AL-only fantasy baseball league

[QuikSand]

I have set up an AL-only, 5x5 fantasy baseball league... and would like to invite anyone interested (and willing to actually play) to join up. The draft is a fairly lousy time (a week from Teusday at 5:15pm ET), not too surprisingly, but it is just before the regular season gets started.

Here are the league details, including the sign-up information:

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(free) Yahoo! League Information

League ID#: 249158
League Name: The Front Office
Password: thesideline
Draft Type: Live Draft
Draft Time: Tue Mar 29 5:15pm EST
Max Teams: 10
Scoring Type: Rotisserie
Player Universe: AL only
Max Moves: No maximum
Max Trades: No maximum
Trade Reject Time: 2
Trade End Date: August 14, 2005
Waiver Time: 2 days
Can't Cut List Provider: Yahoo! Sports
Trade Review: League Votes
Post Draft Players: Follow Waiver Rules
Max Games Played: 162
Max Innings Pitched: 1250
Weekly Deadline: Weekly on Monday
Start Scoring on: Sunday, Apr 3
Roster Positions: C, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, CI, MI, OF, OF, OF, OF, OF, Util, P, P, P, P, P, P, P, P, P, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN
Stat Categories: R, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, W, SV, K, ERA, WHIP

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[QuikSand]

By the way... I'd be perfectly willing to expand the league if it turns out there are enough people to go beyond 10 teams. 12 is fine by me... and while I've never played in a league that went deeper than 12... I'd be game to do that also. (We may have to adjust the rosters appropriately, but we'd do so with lead time, of course)

[dawgfan]

So, is this a Yahoo! league?

[QuikSand]

Yes, I just edited above to make that clear, thanks.

[QuikSand]

bump for weekday crowd... but no real harm if the timing stinks and nobody can do it...

[albionmoonlight]

Not going to do it since I would get destroyed, but it does bring to mind a question that I have been meaning to ask.

Why do people do AL-only or NL-only fantasy leagues? What advantages does that give you over an MLB-wide league?

[Celeval]

It's "deeper". If you're playing with a smaller group of players, a MLB-wide league would mean everyone had stars and the like. A specific league means you go deeper into the teams.

Also, if everyone in the group is a fan of an AL team, for instance, you're dealing more with teams and players the group is familiar with. There were a preponderance of NL-only leagues in Atlanta, since it meant that every team in the NL would come through and play the Braves at some point.

[panerd]

albionmoonlight-

I have to second Celeval. I grew up on the Cardinals and my only other baseball was the TBS-Braves and the WGN-Cubs so I am very familiar with the NL, but know nothing about the AL. (Except I hate the Yankees and Red Sox) I could tell you who backs up Hee Sop Choi for the Dodger's but couldn't even name 3 Angels.

[bbor]

Joined.....and ready to get stomped.

[dawgfan]

I'm considering the league - mainly will depend on whether I have time next Tuesday to be involved in the draft.

[TLK]

I registered for this a couple of nights ago. I should be at the draft.....

[QuikSand]

Bump .. six teams signed up. Four more slots open.

http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1

Signup info posted above... draft is Tuesday afternoon, 5:15pm ET.

[Terps]

Just signed up.

[QuikSand]

Egg salad.

[SackAttack]

albionmoonlight-

I have to second Celeval. I grew up on the Cardinals and my only other baseball was the TBS-Braves and the WGN-Cubs so I am very familiar with the NL, but know nothing about the AL. (Except I hate the Yankees and Red Sox) I could tell you who backs up Hee Sop Choi for the Dodger's but couldn't even name 3 Angels.

Except I don't think Hee-Soep Choi has a backup, and I would've thought Vlad Guerrero, Garret Anderson, and Tim Salmon at least would be recognizable Angels. ;)

I stay out of AL-only leagues just because I don't like the DH, really. If the pitchers are gonna be allowed to throw inside, the pitchers should hafta hit. Simple as that.

[QuikSand]

Another gratuitous bump... I think we have 8, but 10 would be better.

[TLK]

bump...

[QuikSand]

Bumping again... draft is tomorrow afternoon. The more the merrier.

[msf518]

I'm in under my Big Bangers moniker.

