Ok, first things first: I agree with Jason that having that many backup players is pointless given the way this league is setup. The league I run at work has 3 D, 1 G, 6 F and one bench spot (plus 1 IR). There is a # of games cap in that league too, but given there's only one guy on the bench anyway, it doesn't make much difference.
With respect to the cap on the games, I don't think it should be a surprise. Football doesn't allow for much difference. The basketball pool last year was capped and worked fine. I believe baseball was capped THIS year because there was an issue the previous season with no caps and pitching was a deciding factor (no, I don't want the details, it's just a comment). Because other JD leagues have had caps is that a valid reason for this league to have a cap? No, not really.
I think a bit more like Rob here; your backups are guys you have to make a call on for a given night. For me I've actually got four LW because Havlat has been given RW/LW status by Yahoo (I didn't plan that, I swear and I hate it when guys get multi-poitioned) - Kovalchuk, Havlat, Stillman and Samsonov. I DO think there's skill involved in making the call on who to start out of that group. Kovy tied for the most goals in the last season; Havlat is on Ottawa, probably the top team in the league; Stillman's on a new team but was second in scoring on the Stanley Cup champs and Samsonov always scores lots on a team thats scoring lots this year. Jason agreed with that, so there is some use for the bench players, just not as much as in a capless league.
I think the cap serves to equalize the teams. For guys not paying attention, it allows them a chance to come back later in the year. Not everyone has played on Yahoo before and there is a learning curve. We're not doing this for anything more than bragging rights so I don't see it as a big deal personally. It also allows guys with less internet access an equalizing factor. Some guys have families, some guys have more work commitments, some guys may travel more without a computer. It all adds up to a disadvantage in my eyes. Maybe some of us aren't too concerned and question the commitment to the league and winning. That's not an unreasonable thing for some people, for other it may be.
I wouldn't say strategic because again, the only "strategy" involved is basically not using up your games early and waiting for people to burn their games and then overtaking them at the end.
I disagree. Were I Jeff, I'd be screaming as many guys into the lineup as I could at this point in the season. The only guaranteed thing is that guys are going to cool off while other guys are going to heat up.
Savard, Svatos, Liles, Boucher. Who pegged them for the top 30 scorers? Honestly? Savard maybe, the others? Uh, no. Think they'll all be there in three months? Nope, neither do I. The point is you use your guys while they're hot.
But honestly it really doesn't matter much to me, so we'll put it to a vote. Cap or no cap? I abstain so we have a winner, no one else can abstain.
If we go with no cap, the max I can set is 100 games anyway, so it can be that or less, but I'd suggest we base it on the number 100 to make it worthwhile.
I would also suggest that if we do go with "no cap" that we alter the waiver wire to prevent guys from cherry picking players endlessly. Not everyone can check Yahoo every morning for the hot player so if we move to a cap, I'm suggesting a 3-4 waiver. I haven't moved the waiver wire back to the 2 day limit yet. This place is way too weekend lite, so not everyone will see the changes. I'll do it during the week so if you've got the hots for someone, go for it.
