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Benchwarmer News Archive - 2009
Some of the news from 2009
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12/31/09
- Returning Leagues:
- Roster cuts have been processed. See
Transactions for details of
who was dropped in your league.
- Redistribution Draft is Now Open
12/29/09
- Welcome Back - Jacob Vass resumes blogging at
Save
the Dome. Check out his BWB-specific writing on
top prospects and closers (among other things) in the
Benchwarmer world.
- Returning Leagues: Roster carryover choices are
closed. For those of you who missed the deadline, contact
me via email on Tuesday or Wednesday. The current plan is
to post the cuts on Thursday afternoon/evening. In the
meantime, you can look at
last year's
Redistribution Drafts for some idea on what to expect in the
next phase. Redistribution Draft lists will be due Sunday,
Jan 17.
12/28/09
- Two very common website problems at this time of year
and one that happens often...and what to do about them:
- "I can't find my team -- why do I
always go to the New Fairfield Neanderthals roster when I click
'Roster'?" -- New Fairfield is the default team page
for guests to BWB (League A1, Team 01). This means you're
not logged in. The "remember me" feature typically expires
in 30 days, but if you've cleared out browser cookies that will
do it too.
- "Why does my team say 'Bonus New
Team' - how do I get to my team roster?" -- It's
likely you won a bonus team based on your finish in 2009.
If your "remember me" setting has expired (see above), when you
log in you might by default go to the bonus team. Click
"Switch Leagues" in the upper left corner of every page - or
"Leagues" in the navigation bar at the top of the screen and
you'll see all your teams.
- "The 'Switch Leagues' link is gone,
how do I change to one of my other teams?" -- The
browser cookie that remembers you have multiple teams also
expires...and I believe there are a few site pages that somehow
clear it out (sorry...I keep looking for them). Two ways
to fix that...click the "Leagues" link in the navigation bar at
the top of the screen and then pick one of your leagues/teams -
or log out and log on again. The link will return.
12/26/09
-
Experts League - we have a new expert for 2010 (and another
one lined up but not yet 100% confirmed):
- Mark Schruender fills out our
Blogs Division by taking over for Fantasy Bullpen. He's an
independent blogger and is currently running through his top 150
players for 2010 at
Fantasy Baseball Hot Stove.
12/17/09
- Player List Changes - We dropped about 200 players
from the list no longer in baseball BUT we've also added 132 new
players who were on the 40-man rosters. This is the
final addition of players until after the season begins.
12/15/09
- Recently read at our
Experts Links... while some
are covering the end of fantasy football, attention is moving
toward 2010...
-
Colin Hager on the Elmhurst Pub Roundtable writes about the
impact of early moves of free agents and trades.
-
Howard Bender starts a series of
Keeper League Advice on Rotobuzz.com
-
Check out the results of our first season at the
Experts League - and we're looking to to fill some spots for
the league in the 2010 season - do you have a favorite blog,
radio show, or writer? Let me know and I'll pass on an
invite for 2010.
11/30/09
11/25/09
- Award season is done - and the 2010 Salaries are now
final after changes for premium salary adjustments.
- Second trading period now open - deadline is Friday night
Dec. 4 at midnight Pacific.
- Carryover decisions due Dec 26. Start now -
visit your team roster page to start making cuts.
11/9/09
- Benchwarmer
Bash - Finals matchup: Oklahoma (Hall of Fame) vs.
Aksarben (K Street); Phil Dang vs. Don Kruse.
- The winner gets 2 free seasons for his team plus a spot in
the Experts League for 2010.
- Series Complete - Games 1-7
now posted.
- Congratulations Don Kruse!
11/8/09
- Benchwarmer
Bash - Semifinals Complete - Games 1-5 Posted.
Finals posted on Monday night!
- Hey - are you coming back in
2010? Answer yes or no by
October 31
November 7 (last call...). You cannot participate in off-season trades or
start picking your carry over players until you answer "Yes."
Teams with no response will be turned into orphan teams this
week.
11/4/09
11/3/09
11/2/09
- Are you in the Twin Cities area? I still have openings
for Twins Season
Tickets in the new ballpark in 2010. Contact me
for details.
- Returning leagues: You can work on choosing your carryover
players - decisions are due 12/11/09. Go to your team
roster page for the link.
- Returning leagues: There are 2 off-season trading periods -
the first one has a deadline of Monday 11/23/09.
- Do you own several BWB Teams? You might want to
consider the Benchwarmer
Benefactor program. It's a large upfront investment,
but you never need to pay for another BWB team again (league
packages excluded).
11/1/09
- As I get more "no" answers, the list of available orphan
teams for 2010 grows. Maybe you want to try your hand at
rebuilding a troubled franchise. Maybe you've got a friend
who would like to try out BWB without the draft - or to get into
your same league. Check out the list!
