The Syndicate

Posted: **Tue Mar 01, 2016 1:53 pm**

All the original post content explaing the structure is inside the spoiler section.

Spoiler: show

Greetings sports fans! We've had a number of members actively discussing baseball here at The Syndicate, so I cooked up a fun and easy fantasy sports game for us to engage in during the upcoming MLB regular season. Baseball is the oldest professional North American sport and beloved by millions. It's also an esoteric sport, featuring a single batter taking on nine defenders. Despite this seeming unfair advantage to the defense, baseball produces a lot of runs (points to those not familiar with the sport) each year.

I've always thought regular fantasy sports are too complicated and time-consuming for me to fully embrace, so I set out to simplify things. Some of you may have played my EZ Fantasy Football game back in the fall but EZ Fantasy Baseball will be different. Some involvement and strategy is involved but for the most part, participants get to sit back and enjoy the ride. The point of EZ Fantasy Baseball is to finish the regular season with the most runs. Here's how it works:

REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE:
The MLB regular season runs from Sunday, April 3rd through Sunday, October 2nd. We're going to break the season down into weeks. Week 1 begins on opening day and runs through the following Saturday. This means that each new week of our competition will run Sunday to Saturday. The All Star Game shortens a week in July and the final game of the season is on a Sunday. That means that one week mid-season will be shorter than the rest and the last "week" of our game will be the final day of the regular season.

TEAM SELECTION:
There are 30 Major League teams and 27 'weeks' in the regular season. Each week, you will pick a new team to use for earning points. There is no weekly draft for teams. You may pick whichever team you like for a given week, so long as you have not already used them.

You may only select each team once all season. This is where strategy or random fun kicks in. By the end of the season, each player will have used 27 out of the 30 MLB teams to amass points. The remaining three teams will be used for tie-breaking purposes if necessary.

You may submit a list of your team picks in advance or you may pick them on a weekly basis. It is entirely up to you. A deadline will be set for submitting your picks. If you fail to submit your next week's pick by the deadline, I will randomly assign a team for you for that week.

EARNING POINTS:
Each run scored by your weekly team pick earns you a point. At the end of each week, I will tabulate the number of points earned and add them to your cumulative score. Who ever has the most points at the end of the season is our EZ Fantasy Baseball winner.

After each week of competition, I will post both the weekly and cumulative results here in the thread. Participants are welcome to engage in discussion and/or trash talk throughout the week.

That's about it. Any questions?

FINAL OVERALL SCORES:

1. Metalmarsh89*** (864 runs)
2. G-Man**** (797 runs) [won tie-breaker]
3. Sloonei**** (797 runs)
4. S~V~S**** (775 runs)
5. Turnip Head*** (761 runs)
6. JaggedJimmyJay*** (746 runs)
7. Draconus***** (738 runs)
8. Spacedaisy** (733 runs)
9. Epignosis** (726 runs)
10. AllAlongTheBoardwork** (720 runs)
11. MovingPictures07*** (712 runs)
12. birdwithteeth11* (682 runs)
13. Russtifinko* (645 runs)

Each asterisk (*) marks a week as the runs leader (sole or tied) for a given week

Week 1 Results
Week 2 Results
Week 3 Results
Week 4 Results
Week 5 Results
Week 6 Results
Week 7 Results
Week 8 Results
Week 9 Results
Week 10 Results
Week 11 Results
Week 12 Results
Week 13 Results
Week 14 Results
Week 15 Results
Week 16 Results
Week 17 Results
Week 18 Results
Week 19 Results
Week 20 Results
Week 21 Results
Week 22 Results
Week 23 Results
Week 24 Results
Week 25 Results
Week 26 Results
Week 27 Results

Posted: **Tue Mar 01, 2016 1:58 pm**

Yes definitely.

Posted: **Tue Mar 01, 2016 3:06 pm**

Count me in!

Posted: **Tue Mar 01, 2016 3:49 pm**

Yay! It's early yet but it's nice to see a few immediate sign-ups.

Posted: **Wed Mar 02, 2016 12:20 pm**

I'm in.

