Rule changes for Tout Wars

[mgwiz22]

Tout Wars seems to have instituted some rule changes this year including substituting a "swingman" for an outfielder spot.

http://www.toutwars.com/?p=1395#more-1395

My take on this is that it makes Tout Wars less interesting to the fantasy league participant who wants to see what experts do in a league.

I don't think that very many leagues will adopt this change. I know that there were leagues who had gone to a swingman/2nd DH but I don't think that this has been a widely popularly accepted concept. I guess this is an attempt to make fantasy baseball more like real baseball but I don't see the need for it.

[Moonlight J]

I'm not crazy about it myself but am all for seeing how it works. I would have preferred going to a 25 man roster and adding a hitter and a pitcher rather than th is swing role.

[joncarlos]

MLB rosters have been way out of whack with the standard 23-man fantasy roster for a while now. We've gone from 14-15 hitters and 10-11 pitchers to 12-13 hitters and 12-13 pitchers. Most AL teams have 7 or 8 relievers, and aside from their starting 9 hitters, they have a catcher who is often a no-bat guy, a shortstop/infielder who is often a no-bat guy, a 4th outfielder whose most important role is usually to back up CF... it's just ugly.

On the other hand, who wants to draft a bunch of middle relievers just because that's what MLB does?

[mgwiz22]

Based upon the current pitching staff usage Major League baseball should expand their rosters but for financial reasons they probably don't want to do that.

[Lucky]

MLB rosters have been way out of whack with the standard 23-man fantasy roster for a while now. We've gone from 14-15 hitters and 10-11 pitchers to 12-13 hitters and 12-13 pitchers. Most AL teams have 7 or 8 relievers, and aside from their starting 9 hitters, they have a catcher who is often a no-bat guy, a shortstop/infielder who is often a no-bat guy, a 4th outfielder whose most important role is usually to back up CF... it's just ugly.

On the other hand, who wants to draft a bunch of middle relievers just because that's what MLB does?

This is an excellent point, and explains why there is nothing left at the end of an only auction.

[Mithrandir]

This is an excellent point, and explains why there is nothing left at the end of an only auction.

That's why only-leagues suck

[DMT]

That's why only-leagues suck

I honestly have never understood the appeal.

[wannabegriffey]

I honestly have never understood the appeal.

Unless you are in a 25 team mixed league, those 16 and under's are like cheekers to cheese in the roto world !!

[DMT]

Unless you are in a 25 team mixed league, those 16 and under's are like cheekers to cheese in the roto world !!

No idea what that means, but I simply have little interest in following so extensively as to needing to know every team's 25-man roster. RJEL has expanded to 18 teams and even that is pushing it for me. I've heard the arguments back and forth but it really just boils down to how much time you're willing to spend following players. There are bargains no matter what the format is if you're more skilled/prepared than your leaguemates, and if everyone in the league is equally skilled/prepared, then it mostly boils down to luck.

[wannabegriffey]

No idea what that means, but I simply have little interest in following so extensively as to needing to know every team's 25-man roster. RJEL has expanded to 18 teams and even that is pushing it for me. I've heard the arguments back and forth but it really just boils down to how much time you're willing to spend following players. There are bargains no matter what the format is if you're more skilled/prepared than your leaguemates, and if everyone in the league is equally skilled/prepared, then it mostly boils down to luck.

lol...cheeckers to chess....auto correct from my iphone.

[Todd Zola]

Tout Wars seems to have instituted some rule changes this year including substituting a "swingman" for an outfielder spot.

http://www.toutwars.com/?p=1395#more-1395

My take on this is that it makes Tout Wars less interesting to the fantasy league participant who wants to see what experts do in a league.

I don't think that very many leagues will adopt this change. I know that there were leagues who had gone to a swingman/2nd DH but I don't think that this has been a widely popularly accepted concept. I guess this is an attempt to make fantasy baseball more like real baseball but I don't see the need for it.

On the other hand, Tout Wars switched to 5x5 when it was still the exception and not the rule, has introduced using Vickery into FAAB bidding and has tried to be creative and flexible with respect to allowing mid-week replacements with DL'ed players.

There is a fine line between being a model league for interested parties to follow and being a beta tester of sort for rules changes.

FWIW, a very stubborn (and persistent) Tout veteran <<cough cough>> has been suggesting this rules change since 2007, and it is only this season that the Tout LLC finally decided to give it a go.

Jon C pretty much nailed the reason, the construct of MLB rosters is drastically different than in years past, and this modification is an attempt to account for that. Keeping in mind that Tout Wars has 4 reserves and an unlimited DL, doing some math...

Will use the assumption, that the average reserve roster is 1.5 MLB hitters, 1.5 MLB pitchers and 1 minor leaguer....

AL has 12 fantasy teams, with 12 non-C roster spots = 144 non-C players rosters + 18 reserves = 162 non C hitters rostered

14 AL teams have 13-14 hitters, let's call it 13.5. Since some catchers are eligible elsewhere, let's be generous and say on the average, there are 12 non-C per MLB team

14 x 12 = 168

That means on the average, there about 6, SIX, SIX non-C hitters available each week for FAAB. SIX

I'll spare you the math, but suffice it to say the deal is the same in the NL.

I'll also spare you the math with pitching, but there are significantly more pitchers on the wire each week.

The purpose of the rule is so everyone can carry 23 active players in their lineup each week. There were several weeks where multiple owners had to carry an injured player in their starting lineup, not because they were lazy, not because they failed to bid enough FAAB, but simply because THERE WAS NO ONE AT THAT POSITION ELIGIBLE TO BE PICKED UP!!!!!!

[The Dane]

This must have been at play in some of the earliest leagues, because I am in an old league that follows the original rules and is slow to change and we have something very similar to this. It's an ultra with 25-man active, 2 UTs and 10 pitchers, however, one of your UTs can be a pitcher as soon as the draft is over. I rarely use a pitcher in that spot, but I have on occasion, especially late in the season and I had a lead in hitting and needed Ks, but since we went to daily transactions, I can pretty much have every pitcher who has any chance of picking up a ball on that day active, if I so choose. Since then, I'm not sure I ever used it.

[roadtrip68]

That's why only-leagues suck

Them are fight'in words.