10/31/09
- Benchwarmer
Bash - Federation Semifinals Complete - Games 1-7 posted (look for the links for Federation Results on the
Bash page).
- Sorry - there was a problem during the creation of the box
scores on the federation semifinals...there will be no box
scores for this round, but it will be fixed for the next round.
10/28/09
10/27/09
10/26/09
- Returning leagues: You can now begin choosing your carryover
players - decisions are due 12/11/09. Go to your team
roster page for the link.
- Returning leagues: There are 2 off-season trading periods -
the first one is open now with deadline Monday 11/23/09.
- Lots of changes:
- New leagues now available to join for 2010
- Bonus teams awarded to winning teams in 2010
- Player salaries updated for 2010 - These are not yet
final. "Premium adjustments" will be added in late
November.
- Positions updated for 2010 - Any position with an "x" listed
is a minor leaguer not yet verified and subject to change.
- Salary cap money distributed; Post season rewards given to
winning teams.
- Payment table set up for 2010. There is an early
payment discount if you pay before December 1.
- With the salary changes and players removed from IR, you
will likely now have illegal rosters. That's OK.
When you pick your players to keep/drop, that will take care of
that situation.
10/25/09
10/22/09
- Championship Week -
Game 7 Posted
- See Playoffs -
All Leagues
- Congratulations League Champions
- Hall of Fame - Oaxaca Revolution - Sherman Wan
- Shadowball - Medford Pulp Fiction - Chris Bellina
- Chevy Chase - Key West Fins - Phil Dang
- Beer - Chang Beer Monkeys - Dave Regan
- Beatleball - Los Anaheim Anklebiters of Angeles -
Jeff Deeble
- Redbirds - Prairie Chickens - Roland Dupont
- Reality Bites - London 2012 Olympians - Scott
Campbell & Leif Jonson
- Three of a Kind - Vegas Strip Poker - Phil Dang
- Longball - Nokomis Choo Choo Trains - Jacob Vass
- Golden Throat - Newport News Aliens & Predators -
Chris Bellina
- Experts - FantasyPros911.com JerseyHitmen - Joe
Lano
- Triple Crown - Oakdale Barrons - Nick Wallin
- Deuces Wild - Austrian Goldbugs - Adam Wilson
- K Street - India Cricketeers - Matt Strawbridge
- Commissioners - Humpback Camels - Roland Dupont
- Blue and Gray - Charleston Cannon Fodder - Jerry
King
- Bleed Dodger Blue - South Hills California Elite -
Michael Quinn
- Benchwarmer
Bash - Field complete
10/21/09
- Championship Week - Games 3 & 4 Rescored -
Games 5 & 6 Posted
10/19/09
- Championship Week Underway - Games 1 & 2 Posted.
- All roster history for 2009 will be cleared out this weekend
- only the current roster will remain after that.
- Benchwarmer Bash lineups are due Friday night at midnight
Pacific.
10/15/09
- Playoffs - First Round Complete - Games 6 & 7 now posted. Check your league home page for the link to
the "2009 Benchwarmer Playoffs".
- Lineups for the 2nd round of playoffs are due Friday night
at midnight Pacific (if you care to change them). You can
reorder your pitching rotation without worrying about number of
games of rest.
10/11/09
- Playoffs Begin!! - Game One of all the series
is now posted.
10/10/09
- Playoff Brackets now posted - See your league's home page
for the link.
- Congratulations to owners with multiple division winners:
- 4 Teams - Tom Twomey, Matt Strawbridge, Jerry King, Phil
Dang + Leif Jonson's solo title along with his co-owned teams.
- 3 Teams - Dave Regan, Andy Marquis, Roland Dupont, and the
Scott Cambell/Leif Jonson combo.
- 2 Teams - Sherman Wan, Chris Bellina, Don Kruse, Mike
Prohaska, and Jon Swanson
10/6/09
- Tiebreakers for
Division Position and Playoff Seeding.
- Oops! Forgot these...Week 25
Statistics
and Players of the Week.
- Week 26 Deadline -
Lineups Only for Playoffs - moved back to Wednesday night 10/7
at midnight Pacific.
10/1/09
- Divisional Playoffs!!!
- Deuces Wild - Brett Division:
- Savannah Engineers at Everglades Alligators
- Everglades wins 9-4.
Box Score
- First season for league - (owner Michael Lehman)
- Redbirds - Brock Division:
- Hyderabad Hackers at Manalapan Monchichis
- Hyderabad wins 11-7
Box Score
- First title for team - 24 GB in 2008. (owner Matt
Strawbridge - 4th win in 2009)
9/30/09
- Week 25 Complete...sort
of
-
Game 150 Posted.
- 2 Leagues need a 1-game playoff to
decide things
- Deuces Wild - Brett Division: Savannah lost and
Everglades won to force the tiebreaker. They split the
season series 9-9, but with the better division record,
Everglades will host the final game.
