Fantasy Baseball Rules

2012 New Fantasy Baseball Keeper Leagues

2012-01-27T18:14:00.000-08:00

2012 NEW Fantasy Baseball League Draft Dates.

The below are Fantasy Sports R Us Keeper leagues drafting in their first year.

The below leagues will draft their complete 27 player rosters.

The rules, the payouts, league fees, and all other pertinent information can be found on the links attached to each league listed below. Once you join one of the leagues listed below and it is full, a random draft order will be generated utilizing CBSsports Random Draft Tool.

New Orleans Zephyrs 12 Team Mixed
Rotisserie EXTENDED DRAFT- Mon, Feb. 20th, 12pm EST

Gwinnett Braves 12 Team Head to Head- Mon, Feb. 27th, 12pm EST

SOLD OUT- St. Louis Cardinals 12 Team Mixed Rotisserie- Sat, Mar. 3rd, 12pm EST- SOLD OUT

Buffalo Bisons 12 Team Mixed Rotisserie- Sat, Mar. 3rd, 4pm EST

Fresno Grizzlies 12 Team Mixed Head to Head AUCTION DRAFT- Sun, Mar. 11th, 8pm EST

Salt Lake Bees 12 Team Mixed Rotisserie AUCTION DRAFT- Sat, Mar. 17th, 8pm EST

Sacramento RiverCats 10 Team AL Only Rotisserie- Sun, Mar. 18th, 8pm EST

Tacoma Rainiers 14 Team Biggest Payout Rotisserie- Sat, Mar. 24th, 8pm EST

Houston Astros 10 Team NL Only Rotisserie- Sun, Mar. 25th, 6pm EST

Minnesota Twins 14 Team Mixed Rotisserie- Sun, Mar. 25th, 7pm EST

Round Rock Express 10 Team Head to Head- Sun, Mar. 25th, 8pm EST

Oklahoma City Redhawks 10 Team Mixed Rotisserie- Fri, Mar. 30th, 8pm EST

Anyone who knows or plays on this site already understands, and many have experienced, what I am about to say:

FSRU lists our fantasy baseball leagues very early. We only list a certain number of new leagues and we always, Always, ALWAYS, sell out. If you like a certain league and you are committed to joining us, it is highly recommended you sign up for the league and secure your seat early. Each year, we get a lot of guys asking if we will be posting another of "this type of league," or "that type of league." Unfortunately, we rarely do. Do not put yourself in a position where you get shut out. It is never too early. Get your team today.

2011 Fantasy Baseball

2011-03-12T21:48:00.000-08:00

I am back again...so sorry it has been so long....

I spoke last season about how I drafted and how I was doing in the Fantasy Sports Invitational Challenge Expert League.

My expert league season breaks down like this, I won the National League for the 3rd time in 4 years, and came in 5th in my first year in the American League.
To recap, representing my website, Fantasy Sports R Us, I had the dead last, #11 draft position of 11 teams. Somehow I ended up with last draft position in AL too.

By the All Star Break it was a two team race as Kevin O'Donnell representing FantasyBaseballGeeks.com and myself changed 1st and 2nd place positions in the standings almost weekly.

Two weeks before season end, both teams ended the week in a dead heat at 84 points. With only a week to go, the Geeks held an 87-85 lead. But in the end, I added the 2010 championship to my FSRU.com championships in 2008 and 2009.

FSRU's Best Hitter: Matt Holliday (2nd Round)
FSRU's Best Pitcher: Tim Lincecum (1st Round)
FSRU's Best Late Draft Pickup: Brett Myers (16th Round)
FSRU's Best Hitting Free Agent Pickup: Ike Davis (Picked Up April 19th)
FSRU's Best Pitching Free Agent Pickup: Carlos Zambrano (Picked Up August 9th)
Other Notable Performers: Rickie Weeks (Round 7) and Corey Hart (Round 8)

Stay tuned as I will again be providing you with my full teams following the 2011 FSIC drafts. This year, I have the #9 pick in the NL, and the #6 pick in the AL.

