Frequently asked Yahoo questions.

[Marvelous Merv]

I can't seem to find the "percent owned" stat that is frequently cited by the Yahoo pundits. Is this information available to managers?

[Montana168]

i know this may sound like a dumb question but, what happens when you go over the max. innings pitched in a standard yahoo roto 5X5 league. it says the max is 1250 if you have 5 starters and 2 RP, and 3 RP in the P spots. that means on avg. each SP can only have 200 IP and each RP can only have 50? however most no. 1 SP on teams get around 240-250 IP and most RP get around 60-80 IP.

do they just stop counting the starts your pitchers make after you go over 1250?

[Madison]

I can't seem to find the "percent owned" stat that is frequently cited by the Yahoo pundits. Is this information available to managers?

No clue about Yahoo, but it's easy to find in Sportsline leagues (right there with your stats) and on ESPN player pages.

do they just stop counting the starts your pitchers make after you go over 1250?

Yes.

You do get whatever you go over on the day you go over though. Say for example you've got 1249 innings pitched and the next day you rack up 25 innings, you'll still get credit for everything for those 25 innings, but after that you will no longer get any pitching stats.

[pa_tater]

Does anyone know if Yahoo offers a customizable draft order for private leagues(non-Yahoo plus)?

Thanks.

[Madison]

Does anyone know if Yahoo offers a customizable draft order for private leagues(non-Yahoo plus)?

Thanks.

Not sure. My private leagues all hold offline drafts here on the forums.

[teddy ballgame]

Does anyone know if Yahoo offers a customizable draft order for private leagues(non-Yahoo plus)?

Thanks.

Yes, they do.

[onestaruniform]

Just to update:

Sign up for Yahoo leagues for 2008 begins Feb. 5. (today) The links on their main fantasy page aren't up yet, but if you go directly to the fantasy baseball page, its acitive and you can sign up.

[Fantasy Sports Genie]

Holy smokes... I'd mentioned several times in Baseball Leftovers that it would be great if there was a way for me to post FAQ answers for the questions I answer over there constantly. Funny no one ever mentioned this thread, and I had no idea it was here. I'll try to find time to post answers to some of the questions I get asked constantly. Off the top of my head, that would include things like:

- When do status changes happen in-game?
- When/why are new players added to the game?
- Can I add a guy directly to my DL slot?
- Why can't I swap a guy out when his game is rained out?

Probably some others will come to mind as I think about it. I'll try to find time to get to these in between doing my actual job.

[Fantasy Sports Genie]

Why can't I swap a player out of my lineup when his game is postponed?

The problem here is that we get two different types of stats. Overnight, we get official stats, and that is what all standings and results are based off of. During the day, we get real-time, unofficial stats. Obviously we hope they are accurate, but they are necessarily not as reliable or official as the stats that come once games are over. A noteworthy detail here is that any notification we get during the day about a game being postponed or canceled is unofficial data, and therefore not subject to the same expectations for reliability.

Now. Suppose we use this unofficial data about game status to allow you to alter your lineup. Suppose we get notification that two games are postponed, but one of them actually isn't. Or maybe we're told it is postponed, but then an hour later we get updated data saying it wasn't actually postponed. Now your league is subject to inconsistent treatment, and this is the sort of mistake where we can't "put the toothpaste back in the tube". By the time we can fix it, perhaps you put someone in your lineup that you wouldn't have had you gotten accurate info. Or you didn't put someone in your lineup that you wish you had, and now it is too late. Rather than subject leagues to this sort of inconsistent, necessarily unreliable sort of interaction, we instead opt for a predictable consistent option: if you have a guy in your lineup, once his game was supposed to start, whether it actually does or not (since we can't officially tell), then he's staying in your lineup. The important detail is that this is also true for every other manager in your league. So while it may be frustrating the day you happen to have a guy you wish you could have swapped out, you at least know that everyone in your league is getting the same predictable, reliable set of rules applied to them.

[Fantasy Sports Genie]

When and how are new players added to the game?

As of the 2009 season, private leagues at Yahoo! offer two options in this regard. The setting is labeled:

New Players Become Available:

And the two options are:

1) As soon as Yahoo! adds them
This option is what is used for all public leagues. It basically means, "Yahoo! will add new players to the game whenever we think they are interesting. That includes unsigned veterans, prospects, etc." So leagues with this setting will see new players enter the game at various points in the season whenever we feel like people would want to see them. Note that any player who is on a major league roster should definitely be present without any subjective judgement from us. If you are the type of player who wants consistency, this may not be the option for you. If you are the type of player who wants to be able to nab prospects as soon as humanly possible, this may be the setting for you.

2) Wait until called up to Majors
In this option, the only players that will appear in the game are players that have been placed on a major league roster. This is distinct from having actually played. This may lead some surprising players to be absent. When there is a veteran that we all know is going to sign somewhere, but he hasn't yet done so, he isn't going to be available in the game, because he won't be on a major league roster yet. You may also see players in the game that you don't think belong there, because they are prospects. This is subject to the whims of the professional teams. If they place a guy on their roster for whatever reason, they should appear in our game. If you are the type of player who wants a consistent, predictable rule for when players appear in the game, this is the option for you. If you want to dabble in prospects, this may well not be the option for you.

A few other related notes:
- You can always tell when new players have entered the game by looking at the "MLB Roster Changes" item on the Players tab/page. It lists any changes in player status, including additional positional eligibility gained, or players entering the game.
- Pro tip: at any given point in time, you can see which players are "forced" into the game, and thus only appearing in "As soon as Yahoo! adds them" leagues, by going to the following URL:

http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/<league id>/showforced

This page is not normally linked to within the app, but may be of interest to leagues trying to decide which setting they want.
- Once your draft has taken place, you cannot change your league's setting for this parameter. Doing so might have you end up with players that are not supposed to be available to your league that are still on rosters and so on.