** Commissioner's Corner - Part XI- the Playoffs in Strat Leagues **
(by Marc Wasserman, Commissioner of the Cyber Baseball Association {CBA} )

      Most Strat-o-matic leagues are entering their crunch time right now.  At Season's end is the time of year that post season participants strongly relish, while at the same time the also rans start their busy work.  League members begin the preparations and ponder over for next year's season as the final MLB stats and splits are released.  A hopeful analysis becomes the fun part of their study work.  Hour after hour of detail prep work involving statistical databases, lefty righty breakdowns, prorating, analyzing, speculating is all a part of a league manager's job as each gamer around the world pores over the statistics just to prepare for their league's 2015 season. 

Some managers prepare all year long and speculate even before the final stats come out, hoping to snag a bargain or two or trading away a player who had some great mid season numbers in their quest for their leagues pennant chase.  I am generally addressing for this column that my readers are in leagues that play Spring-Fall using the current sets of cards.  Of course there are scores of retro leagues that do the same as well, but a good majority of leagues are currently based.   

      Now where does each manager's preparation start?  Each GM or player has their own methods of course.  Some use data analysis, others take rookie and player reports.  A large number of gamers subscribe to or create their own statistical analysis in an attempt to predict what their cards may eventually look like and what to expect before SOM releases the cards for the new year.  Folks pay for or collaborate to determine the possible probabilities that could be a factored into these next cards.  There are even some SOM gamers who are so competitive that they will seek the advice from the so-called "professionals".  That is those gamers who are extremely linked into all aspects of the game and may even have a name for themselves in our community -- some of the most veteran of veteran players whose passion drives them to help others and create spreadsheets, analysis, and other insights that could gain players an invaluable edge. (Editor's Note: and quite a few of these individuals have either been interviewed or written articles for this newsletter!)

      You would be surprised to learn just how many gamers are looking for this advantage.  They scour the great SOM Baseball sites and forums on-line, they speak to each other and they also rely on web presence to hone their strategy.  Gamers such as Bruce Bundy, Mike San Clemente, and our own Wolfman offer much insight in their publications.  I must admit, although I have my own methods, their track records of success in helping SOM gamers is well known.  Whatever method works for you is whats best, but obviously the more information a GM can gather, the better the chances should be.  After all who does NOT want to win?

       Although their are many SOM baseball leagues using the most current cards, there are some variations in league structures that make this time of the season quite unique and a busy time.  One example is the Great Midwest Strat League established way back in 1998 as a computer SOM league.  GMBL uses the most current cards but there's a catch.  It is a Winter ball league which starts its season right AFTER the MLB finishes their schedule.  GMBL GM's get to draft their new cards for their "SnowBowl 17" pennant run in the first week of September!  GM get to see pretty much how their cards are doing during the MLB season, and can speculate in their draft with the added advantage of seeing stats through September.  It makes for some interesting drafts with guys balancing future and competitive desires in a single unpredictable and fun draft.  Imagine having to decide between that killer OF card for that 1 year wonder in round 2, or going for that future potential at the expense of perhaps some other players who will offer key performances for a long time to come.  The Commissioner is Jack Frost who may be contacted about possible openings or questions.  If you E mail our newsletter and ask about this league we will be glad to forward your inquiries to Jack.   

       This fall, during the so-called "October post season" also brings the playoffs of many leagues into focus.  The best performers of each league continue their play.  In a number of leagues they use head- to-head mandatory action using Netplay (or the Hamachi software) or in whatever way they can connect on-line.  Some leagues will even do Face-to-Face, Play by phone or even use Skype as is being done now by some of the baseball tournaments.  It's a hot time where reputations are earned. The league rules vary within the various leagues regarding the playoffs.  So how does a league decide what is playoff eligible and what really shouldn't be?   

       There are many formats for the playoffs.  It seems after some personal research, that most leagues utilize 3 divisions with a conference with 2 conferences.  The use a system where all division winners play in round 1 while they wait for the winner of the two wildcard playoff teams to be determined to play against the top seeded team in Round 1.  Leagues like BRASS League {www.brassleague.com/} use this method.   However there are other Leagues such as the Capital Baseball League (CBL) who work differently {www.capitalbaseballleague.com/cbl.htm}. CBL selects the top 8 of their 20 teams including a 32 man roster and establish their playoff tournament as follows with:  4 Division winners and 4 wildcards.  Thus "Playoff Time" becomes a busy time for all league organizers.
  

       Playoff  File Set-ups:  Man 'o' man, the game company got this part right.  Years ago, the playoff files really had to be created, copied, pasted, set up, and scheduled pretty much manually.  Used to take me lots of time as I am sure it did other league commissioners.  The past few seasons I've had the luxury of easy set ups through the new "Create Playoff League" function however.   Simply put, a Commissioner takes his final season file, and then highlights the playoff teams who will be participating.  Next, you assign a year and two letter code to identify the files created such as 2014PL.  Then you identify a schedule day to start the playoff games.  The computer game will create in between the days of rest so you need to plan how much rest is sufficient ahead of time before selecting your starting date. 

