Rule Change Ballot for 2011 Season Changes

This is the final ballot. Please cast your vote. Votes are due by August 3.

Proposal 1: Require that confirmation of a trade be made prior to the midnight CT trade deadline in order for the trade to take place for the upcoming month. If a trade is not reported AND also confirmed by all of the other parties involved prior the deadline, then the trade will not take place until the subsequent month (or the end of the season in the case of the season trade deadline).

Reporting of a trade is definitely required prior to the trade deadline, but right now there are two rules that conflict as to whether or not confirmation is also required before the deadline. This proposal looks to clear up that conflict.

Vote YES on Proposal 1 if: you want to require that trades be both reported AND confirmed prior to the midnight CT trade deadline in order to take effect for the upcoming month.

Vote NO on Proposal 1 if: you want to allow a “grace period” for confirmation. As it stands now, trades must be reported prior to the midnight CT trade deadline but they can be confirmed after the trade deadline. If this proposal fails, then the deadline for confirmation of the unmodified trade would be enforced as 7AM CT the next morning (i.e. 7 hours after the trade deadline).

Proposal 1 FAILED by 9-11 Vote.

Proposal 2: Adopt a fixed hard deadline of January 24 (midnight CT) for ballpark changes.

Vote YES on Proposal 2 if: you want to require ballpark changes to be reported by a midnight CT, January 24 deadline each year.

Vote NO on Proposal 2 if: you want to keep the current system whereby ballpark changes can be announced during the draft as long as they come prior to the first selection by a team.

Proposal 2 PASSED by 16-4 Vote and will take effect in 2011.

Proposal 3: Add a procedure for removing managers. That procedure would be as follows:

If at least 3 out of the 5 members of the Executive Committee and the League Secretary combined together feel that a manager is a detriment to the league, then after conferring they can issue a warning to that member stating their charges. That manager then has 10 days in which to respond to those charges.

If at least 3 out of the 5 members of the Executive Committee and the League Secretary combined together are not satisfied with that response, then they can call for a league vote to expulse that manager. They will present their charges to the league, and the manager in question can present his response. There will then be 10 days allowed for debate before a vote is taken.

At the end of the debate period votes will be called for, and all managers are required to submit their vote within 72 hours.

The manager being voted on does not get to vote. If there is a two-thirds majority of the remaining managers (not including already existing vacancies) in favor of expulsion, then the manager is removed and it falls upon the Executive Committee to search for a replacement. For example, with the current 20-team league, a 2/3 majority of the 19 remaining managers (assuming no vacancies) would require a 13-6 or better vote in favor of expulsion.

If there is not a sufficient majority in favor of expulsion, then there cannot be another vote taken on that manager until after the next season trade deadline passes.

Vote YES on Proposal 3 if: you want to implement the above procedure for removing managers into the rules.

Vote NO on Proposal 3 if: you do not want to implement the above procedure. This would mean that the rules would remain without any formal or official mechanism for removing problem managers.

Proposal 2 PASSED by 12-8 Vote and will take effect immediately.