Rusty Barr
Footballguy
For the record, I am ONLY playing in two leagues this year. And I am running both of them.
One is best teams (which is now full; thread was elsewhere), and this one is WORST teams.
This is a format I have NEVER tried, but I saw a post on another forum and thought, this could be GREAT fun!
Ready for a UNIQUE FORMAT????
Read on....
From RAZZBALL...
"One of the greater joys of fantasy baseball is the satisfaction of properly valuing a player – e.g., selecting the right 1st round pick, getting a 'steal' in a later round, avoiding a guy who you know is going to have a bad year, trading a guy right before he tanks, etc. But while there are rewards in avoiding or trading overvalued players, the greater rewards are in retaining and acquiring the most successful players.This reward system is one-sided. In investing, you can short-sell stocks that you know are going to tank and be rewarded. But if you KNEW Jason Bay was going to suck in 2007, all you could do was avoid him. What kind of reward is that?
This is like a card game similar to Texas Hold-em where the object is to have the worst hand possible. The objective is to compile the worst fantasy baseball team possible.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The rosters are the same as currently found in standard MLB leagues: 13 hitters (C / 1B / 2B / SS / 3B / 5 OF / Corner IF / Middle IF / UTIL) and 9 pitchers.
The stats are a bit different as there is a need to both reward below-average performance while making sure this isn't achieved by avoiding active players. We stuck with statistics that are generally available in those services:
Hitters:
AB (High)
R (Low)
HR (Low)
RBI (Low)
K (High)
AVG (Low)
Pitchers:
IP (High)
L (High)
HR allowed (High)
ERA (High)
WHIP (High)
K (Low)
Maximum – 7 GS starts for pitchers. Minimum 200 ABs total weekly for hitters.
For hitters, R / HR / RBI / AVG are the core offensive stats.
Since this could conceivably be done via inactive players, several countermeasures are in place. ABs rewards teams that use active players (Outs would be better but it is an unavailable stat in standard online leagues). Strikeouts also serve as a reward for keeping an active roster while reflecting the least valuable action a hitter can contribute (Ok, GIDP is worse but roll w/ it). The minimum of ABs penalizes any team that falls short of the AB per position minimum.
One exception that was made vs. traditional fantasy hitting stats was the removal of SB. This has always been an admittedly overrated stat in FLB (vis-à-vis actual value). We considered using Caught Stealing but it's rather unpredictable and low in frequency. In addition, removing SB makes it easier to draft OFs as speed-only guys like Juan Pierre and Willy Taveras become attractive high AB, low HR/RBI guys.
For pitchers, L / ERA / WHIP / K serve as the core pitching stats. Losses makes for a great replacement over wins as it rewards playing bad active pitchers. ERA/WHIP/K are similar to R/HR/RBI/AVG in that teams are rewarded for poorest performance (highest for ERA and WHIP, lowest for K's). IP is added as a countermeasure and HR serves as a mirror to offensive Ks (the least valuable action a pitcher can contribute). The maximum of 7 GS weekly is consistent with many leagues and protects against an extreme amount of pitcher flighting.
The exception vs. traditional pitching stats is the absence of Saves. We considered blown saves but this is somewhat unpredictable and VERY low in frequency. So it's likely that many closers will not be drafted – rather, there will be the greatest demand for middle relievers that pitch a lot of poor quality innings with, hopefully, some of those games on the line (to accrue Losses). We also considered using BB instead of low Ks but felt that was already factored into WHIP.
Roster changes can be made on a weekly basis.
STRATEGY 101
It's really a blank slate for strategy. No collective wisdom over years and years of play and analysis. No publications or 'experts' to rely on. Should make for an exciting inaugural season.
As with regular FLB, strategy is dictated by the depth in performance at each position. Since MLB leagues tend to use about half the starting player pool, the depth in positions is nearly inverse so that the lowest valuable contributor (or Best Available Option as we've opined is very similar in both leagues – think Luis Gonzalez for OF (.277 / 74 R / 16 HR / 68 RBI).
Also similar to regular FLB, predicting pitching proves to be more unpredictable than hitting. In fact, the most valuable starter of 2007 was drafted in most regular leagues (Scott Olsen).
