Is the Monthly Contest Really Fair?

Um, I guess you missed the part that you can cast as many votes as you like, one every 24 hours. The deadline being the stroke of midnight JST on March 25 (about 20 minutes ago). That's why I posted updates as the month went by, to help people see trends and make more refined guesses.

I'll try to make that part more clear for the future contests. Or do you think that the 25th is a little too close? Would the 20th be a better cut-off date - 10 to 11 days rather than 6 to 7?

Anyway, the poles have closed with a week left. A lot can happen in a week.

I think the purpose and fun of the contest is totally ruined by being able to vote as many times as you want and having a deadline so close.

I participated in last month's game - pick the division leaders at the end of the month - and I posted my guesses a few weeks before the deadline. I purposefully didn't come back to amend my guesses, preferring instead to see how close my original projections came at the end of the month.

I agree with the previous posters. It seems strange to allow new guesses every twenty-four hours. I think a better game would be to predict results a month out. That's a far greater challenge, and it would be more fun, I think, to regularly return to the thread to see who is proving to be a baseball Nostradamus.

Being able to change your guesses on a day to day basis seems kind of pointless - why not just wait until the last day before the deadline and make the most educated guess? The deadline should be much further out - like a month - so there's much more guesswork involved.

Why don't we have a compromise with a mid-month cutoff and a 3 try policy. It still gives people a chance to adjust from injuries or Tyrone meltdowns while not letting people cherry pick at the end. You could also make the date of entry part of the tiebreaker as well to reward those with forethought.

I'm not bothered by it in its current form, I'm happy to have a chance to win a free hat, but I see their points.

Yes - I want to stress here that I like the games, and that I certainly am not bashing something that's free and graciously designed for our enjoyment. I was just picking up on the idea that it could be more of a challenge.

I like badteacher's idea of setting a deadline more along the middle of the month, which gives players time to simply find the game, and then a brief time to consider their options for their guesses.

I like, too, the date of the guess as a great way to make a tie-breaker. If you think you have a chance, you can let it ride - if your man goes down, or your team stumbles, you can trade up late, but you might still be beaten out by someone who had it right long before you did!

Thanks again to Westbay-san and the kind folks at Yakyu Shop for hosting and sponsoring the contests!

1) Thanks for the contests.

2) I, myself, suffered from the "Tyrone meltdown," having cast my vote for him mere seconds before reading about his mound-charging incident and subsequent suspension.

As a result, if changes are to be made, I vote for the compromise plan without hesitation.

What happens if Kokubo leads the league? I don't think anyone picked him. Does that mean no winner for the Central League?

By the way, JRHannon, way to do the one home run higher "Price is Right" bid at the last second on Tamura! Ahh, I'm not bitter, that was good strategy, actually! Good luck tonight!

- I like badteacher's idea of setting a deadline more along the middle of the month, which gives players time to simply find the game, and then a brief time to consider their options for their guesses.

I'm in agreement with this (even though my late May enrty won me a cap.) Then again, Yakyu Shop got $85 out of me last week, so I don't really feel too bad about sneaking in with a winning vote.