Proposed Minor League Amendment

Article 6 - Minor Leagues
(a) Minor League Draft - At a convenient time following the keeper deadline and preceding the auction draft, there shall be a supplemental draft round during which each Participant may draft one free agent minor league player at no cost to his draft day budget. This shall be the only time during the season when minor league players may be claimed outside of the the normal waiver process. The Participant with poorest record the previous season shall have the first pick and the Participant with the best record shall have the last pick, etc.
(b) Minor League Player - A minor league player shall be defined as any pitcher or hitter who has not yet qualified as a rookie according to MLB (a hitter who has not had 130 ABs or a pitcher who has not pitched 50 IP in any one major league season).
(c) At no time may a Participant claim rights to more than three minor league players.
(d) In connection with the passage of this Article, the Constitution shall be amended to add an additional bench slot.
(e) The Participant may lose exclusive rights to a claimed minor league player in three ways: (1) the minor league player is added to the hosting website's player universe and is not added to the Participant's roster within 15 days, (2) the Participant notifies the Commissioner of his desire to release a minor league player to acquire a new one before the Minor League Draft, or (3) a trade.
(f) In YEAR 1, when a player is no longer a minor league player as defined in subsection (b) of this Article, a Participant may keep this player at an initial cost of $5. After YEAR 1, normal keeper rules apply except as noted in (g)-(h) of this Article.
(g) Franchise Player - A Participant may tag one former minor league player exclusively from his team's minor league system as a "Franchise Player." This gives a Participant a potential fifth keeper slot for this limited purpose until such a time when the Participant no longer wants to keep that player.
(h) A Participant may only apply YPIA in year where a former minor league player's value is above the minimum value as noted in Article 4(c) (currently $15). Consequently, YPIA may only be applied in YEAR 3 at the earliest (if the player remains eligible).
(i) Each Participant's minor league system shall be posted on the FLB blog.

Potential 2008 Rule Changes

I am opening a discussion thread here to encourage participants to post regarding possible rule changes for next season. To get the discussion started, I am listing five areas that I have thought about that could need further refining. If you have already voiced your opinion on these matters in the past, I would ask you to allow other people to have the opening salvo.

1) adjustments to the amount of keepers allowed;
2) adjustments to the arbitrary keeper values from last year;
3) adjustment of the cost of inflation;
4) adjustment of the minimum keeper cost;
5) implementation of minor league keepers idea.

