Benchwarmer News

5/6/13

• Still not paid yet? - Payment was officially due on the Week 1 deadline.  Head to the team payment summary to figure it out.  This will include information on how to pay via PayPal/credit card (preferred) or by check.  Teams not yet paid are now subject to blocked lineup changes in addition to transaction restrictions.  Teams not paid by Week 10 (June 8) will lose their teams.  If you know you're dropping out, let me know so that we can orphan your team...

4/25/13

• Blog posting coming soon (sometime Saturday-Sunday) with further discussion about when starts count in the pitching queue.  But in a short statement, you should be safe to add any pitchers you picked up in the Week 3 transactions to your rotation in Week 4 and get credit for starts.  Pitchers that you're moving from spot, taxi, or minors to the starting rotation in Week 4 will not get credit for any starts before the week's deadline (Sunday April 28).

4/20/13

• Not paid yet? - Payment was officially due on the Week 1 deadline.  Head to the team payment summary to figure it out.  This will include information on how to pay via PayPal/credit card (preferred) or by check.  Teams not yet paid are now subject to transaction restrictions.
• New multiteam tool!  This already existed on a single team basis - the ability to clear out your entire transaction list or clear out any incomplete transactions (no round listed, no transaction type, etc.).  NOW, you can clear transactions for all your teams with a single click (OK, sometimes 2 clicks).  See transactions for all your teams as a starting point.

4/19/13

• Reminder on the 2013 rule change - as you switch pitchers from Spot roles to the regular rotation, you are "resetting" their start queue.  Any queued start remaining from their time as a spot starter is dropped.  Pitchers coming into the queue (including those moving from spot to rotation) will not have any starts count before that week's lineup deadline.  This is to cut down on the potential for "streaming" in pitching performances that you already know occurred.
• Are you having a problem with the BWB site "logging you out" periodically (maybe even often)?  Are you using Chrome as a browser?  I use Firefox and IE regularly with the site and don't experience any similar problem - but a couple people have reported the problem and both were using Chrome.  I'll start checking into it but if you've also had it happen and found a workaround/fix, let me know.

4/7/13

• Reminder that Week One lineups are due Monday April 8 at Noon Eastern.
• Payment information - Payment is officially due on the Week 1 deadline.  Head to the team payment summary to figure it out.  This will include information on how to pay via PayPal/credit card (preferred) or by check.  Teams not paid by Week 2 will start to have transaction restrictions.

4/4/13

• Note on the rule changes posted for when player stats start counting: The rule change about setting the date for the lineup and pitchers for stats to begin will be put off for 2013 based on some implementation concerns and some worries about unintended consequences.  The rule regarding clearing the start queue for pitchers moving from spot starter to the main rotation will remain (I think this will actually take care of most of the worry about streaming in known pitching performances).  The display of start dates for stats on the team roster page and lineup change page will be removed in the next couple of days.

4/2/13

• All transaction/lineup deadlines throughout the season are moving back 9 hours.  The weekly deadlines will now be at NOON EASTERN on the listed date.  There used to be a time when the deadlines were midnight Eastern that I could run transactions, etc. the same night.  With the move to 3 hours later, that was typically not possible - and this now allows people morning adjustments and still have a deadline before that next day's games.
• Meanwhile, the 2013 schedule is on the web.

3/31/13

• Due Noon EDT on Monday April 1 - Week Zero Transactions - check the schedule page for more details as well as the rules for "inactive owners" (if your roster does not reach minimum levels by the end of this week, you've been inactive this pre-season).  Things to consider:
  • You must have a legal roster after this week's transactions.
  • Salary rebate for cut players goes up to 80%.
  • Cash balances for returning leagues (not newly drafted ones) must be at or below 5000 after this week's transactions (including salary rebates...so be careful if you're cutting guys or trading them away this week).  Balances above 5000 will be reduced to that level.
  • All teams will then get 2000 in Opening Day cash...in a little loophole in the calculation, you can actually count on that 2000 to use for transactions this week if you're short on cash.
  • No new players added yet - see the home page note below on 3/27.
  • Transaction order will be reset to the reverse of 2012 standings (or team total salary for new leagues) for the Week One transactions (due April 6).
  • You don't have to have a lineup set until April 6, but it doesn't hurt to start setting it now.
  • This is a 2009 posting, so ignore the dates and the specific names of new leagues, but here is some additional discussion about Week Zero in the Benchwarmer Blog

3/27/13

• Welcome to Benchwarmer Baseball - It's a different form of fantasy baseball as we play individual head-to-head games simulated from daily MLB stats - this isn't a Rotisserie game.
  • This is fantasy baseball 365 days a year.  Teams are putting finishing roster touches to get ready for the 2013 season.
  • Check out the Benchwarmer Baseball Tour for an introduction.
  • We are not drafting any additional new leagues in 2013 - But, would you like to attempt to turn around a struggling team?, these orphan teams are still available...pick up an existing team and rebuild it, rather than start from scratch.
  • Want to sign up for an orphan team in 2013?  If you're new to BWB, you can sign up here.  Existing BWB owners can pick up brand new extra teams.
• Some notes about new players...
  • After the addition of guys on 40-man rosters in December/January, the next time we add players is when they appear in a regular season MLB game.
  • Players are added to the list only at the time we process weekly transactions, so that all teams have an equal opportunity and at least 4-5 days to see that players have been added.
  • Our Week Zero deadline is Mon April 1 and Week One (when BWB Opening Day lineups are due) is Sat. April 6.  Expect that the Week Zero transactions will get posted on the night of April 1.
  • We process stats every few days - and with only 1 game on March 31, I don't expect to really do any stats on April 1 prior to posting the Week Zero transactions.  So the first time that any new players will show up will be the following week.  Any players who appear in MLB games for the first time on or before April 6 will get added to the player list in time for the Week Two transactions (deadline 4/13).  If they do not appear by that time, then they'll likely be available for the Week Three submission (due 4/20).
  • Week 1 & 2 transaction order is in reverse order of 2012 standings - the same as was the case for the Redistribution Draft (new leagues are in reverse order of total team salary after Week Zero).  Starting with Week 3 we look at 2013 win-loss records to set the order.

