YOUR OTHER GLORPING FANTASY LEAGUES!!!

i've always wanted to try an auction - but i already run a 2nd league with my friends/coworkers here and for me a 3rd would be too much.

yeah i hear you, in the same boat. been meaning to do this for a couple years then saw this today:
http://www.insidethebook.com/ee/index.php/site/comments/yahoo_saber_league/

i'd just join that except:

1) won't join another Sunday afternoon draft when beautiful warm spring is here
2) not really feeling setting pitchers or keeping an eye on the waiver wire

you know what, f it, i think i'll try this instead: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/fangraphs-gets-a-fantasy-game/#comments

I want to do an auction if anyone winds up doing one.

i might do the auction and then abandon the team (if i'm capable of such a thing)

The stat service I use for the five money leagues I run (Fanball) is shutting down. Which means I have to pick another service and re-enter ~1800 players and their contracts. And thus far it looks like Fanball was the only one with a semi-modern front end (type in part of a name and it fills in the rest or gives you the nearest options), all the others require a lot of scrolling.

auction always seems novel but I think I would give myself a panic attack or something trying to figure it all out and not end up with the worlds shittiest team and like, pujols.

That's what makes it so awesome! The risk of drafting poorly is sooooo much higher.

so how does that work anyways? are you bidding against other teams - or is there a set price for players or what?
or what.

You are bidding against other teams. Poly is correct about the risk, but there's additional tension as it's a little like monopoly or eBay -- you want to deplete other team's resources. If I hate Jeter but my projections say he's worth $10 and he's about to go for $4 then I price enforce with an $8 bid.. and I might be stuck holding the bag.

The main problem is that these drafts can last 4+ hours, really more of an in person thing.

btw milo z that sounds like a horrifying situation

If you do in-person leagues at all, I highly recommend auctions. Much more fun, much more exciting, and it seems to involve people in their teams more than if they just drafted.

One league I made up the rules for has a small roster (one apiece at each infield spot, three outfield, one UT/DH, six pitchers) and a cap of $220. Your entry fee is whatever your team initially cost. Aside from the usual 'nominate someone you don't want to flush out the money' gamesmanship (which is totes fun), you also have to weigh whether that late-in-the-auction player is worth five real dollars or if you're content to wait for a one-dollar player. And it hurts just a little more when you're actually dropping $70 on Pujols and he shatters every bone in his body on the first play of Opening Day.

For our keeper leagues, prices increase by a set amount each year based on what their salary was last year (so a $1-5 player becomes $7, $6-10 becomes $12, etc. on up to topping out at $54). So you can keep that rookie $1 steal forever, if you want, but after six years he'll cost you $54 and from then on you can keep him forever at that. Or if you buy Pujols this year for $60 you keep him forever at that (or don't).

I don't like the free agent bidding process in the season, too complicated. We do reverse-order pickups, and any new pickup starts at a salary of $5 or $10 depending on the league.

Found Fantrax, they seem awesome, and they're half the price per league Fanball was last year.

Also if you realize you have a shitty team right off the bat (you chickened out on buying any superstars, etc.) it's fun to try and steal young cheap players during the auction and build for the future. Only applicable if you don't care about losing money this year and you're sure it will be around down the road. I first played in one of my leagues in 1990, when I was 9 (and won! courtesy Bobby Thigpen and Cecil Fielder), so I'm pretty comfortable in assuming we can keep them going from year to year.

impressive!

someone plz alert me when HACKING MASS goesup in late March, thx

let's say I had 30 minutes to prepare for an (online) auction draft when I'd never done one before...

what would be good to keep in mind?

hmmm. get drunk asap.

ah - positional scarcity maybe?

am getting drunk tbh!

is there some half-decent cheatsheet w/r/t player values?

why is ~$260 the amount instead of some nice round number?

