Scoring Categories

[Colby]

There is big support for standard fantasy baseball categories such as R, HR, RBI, AVG, W, SV, ERA, WHIP, and HLD.  Also in support are SB%, OPS, FLD%, and K/9.

My comments...
I would include some standard categories, but they would be weighed much less than some of the sabermetric categories and ratios.  I do not like K/9 in this league as it has a bias against successful "soft-tossers".  OPS, FLD%, and WHIP are already included.  I may develop something like this for 2010 with weights in parenthesis.  It is also a goal to have some of the stats be ratios and the other half be cumulative.  Defense is important for position players as well.  I already talked to Fantrax about incorporating Fielding Independent Pitching ERA (FIP) for 2010.

Position Players
FLD% (4), RC/27 (2), OPS (1), AVG (1)
RC (4), R (1), HR (1), RBI (1), SB (1)

Pitchers
FIP (4), K/BB (2), WHIP (2)
QS (5), W (1), HLD (1), SV (1) <- I would rather have a category such as HLD+SV be worth 2 points

Within these settings, GMs get to see their player's on-field stats that they are used to seeing.  The amount of runs a player creates is about a third of the offense as an RC stat, but if you include the R, HR, RBI, and SB, it makes up just over half.  Defense is 25% of a position player's game, a bit less than the 33% we have for 2009.  Pitchers, the stats change dramatically as needed.  Quality starts are introduced along with common pitching game stats.  Quality starts are just games when your pitchers don't blow it, and beyond minimum IP counts, it forces teams to play their pitchers. FIP is probably the best pitching sabermetric out there.  

The weighting and many stat may be confusing, but I think this is a good middle ground for all of us.  In total, the stats are split 50/50 for pitching and position players, 50/50 for ratios and cumulative stats.  The appropriation of defense is in there in total 25% (FLD% and FIP).  And of course, it includes the sabermetrics that some of us want, and the basic stats that others want. :D

[Colby]

I, personally, would prefer to see a system that comes closest to accurately gauging the talent-level of each team.  This system is way off.  According to Bill James wins are factored approximately on 48% hitting, 36% pitching and 17% fielding, that should be a starting point, from there I think things would work best if we could somehow attribute a points system that weights factors similarly to such sabermetric measurements as Runs Created, FIP and Range Factor.  I'm not sure how to do this but it's likely the only way to accomplish what you're setting out to do (if I understand what you're trying to do).  Perhaps we can chat at some point and kick around some ideas.  I haven't had an opportunity to do much research into how we're currently scoring and how we could optimally score.  Head to head would be a huge plus too.  I think it'd spur more active participation and the playoff format would be much better. 

I like Mike's idea here about splitting about how categories are weighted.  With that said, my stats above are 12.5% fielding, 37.5% hitting, and 50% pitching.  We already have runs created and Fantrax has Range Factor and FIP available, so I would like Mike to lead the way with refitting the scoring categories.  Generally, this year, I think some teams are making their way around pitching, but overall, the standings are fairly accurate after a month.

[Colby]

Here's a scoring system that goes in line with Mike's suggestions.

AVG (1)
OBP (1)
SLUG (1)
FLD% (2)
RC (5)
RF (1)
WHIP (1)
FIP (1)
K/BB (1)
QS (3)

It is 48% hitting, 18% fielding, and 35% pitching which is damn close to the 48/17/36 numbers by Bill James.  It is also almost a 50/50 split per cumulative and ratio stats.

[Canada8999]

Is Fantrax going to add FIP?  I didn't see it on your list of possible categories... If they are, I would be in favor of using it and giving it a decent weight - maybe make FIP the (3) and QS only (1).  Also, if we're going to use FIP we might not want a separate category for K/BB, as it would be somewhat double counted.  I'd also like to see something like their NS2 to give some weight to relievers that have more importance in real games (NS2 = NS - BS + 0.5*HD).  If FIP is an option and we want a total of 6 pitching points, how about:

FIP (3)
WHIP (1)
QS (1)
NS2 (1)

OR

FIP (2)
QS (2)
NS2 (2)

If for some reason we decided not to enforce a minimum innings pitched, I'd definitely go with the 2nd version as the 1st is too ratio heavy.

Edit:  Also, I like what you have for the hitting/fielding categories (although we will not reward speed as much as most other fantasy leagues do), and I like the overall split with H/F/P.

[Colby]

They are saying that FIP will be available in 2010 along with custom scoring category combos.

NS2 = SV - BLSV + 0.5*HLD, right?

I was thinking about devising some type of category like that even though it depends on the team's performance and the situation rather than the player.  It is tough to find great cumulative pitching stats though.

[Canada8999]

They are saying that FIP will be available in 2010 along with custom scoring category combos.

Any chance they'd add Leverage Index?

NS2 = SV - BLSV + 0.5*HLD, right?

That's the one I'm talking about, but I just grabbed what you had posted earlier in this thread so I can't confirm it's the correct formula.

I was thinking about devising some type of category like that even though it depends on the team's performance and the situation rather than the player.  It is tough to find great cumulative pitching stats though.

I agree that it's not easy to find good ones, but I also don't think its bad to have a category or two that are situation dependent (specifically with relievers).  Hunting for the next closer/setup man can be fun, as long as we don't weigh it too heavily.

[Canada8999]

Assuming we will continue to use them going forward, how are we going to enforce a minimum for AB/IP constraints?  

Will we have a strict limit, and if you don't meet it you're disqualified from any categories to which the limit applies (not enough IP, you get no points for K/BB, WHIP)?  Any chance Fantrax would allow us to enforce some sort of penalty based on how far under you are, either by subtracting points or enforcing the difference in playing time is replaced with a 'replacement level' player (ie: a really bad player)?

Here's the replacement level idea I took from the Mendoza League Rules I posted earlier:

2.4. Replacement Level
Teams that do not accumulate enough playing time at a given position receive playing time from a “replacement level” player.  This feature is meant to mimic the ability of MLB teams to promote players from their minor league system in the event of an injury to a starter or other need of playing time, an ability that Mendoza teams do not have.

From the other sample constitution, here is how they enforce the minimums (probably stricter than I would prefer, but an idea non the less):

At the end of the regular season, the six teams with the most rotisserie points qualify for the playoffs. Only teams whose pitching staffs have accumulated at least 1,300 innings during the regular season are eligible for the playoffs.

[lp815]

How is this replacement player determined?  Is he a "ghost" player that simply provides "average" stats over his course based on the position's averages?

Like say the average OF position player in the MLB has a batting average of .250, is that what this "replacement" has counted towards his stats for his playing time, like say if the position is twenty games under the minimum for that team?  So the team gets 20 games out of one "player" with a .250 batting average over those games. 

Or are these real player's that are brought up and whose real statistics are use?

Maybe I'm thinking too much into this.

[Colby]

It will be weekly H2H next year, so we can probably have a minimum PA setting.

[Colby]

We should have a minimum and maximum setting for plate appearances and innings pitched.   I'll make the request to Fantrax for 2010.  I would like to see the following categories...

BATTING: RC, AVG, OBP, SLUG
FIELDING: RF, FLD%
PITCHING: K/BB, FIP, NS2, QS