[QuikSand]

I have opened this up to the Yahoo! public... we have 7 FOFers in for this afternoon's draft. Anyone else who might like to join, feel free -- all the info you need is above.

If we only have 7, no major problem...

[QuikSand]

Looks like we got an 8th team...

[TLK]

I was looking over my team and realized I have 4/5ths of the Tigers pitching rotation. It's going to be a long season.

[msf518]

At least you aren't hoping for Chan Ho Park to have a good season...

[bbor]

Hmm...my team...looks like a solid contender....for last place:)

[QuikSand]

Well, I strayed from my original plan, which was to wait until the last 9 picks of my draft to take any pitching at all. I did manage to leave myself with no realistic saves... but I ended up using several middling picks to grab starting pitchers, and ended up with a staff that is somewhat less then abominable.

I like my offense, but it's not quite as devastating as my "no pitchers" plan would have dictated.

[QuikSand]

Here are your 2005 Conquikstadores....

C J. López (Bal - C)
C A. Pierzynski (CWS - C)
1B P. Konerko (CWS - 1B)
2B B. Roberts (Bal - 2B)
3B E. Chávez (Oak - 3B)
SS M. Tejada (Bal - SS)
CI D. Young (Det - 1B)
MI O. Cabrera (LAA - SS)
OF H. Matsui (NYY - OF)
OF C. Crisp (Cle - OF)
OF T. Hunter (Min - OF)
OF R. Hidalgo (Tex - OF)
OF C. Monroe (Det - OF)
Util J. Reed (Sea - OF)
BN J. Gibbons (Bal - 1B,OF)
BN E. Hinske (Tor - 3B)
BN J. Peralta (Cle - SS)
BN B. Upton (TB - 3B,SS)
BN F. Catalanotto (Tor - OF)
BN G. Sizemore (Cle - OF)


Pos Pitchers
P K. Escobar (LAA - P)
P R. López (Bal - P)
P J. Piñeiro (Sea - P)
P J. Lackey (LAA - P)
P K. Millwood (Cle - P)
P D. Haren (Oak - P)
P J. Speier (Tor - P)
P K. Gregg (LAA - P)
P R. Betancourt (Cle - P)
BN B. League (Tor - P)

[kcchief19]

Hmm...my team...looks like a solid contender....for last place:) Nah, I think I have you beat there. Due to the vagaries of switching back and forth between me drafting and the AI drafting, I ended up with most of the Seattle Mariners lineup. If they pound the ball this year, all be fine. If not, I'm hosed beyond recognition. I have no bullpen and Jose Hernandez is apparently my starting SS. I also have a player with an NA notation by his name. That's never a good sign.

My apologizes to everyone on the delay on my picks. When I signed up I thought I would be able to either take an hour or two off work or at the very least keep tabs while at work, but an unanticipated project was dumped on me Tuesday morning and hosed my plans. I didn't want to drop out considering I still think this will be a fun league and I didn't want to leave in a lurch at the last minute considering the shallow team pool.

I hope the delays around my picks weren't too much of a bother. When I finally had to leave for good, I clicked I'm Away and logged off so hopefully the AI made selections without letting the clock run down every time. Just before I had to leave.

[Celeval]

I did alright - met three of my four initial goals for the team:
X Draft two top-quality catchers
X Draft a top-notch 2B/MI combo (with such a shallow pool)
- Draft a top-notch SS
X Draft at least three closers

I'm not too happy with Omar Infante at SS, but I think I have the pieces to make a move if need be. My OF is horrid, but I like my pitching staff.

Your 2005 Ballpark Traffic:
C V. Martinez (CLE)
C J. Varitek (BOS)
1B M. Sweeney (KC)
2B A. Soriano (TEX)
3B J. Crede (CWS)
SS O. Infante (DET)
CI J. Giambi (NYY)
MI M. Cuddyer (MIN)
OF A. Sanchez (TB)
OF K. Mench (TEX)
OF J. Gonzalez (CLE)
OF J. Dye (CWS)
OF J. DaVanon (LAA)
UT C. Pena (DET)
BN J. Cantu (TB)
BN J. Buck (KC)
BN R. Gload (CWS)
BN G. Gross (TOR)
BN A. Gonzalez (TEX)

SP R. Halladay (TOR)
SP M. Buerhle (CWS)
SP J. Westbrook (CLE)
SP D. Bush (TOR)
SP S. Kazmir (TB)
SP J. Blanton (OAK)
RP M. Rivera (NYY)
RP F. Rodriguez (LAA)
RP T. Percival (DET)
BN J. Mays (MIN)
BN G. Meche (SEA)

[TLK]

I feel a little better about my team. I got two of the three waiver wire selections I put in for. I would of liked Pickering, but oh well....

