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BraMBLe 2006
League Rules

I. General Rules

1.  The season will last from Opening Day until the last day of the MLB season.
2.  Final interpretation of all rules in case of dispute is left to the East Coast and West Coast Commissioners.
3.  All scoring will be based on scores posted on Rotowire. No other scores or stats will be considered official.

II. Fees

1.  There is no entry fee for the season. All entrants are entitled to enter the draft and submit a lineup for every week of the season.
2.  All player transactions are free.

III. Rosters

1.  A roster must contain 22 players: 11 position players, 8 pitchers, and 3 farm team players.
2.  Each team is required to have the following position players:
• 1 1B
• 1 2B
• 1 SS
• 1 3B
• 1 C
• 1 IF (1B, 2B, 3B, or SS)
• 4 OF
• 1 UM (Any position player)
3.  A player is considered to have "played" a given position if he played at least fifteen games at that position in the current or prior year. Clarification of position assignments for veterans who have switched positions or rookies can be requested from the East Coast and West Coast Commissioners.
4.  Each team is required to have the following pitchers:
• 3 starting pitchers
• 3 relief pitchers
• 2 "other" pitchers (either starters or relievers)
5.  A "starter" is defined as someone who started a minimum of seven games in the current or prior year. The status of a pitcher who did not appear in at least seven games should be brought up with the Commissioners. Clarification of this policy can be requested from the East Coast and West Coast Commissioners.
6.  A "reliever" is defined as someone who started a maximum of six games in the prior year. The status of a pitcher who did not appear in at least seven games should be brought up with the Commissioners. Clarification of this policy can be requested from the East Coast and West Coast Commissioners.
7.  During the draft, rosters must conform to the above specifications. More specifically, a player may not be drafted by a team that does not have an appropriate slot for him.
8.  Rosters must conform to the above specifications as of noon EST on Wednesday of each week.

IV. Farm Team

1.  Each team is entitled to a three-person farm team. This farm team becomes effective immediately following the completion of the league draft.
2.  A farm team roster may contain up to 3 players. There are no positional restrictions on these players.
3.  Players on the farm team may be traded without any special restrictions. For example, an owner can trade a player from his 19-man lineup for a player on another owner's 3-man farm team. Normal position restrictions apply.

V. Transactions

1.  Transactions must be submitted to either the East Coast or West Coast Commissioner by 1 PM EST on the Tuesday of each week. Any transactions received after this point will be held over until the following week.
2.  The team with the highest bid will receive preference in the event that multiple teams require the same player.
3.  When a free agent signs with a BraMBLe team, another player must be released. This released player cannot be signed by another BraMBLe team for one full week. For example, if Team A releases Player X on Tuesday, no one can resign this player until the following Tuesday. The policy pertains to the farm team as well.
4.  Salaries of released players are immediately removed from the team’s salary cap, with the exception of players with guaranteed contracts. (See Protection for further details.)
5.  No trades can be made after August 31, 2006.
6.  Trades are subject to all rules and guidelines pertaining to transactions. If a BraMBLe team signs a free agent, that team must wait one full week before they are able to trade the player in question. This ensures a level playing field for all teams, as pertains to the signing of free agents.
7.  With the exception of trades, no transactions will be allowed until after the completion of the league draft.

VI. Scoring

1.  Position players will be tracked via the following five categories:
• Homeruns
• Runs Batted In
• Runs Scored
• Stolen Bases
• Batting Average
2.  Pitchers will be tracked via the following five categories:
• Wins
• Saves
• Strikeouts
• Earned Run Average (Runs * 9 / Innings Pitched)
• WHIP ((Walks + Hits) / Innings Pitched)
3.  Team totals for all categories save Batting Average, Earned Run Average, and WHIP will be determined by the sum of all respective players on that team. In other words, a team's homerun tally will be the homerun total of all 11 position players.
4.  Team totals for Batting Average, Earned Run Average, and WHIP will be determined by the sum of the component parts of these statistics of all the respective players on that team. In other words, a team's Earned Run Average will be the total team runs allowed by all 8 pitchers, multiplied by 9, and divided by the total team innings pitched by all 8 pitchers.
5.  Teams will be ranked on a category-by-category basis, with the leaders in each category receiving points equal to the number of teams in the league. Second place in a given category will be worthy of one point less than the total number of teams in the league, and so on. If teams tie in a particular category, the sum of the point totals for those particular scoring positions, divided by the number of teams in the tie, will determine the point value for each team.
6.  The sum of the point values from all ten categories will determine a team's overall score.
7.  If teams are tied in overall score, the tie-breakers are as follows:
• Most 1st Place Category finishes
• Most 2nd Place Category finishes
• Most 3rd Place Category finishes, etc.

