Greg & Tom Live Chat: Friday, 3 pm ET

[Bama]

Conventional wisdom has the Reds in the tank this year, but what makes Hamilton, Phillips, Votto, Frazier, Bruce, Mesoraco, Byrd so bad? Rotation of Cueto, Bailey, DeSclafani, Cingrani (who many of us liked last year) with Chapman as a closer...Personally I have seen worse, you?

Cozart...that is the sole reason they are terrible.

That is not the sole reason or even the main reason the're terrible. Votto is a a high paid number 3 hitter that has averaged about 50 rbi's over the last 3 years and Jay Bruce is just plain awful. Cincy is not good because the guys that are getting paid haven't produced. Same thing for the Mets, they keep looking at the SS but it is Wright and Granderson that are not producing and until they do they wont win.

[Gekko]

Greg/Tom - If all of FanDuel or DraftKings customers wanted to withdraw all of their money from their accounts in the next 24 hours, do you think those companies could pay everyone?

[Quahogs]

Greg/Tom - If all of FanDuel or DraftKings customers wanted to withdraw all of their money from their accounts in the next 24 hours, do you think those companies could pay everyone?

[Wolfpac]

Conventional wisdom has the Reds in the tank this year, but what makes Hamilton, Phillips, Votto, Frazier, Bruce, Mesoraco, Byrd so bad? Rotation of Cueto, Bailey, DeSclafani, Cingrani (who many of us liked last year) with Chapman as a closer...Personally I have seen worse, you?

Cozart...that is the sole reason they are terrible.

That is not the sole reason or even the main reason the're terrible. Votto is a a high paid number 3 hitter that has averaged about 50 rbi's over the last 3 years and Jay Bruce is just plain awful. Cincy is not good because the guys that are getting paid haven't produced. Same thing for the Mets, they keep looking at the SS but it is Wright and Granderson that are not producing and until they do they wont win.

I hear ya, I was just joking around since that was the only position player not mentioned and I had him on my roster 2 years ago sucking my BA away like 200 year old vampire

[Greg Ambrosius]

What are the things you took away from last nights online auction that you want to build into the NFBC software experience? Oh yeah...and how did you like your team?

I'll jump in and out of this thread before 3:00 and answer a few questions. It's been a busy day of signups, so we'll see how long we can stay for the discussion. Thanks for the good start of questions everyone.

I'll reiterate what I said on the other thread: I loved the experience last night of an online auction, the RT Sports auction software was fantastic, the Chat was interactive, the Commish tools seem easy to use, and it's something we'd love to do more of in all of our spots. Unfortunately, we don't own online auction software and it sure doesn't look like an easy platform to build from scratch. I'm not a programmer, so that's not my expertise, but it doesn't look easy.

I enjoyed the auction with 15 good baseball guys. I'm looking forward to the season ahead and the smack talk. And if I don't make any moves after the All-Star break, I apologize. But football just consumes us in July and August.

As for my team, I like it, but every 15-teamer has holes in it. I don't have enough power and I need a little more speed. I think my pitching is okay and can get better. I'm hoping my second-to-last reserve pick (Josh Hamilton) gets it together. What the heck, right? It's better than Tom's team, so at worse I finish 14th, right!!

[KJ Duke]

When is first FAAB for all leagues ... are all on the same schedule ?

[Tom Kessenich]

It's better than Tom's team, so at worse I finish 14th, right!!

No

Kyle Lohse = Championship

[Le Grand Orange]

To what do you attribute the slow uptake of the FAST DC format? If demand does not pick up during the last month of the draft season, will you still offer this option next year?

[Tom Kessenich]

To what do you attribute the slow uptake of the FAST DC format? If demand does not pick up during the last month of the draft season, will you still offer this option next year?

I think it says the 8-hour format is still the one people enjoy the most. We'll definitely keep offering the 4-hour option (and the Express) and we plan to offer it in the NFFC too when those drafts begin soon. We want to have a variety of options in this format because we know that people enjoy it but time can be an issue. But what we're seeing right now is the 8-hour option is clearly the one people enjoy playing the most with the 4-hour and Express being more "niche" options. Could that change in the future? It definitely could. The DC contest has been a huge growth area for us in both baseball and football and I anticipate continued growth in the future. As the contest grows and more people enter I think we'll see more people looking at the 4-hour option as one they want to get into.

