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Old Forum Index » Baseball League Forums » Speed Leagues » Salary Leagues » Barry Zito League » The Barry Zito League: A New Owner's Manual
ballmark
+++++
In this free agency league, the off-season runs for five days following the World Series.
DAY ONE:
The first round of free agent bidding occurs. Your bids must be submitted (use the "Free Agents" link under the GM menu) by 8:00 p.m. EST. Today approximately 25% of the available free agents will sign.
There are generally two strategies employed today:
? Underbid. Way underbid. And do it for a lot of players. Statistically, only one out of every four bids will go through and if you get a guy, you'll have him for a bargain price. But many owners use today mostly just to see what the market is going to say about a player's value. Bid on *all* the players you like, and maybe bid a little more for the ones you really want.
? Bid big. Only 25% of free agents are signing today, why not proactively target the ones you really want, make a fair-to-generous offer, and hope you're the top dog with the biggest bone?
DAY TWO:
It's the second round of free agent bidding. 50% of the remaining free agents will sign today, you can see every other team's initial bid (use the "View Bids" link under the GM menu), and the market really begins to heat up. Again, your bid has to be offered by 8:00 p.m. EST. Results are posted almost immediately after.
[align=center]This is the day you start seriously comparing market prices to your budget.
In this league, pitching is outrageously expensive, but good to great hitters
can be real value finds. A good rule of thumb is to budget $40-45 million
for pitching, $25-30 million for hitting, and $8-10 million for minor league players.[/align]
Remember that free agents sign based upon "Effective Salary," not the salary you've offered. The effective salary offered is based on a formula including your team prestige (found on the "Team Salaries" link under the GM menu), the player's leadership score, if you owned the player last season, and the length of the contract offered. SimD assumes that if a player's leadership score was higher than C+, that player will *want* to return to the team he previously played for, and he'll give the home team a discount (in the form of a higher effective salary) so he doesn't have to relocate his personal life.
Bid extravagantly, but wisely. Many owners will bid on more players than they can roster or afford with the hope that some will not sign today, and some will be signed by other teams. It's like the airlines overbooking seats. They do it with the hope that something will come up and not everyone will be able to make the flight. Just make sure you save your highest bids for the player(s) you want most.
What if I sign more players than I need, or can afford? Take a look at the other owners who have bid on that player and lost. Odds are good you will be able to find a trading partner for that player among them if you haven't grossly overpaid him.
DAY THREE:
With only a few exceptions, this is your last real chance to sign the higher quality free agents. 75% of the remaining free agents will sign today. 8:00 p.m. EST remains your deadline.
This is the day you really take a hard look at your offseason strategy and either a) rejoice, b) change it all, or c) tweak it. If you're still bidding for players, one thing you can do today is take a look at how your principal competition for that player has done so far. Do they still need that player (are they likely to no longer be bidding on him)? Can they still afford the player at the salary they've bid previously? Adjust your bids accordingly.
BONUS TIP: Many owners are still looking hard at the "juicy" free agents. Red letter guys in their first year of free agency or in their early 30s so they can get a few years out of them. Using the "All Players" view on the View Bids page in conjunction with the Free Agents page, you can often find players who are worth obtaining and they haven't even received a single offer yet! You know this because when you find one, you look at the "All Players" view and you won't find their name. If your free agency plans have so far not survived first or second contact with the market forces, this is a good time to employ this tip. Many owners still won't be looking at these "second or third" tier of free agents yet, still hoping to land one of the few good ones left.
DAY FOUR:
Bid deadline still 8:00 p.m. EST. Only a very few of the higher quality free agents are left, and generally there will be bidding wars for their services today. Mostly what's left are the lesser quality B+ or B overall free agents, and many of those are well into their declines. Any remaining player who has declared for free agency and still receives a bid today will sign.
Unless the player is going to be a major star or a major part of your roster, DO NOT OVERBID today. You'll probably need to bid more than the minimum ($50,000 or a bid of .50 on the free agents screen), but you shouldn't have to bid much more than that.
Also, you can start trolling the other team salaries for any owner over the $80 mill cap and offer a deal to relieve their excess, if you can find a good fit. Or, if over the cap yourself, look for the teams who have either struck out on their free agency swings, or are purposely not bidding much because they're in the middle of a roster rebuild.
DAY FIVE:
Shortly after 9:30 a.m. EST this morning, the Waiver Wire opens up for teams to make their signings and claims. You can often find quite valuable pieces for your roster here. Any player over OS28 can be signed for $50,000, but you'll have to eat that salary all year long, even if you release the player. Players under OS28 are signed for the value listed on their Player Card, are yours until they reach their OS28 year, and can be released at any point during the season (if still under OS28) and their salary will come immediately off your total.
