- This topic has 9 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 19/03/2021 at 6:42 pm by
Jonathan.
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FBUK
@fbukSome feedback from managers on Short Season 2020, run through Yahoo, was that maybe it allowed too liberal a use of different pitchers through the week and over the season to rack up points.
(This issue applies to the main game – if we bring back the Limited Trade side game, in that format there will be limits on how many different players a fantasy team can use anyway.)
One of the techniques is known as ‘streaming’ – having a spot or more in the lineup that a manager uses to pick up a new free agent pitcher for the day they are pitching then drop them and pick up a different free agent the next day, etc.
This might have been due to a few factors:
- There were the usual five pitching spots on the active lineup but also the five-spot bench could carry any combination of batters or pitchers (Yahoo doesn’t separate between the two types). Plus we introduced a two-spot Injured List (IL) so up to two injured players could be kept on your roster without taking up space in the lineup or bench.
- In order to allow managers to change their lineup on a daily basis (moving players between bench and active), we also had to allow daily transactions (trading or adding from the free agent list) rather than new acquisitions being limited to once a week as in the original FBUK game.
- In the old game, there was the four-day rest rule that meant that a newly acquired pitcher was not eligible to earn points in the lineup until four days had passed since the last start of the pitcher they had replaced – Yahoo doesn’t have this.
- The Innings Pitched (IP) limit set was the Yahoo default recommended one for the shorter season, but towards the end of the season it seemed quite generous as it seemed not many fantasy teams were in danger of hitting the limit.
- In a 10-12 team league (division), the free agent pool of available half-decent pitchers is quite deep.
If we wanted to limit this a bit more within what is possible in Yahoo, the options are:
- Reduce the number of pitching spots in the active lineup
- Reduce the number of players in general that can be carried on the bench and/or Injured List (IL)
- Try to calculate a more restrictive Innings Pitched (IP) limit
- Have a higher number of fantasy teams per division so the size of the free agent pool is smaller (however, general advice is that about 12 teams is a good maximum number)
- Set a limit on the number of free agent acquisitions a team can make in a season (this is straying into Limited Trade Game territory, though)
- Limit transactions and lineup changes to once per week instead of daily (however, this would mean a manager would have to set their active lineup on, say, Sunday and not be able to change it until the following Sunday)
Do people think the range of different pitchers used last season was an issue?
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waynum
@waynumIt seems like putting a cap on the total amount of innings pitched throughout the season is the obvious answer to remedy this. This way we all have exactly the same scoring opportunity with our pitchers but we are unable to go beyond it.
gregor
@gregorThis is something I noticed & I have to say I was one of those who started streaming pitchers. One of the main contributory factors was the number of 7 inning double header games where starting pitchers were rarely going more than 5 innings.
It seems that MLB are going for the full 162 game season with 9 innings per game, so if that plays out, putting an innings limit should be more effective this season perhaps?
Flying Fish
@flying-fishI thought I read somewhere that double headers will still be 7 innings this season but I might be wrong. Rather than max innings limit perhaps use games started? Would need something additional for relievers though and you would get a free hit if the trend of using relievers to pitch the first inning or 2 continues.
Allan
@dynamiteI thought I read somewhere that double headers will still be 7 innings this season but I might be wrong.
Yep. Doubleheaders will be 7 innings again.
Link to a Yahoo! Sports article here.
dodotop
@dodotopIn the Roto league I play in we have a limit of 1450IP during the season. I normally find that during the end of the year i’m encroaching on that a little, but it does allow a bit of ‘streaming’, so it’s a generous allowance. Its not always the best strategy in roto though as it can hurt the ratios, in a points league you might even want to have the cap 50-100Ip less?
lincsat
@lincsatHaving tried streaming in the past, I found it doesn’t always help. Maybe it’s just my luck selecting a pitcher that had a couple of great starts only to have him smashed around the park when I selected him.
That said, the innings limit should have the desired affect allowing compensation for pitchers that have a short start whilst limiting pitchers that go deep into the game.
Mark Harrison
@mark_harrisonHaving a fairly aggressive innings limit seems a reasonable idea to me. Particularly in a points league where you are just accumulating stats. In a Roto league its less of an issue as you ruin your rate stats by just starting any random pitcher.
Rupert Russell
@ruperussIt may be that the new scoring system makes streaming of pitchers a less beneficial strategy as the free agent pool will generally contain the lesser pitchers (especially with 15 teams per division) who could well put up negative numbers in a lousy outing without the lure of 20 points for the win.
Jonathan
@jonathanI agree with Rupert, I think the new scoring system (which I’m in favour of, good thinking Tim) will de-emphasise the streaming strategy. I used this a lot and it made a big impact with 20pts for a win. We FBUKers are still feeling our way in the Yahoo league, how about leaving the innings limit alone for 2021 and evaluate post season?
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