[Greg Ambrosius]

2) This Year

What has been the most pleasant surprise so far for this baseball season?
What are you most disappointed / worried about?

All of the new members joining the NFBC for the first time, for sure. I usually reach out to each new Main Event signup and the No. 1 driver of new signups is SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio. We may have been accused of boring, but we're on the channel enough with our show and on other shows to know that the word is getting out about us. Sometimes these folks just Google us and they like what they see. So we know some of our marketing work is paying off.

The DCs in baseball continue to amaze me. I mean, it's just so cool to have pay drafts going from early November to early April and the data is unprecedented. I spent 20 years of my life being the editor of the first fantasy baseball magazine to hit newsstands and some folks valued my opinion on rankings and dollar values. Well, all of that work took 2 months to produce. Now I can get rankings in a week of pay drafts. It's just amazing how those DCs have grown and how valuable they are.

I'm most worried about good customers who loved the interaction at our live drafts just leaving season-long games for the gambling lure of DFS. I'm not saying that to be crude, but guys I've known for 12 years aren't coming back to the NFBC because of DFS. They don't have time. The prizes are bigger. They are chasing more than we have to offer. And I get it. I love what DFS and especially Fanduel is providing to our industry and to our great customers. We promote their games. But I hope we can co-exist through all of this change and we will if we can make our technology better and time-saving, while adding some more unique games that don't take 6 months to play. Stay tuned there because we have some interesting ideas.

[76erfan]

It's better than Tom's team, so at worse I finish 14th, right!!

No

Kyle Lohse = Championship

I thought that was homer Bailey? Or K-Rod who I think you would have spent 50 dollars on last night if the bidding forced you to go that high.

[Tom Kessenich]

KROD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just like I knew Greg was gonna get Alex Cobb, Greg knew with 100% certainty I wasn't letting anyone else get KRod. I got him for $5 less than I was projecting but I had enough money that I would've overpaid for him.

30 Minutes Of Terror.

Love that guy.

[Greg Ambrosius]

3) Live Draft

There is nothing like a live draft experience. Any new thoughts / ideas for this part going forward? Different cities? More cities? You like the current setup?

Power / laptops - seriously....this just bugs the crap out of me. How hard would it be to run power to each of the draft tables? I think for baseball it is more important than for football. Football drafts are so fast and are way less complex in terms of categories / positions / projections. Is this a "union / cost" issue at the venue? Extension cords and duct tape is the method we should plan on?

I think our drafts this year at the Bellagio will be different and fun this year because of the space constrictions we have on Thursday and Friday. I think some of those could have a local-league feel to them in these great Executive Penthouse Suites. If they go over well, we may do more of the private high-dollar leagues and 12-team leagues up there this football season.

As for more cities, no we don't plan on expanding. You can see the trend: People feel much more comfortable drafting at home as they can save time and money. That's not going to change going forward. So we have to make it special for folks who are taking the time to spend big money to travel to Las Vegas, Chicago and New York City. The Viewing Party upstairs is a fun time and a unique free gathering of good friends before we go to battle. The auctions are so unique that you can't do them from home (yet, that is). What Mikey does in New York City for the Super is fantastic and everyone loves the smack talk and gathering afterwards. The All-Star draft that KJ has formed and the NFFC Kickoff Gridiron League he started in football are ways of getting special leagues with special champions together in a way that makes the trip so memorable and worth it. We just need to keep doing more of that.

That being said, is there a way to host NFBC-style drafts in more cities with a partner? Absolutely and we have some great ideas and some great partners thinking about it. I hope that one day the plan all comes together!! Then the NFBC would be EVERYWHERE!!

As for laptops, there's wireless available to everyone if they want to pay for it and batteries work for everyone. You can't have extension cords everywhere. You're liable in so many ways if something happens. But what's even more, you couldn't do all that with the unions they have at the Bellagio, Chicago and New York City. You can't do anything without paying for it. And in big rooms like at the Bellagio, there aren't cords in every wall; in fact some of them are air walls and there is no power outlets there. It's impossible to say that every single owner is going to get power in every city at no cost when I'm not sure we could make that happen if we wanted to. Costs would definitely go up for everyone. John, I'll show you my Audio Visual bill from the Bellagio and then we can talk about adding on more!!

