Keeper League Setup Question

[Texan]

Last year my league decided to start a keeer league. We've used Yahoo or Yahoo PLUS for all 5 years of our league but had never tried a keeper league. We agreed to keep 5 players. I decided that I would need to know the 5 keepers on the day of our 2008 draft. My question is: from the end of the 2007 season until the 2008 draft, should managers be able to trade players on their team? Or should they not be allowed to trade players?

Also, on draft day before the draft, should managers be able to trade keepers for other keepers and/or draft picks? Basically, if you're a keeper league commissioner, please explain your league policies in regards to these issues.

One final question: Which fantasy service (Yahoo, Sportsline, ESPN, etc) is best? I've always enjoyed Yahoo but I've heard some good things about Sportsline as well.

[Grouperman941]

My league allows unlimited offseason trades up to a 'keeper deadline'. We then freeze trades until after the draft. We do not trade picks.

We also freeze add/drops once the season ends, until 24 hours after the draft.

There are a couple of threads about CBS in this forum, and tons on CBS/Yahoo in the whole Cafe.

I like CBS, myself.

[Matthias]

Should players be able to trade in the off-season? Yes.
Should players be able to trade up to the day of the draft? No.

Everyone else needs some time to digest who everyone else is keeping, who everyone else is going to need, and who is going to be available. Our keeper deadline is March 1st. Our draft hasn't been scheduled yet, but it'll be early/mid March, but not earlier than the 8th. So everyone will have at least a week to digest the ramifications of everyone else's keepers so they can adequately plan for their own draft.

As far as trading keepers and picks, I would say caveat emptor. If two guys want to agree, after keepers are announced or on draft day, that they're swapping guys or swapping a guy for a pick or whatever, that's their deal. I'm not going to enforce anything because I'm not going to get into it. I got the draft to worry about. So if they decide to do it and it works out, fine. But if one starts crying that they didn't get what they were promised... too bad.

[rusmo]

I don't allow offseason trades because it's a pain in the arse to evaluate and keep track of them outside the Yahoo interface. Perhaps we should petition Yahoo to have their interface support offseason trades. My league members pretty much disband (they're scattered across the country and most only know each other through the league) and don't talk fantasy baseball until I send them invites the following year.