Originally created many moons ago by examinerebb, this league makes any franchise a contender, and a better group of owners can't be found on the site. There is much good-natured banter in the draft thread and the league chat, so bring your sense of humor. The rules are simple:

1. Each owner chooses a franchise. Franchise draft order is in inverse order of win percentage from the previous season for non-playoff teams, then inverse order of win percentage of non-World Series playoff teams, with the WS runner-up picking 31st, and the WS champ choosing last. New owners will be assigned the draft position of any previous owners who are not returning, with the first to sign up receiving the highest slot, and so on.

2. Each owner chooses five players he/she wishes to protect from that franchise (1969-2011) and submits that list via sitemail to me. Those players are the exclusive property of their respective owners.

3. After all lists are submitted, they will be posted and a three round modified Rule V draft will be held, with draft order being inverse order of each franchise's Rule V win percentage through all legs from which we have data (the worst teams pick first).  Many thanks to schwarze for compiling this data.  Each owner selects one unprotected player from any active franchise but their own (player seasons for franchises that were not chosen are not eligible). That player is also theirs exclusively. No more than two players may be taken from any one franchise in any one round.

4. At the end of the first and second rounds, each owner will choose an additional player they wish to protect. You will end up protecting seven in all, while drafting three. These ten players must appear on your roster. The rest of the roster is filled by players from your franchise during the given time period (1969-present day).

$120 Million Cap
No trades
No WW
No DH
No AAA

No clones (same player, same franchise - if a player played for more than one franchise, he is available once for each franchise)
If a player split time between multiple teams in a season (as listed at WIS) his full season is available once for each team
SLL limited to current series
Stadium must have been used by your franchise for at least one full season between 1969 and 2011
Tiebreaker for draft positions will be run differential from the previous season, worse differential picks first

For those new to the Rule V fold:

There is much good-natured ribbing during the draft (we try not to be too player-specific, so as not to influence the draft, but sometimes the temptation is too much). Do not take it personally. Pick a draft strategy and stay the course, regardless.

Glossary

He Who Must Not Be Named (HWMNBN) - A former player/manager/dirtbag for the Cincinnati Reds (and later, Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos) who defiled the grand game of baseball. No Rule V team has ever won a title with him, so heed jose's warnings about karma. I would imagine Lady Karma grows weary from teaching the same lesson over and over, as the ruler with which she raps offending knuckles seems to grow with each passing season.

The Single Most Overrated Pitcher of All Time (TSMOPOAT) - Nolan Ryan

The Single Most Overrated Position Player of All Time (TSMOPPOAT) - Cal Ripken, Jr.

Vegas - jose can u c - Our Rule V Prediction King

Here are the franchise winning percentages in the Rule V theme, compiled by schwarze, that we'll be using for draft order in the player draft:

Franchises already selected highlighted in red.

I've removed a team's best and worst season form the above table... and I've sorted from lowest winning % to highest.

