2012 Cyberzahm Roto Baseball Rules by beloved Commissioner Fox the ICC Only rules change: If the replacement player of a DLed player also goes on the DL, the owner may reverse that DL move and submit a new DL move simultaneously. Thanks to Sobo for this suggestion. A) Determining draft pool There are almost no restrictions on the draft. Draft anybody you want - except do not draft an injured player simply so that you can replace him with "free" DL moves. This will more or less be an honor system. A gentlemen's agreement. We all trust each other. Note that you can draft an injured star who is expected to return sometime during the season, and you can DL said star until they return. That is OK if the main reason for your pick is that you want that player when they return. It is not OK to take a player mainly because they are hurt and due back later rather than sooner and you know you will be able to replace them, possibly over and over again, after you have more info and can see who is hot and what categories you need help with etc. B) Determining draft positions 1. Starting March 1st, we will take turns choosing our draft position. The previous year's last place finisher will choose their position first, the next to last place finisher will pick their position second, and so on. Ties will be broken by the ICC flipping a coin. If there are any new participants they will choose their position last. Selection order is: Andy Jack Prep Al Hans Sobo Mags Terry Fox Gabes For 2012 the draft order will be: 01 Andy 02 Prep 03 Hans 04 Sobo 05 Jack 06 Fox 07 Mags 08 Gabes 09 Terry 10 Albert 2. Remember that we will draft in the order 1 2 3 .. N-1 N N N-1 ... 3 2 1 1 2 3 ... If you draft in position 1 you'll get picks 1 2N 2N+1 etc. C) Player positions Offensive players are originally eligible at a position where they appeared in at least 20 games in the previous season in the majors. If they did not appear in 20 games at any position last year, or if the only position they are listed as having appeared at 20 games or more is DH, then they are originally eligible at any position at which they appeared in the majors. If they did not play any position last year in the majors (other than DH) then they must be placed in the utility spot (even if they were just injured all of last year or were a minor league or foreign superstar). A player earns eligibility at a new position if they appear at that position in the majors "this year" for at least 20 games. Players who are eligible for more than one offensive position can be "shifted around" so that roster balance is maintained during a trade or DL/NR move. Such shifting must be clearly indicated in the move request. Position change requests can only be tied to one move at a time. You cannot say things such as "if I get player X for player Y and then get Player W for Player Z I want to change such and such a position". Roster balance after a trade/NR move must exist both for the "current" roster (with active DL moves) and the "permanent" roster (without active DL moves). If someone makes an honest mistake along these lines and the mistake is noticed within one week of occurance, at the ICC's discretion we may try to "rewrap" all moves affected by the error. D) The Draft 1. We will begin the draft on the Ides of March. Beware. We will do it as quickly as we can. 2. The draft will consist of 24 rounds. Each round each participant will claim one player. Each participant must end up with 6 outfielders, 1 1st basemen, 1 2nd basemen, 1 3rd basemen, 1 shortstop, 1 1st or 3rd baseman, 1 2nd or shortstop, 2 catchers, 1 utility offensive player (any position or DH or a "no position"), and 9 pitchers. An owner's roster must show this balance throughout the entire season, even after trades and DL/NR moves. 3. When you draft an offensive player you must state a position (OF, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, SS, C, UT). This will be their position on your original roster. You may not change a player's position later in the draft. E) Calculating Standings 1. We will track these categories: batting average (team Hits/team ABs), Runs, HRs, RBIs, SBs, Wins, Saves, Stikeouts and team ERA. Pitcher's batting stats are not counted. Offensive player's pitching stats are not counted. Standard roto point system will be used. F) Beginning of season We will define the end of the pre-season, for trade purposes, to be midnight, the day before the first official game is played on US soil, i.e., in the contiguous 48 states. Likewise, the start of season is that same day, i.e., the day the first official game is played on US soil. Any major league stats that accrue during preseason are considered, for our purposes, to have occurred during the first week of the season. So, if two teams play an early game in Japan, and Player A hits a grand slam, and his owner trades him to Owner B after that game but before the end of preseason, then Owner B gets credit for the slam. [Note: all star break moves are due Wednesday night] G) Non Restricted Moves (NR moves) NR moves are for getting rid of poor players. You are allowed 4 NR moves. Use them wisely. A player obtained in an NR move is considered a member of your roster (meaning that he can be DLed but not the day he is obtained). The same honor system applies here as during the draft with respect to injured players. These moves 1. Can be made any Sunday after the start of the season. Except the week of the all-star break the move deadline is extended to Wednesday night. 