Just an observation... Take it for what it's worth

[ldsjayhawk]

I'm just going to make an observation to see what kind of discussion this generates.  Hopefully, you'll let me stay in the league.  Ha!

One of the things we value in the league is emulating MLB.  I recognize that cannot always be had, but it seems to me that one of the most important places to have this happen is the standings.  Now I want to make it clear that I know this is not limited to this league.  All leagues I am in have this issue and this league is better than the others.  However, this league is also more likely to want to act upon something to improve it than any of the others (and it's my favorite it here anyway).

That said you'll never see a team in MLB win 140 games or only win 27.  That is the spread here in FGM.  I like being in a league that is competitive.  It's fun when GM s are engaged and teams are competing longer into the season.  I'm not looking for an excuse for my team who only win 60 games.  In fact, what I bring up would make it harder for me.  But all this taking takes some of the fun out of this.  I can't stand how the MLB CBA has taking some of the fun of being a fan and replace it with business.  I'm not sure how we encourage it, but I thought I'd  and see what happened.

Thanks for listening!  Please don't beat me up too badly.  Don't get me wrong, I have a good time being here...again it's my favorite league out here!

[Brent]

I won 32 games this season.  I went into the season knowing that Sale would be out awhile so that was expected, but I didn't expect Eloy to miss so much time (first game July 29th, our playoffs started August 23rd), Kyle Lewis to miss most of the season (ended up trading him in the Chapman deal), Bellinger to earn negative FPG, Means to be out for a while, etc.  Injuries and poor performance from one of my star players destroyed me team this season. 

[Flash]

I have been in FGM since the tail end of 2010.  I came in as a Giants fan and didn?t really understand what it took to make my team competitive.  I was a veteran of re-draft leagues, but liked the idea of being the GM of my favorite MLB team.  For many years I tried to acquire every Giants player I could and that mentality led to some pretty disastrous trades:  Brandon Belt for Mike Trout, Christian Arroyo for Christian Yelich, Luis Arraez for Tyler Beede to name a few.

It took me 11 years to finally build a team that could win a championship. I diversified my lineup, made a multitude of trades, improved my depth, hung onto some key Giants (Buster Posey retiring not withstanding), and held onto some prospects I believe will contribute in the future.  Of course, I certainly didn?t foresee my team peaking with a power barrage during the playoffs, and the Baseball Gods spared me the injuries suffered by other teams. 

The question raised regarding the gap between playoff teams and non-playoff teams is an important one.  There is quite a disparity between teams throughout our league.  In 2020, we had a team fail to win a single game and over the years, many teams seem to be stuck in mediocrity.  We do play division foes 19 times throughout the season, just like the MLB, so if a competitive team plays in a division with four non-competitive teams, the gap seems hopeless.  I documented the playoff races during the latter part of the season, but there weren?t really any playoff races beyond the AL East and the AL Wild Card.  The NL West and the AL West are the most competitive?with three teams in each division qualifying for the playoffs.

As a naive member, evolving into the league moderator, here are my thoughts:

1:  Several teams suffer from GM turnover.  I try and keep the teams filled, but often times we see GMs come into the league and then simply disappear.  In the past, these neglected teams were simply left to wither away, and that has certainly contributed to some teams being stuck in the mud.  During recent years, I have taken it upon myself to place vacant teams in a league proprietorship in hopes of at least trying to keep them afloat.  This has affected the and the .  That?s 1/3 of our league!

2:  There are GMs in our league that say they are in a state of rebuilding and never spend a cent in free agency.  Their trades are usually for prospects and that deteriorates the competitiveness of their team. 

3:  Look at the teams in the upper echelon of our league.   
? these teams are active traders and acquire players through free agency.  and are two examples of teams who built through the draft, trades, and free agency ( was the beneficiary of expert drafting by the current GM before he left for a brief hiatus).  and also inherited competitive teams, both former Championship teams, and to their credit, have maintained a high level of competitiveness. 

