Patrick

I was also homeschooled. I don't think I knew that about you, John.

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. We recognize one member every month as the KarateForums.com Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. Our honoree for June is... Zaine for the third time! Congrats! Thank you for the incredible mark that you have made on KF over the years! Thanks, Patrick

Thanks for the replies and kind words, Brian, John, Bob, DarthPenguin, Ken, and KarateKen!

Welcome aboard, nine1whiskey. Patrick

Sorry Bob. I am not sure what else to suggest there. That's frustrating. No worries, DarthPenguin. No need. Thank you, though!

Hello, It was 22 years ago today that I launched KarateForums.com, and when I write these yearly birthday posts, it becomes harder and harder to grasp the passage of time and the impact that the community has had – the impact you have had on your fellow members. You rarely know the full impact of a kind hello, a thoughtful question, a reasoned answer, or the simple act of creating space for another person to share. Each time you post at KarateForums.com, you impact someone else (and usually more than one person). I always tell people: Write like someone is going to read it. Because they will. This community embodies that thinking, full of thoughtful people who consider their words and realize this is not just another place on the internet, it’s not just a place to toss words into the void. Thank you for that, and for the role you play in it. Of course, our community doesn’t maintain its path without thoughtful moderation, and I am grateful for the team that works behind the scenes to make that happen, past and present. Thank you to our current group of bushido_man96, Wastelander, sensei8, Nidan Melbourne, and aurik, for their careful attention. I hope that KarateForums.com makes your life better. If it has, and you’re comfortable sharing, we always love to hear those stories, so please feel free to share them here. Thank you for reading and for being a part of KarateForums.com. Patrick

Hey Bob, Sorry to hear that. I just checked and I can definitely hear the audio clearly at modest levels. I have YouTube's audio volume setting to 100% but my computer's audio only to 20%. So, it should be listenable. Patrick

Thanks DarthPenguin! Okay, I have made some adjustments. I recorded a video (you can hear the baby interrupt me around the 2 minute mark, haha) showing everything I did. Bob, please give it a watch as it'll probably be helpful. I also selected the right mic so the audio is better. Quick accounting of what I did, as you can see in the transaction history: Moved JD Martinez to IL. Added back Oneil Cruz and Carlos Rodon. Both moved to IL. Added back Logan Webb. Added Justin Steele Added Pablo Lopez, dropped Ke-Bryan Hayes. Added Bo Bichette, dropped Jeff McNeil. Optimized starters. I would say at this stage it makes sense for anyone who wanted any of the players Bob dropped (including you, Bob) to go ahead and pick them up. The leftovers include: 1B C.J. Cron LF Tyler O'Neill SP Joe Musgrove OF George Springer RP Ryan Helsley 3B Jordan Walker C/OF Daulton Varsho I don't know that I am actually interested in any of these, but even if I was, just in fairness because of the conflict of interest, I won't pick any up for at least 3 days from this post. I think that's it. DarthPenguin, could you remove me as manager for Bob's team? I couldn't find a way for myself to do it, although I am sure it is there. Thanks, Patrick

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. We recognize one member every month as the KarateForums.com Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. Our honoree for May is... KarateKen! Congrats! Thank you for all of the contributions that you have made to our community so far! Thanks, Patrick

Updated my first post to reflect an error: I had said Drew was honored for the first time, but it is actually his first. Sorry about that. Patrick

Still happy to help, Bob. Did you see the option to add a second manager?

Welp, that's me then. Haha.

Thanks DarthPenguin. Sure, will give it a day or so. And after that, will screen record a video of what I do just to show Bob, which will also serve for transparency. In the meanwhile: Bob, it looks like you've added some folks back, but you still have 1 open roster spot, plus a person who should be on the IL. You could have also put Rodon on your IL and kept him. (You can still do that now, as he's cleared waivers). While I think the other players you have left are debatable, the one you should definitely keep is Bichette. But of the players you have, you have the C, 1B, an OF, and the UTIL spots open. You also don't have enough pitchers to fill the 7 pitcher slots. So, what I'll do is pick up Rodon, put him on IL, pick up Bichette, and then pick up 3 pitchers (1 starter, 2 closers). To do that, I'll need to drop 2 offensive players. Ke'Bryan Hayes and Hunter Renfroe are the two least rostered guys, so I'd probably drop them. And then set it so that you have starters set up. If that all sounds good, there is a top of this page Bob (I think that link should work) that says "Add 2nd Manager." Can you find it, click through it, and see if you can add my email address (patrick@ifroggy.com) somehow? I won't make any adjustments until a bit over a day has gone by, just in case anyone raises any concerns. Also, after we have this settled, if anyone wants any of the players left that have already cleared waivers, I'll stay away from them for a day, just because I know Zaine and DarthPenguin both had a higher waiver priority than me at the time. Thanks, Patrick Patrick

The Rangers went up 2-0 and proceeded to get absolutely crushed in the next 3 games. Game 7 tonight. *shrug* We'll see!

No worries, Bob. I see you have added Semien back, but there are others still out there, and your team is missing a starter in 11 positions. If it seems like too much, if it's cool with DarthPenguin (no pressure), you could temporarily add me as a second manager, and I could record what I did (with the proper mic selected), and maybe that would help you keep the team organized in the future. And then you could remove me as second manager just because it creates a conflict of interest. Thanks, Patrick

Sorry Bob. Even if it's just for a few seconds, it sounds intense.