This points to an additional factor that makes for a very exciting variable – the chances that a below average performing player remains in the lineup / staff. The worst enemies are a player's low upside, antsy coaches, contending teams, and unforgiving local media. Your best friends? A player's high upside, smug coaches, floundering teams, and ineffectual local media.
Since there are only so many poor performing players out there, it will be important to retain them on your roster. So on the hitter side, we expect a similar amount of player activity as seen in FLB – there's no way you're dropping a Cristian Guzman but you're going to rotate through 5th OFs in hopes of finding a guy on a cold streak or stumbling on a big find like a Norris Hopper (Reds OF from one year that managed 0 HR and 14 RBIs in 307 ABs!).
For pitching, it'll be key to retain dud starters like Kip Wells and awful relief pitchers but we do foresee more turnover in pitchers than FLB since starting pitching reinforcements are generally worse than the pitching they replaced.
2007 POSTVIEW – WHO WERE THE TOP 10 BEST (AKA WORST) HITTERS AND PITCHERS?
Best 2007 Pitchers:
1. Scott Olsen (FLA) - 176.2 IP / 15 L / 29 HR / 5.81 ERA / 1.77 WHIP / 133 K
2. Livan Hernandez (ARI) – 204.1 IP / 11 L / 34 HR / 4.93 ERA / 1.60 WHIP / 90 K
3. Woody Williams (HOU) – 188 IP / 15 L / 35 HR / 5.27 ERA / 1.43 WHIP / 101 K
4. Daniel Cabrera (BAL) – 204.1 / 18 L / 25 HR / 5.55 ERA / 1.54 WHIP / 166 K
5. Dontrelle Willis (FLA) – 205.1 / 15 L / 29 HR / 5.17 ERA / 1.60 WHIP / 146 K
6. Jose Contreras (CHI-A) – 189 IP / 17 L / 21 HR / 5.57 ERA / 1.56 WHIP / 113 K
7. Adam Eaton (PHI) – 161.2 IP / 10 L / 30 HR / 6.29 ERA / 1.63 WHIP / 97 K
8. Edwin Jackson (TB) – 161 IP / 15 L / 19 HR / 5.76 ERA / 1.76 WHIP / 128 K
9. Kip Wells (STL) – 162.2 IP / 17 L / 19 HR / 5.70 ERA / 1.63 WHIP / 122 K
10. Kyle Davies (KC) – 136 IP / 15 L / 22 HR / 6.09 ERA / 1.65 WHIP / 99 K
Honorable Mention to Mike Maroth who had a fantastic 6.89 ERA / 1.88 WHIP / 51 Ks but his measly 7 Ls and 116 IP keeps him out of the top 10.
Best 2007 Hitters:
1. Nick Punto (MIN – 3B) – 472 AB / 53 R / 1 HR / 25 RBI / 90 K / .210 AVG
2. Felipe Lopez (WAS – 2B/SS) – 603 AB / 70 R / 9 HR / 50 RBI / 109 K / .245 AVG
3. Alex Gordon (KC – 3B) – 543 AB / 60 R / 15 HR / 60 RBI / 137 K / .247 AVG
4. Brandon Inge (DET – 3B) – 508 AB / 64 R / 14 HR / 71 RBI / 150 K / .236 AVG
5. Nook Logan (WAS - OF) – 325 AB / 39 R / 0 HR / 21 RBI / 86 K / .265 AVG
6. Marcus Giles (SD – 2B) – 420 AB / 52 R / 4 HR / 39 RBI / 82 K / .229 AVG
7. Stephen Drew (ARI - SS) – 543 AB / 60 R / 12 HR / 60 RBI / 100 K / .238 AVG
8. Gerald Laird (TEX - C) – 407 AB / 48 R / 9 HR / 47 RBI / 103 K / .224 AVG
9. Brad Ausmus (HOU - C) – 349 AB / 38 R / 3 HR / 25 RBI / 103 K / .235 AVG
10. Craig Biggio (HOU – 2B) – 517 AB / 68 R / 10 HR / 50 RBI / 112 K / .251 AVG
Honorable Mention to Lyle Overbay who was able to out-Razz Richie Sexson due to 425 ABs that managed 49 R / 10 HR / 44 RBI / 100 K / .240 AVG in the usually productive 1B slot. He was just good enough to stay out of the top 10."