- Redbirds - Brock Division: Hyderabad and Manalapan
both lost again in Game 150. Manalapan won the season
series 13-5 and will host the tiebreaker.
- More Division Champions:
- Beatleball League - Harrison Division: Carlisle
Thunderpants (owner Mark Groninger) - 6th consecutive
division title; 14 GB after Week 11
- Commissioners League - Ueberroth Division: Talladega
Smoke (owners E.J. Camburn) - League's first season
- Experts - Print Division: Rock Ridge Specials
(owner Jerry King - 4th win in 2009) - Last expert to claim
title
- Golden Throat League - Ernie Harwell Division: Twin
Cities Fighting Carp (owner
Jon Swanson - 2nd win in 2009) - 1st Title after 2nd place
finish in 2008.
- Longball League - McGuire Division: Nokomis Choo Choo
Trains (owner Jacob Vass) - 5th straight Division Title; Won
final game vs. Heartland to advance
- Redbirds League - Smith Division: Republic of South
Africa 2010 World Cup Soccer (owners Scott Campbell & Leif Jonson -
3rd win together in 2009) - 1st Win; Swept Hanso in last series
to win.
9/28/09
- More Division Champions:
- Beer League - Malt Division: Sam Adams Love Schnack
(owner Doug Schnack) - 2nd Title but first under this orphan
pickup owner
- Bleed Dodger Blue League - Drysdale Division: Team Japan
2009 Champs (owners Scott Campbell & Leif Jonson - 2nd win
together in 2009) - League's first season
- Blue and Gray League - Sherman Division: Dixie Rebels
(owner Phil Dang - 4th win in 2009) - League's first season
- Golden Throat League - Bob Prince Division: New Delhi
Tigers (owner
Matt Strawbridge - 3rd win in 2009) - 1st Title after 3 straight
2nd-place finishes (1 GB in 2008)
- Triple Crown League - Robinson Division: Kylertown
Shoeless Joes (owner Aaron Tiracorda) - League's first
season
9/27/09
- More Division Champions:
- Beer League - Water Division: Elsinore Hosers (owner
Anthony Citarella) - Defending League Champ back again
- Beer League - Yeast Division: Chang Beer Monkeys
(owner Dave Regan - 2nd win in 2009) - 1st Title in Orphan
takeover season; 34 GB in 2008
- Blue and Gray League - Lee Division: Badtown Brawlers (owner
Mike Himich) - League's first season
- Experts League - Airwaves Division: Hogan's Heroes (owner
Leif Jonson - 2nd win in 2009 - 1st solo) - BWB vet takes Expert
League Division
- Experts League - Blogs Division: RotoBuzz Boyzz
(owner Howard Bender) - Fends off MVN.com
- Hall of Fame League - Wagner Division: Boar's Nest (owner
Dave Regan - 3rd win in 2009) - 7 straight Division Titles;
League Champ '03 & '05
- K Street League - Seaver Division: Altoona Thunder
Chicken (owner Jerry King - 3rd win in 2009) - 2nd straight
division win.
- K Street League - Perry Division: Hawaii Islanders (owner
Mark Currie) - 1st title after 2nd place finishes in '05 and '08
- Redbirds League - Dean Division: Prairie Chickens
(owner Roland Dupont - 3rd win in 2009) - 2nd Crown in League's
2nd season
- Three of a Kind League - Beckley Division: Death Valley
Chubascos (owner Allan Hodgson) - 1st Title in Orphan
takeover season; 19 GB in 2008
9/26/09
- More Division Champions:
- Bleed Dodger Blue League - Campanella Division: Pygmy
Raiders (owner
Roland Dupont - 2nd win in 2009) - League's first season.
- Chevy Chase League - Emmit Fitz-Hume Division: NJ MOJO (owner
Michael Gaston) - 1st Title; Orphan team takeover in 2009
- Deuces Wild League - Musial Division: Washington Insiders (owner
Don Kruse - 2nd win in 2009) - League's first season.
- Golden Throat League - Jack Buck Division: Philadelphia
Firestarters (owner Bill Stingle) - 3rd Title; Back after
being 17 GB in 2008
- Golden Throat League - Haray Carey Division: Newport News
Aliens & Predators
(owner Chris Bellina - 2nd win in 2009) - 2nd straight division
championship
- Hall of Fame League - Cooperstown Division: Oaxaca
Revolution (owner Sherman Wan - 2nd win in 2009) - 5th Straight Division
Title; Defending League Champ
- Reality Bites League - American Idol Division: Frostbite
Falls Moose & Squirrel (owner Andy Marquis - 3rd win in
2009) - One of worst BWB teams ever in 2007; Marquis took over
and has 2 straight titles.