Hey Bob, my pleasure, and sorry if the audio on that video is terrible. I had the wrong mic selected. I can re-record it. That said, I noticed you dropped nearly your entire roster and now have positions without starters. I think you probably did this by mistake - especially in dropping Semien, Bichette, Olson, Realmuto, Strider, Webb, Rodon, and Musgrove. Those are all players you should be holding onto. I am going not going to put in a waiver claim on any of the players you dropped, just to give you the opportunity to get them back. That said, you are only 4th in the waive order, and there are two managers (Zaine, DarthPenguin), who may have already put in a claim. Still, I would pick them back up.

Hey Bob, It's really all about roster management. You should be moving players around every day (you can do this every 3-4 days, as you can set days in advance). For example, if I were you, here is what I would do (obviously, just my opinion, but maybe it'll give you some ideas: 1. You have two injured players on your active roster. When you are on your roster page, click "Manage IL" and move them both to IL. Though it is debatable whether or not you should keep Oneil Cruz. He is out for 4 months, and when he comes back, there are likely going to be better shortstops available to you. So, I'd put Rodon in IL, drop Cruz, and maybe pick up a couple of IL players to stash. You can find IL players by going to the free agents and selecting "IL-Eligible" under "Health." For example, you could stash Giancarlo Stanton and Yoan Moncada to sure up some spots where you are weak (more on that in a second). Add each of them (or whoever you want) one by one, and add them to your IL the same way you did with Rodon. When you are done with the IL, you will have 2 roster spots open. 2. You have a few players who I don't believe are worth having in a league this small because every team is sort of stacked with great talent. I'd say Jordan Walker and Tyler O'Neill fit this description. I'd consider dropping both. At 3B, Max Muncy, Yandy Diaz, and Alec Bohm will all give you more bang for your buck. In the OF, there are numerous guys you could pick up. Steven Kwan, Brandom Nimmo, and Alex Verdugo all make sense. Cody Bellinger has been hot, too. 3. Daulton Varsho is worth having, but he's probably not worth playing as an everyday OF unless other players are off that day. That's just my opinion. 4. You still have plenty of roster spots to play with here, so you could choose to pick up an SP (Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Drew Rasmussen) or go a little harder at holds and saves by picking up a reliver or a closer. There are plenty of closers available, like David Robertson, Clay Holmes, and Paul Sewald. 5. Once you have your roster optimized, you might want to check in a game day before games start, if you can, because players who are starting are marked with an S, and players who are not are given a red exclamation point. This allows you to make last minute switches to maximize stats. Anyway, that's a lot, but hopefully helpful. I made a quick video here walking through some of it visually: If you have any questions, just ask here in the thread, and I'm sure that we'll be able to help! Patrick

Congrats!

Good (re: the last paragraph). Obviously, it's something to worry about, but hopefully that alleviates some of it. Thanks for the update. Patrick

Hey Drew, That's really nice of you to say! And means a lot. Thank you! Just so that everyone knows what Drew is referencing with the belt, I'll go ahead and push additional replies to the announcement where Drew was named Member of the Month: https://www.karateforums.com/member-of-the-month-for-april-2023-drew-vt55608.html Thanks again, Patrick

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. We recognize one member every month as the KarateForums.com Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. Our honoree for April is... Drew! Congrats! It's great to see you back in the community, and thanks for being a member for coming up on 12 years! Thanks, Patrick

That is a funny idea. I wonder if it could be done on a weekly basis with a query. But then I am asking what the goal is... too bad no one else wants to join us.

Hey Brian, Adding to what DarthPenguin said, I think there are really just two things you need to know: 1. If someone is not starting, they do not count. Anyone who is "Bench" or "IL" is not starting. Their numbers do not count. 2. If any player has "IL" next to them, you can add them to the IL by clicking the "Manage IL" button on your roster page. You can have up to 3 players on IL, and each person on IL frees up a roster spot. So if you add a player to IL, you can add a player to your roster without dropping anyone. But once they come off of IL, you will have to update your IL to either drop that player or drop another player to make room for the one you want to add back. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask us. ----- Aside, just to give you a picture of how this might work in practice: If I were you, I would move Eloy Jimenez to IL. I would then place a waiver claim on Max Fried, who you dropped. That claim will go through on Wednesday, and you are first in the waiver order this week (listed on your roster page), so you're guaranteed to get him back. I would normally put in a claim, but I know you didn't realize about IL, so I don't want to swoop in. It would have been better to move him to IL as opposed to dropping him, as he is the Braves ace and has value in our league. If you decide not to pick him up, I probably will make a spot for him! After the waiver period ends and you get Fried back, move him to IL, and you will have one open roster spot. You could use this to stash someone else who is on IL (Tyler Glasnow, Raisel Iglesias seem like good choices - I just dropped Iglesias to make room for Tim Anderson on my IL). If you do that, add that person to your IL, and you'll still have an open roster spot. Use that to pick up any active player you want. Since Albies is off to a slow start, you could pick up Gleyber Torres. Since you only have one closer, you could go ahead and pick one up. David Bednar is off to a hot start for the Pirates. But there are plenty of closers available since our league is so small. Hope that helps!

Fun update! Looking forward to reading these. I was thinking that if someone reading this was wishing they had secured a team before the draft, that we could just give them the placeholder team. What do you think, DarthPenguin? While the team is currently last, the season is so young, there is plenty of time to make up the small gap! The team isn't in last from a lack of talent - a small league means everyone is sort of stacked - but the placeholder team has 7 of the top 50 players in FantasyPros final ranking (Jose Ramirez, Bobby Witt Jr., Mookie Betts, Austin Riley, Max Scherzer, Shane McClanahan, Dylan Cease), including 2 in the top 10. Plenty of value on the waiver wire in a league like this, too.