When I get to pick the guy who's up for bidding, I always pick guys I know I don't want at all and let other people spend their money, so I have more money left over for the guys I do want.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://games-ak.espn.go.com/s/flbdraftkit/11/mlbdk2k11_300.pdf?addata%3D2011%3Dflbdft_cht_sht_300_xxx&pli=1

i've never done an auction before, so i'm no real help - aside from encouraging you to drink.
sort of jealous tho - would love to try one sometimes (2 teams is enough for me).

xposts

nice, thanks pp

i seriously had a dream/nightmare that i signed up for a 3rd

that espn list - is that fine for a 10 person $262 league? the values seem a lot lower

here's what I ended up with:

c - brian mccann
1b - miguel cabrera
2b - kinsler
3b - arod
ss - jimmy rollins
of - ryan bruan
- ichiro
- grady sizemore (this spot will be the ??? zone)
util - justin morneau

bn - rajai davis, brian roberts, ryan raburn, ike davis

sp - sabathia, verlander
rp - jonathan broxton, leo nunez
p - chad billingsley, david aardsma, phil hughes

bn - matt garza, jaime garcia, cj wilson, jonny venters

I like auction more than I thought I would, I think I prefer it even

Looks good to me!

CJ Wilson and Chad Billinsgley are most definitely starting pitchers!

i'd really like to try auction.. curious about the new fangraphs WAR leagues too, just don't have any time before opening day to sit through a 5-6 hour auction without distractions.

how long did the draft take?

bout 3 hours, sorta draining

i'd love to do a slow draft auction.. nominate multiple players at once online and rather than a minute clock have the gavel go down a day or two after bids cease.

Brandon Funston is the ugliest fantasy sports expert.

in a keeper league that i won last yr i just noticed how unbelievably stacked on of my opponents teams is, shit is nuts

tulo
kemp
votto
bautista
fielder
posey

+tabata

not much pitching but grienke & wainwright on the dl

have my draft tonight & feel so unprepared!

have the 3rd pick -- how are ppl ranking say -

kemp
miggy
braun
pujols

?

i cant believe i just got big game james in the 5th rd

didnt mean to but i got the brewers projected 3-4-5 hm

1.	(3)	Ryan Braun
(Mil - OF)
2.	(22)	Cliff Lee 
(Phi - SP) K
3.	(27)	Michael Young
(Tex - 1B,2B,3B)
4.	(46)	Aramis Ramirez
(Mil - 3B)
5.	(51)	James Shields
(TB - SP)
6.	(70)	Billy Butler
(KC - 1B)
7.	(75)	Brian Wilson 
(SF - RP) K
8.	(94)	J.J. Hardy
(Bal - SS)
9.	(99)	David Ortiz
(Bos - Util)
10.	(118)	Mark Trumbo
(LAA - 1B,OF)
11.	(123)	Tyler Clippard
(Was - RP)
12.	(142)	Logan Morrison
(Mia - OF)
13.	(147)	Ryan Roberts
(Ari - 2B,3B)
14.	(166)	Andrew McCutchen 
(Pit - OF) K
15.	(171)	Jeff Francoeur
(KC - OF)
16.	(190)	Miguel Montero 
(Ari - C) K
17.	(195)	Doug Fister 
(Det - SP) K
18.	(214)	Jordan Walden 
(LAA - RP) K
19.	(219)	Matt Moore 
(TB - RP) K
20.	(238)	Bud Norris
(Hou - SP)
21.	(243)	Johan Santana
(NYM - SP)
22.	(262)	Joaquin Benoit
(Det - RP)
23.	(267)	R.A. Dickey
(NYM - SP)
24.	(286)	Mat Gamel
(Mil - Util)

You got fuckIng Matt Moore in the 19th fucking round?!

keeper from last yr

oh.

i guess that explains McCutchen too.

i had a draft last weekend that was Al only and by the end - i didn't even know who i was drafting.
curious to see what ILBB thinks of the trivial decisions i was making towards the end...
i picked Jarred Parker over Brad Peacock and Dayan Viciedo over Alejandro De Aza.
none of whom i'd heard of before that draft had started!

h2h league has gotten p interesting w/ everyone wise 2 streaming sps as much, i find myself picking up really marginal guys defensively just in case my opponent adds them and they throw a weird, not uncommon last week-ish gem

streaming sps?!

fortunately my opponent streamed carlos villanueva 2nght -__-

As did I in an h2h league. oh, vanillawafer.