Rank	Franchise	Years	_Wins_	Losses	Wining%		Wining%	Prev Rank	Diff
1	Rays	3	199	287	0.4095		0.4136	1	0
2	D'backs	6	407	565	0.4187		0.4187	2	0
3	Tigers	7	506	628	0.4462		0.4568	3	0
4	Blue Jays	12	902	1043	0.4638		0.4621	4	0
5	Pirates	9	678	780	0.4650		0.4650	5	0
6	Rockies	7	537	597	0.4735		0.4735	6	0
7	Twins	16	1238	1355	0.4774		0.4739	7	0
8	Padres	13	1023	1083	0.4858		0.4810	8	0
9	Angels	9	709	749	0.4863		0.4823	9	0
10	White Sox	4	317	331	0.4892		0.4892	10	0
11	Red Sox	16	1272	1321	0.4906		0.4912	11	0
12	Giants	15	1197	1234	0.4924		0.4971	14	2
13	Orioles	10	804	817	0.4960		0.5010	15	2
14	Brewers	15	1207	1225	0.4963		0.4969	13	(1)
15	Rangers	11	890	893	0.4992		0.4941	12	(3)
16	Phillies	16	1302	1293	0.5017		0.5027	16	0
17	Mariners	16	1312	1281	0.5060		0.5101	18	1
18	Expos	16	1314	1281	0.5064		0.5064	17	(1)
19	Mets	15	1233	1198	0.5072		0.5130	21	2
20	Braves	16	1324	1268	0.5108		0.5107	19	(1)
21	Cubs	11	914	868	0.5129		0.5129	20	(1)
22	Indians	16	1336	1257	0.5152		0.5154	22	0
23	Marlins	11	925	859	0.5185		0.5185	24	1
24	Cardinals	16	1345	1248	0.5187		0.5167	23	(1)
25	Royals	15	1274	1157	0.5241		0.5227	25	0
26	Yankees	14	1192	1076	0.5256		0.5237	26	0
27	Reds	10	868	752	0.5358		0.5302	27	0
28	Dodgers	15	1306	1125	0.5372		0.5359	28	0
29	A's	16	1412	1181	0.5445		0.5450	29	0
30	Astros	16	1434	1159	0.5530		0.5533	30	0

Here is the order for this season's franchise draft:

* new owner
# playoff team last leg
& WS Runner-Up
@ WS Champ

1. holleybard 53-109 .327
2. Disco Dogs 62-100 .383
3. thaneoffife 69-93 .426
4. tjefferson 69-93 .426
5. Cheno5 72-90 .444
6. jose can u c 73-89 .451
7. marlowe 78-84 .481
8. spoonfed 78-84 .481
9. tridentric 79-83 .488
10. sgsmith 79-83 .488
11. mussopini23 82-80 .506
12. *schwarze 83-79 .512
13. newarkwilder 84-78 .519
14. specsman 87-75 .537
15. Robin4 89-73 .549
16. mllama54 89-73 .549
17. #moneybonn 83-79 .512
18. #jstewart281 89-73 .549
19. #llcoach 89-73 .549
20. #ff09 89-73 .549
21. #rbow923 94-68 .580
22. #alleyviper 96-66 .593
23. &shaybee 88-74 .543
24. @sinfonian11 90-72 .556

Owner list for sitemailing: holleybard; Disco Dogs; thaneoffife; tjefferson; Cheno5; jose can u c; marlowe; spoonfed; tridentric; sgsmith; mussopini23; schwarze; newarkwilder; specsman; Robin4; mllama54; moneybonn; jstewart281; llcoach; ff09; rbow923; alleyviper; shaybee; sinfonian11

Franchise Draft Results (schedule begins Friday 1/6 10am EST)

1. holleybard - Boston Red Sox*
2. Disco Dogs - Los Angeles Dodgers*
3. thaneoffife - Houston Astros*
4. tjefferson - San Francisco Giants*
5. Cheno5 - Texas Rangers*
6. jose can u c - San Diego Padres*
7. marlowe - Oakland Athletics*
8. spoonfed - Philadelphia Phillies*
9. tridentric - Atlanta Braves*
10. sgsmith - Chicago Cubs*
11. mussopini23 - Seattle Mariners*
12. schwarze - Milwaukee Brewers*
13. newarkwilder - St. Louis Cardinals*
14. specsman - Cleveland Indians*
15. Robin4 - Colorado Rockies*
16. mllama54 - New York Mets*
17. moneybonn - Florida Marlins*
18. jstewart281 - Baltimore Orioles*
19. llcoach - Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals*
20. ff09 - Los Angeles (California) Angels (of Anaheim)*
21. rbow923 - Toronto Blue Jays*
22. alleyviper - New York Yankees*
23. shaybee - Minnesota Twins*
24. sinfonian11 - Cincinnati Reds*

