2006 Rule Change Proposals: Official Ballot

 

  1. Two Day Draft: The draft must be executed over a 2 day period, either back to back days (example: Sat and Sun) or with a break in between (example: one Sunday and then the following Sunday). The draft would be conducted either strictly online or via an arranged conference call. The draft would go from 8 am to 8 pm Central Time, 3 minutes would be allowed to make each selection.  Instant messaging and e-mail could be used for trade discussions while the draft continues.

 

Vote YES or NO on Proposal 1. A YES vote means that we switch to a 2-day draft as outlined above, a NO vote means we retain the current draft system.

 

Result: FAIL 3-14

 

  1. Hard Start Date for the Draft (First Option): The draft must start every year on the last Saturday in January at 8 am Central.  It doesn't matter how early or late any official Strat ratings are posted. The draft starts on this date and must be completed in 1 month.  This proposal would apply to the existing online draft format.

 

Vote YES or NO on Proposal 2. A YES vote means that the draft starts every year on the last Saturday in January at 8 AM central time. A NO vote means that we do not adopt this date for the mandatory start of the draft. See also proposal 8 for a second option. If both proposals 2 and 8 pass, then the one getting the most votes will take effect, in case of a tie we will have a run-off.

 

Result: PASS 11-6 (Since Prop 8 Failed, only this proposal takes effect)

 

  1. Draft Selection Time Limit (First Option): There would be a maximum of 12 hours for a draft pick selection to be made. Once that time limit expires, the next pick in the sequence is up. The person whose pick was skipped must post when they intend to make their selection and it cannot be before the current selection (at the time they make their post) that is up is made (i.e. when the skipped player posts that they are ready to make their selection they must wait at least one pick, until the current pick that is up is made, before their selection can be made). 

 

Vote YES or NO on Proposal 3. A YES vote means that we set a maximum of 12 hours for a draft pick selection. A NO vote means that we do not adopt this limit. See also proposal 9 for a second option. If both proposals 3 and 9 pass, then the one getting the most votes will take effect, in case of a tie we will have a run-off.

 

Result: PASS 10-7 (Since Prop 9 Failed, only this proposal takes effect)

 

  1. Trading Taxi Squad Players: Taxi Squad Players are to be made a tradable commodity but must be traded in equal numbers back and forth to maintain the same number on the manager's squad as before the trade.

 

Vote YES or NO on Proposal 4. A YES vote means that we allow trading of taxi squad players in equal numbers, a NO vote means that we do not allow the trading of taxi players as per the current system.

 

Result: FAIL 7-10

 

  1. Playoff Use of Starter in Relief: Playoff teams may designate no more than one starting pitcher (no relief rating) as a relief pitcher for the playoffs. The pitcher designated as a reliever for the playoffs will be prohibited from starting a game during all of that year's playoff series. The pitcher designated as a reliever for the playoffs will be assigned an endurance rating of 2(N). The pitcher designated as a reliever for the playoffs will be given an availability of 5% (rounded downward).

 

Vote YES or NO on Proposal 5. A YES vote means that we adopt the system for starting pitchers used in relief in the playoffs outlined above; a NO vote means that we keep the current system which allows starters to both start and relieve only subject to fatigue rules and the fatigue applied to starters used in relief by the computer game and with 10% usage (like the rest of the playoff roster).

 

Result: FAIL 7-10

 

  1. Expand 1-Game Playoff: Currently the rules only call for a tie-breaker game to be played if there is a tie for the last wildcard position, but this rule was originally written when we had only two divisions. We should expand the rule to call for a tie-breaker game #163 to be added to the regular season both in the case of a tie for the last wildcard and in the case of a tie for the division title if the neither of those teams are eligible for the wildcard. With such a rule it means that CHI and DET would have played a 1-game playoff last year.
     
    If two teams tie for the division but are still eligible for the wildcard, then the other tie-breakers would be applied to them first, and then if the team that loses the tie-break for the division falls into a tie for the last wild card spot then they would play a 1-game playoff for that wildcard spot.

 

Vote YES or NO on Proposal 6. A YES vote means that we expand the 1-game playoff to apply to ties for the division title. A NO vote means that we keep the current system where the 1-game playoff only applies to ties for the last wildcard, meaning that we could have cases like last year where two teams are tied atop a division and one goes to the playoffs while the other goes home.

