Opinions on this format...please.

[StoneMoses]

I joined a keeper league two years ago. I really like the guys involved...one of them being my nephew. The commissioner is a very fair person and insists on input from all owners before making rules changes. He is quickly becoming a good friend.
I knew going in that making progress with the team I had was going to be slow and painful....simply because of the league format and the lack of talent on my team...which had rested firmly in last place for three years prior to my taking it over.
Last year I was able to barely sneak into next-to-last place.
We have 31 player rosters....25 active and 6 reserve slots.
The active roster consists of 2 catchers, 2 1B, 2 2b, 2 3B, 2 SS, 5 outfielders, 1 utility or DH, 5 starting pitchers and 4 relief pitchers.
We have to make 6 roster cuts by the end of February and have our draft in mid-March.
We can keep players indefinitely,and combined with only having to cut six players....the players available to draft are marginally better than the players you can find in the free agent pool, so....most owners target rookies.
This lack of talent available to the bottom tier teams makes improvement darn near impossible.
I love the league....but, am I pushing a huge boulder uphill here?

[fcnick]

You likely are pushing a huge boulder uphill, but like in real baseball, you can reach the top of that hill eventually. Since you are so low in the standings, do you get the 1st or 2nd pick? I'm sure a Heyward or Strasburg could help your team's future immensely.

[StoneMoses]

Thanks nick.
Heyward and Stasburg are already off the board.
I have the second overall pick and I've been considering Stanton, A Chapman, Chris Carter, Austin Jackson, Chris Heisey and Sean Rodriquez.
I do need another catcher, Y Molina being my only one....would taking Benji Molina (best available at the position) be wiser than a promising rookie?

[bigmck]

If I understand that right you are keeping 19 out of 25 players. That is crazy. It does not give anyone a chance to improve their team. You could play for 20 years and never move up more that a few places. The league is not fair at all. I doubt if you can get them to change, but here is my opinion on what makes a good league. == Don't keep more than half the players. -- Set up a system that stops a team for keeping a player for more 3 or 4 years. -- Don't have too many Minor League spots. Maybe three. If all the good ML players are taken, where is the chance to improve your team. ======= We had a similiar problem in my league. It was that the salary escalated slowly and the same teams were keeping the same players 6 and 7 years. About half of us guys got together and discussed it and then went to the rest of the league and made suggestions on ways to improve. I think this might be your best shot at making the league more fair and fun. Good luck.

[fcnick]

I don't see how you can improve either if players like Heyward and Strasburg aren't out there...when were these guys taken? They weren't even listed in most player pools last year. I agree that something needs to be changed in order to make a team like yours who has been struggling compete with the other teams.

[StoneMoses]

If I understand that right you are keeping 19 out of 25 players. That is crazy. It does not give anyone a chance to improve their team. You could play for 20 years and never move up more that a few places. The league is not fair at all. I doubt if you can get them to change, but here is my opinion on what makes a good league. == Don't keep more than half the players. -- Set up a system that stops a team for keeping a player for more 3 or 4 years. -- Don't have too many Minor League spots. Maybe three. If all the good ML players are taken, where is the chance to improve your team. ======= We had a similiar problem in my league. It was that the salary escalated slowly and the same teams were keeping the same players 6 and 7 years. About half of us guys got together and discussed it and then went to the rest of the league and made suggestions on ways to improve. I think this might be your best shot at making the league more fair and fun. Good luck.

....actually, we keep 25 of 31 players.
I love roto much more than I thought I would but this league seems almost as if it were structured to keep the better teams (mainly the original members) at the top, while making it darn near impossible for the lower tier teams to finish in the money!
I don't think that was the original intent....but that's the way it's played out!
The bottom half pretty much donates $65 every year for the teams at the top.
I've done some research into "keeper" leagues and yet to find one that allows owners to hang onto every good player indefinitely like ours....which is what you have when you get to keep 25 players and only drop 6.
As far as Heyward and Strasburg....they were taken quite a while back....not sure exactly when. We have some owners who live fantasy 24-7 and have constant access to computers....as a result, they usually have better info and are quicker at the trigger.
Like I said, I love roto....but I have a life too!
To give you an idea of the level of talent on the team I inherited....my best players were Alfonso Soriano, Andrian Beltre, Carlos Zambrano and Joey Votto....Votto being my shining star.
My catchers were Paul Bako and LoDuca.

[Kimbos Beard]

....actually, we keep 25 of 31 players.
I love roto much more than I thought I would but this league seems almost as if it were structured to keep the better teams (mainly the original members) at the top, while making it darn near impossible for the lower tier teams to finish in the money!

I think you are right. Keeping 25 out of 31 players is basically ensuring that the top teams remain the top teams. I have heard of a lot of different dynasty formats, but never one like this!

It sounds like you enjoy the managers and the league which is important when playing fantasy baseball, but I would tell them they need to switch up the league settings/rules or you are going to look for a different league. Its not fair to you to play in a league where you will have to somehow guess right on every single prospect for the next 5 years before you will be able to contend.

If you are having fun with rotisserie in a league like the one you are in now, wait until you get into a league which is fair and will give you a chance to contend....you'll love it.

[fcnick]

There should definitely be some sort of switch in the settings. The best possible solution for everyone to be happy would be to not allow the picking up of prospects and have an MiLB draft along with the normal draft. This will allow for a team like yours to have the next top talent coming out of the minors. If you can't incorporate something like this, the league needs to be blown up and started over allowing all teams to compete equally.

[Matthias]

Basically, I agree with everyone here. I would never play in a league like this and I would never set up a league like this. That said.... I think you have limited options. You can obviously suggest a change but since it's been going for a while, they might just tell you, "Hey new guy, this is how it is. If you don't like it, don't play" and then you have the decision whether or not just hanging out in the league is worth $65/year.

[StoneMoses]

Thanks for the input guys....I didn't want it to come off like a case of sour grapes.

10 of the owners from this league (myself included) decided to try a head-to-head league last year with a draft....all players starting out on an equal basis.
I won the regular season, pretty much from start to finish and then won the playoffs.
I was looking forward to it again this year but for some reason most of the other owners lost their interest.