2007 Auction Results

Jimmy, LeetSauceII

Ivan Rodriguez $1.00

Lyle Overbay $5.00

Tadahito Iguchi $10.00

Miguel Tejada $33.00

Aramis Ramirez $30.00

Vladimir Guerrero $27.00

Ichiro Suzuki $20.00

Johnny Damon $24.00

Álex Ríos $18.00

Aubrey Huff $1.00

Nick Johnson $6.00

Carlos Guillen $10.00

Travis Hafner $15.00

Aaron Harang $15.00

Chris Carpenter $32.00

Roger Clemens $2.00

Chad Cordero $2.00

Derek Lowe $1.00

Chris Ray $1.00

Tom Glavine $1.00

Akinori Otsuka $2.00

Fernando Rodney $1.00

Jacque Jones $1.00

Eric Byrnes $1.00

Bob Wickman $1.00

Justin, Makyuu no Shoutai

Joe Mauer $15.00

Prince Fielder $15.00

Eric Young Jr $2.00

Derek Jeter $20.00

Garrett Atkins $31.00

Pat Burrell $26.00

Juan Pierre $11.00

Ryan Freel $5.00

Josh Willingham $6.00

Austin Kearns $4.00

Todd Helton $21.00

Jose Reyes $15.00

Richie Sexson $13.00

Ben Sheets $30.00

John Lackey $18.00

Francisco Rodriguez $4.00

Joe Nathan $4.00

B.J. Ryan $5.00

Ian Snell $3.00

Eric Gagne $2.00

Jon Lieber $1.00

Orlando Hernandez $2.00

Kevin Youkilis $4.00

Marcus Thames $1.00

Chad Tracy $2.00

Mike, Norcal Peaceniks

Victor Martinez $22.00

Ryan Howard $15.00

Robinson Cano $15.00

Edgar Renteria $8.00

Miguel Cabrera $27.00

Jason Bay $24.00

Vernon Wells $28.00

Barry Bonds $16.00

Scott Podsednik $4.00

Mike Cameron $7.00

Eric Chavez $6.00

Marcus Giles $8.00

Mike Piazza $10.00

Joel Zumaya $7.00

Dontrelle Willis $10.00

Javier Vazquez $8.00

Randy Johnson $8.00

Andy Pettitte $8.00

Freddy Garcia $5.00

Brad Penny $4.00

Jonathan Broxton $4.00

Pedro Martinez $5.00

Rocco Baldelli $7.00

Hank Blalock $2.00

Brad Lidge $2.00

Ryan, Boston Doodles

Michael Barrett $6.00

Justin Morneau $26.00

Howie Kendrick $10.00

Rich Aurilia $3.00

David Wright $24.00

Manny Ramierez $27.00

Matt Holliday $15.00

Gary Sheffield $18.00

Willy Taveras $8.00

Hideki Matsui $19.00

Edwin Encarnación $2.00

B.J. Upton $4.00

Gary Matthews $8.00

John Smoltz $15.00

Cole Hamels $21.00

C.C. Sabathia $26.00

Barry Zito $11.00

Mariano Rivera $4.00

Scott Shields $3.00

Scott Olsen $2.00

Bartolo Colon $1.00

A.J. Burnett $4.00

Bobby Crosby $1.00

Justin Duchscherer $1.00

Aaron Heilman $1.00

Matt, TINSTAAP

Chris Iannetta $3.00

Lance Berkman $24.00

Brian Roberts $14.00

Jimmy Rollins $27.00

Ryan Zimmerman $14.00

Andruw Jones $20.00

Adam Dunn $15.00

Nick Swisher $23.00

Curtis Granderson $7.00

Delmon Young $8.00

Adrian Gonzalez $10.00

Felipe Lopez $6.00

Conor Jackson $5.00

Johan Santana $27.00

Brett Myers $24.00

Anthony Reyes $8.00

Greg Maddux $6.00

Pat Neshek $5.00

Chris Capuano $6.00

Francisco Cordero $1.00

Tom Gordon $1.00

Joel Peralta $1.00

Jeremy Hermida $1.00

Fernando Cabrera $1.00

Matt Kemp $1.00

Vadim, Donkeys

Brian McCann $15.00

Carlos Delgado $15.00

Dan Uggla $15.00

Bill Hall $24.00

Joe Crede $7.00

Carl Crawford $24.00

Jeff Francoeur $9.00

Brad Hawpe $12.00

Chone Figgins $19.00

Jim Edmonds $3.00

Adam LaRoche $4.00

Jeff Kent $8.00

Jason Giambi $20.00

Jered Weaver $22.00

Matt Cain $15.00

Bronson Arroyo $10.00

Chris Young $8.00

Cla Meredith $4.00

Mike Mussina $10.00

Dan Wheeler $1.00

Rich Hill $4.00

Rafael Soriano $3.00