9/25/09
- More Division Champions:
- Beatleball League - Starr Division: Displaced New Yorkers (owner
Adam Wilson - 2nd win in 2009) - 4th title; Defending Conference
Champ
- Chevy Chase League - Ty Webb Division: Clark's Lubricated
Sledders (owner Brad Barfield) - 1st Time St. Cloud didn't
win; 36 GB in 2008.
- Chevy Chase League - Fletch F. Fletch Division: Dallas
Lumber Co. (owner Richard Morgan) - 1st time San Berdoo
didn't win; 3rd place in previous 2 years
- Longball League - Mays Division: Mudville Nine (owner
Rob Behymer) - 2nd win; Conference champ in 2007
- Longball League - Killebrew Division: Sri Lanka Stingrays
(owner Matt Strawbridge - 2nd win in 2009) - 1st title after 2
straight 2nd-place finishes.
- Reality Bites League - Fear Factor Division: London 2012
Olympians
(owners Scott Campbell & Leif Jonson) - 3rd title; Back after
1-year absence
- Reality Bites League - Bachelor Division: Gladstone
Sleeping Dalbradors (owner Tim McAfee) - 2nd win; Conference
champ in 2006
- Redbirds League - Slaughter Division: Montara PacSox
(owner Sherman Wan) - Took orphan team from 107 losses to 1st
division win
- Shadowball League - Memphis Red Sox Division: Jundland
Wastes (owner Dave Regan) - 2nd Title; Most wins in team
history
9/20/09
- More Division Champions:
- Beer League - Hops Division: Surly Furious (owner Jon
Swanson) - 1st title - 24 GB in 2008
- Bleed Dodger Blue League - Reese Division: West Coast
Speed Demons (owner Craig Burke) - League's first season.
- Bleed Dodger Blue League - Sutton Division: South Hills
California Elite (owner Michael Quinn) - League's first season.
- Commissioners League - Chandler Division: Detroit Pizza
Pizzas (owner
Mike Prohaska - 2nd win in 2009) - League's first season.
- Commissioners League - Frick Division: Humpback Camels (owner
Roland Dupont) - League's first season.
- Deuces Wild League - Cobb Division: Erie Great Lakers
(owner Gary Renwick) - League's first season.
- Shadowball League - Pittsburgh Crawfords Division: Jersey
City Dirty Bombs (owner Tom Twomey - 4th win in 2009) - 4th
win - yet to win a conference title
- Three of a Kind League - Wagner Division: Havana Lounge
Lizards (owner Jerry King - 2nd win in 2009) - First title;
101 losses in 2008.
- Triple Crown League - Yaztrzemski Division: Pittsburgh
RoHo's (owner Giuseppe Rosselli) - League's first season.
9/17/09
- More Division Champions:
- Beatleball League - McCartney Division: Lake Wobegon
Whippetts (owner Andy Marquis) - 2nd Division Title - League
Champ 2007
- Commissioners League - Giamatti Division: South Park
Butters (owner Tom Twomey - 2nd win in 2009) - League's first season.
- Hall of Fame League - Cobb Division: Springfield Isotopes (owner
Andy Marquis - 2nd win in 2009) - 4th Division Crown - 1st since
2006; League Champ 2000
- Hall of Fame League - Ruth Division: Oklahoma Rufneks
(owner Phil Dang - 2nd win in 2009) - 5th Division Title for
franchise - 2 in a row - League Champ 2006
- Reality Bites League - Amazing Race Division: Sea Isle
City Sandsharks (owner Robert Elias) - 2nd Title; League
Champ 2006
- Three of a Kind League - Connor Division: Vegas Strip
Poker (owner Phil Dang - 3rd win in 2009) - First title; 2nd
place last year
- Three of a Kind League - Speaker Division: Hudson River
3-Eyed Fish (owner Tom Twomey - 3rd win in 2009) - Defending
League Champ in league's 2nd season
- Triple Crown League - Medwick Division: Oakdale Barrons
(owner Nick Wallin) - League's first season.
9/13/09
- Reminder: Week 24 - deadline Monday night - is the last week to pick up a
player in the 2009 season. Week 25 is cuts and IR moves
only.
- More Division Champions:
- Beatleball League - Lennon Division: Los Anaheim
Anklebiters of Angeles (owner Jeff Deeble) - 3rd Division
Title - No conference titles
- Blue and Gray League - Grant Division: Detroit Repeat
Offenders (owner Mike Prohaska) - League's first season.
- Chevy Chase League - Clark W. Griswold, Jr. Division: Key
West Fins (owner
Phil Dang) - 3rd straight title - yet to win conference
- Deuces Wild League - Biggio Division: Austrian Goldbugs
(owner Adam Wilson) - League's first season.