[Greg Ambrosius]

5) Brewer Questions - Over / Under 30

K-Rod saves this year?
Braun homers?
Gomez steals?
Bratwurst victories?

I'll skip over IT for now. Tom probably answered this one already, but:

K-Rod: Over
Braun: Under
Gomez: Probably under but not by much
Brewers: 83

[Greg Ambrosius]

This is kind of a goofy question with a similarly goofy follow-up. Over all your years of playing roto, who are some players that you've owned the most frequently?

For example, I owned Lance Berkman and Joe Nathan on a large number of teams just about every season throughout most of their careers.

Also, are there any really good players who you've just been snakebit about rostering? For example, I haven't drafted Justin Verlander very often, but I owned him on the most teams in 2008 and 2013, which were down years. I've had similar poor luck with Shin Soo Choo. His hamstrings tighten up the second I call his name on draft day.

It's a good question Jim. My first fantasy baseball experience after APBA and Strat-o-Matic was a keeper league of college buddies. I had Roberto Alomar, Bobby Bonilla, Juan Gonzalez and Greg Maddux who helped me to five league titles and I had Alomar everywhere early on. I was friend's with Juan Gonzalez's agent who worked with us through Krause Publications in 1990 and I had him everywhere based on Pat's recommendation. So some of those guys I just always got on my teams. Brings back great memories of the early '90s when if you had 3 baseball teams that was a lot!!! Great times.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Isn't it time to adjust the prize payouts out on the $400 DC's to a more "Capitalistic" and less "Socialistic" structure of maybe...
1st: $2,500; 2nd: $1,500; 3rd: $500. Seems there are a lot of quirky drafting strategies, and while within the rules, ultimately it results in many players not striving to play for 1st place but merely to "show." Please advise your thoughts on this.

COZ

Yes. This will be the offering next year in the $400 DC. As I said earlier, we already have a prize structure similar to that in the NFFC $400 Draft Champions League. This will be the case next year here as well. I think the intention of three teams earning NFBC Main Event entries when we first did this made sense; but that's not the case now. And since it's part of the national championship you are correct that some teams play for 3rd place, which isn't the goal of the national championship. We hear you and we will change next year.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Standard early fantasy question. Soooo many injuries/poor performances last year casting a pall over players we (or at least I) was very high on. Who is the guy you are willing to draft up a round or go the extra dollar on because he is your bounceback candidate of the year (one offense and one pitcher please)?

Another good question. Okay, I'll try this:

Pitcher: Matt Harvey. I'm not getting him anywhere because someone else is always on him before me, but I listened to Rick Wilton in Arizona this year discuss Tommy John Surgery and I believe that Harvey's timeline is perfect for a bounce-back. The average pitcher who undergoes TJS comes back in 13-15 months. Even then they can sometimes rush it, but if given 15 months to recover they can bounce back pretty strong. Well, Harvey is going to be on almost 18 months by Opening Day and I believe he's young enough and strong enough to be an ace again. I think if the Mets can get through April with him and he looks strong and healthy that the innings won't be capped below 200 and that he can be just fine. I'm rooting for him too because 2013 was so much fun.

Avisail Garcia: I loved him last year before his injury and I think his ADP is too low and his potential is still high. Plus that's a better team this year, too. I didn't wait long enough to get him last night, but I wanted him.

[Greg Ambrosius]

When you look at Baltimore, after Adam Jones, what do you see and will they be in the hunt in September?

Well, you see potential if Manny Machado can stay healthy and get on base in front of him and you obviously see a Chris Davis who succumbed to the defensive shift last year. We posted the numbers a few weeks ago and Davis hit .192 in 401 at-bats against the shift. I've heard so many hosts say that it's a given that he bounces back, but why are they saying that if the shift is still screwing with his head? He's the key and he scares me because many of those hard hit balls that were hits in 2013 are now outs and it's making him very conscious of where every fielder is. Steve Pearce has some potential, but mainly this is a team that has to win by playing good defense and getting good pitching. Kevin Gausman could be key to their playoff hopes.