Then on Oct 1 2008, on RAZZBALL, Writer Rudy Gamble continued...
"The inaugural Razzball season has ended and - in a fitting conclusion - the two representatives from this blog finished 1-2 (Contributor Lou Poulas finished last but that's because he's too focused on all-stars). The final score: Rudy - 96, Grey - 94. While I had some doubts going into it, I've got to say that I had more fun in this league than my expert leagues and my cash league combined. Who knew rooting against players could be so fun?)
The season went down to the last day when Rudy's team gained an extra point in ABs from tough competitor Aardvark Trading Co (5,238 to 5,220) and Grey lost a point after his crappy pitchers managed to best the staff of Mop Up Duty 772 to 770 Ks. Both teams set records that will be tough to duplicate in future years:
Rudy - 5238 ABs with only 75 HR and 499 RBIs. That translates to about 6 HR and 38 RBI per 403 ABs across the 13 hitting roster slots.
Grey - Over 1362 IP, a ridiculous 5.72 ERA and 1.58 WHIP. (the MLB average ERA was about 4.15) "
***
So....having read THAT...I am forming another New Fantasy BASEBALL League. AL/NL combined. $50 entrance fee plus CBS Sportsline fee. Manage and Build the WORST Keeper Baseball team possible. With the top 3 worst teams winning prizes. 1st = $330. 2nd = $165. 3rd = $82.
All the pot goes back to the league. The left over $23 is there to cover my expected PayPal fees.
This is not a dynasty or keeper league. This is a complete redraft league.
46 year old commissioner. Family Man. Wife and 3 kids. SC USA. I have been running the same 12 team FFL since
My email is chrisfranco@sc.rr.com
Cell phone is 843-822-5280
References available upon request
You can take a look at my EBAY seller info as one source of reference: my EBAY account is franco8308 and I am 100%
I can also give you 11 current guys names and phone numbers and email addresses from the football league I run as well. I know there are a lot of scammers out there these days.
-
More league details in the classifieds section.
-
One is best teams (which is now full; thread was elsewhere), and this one is WORST teams.
This is a format I have NEVER tried, but I saw a post on another forum and thought, this could be GREAT fun!
Ready for a UNIQUE FORMAT????
Read on....
From RAZZBALL...
"One of the greater joys of fantasy baseball is the satisfaction of properly valuing a player – e.g., selecting the right 1st round pick, getting a 'steal' in a later round, avoiding a guy who you know is going to have a bad year, trading a guy right before he tanks, etc. But while there are rewards in avoiding or trading overvalued players, the greater rewards are in retaining and acquiring the most successful players.This reward system is one-sided. In investing, you can short-sell stocks that you know are going to tank and be rewarded. But if you KNEW Jason Bay was going to suck in 2007, all you could do was avoid him. What kind of reward is that?
This is like a card game similar to Texas Hold-em where the object is to have the worst hand possible. The objective is to compile the worst fantasy baseball team possible.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The rosters are the same as currently found in standard MLB leagues: 13 hitters (C / 1B / 2B / SS / 3B / 5 OF / Corner IF / Middle IF / UTIL) and 9 pitchers.
The stats are a bit different as there is a need to both reward below-average performance while making sure this isn't achieved by avoiding active players. We stuck with statistics that are generally available in those services:
Hitters:
AB (High)
R (Low)
HR (Low)
RBI (Low)
K (High)
AVG (Low)
Pitchers:
IP (High)
L (High)
HR allowed (High)
ERA (High)
WHIP (High)
K (Low)
Maximum – 7 GS starts for pitchers. Minimum 200 ABs total weekly for hitters.
For hitters, R / HR / RBI / AVG are the core offensive stats.
Since this could conceivably be done via inactive players, several countermeasures are in place. ABs rewards teams that use active players (Outs would be better but it is an unavailable stat in standard online leagues). Strikeouts also serve as a reward for keeping an active roster while reflecting the least valuable action a hitter can contribute (Ok, GIDP is worse but roll w/ it). The minimum of ABs penalizes any team that falls short of the AB per position minimum.