- Experts League - Web Division: FantasyPros911.com
JerseyHitmen (owner Joe Lano) - First expert to claim a
division
- Longball League - Robinson Division: Edgewater Good
Fellas (owner Tom Twomey) - First title; beat out last
year's Bash Champion.
9/10/09
- Another Division Champion:
- K Street League - Blyleven Division: India Cricketeers (owner
Matt Strawbridge) - First title; breaks South Philly's 3-year
title streak.
9/9/09
- Three More Division Champions:
- Shadowball League - Chicago American Giants Division: Las
Vegas Billionaries (owner Jim Sowerby) - 2nd title; League
Champ in 2007.
- Shadowball League - Birmingham Black Barons Division:
Medford Pulp Fiction (owner Chris Bellina) - First title; 91
losses in 2008.
- Triple Crown League - Klein Division: Uranus Ramrod (owner
Dan Pierson) - League's first season
9/7/09
- Our first Division Champion:
- Blue and Gray League - Jackson Division: Charleston
Cannon Fodder (owner Jerry King)
9/5/09
9/4/09
9/2/09
- Trade deadline: has passed.
8/6/09
8/2/09
- Thanks for putting up with my constant warnings about
contract extensions. But it paid off as I only had to
reverse about 3 or 4 on deadline day (one of them mine!), which
might be a new record.
7/29/09
- Contract Extensions are closed for the season.
7/18/09
- Teams without confirmed payments are now blocked
from transactions -
can't remember if you've
paid yet?
- The next payment deadline is July 30 - at that
point, if you're not paid you'll be blocked from lineup changes.
(If not paid by August 15, you'll lose your team).
7/17/09
- No more salary rebates for cut players for the remainder of
the season. Free agent signings are now locked at 40%
salary assumption. Trades will continue to have reduced
salary assumption and rebates each week.
7/14/09
- Scoring notes:
- When translating the scoring formula to text to display in
the rules, I made a mistake on the save formula (someone
recently asked me why the save score in the raw scores didn't
appear correct). I'll post that fix soon so that the rules
match how we've scored the games since 2000.
- On the Jonathan Sanchez no-hitter: Our rules state that the
superior performance pitching reduction for a no-hitter is -3
and it is -4 for a perfect game. In order to automate the
scoring several years ago, the game code was written to fix 9 IP
with 0 hits and 0 walks as a -4 reduction. Technically,
Sanchez did not throw a perfect game, but we're going to keep
the code that way (he did his part).
7/8/09
- On the Benchwarmer Blogs:
7/7/09
-
The season is half complete.
6/29/09
- Contract Extensions are due by the end of July - final
deadline is July 28 - this gives you five more
transaction periods (no rush).
- Before you do any contract extensions, check out the final
two regular season installments of the
BWB Primer:
6/25/09
- Teams received an extra 1 million in cash during the Week
12 transactions (last deadline in June...another million handed
out during the last transactions of July).
6/18/09
- First round draft picks now added to the player list.
Use the "Other" filter on the player lists to find them.
6/17/09
- 2009 Payment Deadlines established. Due to my
own employment situation, I've wanted to spread out the 2009
season payments rather than get them all at one shot.
However, we should start clearing this all up as we near the
halfway point of the season. Please consider these
payment guidelines for 2009:
- If your team is not yet paid, you will see the link "Check
your team payment for next season" on your team roster page
below the team changes link. If the link is not there,
your team is paid.
- You can also view your overall
payment information for
all teams
- All packages are paid in one payment for the whole group.
- Payment deadlines below refer to receiving payment.
Credit card payments are most convenient and provide archived
records, but if you're mailing a check, please allow time for
receipt.
- Payment Deadlines and Restrictions (these are the updated
dates from the
BWB
rules)
- July 15: Teams not yet paid will be unable to make
roster changes (adds/drops/trades/extensions).
- July 30: Teams not yet paid will be unable to change
lineups
- Aug 15: Teams not yet paid will forfeit ownership to
the BWB league office.
- One of the main points of setting the deadlines is to try to
clean out teams with absentee owners so that we can salvage a
little bit of the season and make the teams competitive.
The August 15 deadline is really too late to accomplish this in
a meaningful way. I ask that if you have not yet paid
for your team and you don't intend to do so, please let me know
NOW rather than just letting the deadline come around so that we
can find a replacement owner in a timely manner.
6/10/09
-
We're 1/3 through the season.
5/29/09
- All teams received an extra 1 million Benchwarmer Bucks (another 1 million
will be awarded during the last
transactions of June and July).
5/26/09
-
Orphan Teams. Prices for orphans are now reduced to
$20 for the balance of the season.
Email us if
interested.
5/17/09
- Some observations on some things I'm seeing in transactions
and lineups - you may want to take a look:
- In a repeat of a note last made here on Feb. 20, but should
also be evident on your
transaction index page: Putting someone on
Injured Reserve is a season-long move. It's like the NFL
version of the IR, you can cut or trade the player, but you
can't put him back on the active roster until next year.
