Fantasy Baseball Q&A

Now that you have a full roster you need to understand how to manage those players week-to-week. You have questions, we have answers.

How do players score for my team? Players must be active to score points. Bench players do not score, so your first decision is to decide which players you'll start. In the SFRRC Fantasy Baseball League, your offensive players will be scored on Home Runs, Runs Scored, RBI, Stolen Bases, On Base Percentage, and Strikeouts. Your pitchers are scored on Earned Run Average (ERA), WHIP (Walks + Hits/Inning Pitched), Quality Starts, Saves, Holds, and Strikeouts. Hitting stats for National League pitchers do not count towards (or against) your hitting statistics. For each category you win against your weekly opponent you'll earn a "win".
  
Why do I play the same opponent for an entire week? Each series is a week in length to give your entire starting pitching staff a chance to pitch at least once (some will  pitch twice). It also gives your offensive players approximately 20 to 25 at bats to accumulate stats in the scoring categories.

When does a weekly series start and finish? The first week of the fantasy baseball season begins with the Oakland vs. Seattle series in Japan on March 28 and runs through April 8. We will have two lineup deadlines for Week 1. The first weekly deadline will be on March 27th at 11:59 pm. This will cover the Japan games. The second weekly lineup deadline will be on April 1st at 11:59 pm. This will cover games played from April 2nd through April 8th. Normally, a series begins on Monday and ends the following Sunday. The deadline to submit your starting roster is Sunday at 11:59 pm.

How do I set my starting lineup?  Go to your Yahoo team home page and click on "My Team". You can set your roster for the upcoming week's series by clicking on the "Monday" date and moving players from the bench to the starting lineup. However, all future lineups will be lost if a current player is dropped or traded, or if a new player is added to the current roster.

What is a free agent? Any player undrafted is considered a free agent. You can drop a player on your current roster at any time and add a player from the free agent pool. You will then need to decide if your new players will be inserted into the starting lineup or simply sit on the bench for the upcoming series. You can never exceed 26 players on your roster. You can find a full explanation here.  When you wish to make moves, simply click on the "Lineup" link from your team page. Then, advance through the dates to reach the next date during which you can make your roster changes. As you add or drop players from your lineup, you will see the changes reflected in Monday's lineup. Similarly, any trades completed during the week will not become effective until Monday nor will any intra roster moves (i.e., switching players between active and bench).

What if I want to add a player that has been released by another team? Players released to the free agent pool must clear waivers (two days). This gives every owner a chance to place a "waiver claim" on the player. The team awarded the player can add him to their lineup for the next series. You can find a full explanation of the waiver rule here.

How many free agents can I add per week? You can add two per week and a total of 40 for the year. The ability to make roster moves is a valuable tool that you'll want to use judiciously. It is not unusual for fantasy owners to run out of roster moves before the end of the season.

Can I trade players with other owners?You can make an unlimited number of trades but your roster can never exceed 26 players. All trades must be approved by a majority of owners in the league. Trades are not counted against your 40 free agent moves so they are a good way to make changes to your roster.

How do I qualify for the playoffs? The four division winners qualify for the championship playoffs. The teams with the four best records that did not win their division qualify for the consolation playoffs. Each playoff team will participate in two weekly series to determine the top eight finishers in the league.

Why does my team play some teams more than others? You will face each team in your division three times. You play every other team in the league at least once. You will face two non-division foes twice (those match-ups are based on historic records, with the best teams matched against each other).

What is the Wooden Spoon? The Wooden Spoon is awarded annually to the team finishing with the worst record in the league. Bailey Penzotti and Dan Perez have earned the first two Wooden Spoons.