Random Suggestions

[mattynokes]

I've ran my own league before and I've helped run others, so you'll come to find that I have a lot of ideas. I think this league is pretty innovative with things like the player agent and probably some of the better draft pick compensation rules I've seen. I think I can add some suggestions to boost the innovation here. Know that you're not going to hurt my feeling by not liking one of my ideas. They are only ideas and some may be thrown out from the top of my head.

Addition To Player Agent Categories:
The rules look pretty good, but I think the leadoff hitter would count as a star player as well. He's definitely more than a role player. He's a table setter and the #3/4 hitter's RBI totals are dependent on how much the #1 hitter gets on base.

Personally, I would also suggest moving the Boras/McInnis players lower. It seems there's a lot of quality players in the 85-89 range. Lowering it to something like 88 would catch a lot more of the league's better players.

Incentive Laden Contracts:
Basically performance bonuses. These would probably be only for the player agent guys. It's pretty much a way to get a guy to sign for a lower base contract and have to earn their money. If you're unsure of what type of things are usually measured, check out Cot's Baseball Contracts for some ideas.

Vesting Options:
They sort of tie into incentive contracts, but this is a way for the player to get his contract guaranteed for the next season. Just another tool for the player agents to use. This is why Billy Wagner still remains on the Braves roster. Here's his contract details from Cot's Baseball Contracts:

Code:

Billy Wagner lhp
1 year/$7M (2010), plus 2011 option

    * 1 year/$7M (2010), plus 2011 option
          o signed by Atlanta as a free agent 12/2/09
          o 10:$6.75M, 11: $6.5M club option ($0.25M buyout)
          o 2011 option guaranteed with 50 games finished in 2010

Also a more in-depth one with Chipper Jones:

Code:

Chipper Jones 3b
3 years/$42M (2010-12), plus 2013 option

    * 3 years/$42M (2010-12), plus 2013 option
          o signed extension with Atlanta 3/31/09
          o $3M signing bonus (paid each Jan. 15, 2010-12)
          o 10:$13M, 11:$13M, 12:$13M, 13:$7M club option
          o 2013 option guaranteed at $9M with:
                + 123 games in 2012, or
                + average of 127 games in 2011-12
          o 2013 option price increases by $1M each for:
                + 128, 133, 138, 140 games in 2012, or
                + averages of 132, 137, 138, 140 games in 2011-12
          o annual performance bonuses: $0.75M each for 135, 140 games

Draftee Signing Bonuses:
There's a lot of realism here and this is just something else to add to the realistic approach and it also gives something else to make cash valuable. Possibly through dice rolls a few draftees could become Boras clients and a few McInnis clients.

I wouldn't think bonuses would go past the 2nd round and to what exactly a player would get if they don't have either agent, I'm not sure. Maybe a pre-determined amount based on selection order (sort of like the NBA).