Monday, November 7, 2011

Discussions: 2011 Rules Summit

As baseball's offseason begins, the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League presents the 2011 Rules Summit. The purpose of the UEFL Rules Summit is to discuss any controversial issues which have surfaced during this past season and to set forth a framework for rectifying these issues by modifying the existing UEFL Rules Book in advance of next season.

This discussion thread is an open forum for proposing, discussing and debating potential rules changes. The 2011 Rules Summit discussion thread shall remain open for one week, which should provide ample time for the discussion of possible rules changes heading into the 2012 season.

The following matters are already on the docket for the 2011 Rules Summit, though any UEFL'er or guest may contribute an idea by replying to this thread. Modifications are identified by plaintext, while deletions are identified by italics and additions are identified by bold text.
  • Rules 1 and 2 (Selection of Umpires via the Pre-Season Draft), Deletion, Modification or Addition.
    • Revising the description of the draft process so as to preserve consistency
    • Consolidating these two rules into one single rule, AND/OR
    • Adding to these rules a selection of umpiring "crew" based on 2012 Crew Listings, AND/OR
      • Modifying Rule 4.a. to attribute "crew" points as one point per ejection, QOC notwithstanding.
    • Adding the selection of a tertiary and fourth umpire, in which all umpires receive equal points* and the mutual exclusivity requirement is eliminated.
      • *AAA umpires would/would not continue to observe their points structure.
    • Adding a provision for injured umpires ("Wegner Rule")
      • "Alternate Umpire" system wherein a back-up umpire is picked in the event of injury which sidelines an umpire for >1/2 the season.
        • Time injured is variable, decision to replace umpire would be determined by individual UEFL'ers who own the injured umpire
  • Rule 6.a. (Challenges and Appeals)
    • Creating a UEFL Appeals Board, which shall be comprised of 3 OR 5 OR 7 UEFL'ers, including Commissioners
      • Board Members would routinely rule on QOC Challenges (Affirm/Deny/Defer)
  • Rule 6.b.ii.e. (Unsportsmanlike Conduct/Throwing At/Fighting Ejections), Modification.
    • Ceasing the assessment of Quality of Correctness points associated with this Rule by modifying Rule 4.a., OR
    • Eliminating the attribution of Quality of Correctness for these ejections, OR
      • Umpires will receive points for the ejection, but not receive QOC nor its associated points
    • Eliminating the attribution of ANY points as a result of these ejections by modifying Rule 4.a.
    • Adding Post-Inning Ejections to this rule
      • Removing QOC points attributed to ejections resulting from post-inning exemptions, OR
      • Removing the Post-Inning Exemption and Ball/Strike Exemption entirely.
      • Exempting the third out from this provision, so as to give ample argument opportunity.
  • Rule 6.b.ii.h (Check Swing Calls), Addition.
    • Ceasing the assessment of QOC points associated with check swing ejections by modifying Rule 4.a., OR
    • Eliminating the attribution of Quality of Correctness for these ejections.
  • Rule 10 (Umpire Odds & Ends), Addition
    • UEFL Posting Guidelines
      • Adds standard guidelines for acceptable/unacceptable posts and comments.
    • Commissioners as League Participants
      • Allows UEFL Admins to participate in League
        • Commissioner umpire picks must be mutually exclusive
        • Commissioners prohibited from ruling on their owned umpires' ejections
The discussion phase of the UEFL Rules Summit will remain active for one week, after which proposals will be officially drafted and voting will commence.

21 comments :

Anonymous said...

Re: Rule 6.b.ii.e. (Unsportsmanlike Conduct/Throwing At/Fighting Ejections), Modification.
I think that points should be awarded for the ejection (and the umpire taking control of the situation), but eliminate the QOC for this.

yawetag said...

No comments on the actual rules yet, but I'd love to see the format change to that similar to the actual rulebooks. Instead of using a constant numbering format, go to rule sections (i.e., Rule 1 - Joining the League, Rule 2 - League Season), then use a different format for the current sub-rules.

I believe I have a drafted copy of some of the rulebook re-written in this format if anyone's interested.

Anonymous said...

The secondary draft process used in the rules is not the same secondary draft process used this year. These need to be put back in synch.

Anonymous said...

Now that we have multiple administrators, we should have a rule explicitly allowing such administrators to participate in the league, such that no two administrators may have the same umpires selected as primary/secondary in any combination; further, such administrator may determine QoC for the ejections involving umpires under their control, but if it is appealed, any administrator who had selected that umpire may not participate in the appeal. Call it the "let Gil back in the league" rule.

Anonymous said...

No post inning ejection exemption... the Hurdle Rule

Anonymous said...

post inning ejection exemptions should not have a QOC

Anonymous said...

so if i understand correctly, primary umpires would be selected in draft format, with no 2 league members having the same selection, and then the 2, 3 and 4 men on the crew could be anyone, regardless of who else in the league selected them?

Anonymous said...

i think we had also talked about a provision for injured umpires (i.e. the Wegner rule)...allowing a member to select a new umpire should one be injured? not sure exactly how it should be implemented or worded though...

Lindsay said...