Posted: **Wed Mar 02, 2016 12:20 pm**

Pick me!

Posted: **Thu Mar 03, 2016 9:58 am**

Glad to have you aboard, MP & Sloonei!

Posted: **Wed Mar 16, 2016 8:59 am**

Giving this thread a bump in the hopes of attracting a few more participants. Tell your friends!

Also, for those of you who actually follow baseball, I have a question- How good of an indicator is the preseason? Is it a legit way to predict which teams look strong early on or is it like the NFL's preseason, where the starters hardly play much and it serves mostly as a glorified tryout for rookies and minor leaguers?

Posted: **Wed Mar 16, 2016 9:18 am**

Marmot hands Turnip Head his batting gloves and gives him a slap on the butt.

You're up, Tiger.

Posted: **Wed Mar 16, 2016 10:17 am**

Put me in coach!

Posted: **Wed Mar 16, 2016 1:28 pm**

Glad to have you! Now if we can only get three more people to sign up, we'll have ourselves a full lineup.

Posted: **Wed Mar 16, 2016 2:26 pm**

How much time do we have to find three more folks, i.e., when are we starting?

Posted: **Wed Mar 16, 2016 2:30 pm**

MovingPictures07 wrote:How much time do we have to find three more folks, i.e., when are we starting?

The first regular season games are Sunday, April 3rd, so I'll need to close sign-ups by March 31st and get everyone's Week 1 picks by midnight April 2nd. That gives us an extra two weeks to round up a few more people.

Posted: **Fri Mar 25, 2016 2:15 pm**

Less than a week left to sign up. Let's see if we can get a few more people to sign up!

Posted: **Tue Mar 29, 2016 11:58 am**

How many more players would be optimal? I'll start asking around perhaps.

Posted: **Tue Mar 29, 2016 2:58 pm**

MovingPictures07 wrote:How many more players would be optimal? I'll start asking around perhaps.

I don't really have a set number in mind. Right now we only have six people. It's not like we're doing head-to-head matchups but it would be cool to have a few more people in the hunt to give us a little more variety.

Sign-ups close Thursday at midnight (EST).

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2016 10:13 am**

What the heck. I have no idea what I'm doing, but MP convinced me.

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2016 10:35 am**

Draconus wrote:What the heck. I have no idea what I'm doing, but MP convinced me.

Don't worry Draconus. I don't know much about baseball, so you're in good company. All you have to do is pick one team each week. No repeats. I'll send PM's out each week to remind everyone to pick a team.

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2016 3:54 pm**

The poll seems to have ended, but I'll hop in if you need another person. If not that's okay too, just lemme know.

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2016 3:56 pm**

I think JaggedJimmyJay just earned himself a spot in the bullpen.

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2016 4:50 pm**

I'll play if there's room!

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2016 5:10 pm**

If it's not too late, I'm in! I've done fantasy football for awhile now, but never dipped into baseball or basketball like I've wanted to.

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2016 5:11 pm**

My my, this bullpen is loaded with talent already.

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2016 5:40 pm**

Metalmarsh89 wrote:My my, this bullpen is loaded with talent already.

So basically, the exact opposite of our team? :P

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2016 5:42 pm**

birdwithteeth11 wrote:
Metalmarsh89 wrote:My my, this bullpen is loaded with talent already.
So basically, the exact opposite of our team? :P

Too true.

Regardless, the Reds still have Joey Votto, one of the most enjoyable players to watch imo.

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2016 8:44 pm**

I can try this if you need another.

Posted: **Thu Mar 31, 2016 8:50 pm**

All are welcome to join. I'll get a full list up tonight and send a PM out tomorrow morning to refresh how team selection works.

Posted: **Fri Apr 01, 2016 5:52 pm**

Might as well start out Week 1 strong.

I'm taking the Blue Jays.

Posted: **Fri Apr 01, 2016 6:10 pm**

I am going to get the Evil Empire out of the way and take the Yankees.

Posted: **Fri Apr 01, 2016 6:12 pm**

Houston Astros please.

Posted: **Fri Apr 01, 2016 8:26 pm**

Cincinnati Reds week one please.

