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:
A) Not a problem. Play with what you have, and don’t rely on the FA list to solve problems.
B) Reduce the size of the reserve list, so that there are more available players.
C) Eliminate the reserve list, so that all players who aren’t active or on the DL are free agents.
D) Eliminate the DL list, so that teams must make tough decisions about which players to keep on reserve.
E) Turn the fifth outfielder into a swing man, who can be either a hitter or a pitcher.
F) Some combination of the above.
Discussion amongst the Tout Warriors has touched on each of these ideas. All have some appeal, but they all also have some drawbacks. For instance:
antiA) Not enough FAAB action each week, and limited ways to fix a broken team.
antiB) Draft day doesn’t go as deep, so greater knowledge isn’t rewarded.
antiC) No midweek replacements when someone goes on the DL.
antiD) Punishes teams with lots of injuries by making them unload players who got hurt.
antiE) It’s weird and makes the playing field uneven.
antiF) Two wrongs don’t make a right.
So what is the right answer? We’re hammering that out right now.
The more I think about this, the less I think there’s a problem. It wasn’t that long ago that Tout Wars had six player reserve lists (with no minor leaguers unless they were sent down after the draft) and an unlimited DL list. Teams survived. I don’t think the system’s broken so why the need for a fix.