In the beginning of the season: Forget the Standings, Worry About Your Team Roster

2009-04-18T07:29:00.000-07:00

First free agents were issued in the FSIC NL and my team was in 10th Place of 12 Teams. I had the 3rd pick each round of free agency. Somehow, I was able to pick up my top two picks and 3 overall: Joe Thurston (StL), Brian Barden (StL), Ronald Belisario (LA). My roster is still a mess but it is still early enough to rebuild my offense if I can make a number of strong pickups early. I also need some nominal players to have better than expected seasons. Guys like: Edgar Renteria, Eric Byrnes, Kaz Matsui (who is already DL), Josh Willingham (who doesnt start).

C Russell Martin, LA
1B Albert Pujols, StL
2B Kaz Matsui, Hou
3B Casey Blake, LA
SS Edgar Renteria, SF
2B Anderson Hernandez, Was- Now Injured
CI Carlos Delgado, NYM
OF Josh Anderson, Det (league allows you to keep players traded to AL)
OF Eric Byrnes, Ari
OF Jeff Francoeur, Atl
OF Joe Thornton, StL
OF Josh Willingham, Was
U Brian Barden, StL
P Bronson Arroyo, Cin
P Francisco Cordero, Cin
P Zach Duke, Pit
P Mike Gonzalez, Atl
P Cole Hamels, Phi
P Dan Haren, Ari
P Livan Hernandez, NYM
P Ronald Belisario, LA
P Jordan Zimmerman, Was
Res 3B Joe Mather, StL
Res OF Willie Harris, Was
Res OF Fernando Tatis, NY
Res OF Norris Hopper
Res P Saul Rivera, Was

My Fantasy Baseball Team Stinks

2009-04-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

I am the reigning, and I won the year before as well, National League Champion of the Fantasy Sports Invitational Challenge. Now this is one of the most recognized, esteemed fantasy baseball expert leagues on the net and boasts sites competing that include: Sporting News, Hardball Times, Razzball, and many others. So I think it is fair to say I can play a bit. But I really stunk it up at my March 22nd draft, and since then my team has just gotten worse as MLB teams trim their rosters. Here is my team:
C Russell Martin, LA
1B Albert Pujols, StL
2B Kaz Matsui, Hou
3B Casey Blake, LA
SS Edgar Renteria, SF
2B Anderson Hernandez, Was- Now Injured
CI Carlos Delgado, NYM
OF Josh Anderson, Atl- Starting OF since traded to Detroit and sitting the bench.
OF Eric Byrnes, Ari
OF Jeff Francoeur, Atl
OF Fernando Tatis, NYM
OF Josh Willingham, Was
U Joe Mather, StL- Since lost his starting job.
Res C Miquel Montero, Ari
Res OF Willie Harris, Was
Res 2B Damion Easley, NYM- Now starting in place of Hernandez.
Res OF Norris Hopper
P Bronson Arroyo, Cin
P Francisco Cordero, Cin
P Zach Duke, Pit
P Mike Gonzalez, Atl
P Cole Hamels, Phi
P Dan Haren, Ari
P Livan Hernandez, NYM
P Saul Rivera, Was
P Jordan Zimmerman, Was
Now I knew my pitching was going to be very good for a league this deep and I was willing to take some offensive chances. But the team really needed Josh Anderson to start and steal 40-50 bases. It also needed Tatis or Byrnes to find a starting job and the other 400 or so AB's. At this point, I definately think a three-peat is little more than a dream.

Website Redesign

2009-04-02T10:16:00.000-07:00

About a month ago my fantasy sports leagues site, Fantasy Sports R Us was completely redesigned. I alway bid out a major project like this on elance.com and the site was done in ASP.net 2.0 with a dotnetnuke control panel.
I do not appreciate the boxy look of Joomla, or the bloggy functionality and cookie cutter look of Wordpress. When it was done, I was quite happy with it. If you want my designers name, let me know at fsru1 @ aol.com as I got a great price.