*final round keepers sent

Division Alignment

NL East: Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals
NL Central: Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros
NL West: LA Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres
AL East: New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles
AL Central: Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, Florida Marlins
AL West: Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, California (Los Angeles) Angels (of Anaheim), Oakland Athletics

Player Draft Results

First Round (timed schedule begins Tuesday 1/10)                                                                                Off the Board

1. rbow923 - Toronto Blue Jays                                               Mike Schmidt - PHI
2. Robin4 - Colorado Rockies 10:30am                                Roger Clemens - HOU
3. shaybee - Minnesota Twins 11am                                     HWMNBN - CIN
4. jose can u c - San Diego Padres 11:30am                       Nomar Garciaparra - BOS
5. ff09 - Los Angeles Angels 12pm                                         Carlton Fisk - BOS                                   Boston Red Sox
6. holleybard - Boston Red Sox 12:30pm                              Nolan Ryan - HOU                                     Houston Astros
7. tjefferson - San Francisco Giants 1pm                              Mark McGwire - STL
8. jstewart281 - Baltimore Orioles 1:30pm                            Fernando Valenzuela - LAD
9. schwarze - Milwaukee Brewers 2pm                                  Robinson Cano - NYY
10. Cheno5 - Texas Rangers 2:30pm                                     Bill Singer - LAD                                       Los Angeles Dodgers
11. spoonfed - Philadelphia Phillies 3pm                              Danny Jackson - CIN                             Cincinnati Reds
12. mussopini23 - Seattle Mariners 3:30pm                         Ben Sheets - MIL
13. llcoach - Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals 4pm  Jimmy Rollins - PHI                                 Philadelphia Phillies
14. mllama54 - New York Mets 4:30pm                                  Bernie Williams - NYY                             New York Yankees
15. tridentric - Atlanta Braves 5pm                                           Joe Torre - STL                                        St. Louis Cardinals
16. sgsmith - Chicago Cubs 5:30pm                                      Mike Cuellar - BAL
17. specsman - Cleveland Indians 6pm                                Mike Norris - OAK
18. moneybonn - Florida Marlins 6:30pm                              Jimmy Key - TOR
19. newarkwilder - St. Louis Cardinals 7pm                          Marcus Giles - ATL
20. alleyviper - New York Yankees 7:30pm                            Jeff Kent - SFG
21. sinfonian11 - Cincinnati Reds 8pm                                  Steve Ontiveros - OAK                            Oakland Athletics
22. Disco Dogs - Los Angeles Dodgers 8:30pm                  Ichiro Suzuki - SEA
23. marlowe - Oakland Athletics 9pm                                     Javy Lopez - ATL                                       Atlanta Braves
24. thaneoffife - Houston Astros 9:30pm                                Carlos Delgado - TOR                              Toronto Blue Jays

Round Two (timed schedule begins Thursday 1/12)

