Benchwarmer News

4/25/23

• Every 5 weeks we change the transaction deadline day to better match the mapping between MLB games and BWB games.  Starting this week, and for Weeks 6-10 our lineup/transaction deadlines are due on Saturdays - see Season Deadlines

4/28/23

• Week 3 complete - That's all for the first round of games within your division. For the next 8 weeks you'll be playing against teams outside your division.

4/25/23

• Week 5 is the final week to cut players and receive an 80% salary rebate of their 2023 salaries. After this week, the rebate drops by 4% every week.

4/19/23

• It's a little early in the season - 24/25ths of the regular season still remains - but here's our 1-page look at comparing teams across all the leagues in the BWB universe: Around BWB

4/13/23

• We are underway - it's BWB Opening Day! Week 1 Begins - Game 1 posted

4/11/23

• Sometimes things just take a while to get done - we're ready to start playing games
  • We have a 2023 schedule!
  • See the the full league schedule for the whole season
  • See your team's complete schedule
• If all goes well and as planned, Game 1 should be up on Wednesday night and the remainder of Week 1 after that.

4/5/23

• Week One Transactions Posted
  • Contract extensions were processed pre-transactions and then we did a financial update (see the update for April 2). At that point, any team with a cash balance above 7000 (except orphans) had their balance reduced to 7000.
• Players will start getting added to the player list from here on out - as they appear in their first MLB game
  • Players are only added at the time of the posting of transaction results - so you don't have to be searching daily for new additions.
  • You'll find the new players in the player/free agent list - find the drop down box for "New in 2023" - players are listed by the first transaction week in which they can be signed.
• If things work out OK with everything behind the scenes, I hope to start posting some game results this weekend.

4/3/23

• I sent out an email reminder earlier today that if your team has a cash balance above 7000 (the 5000 maximum plus the 2000 given to all teams last week), you can avoid losing cash above the 7000 limit by signing contract extension(s) this week.
  • Those extensions are done first thing this week - then we check the balances for 7000 - and reduce as necessary.
  • What I forgot to put in the email is that current orphan teams - or an adopted orphan that got its 4000 cash in Week -1 or Week Zero - are not subject to the 7000 maximum.  If you're a foster owner for an orphan team you do NOT have to reduce that team's cash.
• Counting Ohtani as both hitter and pitcher has some glitches - your roster page should be OK for showing the roster limits (max players, max players over 250, etc.) - but the transaction checking is not working yet - it's probably counting him twice. So you may be seeing some transaction errors of going over 45 players or too many players making over 250 - even if you're not submitting any transactions.  You're going to have to check those manually this week and do your own counting.

3/28/23

• Week Zero Transactions Posted
  • Any teams with cash balances above 5000 were slated to be cut down to that level (exceptions: new leagues, new owners taking over orphan teams, and orphans adopted on or after Week -2) - however, as we've done in previous seasons, we'll extend that. More details will be posted on Wednesday
  • Teams were then provided with an extra 2000 in Opening Day cash
• Week One Transaction/Lineup Deadline - modified from Sunday to Monday, April 3 at 7 PM Eastern - see Season Deadlines
• For the announced rule change that Shohei Ohtani can be used as both a hitter and pitcher in the same game:
  • Teams with Ohtani now have an "extra" player on the roster - one Ohtani that can be used as a hitter and one as a pitcher
  • These teams will now have a leftover player - either hitter or pitcher - that will go into a new "Ext" (Extra) slot
  • The roster and lineup change pages should be OK - but I need to make changes on the pages for drops, contract extensions, trades, and player lists - those will come soon
  • I'll have more details on how this works later in the week - I'll email Ohtani owners first with what to expect
• 2023 Rules Changes
  • We've noted most of these either on the site or via email - but there is one change that hasn't been discussed: When we set the starting pitchers for each game, if the scheduled starter cannot be used, we will now first check lower in the rotation and then check the spot starters instead of doing the spot guys first.
  • There's another note on the changes that needs to be added based on moving the deadline days up a little bit this season. I'll have that up later this week.
• Potential future rules changes
  • See the Benchwarmer Baseball Blog for 2 open threads about changes that people have suggested over the years: modifying the off-season transaction order and expanding the playoffs. Please add your thoughts to the discussion.

