Constitution & FAQ
| JAN 07 |
OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER
The league is run by a commissioner committee consisting of Cory Becher, Normand Plouffe, Irv Murray and Jon Schmitt.

SCHEDULE
Each team will play a 162-game schedule. Starting pitchers may only start once in a series. All teams must submit/use a realistic starting rotation that requires adequate rest (strat rules) for starting pitchers.

STATS/GAME REPORTING
Game result files and box scores must be reported to the opposing team and to the league stats coordinator by the listed deadlines in a readable electronic format.

At the stats coordinator's discretion, teams can be penalized draft picks for late reporting of files. (All exceptions for problems with reporting will be dealt with case by case and will be decided in the interest of fair play to all teams.) Penalties are assessed as follows: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 11, Round 4. If late reporting carries over past the end of the end of season deadline, GMs may not partake in the November draft.

Feel free to jump ahead of the schedule and play as many games as you want, but do not play games scheduled after the midseason break until granted permission by the stats coordinator.

Games not reported by the due dates for each phase of the season will be autoplayed. After the autoplayed games are complete, a new league file will then be sent with the current stats. An exception would be given for individual series that are to be played face to face or via netplay within the same half of the season.

DIVISIONS
There will be four divisions of five teams each. The divisions will be divided into AL East and AL West and NL East and NL West and the commissioner will try to keep them as geographically correct as possible. If the opportunity shall arise for expansion it will be voted on by the league and would need a two-thirds vote to pass.

DRAFTS
The rookie/free agent draft will occur on a series of five or so weeks. This draft will be 15 rounds. [New for 2007] Rounds will be conducted on a pick-by-pick basis, with six picks being made per day. Round 1 will take place concurrently with Round 11, Round 2 with Round 12, etc. The draft order will be determined by win-loss record, with the worst team drafting first and the best team drafting last with all normal tiebreakers.

  • The first 10 rounds will consist of major-league players who are not on a NEFBA roster and had at least 25 innings pitched or at least 50 at-bats.
  • The last five rounds will consist of any player (majors, minors, college and high school) with these players ONLY being placed on your minor-league roster. GMs may only keep five players on the minor-league roster at any time, so if you use this draft and already have five players in your minors you must drop someone (who then becomes eligible in the draft).
  • The NEFBA free agent draft will be held in March, after the final 35-man roster cuts, and will consist of any major-league player who is not on a NEFBA roster and had at least 25 innings pitched or 50 at-bats. When a player is chosen in this draft a player on your roster must be dropped. The player dropped then goes into the free-agent pool. The draft order for this will be the same as that year's rookie/free agent draft in November.

    TRANSACTIONS
  • 1. The trading period will start after the season (and the commissioner has given the league to go ahead) and ends March 1.
  • 2. Draft picks for the current and next season can be used in trades. No players to be named later can be traded.
  • 3. For any trade to be acknowledged by the commissioner there must be a confirmation e-mail sent to the commissioner with the deal on it from both GMs.
  • 4. If a team trades a pick that it has already traded to another team, the other team shall receive the team's pick from the round directly before (ie if a 3rd round was double traded, then we'd go to rd 2). If that pick is not available, or the team belongs to a new mgr that had no control over the trades, or a pattern of intentional abuse is determined, it will be commissioners discretion to determine the appropriate penalty.

    ROSTERS
    Each team must have a 30-man major-league roster of major-league players who had at least 25 innings pitched or 50 at-bats, and a five-man minor-league roster of any player (minors, majors, college, high school). During the season, GMs must designate five players from their 30-man roster as home-only players. At home you may use all 30 players.

    During the season no roster changes may be made until and only during the trading period. Teams must carry at least nine pitchers on their 25-man road roster.

    During the midseason trading period, a team can expand their minors roster by 2 players. Total roster spots would stay at 35.

    During the offseason, GMs may carry as many men as they want on their 30-man roster, but must cut down to 30 by March 1 when final rosters are due. GMs may only keep five men on their minor-league roster at any one time.

