2013 Rule Changes - Tightening up lineup/rotation moves

It's a lot of words to try to explain this - but in response to some complaints about teams being able to cycle pitchers in and out of the rotation after knowing the actual MLB result (and confirmation that it was possible and was being done), there are three major adjustments:

• Better research into the 2013 MLB scheduling and how it hits BWB deadlines
• Tracking the actual date when players first get added to a team's rotation/starting lineup
• Clearing out the queued starts when a pitcher moves from spot starter to the rotation.

See http://www.benchwarmerbaseball.net/rules/rulechanges/rule_changes_13.asp for the exhaustive explanation.

There might be some tinkering and fixing, but this is an actual change, not a proposed change - it's been in formulation since October/November 2012.

Dates will be tracked now on your lineup changes - you can play around with it a little bit during the last week of March to check out the effects.  All lineups will be adjusted to March 31 at the start of the season.

But comment below if you'd like.  For about 95% of you, you will not notice anything.

** Under contemplation partially as a result of this change but also just the way my schedule works now - we may set transaction/lineup times to Noon Eastern and push back one day on the current schedule (so Week 1 deadline would be Sunday 4/7 at noon instead of Saturday night 4/6 at midnight Pacific).

Notes regarding potential rule changes

There are often requests for rule changes and BWB considers requests but that doesn't always mean it will act on them.

A number of requests often show up with the emphasis on "making the game more like real baseball/MLB."  Yes, this is a goal, but it isn't the end all for every consideration.  There are some common reasons why rule change requests may not be implemented or even discussed:

• Yes, we try to be close to real baseball, but in the end this is still "fantasy baseball" and certain comparisons might not work.  We're going to always have a more limited and at times arbitrary distinction between real life and the fantasy game.
• We may have opened a rule change up for discussion in the past with little overall support from the owners who provided comments at that time.
• Implementing some rules may create additional loopholes and different way of doing things.  With some exceptions, we'd like things to work the same way in the pre-season to the regular season to the playoffs.
• Implementing some rule changes involve defining a process.  That process may be difficult or inconsistent to create - some things like lineup adjustments that can be done as "common sense" or inspection by a single manager, general manager, or team owner for your own team may be hard to codify for 500+ teams.
• Beyond defining processes for rules and site features, we also have to often create/change computer programs to implement the implications of the rule.  Or create a web process/presentation.  If implementation is extensive or prohibitive, the benefits of the change might not be enough to warrant the work.

That said, please continue to suggest changes and improvements.  Over time, some technical obstacles disappear or can be overcome - and some changes once thought not beneficial can be seen in a new light.  Several changes over the years have come directly from user input.

BWB may or may not solicit comments on rule changes.

Open Comment Thread for Potential Rule Change - Weekly Transactions

This is a call for comments on a potential rule change for 2013.  Currently weekly transactions are limited to 4 rounds of free agent signings.

• Should that number be increased?  To what?
• Should it be unlimited?

The 4-round approach comes from the model game for BWB, Robot Baseball.  At the time, owners submitted transactions onto bubble sheets that had to be scanned - that required some kind of limit.  When I started BWB, I was processing all transactions by hand, but that's now mostly automated.  Theoretically, on the web this could now be set to a higher or even unlimited number.

In some situations, the 4-round limit can make it take several weeks to redo/rebuild a team.  4 rounds of submissions do not guarantee 4 successful awarded picks.  When a team is dealing with a rash of injuries or taking over an abandoned team, more drastic changes may be desired.

Possible unintended consequences:

• Benchwarmer has been a mix of rabid/casual players.  The once per week nature of transactions and lineups means that people don't have to log in daily to change their team.  Missing a week of transactions can be costly, but currently doesn't have to be deemed critical since other teams are limited in the number of players that they can pick up.
• Benchwarmer has typcially had slow gradual changes to teams as opposed to massive overhauls, an approach I generally like.
• If transactions are unlimited or at a high number, it is possible that a team or collection of teams, if highly motivated, could corner the market on first-round draft picks/September callups when they are added to the game - rather than be limited to 4 per week.

BWB is not yet endorsing this change - but instead exploring owner sentiment for the current system.


Please use the comments section for this post to weigh in with your opinion.

Benchwarmer Baseball - A Year Round Proposition

This is a re-posting of an entry from November 2009...with new dates added.

Sure, you're probably still working on your fantasy football teams - and maybe you've got basketball and hockey going on too...but Benchwarmer Baseball keeps you active throughout the winter.

Quick note - some dates below might be in flux...the ones below represent a push back in some dates.  They will not be moved any earlier.

What should you be doing from now until Opening Day?