Also today you set up your roster, and make any salary cap deals left to be made. Follow the message boards closely.
BONUS TIP:
? On the Free Agents page, there's a drop-down box to the right of "Team:" ... selecting "WW" reveals all the free agents who have never played in the majors. Occasionally - seldom, really - you will find a player you can use for your minor leagues or major league bench. The benefit to using this page - as opposed to the regular Waiver Wire - is that you can offer these players multiyear contracts. Anyone OS28 and older signed from the regular Waiver Wire is gone at the end of the season. NEVER bid more than the minimum ($.5) for these players.
[Edited on 10-26-2014 by ballmark]
The Barry Zito League: A New Owner's Manual
October 23, 2014 at 09:03PM View BBCode
This should really be written by a Dan, or a Tim, or a Steve, but I'll throw out the first pitch. Feel free to add corrections and additional information that I'm sure I'll forget. Paul, if you'd be so kind as to exercise your considerable Commissioner powers and sticky this, that'd be great!+++++
In this free agency league, the off-season runs for five days following the World Series.
DAY ONE:
The first round of free agent bidding occurs. Your bids must be submitted (use the "Free Agents" link under the GM menu) by 8:00 p.m. EST. Today approximately 25% of the available free agents will sign.
There are generally two strategies employed today:
? Underbid. Way underbid. And do it for a lot of players. Statistically, only one out of every four bids will go through and if you get a guy, you'll have him for a bargain price. But many owners use today mostly just to see what the market is going to say about a player's value. Bid on *all* the players you like, and maybe bid a little more for the ones you really want.
? Bid big. Only 25% of free agents are signing today, why not proactively target the ones you really want, make a fair-to-generous offer, and hope you're the top dog with the biggest bone?
DAY TWO:
It's the second round of free agent bidding. 50% of the remaining free agents will sign today, you can see every other team's initial bid (use the "View Bids" link under the GM menu), and the market really begins to heat up. Again, your bid has to be offered by 8:00 p.m. EST. Results are posted almost immediately after.
[align=center]This is the day you start seriously comparing market prices to your budget.
In this league, pitching is outrageously expensive, but good to great hitters
can be real value finds. A good rule of thumb is to budget $40-45 million
for pitching, $25-30 million for hitting, and $8-10 million for minor league players.[/align]
Remember that free agents sign based upon "Effective Salary," not the salary you've offered. The effective salary offered is based on a formula including your team prestige (found on the "Team Salaries" link under the GM menu), the player's leadership score, if you owned the player last season, and the length of the contract offered. SimD assumes that if a player's leadership score was higher than C+, that player will *want* to return to the team he previously played for, and he'll give the home team a discount (in the form of a higher effective salary) so he doesn't have to relocate his personal life.
Bid extravagantly, but wisely. Many owners will bid on more players than they can roster or afford with the hope that some will not sign today, and some will be signed by other teams. It's like the airlines overbooking seats. They do it with the hope that something will come up and not everyone will be able to make the flight. Just make sure you save your highest bids for the player(s) you want most.
What if I sign more players than I need, or can afford? Take a look at the other owners who have bid on that player and lost. Odds are good you will be able to find a trading partner for that player among them if you haven't grossly overpaid him.
DAY THREE:
With only a few exceptions, this is your last real chance to sign the higher quality free agents. 75% of the remaining free agents will sign today. 8:00 p.m. EST remains your deadline.
This is the day you really take a hard look at your offseason strategy and either a) rejoice, b) change it all, or c) tweak it. If you're still bidding for players, one thing you can do today is take a look at how your principal competition for that player has done so far. Do they still need that player (are they likely to no longer be bidding on him)? Can they still afford the player at the salary they've bid previously? Adjust your bids accordingly.
BONUS TIP: Many owners are still looking hard at the "juicy" free agents. Red letter guys in their first year of free agency or in their early 30s so they can get a few years out of them. Using the "All Players" view on the View Bids page in conjunction with the Free Agents page, you can often find players who are worth obtaining and they haven't even received a single offer yet! You know this because when you find one, you look at the "All Players" view and you won't find their name. If your free agency plans have so far not survived first or second contact with the market forces, this is a good time to employ this tip. Many owners still won't be looking at these "second or third" tier of free agents yet, still hoping to land one of the few good ones left.