    PLAYER USAGE
    Players may only be used at positions they are rated. Outfielders are the only exception and may play any of the outfield positions. Players with two cards will use their combined card.
  • Starting pitchers may only start the actual number of MLB games they started.
  • Relief pitchers may pitch their actual innings pitched plus 10%.
  • Pitchers who both started and relieved (and are given a relief rating) are to be used as follows. If you start them only, they are allowed their actual number of starts. If you relieve them only, they get their innings pitched plus 10%. If you both start and relieve them, then they can only start their number of actual starts, but you may not exceed their innings pitched plus 10%.
  • Batters may use their actual AB+BB plus 10%.
  • Pitchers may be used as pinch-hitters or pinch-runners, but not as a designated hitter or in the field except if all other position players have been used in an extra-inning game.
  • Any overusage (one at-bat, one game-started, one inning pitched) of a player results in the loss of that player to the rookie/free agent draft in November and the loss of that player from any playoff games (any percent modifications need, as in a strike or shortened season, will be decided by the commissioner).

    GMs found to be abusing players who had a great year and/or are of little future use (and therefore expendable) will be asked to relinquish their team ownership in the interest of fair play and honesty.

    PLAYOFFS
    The playoffs will consist of eight teams each year and the superfatigue rules for pitchers will be used. If GMs are able to they can play all games live using NETPLAY, otherwise play as noted below.

    The two division winners from each league play the two wild cards in the first round. The first round wild-card series will be a seven-game series (worst division winner record vs. best wild-card team and best division winner vs. worst wild-card) where each GM will play two home games and if needed the fifth-seventh games will be played by a neutral GM or computer simulation (NETPLAY can be substituted for all this).

    The league championships and World Series will work as follows: Each GM will again play two home games and then two games will be played by neutral GMs and the seventh game if needed by either a neutral GM or computer simulation. (NETPLAY can substitute for all this).

    Home and away rosters in the playoffs are limited to 25 players.

    Starting pitchers can make 10% of their regular-season starts (rounded to nearest whole number). EXAMPLES: A starter with 23 starts can make 2 starts (2.3 rounds down to 2). A starter with 28 starts can make 3 starts in the playoffs (2.8 rounds up to 3). Relief pitchers are limited to 10% of their innings pitched. Relievers with a starting rating used in relief only follow the same limitation. Only starters with a '*' can pitch on 3-days rest. Starting pitchers that will not start a game during the series or that will start Game 1 and possibly be used in Game 5 in relief will follow normal Strat fatigue rules for non-rated RPs.

    A batter may play a maximum of 10% of his regular-season plate appearances in any playoff series.

    Any situations not covered here may be agreed upon by the playoff team GMs and they must notify the commissioner of these agreements (i.e. using a Randy Johnson two days after Game 5 as a closer in Game 7, etc.).

    PENALTIES
  • 1. Reporting results to stats coordinator and GMs: See under STATS/GAME REPORTING.
  • 2. Ballpark reporting: Each team will designate a home park and that must be reported to the commissioner by March 1 or the commissioner will choose for you (these may change year to year by a + or - 3 only) and you lose your Round 1 March free-agent draft pick. Ballparks are limited to real ballparks (duplicates not allowed).
  • 3. November draft: Those not sending in a e-mail or phone list on the Monday or Thursday of draft day by a time designated by the draft coordinator will have their picks forfeited or made for them by the commissioner using a previous list.
  • 4. Overuse of players: Any overusage of a player results in the loss of that player to the rookie/free agent draft in November and the loss of that player from any playoff games (any percent modifications need, as in a strike or shortened season, will be decided by the commissioner).
  • 5. Lateness reporting your roster cuts results in the loss of your Round 1 free agent pick in the March draft (with your Round 2 possible if you already lost your Round 1).
  • 6. Lateness submitting HAL and votes on proposals leads to the loss of your Round 5 November pick to be followed by consecutive picks shall lateness persist and or votes continually not submitted.