Good ideas, all. Added the following to the docket:

- From 7:39PM: Credit the umpire with only ordinary ejection points for Rule 6.b.ii.e.
- From sachmet: Revise the description of the draft process to preserve consistency
- From sachmet: Commissioners as League Participants provision (Rule 10)
- From 8:45/8:50PM: Consider Post-Inning Ejections as Rule 6.b.ii.e ejections OR eliminate post-call exemptions
- From 8:56PM: Add a provision for injured umpires (Rule 1/2)

8:53, if the League expands to four umpires, the presently proposed model would eliminate exclusivity entirely, so that multiple UEFL'ers may indeed draft the same umpires, with the exception that all four umpires may not be the same (in which case, first come first serve takes effect). Because the four umpire model would eliminate the points differential currently used in Primary/Secondary, all four umpires would earn the same points so there would be no use for the Primary/Secondary designation.

If 4 umpires were used, the following scenarios might take place:
a) 1st umpire drafted is public; #2/3/4 are private (screened/secret)
b) #1/2/3 are private, #4 is public
c) All four are private

If (a) is used, the following may or may not also occur:
Umpire #1 (public) is considered the crew chief and will receive one bonus point per non-incorrect ejection. All others would receive points that Primaries currently receive.

*Under any scenario, no more than one [or two, depending on the vote] AAA umpires may be drafted per crew.

Great ideas, all!

Lindsay said...

Forgot one other idea that was floated out there during 2011...

- Rule 6.a, Create a UEFL Appeals Board to rule on QOC appeals

jrd said...

1. QOC for "Throwing At" should be removed. Award two points.

2. Increase point values for postseason and ASG assignments.

3. Retain QOC on Check Swings.

4. No Wegner Rule as we are never 100% about injuries.

5. UEFL Appeals Board: 2 Commissioners must be unanimous to overrule any original QOC.

6. I think that this would be a good draft format:
- CREW ROUND (PRIVATE):Select One Crew Chief. You receive one point for every non incorrect ejection from within his crew. If he is not working and there is an ejection in his crew, you still receive the point even though there is an acting crew chief in his place.
- PRIMARY (PRIVATE) Select One Umpire as per existing UEFL Rules.
-SECONDARY (PUBLIC) Select Two Umpires as per
existing UEFL Rules. No UEFLer selects the same two

Cricket said...

In regards to the check-swing calls...

I would suggest the QoC points remain in place. Judgment of the QoC of these calls would be from a "reasonable umpire" standard (similar to the "reasonable man" standard of tort law).

Umpires have a judgment call in the check-swing, without a firm rulebook definition. However, the reasonable umpire standard applies the typical umpire's understanding and application of the "strikes at the ball" definition.

Cricket said...

Oh, and sorry to spend another post, but I would not endorse censorship methods that "posting guidelines" enforce.

Obvious and flagrant misuse/misconduct of the post system should be handled by the administrators. Responsible posters appreciate the UEFL and can abide by common decency standards without "posted guidelines."

Anonymous said...

Its going to be hard for everyone to have different umpires. we had 35 people or so this year and about 300 followers. I'm thinking next year a lot of those 300 are going to want to do it next year. There are only 68 umpires so a lot of people are going to have the same umpires. I love the idea of having 4 umpires so we have a chance to score more points but Im thinking no one will be able to have an umpire just by himself.

Anonymous said...

Let's see, with four umps the probability of choosing the same four is one in 814,385. In that case, I think we'd be okay.

Anonymous said...

I know that no one is going to have the same 4 umpires. I ment that if we have more than 68 people (which I think will happen) then every umpire will be drafted a lot. So Joe West and Bob Davidson will be drafted by about 50 people. Either way I like the idea of 4 umpires...I dont think you should get negitive points for getting a call wrong...for example if they get the call right you should get 5 points and if they get it wrong you should get 1 point...why should you lose points for an EJ. I mean it is an ejecion fantasy league. Just a thought.

Anonymous said...

If you pick someone who ends up injured later on in the season, too bad. You should not be able to pick another umpire. Injuries are part of it, and it should be considered when selecting older umpires. I understand, that injuries can and do happen to the young guys, but I think that should be left as part of the game.

Lindsay said...

Great ideas, all. I'm going to start working on wording proposals for the ideas discussed here. If anyone has additional thoughts or new ideas, you have through this weekend to post them. Otherwise, we'll begin voting next Monday.

Anonymous said...

Free UEFL T Shirt to Winner?

zcr57 said...

-Expand rosters to 3 umpires per participant, with the 3rd umpire serving as an alternate in case of an injury.

-Don't allow 2 participants to have the same primary umpire (make the primary umpire draft public).

-In the event of an injury to the primary umpire, the secondary umpire takes the place of the primary umpire and the alternate umpire takes the place of the secondary umpire.

-In the event of an injury to the secondary umpire, the alternate umpire takes over the role of secondary umpire.

-If the injured umpire returns during the season, he re-assumes the role (primary or secondary) he had before his injury.

-Definition of injured umpire: An umpire is placed on the "injured list" only if there is documented information from a reliable source (newspaper article, TV broadcast, MLB press release, etc.) that the umpire will miss a significant amount of time due to an injury.

Lindsay said...

Adding to the list.

Post a Comment