Troy Tulowitzki $3.00

Ken Griffey Jr $2.00

Chris Burke $3.00

Brandon, Maniacal Mets

Kenji Johjima $13.00

Nomar Garciaparra $3.00

Josh Barfield $4.00

Michael Young $23.00

Alex Rodriguez $27.00

Alfonso Soriano $24.00

Jermaine Dye $27.00

Magglio Ordonez $9.00

Juan Rivera $3.00

Raul Ibanez $4.00

Scott Rolen $8.00

Rickie Weeks $17.00

Ramon Hernandez $6.00

Jake Peavy $20.00

Scott Kazmir $15.00

Carlos Zambrano $30.00

Chien-Ming Wang $1.00

Takashi Saito $7.00

Erik Bedard $7.00

Ervin Santana $2.00

Jose Contreras $1.00

Daniel Cabrera $2.00

Anibal Sanchez $3.00

Billy Wagner $3.00

Dave Roberts $1.00

Jeff, Smooth Segues

Jorge Posada $10.00

Mark Teixeira $27.00

Ray Durham $2.00

Hanley Ramírez $15.00

Freddy Sanchez $3.00

Bobby Abreu $24.00

Corey Patterson $4.00

Moises Alou $1.00

Sammy Sosa $1.00

Kenny Lofton $1.00

Paul Konerko $25.00

Jhonny Peralta $1.00

Frank Thomas $11.00

Roy Oswalt $20.00

Daisuke Matsuzaka $24.00

Roy Halladay $31.00

Brandon Webb $29.00

Jason Schmidt $16.00

Jonathan Papelbon $8.00

John Johnson $1.00

Mark Prior $1.00

Mike González $1.00

Tim Hudson $1.00

Jorge Julio $1.00

Oliver Perez $1.00

Rich, Replacement Levelers

Jason Varitek $1.00

David Ortiz $27.00

Julio Lugo $3.00

Troy Glaus $22.00

Chipper Jones, Jr. $10.00

Carlos Lee $15.00

Grady Sizemore $32.00

Torii Hunter $14.00

Michael Cuddyer $11.00

Nick Markakis $4.00

Alex Gordon $19.00

Rafael Furcal $14.00

Jim Thome $8.00

Felix Hernandez $15.00

Dave Bush $10.00

Dan Haren $13.00

Rich Harden $16.00

Kelvim Escobar $8.00

Josh Beckett $4.00

José Valverde $2.00

Trevor Hoffman $1.00

Bobby Jenks $1.00

Mark Teahen $6.00

Brian Giles $1.00

Brandon Phillips $3.00

Dave, PECOTA Monkeys

Russell Martin $3.00

Albert Pujols $27.00

Chase Utley $20.00

Stephen Drew $7.00

Adrian Beltre $11.00

Carlos Beltran $24.00

J.D. Drew $15.00

Corey Hart $20.00

Chris B. Young $16.00

Coco Crisp $5.00

Derek Lee $18.00

Ian Kinsler $15.00

Morgan Ensberg $3.00

Curt Schilling $27.00

Jeremy Bonderman $27.00

Justin Verlander $5.00

J.J. Putz $2.00

Adam Wainwright $4.00

John Patterson $2.00

Hudson Street $2.00

Ted Lilly $1.00

Rafael Betancourt $1.00

Carlos Quentin $1.00

Daniel Cabrera $2.00

Zack Greinke $2.00

2007 Keepers

1. Jimmy (LeetSauceII) $183: Guerrero $27, Ichiro $20, Hafner $15, Harang $15
2. Justin (Makyuu no Shoutai) $195: J. Reyes $20, Jeter $15, Mauer $15, Fielder $15
3. Mike (Norcal Peaceniks) $179: M. Cabrera $27, Bay $24, Howard $15, Cano $15
4. Ryan (Boston Doodles) $179: M. Ramirez $27, Wright $24, Holliday $15, Smoltz $15
5. Matt (TINSTAAPP) $174: J. Santana $27, Berkman $24, A. Jones $20, Dunn $15
6. Vadim (Donkeys) $191: Crawford $24, McCann $15, Delgado $15, Uggla $15
7. Brandon (Maniacal Mets) $174: A. Rodriguez $27, Soriano $24, Peavy $20, Kazmir $15
8. Jeff (Smooth Segues) $174: Teixeira $27, Abreu $24, Oswalt $20, H. Ramirez $15
9. Rich (Replacement Levelers) $203: Ortiz $27, C. Lee $15, F. Hernandez $15
10. Dave (PECOTA Monkeys) $171: Pujols $27, Beltran $24, Utley $20, D. Lee $18

Draft Time Change

We are moving the draft time two hours earlier due to a conflict, to 10 a.m. EST. Let me know ASAP if you have any problems.