3/26/23

• Getting your team's cash balance below 5000 during this week's transactions -
  • Don't forget that salary rebates will add back to your cash. If, for example, you're cutting Edwin Diaz and you paid his full salary this season, you'll be getting an 80% rebate which is 4302 back into your cash balance. It might be better to wait until Week 1 to cut him.
  • Make sure that on your transaction page, you check to see what the estimated cash balance will be after transactions. You can see all your teams in one glance if you check all your transactions.  Look for cash balances in either red or green to see if you're going to lose money.
  • Cash estimates after transactions do not include trades - if you've got a trade happening this week, you'll need to do some math yourself.

3/25/23

• Weekly deadlines for transactions and lineups
• Some web enhancements -
  • On the player list and for picking free agents, we're now showing the percentage of ownership (and change from last week) and you'll find some additional filters for your search:
    • Under "Position" you can search for middle infielders (plays either 2B or SS) and players eligible for multiple positions
    • Under "Other" you can search for players where ownership percentage went up or down by 10% or more from last week
  • On the All My Players page, you can now perform certain actions that can help you if you've got a lot of shares of a certain player:
    • Submit transactions to release a player from all your teams
    • Submit transactions to move a player to IR for all your teams
    • Change the lineup slot to "M" or "T" (or clear the slot/position) for the player on all your teams.
    • This is a broad brush approach as it will make the change on every team - but should save you some time and clicks.
    • You're still going to need to check all your rosters and check all your transactions to make sure those moves are legal

3/15/23

• Orphan teams are now eligible for trades. If you've tried to request a trade with an orphan team or if you're a foster owner running an orphan team and haven't been able to trade, that should all be open now.

3/24/23

• Check all your teams to see if you have any pending trade offers

3/21/23

• Week -1 Transaction Results Posted
  • Next deadline - Week Zero: Sunday night, March 26 at midnight Pacific (a few extra hours - this will show on the site as a deadline of 3/27/23 3 AM EST)
• We're getting down to the wire for the final touches on your rosters heading into the season.
  • After the Week Zero transactions - teams in returning leagues will lose any cash balance left over 5000 at that time (and then all teams get an extra 2000).  Starting a few years ago, there are exceptions to this rule:
    • Any orphan teams acquired by an owner for his/her initial season of BWB are not subject to the maximum cash balance
    • Any orphan teams acquired where the extra 4000 cash is credited on Week -2 (3/12) or later does not have to quickly reduce (We're currently in Week Zero, so pick up an orphan now and your cash is safe)
    • And - any teams currently in orphan status will not be subject to a cut.
    • See the rule
  • Week 1 lineups will be tentatively due on Sunday, April 2 - I need to do some last checks on the MLB schedules before finalizing this date.

3/7/23

• Payment information is NOT yet set up for 2023, so no need to pay yet - that's coming soon.

2/28/23

• Redistribution Draft 2023 - Rounds 3-5 posted
  • Redistribution Draft is complete
  • Quick view of the players added to all your rosters this week via the draft
• We now move on to normal weekly transactions - in the preseason, deadlines are Sunday nights at midnight Eastern
• All transaction types are open - signings, cuts, trades, and contract extensions
• Next deadline is for Week -3, Sunday night, March 5 at midnight Eastern
• 2023 Rule Changes
  • As previously announced, the fee for moving players to the Prospects Roster increased from 250 to 500
  • For multiyear contracts, the minimum contract amount was increased for years 1 and 2 of the contract

2/21/23

• Redistribution Draft 2023 - Round 2 posted
  • You may now modify your draft list one final time for Rounds 3-5
  • Results are posting a day later than intended, so the next deadline is Monday night, Feb. 27 at midnight Pacific
  • View all of your teams' Redistribution Draft lists
  • Quick view of the players added to all your rosters this week via the draft

2/8/23

• Redistribution Draft 2023 - Round 1 posted
  • You may now modify your draft list for Rounds 2-5
  • Next deadline is Sunday night, Feb. 19 at midnight Pacific
  • View all of your teams' Redistribution Draft lists
  • Quick view of the players added to all your rosters this week via the draft

2/2/23

• Redistribution Draft deadline is Sunday night. You can check the lists for all your teams to see if you have any errors.
• I still could use some foster owners to do the draft lists for orphan teams. Let me know if you are willing to do that.
  • I missed these messages to take fosters - Mike Quinn, Bill Munger, Craig Burke - I am travelling on Thursday, so I should be able set you up with some orphans very late Thursday night or on Friday morning.