2. Are NOT reserve moves .. you pick up a free agent and release the player you are replacing. The released player is not available as a free agent until the following week. 3. Are granted to the owner replacing the player with the lower draft order position in the case that two owners request the same player the same week. So, remember to include options when submitting requests. 4. Must leave your current and permanent rosters balanced. H) Disabled List Moves (DLs) You are alloted an unlimited number of DL moves. DLs are for replacing hurt players (players on the major league DL on the Sunday the move is requested) who are members of your roster. You replace them with free agents. Note that you may have a player who breaks his leg or something, he could even be dead, but if he's not on the major league DL you can't use a DL move to replace him. These moves: 1. Can be made any Sunday starting the second Sunday of the season. Except the week of the all-star break the move deadline is extended to Wednesday night. 2. Will be merged with that week's NR moves, in terms of who gets whom. 2a. Can be transformed into a NR move: - the owner must still have a NR move - it must be the owner who originally made the DL move - it is uncontested 3. Are reserve moves .. you retain your rights to the hurt player. 4. Can be reversed any Sunday. When reversed you do NOT retain the rights to the player you picked up with the move. They are released. They are available for pick up as a free agent the following Sunday. 5. Must be reversed the last Sunday of the month if the DLed player is no longer, as of that day, on the major league DL list. I'll handle such reversals "automatically" but it would help if you would notify me in advance (or after the fact) if you notice a situation that requires invoking this rule. 6. Are granted to the owner replacing the player with the earlier draft order position in the case that two owners request the same player the same week. So, remember to include options when submitting requests. 7. Must leave your current and permanent rosters balanced. More notes: 8. You can even reverse a DL move when the original player is still on the DL. In that case, however, you can not make another DL move involving the original player until the following Sunday. 9. A player you pick up with a DL move is NOT considered to be a member of your roster. This means that you cannot DL them. 10. If the replacement player of a DLed player also goes on the DL, the owner may reverse that DL move and submit a new DL move simultaneously. I) Trades 1. Rostered players can be traded. If a DLed player is traded then the new owner obtains the player's replacement also, and all the rights and responsibilities attached to them (except for the right to make it a NR move). DL replacements may not be traded by themselves. 2. After a trade all rosters must remain balanced, both the current rosters and the permanent rosters. 3. NR moves cannot be traded, although players obtained through NR moves can be traded (but not the day they are obtained). 4. Trading may begin after the draft is over. The trade deadline is the earliest Sunday that follows the major league trade deadline. Typically that is the first Sunday in August. 5. Trades can be made any Sunday after the start of the season, subject to the trading deadline. Except the week of the all-star break the move deadline is extended to Wednesday night. J) Side Bets The only "official" side bets will be those of the $X per category and $Y overall variety. I will gather, post, determine the results, and fold those results into the payoff scheme for such bets that are properly submitted by the deadline I announce (probably about 1 week after the draft ends). Each owner should send me, and the league as a whole, one note saying they are willing to bet so much per category and so much overall with whomever. For example, you might write "I accept all $5 category wagers and all $10 overall wagers, except I'm willing to raise that to $15 per category with Joe Blow." Or "I accept $10 overall wagers with these 5 teams ...". You get the idea. Other types of bets, for booze or music, or of the "my catchers will destroy those charlatans you have behind the plate" variety, can be posted on the CZ site but you will have to determine the results yourself and handle the payoffs. If such bets are for cash, and you can get the results to me in a timely fashion after the season is over, I will fold them into the payoff scheme. In any case, I can post the results of such bets if you send them to me. In order for an unofficial bet between Owner A and Owner B to be posted, Owner A should send the bet description to Owner B, who then forwards it to me. K) The Bottom Line 1. Entry cost is $75. DL moves are free. Reversing DL moves is free. Trades are free. A NR move costs $12.50. 2. Payoffs will be as follows: First, we deduct the cost of the stat service. Second, we deduct 10% of the remaining pot to be donated to a charity that I select. Third, the remaining money is divvied up as follows: First place: 30% Second place: 15% Third place: 7% The remaining 48% will be given out using the following scheme which essentially pro-rates payouts based on total points ... The total points earned by the last place team are subtracted from everybody's total points, giving everyone an adjusted point value. The adj pt vl of the last place team would be zero. The first place team would have the highest adj pt vl. Each team would be paid from the remaining 48%, a share equivalent to their percentage of the total adjusted point values. L) I'm the commissioner (ICC). When rulings are needed I'll try to ask for opinions, but I've got the final say. Fox