BP League - Your Action Required

Dear BP Leaguemates,

First off, I would like to welcome Brandon to the league. We are a friendly bunch, with some more obsessive than others.

Second, I would like to implore you slackers to send in your money. I'm talking to you - Ryan, Mike, and Vadim.

Third, I am setting the deadline to have keepers for Saturday, March 24 at 11:59 p.m. PST. I will refer you to the league constitution for rules. In particular: (2)(g) "All finalized submissions must be emailed to the commissioner with the subject line - (Team Name) Keepers; (4)(m) When a participant submits his keepers to the commissioner, participant must provide the commissioner with a good faith valuation of the keeper based on the aforementioned rules. If any circumstances apply besides the general rule regarding inflation, the participant must explain which circumstance applies to deviate from the general rule." For your convenience, I set forth below the value of players for this year only based on the general rule. All players not listed below will cost $15 to keep.

$27 Players: Álex Rodríguez, Albert Pujols, Derrek Lee, Johan Santana, Vladimir Guerrero, Mark Teixeira, David Ortiz, Manny Ramírez, Michael Young, Miguel Cabrera
$24 Players: Jason Bay, Carl Crawford, David Wright, Miguel Tejada, Bobby Abreu, Pedro Martínez, Lance Berkman, Gary Sheffield, Carlos Beltrán, Alfonso Soriano,
$20 Players: Jake Peavy, Chase Utley, José Reyes, Andruw Jones, Ichiro Suzuki, Roy Oswalt, Todd Helton, Chone Figgins, Chris Carpenter, Grady Sizemore

Fourth, I am officially setting the draft time for Saturday, March 31 at 12:00 p.m. EST. That's 9:00 a.m. for those of you in California. Let me know immediately if this time is not good for you. If everyone arrives earlier we can start earlier. Since we are doing an auction, please allow 6 hours for that day. I have no idea how long it will take - it could be a lot shorter or a lot longer. Consequently, I will ask you to also set aside a few hours on Sunday, April 1 at 12:00 p.m. EST in case the draft takes longer than the alloted time on Saturday or we decide we need a break. The draft will be taking place over AOL IM. If we don't communicate over IM regularly, send me your screenname.

Fifth, I am giving notice of a new rule - we will be making the waiver order the order team's finished last year. That is, the first place team has waiver priority and everyone else follows.

Finally, Justin will be tracking the draft with a spreadsheet that we can all access during the draft. I highly recommend you take advantage of this. Justin, please give everyone access and send them the link.

Yours Truly,
Richard

Finalizing Dates/Times of Draft and Keepers

So, Rich has evidently dug up a 10th person to take over the abandoned team. As a result, we should now finalize the date and time for the draft and also the date by which keeper decisions must be made.

My understanding is that we've already decided without objection to do the draft on Saturday, March 31. This works fine as the first MLB game is on Sunday night. The big question regarding time is how long this draft is going to take. Rich read somewhere that the average auction draft takes around 6 hours. I'm betting that is in a 12 team league with no keepers though, so ours could take shorter, though I think a certain level of confusion is going to work against it being much shorter. Anyway, this is a long way of me saying that I think we should set aside a 6 hour block on that Saturday for the draft and hope it doesn't take that long. If it goes much longer for some reason, doing it on Saturday will allow us to spill over into some supplemental time on Sunday rather than do on ungodly long draft all in one day. My suggestion would be to start the draft at 12:00 (noon, not midnight) and go until 6 if necessary.

As for the keeper deadline, I think a week prior to the draft would be reasonable, so let's say everyone has to have their keepers received via e-mail by Rich by 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, March 24.

Any comments?