       The game then prompts you to input the rest for the teams which you select for each one.  The final step is adding a series which this function alerts you to do.  At this step then, the league playoff structure is designated.  Enter your matchups, series types  e.g  'Wildcard' or playoff round, and additionally for how long each series is, whether 1 game, 5 games in a 2-3 or 2-2-1 format, and for 7 games.  Leagues can also consider whether games are the old fashioned day games or night games.  It will make a difference in how the ballpark effects work.  Then each team must look at their players who have HR diamonds or don't, to know how some stadium effects will alter their play strategy. 

       Now, there are some leagues who will limit playoff appearances by certain players.  Some cards are quite strong and powerful which in real life didn't appear in so manage games. Many leagues limit the use of these so-called 'mutant players" on a prorated basis which involves adjusting and using a percentage of their MLB  plate appearances or innings pitched naturally.

       In our league, the CBA, for example, we allow batters under 250 At bats to be used up to 5% of their MLB totals.  From 250 to 400, they may use these players at 8% of their at bats.  Above 400 At bats however, we granted unlimited usage.  For pitchers who pitched 0-50 IP during their real life season they will get 10% of the total innings listed upon their card.  At 51-100 IP actually pitched, they are allowed 15% of the total innings they pitched listed upon the card, and finally, 100+ IP makes them unlimited in usage for the series. This works well for our CBA league, but by no means is it a standard.  Leagues often determine what works best for them and their own league members but these usage rules are important as they can decide the winners of key series.

       In the Richmond Strat Baseball League {www.rsbl.org} Constitution, they use a system where players are limited by the number of games they started in real life.   For example,  for a hitter who played in 65 games or less, this player may start in 2 games + 1 PH or 1 game started + 2 PH
(Note: PH = pinch hit)

       If a player played in 66-85 games, they would be able to start in 3 games + 1 PH or 2 games started + 2 PH.  If a player was in 86 -105 games, they have 4 starts + 1 PH or 3 starts + 2 PH; 106 - 120 games played equals 5 starts + 1 PH or 4 starts + 2 PH.  121+ games play in means there are no limits.  This is a unique and likely effective way of keeping the usage of hitters a bit truer to the spirit of the game.    

      Another solid league is the USFL {http://usfleagues.net/usfbl/usfbl.htm} which uses a different formula for playoff usage.  75 MLB PA and under are not eligible for post season play.  500 MLB PA and over have unlimited post season play.  76 MLB PA through 499 MLB PA are limited to 10% of MLB PA rounded up per series except for the Catchers.  The catchers get 50 MLB PA through 499 MLB PA are limited to 10% of MLB PA rounded up per series.

      For the Starting Pitchers in the USFL these are the guidelines usd.  If they started 5 MLB games or under, they are not eligible for post season play.  From 6 to 14 MLB game started they are limited to 1 game started per series.  15 to 29 MLB games started are limited to 2 games started per series. Only * rated SP are eligible to start 3 games in a Post Season Series.  If that Pitcher starts 3 times in a series then in the following series he is limited to 2 starts.  

      Of course what each League decides as their usage strategy will greatly impact the results of each playoff series.  All teams are notified well in advance before the playoffs so when they trade and and make deals to add players to their team, they know how such players can be utilized in the playoffs when establishing their playoff rosters.  Depending on the league's rule structures, GM's determine the balance between regular season usage and carrying those extra playoff cards which can elevate a teams probable success during a playoff run. But the question remains, can they afford to justify losing roster spots just to hold these playoff cards which might have limited usage?  This is where the strategy comes in and generally its planned out way in advance by the more successful manager GM's.  Once again, any advantage is looked for that can save a roster spot or get that really great hitter or pitcher card.  But the prep work, planning, card analysis and even trading often comes down to late in the season by the manager to prepare their October roster.  Getting the right mix of cards and potential of their teams often comes down to the early bird who is well planned, getting the jump on their competition....and now my SOM friends is that time.

Some Additional Notes:

If you live in the Greater Cincinnati area, the Cincy-Con game tournaments may be an interesting and fun experience.  The last one was held back in March of 2014.  For more information about this tournament visit:  http://www.cincycon.org/tournament.html#StratB

Is there a better league website than Nick Flory's "Left Coast SOM Baseball League", check it out at:  http://flory.net/lcsb/ .   In my opinion, one of the best leagues out there.  Nowadays so many leagues use Facebook and Twitter so are SOM websites a thing of the past?  Hmmmm....

Do you suppose MLB player know what a -5 arm is?  They sure do, ask Keith Hernandez.  Both he and Mets announcer Howie Rose regulary discuss SOM and often talk about the game as well as Keith's active game playing and interest in SOM.  Stay tuned to the Commish for more news about Keith and his SOM interest....

Note to self, must see and play the SOM Negro League Cards and check out the Crawfords....