    DUES
    An annual $10 league participation fee will be collected from each team in March before the season starts. This fee goes to cover the annual fee for hosting the website and year-end awards.
    MISCELLANEOUS
  • Rule amendments may be given up for a vote at any time during the year and at the commissioner's discretion. Any rule/proposal may be put up for a vote on amendment with a 65% majority needed to amend the existing rule. Any newly proposed rule needs a 55% vote to pass. However, voting for all rule changes that involve player usage need to be passed before the November draft to be put into effect. Ballots are due at a time of approximately one week after the rules coordintor posts the issue. Any rule change the commissioner sees as possibly hurting the integrity of the league may be struck down.
  • HAL is due after the March free agent draft and should have batting lineups for the first half of the season, starting pitching schedule on the road for the entire season and SUPER HAL rules. Late reporting penalty is listed in PENALTIES section.
  • All managers must use HAL for road games in lieu of written instructions.
  • The computer Strat-O-Matic game is necessary for participation. Super-Advanced rules are a must and include: 1) Main Rules at the Maximum Level; 2) Superadvanced Steals; 3) Superadvanced Strategy charts; 4) Closer Rules On; 5) Maximum Rules Settings on except for Home field advantage, Force daily injuries and Allow extra pre-1920 errors.
  • No GM may own more than one team and any team that does not have a GM will be run by the commissioner until a GM is found (the commissioner may not trade between this team and his/her own though).
  • Statistics are tracked through game result files.
  • Teams can not make trades until they submit their stats. Teams may submit all the stats they have received as of the reporting due dates and begin trading, with stat updates to be submitted if additional results arrive late.
  • Teams that do not submit final stats or have not reported all homes games before the November deadline to the commissioner or league commission may not particiapte in the November draft or make trades until they do so. Final stats are defined as home and away games they have received up to Nov. 1 or the start of the draft.
  • Teams not beginning their playoff games after notice has been given up to 14 days will have HAL or the Commissioner play their games for them.

  • After the World Series, a league All-Star Game will be played.

  • This system was used when NEFBA expanded to 20 teams: 1) 12 teams will lose 3 players and 6 teams will lose 2 players (giving each expansion team 24 players + the 5 minor leaguers + the 5 march waiver players = 34 total prior to the Nov. Draft which is 1 shy of what each NEFBA team will have). 2) All teams will protect 9 players at the start of the draft. Once a team loses a player, they can protect 4 more players. Once a team loses a second player, they can protect 4 more players. If a team loses a third player, the remainder of their roster is protected. 3) There is no stipulation that every team must lose one (or two) players before a team can lose their second (or third) player. 4) Only players that have minimum usage requirements met in the draft year are available to be drafted. (Also Note: This isnt a free everybody on your minor league roster is protected.) 5) Expansion teams will be placed the between playoff and non-playoff teams in the November draft and March draft. Expansion teams will be placed at the beginning of the minor league draft (we will use this again even though they drafted this year as i feel getting GOOD young players will be important to both teams). 6) Draft order will be serpentine in the expansion draft (original order determined by a coin flip). The draft order will be reversed for the November and March drafts (and remain serpentine).

  • When an owner leaves, his team shall be run by the league until a replacement can be found. This will include drafting and playing games. No trades will be allowed and no current member may claim the team.

    TIE BREAKERS
    In the case of determining draft order or seeding playoffs, teams with identical won-loss records will be compared by the following criteria: 1. Head-to-head record; 2. Road record; 3. League record; 4. Run differential; 5. Coin flip. Multiteam ties will be resolved with a seeding process that begins with the second criteria (once seeding is down to two remaining teams, revert to the first criteria). Higher seeds receive preferential playoff positions but lower draft spots.

    In the case of determining playoff berths that would omit any team from the postseason, one-game series will be played by a neutral owner (or by Netplay). If more than two teams qualify for this scenario, the commissioner committee will administer a play-in tournament seeded by the criteria in the above paragraph, giving preferential seeding (and one-round byes in the case of odd-numbered tournaments) to higher-seeded teams.

    IMPORTANT DATES
  • March 1: Cutdown day for 30-man rosters. End of trading period. Home ballpark figures due.
  • March 15: Draft list for free-agent draft due.
  • March 30: League dues and HAL due.
  • May 15: First set of game results due (five-game series against division opponents).
  • June 15: Second set due (series against all conference opponents). First-half stats frozen for trading break.
  • July 10: Trades must be finalized.
  • July 15: HAL must be updated.
  • Aug. 15: Third set due (interleague games).
  • Sept. 15: Fourth set due (remaining interdivision series).
  • Oct. 1: Overuse assessed by committee before playoffs start.
  • October: Rules proposals considered and voted on before draft starts.
  • October: Playoffs start.
  • November: Trading period begins for all teams eligible.
  • Nov.-Dec.: E-mail round by round rookie/free agent draft.
  • January: NEFBA All-Star Game.

    CDROMBB FAQ
    This is a work in progress, and could use your help. Please e-mail questions to be answered to Irv Murray.