[QuikSand]

So far, so good for the league-leading bbors:


Season Standings View Complete Standings
Rank Team Points Pts Change Waiver Moves
1 bbors 54.5 -0.5 3 5
2 All On Black 53.5 +0.5 6 10
3 Conquikstadores 50.5 -0.5 7 8
4 Visionaries 47.5 0 2 -
5 Ballpark Traffic 41.5 -0.5 4 -
6 Big Bangers 41 +0.5 8 11
7 Springfield Isotopes 40.5 0 1 -
8 Haggard 31 +0.5 5 -

[TLK]

There have been more lead changes than a frecking NASCAR race.... :)

[msf518]

I think every single player on my team has been underperforming so far, it is just crazy how bad the Big Bangers suck.

[bbor]

Woohoo!:)

[TLK]

I'll take the lead back... thanks :)

[QuikSand]

Continues to be a very tight three-way race for the top spot...


Season Standings View Complete Standings
Rank Team Points Pts Change Waiver Moves
1 bbors 55 0 8 7
1 All On Black 55 +0.5 5 10
3 Conquikstadores 54 -1.5 6 11
4 Visionaries 47 +0.5 2 -
5 Big Bangers 43.5 +0.5 7 11
6 Ballpark Traffic 41 -1 3 -
7 Springfield Isotopes 36.5 +1 1 -
8 Haggard 28 0 4 -

[TLK]

Season Standings
Rank Team Points Pts Change Waiver Moves
1 All On Black 58.5 -2.5 8 11
2 bbors 51.5 0 7 7
2 Conquikstadores 51.5 +0.5 5 13
4 Visionaries 50.5 0 2 -
5 Ballpark Traffic 48.5 +3 3 -
6 Big Bangers 43.5 +1 6 13
7 Springfield Isotopes 28.5 -1 1 -
8 Haggard 27.5 -1 4 -


as the kiddies say.... wOOt!! :D

[QuikSand]

This league remains very close down the stretch...


Overall Points
Rank Team R HR RBI SB AVG W SV K ERA WHIP TOTAL
1 Conquikstadores 8 8 8 6 7.5 5 2 8 3 3 58.5
2 All On Black 7 3 5 7 6 4 5 5 7 6 55
3 bbors 5 4 6 1 5 7 3 6 6 7 50
4 Visionaries 4 6 7 3 7.5 8 1 7 1 3 47.5
5 Ballpark Traffic 2 7 4 2 4 3 6 3 8 8 47
5 Big Bangers 6 2 3 8 1 6 7 4 5 5 47
7 Springfield Isotopes 3 1 2 5 3 2 4 2 4 3 29
8 Haggard 1 5 1 4 2 1 8 1 2 1 26

[TLK]

I'd like to win this thing. It doesn't help when half of my team is on the DL..... oh well.

[QuikSand]

Yeah, I took a beating, too, losing a couple key players - but I think I had a bit more depth than you did to absorb it, and that has made some difference in the last couple weeks. It's still very much up for grabs, though - several categories are very close.

[QuikSand]

Season Standings View Complete Standings
Rank Team Points Pts Change Waiver Moves
1 Conquikstadores 58 0 5 18
2 All On Black 57 0 8 12
3 bbors 50.5 +1 7 11
4 Visionaries 48 0 2 -
5 Ballpark Traffic 47 0 3 -
6 Big Bangers 46.5 0 6 21
7 Springfield Isotopes 27 0 1 -
8 Haggard 26 -1 4 -

Looks like it might go down to the wire here - with batting average and wins being the hotly contested categories between the top two teams.

[QuikSand]

The top two spots in the standings have flipped at least twice in the last few weeks... but into the home stretch it's still not decided:


Rank Team Points Pts Change Waiver Moves
1 Conquikstadores 57 0 5 21
2 All On Black 55.5 0 8 12