Use the "Taxi Squad" as our version of a temporary disabled
list.
- Noted in February - time to look at it again - if you are
unfamiliar with contract extensions (or even if you are),
please
read this blog entry for some reminders before you submit
any extensions.
- Noted below on May 7 - Please use the "Cut" lineup
designation rather than storing extra guys on your taxi squad or
minor league roster.
- John Murphy - repeating
- maybe someone who knows him can tell him: the email you used to sign up does not appear
to accept
any email - you're not getting any messages from us or anyone
else in your league.
(Please update your personal information).
5/10/09
5/9/09
- Are you getting web errors - like unable to connect?
Slow connections? Timeouts? Unable to update
transactions or lineups?
- There have been enough instances (and I'm hit by it too when
I try to do updates) that I'm considering
switching web providers - but it's unlikely that I can make that
change mid-season.
- Until then - some simple advice - if you're hitting
problems, step away for awhile and try later. Since you
usually have 5-6 days after transaction processing to make your
next changes, this shouldn't be too much of an issue. In a
perfect world, I'd say avoid waiting until close to the weekly
deadline (I guess try that as much as possible).
5/7/09
- "Cut" and "Inj" lineup designations...reminders:
- Please, please, PLEASE, don't store cut players any
longer as a 3rd taxi squad player or 13th minor leaguer.
You make me very grumpy because I have to change the
designation for you to make your roster legal. Release the
player in your transactions and then go to change the lineup and
you'll find the "Cut" option available.
- You still need to be able to fill your roster for a given
week. The "Cut" or "Inj" option is a workaround to
make room on your weekly active roster for someone on your taxi
squad or minor league roster to replace a guy you're getting rid
of or putting on IR a week earlier than normal. But, if
you're cutting your 5th bullpen pitcher for example and don't
have anyone to replace him in the current week (it takes another
week for your newly-signed replacement to be active), you need
to keep him in the lineup.
5/6/09
- Are you off to a slow start? Perhaps some good news -
you now get to play teams outside your division for the next
several weeks.
- New to BWB and having a little trouble on the timing of
lineup changes?
- In reality, you're trying to hit a moving target. BWB
is a game where you need to think ahead as much as possible.
Like many fantasy games, you're setting your lineup for a week
at a time (and not changing every day). What sucks (and
I'll admit it) is the lag time between setting your lineup for a
week and when those games are actually played. But if
you're waiting 2 weeks after a guy hits the DL to pull him out
of the lineup...well, by the time you take him out he might
actually be coming back to active duty.
- Basically though - right now for Friday night you're setting
your lineups for Week 5 - for what most players will be doing in
MLB next week - you just won't see the results until about 5-7
days after that.
- You also need to think ahead because it takes a week for new
signings to be available for your lineup. As Dave Regan
puts it, you need to have a "fairly all-weather lineup" able to
withstand a few injuries, etc. Check out a new feature on
Dinks and Dunks called "BWB
Newbie School" for more hints.
5/5/09
- A note on incorrect stats and stat corrections
- The stat files for April 22 had some incorrect data for Scott Baker, David Purcey, and Jair
Jurrjens - the errors caused their IP values to be zero for that
game. That means in the BWB games they were used, the
bullpens were needed for more innings (and probably gave up more
runs). Someone with Baker on his team noticed the problem
yesterday.
- Our listed
rule for stat corrections is that once a BWB game is in the
books, we don't go back to switch it - but we'll correct
stats if we know about them in time. (Scroll to the bottom
of that linked page for the rule). It's tempting to go
back and try to fix this, but that goes against rule and
precedent - this actually happens several times a season...we
just don't alert you every time.
- Everyone who has Baker in their rotation has already had
this incorrect stat used (anywhere between BWB Games 10-16).
Purcey's and Jurrjens' were used a couple of times. Any
UNUSED instance of the April 22 start still in pitching queues
for Purcey and Jurrjens will be fixed.
- BWB has a new stat collection service this season - as a
result of being alerted of this problem, we've put in a check
for this specific error and today added routines to check
updated box scores for corrections - which have already yielded
results. As an example, a corrected box score received
today changed Zach Miner's ER from 5 to 0 for his May 2nd start.
This time we were lucky in that no BWB game had already used the
incorrect stat.
- The rules page on stat corrections also is a timely reminder
about when stats for suspended games count.
5/3/09
- Doing away with another of the old Robot Baseball
conventions....We've added a secondary position for pitchers if
they were originally listed as starters and have several bullpen
appearances or were listed as relievers and have 2 or more
starts. This will be updated once per week (while fielding
positions are updated as soon as they are detected). As
always, you may put a pitcher in a starting/bullpen role
regardless of designation - this is meant to help you with
setting lineups and picking up players.