DAY FOUR:
Bid deadline still 8:00 p.m. EST. Only a very few of the higher quality free agents are left, and generally there will be bidding wars for their services today. Mostly what's left are the lesser quality B+ or B overall free agents, and many of those are well into their declines. Any remaining player who has declared for free agency and still receives a bid today will sign.
Unless the player is going to be a major star or a major part of your roster, DO NOT OVERBID today. You'll probably need to bid more than the minimum ($50,000 or a bid of .50 on the free agents screen), but you shouldn't have to bid much more than that.
Also, you can start trolling the other team salaries for any owner over the $80 mill cap and offer a deal to relieve their excess, if you can find a good fit. Or, if over the cap yourself, look for the teams who have either struck out on their free agency swings, or are purposely not bidding much because they're in the middle of a roster rebuild.
DAY FIVE:
Shortly after 9:30 a.m. EST this morning, the Waiver Wire opens up for teams to make their signings and claims. You can often find quite valuable pieces for your roster here. Any player over OS28 can be signed for $50,000, but you'll have to eat that salary all year long, even if you release the player. Players under OS28 are signed for the value listed on their Player Card, are yours until they reach their OS28 year, and can be released at any point during the season (if still under OS28) and their salary will come immediately off your total.
Also today you set up your roster, and make any salary cap deals left to be made. Follow the message boards closely.
BONUS TIP:
? On the Free Agents page, there's a drop-down box to the right of "Team:" ... selecting "WW" reveals all the free agents who have never played in the majors. Occasionally - seldom, really - you will find a player you can use for your minor leagues or major league bench. The benefit to using this page - as opposed to the regular Waiver Wire - is that you can offer these players multiyear contracts. Anyone OS28 and older signed from the regular Waiver Wire is gone at the end of the season. NEVER bid more than the minimum ($.5) for these players.
[Edited on 10-26-2014 by ballmark]
Bonnie_Brae
As it confused me greatly for a number of seasons, I'd like to add that the sequence for the offseason is as follows:
The world series ends, and in the middle of the night (4:32 am EST, 1:32 AM PST), the season rolls over. This is when you get the improvement report on your dudes, and also when the expiring contracts show up as "zzzz" on your roster.
The same day as the improvements come in, the draft happens at 10:32 AM EST, 7:32 AM PST.
THAT SAME DAY BIDS ARE DUE FOR DAY 1. They happen at 8pm EST, 5 PM EST.
It's bang, bang, bang from the WS>Rollover>Draft>Bids.
[Edited on 10-24-2014 by Bonnie_Brae]
October 24, 2014 at 07:31AM View BBCode
Great job, Mark!As it confused me greatly for a number of seasons, I'd like to add that the sequence for the offseason is as follows:
The world series ends, and in the middle of the night (4:32 am EST, 1:32 AM PST), the season rolls over. This is when you get the improvement report on your dudes, and also when the expiring contracts show up as "zzzz" on your roster.
The same day as the improvements come in, the draft happens at 10:32 AM EST, 7:32 AM PST.
THAT SAME DAY BIDS ARE DUE FOR DAY 1. They happen at 8pm EST, 5 PM EST.
It's bang, bang, bang from the WS>Rollover>Draft>Bids.
[Edited on 10-24-2014 by Bonnie_Brae]
dangallo
- Players become free agents after OS28 or 6 years after they are drafted whichever is longer. This can become a factor when ranking the draft and when evaluating trades...sometimes a player has more years of control than you think.
- Prestige is a bonus applied to your free agent signing formula and changes from year based on the performance of the franchise over a 5 year period. One place to find your prestige (and everybody else's) is GM - Team Salaries
- Leadership (on each player card) plays a role in the free agent signing formula as well. Any player with a rating of B- or better will give a "home town discount" to the last team's roster he was on before he hit free agency. B- gives a 5% bonus A+ Gives a 30% bonus (please double check for accuracy). If you are CHN every player on your team pops a B+ or better leadership bonus. For everyone else this almost never happens. :cool: (My logical side tells me I'm imagining this...my less rational side believes this is 97% accurate)
October 24, 2014 at 05:17PM View BBCode
A few X-Factors to Consider- Players become free agents after OS28 or 6 years after they are drafted whichever is longer. This can become a factor when ranking the draft and when evaluating trades...sometimes a player has more years of control than you think.
- Prestige is a bonus applied to your free agent signing formula and changes from year based on the performance of the franchise over a 5 year period. One place to find your prestige (and everybody else's) is GM - Team Salaries
- Leadership (on each player card) plays a role in the free agent signing formula as well. Any player with a rating of B- or better will give a "home town discount" to the last team's roster he was on before he hit free agency. B- gives a 5% bonus A+ Gives a 30% bonus (please double check for accuracy). If you are CHN every player on your team pops a B+ or better leadership bonus. For everyone else this almost never happens. :cool: (My logical side tells me I'm imagining this...my less rational side believes this is 97% accurate)
Bonnie_Brae
October 24, 2014 at 05:39PM View BBCode
Chicago ALWAYS gets high leadership. We should add that to the guide for sure.