1/27/23

• I've had delays in some setup tasks and won't be ready to process the Redistribution Draft on time - so I'm going to push back the first deadline to Sunday, Feb. 5 at Midnight Pacific
• If anyone is interested in becoming a foster owner for one or more of our orphan teams, please let me know your interest and how many teams you could do. Primarily I'm looking for someone to be able to get them through the Redistribution Draft until someone adopts them permanently.

1/23/23

• Sorry - much later than planned - the transaction order is now final for the Redistribution Draft

1/18/23

• After some feedback and consideration, I'm striking the new rule that would allow for salaries above the minimum for players coming from Japan and other foreign leagues (and restoring normal calculations for former-MLB players who return). Above all, BWB salaries are not predictive - they are based on MLB performance - so we'll keep it that way right now.

1/15/23

• Results of carryover choices posted.  View the Transactions page to see the cuts in your league.
• 125 New players added to the game based on the 40-man rosters for MLB teams
  • This is the only player addition until after Opening Day
  • To find them - In the filter/search area of the player lists, look for the "New in 2023" menu - See the list of new players
• The 2023 Redistribution Draft is now open.  You'll 2 weeks to make your first selections.  Deadline is Sunday 1/29/23 at Midnight Pacific (will show on the web as 1/30/23 3 AM EST)
• Visit your team roster to see the link to begin making your picks.
• For more information, see the rules regarding the Redistribution Draft
• There are 2 weeks to do your list for Round 1, but you should consider building for all 5 rounds - or at least as much as you can, because if any of your listed picks/alternates are gone by your turn in the order, we'll pull up picks from Round 2 and beyond to make sure you get 3 selections.
  • After Jan 29, we post the results of only Round 1 only - any drafted players will be removed from the remainder of your lists.
  • You'll have almost 2 weeks to redo draft lists (if you choose), then we post the results of only Round 2 (again removing drafted players from your rounds 3-5)
  • Then one more week for an optional redo of your draft lists, and we post the results of Rounds 3-5
• The season calendar of deadlines is not yet updated for 2023, but the deadlines for the Redistribution Draft are:
  • Sunday evening 1/29 Midnight PST - First submission - we post results for Round 1
  • Sun night 2/12 Midnight PST - Adjust your lists for Rounds 2-5 - we post results for Round 2
  • Sun night 2/19 Midnight PST - Adjust your lists for Rounds 3-5 - we post results for the remaining 3 rounds
• Any players on your Prospect Roster have been moved back to your 40-man roster.  You can begin to move players to prospect status again after the Redistribution Draft.
• Note - the draft order has not yet been verified or updated to move division winners into picks 13-16 of the draft order. That will happen within a few days.

1/11/23

• Roster deadline moved to midnight EST on Thursday night.
• Orphan Teams - very late, but here's the initial list of available orphans for 2023.  There will be more added once I verify some "no answers" on returning will indeed become orphans.  Email me if you want to pick up any of these orphans and we still might be able to get you to pick your roster cuts/keeps.
• Players of the Year listings are now final. There may be slight changes from what was previously listed as the rankings through Week 25 as performance for the whole season was added into the calculation in addition to the accumulated weekly scores.
• Team finances are updated to reflect the POY awards

1/10/23

• Roster cut downs due Thursday night. If you have multiple teams, you can check the carryover status for all your teams

1/6/23

• There are several set up/administrative tasks that I didn't get completed before going on vacation and, though I brought my computer along, I should have been realistic that I wouldn't have an opportunity to work on during this week. I'm not going to be ready to process cuts on Sunday, so I'll pass additional time on to you.
  • The roster cut down deadline is moved to Thursday, January 12, 7 PM Eastern
  • I'll work on the cuts Thursday night and open up the Redistribution Draft list by Friday 1/13.  That will give you 3 full weekends to work on that prior to the first draft deadline of Sunday 1/29.

1/1/23

• I'll also have more on rule changes coming up, but here are a couple to be aware of as you make your final roster adjustments:
  • Salaries for players coming from Japan/Korea or other foreign leagues may not be automatically set to 100 as has always been done. This will be a subjective call - looking at stats in the other system, contract size for MLB, etc.
  • Costs to store players on the Prospects Roster will rise from 250 to 500. I'm tempted to make it higher, but we'll see how this works.

See the News Archive for older headlines.