- League histories updated for all leagues that began in 2008
and earlier (see your league home page).
League records are now updated
for all leagues and for the BWB-wide records.
5/2/09
- Recently read at our
Experts Blogs...
- We've added a new link for Howard Bender, who as a lifelong
New Yorker has now adopted the San Francisco Giants. He steps
beyond Fantasy BB writing in
What's
Wrong With Your Giants?
- Phil Mackey has a new venture with Minnesota Poker Magazine
- see the details at
PhilMackey.com
-
The Fantasy Baseball Sherpa (Scott Swanay) has
rest-of-season projections (you can see the top 10 on the blog).
- And Collin Hager lists his "Top Five's of April" - along
with VERY extensive daily notes - every day - at the
Elmhurst Pub Roundtable
4/30/09
- No game updates today...the Oakland rainout on Wed. pushes
us back a day.
4/29/09
- Site addition - When you
visit other leagues, the statistics and POW links are now
active. You can check out the stats of other leagues (plus
you can switch from league to league on the stat index page).
4/18/09
- Week 3 transaction order will be the first week to be set
based on 2009 win-loss records. This will get updated
after the Week 1 games are completed.
4/14/09
4/13/09
- New players are now added to the player list when
transactions are processed. When
you view Free Agents, you should choose "Week x" in the
"New in 2009" drop down list (new players are always listed
under the first transaction week they are available).
4/11/09
-
Deuces Wild League Draft Central. -
- Phase 2 draft is
Complete. The league enters the normal
transaction cycle with the deadline of Sunday night.
- New Entries in the
BWB Primer
- Explanation about the starting pitching queue
4/9/09
- One more transaction delay. Since the final Deuces
Wild draft results won't be posted until Saturday
morning/afternoon, the Week 1 lineup/transaction deadline is
shifted back to Sunday night (midnight Pacific)
- New Entries in the
BWB Primer
- Explanation about our weekly transaction/lineup deadlines
- Batting order tips
- Pitching tips
4/8/09
- To learn more about Benchwarmer Baseball, check out the
BWB Tour. We're not
starting any more new leagues in 2009, but we do have some
orphan teams left.
Prices for orphans are only $30 - and with these you get a
chance to help finish building them from scratch.
Email us
or sign up now if interested.
4/7/09
- The
BWB Primer - some in-between-the-lines interpretations and
explanation of the rules. This is a series that will be
posted on the Benchwarmer Blog the rest of this week.
4/5/09
- What do you need to know about Week Zero transactions?
Check out this blog entry for greater depth, but in summary:
- Transaction deadline is Monday night at midnight Eastern.
- You must have a legal roster after this week or the BWB
office will fill your roster for you.
- For leagues formed in 2008 and earlier - the maximum cash
you can take into this season is 5 million Benchwarmer Bucks.
You'll get cut down to that level this week if you're over it.
- After all is said and done, every team will get an extra 2
million before Week 1 (Deuces Wild - you'll get yours when the
draft is done).
4/1/09
- 4 new Orphan
Teams - These teams were started up to get the Deuces
Wild League rolling. Prices for orphans are only $30 - and
with these you get a chance to help finish building them from
scratch. Email us
if interested.
-
Triple Crown League Draft Central
- Phase 2 draft is
Complete. The league enters the normal
transaction cycle with the deadline of Monday night.
3/30/09
3/26/09
- The draft is complete in the
Experts
League - here are some recent recaps in their blogs (see
3/13 for the first set).
3/25/09
3/24/09
3/21/09
- Don't forget about our three
official BWB Blogs - you'll find scattered in there some
draft advice for both Phase 1 and Phase 2 drafts.
3/20/09
3/19/09
3/18/09
3/16/09
3/15/09
3/14/09
3/13/09
3/11/09
3/9/09
- We've had some starts and stops in trying to get a full
league and the draft done for our
Experts
League but we finally got through Phase One this
weekend.
- Check out the
league, with divisions broken down by the basic type of
media in which they work. We've also added two of our own
experts, with last year's Benchwarmer Bash champion and
runner up.
- View the draft results and
track how they do in Phase Two
- Visit their team pages to learn more about our experts
(don't have all their bios yet) and visit their links.
- You'll also find a special section of all their sites and
blogs on our Links page.
Please check them out!
3/3/09
2/27/09
2/22/09
2/20/09
- For new owners who have taken over orphan teams, a quick
warning before anyone takes this step: Putting someone on
Injured Reserve is a season-long move. It's like the NFL
version of the IR, you can cut or trade the player, but you
can't put him back on the active roster until next year.
Use the "Taxi Squad" as our version of a disabled list.
- Do you have teams in more than one league?
View all your rosters on one page
(this link appears on your team roster page too)
2/19/09
- Owner Referrals - Benchwarmer Baseball is still
primarily a word-of-mouth game. You can help build the
game and reap a reward yourself. Tell a friend about
Benchwarmer and have them list your name when they sign up.