Specialty Merchandise Corporation

2009-02-18T18:33:00.000-08:00

OK,
Here is a real story...This just happened to me...Seriously....
1. On Sunday, Feb. 8th, I ordered a membership kit from Specialty Merchandise Corporation, or SMC. They are the guys on late night TV with Tom Bosley as the spokesperson.
2. On Saturday, Feb. 14th, I received my kit, I read it over for hours and I liked the entire opportunity. As someone who owns multiple websites and had no intention of selling via an order form, I immediately ordered a complete ecommerce website from their affiliate emerchantclub.com. I was surprised that they were still available at 7:30pm EST but was told by the salesperson that they close at 8:00pm. I paid $3595. I was told that a tech would contact me in 3-5 business days so that I can choose the website layout, the colors, and the homepage layout and product groupings. Later that night, I started googling the company, and I was very sad. Horror stories being told one after the other concerning SMC.
Here is one website that just kills them.
3. On Sunday, Feb. 15th, I called their customer service number to cancel the order and got a recording that they were closed.
4. On Monday, Presidents Day, Feb. 16th, I called their customer number and again got a number that they were closed. I then faxed them a cancellation, which, somewhat surprisingly went through.
5. On Tuesday, Feb. 17th, I called and the person at the other end told me all the information that needs to be on the cancellation form. I faxed another one.
6. On Wednesday, Feb. 18th, I received the following email from emerchantclub.com:
Dear ALFRED,
Your attempt to communicate your concerns with eMerchantClub is appreciated. Your case will be reviewed carefully to look at all aspects of your situation. Please allow up to 30 days for a completed review.If your case falls within the parameters for which refunds are processed, you will be awarded a refund in the form of either payment or SMC Special Merchandise credit, depending on the factors that dictate your case. If the factors for your case fall outside of the parameters in which refunds are processed, you will be notified as to the reason and the case will be closed as a decline. Please forward any new information that you feel will help us evaluate your refund request at this time. We are here to assist you. All decisions regarding refunds are final, and follow the eMC Standard Membership Rules, as issued on our website and on every individual website that we build.Do not hesitate to continue to contact our technical support for assistance on all matters as we work to resolve this issue for you. Sincerely,
Customer Support
eMerchantClub LLC
996 Flower Glen Street
Simi Valley, CA 93065
(877) 384-4691 Phone
(888) 201-2680 Fax
7. On Wednesday, Feb 17th, I followed that email with my own:
To Whom it May Concern,
That is an unacceptable timeframe for "review."I would like this issue resolved by end of day. Tomorrow the charge will be posted by my bank and I will put in a chargeback. Failure to get a return on my funds via the bank and I will hire an attorney to resolve it. All attorney costs will be added to my claim.
I know you have heard it all before,but I do wish to let you know that I have no intention of waiting a month to take action.It is a no brainer case, the charge occurred at close of business Saturday, 2/14.On Presidents Day, Monday, 2/17, you received a notice of cancellation.SMC credit is impossible since they too have received a notice of cancellation and the membership kit has been returned.
Thank You for your time,
Al Oharra
8. On Friday morning, Feb 19th, I notified ecommerce that I have provided a running history of this issue on this PR4 blog and that I intended to ensure that all viewers were kept completely up to date as to how this issue would be handled by ecommerce and SMC.
9. On Friday afternoon, Feb 19th, I was notified that ecommerce had reviewed my case and was providing me a full refund- Which occurred the next week.
10. My advice to all having problems with ecommerce or SMC....
Threatening attorneys does not work. Threatening to advertise and publicise the issue works quite well.

Playing Expert Leagues

2009-01-15T16:20:00.000-08:00

I have played a number of expert leagues since I designed FSRU.com. One thing you learn while playing expert leagues: No one wants to be embarrassed by a bad trade. So few trades ever occur. There are very few bad offers as well. Most high level team owners rely on a good draft, good free agent pickups, and a trade or two each season. Most "experts" are fantasy sports writers and site owners, and most of them come from informational websites.

I began and currently oversee the Fantasy Sports Invitational Challenge- The FSIC. The FSIC hosts American and National league drafts annually. Along with Taut Wars and the LABR, the FSIC is one of the top 3 expert leagues on the net. While the other two expert leagues are older, going into its 8th year, the FSIC has become more well known among the younger generation. If you google "fantasy baseball expert league" the FSIC league page comes up page 1, the first listing. You simply cannot put a price on good search engine standing.

The biggest difference between the Taut Wars/LABR and the FSIC is this. The two older leagues are very exclusive and have on site drafts. They both have few member sites, many of which are shared between both leagues. Good player, bad player, don't matter...If your in the club, your in the club... Both leagues are heavily reliant on who you write for, how much you have written, and if you represent a site that is worthy of competing. The FSIC has a different formula. They do internet drafts and let most established sites compete. But they throw out bad sites/players each year. If you cannot compete at an expert level, a site is ousted after a year.