Trade with other teams - We run 2 fall trading sessions...the deadlines are Dec. 3 and Dec.17.  Did you keep a player under contract that you now regret?  Do you have too many high-priced players?  Do you need a lot of help for your team?  Do you want to address a position of weakness NOW?  This is the only chance to trade until after the Redistribution Draft in February.  Because nobody's paid salaries for 2011 yet, there's no cash assumption/rebate on salaries right now.  The team picking up the player will be 100% responsible for the salaries later in December.  Also - since there are no cuts right now, you temporarily do not have to worry about roster sizes and limits.

Choose players to keep - You can keep up to 28 players for your 2011 roster.  You don't have to keep that many (or any at all!).  But, if you have any players on your rosters with contracts for 2011 or beyond, you are obligated to keep them.  Once the cuts are processed, you will get charged for the 2011 salaries - so you need to pick your carry overs with these things in mind:

• Your roster must be legal.  You obviously won't be over 40 total players, but you must fit in the limits for hitters/pitchers making more than 250.
• The cash you have now is all you'll get.  Whatever you leave yourself is all you'll have for the Redistribution Draft and free agency until Opening Day.
• In January-March, if you end up deciding to cut a player you originally carried over into 2011, you do get a salary rebate - but only at 50%.
• Carryover choices are due Friday, Dec.31
• Use the table of information below your team roster to give you some guidance on whether or not your roster will be legal and how much cash you'll have left with your current set of cuts.

Pick Players in the Redistribution Draft - Once the players cut from rosters go back into the free agent pool, our first operation is to run the Redistribution Draft.  This is an optional exercise, but is your chance to pick up free agents (and new prospects added to the player list in December).  Teams pick in reverse order of 2010 finish...and get three players at a time.  We run the draft for 5 rounds, so that's 15 selections you can make.  Obviously, this is a chance for the lower-finishing teams to pick up good players or prospects.  Don't miss the chance.  Your picks for the Redistribution Draft will be due Sunday, January 16.

Free Agency and Trading - After we process the Redistribution Draft (sometime in late January), we go into weekly free agent pickups and trades again through the end of March.  This is where you put the finishing touches on your roster for your championship run in 2011.  Current plans should give you 9-10 weeks of transactions between the draft and the start of the season.

Set your Opening Day Lineup - Date TBD

Long Term Proposition

OK, so you're 1/3 through the 2010 season and your team sucks.  Maybe you're in the group of us that after 50 games our team hasn't reached double-digit wins or just made it (I do mean "us"...my team in Beer League was a division winner in 2009 and has a whopping 12-39 record this season...17 GB).

While in a typical league, you might just cash out your time and wait for next season.  But - assuming that you plan to come back and give it another shot in 2011 (go "worst to first"!), why put effort into the rest of 2010?

The future.

First - you earn $30,000 per win for your team.  You can use that for contract extensions this season - or grabbing extra prospects if your cash is low - or saving for 2011 player salaries.

Second - First Round draft picks.  Take advantage of your bad record and high weekly transaction position to grab the top draft pick (or whatever one you want) in the recent MLB draft.  We'll probably add those players into the system for the Week 12 transactions.  If you were a bad team in 2009 paying attention, you might have just added Stephen Strasburg to your rotation if you grabbed him last summer.

Third - other callups throughout the season.  Perhaps your team wasn't celebrating Strasmas, but another highly-touted rookie made his debut on June 8.  Since he doesn't exist in the BWB system yet, we'll be adding him for the Week 11 transactions.  Pay attention throughout the season and you may grab some gems.  And even if you don't have the top weekly pick in your league, it can still be worth a try - maybe the worst teams in your league actually have checked out.

Grabbing these new players may end up paying off right away - or not for another year or two - or never at all.  But staying active when you have the advantage of pick position can set you up nicely down the road.

Rounds in weekly transactions

I guess I never saw this as a confusing issue, but I've received several questions this spring about trying to sign free agents and then being asked to assign them to a "round."

So...think of it this way.  Every week when we do transactions, it's like a four-round mini-draft.  With the round number, you are ranking your choices.  When we process the transactions we run through the picks round by round in that week's transaction order (during the season, the order is set from worst to first in overall record).  If you play in a league that processes free agent pickups via a waiver order, it's the same thing - though you may not see it presented the same way.  For example, I know that in the CBS leagues in which I play - the commissioner approves picks team by team - in the defined waiver order.  But I just have to list them in the order I want - not put "round numbers."

Doing it round by round allows to add some extra things - like an alternate pick if your primary choice is already gone - or a contingent release that only gets processed if you pick up that player.

Still confused?  Check out a few weeks of the transaction report for your league(s) and you'll see how the 4 rounds play out.  Just click "Transactions" in the navigation bar at the top of any page.

Multiyear Contracts

If you're new to BWB this season - or want some reminders, you should review the rules and notes about contract extensions before you attempt to use them.

See past postings on contract extensions

This is often a confusing aspect for new players.  Take some time to see how it works if you're not sure.

Above all - you must have the full cash balance on hand to pay the entire contract.  And you never get that money back if you cut/trade away the player.