Are My Leaguemates Idiots?

[Fpower]

This is a "gentlemans" agreement that you don't put relievers in starter spots or vice-versa since the league website doesn't technically prevent it, however it is against the rules and the commish will retro-actively remove them if you get caught.

I was wondering if there was any way to actually enforce such as rule, as that seems to be the crux of these whiners' arguments. The above method seems like it would have been the best way to go about it. 5 SP, 2 RP, and you are only allowed to use the pitcher in his current, real life role. Commissioner enforces the rule, as the there are no gameplay settings which are capable of doing so.

But for the record, the OP's friends are a bunch of babies to the point where I might be tempted to quit the league immediately. FB is supposed to be fun, not an exercise in dealing with assinine behavior.

[cordscords]

What a bunch of idiots.

[talan37]

I didn't say I thought it was against the spirit of the rules, I said they probably did(his leaguemates), this as this thread is titled "Are my leaguemates idiots?", I am trying to put forth some idea of the way they are thinking. I also said I thought they were completely wrong for how they approached the problem.

I quoted "loopholes" to imply the dubious nature of their use of the word instead of saying just loopholes because I don't necessarily agree with there assesment.

I think both of the owners are in the right, however if everyone else in the league thinks they aren't, then there is a problem. Either the league needs to come to a proper agreement on what the rules are or the league will end, probably in an unfriendly manner. Its all well and good to be within the rules, but when your pissing off the majority of the rest of the owners who are your friends, you may want to re-think your strategy a little, or come to some sort of agreement.

In the more recent season I think they are being completely ridiculous, the whole point of a P slot is to give you that flexibility to do as you choose.

[mkultra]

I was wondering if there was any way to actually enforce such as rule, as that seems to be the crux of these whiners' arguments. The above method seems like it would have been the best way to go about it. 5 SP, 2 RP, and you are only allowed to use the pitcher in his current, real life role. Commissioner enforces the rule, as the there are no gameplay settings which are capable of doing so.

This is how it works in my H2H points league- 5 SP, 3 RP, no crossover because of eligibility. In the (very) rare situation that someone puts a spot-starter in the RP spot, the commish just rolls back the points. Roto stats might be harder to deal with, I dunno.

Question for doughhead- does your team have a transaction limit? I'd love to hear their thoughts on churning...

[gatorgreenwell]

"but it really isn't sportsmanlike or gentlemanly in a league consisting of friends" says your leaguemate.

Being a gentleman is for dealing with women. In sports, gentleman=nice guy and we all know where they finish.

Remind them that it is YOUR team and you are free to do whatever you want to do with it within the confines of the established rules. Remind them that it's about Winning not Whining.

You should already be looking for a third 'loophole' to use in next year's season so you can really get them upset.

[Doughhead]

Either the league needs to come to a proper agreement on what the rules are or the league will end, probably in an unfriendly manner. Its all well and good to be within the rules, but when your pissing off the majority of the rest of the owners who are your friends, you may want to re-think your strategy a little, or come to some sort of agreement.

The thing is, I thought we had come to an agreement. We discussed at length the changes that were instituted, and every manager voted on them.

Last year, I repeatedly asserted my opinion that having different managers using different strategies (ie. punting saves and using SP/RP eligible starters) was good for our league. That was, I believed, one of the reasons we agreed to have open P spots, as it clearly enabled every manager to build his pitching staff as he saw fit--and without relying on dubious Yahoo! position assignments. I remember saying on more than one occasion during the offseason that building that flexibility into the roster setup was a great change to make.

The fact that these guys are now complaining about it as if it is coming out of nowhere is truly shocking to me. Either they didn't understand what I was saying during the offseason or they are just now forgetting about it. Regardless, it just seems crazy to me that they didn't at least consider the possibility that some managers would attempt this strategy (I mean, it's not exactly an obscure idea). I still have no idea what effect they thought the inclusion of P spots would have if not this.

There's no arguing with these guys, either. It doesn't matter how sensible my points are or how eloquently I make them. They'll just complain all year. It's so frustrating. I'm not a confrontational person by nature, so I hate constantly having to bang heads with them and defend the way I'm managing my team.

And now what am I supposed to do? Change my strategy just to avoid upsetting the apple cart further? Keep it up and have them call for an asterisk to be placed behind any success I have. It's a no win situation.

mkultra, we do not have a roster limit. And yes, they would hate the idea of churning, that's for sure.

[AussieDodger]

And now what am I supposed to do? Change my strategy just to avoid upsetting the apple cart further? Keep it up and have them call for an asterisk to be placed behind any success I have. It's a no win situation.

Wear your asterisk with pride baby!
If you keep coming up with ideas that baffle them, and they keep asterisking you, take it as a compliment.

[Eagle Baseball]

If I am off on the talent level of the other 6 managers than kindly disregard this post.

I alluded to it earlier and I'll mention it again. I can see the other managers being upset and feeling that they have been taken advantage of. The OP stated that he and the other manager using the closer rotation( for lack of a better term ) were the most vocal in changing to setup to what it is now. I think we have to remember that not everyone is as hard core fantasy baseball as most of the people who post on this site. The innings pitched limit needs to be questioned imo. For an 8 team league to put a max innnings pitched at 1200 is very low imo and as I said earlier it is below the Yahoo default setting. I agree that anyone who plays fantasy baseball regularly would realize that having an 8 team league with 1200 innings max the thing to do would be to get a few starters and than get 4-5 closers but because the rest of the league did not do that I would conclude that the rest of the league is not hard core fantasy baseball players.

So you have 2 managers who are vocal in changing the rules (to a questionable setting imo) from last year and than these 2 managers draft teams that take advantage of the rule changes. I play in an 8 team friends and family league and realize that some of the owners just play in this league and are not serious fantasy players. Having fun playing fantasy baseball is the important thing.

[great gretzky]

But complaining about this guy, AFTER the draft is on the same spectrum as changing the rules after the draft. I guarantee you that if someone wanted to change the rules after the draft, these people would definitely be complaining as one of the reasons against it would be that people drafted their teams with these rules in place. So, to me, to complain about it like they are while not as bad as a mid-season rules change, is more than a little messed up.

I'm the commish of a fairly long running keeper league, and its AMAZING how little attention people pay when you are discussing things like that. Its like they can't handle the abstract thought necessary or something. Then once it gets "on paper" and people can see things, all of a sudden, they grouse.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it, and in the same way a weak familiarity with the rules is not grounds for complaint. If you are "new" to the game (we can only speculate as to the level of the other teams), that is even more reason to become intimately familiar to the best of your ability. If you aren't new, then you still can't complain, because this isn't like the invention of the forward pass or something, its a fairly regular gambit, especially as seasons go on, and people have their hands forced into such a strategy.

[Shaffe]

it is the responsibility of any fantasy manager worth his salt to read the rules of the league for that year before the draft. read them, understand them, and then build your team to maximize your results within the rules.

these guys apparently don't know the concept of the "P" position, and if they were confused (obviously they are) they should have asked or looked it up somewhere. the fault is on them for being poor managers, and if they're going to bitch about it then i personally wouldn't play with them anymore. if this means removing them from the league or removing yourself, i'd do whatever it takes. talk with your commish about the matter and encourage him or her to take action to issue a statement on the matter or - worst case scenario - remove some people form the league.