Just getting them out of the way.

Posted: **Fri Apr 01, 2016 8:37 pm**

JaggedJimmyJay wrote:Cincinnati Reds week one please.

Just getting them out of the way.

I'm going to do the same thing. If there is a point in the season where they are likely to score a ton of runs, I think it will be the first week. Their offense has been clicking more than I expected this spring training.

Cincinnati Reds for me.

Also G-Man, I don't know if this is too much of a hassle. I would suggest you update the Week in the thread title similar to how mafia games are updated each day/night phase. But only do it if you think it will help you. I don't mean to tell you what to do. :P

Posted: **Fri Apr 01, 2016 9:19 pm**

Metalmarsh89 wrote:
JaggedJimmyJay wrote:Cincinnati Reds week one please.

Just getting them out of the way.
I'm going to do the same thing. If there is a point in the season where they are likely to score a ton of runs, I think it will be the first week. Their offense has been clicking more than I expected this spring training.

Cincinnati Reds for me.

Also G-Man, I don't know if this is too much of a hassle. I would suggest you update the Week in the thread title similar to how mafia games are updated each day/night phase. But only do it if you think it will help you. I don't mean to tell you what to do. :P

Is the pre-season really a good indicator of how they'll do early on in the season? I mean, does it make sense to go with a team that was strong in the pre-season for Week 1 or should I go for a team playing against teams that sucked in the pre-season during Week 1? I know nothing about this stuff.

Also, great idea MM! I will add the week # at the beginning of the thread title every Sunday. Thanks for the idea!

Also, please welcome one more participant: allalongtheboardwork

Posted: **Fri Apr 01, 2016 9:21 pm**

Well technically, we don't have to use every team. There's only 27 weeks and 30 teams total, so you could go the entire season without using 3 of the teams.

I figure I might as well start with the #1 offense in baseball from last year and hope it hasn't changed much. :P

Posted: **Fri Apr 01, 2016 9:23 pm**

G-Man wrote:
Metalmarsh89 wrote:
JaggedJimmyJay wrote:Cincinnati Reds week one please.

Just getting them out of the way.
I'm going to do the same thing. If there is a point in the season where they are likely to score a ton of runs, I think it will be the first week. Their offense has been clicking more than I expected this spring training.

Cincinnati Reds for me.

Also G-Man, I don't know if this is too much of a hassle. I would suggest you update the Week in the thread title similar to how mafia games are updated each day/night phase. But only do it if you think it will help you. I don't mean to tell you what to do. :P
Is the pre-season really a good indicator of how they'll do early on in the season? I mean, does it make sense to go with a team that was strong in the pre-season for Week 1 or should I go for a team playing against teams that sucked in the pre-season during Week 1? I know nothing about this stuff.

Spring Training is historically a very poor indicator of how a team will fare during the regular season. At least, that's what I hear from the baseball people I know who I like and are smarter about these things than I am.

So what the hell do I know?

:P

Posted: **Fri Apr 01, 2016 9:56 pm**

Good to know. Do teams tend to stay consistent from year to year like in football and hockey or are there a lot of radical ups and downs from year to year?

Posted: **Fri Apr 01, 2016 11:34 pm**

birdwithteeth11 wrote:
G-Man wrote:
Metalmarsh89 wrote:
JaggedJimmyJay wrote:Cincinnati Reds week one please.

Just getting them out of the way.
I'm going to do the same thing. If there is a point in the season where they are likely to score a ton of runs, I think it will be the first week. Their offense has been clicking more than I expected this spring training.

Cincinnati Reds for me.

Also G-Man, I don't know if this is too much of a hassle. I would suggest you update the Week in the thread title similar to how mafia games are updated each day/night phase. But only do it if you think it will help you. I don't mean to tell you what to do. :P
Is the pre-season really a good indicator of how they'll do early on in the season? I mean, does it make sense to go with a team that was strong in the pre-season for Week 1 or should I go for a team playing against teams that sucked in the pre-season during Week 1? I know nothing about this stuff.
Spring Training is historically a very poor indicator of how a team will fare during the regular season. At least, that's what I hear from the baseball people I know who I like and are smarter about these things than I am.