    What software do I need for NEFBA and when do I need it?
    You will need to purchase the latest version of Strat-O-Matic CDROM baseball from the game company. This is available in late January, and you can usually place orders in December. It's important to have the game by the beginning of March so you can submit your league manager file to the stat coordinator for inclusion in the league master file. (No game results are due until May, though.)

    I just received the league master file, what do I do?
    If the file is in .LZP format, download it directly to your CDROMBB/Rosters directory. In the Strat game program, select Restore League from the League menu. A warning about .LZP files: If you have "played ahead" any games past the latest update of the league file and restore, your "played ahead" games will be wiped out by this action.

    What do I do with computer manager files?
    Sometimes it is necessary for owners to update their .HAL files during the season. In this case download and (if necessary) unzip them into your CDROMBB directory. In the Strat game software, select the NEFBA league, then the appropriate team, then Import Computer Manager from the Team menu. Direct it to the file you just downloaded and it should update with the new settings.

    How do I get ready to play the first game?
    Many owners use different lineups and all use additional "home-only" players for the games at their respective ballparks. Once you have restore the league file, it is suggested you make a "home manager" file in your CDROMBB directory. (This would be in addition to your "road manager" file that you send to the stat coordinator and should also save.) The "home manager" will come in handy to reimport after occasional updated .LZP files are restored during the year. Make sure all 30 players are active in your "home manager," and update your default lineups as necessary.

    How do I play a game?
    Launch Strat-O-Matic and select the NEFBA season from Leagues. Select New Scheduled from the File menu. Go to the current day in the schedule and change your game to Manual, then click Play Day. Click Manual in the next screen. From the Game Setup menu, reset the fatigue ratings by clicking the Days Off button before every series (the league rules govern player usage, and injuries are set to off). Make sure that Create Game Result Files is checked. Set the eligibles, starter and lineup for each team and whether it is managed by computer or human. Then, Play Ball.

    I have played a game, now what?
    When the game ends, click Get Boxscore. Select whether to use subsets. It is suggested to at least save team-vs.-team subsets. Click OK. In the Stats window select Report Boxscore and Scoresheet. Click on Save. Type in a logical name for this file such as SEABOIJUN1 and save it. Click End Game.

    Where are the files I need to report?
    Game results files are in the CDROMBB folder, in the Export subfolder and are named like this: 2003na35.H01. Box scores files default to the Print subfolder, in the subfolder for the appropriate league. A note about game-result files: When you report a series, keep in mind that there are two files (.HXX and .VXX) for every game (a four-game series, for example, would require eight files to be submitted). A suggestion with these files is to move them to an Exported folder when you've submitted them in order to keep the Export folder cleaned up.

    How do I prepare a report to the league?
    You must compress files for easier handling by using a program such as WinZip, available free at www.download.com. In WinZip, create a New archive, then Add files from the above-mentioned folders until you have a complete report for your series/month. A complete report will include three files for each game (.HXX, .VXX and the boxscore). Name this .ZIP file a nine-letter convention such as visitor-home-month: SEABOIJUN or BOIALLJUN for easy identification.

    Where do I send this .ZIP file?
    You can upload your compressed file to www.nefba.net by selecting Upload & download files from the main menu. Follow the instructions there and your files will be accessible by your opponent, the league stats coordinator, as well as anyone else interested.

    I have some files from my road games, now what?
    If you have received or have found on the league Web site a .ZIP that includes .HXX and .VXX files for your team, unzip them into your CDROMBB/Import directory. In the Strat software, select the NEFBA league and then Import Game Results from the Statistics menu. Import these and Strat will take care of all the stat compiling in a few seconds.

    How does the stats coordinator update the Web site?
    The process to use the Web Builder function in Strat and post the results to the Internet are as follows:
    1. Open the Strat application on PC.
    2. Select the league you wish to compile.
    3. Under the Statistics menu, select Web Builder.
    4. Make sure correct league is highlighted, press Build.
    5. Click OK. Click Close. Exit Strat.
    6. Open your FTP application and connect to server.
    7. Upload the following sets of .js files from the CDROMBB/HTML directory: bXXX.js (one batters file for each team), pXXX.js (one pitchers file for each team), teamxxx.js (one team file for each), leaders.js, leaguedata.js, totals.js and traded.js. WARNING: Uploading any other files could blow formatting, so you might want to back up the main directory to your PC first.