Milw suspended from bidding

[[e-mail]]

I never admitted to "padding", but since Sox sounds like he'd rather try his hand at being an Attorney-At-Law than a Fantasy Baseball admin, I submit the posted rules.  Maybe he can point out this "padding" rule he wants to accuse me of:

END OF SEASON, FREE AGENCY AND RULES
Rules are almost same as last year. Ask questions, make comments early.
You cant bid on a free agent unless you have an open spot on your roster and have the cash.
At no time can you exceed 90mil for 2016.
Free Agency starts on 10/25 at 6am CST.
There will be no nominating process. I will compile a list of free agents to bid for.
Once the list of free agents is published the last place finisher will select where on the list we start. We will then go in that order. Players not on this list can be acquired using silent bidding when it reopens at the end of FA. Players cut during free agency can be included at my discretion.
Beginning of the auction we will have 3 players in play at any time. That is because there will be many teams needing multiple players to fill roster space. About half-way thru we will drop down to 2 at any time as the rosters fill-up.
Once a player is won in auction or there is no action for a player, then the next player on the list is in play. Free agency ends when this list is exhausted. Regular silent bidding for FA's as used during the season then starts...again on WED/SUN.
When there is no bid after 24 hours the player is then awarded to the last bidder.
You can start the bidding at $325,000. The minimum incremental bid for a player is $100,000.
12 HOUR RULE.
If there is no opening bid for a player after 12 hours then he is eliminated and next player nominated.
If a player gets even 1 bid then normal auction rules apply. We wait 24 hours.
Auctions starting around 10pm thru 6am there might be problems with those overnighters. Might be tough to get online to bid.
If you miss a '12-hour' auction you have 24hrs from end of it to contact admin to re-instate player. Admin will then place the auction ASAP and when 'nominated' automatically place the min. bid in teams name. The auction then goes as normal.
Once free agency starts all salary figures/adjustments will use 2016 salaries. This is where we 'turn the page' and start using 2016 figures. In other words, Happy Cashman New Years! YOU MUST BE AT/UNDER 90MIL AT THIS TIME.
During free agency trading is open and you can alway drop a player to open up a spot to bid on a free agent. Just announce your drop in the normal way.
Remember, minimum opening bid is $325,000...you can start higher.
Minimum incremental bid is $100,000...you can place a higher bid.
Remember its the highest bid amount that wins, not total $$$ of contract.
1mil @ 1yr beats 250K @ 5yrs
Since the auctions will end at different times and I cant be here 24/7. If an auction ends you can 'nominate' the next player on the list. Please, no early listings. Only 2-to-3 players at any one time.
You always have the option of dropping a player so you can bid on another.
Remember you need to have open spots on your roster to bid.
There will breaks this year as requested for Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year. Will post shortly.
Do we all have to have a 25 man roster at the end of Free Agency?
No, you can have less than 25. You will need 25 by the time Yahoo opens for next seasons play.

Under no circumstances can a bid be withdrawn.

[[e-mail]]

Seriously, guy. Start drafting up your apology to me. Because you got me upset.

[Detroit]

Brewers....CHILL OUT! This will get resolved. There are 2 admins which are both competent. They will make a decision based on the leagues best interest, with input from other owners as well (they always have, and I have full confidence they will continue to do so).

I believed this has happened before in this league. IMO, I will not throw other teams under the bus, but I believe it happens all the time in free agency. It is a part of strategy. League balance is something I would encourage, and I believe it's fair game. Sometimes, you will get stuck with a player you really didn't want...

I would recommend to you Brew Crew...stop talking so much. Commenting on everything is just over the top. A "little" trash talk is fine, but not 15 times a day. This would help this situation work itself out the way it should go, which is your ability to manage a team like every other manager in the league.

Pitts is busy, but I'm sure there will be resolution soon. Until then, just chill out. Cooler heads will prevail. IMO, I see no league rules were broken. Just another unnecessary comment that made this situation worse than it needs to be...

[Admin]

hey einstein(milw) pitts is bidding too. does he have to give up admin? gee.....we'd have no admin or commish then.

