Announcement: Clay is taking over sim duties effective May 5th

[Andrew]

I actually have a question about this. Who should we contact if we have issues with contracts or other league issues that may need corrected?

Both of us. PM works best.

[Ryan]

Both of us. PM works best.

Alrighty, thanks.

Just curious because I'm about due for my annual "how much should I have to spend on FA/player extensions question."

[Pat]

Pat, he said Virginia, not Vagina. Just to clarify.

Good stuff.

[Clay]

You guys act like the person running the sim wins a disproportionately large number of games and Championships or something....

[BradleyB]

stu, is it just a coincidence that this is starting on cinco de mayo? you just want to drink some more don't you?

[Andrew]

stu, is it just a coincidence that this is starting on cinco de mayo? you just want to drink some more don't you?

I actually do want to drink more, but this is entirely unrelated.

[Lintyfresh85]

Should of chainsawed that bar from the house you were looking at and moved it over to the one you picked. I think drinking alone in a basement is a lot classier when you do it in a bar room setting.

[Clay]

May 5th should be the 1st Playoff sim. So... let's not rule out some Commish inpropriaty in these playoffs!! Yes!!!

[Matt]

Good for you Andrew! I believe every online league should have a "helper". These things are just too time intensive to run solo these days.

I've been playing in online leagues since '95 and have seen many a commish just get burned out and call it quits. I would hate to see that before Batavia wins a pennant so I'm gonna need you to go ahead and stick around for 20 or so more seasons (if I'm lucky).

[Spectre]

This league is great- we have an amazing group of owners. If Andrew needed help with sims, I couldn't think of a better person than Clay.

[Jake]

First off, thanks to Andrew for his continued work on the league and the site, past and future.

Second off, now that Clay can get his hands on actual ratings, it might be even harder to trade with him. Just kidding, thanks for picking up more work Clay.

I don't know if this is the proper place for a proposal or not, but I figured since we are talking about sims it was close enough. It is sometimes mentioned how there is not enough reason to 'go for it' at the deadline or in FA in order to make the playoffs. I have only been around since 83 but one thing I always notice about the playoffs is how quickly they come and go. One sim for each round. There never seems to be much focus or discussion on the playoffs. And since it is one sim per round, all people (myself included) seem to do is check who won what series and then be done with it.

Before I go any further let me mention that I have no clue how long it actually takes to run a sim, download/upload/sim/rosters/etc etc. I would assume that with no trades, fewer exports and fewer games to sim that playoff sims might be "easier" in a way, but like I said I have no idea.

Basically what I am proposing is splitting up the playoff series into multiple sims, and figuring out a schedule that would work for everyone. Right now, if the playoffs started on a Sunday, the schedule would be:

Sunday: Wild Card Round
Tuesday: Division Series
Thursday: BLB Championship
Sunday: Offseason

What I was thinking is something more like this:
Sunday: Wild Card Round
Monday: Division series, first three games.
Tuesday: Division series, last four games.
Wednesday: Championship, first two games.
Thursday: Championship, next two games.
Sunday: If Neccessary, game 5.
Monday: If Neccessary, game 6.
Tuesday: If Neccessary, game 7.

Return to normal schedule.

I think you could go a lot further with how you split up the series, for example if the division series went 2-3-2 home/away instead of 2-2-1-1-1 you could just sim each homestand. Obviously this would be more work for you Clay so tell me if this is just a ridiculous idea and I will delete my post before this idea catches on, which I am oh-so-sure that it will.

My whole thought behind it is that it would put more of a focus and spotlight on the playoff teams and also would allow owners to make decisions like whether or not to adjust their lineups or start a guy like Aurillo on three days rest if they are down 0-3. I also think it would drum up more discussion about the players, and in some cases the owners if it is an underdog story like Clay or Linty, or maybe jistic gets another shot at the title. The schedule above would only push back the offseason two "sim dates" with the schedule we have now, and that's only if it goes 7 games in the championship.

I'm sure we could all agree that the best part about this league is trash talking and witty banter. I think this would give the playoffs that same atmosphere.

[Carlos]

I gotta get back at making those championship banners. I guess I gotta start working on Virginia's design now. Never thought I'd even need to think about it.

[Pat]

I do agree that the playoffs come and go real fast. That is why I am still in support of the LIVE sim with chat. Usually there is 5-10 owners there to watch it and it is pretty fun.

[Jake]

I do agree that the playoffs come and go real fast. That is why I am still in support of the LIVE sim with chat. Usually there is 5-10 owners there to watch it and it is pretty fun.

I agree. Game 1 and 7 of the championship would be no brainers.

[Spectre]

I agree. Game 1 and 7 of the championship would be no brainers.

Live sims for playoffs are the best. We got some great chatter the last few times we used it.