4:  This is not to disparage any GM in this league.  and went through an aggressive rebuilding process and they have been successful.  has done the same.  For my part, 11 years to a championship is not a recommended path for anyone, but I?m certainly glad I stuck with it.  In spite of my ill advised trades (forgot to mention Francisco Lindor for Ryan Howard ), I stuck with it?in spite of years of opening round playoff losses.

5:  Finally, we do pride ourselves on mirroring MLB.  We have had a number of rule changes that I believe strengthen our league.  A few years ago, BHows overhauled our rule book (with league approval) and made it more useful and understandable.  We have also transitioned away from a Rules Committee to a referendum based democracy.  There have been times when I utilized some Executive action (like our 60 game schedule and it?s effect on position eligibility).  But with our mirroring commitment, I believe there are still some things we need to preserve to maintain effective fantasy play.  The discussion surrounding expanded our MiLB rosters is something I don?t support because it shrinks the free agent pool, and given the apparent differing levels of activity, will only lead to a greater gap between the different levels of competitiveness in this league.

These are a few of my thoughts, and as the subject title suggests, take them for what they?re worth.  What are the solutions?  Well, for what it?s worth, over the years we always hear, ?Let GMs run their teams as they see fit?, particularly after a trade veto.  For my part, I try and to keep the communication lines open and provide the stability needed for any successful league.  I?ve taken a lot of chances and continue to try and make my team better.  We all have a method to our madness, and mine isn?t better than yours.  I just think the only way the competitive gap will shrink is by having GMs who are committed to FGM for the long haul.  The FYPD is a good place to start, but being active during free agency and exploring trades throughout the season can?t hurt.

Thanks for reading this.
 

[ldsjayhawk]

Thanks for the observations and the analysis.  As always excellently done.  It has made me realize take a look at how I am building my team and things I can do better! 

[kidd5jersey]

I can help bid and work the system etc. for one of the National League teams that lack ownership. Doing it within my league just don't seem right. Because is a small market club as well, I'm typically not a big time player in "winning the offseason". 

I also love that Arraez deal. Been a godsend for  

[Flash]

I can help bid and work the system etc. for one of the National League teams that lack ownership. Doing it within my league just don't seem right. Because is a small market club as well, I'm typically not a big time player in "winning the offseason". 

I also love that Arraez deal. Been a godsend for  

All the National League teams have a GM, in fact, we have a GM for every team in the league.  The thing that typically separates those who are competitive from those who are not is activity.  You don?t have to be a ?a big time player in winning the off-season?, you just have to stay engaged and pickup players who will help you have a balanced lineup, and not just in the off-season, but throughout the season.

The Arraez deal came about because he was secured during in-season free agency.  I acquired him at a time when no one else seemed interested.  I traded him away thinking that Tyler Beede was going to develop into a frontline SP?obviously I was wrong, but it did not discourage me from seeking other trades and free agents to improve my team.  There are 14 teams in this league that have sub .500 records, and many of them have a boatload of cap every year, but many of them are simply not active in free agency or on the trade market.  Some of those teams are under new management, so I think we may see some positive changes in the future.

Playing in multiple leagues sometimes intrudes on team development in a given league, sometimes the challenges of our everyday lives hamper our fantasy play, but nonetheless, there is no substitute for interested participation.  In looking at my own team, most of my hitters (14) were acquired in a trade.  Most of my pitchers were free agent acquisitions.  My pitching was adequate, not great, and it was my hitters that carried my team.  My team had injuries just like everyone else, but my depth helped me survive and remain competitive, and as it turned out, I had some players who had some career years. 

From my vantage point, I already see more activity from our new GMs.  Their participation in the FYPD was refreshing and hopefully it will lead to a more competitive league.  Free agency is just around the corner, and if everyone got a few free agents to improve their team, it would certainly help close that competitive gap.

[tdtdtd]

As a new owner (started beginning of last year), I think that this league setup would allow me to rebuild quickly if I make good decisions. There are plenty of decent minor leaguers available and occasionally useful mlb players, so if my team continues to be bad multiple years it is probably mostly my own fault.