One exception that was made vs. traditional fantasy hitting stats was the removal of SB. This has always been an admittedly overrated stat in FLB (vis-à-vis actual value). We considered using Caught Stealing but it's rather unpredictable and low in frequency. In addition, removing SB makes it easier to draft OFs as speed-only guys like Juan Pierre and Willy Taveras become attractive high AB, low HR/RBI guys.
For pitchers, L / ERA / WHIP / K serve as the core pitching stats. Losses makes for a great replacement over wins as it rewards playing bad active pitchers. ERA/WHIP/K are similar to R/HR/RBI/AVG in that teams are rewarded for poorest performance (highest for ERA and WHIP, lowest for K's). IP is added as a countermeasure and HR serves as a mirror to offensive Ks (the least valuable action a pitcher can contribute). The maximum of 7 GS weekly is consistent with many leagues and protects against an extreme amount of pitcher flighting.
The exception vs. traditional pitching stats is the absence of Saves. We considered blown saves but this is somewhat unpredictable and VERY low in frequency. So it's likely that many closers will not be drafted – rather, there will be the greatest demand for middle relievers that pitch a lot of poor quality innings with, hopefully, some of those games on the line (to accrue Losses). We also considered using BB instead of low Ks but felt that was already factored into WHIP.
Roster changes can be made on a weekly basis.
STRATEGY 101
It's really a blank slate for strategy. No collective wisdom over years and years of play and analysis. No publications or 'experts' to rely on. Should make for an exciting inaugural season.
As with regular FLB, strategy is dictated by the depth in performance at each position. Since MLB leagues tend to use about half the starting player pool, the depth in positions is nearly inverse so that the lowest valuable contributor (or Best Available Option as we've opined is very similar in both leagues – think Luis Gonzalez for OF (.277 / 74 R / 16 HR / 68 RBI).
Also similar to regular FLB, predicting pitching proves to be more unpredictable than hitting. In fact, the most valuable starter of 2007 was drafted in most regular leagues (Scott Olsen).
This points to an additional factor that makes for a very exciting variable – the chances that a below average performing player remains in the lineup / staff. The worst enemies are a player's low upside, antsy coaches, contending teams, and unforgiving local media. Your best friends? A player's high upside, smug coaches, floundering teams, and ineffectual local media.
Since there are only so many poor performing players out there, it will be important to retain them on your roster. So on the hitter side, we expect a similar amount of player activity as seen in FLB – there's no way you're dropping a Cristian Guzman but you're going to rotate through 5th OFs in hopes of finding a guy on a cold streak or stumbling on a big find like a Norris Hopper (Reds OF from one year that managed 0 HR and 14 RBIs in 307 ABs!).
For pitching, it'll be key to retain dud starters like Kip Wells and awful relief pitchers but we do foresee more turnover in pitchers than FLB since starting pitching reinforcements are generally worse than the pitching they replaced.
2007 POSTVIEW – WHO WERE THE TOP 10 BEST (AKA WORST) HITTERS AND PITCHERS?
Best 2007 Pitchers:
1. Scott Olsen (FLA) - 176.2 IP / 15 L / 29 HR / 5.81 ERA / 1.77 WHIP / 133 K
2. Livan Hernandez (ARI) – 204.1 IP / 11 L / 34 HR / 4.93 ERA / 1.60 WHIP / 90 K
3. Woody Williams (HOU) – 188 IP / 15 L / 35 HR / 5.27 ERA / 1.43 WHIP / 101 K
4. Daniel Cabrera (BAL) – 204.1 / 18 L / 25 HR / 5.55 ERA / 1.54 WHIP / 166 K
5. Dontrelle Willis (FLA) – 205.1 / 15 L / 29 HR / 5.17 ERA / 1.60 WHIP / 146 K
6. Jose Contreras (CHI-A) – 189 IP / 17 L / 21 HR / 5.57 ERA / 1.56 WHIP / 113 K
7. Adam Eaton (PHI) – 161.2 IP / 10 L / 30 HR / 6.29 ERA / 1.63 WHIP / 97 K
8. Edwin Jackson (TB) – 161 IP / 15 L / 19 HR / 5.76 ERA / 1.76 WHIP / 128 K
9. Kip Wells (STL) – 162.2 IP / 17 L / 19 HR / 5.70 ERA / 1.63 WHIP / 122 K
10. Kyle Davies (KC) – 136 IP / 15 L / 22 HR / 6.09 ERA / 1.65 WHIP / 99 K
Honorable Mention to Mike Maroth who had a fantastic 6.89 ERA / 1.88 WHIP / 51 Ks but his measly 7 Ls and 116 IP keeps him out of the top 10.