VII. Protection

1.  At the conclusion of each season, all teams have the potential to protect any number of their players, provided they are able to stay under the league-mandated salary cap. (Teams must always leave at least $1 per player available for future roster signings.)
2.  If a player began the season in the last year of his contract, he cannot be protected for the following year, regardless of his roster status during the year or at the conclusion of the year. For example, if a player in the last year of his contract is released during the year and resigned by another team, he cannot be protected by his new team.
3.  If a contracted player who is not in the final year of his contract is on an active roster at the conclusion of the preceding season, he is automatically protected heading into the upcoming season. He can, however, be released during the season, but there are salary cap implications to this. (See below for details.)
4.  Provided the player in question does meet the criteria listed above, protections works as follows:
   • Base salary for drafted players who never left an active roster = draft price
   • Base salary for players who were at any point signed as a free agent = higher of free agent signing price or $5
   • New salary = base salary + $5 X length of contract
5.  These examples illustrate the protection policy:
   • Player X is drafted at $2 and remains on an active roster all season. At the end of the season, he is protected for two years by his owner. His price for both contract years is $12. His base salary ($2) is added to $5 times the contract length (2).
   • Player Y is drafted at $15 but released during the season. He is then signed by another team for $1. At the end of the season, he is protected for three years by his owner. His price for all contract years is $20. His base salary ($5, the higher of his free agent signing price or $5) is added to $5 times the contract length (3).
6. If a contracted player is released during the season, the owning team must carry his salary on its cap for the remainder of the season, with one exception. If another team signs this player during one of the next two weeks, that team assumes the player’s contract, and it comes off the books for the original owner. (If the original owner attempts to sign this player after the two-week period, the contracted salary remains on the cap in addition to the free agent salary.)
7. If a player with a multi-year contract is released during the season, the owning team must carry a $5-per-remaining year (not counting the current year) charge on its cap for the remainder of the season. This charge remains even if the player is signed by another team. (Think of this like the NFL's accelerated signing bonus rule.)

VIII. Protests

1.  Any team owner may protest any transaction made by another owner or owners. This is done verbally or electronically by informing a commissioner that a protest has been made, along with any appropriate reasons for the protest. This action can be taken privately or publicly.
2.  Any protest made will be resolved by the two commissioners. If one of the commissioners is involved in the dispute, the other commissioner will be charged with its resolution. If both commissioners are involved, the majority decision of all owners not involved will be accepted.
3.  If the commissioners (or deciding parties) deem the protest to have merit, the accused parties will be afforded the opportunity to speak on their own behalf, and to, if necessary, confront their accuser. If the protest is not deemed to have merit, this step need not occur.
4.  In the event that a protest is sustained, the commissioners (or deciding parties) will be charged with implementing appropriate remedies. Clarification of this policy can be requested from the East Coast and West Coast Commissioners.
5.  All protests must be filed within two weeks of the action in question.
6.  The protest policy is designed to prevent three situations: (A) collusion, (B) "tanking," and (C) taking advantage of other owners.
• Collusion entails two or more owners conspiring against the spirit of the league. An example of this would be one owner trading a star player to another owner for next-to-nothing, with the understanding that both owners would split any and all winnings from the season. Clarification of this policy can be requested from the East Coast and West Coast Commissioners.
• Tanking refers to an owner "giving up" on either the season or the league as a whole, and making transactions in accordance with such a mindset. An example would be an owner who is frustrated with the league, deciding that he will trade all his star players to another team because he "does not care" anymore. Clarification of this policy can be requested from the East Coast and West Coast Commissioners.
• Taking advantage of others refers to one owner attempting to swindle or mislead another by duplicitous means. An example would be one owner attempting to trade an injured player to another unsuspecting owner. Clarification of this policy can be requested from the East Coast and West Coast Commissioners.

IX. Other

1.  Any issues not addressed herein are to be brought up with the East Coast and West Coast Commissioners. The commissioners are charged with the final interpretation of these rules once they have been adopted.
2.  If the commissioners cannot reach a mutually agreeable interpretation of the rules within two weeks time, the issue shall be put to a vote before the entire league, with a simple majority carrying the issue and establishing a binding precedent barring any future amendments.
3.  Should an ammendment to the rules need to be passed in the middle of the season, all participants in the league must support it in order for it to be accepted into the rules. Should such an ammendment be proposed between seasons, a two-thirds majority of the participants must support it in order for it to be accepted into the rules.
4.  Collusion or any type of duplicity is illegal and will not be tolerated.

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