So what the hell do I know? :P

This is correct.

But Week 1 is all I care about, so Cincinnati Reds it is.

Posted: **Sat Apr 02, 2016 12:52 pm**

Okay, I have no idea which teams are any good but I saw Moneyball was available On Demand last night while looking for a movie to watch, so I'm picking the Oakland A's for Week 1.

Posted: **Sun Apr 03, 2016 10:30 am**

Okay folks, here's the lineup for Week 1. A few of you didn't pick in time. Hopefully that doesn't hurt your chances. It's a long season though. Good luck everyone!

AllAlongTheBoardwork- KANSAS CITY ROYALS*
birdwithteeth11- TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Draconus- CLEVELAND INDIANS*
Epignosis- TORONTO BLUE JAYS
G-Man- OAKLAND A'S
JaggedJimmyJay- CINCINNATI REDS
Metalmarsh89- CINCINNATI REDS
MovingPictures07- HOUSTON ASTROS
Russtifinko- CHICAGO WHITE SOX*
S~V~S- NEW YORK YANKEES
Sloonei- CHICAGO CUBS
Spacedaisy- CHICAGO CUBS
Turnip Head- NEW YORK METS*

*= Randomly Selected Team (player did not pick in time)

Posted: **Sun Apr 03, 2016 12:11 pm**

Woo! Go Astros!

Posted: **Sun Apr 03, 2016 12:33 pm**

I can already tell you how many runs the Kansas City Chiefs will score this week.

Posted: **Sun Apr 03, 2016 2:28 pm**

Zero cause they play football?

Posted: **Sun Apr 03, 2016 2:31 pm**

LOL, I didn't realize that the first time reading over G-Man's list. I guess he meant the Royals then?

Posted: **Sun Apr 03, 2016 2:45 pm**

Yeah,they are playing one of todays three games; a World Series rematch with those bums, the Mets.

Posted: **Sun Apr 03, 2016 3:13 pm**

MovingPictures07 wrote:LOL, I didn't realize that the first time reading over G-Man's list. I guess he meant the Royals then?

Ha! Opps. Sorry about that. No, JJJ, I don't have it out for you. Let me go change that to the Royals.

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2016 9:12 pm**

How frequently are you going to update this? Will you ever do it in the middle of the week, or will you wait until the end of each week to post any changes in the standings?

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2016 9:27 pm**

The people who had the Reds are doing well, too bad noone picked San Fran, they have 12 as of today.

Posted: **Mon Apr 04, 2016 9:35 pm**

birdwithteeth11 wrote:How frequently are you going to update this? Will you ever do it in the middle of the week, or will you wait until the end of each week to post any changes in the standings?

I'll probably do a mid-week update. Would you rather that occur on a Wednesday or a Thursday?

Posted: **Tue Apr 05, 2016 12:25 pm**

G-Man wrote:
birdwithteeth11 wrote:How frequently are you going to update this? Will you ever do it in the middle of the week, or will you wait until the end of each week to post any changes in the standings?
I'll probably do a mid-week update. Would you rather that occur on a Wednesday or a Thursday?

Maybe a Thursday? Since most teams play 3-game series to start the week, Thursdays after those games have happened would split the week better.

I wasn't expecting a mid-week report, but I'll gladly take it.

Posted: **Tue Apr 05, 2016 12:28 pm**

S~V~S wrote:The people who had the Reds are doing well, too bad noone picked San Fran, they have 12 as of today.

It helps that the Reds play the Phillies to open things up. They do play the Pirates next, but at least we get their 4th and 5th pitchers before their rotation flips.

Hopefully the Reds score a few more runs so as not to make us look like idiots. :P

The Syndicate

WEEK 27: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

WEEK 27: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: WEEK 1: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: WEEK 1: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: WEEK 1: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: WEEK 1: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: WEEK 1: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: WEEK 1: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: WEEK 1: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: WEEK 1: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: WEEK 1: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: WEEK 1: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: WEEK 1: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

Re: WEEK 1: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016