[IBL] 2014 pre-season ballot (draft)

[Sean Sweda]

Nobody submitted any rule change proposals to me, so this is going to be brief.  I have a Commissioner edit and three proposed rule changes which I will paste below.  Please look them over and let me know if anything is unclear or could be worded better.

PLEASE REFRAIN FROM DEBATING AT THIS TIME.  Once the ballot is finalized we will have an official discussion period which will precede the actual vote.  That will be the appropriate time to debate the merits of the changes.


Sean


Commissioner Edit (as per 1.2.2).  

Rename section 3.2.3 from "Legal Starting Positions" to "Game Apperance and Starting Position Limitations" and add the following sentence to the section:

Players may not appear in more than twice as many IBL games as played in the previous major league season.

Reason:  There has always been a restriction on games played, however for some reason the rule was in an old section of the Constitution that dealt with limitations that were printed on the PtP cards.  When those sections were excised we lost the actual text which declared the games played limitation.




2014 Ballot Items

2014-1)  Allow emergency roster moves during a post-season series.

Change "3.3.2 Playoff Roster Injury Replacements" from:

Any players who are injured during the playoffs and will miss days in a
subsequent series may be replaced on the post season roster between
series. The choice of replacement must still leave the team with two
players who may play each position unless no player is available on the
35 man roster who will fulfill that requirement. If a player who was
eligible for the post season roster fulfills that requirement, the
replacement player must come from the list of players eligible for the
post season.

to:

A team may (but is not required to) replace a player on its playoff roster who is injured during the playoffs and will miss subsequent games of a series.  The injured player who is removed from the active roster will be ineligible to be re-added to the active roster for the next series, regardless of subsequent injuries.  

The following restrictions apply to the selection of the replacement player:

*   The replacement player must be a playoff-eligible player on that team's 35 man roster.  Free-agents may not be used as a replacement during a series.
*   If the injured player is a pitcher the replacement player must also be a pitcher.
*   The choice of replacement must still leave the team with two players who may play each position unless no playoff-eligible player is available on the 35 man roster who will fulfill that requirement.


2014-2)  Allow playoff teams to change their 25 man roster between series.  Now that we no longer have PA limitations in the playoffs there's no reason to disallow non-injury changes to the playoff rosters.

Add section "3.2.2 Playoff Roster Changes" (and bump subsequent section numbers as appropriate):

Playoff teams may change their 25 man playoff roster between series.  If a team wishes to change their playoff roster it must submit the changes to the League Offices for approval.  The new roster is not official until the League Offices have acknowledged that it conforms to all requirements for a legal playoff roster.  Once approved the team must notify its upcoming opponent of the changes.


2014-3)  Reward teams that get their results in on time by granting them free agent signing priority over those who are late.

Change "4.3 Free Agent Signings" from:

An owner may sign any player on the free agent list from March 1 until
the newsletter following week 23. Any owner signing a free agent must
notify the Commissioner and Vice-Commissioner of the signing via the
game report or by electronic mail before opening day. In the case of a
conflict between teams signing the same free agent, the team with the 
lower winning percentage as of the previous week will have the rights to 
the free agent. For players signed before the beginning of week 3, the 
previous year's winning percentages shall be used.

to:

An owner may sign any player on the free agent list from March 1 until
the newsletter following week 23. Any owner signing a free agent must
notify the Commissioner and Vice-Commissioner of the signing via the
game report or by electronic mail before opening day.

In the case of a conflict between teams attempting to sign the same free agent, the player will be assigned to teams by the following priority:

1) Teams not on probation who have reported their home results from the most recent week of play and have no other outstanding results or box scores, in reverse order of winning percentage.

2) Teams not on probation but with outstanding results or boxscores (even if an extension has been granted), in reverse order of winning percentage.

3) Teams on probation, in reverse order of winning percentage.

For players signed before the beginning of week 3, winning percentages will be determined by the previous year's standings.  In all other weeks the winning percentages will be determined by the standings from the previous week.