GhostofKong
I completely missed the last 2 days of free agency because work has been a nightmare. Luckily the bids I entered were reasonable but not reasonable to land anyone. Very soon I'll know if I'm buying or selling.
October 25, 2014 at 06:08PM View BBCode
You guys about covered it. + 1 on CHN and the leadership scores. What the hell.I completely missed the last 2 days of free agency because work has been a nightmare. Luckily the bids I entered were reasonable but not reasonable to land anyone. Very soon I'll know if I'm buying or selling.
Bonnie_Brae
The part about the WW free agents never playing in the majors is incorrect. Guy Laliberte, for instance, played in the majors and is on that list.
October 26, 2014 at 07:22AM View BBCode
Originally posted by ballmark
BONUS TIP:
? On the Free Agents page, there's a drop-down box to the right of "Team:" ... selecting "WW" reveals all the free agents who have never played in the majors. Occasionally - seldom, really - you will find a player you can use for your minor leagues or major league bench. The benefit to using this page - as opposed to the regular Waiver Wire - is that you can offer these players multiyear contracts. Anyone OS28 and older signed from the regular Waiver Wire is gone at the end of the season. NEVER bid more than the minimum ($.5) for these players.
[Edited on 10-26-2014 by ballmark]
The part about the WW free agents never playing in the majors is incorrect. Guy Laliberte, for instance, played in the majors and is on that list.
ballmark
Also, I added a bonus tip to Day Three.
If anyone knows where these WW guys come from, please share and I'll correct that bit.
October 26, 2014 at 06:36PM View BBCode
I agree that it's incorrect. I looked at many players and that's the way it seemed. But then I signed a couple off that WW list and they also had previous major league experience. So now I'm just mildly confused about where they come from.Also, I added a bonus tip to Day Three.
If anyone knows where these WW guys come from, please share and I'll correct that bit.
ballmark
Until you get the hang of the marketplace here in the Barry Zito League, it is highly recommended you stick to one-year contracts with *all* of your bids.
Not only will this give your Effective Salary a small bump, it will eliminate potentialmistakes disasters by not creating a really bad contract (i.e., greatly overpaying a player and being stuck with him for multiple years). If you do overpay a codebit, it will be gone next year, giving you a clean slate.
January 30, 2015 at 01:37PM View BBCode
[size=4]VERY IMPORTANT FOR NEW OWNERS![/size]Until you get the hang of the marketplace here in the Barry Zito League, it is highly recommended you stick to one-year contracts with *all* of your bids.
Not only will this give your Effective Salary a small bump, it will eliminate potential
ballmark
Many owners have taken advantage of this penalty to add that recommended $8-10 million for minor league players to their major league player acquisition budget to get an artificial edge on the owners who still like to draft and develop players.
Either strategy is legitimate. You just need to decide which type of owner you want to be. If you don't have any luck in the free agent market, keep only a few minor league players for your worst Health major leaguers and cut the rest, giving you extra $$. If you've developed the knack for finding bargains and signing the players you want out of free agency, keep a full complement of minor league players ... developing prospects for trade value and to keep from spending more than you need on superstars.
It's up to you, but as of now, it's out there and legal so you need to know about it.
February 20, 2017 at 04:01PM View BBCode
[size=4]MINOR LEAGUE UPDATE[/size]A good rule of thumb is to budget $40-45 millionA few seasons back the penalty for being under 40 players on your roster was changed from $50K per player, to $5k per player. Meaning you could have ZERO players on your farm team and still only lose $75,000 off your total team salary.
for pitching, $25-30 million for hitting, and [color=red]$8-10 million for minor league players.[/color]
Many owners have taken advantage of this penalty to add that recommended $8-10 million for minor league players to their major league player acquisition budget to get an artificial edge on the owners who still like to draft and develop players.
Either strategy is legitimate. You just need to decide which type of owner you want to be. If you don't have any luck in the free agent market, keep only a few minor league players for your worst Health major leaguers and cut the rest, giving you extra $$. If you've developed the knack for finding bargains and signing the players you want out of free agency, keep a full complement of minor league players ... developing prospects for trade value and to keep from spending more than you need on superstars.
It's up to you, but as of now, it's out there and legal so you need to know about it.
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