Valuing Closers in Weekly Leagues

[dblitzer28]

Im currently in a weekly league with my co-workers and i'm trying to find ways to give more value to closers. Last year, they basically had little value because people went after starters with SP/RP eligibility and sacrificed the SV category in order to win the IP, K, categories. Any suggestions? should I remove the IP category?

The Stats I used last year were W, SV, K, ERA, WHIP, and IP

[lane_anasazi2]

I've never been a fan of using IP as a category outside of a points league, and then only in a very balanced, thought out manner like an ottoneu league.

If you want to give closers more value, consider eliminating IP and changing K to K/9. That way your "solid ratios" starters that people love to steam and pick up extra K's will end up hurting them because of the low K/9, whereas your elite closers come with elite K/9.

[bigmck]

Definately get rid of IP category. You said last year the guys went after pitchers that had the SP/RP designation. That is easy enought, just do away with the SP and RP and make it all P. This gives the Owners the flexibility to do what they want without being restricted with X number of SP and X number of RP.

[mkultra]

Just do the math- 3 of your categories (W, K, and IP) favor starters. One (SV) favors closers, and two (ERA and WHIP) are neutral.

I like lane_anasazi2's idea to add K/9, but I'd replace IP with it and keep K. K/9 slightly favors not just elite closers, but elite relievers in general. You'd end up with 2 neutral, 2 pro-starter, and 2 pro-reliever categories.

Now, I have to ask- who were people targeting for RP eligibility as starters? Because there aren't many of them, and most of the options aren't good. This year, I guess there are a few more than usual (Sale, Feliz and Luebke), but if someone wants to opt for a Felipe Paulino or Kyle Kendrick instead of a low-end closer like Street or Farnsworth, that'd be {b]fine by me[/b].