[Detroit]

cooler heads guys...I can see why you are both upset here. lets figure this out reasonably guys.

[ex-Pittsburgh Pirates]

I'm really out of touch lately and have zero time for the league but here's my post on the matter.

In the past, the league commissioners have frowned on shill bidding. Shill bidding is when someone bids on a player they don't really want just to drive up the price or keep the player away from someone else. The reason it has been frowned on is because owners could collude in such a way as to ruin a team's auction by driving up the price for their players.

That said, I'm sure it has gone on in the past without incident and I don't have a great deal of problem with it as long as it isn't targeting a particular owner.

Now the problem here is that milwaukee has forced chicago to raise the bid on a player that chicago definitely wants, but milwaukee admits he does not. From Chicagos perspective, I can understand how he is feeling. Why did milwaukee put in a shill bid on this player and not other players? If I were chicago, I might feel like I'm being unfairly targeted. I also see Milwaukee's perspective. This is his first auction, there is nothing in the rules that spells out that you cannot shill bid, and he's a bit shall we say exuberant. I like the exuberance. We need more active owners.

So here's the deal. I totally get where both guys are coming from. For my part, I would ask that chicago release milwaukee from his bid suspension. i would also like to see the donaldson auction go back to chicagos last bid and start a new 24 hour clock. i would ask milwaukee to at the least, refrain from smack talking the bidding on players he is bidding on and to also refrain from shill bidding. by all means, if there is a player that is going too cheap, feel free to put a bid on him even if you didnt want him to begin with. that's what i did with altuve. he wasnt in my plans, but i thought the price he was at was a bargain so i bid. then he went higher and i didnt think he was a bargain anymore. i'd just ask you to refrain from bidding wars when you really dont want the player.

again...im simply asking these things. im not dictating. chicago is a fair commissioner...at least as fair as anyone can be when they have their own team in the league. can't ask for anything more. is everything good here?

[ex-Pittsburgh Pirates]

correction to my above post. the donaldson auction should go back to minnesotas $15m bid.

this way chicago isnt stuck on him at an inflated price.

chicago and milwaukee can decide if they want to continue their bid.

[torontobluejays]

I agree with Pitts. A good way to resolve the issue.

[[e-mail]]

Pitts,

Thank you for bringing some calm to this. To most of you guys really.

There is one problem here. I DID want Donaldson. And my bids were legitimate. That's why I am upset here.

I also realize, yeah I get carried away with trash talk. I intimated that Sox went too far in his bid because I have Arenado.  My whole goal there is to keep people guessing, and have fun with it.  I don't make bids on guys I dont want.  Who doesn't want Donaldson on their team in this league, even if they had Arenado?  I still have a DH position I need to fill.

Guys, this is what I take away from fantasy teams the most, is the fun trashing of one another, so long as it's respectful.  My primary goal is to win of course, but it's fantasy.  This stuff isn't yielding me 15% return towards my retirement because I'm wicked brilliant or anything.  It's all fun.

I'm sorry about the excessive trash talk, especially in the bid posts.  I was asked before to stop it in the bidding posts, and I was good for a day or two and then Donaldson happened.  Please, take it as harmless from me.  But I'll idle up on the trash talk where it doesn't belong.

As far as Sox goes, I'm kind of embarrassed.  But for the sake of the league, I'll bite my tongue on this one and carry on.  I'm tired.  Long week.

Brew

[Minnesota Twins]

So nobody can bid on Donaldson and I get him for 15 mil. Very nice [borat voice]

Seriously tho I'm cool with this and will take Donaldson if nobody bids anymore.

[[e-mail]]

Never happenin....my 16 mil is going back up there.

[Detroit]

Pitts....Well stated, well said. this league is intense. but we all do need to get along... Great statements! Let the Donaldson action start again!

[Admin]

well done pitts
donaldson opened and im sticking with my bid of 16.7 3 yrs
go ahead and beat it

[New York Yankees]

Wow, I MISSED all the fireworks. Glad to see it all worked out...this also answers my own "shoutbox" question.