SIM COMPLETE - 1996 - Off-Season 3

[liquidcrash]

I've always considered that to be the rule, and we've had it come up before and had the contracts voided.

There's several guys that have been on the FA list that I've been interested in- you signed a couple of them- but I didn't make any offers because that's how I believed it worked.

I'm not upset, though I certainly feel we need to get this written down clearly.

[Z]

Frankly, I think the rule is dumb.

But if it's going to be enforced in the past, it should be enforced with al-Sadat and Rodriguez and whomever else may have been signed.

[Spear]

I don't understand how it's not implied? It's a timeline. The first time in the timeline FA is mentioned is after Jan 1. Also, it's how we've always operated. Your other signing plus Davenport's signings fall into the same boat.

I didn't have a shot at him. I saw him sitting in FA. Liked him. I didn't offer a deal because FA hadn't started yet.

Yup you'll have to void the scrubs that I signed too. Although two of the players I have signed have been Free Agents since June and Raul Ramirez was on my roster this past year, I just failed to resign him earlier.

[Clay]

Guys been available for 3 sims. Where is the rule against it? I cant find it in the rules page.

It's been enforced the last two seasons. Not to mention the fact that in MLB you can't add players to your roster once the playoffs begin.

Now, simply looking at it from a fair play perspective... we have 1/3 of our teams playing during the playoffs. 16 teams (and growing after each round) pseudo-checkout until the off-season.

At the risk of making bigger than it is... the bottomline is I'm voiding it. Period. It's been enforced in the past, it's going to be enforced this season.

I'm sorry if you have a problem with it.

Now would be the time to open a discussion and take it to a vote if you'd like to see a rule written. However, if we have to get into the minutia of listing every single possible scenario that falls under "good faith"/"fair play"/"a league of gentleman" then we may want to consider taking a long break to write the "War and Peace"-esque epic that that will become.

And... again... I'll point out... it works both ways. Teams shouldn't be releasing guys between the start of the playoffs and the Rule V.

[Carlos]

If you release them, you can't resign them either.

I know this. But I can sign him once he's a free agent if he takes my offer.

Why would I offer him a contract if I might want to see if there are other 2B available in Free Agency?

So I released him.

Teams shouldn't be releasing guys between the start of the playoffs and the Rule V.

Why?

[Clay]

I know this. But I can sign him once he's a free agent if he takes my offer.

Why would I offer him a contract if I might want to see if there are other 2B available in Free Agency?

So I released him.



Why?

Just let guys who are going to become Free Agents become Free Agents. If you're not signing additional guys during this period... you don't need to make room for them. Active Rosters stay at 40 during that entire stretch. No one should be out of room.

[Jake]

Why?

Just let guys who are going to become Free Agents become Free Agents. If you're not signing additional guys during this period... you don't need to make room for them. Active Rosters stay at 40 during that entire stretch. No one should be out of room.

As the kids would say... pwned.

[liquidcrash]

I released a couple guys to make room on the 40 man roster- mostly guys that I wasn't going to offer arbitration to. I didn't end up filling up my 40 man roster anyway, and lost 2 guys in the Rule 5 so apparently it didn't work anyway.

Should I avoid doing this in the future? Against the rules? Wait until Offseason 2?

EDIT- I don't think it made any difference, I think the arbitration guys would have been settled before the Rule 5 sim anyway, so it's unnecessary. It looks like the in-game date of my releases (Jody Scoley, Artie Ward, Don Blanche) was 11/28, so it's not like I did this a while ago.

[Clay]

Releasing guys isn't against the rules. Again, technically, it's not against the rules or parameters of the league calendar for these guys to sign.

Free Agency, like in the MLB, opens in the BLB the days after the RULE V when players accept or decline arbitration and declare themselves Free Agents. It's on December 2nd. From that point forward... TECHNICALLY... you can sign a Free Agent. However, since we don't import team files for RULE V, you'd have to submit the offer to the FA in the export between OFF-SEASON 1 and OFF-SEASON 2. In THAT SIM, it would be OK to release guys if you absolutely positively have to because there would be not TEAM IMPORTS before we do the 31 day run off to Jan 1st.

Bottomline... and we can put it in the rules if we have to.... you should not be extending offers to Free Agents after REGULAR SEASON 26 until after OFF-SEASON 3. You can resign/extend your own guys, but no one off of the Free Agent page.

[Carlos]

Just let guys who are going to become Free Agents become Free Agents. If you're not signing additional guys during this period... you don't need to make room for them. Active Rosters stay at 40 during that entire stretch. No one should be out of room.

This doesn't say why I shouldn't release them. It just says they will become free agents.

I'll stop releasing them. I just don't find the reasoning satisfactory. I'm basically being told to not release them because I don't have to. However, if it helps prevent scenarios like the one today, I'll help.

[Lintyfresh85]

Also, Clay, SP Art Casey needs to be released back into the FA pool. He's on AA for Batavia, also signed during the no-signing period.

[Matt]

Whatever. It's lame and I'll leave it at that. After 10 seasons you'd think I'd know the unwritten rules.

[Ryan]

This is a classic example of the man trying to keep a Big Market Team down. I wouldn't put up with it!

[Carlos]

This is a classic example of the man trying to keep a Big Market Team down. I wouldn't put up with it!

I see you're instigating on both the forums and twitter!

[Jim]

In MLB, doesn't it go end of season, Rule V & then FA? Or can anyone sign with a team the day after the World Series is over? I've always thought it was there was a certain time players could sign with teams and always thought that's why we did it the way we did.