt, Lopez
OF Soto, Mullins, Grossman, Naquin
U Suzuki, Gorman
SP Alcantara, Montas, Verlander, Rodriguez, Greene, Corbin, Kelly, Glasnow
RP Iglesias, Rogers, Trivino, Barnes, Giles
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