Yes, they can contend for the division title. Nobody is running away with this division unless Boston gets a Hamels or another top-tier pitcher.

[Greg Ambrosius]

If not answered in one of my questions above, are you a believer in Avisail Garcia?

Dammit Wayne I just answered this!!! I did answer it before seeing this, so this is funny.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Do you see the Cubs, with all of the new additions, set to challenge the Central this year, or is it "one more year" again?

And who do you see as the real winner at MI for Chicago (Castro, Baez, Alcantara, Russell, LaStella)?

I'm a Brewers fan, so NOOOOOOO!! The Cardinals are definitely the team to beat in the Central if Adam Wainwright is healthy, but sure the Cubs can move up a few spots and play .500 ball or better. But it's tough for youth to survive 162 games and just emerge during their first seasons. It's not going to be as easy as everyone thinks.

Look at Baez last year. He struck out so much that now folks aren't so sure about him. I'm not either, not when he's striking out 43 percent in winter ball play. And Bryant has great talent, but that all upper body swing is really weird and I think he has some holes in his swing. He's also too stiff for third base, so I think he has some transitions ahead of him. It won't be entirely smooth.

The Cubs hope Baez does well and maybe they move him to third and Bryant eventually to the outfield. Castro stays at short for now. The guy I really like is Addison Russell. That dude is smooth at shortstop and has a solid bat with good plate discipline. He's going to be something special and the A's will regret trading him.

[Greg Ambrosius]

In 2016 Mike Trout is not the consensus #1 ballplayer anymore because Ron Shandler was right. Who unseated him?

Clayton Kershaw. The industry finally catches up to NFBC owners and takes a pitcher first overall!!

I want to say Bryce Harper for shock value, but he would have to stay healthy for 162 games to unseat his AFL teammate from 2011. How cool was that to go to an AFL game in October of 2011 and see Trout hitting third and Harper fourth? Way cool.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Brewer question...are either of you going out to buy a Kris Davis Fathead? What is his over/under for 25 homeruns this year?

No. I already have a Prince Fielder Brewers' Fathead on my office wall that I have to rip off. It's no fun taking those things down and replacing them. Thankfully my Aaron Rodgers Fathead can stay up for another 10 years!!

The kid can hit fastballs, we know that. He should top 20 HRs this year, but he has to learn to hit something else and to hit them in play. His batting average will scare me again, but both Tom and I have drafted him in recent drafts and think the power will stay with an uptick in his BA. The Brewers moved Braun to RF for him, so it's time to show more than what we saw last year.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Earlier time for draft starts for DC's?
It'd be great if everybody woke up to find themselves in a draft room.
For those of us on the left side of the States, the 8 hour clock lets us sleep and also join in the fun when waking up.
What are your thoughts?

It seems like 1 pm ET works well right now to make sure everyone is up and about. I think we've gotten through more early rounds this year than when we started them at 5 pm ET, so the earlier change is good. I'm not sure West Coast drafters would want it earlier than that, but if folks want it we can always change it. This is the first I've heard of this request, but again we're always open to anything that makes these better and it would be an easy change.

We can discuss before next season. Maybe noon ET. But whatever we decide will be for every DC as these are automated and that part seems to be going well.

[Greg Ambrosius]

I just got called into a quick meeting. I'll be back to answer these and other questions shortly. Thanks.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Greg/Tom - If all of FanDuel or DraftKings customers wanted to withdraw all of their money from their accounts in the next 24 hours, do you think those companies could pay everyone?

Okay, sorry about that. I'm back.

Are you trying to get us in trouble? No, I think they could easily raise enough money from willing VC groups to cover any run on the bank. And to be serious, I think both of those companies are run by very smart folks who know what they're doing. Nigel Eccles is going to go down in history for creating the type of software and having the chops for marketing to raise enough money to build this area of the market. The dude is very smart and he's done a great job in this space. Give the guys at DraftKings some credit as well for first working in tandem with Major League Baseball and expanding league and team partnerships after that. It's an amazing transformation for this industry as a decade ago we were fighting Major League Baseball for the right to survive and today industry fantasy companies are partnering with them. Amazing.