 

Result: PASS 16-1 (This will take effect for the 2007 season)

 

  1. Exception to Trading Restrictions for between the Draft and the First Month: Under the current rules if you trade a pick away during the draft (i.e. after the pre-draft deadline), then whoever the manager that owns that pick ends up drafting is technically considered to have been on your team and you cannot re-acquire that player in the current season. There should be an exception saying that if a player is drafted and then traded before the first month (i.e. before the March 2 trade deadline for March games) then they are not considered to have been on your roster, and you can re-acquire them. Thus it would only be a team that either owned the player prior to the pre-draft deadline or owned them in March or at any point afterwards who could not reacquire the player. Thus this would only apply to players that were drafted, not to players who were protected prior to the draft.

 

Vote YES or NO on Proposal 7. A YES vote means that we make the exception for between the draft and the first month as outlined above; a NO vote means that we keep the current system, and that we could have situations like the Ken Harvey deal between BUR and CHI last year where a trade was negated because one team technically owned a player at the end of the draft, even though that player was immediately traded away.

 

Result: PASS 17-0

 

  1. Hard Start Date for the Draft (Second Option): The draft will officially start at 8AM CT on January 22 each year. Starting on January 22 would give 40 days in which to complete the draft prior to the March 2 trade deadline for March games.

 

Vote YES or NO on Proposal 8. A YES vote means that the draft always starts on January 22; a NO vote means that we do not adopt this date for the start of the draft. See also proposal 2 for another option. If both proposals 2 and 8 pass, then the one getting the most votes will take effect, in case of a tie we will have a run-off.

 

Result: FAIL 7-10

 

  1. Draft Selection Time Limit (Second Option): Each team would have a total time of 48 hours in which to make all of their selections in the draft. The time stamps on the pick postings on the discussion board would be tracked and the difference between your pick and the previous one would be subtracted from the 48 hours that you are allowed. As a safeguard, however, if more than 15 picks have been made in a single day (since 12:01 AM CT) then the clock is suspended and will not start again until 8AM CT the next morning. That way a team is not caught by surprise due to a lot of picks being made on any one particular day.

 

If you use up all 48 hours before you have completed your picks, then when those remaining picks come up you are expected to make a selection “immediately”, and if you do not, then the next person in line is free to go ahead and continue the draft (as this time would be counting against their total now). The team that was passed over can jump in and make their pick at any time.

 

Vote YES or NO on Proposal 8. A YES vote means that we adopt the 48-hour total draft selection limit as outlined above, an NO vote means that we do not adopt such a system. See also proposal 3 for another option. If both proposals 3 and 9 pass, then the one getting the most votes will take effect, in case of a tie we will have a run-off.

 

Result: FAIL 8-9

 

  1. Keep Going Following Invalid Draft Selections: At present we do not have a formal procedure for dealing with invalid draft selections (e.g. the taking of players on someone else’s roster or who were taken previously). This proposal says that we keep going following such an invalid selection. The team that made the invalid selection can jump in and post a correction at any time, but in the meantime the draft is allowed to continue with whoever is next in line, and of course any of the players taken following the invalid selection and prior to the posting of the correction would be off-limits to the team that had made the error.

 

Vote YES or NO on Proposal 10. A YES vote means that the draft keeps going following invalid selections; a NO vote means that we wait for the offending team to make a correction before continuing.

 

Result: PASS 15-2

 

  1. Playoff Off-Days: Currently the rules call for 1 and only 1 day off between playoff series. This proposal would keep the 1-day off rule if a playoff series goes 6 or 7 games. However, if a playoff series goes 4 or 5 games, then the team winning that series is rewarded with a minimum of 2 days off. The next playoff series could not start until such a date that would allow for at least 2 off days for that team. The actual start date, of course, would depend on how long the other series took, so the team might end up with more than 2 off days, but under no circumstances could a team winning a series in 4 or 5 days have only 1 off day before the start of the next series.

 

Vote YES or NO on Proposal 11. A YES vote means that a team winning a playoff series in 4 or 5 games will have at least 2 off days before the start of the next series; a NO vote means that such a team might only have 1 day off before the start of the next series.

 

Result: PASS 12-5 (This will take effect for the 2007 season)

 

  1. Traveling Trophy: The league is authorized to purchase a traveling trophy and split the expense of the trophy among the 20 league members. The trophy will be engraved with the name of the World Series champion each year, and the trophy will be shipped to that manager for them to hold until the next World Series champion is crowned.

 

Vote YES or NO on Proposal 12. A YES vote means that the league buys a traveling trophy; a NO vote means that the World Series champ only gets bragging rights.

 

Result: PASS 12-5