3/26/13

• Geek Pride League Phase Two, Part Three Draft completed and posted. Rosters, cash balances, and free agent list now reflect the results.  See the Geek Pride Draft Central for details.  Draft is complete!  Your league now enters weekly transactions starting with this week (April 1 deadline).

3/25/13

• Moneyball League Phase Two, Part Three Draft completed and posted. Rosters, cash balances, and free agent list now reflect the results.  See the Moneyball Draft Central for details. Draft is complete!  Your league now enters weekly transactions starting with this week (April 1 deadline).

3/23/13

• Rules Changes/Process Changes
  • We're going to do some things to tighten up moving players in and out of the lineup (the primary focus being starting pitchers) so that we reduce the effects of knowing the MLB results and adjusting your BWB roster.  See the rule change and discussion on the Benchwarmer Blog
  • Kind of fits in with my preference, but the early comments were all for keeping a maximum of 4 pickups per week and not increasing the number or making them unlimited.  No change anticipated here, but comments are still open.
• Good luck to BWB Experts League participant Scott Swanay today in Tout Wars mixed league auction.
• Lots of site/page changes today, so running behind on the transactions and draft processing - will try to get as much done as possible tonight.

3/22/13

• See the Benchwarmer Blog for notes on rule changes in general and a specific rule change proposal open for comment - Should BWB allow more than 4 rounds of picks each week for transactions?
• Reminders: Geek Pride League draft picks due tonight (Friday) - Moneyball League picks due Saturday night.
• Thinking ahead: Friday night is the deadline for Week minus One transactions.  Check out the schedule/deadline page for some planning about what you need to do for Week Zero and Week One.  Lineups are due Week 1, but there's a one-week lag between picking up a player and using him.  So if you need to fill spots for Opening Day, you need to pick them up by April 1.

3/19/13

• Motor City League Phase Two, Part Three Draft completed and posted. Rosters, cash balances, and free agent list now reflect the results.  See the Motor City Draft Central for details. Draft is complete!  Your league now enters weekly transactions starting with this week (Friday deadline).
• Benchwarmer Baseball welcomes the newest team owners to the Experts League - Please check out their sites:
  • David Temple from the podcast Stealing Home
  • Kyle Ratke from LeagueSafe Post
  • Brian Dorsey from Rotoballs

3/18/13

• We're done with signups for new 2013 leagues, but if you'd like to attempt to turn around a struggling team, these orphan teams are available...pick up an existing team and rebuild it, rather than start from scratch.

3/16/13

• Cleveland Rocks League Phase Two, Part Three Draft completed and posted. Rosters, cash balances, and free agent list now reflect the results.  See the Cleveland Rocks Draft Central for details. Draft is complete!  Your league now enters weekly transactions starting with this week (Friday deadline).

3/15/13

• Are you new to Benchwarmer Baseball?  Want some more expansive explanation of the rules and processes?  The Benchwarmer Blog has some help for you.  The examples and some details like dates may be a bit dated, but the concepts are the same.  Any conflicts in rules are settled by rules here on the main website - contact me with any questions.
  • Did you take over an Orphan Team for 2013?  You've landed in a league where most or all of the other owners already know what's going on.  Here are a series of postings from the Benchwarmer Blog to fill you in on some of the things you need to know - it's called Orphan School
  • The Orphan School posts included this link too - and this is appropriate for people in new leagues too - it's the BWB Primer.

3/10/13

• Pacific Northwest League: Phase Two Draft - Part Four completed and posted.  Rosters, cash balances, and free agent list now reflects the results. See the Pacific Northwest Draft Central - Draft is complete!  Your league now enters weekly transactions starting with this week (Friday deadline).

3/7/13

• This link is always found on the Help Page: As you're putting together your 2013 roster, particularly if you're new to BWB you might want to check out the sample scoring page that allows you to play around with a batting order and see how it can affect your offensive score for a game.
• If you're new (or as a reminder to returning players) - a move to injured reserve (IR) is permanent for the entire 2013 season.  You will not be able to activate that player again (he can only get back on an active roster if he is cut or traded).

3/5/13

• Payment information - If you're a returning owner from 2012, you don't need to pay for teams until April 1 - but now's the time to take care of that.  If you're new in 2013, you'll need to pay for your teams before joining leagues.  Either way, head to the team payment summary to figure it out.  This will include information on how to pay via PayPal/credit card (preferred) or by check.

2/25/13

• Contract extensions are now open.  The strong suggestion is unless you need to get your cash balance to 5000 or below by April 1 that there is no rush and great risk to do these now.  You have until the end of July to complete multiyear contracts.

2/3/13

• Redistribution Results Index Draft complete - Rosters updated with new players
• Free agency and trades are open.  This week's deadline is Friday night Feb 9 at midnight Pacific.  Transaction order for this week is the same as for the Redistribution Draft.

See the News Archive for older headlines.