Best 2007 Hitters:
1. Nick Punto (MIN – 3B) – 472 AB / 53 R / 1 HR / 25 RBI / 90 K / .210 AVG
2. Felipe Lopez (WAS – 2B/SS) – 603 AB / 70 R / 9 HR / 50 RBI / 109 K / .245 AVG
3. Alex Gordon (KC – 3B) – 543 AB / 60 R / 15 HR / 60 RBI / 137 K / .247 AVG
4. Brandon Inge (DET – 3B) – 508 AB / 64 R / 14 HR / 71 RBI / 150 K / .236 AVG
5. Nook Logan (WAS - OF) – 325 AB / 39 R / 0 HR / 21 RBI / 86 K / .265 AVG
6. Marcus Giles (SD – 2B) – 420 AB / 52 R / 4 HR / 39 RBI / 82 K / .229 AVG
7. Stephen Drew (ARI - SS) – 543 AB / 60 R / 12 HR / 60 RBI / 100 K / .238 AVG
8. Gerald Laird (TEX - C) – 407 AB / 48 R / 9 HR / 47 RBI / 103 K / .224 AVG
9. Brad Ausmus (HOU - C) – 349 AB / 38 R / 3 HR / 25 RBI / 103 K / .235 AVG
10. Craig Biggio (HOU – 2B) – 517 AB / 68 R / 10 HR / 50 RBI / 112 K / .251 AVG
Honorable Mention to Lyle Overbay who was able to out-Razz Richie Sexson due to 425 ABs that managed 49 R / 10 HR / 44 RBI / 100 K / .240 AVG in the usually productive 1B slot. He was just good enough to stay out of the top 10."
Then on Oct 1 2008, on RAZZBALL, Writer Rudy Gamble continued...
"The inaugural Razzball season has ended and - in a fitting conclusion - the two representatives from this blog finished 1-2 (Contributor Lou Poulas finished last but that's because he's too focused on all-stars). The final score: Rudy - 96, Grey - 94. While I had some doubts going into it, I've got to say that I had more fun in this league than my expert leagues and my cash league combined. Who knew rooting against players could be so fun?)
The season went down to the last day when Rudy's team gained an extra point in ABs from tough competitor Aardvark Trading Co (5,238 to 5,220) and Grey lost a point after his crappy pitchers managed to best the staff of Mop Up Duty 772 to 770 Ks. Both teams set records that will be tough to duplicate in future years:
Rudy - 5238 ABs with only 75 HR and 499 RBIs. That translates to about 6 HR and 38 RBI per 403 ABs across the 13 hitting roster slots.
Grey - Over 1362 IP, a ridiculous 5.72 ERA and 1.58 WHIP. (the MLB average ERA was about 4.15) "
***
So....having read THAT...I am forming another New Fantasy BASEBALL League. AL/NL combined. $50 entrance fee plus CBS Sportsline fee. Manage and Build the WORST Keeper Baseball team possible. With the top 3 worst teams winning prizes. 1st = $330. 2nd = $165. 3rd = $82.
All the pot goes back to the league. The left over $23 is there to cover my expected PayPal fees.
This is not a dynasty or keeper league. This is a complete redraft league.
46 year old commissioner. Family Man. Wife and 3 kids. SC USA. I have been running the same 12 team FFL since
My email is chrisfranco@sc.rr.com
Cell phone is 843-822-5280
References available upon request
You can take a look at my EBAY seller info as one source of reference: my EBAY account is franco8308 and I am 100%
I can also give you 11 current guys names and phone numbers and email addresses from the football league I run as well. I know there are a lot of scammers out there these days.
-
More league details in the classifieds section.
-
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