Feedback for Zola Article ("A Little Help Please" on Mastersball)

[Sharky]

Todd, I can't post comments on your site because of the site problems (if I enable Javascript on mastersball.com, that's when the site goes haywire). So I'll try to share some thoughts here in response to your latest article (Jason, I hope that's ok).

It would be interesting to see what the data shows about stars-and-scrubs vs. spread-the-risk strategies, particularly for AL/NL only leagues (tout/labr). It might be interesting to see what the results are in the first two months (or early season) -- before trades muddy the waters.

[Todd Zola]

I went extreme spread the risk in NL Tout so I am keeping an eye on this, but the problem is the sample size is going to be so small, nothing actionable is going to be gleaned. The sample size is going to be three for the single league formats (LABR, Tout, NFBC). When the sample is that small, it is a matter of who you picked, not how you picked.

That said, I am indeed watching it mainly because some have been very vocal about the need to go S&S, especially in NL only, and I want to show a StR can still be effective.

FWIW, two months worth of data is really not worth considering for that purpose, I'm not sure I see the utility there. Though, I think how owners in single leagues use FAAB could be interesting, but even that is circumstantial in such a small sample.

As for the site, I have seen what you mean and there is something there, and we will have to do something about it. I'm confused in a way -- we don't get a ton of traffic but we get sufficient that I would think there would be more complaints. Not saying this is a reason to ignore it, just more thinking out loud. The back-end is no doubt hacked with some code. Unfortunately, it's not like my TrendMicro can find it, it is going to take a professional.

[Sharky]

Sorry to hear that, but glad to know it's not my ineptitude.

As for stars and scrubs... I took that approach in our NL league this year. Now I'm wondering how best to balance production a bit. I have zero speed, and can't decide how and when to trade for it. Any thoughts (general commentary, not specific to my team)?

[Todd Zola]

Redraft or keeper league?

[joncarlos]

I get the same thing when I try to register, so here's my comment.

I think this is particularly relevant for shallower leagues. To what extent is a team's performance in the saves category a proxy for the "effort" they put into the league. How many FAAB pickups do they make? How many weekly lineup changes do they make? I realize there's a correlation/causation issue with the moves thing - if I draft Rivera/Papelbon I will not need to make any moves - but I'm curious if something is there. Is saves really just a #want category (H/T Professor Parks)?

[Todd Zola]

The problem with focusing on saves is it is so dependent on who you chose, especially this season. Then factor in NFBC are no-trade leagues so the dynamic is different, you can deal for saves in most leagues. Still, it will be interesting to see is "getting lucky" with closers was part and parcel to success. The FAAB pickups are archived on each league's NFBC site so the good thing is I don't have to capture 150 league's every week, we can isolate a few leagues and look for patterns. The weekly activations are not available, but just by watching the categories grow, we should be able to figure out how many closers were active, etc.

One more comment about the site issues - if those encountering this problem can send me a detailed not describing exactly what happened, it would be appreciated - browser, operating system, do you have an old account and were trying to log in, were you registering for a new account, etc. There has to be a reason why the issue is not more widespread, especially since we are getting some serious eyeballs for our recent Tout and LABR transaction reviews. The more info I can give to the web developer, the faster they can find it, etc. THANKS!

[Todd Zola]

I can get the page when I try to create a brand new account -- is that when you guys are getting the problem?

[joncarlos]

For me, when I tried to enter the words into the "captcha" to create my new account, after I hit the Register button I got redirected to some kind of wierd viagra web page spam.mb.jpg

[Todd Zola]

Yeah JC, that's exactly what happened when I logged out and tried to create a new account.

I guess the good news is that is a very specific series of actions so perhaps that will make finding the problem easier.

Completely up to you guys, but I can create an account for you directly from the system, shoot me a note and we can do it.

[Pauly]

the viagra ad popped up for me when I logged in yesterday. no pun intended. I think it's more than just the registration link.

[Sharky]

the viagra ad popped up for me when I logged in yesterday. no pun intended. I think it's more than just the registration link.

Agreed. It's when you click on the "log in" button. It's something to do with the javascript, because the program "NoScript" blocks it (but you can't log in).

[Sharky]

Redraft or keeper league?

Deep keeper league.

[Todd Zola]

the viagra ad popped up for me when I logged in yesterday. no pun intended. I think it's more than just the registration link.

OK, good to know.

You have an account and were trying to log in. I have been doing this on all my browsers with a couple of different usernames and have been unable to replicate it - could be it recognized my cookies and if I clear the cache, I can recreate it.

[BigJonEmpire]

Do you have a backup of your site code? That might be the easiest fix. There are also internet scanners that can help you find the malicious code. Your server host may have the ability to help you, depends on the host.