My only suggestion for possible improvement in competitiveness would be to alter the salary cap rules to be more even. Right now some teams get about twice as much salary cap space as others, which is a huge advantage.

My understanding is that some of the difference is based on real life salaries and some is based on previous years' performance in this league. Personally, I don't like using real like salaries much (even without the fact that my team will probably be losing salary cap space in the next couple years no matter how I do since the real Orioles payroll is so low), but that might just be me that feels that way. I do like rewarding better teams some with extra cap space since it discourages tanking. I admit that I didn't really check how much better the high payroll teams are doing though.

But changing that doesn't matter if some teams just aren't using cap space like mentioned in the previous post. Owner's activity and ability definitely make the most difference in how good their teams are.

Edit: it looks like I misunderstood the cap calculations, so the middle paragraphs can be ignored.

[Flash]

My only suggestion for possible improvement in competitiveness would be to alter the salary cap rules to be more even. Right now some teams get about twice as much salary cap space as others, which is a huge advantage.

My understanding is that some of the difference is based on real life salaries and some is based on previous years' performance in this league. Personally, I don't like using real like salaries much (even without the fact that my team will probably be losing salary cap space in the next couple years no matter how I do since the real Orioles payroll is so low), but that might just be me that feels that way. I do like rewarding better teams some with extra cap space since it discourages tanking. I admit that I didn't really check how much better the high payroll teams are doing though.

Real-life salaries were only used during the initial year of FGM.  After that, the fantasy franchise?s salaries are used.  It is based on 75% of a team?s base salary for the last 3 years and 25% of the final standings in the same 3 year period.  Teams gain salary cap by finishing higher in the standings over the given three year period.  By the same token, salary cap can be lost if the team continues to finish in the lower tiers of the standings.  Most teams in the middle of the standings don?t see much fluctuations and teams who are consistently at the top of the standings see their cap gradually increase.

In 2021, the salary rankings of the teams who made the playoffs were 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 12, 13, 16, and 23.  The World Series team?s salary ranks were 11 and 23.  The point here is that each of these teams made optimal use of their salary caps.  Most were active in free agency throughout the season and engineered a variety of trades.  The degree of activity varied from team to team, but they were all engaged. 

There were also some non-playoff teams who were very active and made strides in the standings.  They improved their rosters and still have ample cap for further improvement.  There are some teams with new GMs that will have to be frugal with their cap, and roster improvement may be a little slower, but it can happen.  The   and all improved through the draft.  and have utilized free agency and trading to improve their teams.  has used a combination of drafting, free agency and trading to improve.  But we can also point to teams like and as teams who have made improvements and are going to be be competitive.  Teams like and are improving because some of their prospects are starting to blossom and they got some players through free agency.

These are only examples, and not meant to slight anyone.  However, I think the consistent variable with all these teams is activity, and sometimes that activity takes many forms.  Getting rid of non-productive players, either by trade, outright release, or a contract buyout.  This includes getting rid of egregious contracts and players who are too costly for the return.  All of us take some chances, and some of them work out, and some do not, however, the willingness to do so is a key to every team?s success.  As I said before, there is a gap between tiers of teams, but with an infusion of new GMs, and a closing of the GM revolving door, I believe Franchise GM is headed in the right direction.  Having these discussions is certainly a positive sign of engagement and that?s something that benefits the entire league.

[tdtdtd]

Real-life salaries were only used during the initial year of FGM.  After that, the fantasy franchise?s salaries are used.  It is based on 75% of a team?s base salary for the last 3 years and 25% of the final standings in the same 3 year period.  Teams gain salary cap by finishing higher in the standings over the given three year period.  By the same token, salary cap can be lost if the team continues to finish in the lower tiers of the standings.  Most teams in the middle of the standings don?t see much fluctuations and teams who are consistently at the top of the standings see their cap gradually increase.

My bad, I didn't read the rules carefully enough. I need to look those over again before free agency.