Category: Rules

Transaction Inaction

Steve Gardner writes in USA Today about the difficulties MLB’s staggering start to the season have caused fantasy leagues this year.

Tout Wars fell into the trap, announcing that there would be Free Agent pickups last night (April Fools Day). The culprit was a faulty reading of the rules and forgetting about precedent. Each of the last two years the initial claims were conducted on the Sunday night after the start of the season, and after review we moved this year’s initial claims deadline to midnight of April 8th.

At that point all DL players will be known and announced.

A Rules Clarification…

Following some questions, we’ve changed the language in the Constitution to reflect the idea that:

A player is eligible at all positions he played 15 or more games at in the major leagues. If the only position he played 15 or more games was DH, he’s DH/Util eligible only for the draft.

If a player didn’t appear at any major league position at least 15 or more times, he’s then eligible at the single position other than DH he played most at all levels he played the year before combined, unless he didn’t play 15 or more games at any other fielding position. In which case he’ll be DH/Util eligible only for the draft.

TOUT MIXED: Exit Swingman

Following discussion last week the Tout Wars LLC decided to not implement the Swingman rule in Tout Mixed. For the first time, AL/NL and Mixed have different rules. The following email was sent to Tout Mixed players:

“Hi guys,

Lord Zola convened his knights at Mastersball this past week to discuss the Swingman rule, and there was a definite difference of opinion about the worthiness of the experiment in the AL/NL leagues and the Mixed league.

The reasons for trying the Swingman experiment in the AL/NL leagues are organic. Major league roster composition has changed since the 13/9 rosters were adoped originally, but the reason we added the Swingman to the Mixed league was because we’ve always had the same rules in all three leagues.

After reflection and discussion, we’ve decided to drop the Swingman from the Mixed league this year. While simplicity is a goal, avoiding divergent rules is not if they don’t address similar issues.

Thanks for your feedback on this. If you really liked the idea of the Swingman in Mixed, let us know and we’ll consider it for the future.

See you next month!
Peter, Ron, Lawr, Jeff”

Mastersball Knights Joust on Swingman

Lord Zola, he of mastersball.com, convenes an assembly of his knights to discuss the new Tout Wars’ Swingman rule. Joined by Tout LLC member Peter Kreutzer, as visiting wizard, and including Tout LLC knight Lawr Michaels. Read the Grail here.

Do you think Tout Wars’ has a role as an innovator? Or do you think it should follow, not lead, general fantasy baseball trends? There’s room in the comments below to discuss.

2012 Rules Changes in Tout: Swingman Baby!

We’ve always looked at Tout Wars as an incubator for new ideas about how to play fantasy baseball. The game is a living thing, and we take seriously a responsibility to try out new rules that we think have an opportunity to be of use in other leagues.

After a far ranging rules talk among league participants by email and on this website last fall, we decided this year to clarify some previously enacted rules and introduce one significant new wrinkle: The Swingman. Continue reading “2012 Rules Changes in Tout: Swingman Baby!”

Houston to AL: We Have a Problem!

Tout NL owner, ESPN’s Tristan Cockcroft, takes a look at the fantasy implications of the Houston Astros’ move to the AL in 2013.

He suggests fantasy players adopt 13 team formats in both the NL and AL only leagues, though a case can be made for going to 12 teams in both only leagues, which will increase the player pools in relation to the number of teams.

Either way, things are going to be changing in Tout Wars.

UPDATE: Tout Wars NL will drop one player in 2013, and play with 12 teams.

Suggested Rules Changes for Tout

by Perry Van Hook, mastersball.com

TOUT Wars has a unique but very well thought out set of rules for its esteemed combatants. But as any of you who have played fantasy sports or almost any other game for a while know that while no one wants to change the rules, there are things that eventually need updating. The provisions for players on the MLB DL is one that needs that update so the intent of the rules is upheld but loopholes or the opportunity for players to “game”  the rules are eliminated.

First let’s look at the rules as they currently stand:

DISABLED LIST

A player placed on the major league disabled list is eligible to be placed on his Tout Wars team’s disabled list. The DL will be considered an extension of reserve list; however, there is no limit to the number of players that may be on a team’s disabled list.

When a player on the DL is activated to his team’s major league roster, that player must be activated to his Tout Wars team active or reserve roster by the second transaction deadline following his activation. If an activated major league player is not activated to his Tout Wars team roster by this time, he will automatically be released to the free agent pool.

All DL activations are bound by the roster requirements for the active or reserve lists. Players must be released, traded, etc. to make room for the DL-activated player. Continue reading “Suggested Rules Changes for Tout”

TOUT Rules: What to do about the reserve list?

Tout Wars players were asked for suggestions for rules changes and ways the game could be improved. TOUT Rules will look at some of these issues in the coming weeks.

For the last few years, Tout teams have been able to disable as many players as go on the DL, and also reserve four players. These reserves can be minor leaguers or active players. Minor leaguers not taken in the four reserve rounds can be purchased inseason with a minimum FAAB bid of 1, and must spend one week on the active roster before being reserved.

Everyone has noticed that since the establishment of the “normal” roto roster (14 hitters, 9 pitchers) major league team roster configuration has changed dramatically. Teams in the 1980s often carried nine or 10 pitchers and as many as 15 hitters. The breakdown now is more like 12 pitchers and 13 hitters, and sometimes the reverse. This means that in any given week a fantasy league’s free agent list might include as few as seven position players other than backup catcher, and none with any real potential.

Some would argue that this isn’t a problem, while some argue that it is a glitch that can be fixed. Here are some of the suggested remedies: Continue reading “TOUT Rules: What to do about the reserve list?”