UPDATE 03/16/04: I struck through everything which I consider misleading or that has been decided to be wrong. No attempt has been made to replace what has been struck. Also I added a link for ESPN's Top 200 Overall Rankings which is probably what I meant.
1) League Settings
a) This is a 5x5 rotisserie league. Roster Positions and Stat Categories are listed on the league page under League Settings. Also listed is the trade deadline (this is the Universal Deadline, see below.) For 2004 this is August 15th (a trade must be completed [i.e. approved by the commish] on or before this date.)
2) The Draft
a) Draft order is assigned randomly.
b) It is acceptable to trade draft positions.
c) The draft is conducted via Y! Chat.
i) We may implement a clock. Regardless:
(1) Draft quickly.
(2) Draft players who have not already been drafted.
(3) Draft players who were not kept.
(4) If you are taking too long (this will be defined) you will be assigned a player selected from the official approved draft list (usually ESPN’s average picks.) UPDATE: What I think I meant was ESPN's Top 200 Overall Rankings.
d) Players not within the Yahoo! system may be drafted.
i) You do not get stats from such players until Y! adds them to the system (they are usually quite quick) and they are on your roster.
ii) A team waiting for such a player must keep an empty spot on their roster to hold the place of the drafted player.
iii) The rights to the player drafted are lost in one of two ways:
(1) The manager with rights to the player fails to keep an empty spot. This will not happen immediately; everyone forgets every once in a while.
(2) The player does not make it to the manager’s roster by the Universal Deadline (see below.)
3) Keepers
a) Up to six eligible players may be selected as keepers.
i) To be eligible a player must be on your roster the entire time from the Universal Deadline (on your roster for August 16, 2004; see below) to the end of the season.
(1) Example 1: Goose Gossage is picked up July 8, 2004. On August 19, 2004 Goose Gossage is cut so you can pick up Don Mattingly. Neither player may be kept for 2005 even if Goose Gossage is picked later on.
b) The cost of keeping this players is a draft pick
i) An R-1, R-4, R-9, R-16 system is used where “R” is the round in which the player was Originally Drafted. For the first year kept a player costs R-1; for the second year kept the player costs R-4; for the third year kept a player costs R-9; for the fourth year a player costs R-16. No one can be kept a fifth year (would be R-25 and we don’t have a 26 round draft.)
ii) “Originally Drafted”: This is reset in the off-season when a player is not kept. This is also reset when a player drafted later than the 13th round is cut. This is not reset by a trade or by cutting a player drafted in the 13th round or earlier.
(1) Example 1: Johnny Ray was Originally Drafted in 2000 in the 10th round by Manager A. He is cut during the season and picked up before the Universal Deadline (see below.) He retains his R=10 and thus can be kept in 2001 in the 9th round.
(2) Example 2: Geoff Zahn is Originally Drafted in 2003 in the 7th round (R=7.) He may be kept as a 6th round draft pick for 2004 (R-1 = 6). He would be a 3rd round draft pick for 2005 (R-4.) He is not able to be kept (by anyone) for 2006 (R-9 = -2.)
(3) Example 3: Milt Wilcox is Originally Drafted in 2002 in the 18th round. He remains on his team all year and is kept for 2003 in the 17th round. He has a few rough games to start and gets cut in late May. He has a resurgent June and is picked up (it doesn’t matter by whom) during the All-Star break. He is now treated as a Free Agent.
(4) Wally Backman is Originally Drafted in 2005 in the 23rd round. He is kept in the 22nd round for 2006, the 19th round for 2007, the 15th round for 2008, the 7th round for 2009.
iii) If multiple players are slotted for the same round (let’s say 12 for ease) they go this wise (though they all are treated as if they were kept in the 12th for future considerations): 12, 11, 13, 10, 14, 9
(1) Example 1: You want to keep Dave Parker, Will Clark, Buddy Bell and Wade Boggs for 2006 and they are all Free Agents which normally come in the 12th round. You cannot have more than one pick in the 12th round so they follow the snaking pattern 12, 11, 13, 10. The cost for keeping these players is the draft picks 10-13. It does not matter who goes where as the R for all of them will be 12. Thus if any of them are to be kept for 2007 they would cost an 11th round draft pick; if more than one of them are to be kept the process is repeated.
(2) In 2003 you picked Kirby Puckett in the 2nd round. During the season you traded for Lou Whitaker whom another manager drafted in the second round. You cannot keep both of these players for 2004 as they would each cost a 1st round draft pick.
iv) A “Free Agent” is either a player not drafted or a player drafted in the 14th-24th round that is cut.
(1) An FA can be kept at the cost of a 12th round draft pick.
(2) If multiple Free Agents are kept they all are treated as if they were drafted in the 12th round for the following year’s keepers.
(a) Example: Neither Ron Cey nor Harold Baines were drafted in 2001 but Manager A picked them both up before the Universal Deadline (see below.) They may both be kept for 2002; one will taken in the 12th round, the other in the 11th. Both will have an R (Original Draft) value of 12 and an Original Draft Year of 2001; that is to be kept for 2003 both will cost a 9th round draft pick (R-3.)
v) The keeper submission deadline will be well before the draft so that there is adequate time for draft prep knowing who is already taken. A final list of players to be kept must be submitted by this deadline.
4) Trades
a) We have a trade deadline (see Universal Deadline below)
i) Trades are not allowed from after this deadline until after the keeper submission deadline for the following year.
b) We have a commish veto for trades
i) If you see a trade you think is unfair you may explain why to the message board.
ii) If your trade gets vetoed and you don’t know why (sometimes it is very, very clear) you may argue your case on the message board.
5) Claims
a) After the draft is completed players not within the Yahoo! system may be “claimed.” These players are treated as Free Agents with respect to keeper rules.
b) A player is claimed by a clear post to the message board and by dropping a player to make room. “I claim Paul Molitor. I have dropped Rob Dibble to make space.”
c) The Commissioner’s Note will include a list of all players under claim (including those drafted); check this list before making a claim.
d) A player under claim may only be picked up the manager who has the claim.
e) The claim is lost in two ways:
i) The manager with rights to the player fails to keep an empty spot. This will not happen immediately; everyone forgets every once in a while.
ii) The player does not make it to the manager’s roster by the Universal Deadline (see below.)
6) Deadlines
a) There is a keeper submission deadline; this is before the draft (see above.)
b) The trade deadline, claim deadline and non-in-Available-Players-list deadline are all the same. This deadline is referred to herein as the Universal Deadline and it occurs in August of each year; the specific date varies with the baseball schedule.
c) For a player to be eligible as a keeper for 2005 they must appear on your Yahoo! Roster for August 16, 2004 (and through to the season ends.) This means that trades and pick-ups must happen the day before.
i) Example 1: Gary Templeton was drafted in 2004 by Manager D but was not on the Yahoo! Available Players list. Manager D kept an empty slot on their team all season long but Gary Templeton was not called up to the majors until September and thus was not on the AP list until September 7th. Anyone can pick up Gary Templeton at this point but no one may keep him for 2005.
ii) Example 2: Bret Saberhagen was claimed in June 16, 2004 by Manager F. He is added to the Available Players list on August 12th but Manager F doesn’t notice him until August 16th and picks him up then. Bret Saberhagen thus does not appear on a roster on August 16, 2004 (he does not appear until Aug 17, 2004) and thus is not available to be kept for 2005.
Woohoo!
Also, this is a draft. Please comment upon clarity and also accuracy.