You'll receive a $5 credit for your team fee (credited next
season if you've already paid) if your friend joins.
- A reminder about our three official blogs:
2/18/09
2/12/09
- Starting this week, BWB will send out automated e-mail
reminders regarding problems, errors, or missing submissions
for Phase One and Phase Two drafts and weekly transaction
submissions. In the next few weeks, we'll add
lineup warnings to that as well. These will go out
roughly 24 hours before a deadline - though often sooner and
with greater frequency for startup drafts (particularly in
situations like the Commissioners League when we need everyone
to submit). This isn't fully automatic yet - it will take
some administrative intervention - so don't rely on it 100% at
this time. It's meant to try to reduce the number of
incomplete transactions thrown out on a weekly basis or other
manual jiggering by the league office.
2/9/09
- Are you drafting a first year league? Take a look at
how the drafts went last year for examples:
- 2008 - Redbirds League
- 2008 - Three of a Kind League
- You can also view this years drafts - look for the "Draft
Central" links here on the home page - you don't need to be a
member of that league to see progress.
2/4/09
- An evolving page - though few major changes are actually
expected:
2009 rule changes
- We're getting closer to full in the
Experts
League - 2 more additions:
2/3/09
1/30/09
- Two more experts join our
Experts
League - both are entrants in the "Airwaves Division"
(for Radio/TV)
1/29/09
- A new official BWB Blogger joins the ranks - Jacob Vass.
One of our original 12 players, his Nordeast team won the 2002
Hall of Fame League and he's a 2-time champ in the Longball
League. Check out
Save
the Dome
1/23/09
- Two more experts join our
Experts
League
- You can view all the links for our group of experts on their
individual team pages in the
Experts
League and on our Links
page.
- We're still looking for experts - and trying to find
experts across a broad media spectrum - if you know of anyone
who writes a newspaper/magazine column or talks fantasy
baseball/sports on radio or TV
let me know.
Maybe even better - if you're a reader/listener, let them know
directly about Benchwarmer.
1/21/09
1/20/09
1/18/09
- When you submit transactions - to sign or cut - make sure
you are setting a transaction round and the type of
transaction. 15-20 submissions were discarded this
week.
1/16/09
- A reminder for all returning leagues that we're in
the winter free agency/trading period. Transactions are
processed once per week with Friday night deadlines (midnight
Pacific time). Results will normally be posted on Saturday
or Sunday - at which time the next transaction week opens up.
- Weekly transaction dates
- A more low-key off season process means that our
transaction order
changes each week differently than during the season. We
start off this week based on last season's record, but every
time you successfully pick up a player, you go back down to the
bottom of the order (and that's maintained for the next week).
So, if you sit out for a few weeks, you're likely to be picking
at the top of the order next time you make an attempt.
- For every player you pick up, you pay 100% of the salary.
If you cut a player, you get a 50% salary rebate (except for
players under contract and players making 200 or below).
- You can only take a maximum 5 million Benchwarmer Bucks into
the new season after Transaction Week Zero.
- Contract extensions will open again in February. At
this time of year, you'd probably only want to utilize that if
you're trying to reduce your cash balance below the 5 million
level.
1/13/09
- What's coming up in the next 2-3 months before Opening
Day with Benchwarmer Baseball?
- Obviously, new
leagues - we're near "critical mass" for draft size in
two of them, including a live draft experiment on Jan 31.
- A new Experts
League. We have one confirmed
entry and several outstanding invites as I attempt to find
"experts" of all sorts. If you know of a possible person,
please let me know. In the meantime, you can check out the
writing of our first expert,
Alex
Geshwind, from
Fantasy Bullpen.
- An update of all the league records (really!).
- A way to see all of your players - across all leagues - on
one page. This could be helpful for those of you owning
more than a couple teams and needing to check where you own a
guy who just went on the DL, for example.
- A discussion of some possible future rule changes (starting
soon - not there yet) on the
Benchwarmer
Baseball Blog
1/11/09
- Rosters, free agent lists, and cash balances are now
updated following the Redistribution Draft. The first
period for winter free agent signings and trades is now open,
with a Friday night deadline for submissions (midnight Pacific).
- All
Redistribution Draft results are now posted, with the
addition of Beatleball, Golden Throat, and Longball Leagues.
1/5/09
- See the Transactions
page for a Master List of all players that you can download
(check under the Player Lists heading).
1/4/09
- We have our first official BWB Blogger - Dave Regan.
He's in 2-3 leagues, but most notably he runs Boar's Nest in the
Hall of Fame League with six straight divisional titles.
Check out
Dinks and Dunks
1/1/09
- Happy New Year! For those who helped draft Orphan lists - THANKS!
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