If you go to the FSIC league page you notice something quite interesting, the same websites, the same owners, have done well in the league with consistency. Out of the 14 league winners over 7 years, the following 6 websites have won twice:
NL--The Sporting News/Brendan Roberts, 2002 & 2006;
AL--Roto Central/Mark Washburn, 2007 & 2008;
NL--Addict Fantasy Sports/Jeff Hobbs, 2003 & 2004;
AL--Baseball Think Factory/Jim Furtado & Gary Santerre, 2002, and Joe Dimino, 2003;
NL--Fantasy Sports R Us/Al O'Harra, 2007 & 2008;
AL--Profantasy Sports/Tony Finn, 2004 & 2006.
That means only two championships have been won by sites that have not won multiple leagues, and 12 by multiple championship winners. You can draw your own conclusions....

Making People Happy

2009-01-04T17:32:00.000-08:00

I am currently building a new website to advertise my wedding minister services. Its in the final stages of construction, so check out at MarriageOfficiant.net. Here is a picture of a beautiful couple I married in May in Central Park, Sean and Maria. I recommend this spot to many of more cost consious couples as it is in close proximity to some excellent restaurants and is just a short car ride from pretty much anywhere in Manhattan.

Who Am I.....

2008-11-12T07:09:00.000-08:00

My name is Al O'Harra,
I am 47 years old and a Christian Minister that spends most weekends joining together couples in love. It is truly the best job in the world. While they may not always stand the test of time. The day that they are married is always one of the best days of their lives and I enjoy being a part of it.

I am a registered marriage officiant in New York and most of my weddings are in New York and New Jersey.

I have a beautiful wife, a 28 year old daughter, a 24 year old son, and a 4 year old daughter.

I built from scratch and own two fantasy sports website known as Fantasy Sports R Us and Extreme Fantasy Sports Leagues. Eight years ago, I put together what has now become the number 1 expert fantasy baseball league in the country- The Fantasy Sports Invitational Challenge. The FSIC hosts separate 12 team leagues for the American and National league. I only play the National League and won it in 2007 and 2008 against some of the best competition in the country.

I am a semi (I do not make my entire income here) professional poker player in Atlantic City. I also built and own an affiliate poker website known as All Online Poker Sites. Thus far in 2008, I entered a tournament sponsored by a Delaware radio station, WJFK 106.7, at the borgata on May 29th and I won it. Check out the cool sterling silver bracelet they gave me on the picture. I also took 9th in event 5 of the WPT Borgata Poker Open. But I must admit that most of my poker money is made playing cash games.

I intend to utilize this blog to teach a few things. While I dont know all that much, what I do know, I know very well. So visit me every few days.

Fantasy Baseball Auction Leagues Have Improved

2008-11-09T15:36:00.000-08:00

Baseball is now over 15 years old on the net. But you know whats new on the net, fantasy auction draft software that works. When auction software hit the net about 5 years ago, it flat out did not work. You would make a bid for $100 when you only had a $1 left in your budget and it put the pickup through. lol. What a nightmare. If you have interest in playing an auction league on the net, check these out.

Some Good Fantasy Sports Leagues

2008-11-07T16:54:00.000-08:00

I guess I am an NL-Only Rotisserie League guy cause I played that game for so many years. I always played 5x5 Roto with what is known as the classic roto catagories. We played with the following 5 offensive and 5 pitching catagories.

The offensive catagories were:
1. Batting Average
2. Home Runs
3. Runs Batted In
4. Stolen Bases
5. Runs Scored
The five pitching categories were:
1. Wins
2. Saves
3. Earned Run Average
4. Ratio- which is Walks+Hits/Innings Pitched
5. Strikeouts

So of course, classic rotisserie baseball was the first game I put on Fantasy Sports R Us when I designed it. I must admit I was very surprised when my favorite game, NL-Only roto, proved to be a specialty game. Mixed league rotisserie dwarfed it in popularity.

While FSRU charges today is the same as it was when it began filling leagues for the 2002 season- $150 per team- In 2007, it added the same game at a bigger team cost- $300 per team- and bigger payouts. While I had little exposure to head to head baseball, the popularity of this up and coming game made that a must add on the site as well in that first year. While head to head was the norm in fantasy football, it was a relatively new game that took off with the younger players around 2000.