Keeper leagues: Their worth, Yahoo and beyond...

[gabenterprises]

#1, Is it possible to do keepers in a yahoo free league? How much is the minimum to play in yahoo league with keepers? MLB?

#2, As a semi-experienced fantasy baseball-head, I wonder if anyone agrees with my gut feeling that the strategic worth of keepers is partly negated by the freedom and competing strategies that hinder the current year's being free of keepers.

#3- what number of keepers per team make differing strategic results? Is 1 or 2 keepers really worth anymore than creating connections with long term players. Would not having a high player/ team keeper make the most sense, but create a completely different draft order etc. than what I'm used to, the non-keeper league?

Sorry to be long winded, but let me explain...

[xeifrank]

#1
Yahoo free leagues do not have a keeper option. You have to keep track of your keepers offline. We are planning on converting our 5x5 free yahoo league to a keeper league this year. We are still determining the best keeper method for a non salaried league. I think we have some good ideas so far.

#2 I have no idea what you are asking. Can u try explaining this one again?

#3 See #2.

vr

Xei

[gabenterprises]

#2- if you have keepers, you will find yourself hanging onto players that may get better next year, rather than cut them. This changes the strategy, but it is just different, not really more complex, so why change?

#3- How many keepers per team is good? What makes different numbers preferable?

And back to #1, how will you next year make keepers work on your own? On draft day you will all start by drafting your two keepers or whatever number of keepers you agree on?

Thanks!

[xeifrank]

#2- if you have keepers, you will find yourself hanging onto players that may get better next year, rather than cut them. This changes the strategy, but it is just different, not really more complex, so why change?

It's just another twist on the same game. You become more of a GM, you have to manage salaries, contracts, determine if in a re-draft you'd be able to get the same player. I think most people who do keepers have an auction draft, which have salaries, and a salary cap, and if you sign a player to a long-term contract the salary increases $5 per extra year you keep them. In a non-auction keeper league (without salaries) there's not as much of a management issue, but if you are creative enough you can still setup your keeper league to mimic some of the strategies of an auction/salary/contracts keeper league. That is what we are attempting to do.

#3- How many keepers per team is good? What makes different numbers preferable?

Again it depends on the type of system. In the auction style it depends on salary, in non auction it just depends on what you think would be the best or most interesting number to keep. I think we will set a limit of 8, and not sure yet what we will do in a re-draft when owners keep a different number of players. But we do have a good twist on this that we will use.

And back to #1, how will you next year make keepers work on your own? On draft day you will all start by drafting your two keepers or whatever number of keepers you agree on?

We will have a live yahoo draft the first year, and an offline draft in subsequent years, preferably on a Yahoo group message board. Our commish will have to keep an updated list of who has already been taken, so people don't keep accidentally try to draft someone who has been already kept or drafted.

What type of keeper league structure are you guys thinking of having?

vr

Xei

[gabenterprises]

We all really appreciate your help (I posted your response in the league and we'll have a vote soon)
I think I don't need $$$ figures- I like the straight simple method of drafting by all available, and all FAs being avail.- but it wouldn't be bad to have six keepers decided right after the draft. I can keep track of that for next year, and the following year, well, you tell me please. Sorry I don't know about this.