1. rbow923 - Toronto Blue Jays 10am                                    Fritz Peterson - NYY
2. Robin4 - Colorado Rockies 10:30am                                Tim Hudson - OAK
3. shaybee - Minnesota Twins 11am                                      Don Wilson - HOU
4. jose can u c - San Diego Padres 11:30am                       Chris Hoiles - BAL
5. ff09 - Los Angeles Angels 12pm                                         Paul O'Neill - NYY                                       New York Yankees
6. holleybard - Boston Red Sox 12:30pm                              Eric Gagne - LAD
7. tjefferson - San Francisco Giants 1pm                               Wade Boggs - BOS
8. jstewart281 - Baltimore Orioles 1:30pm                            David Cone - NYM
9. schwarze - Milwaukee Brewers 2pm                                  Hideo Nomo - LAD                                     Los Angeles Dodgers
10. Cheno5 - Texas Rangers 2:30pm                                     Freddy Garcia - SEA
11. spoonfed - Philadelphia Phillies 3pm                              Buddy Bell - TEX
12. mussopini23 - Seattle Mariners 3:30pm                         Lenny Dykstra - PHI
13. llcoach - Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals 4pm  Adam Wainwright - STL
14. mllama54 - New York Mets 4:30pm                                  Rick Burleson - LAA
15. tridentric - Atlanta Braves 5pm                                            Ryan Howard - PHI                                   Philadelphia Phillies
16. sgsmith - Chicago Cubs 5:30pm                                      Rich Aurillia - SFG
17. specsman - Cleveland Indians 6pm                                Harmon Killebrew - MIN
18. moneybonn - Florida Marlins 6:30pm                               Andy Pettite - HOU                                    Houston Astros
19. newarkwilder - St. Louis Cardinals 7pm                          Bruce Sutter - CHC
20. alleyviper - New York Yankees 7:30pm                             Jim Edmonds - STL                                  St. Louis Cardinals
21. sinfonian11 - Cincinnati Reds 8pm                                  Matt Cain - SFG                                          San Francisco Giants
22. Disco Dogs - Los Angeles Dodgers 8:30pm                  Dante Bichette - COL
23. marlowe - Oakland Athletics 9pm                                      Jim Thome - CLE
24. thaneoffife - Houston Astros 9:30pm                                 Gary Carter - MON

Round Three (timed schedule starts Monday 1/16)

1. rbow923 - Toronto Blue Jays                                                  Mike Napoli - TEX
2. Robin4 - Colorado Rockies                                                   Cliff Lee - TEX                                             Texas Rangers
3. shaybee - Minnesota Twins                                                   Jose Reyes - NYM
4. jose can u c - San Diego Padres 10am EST                      Phil Niekro - ATL
5. ff09 - Los Angeles Angels 10:30am                                     Chase Utley - PHI
6. holleybard - Boston Red Sox 11am                                      Matt Kemp - LAD
7. tjefferson - San Francisco Giants 11:30am                         Howard Johnson - NYM                           New York Mets
8. jstewart281 - Baltimore Orioles 12pm                                 Jim Rice - BOS
9. schwarze - Milwaukee Brewers 12:30pm                            Matt Holliday - COL
10. Cheno5 - Texas Rangers 1pm                                            Sal Bando - OAK
11. spoonfed - Philadelphia Phillies 1:30pm                          Brett Butler - CLE
12. mussopini23 - Seattle Mariners 2pm                                 Adrian Beltre - BOS                                   Boston Red Sox
13. llcoach - Montreal Expos/Wash. Nationals 2:30pm         Billy Wagner - ATL                                     Atlanta Braves
14. mllama54 - New York Mets 3pm                                          Paul Molitor - MIL
15. tridentric - Atlanta Braves 3:30pm                                       Jorge Posada - NYY
16. sgsmith - Chicago Cubs 4pm                                             Billy Wagner - HOU
17. specsman - Cleveland Indians 4:30pm                            Cal Eldred - MIL                                           Milwaukee Brewers
18. moneybonn - Florida Marlins 5pm                                      Will Clark - SFG
19. newarkwilder - St. Louis Cardinals 5:30pm                      Doug DeCinces - LAA
20. alleyviper - New York Yankees 6pm                                   Juan Guzman - TOR
21. sinfonian11 - Cincinnati Reds 6:30pm                             Scott Rolen - STL
22. Disco Dogs - Los Angeles Dodgers 7pm                         Bobby Murcer - NYY                                   New York Yankees                   
23. marlowe - Oakland Athletics 7:30pm                                 Bobby Abreu - PHI                                       Philadelphia Phillies
24. thaneoffife - Houston Astros 8pm                                       Chone Figgins - LAA                                    Los Angeles Angels

List of protected players/draftees (protected players in italics, draft picks in bold)

rbow923 - Toronto Blue Jays: Roger Clemens, Mark Eichhorn, B.J. Ryan, John Olerud, Jose Bautista, Mike Schmidt - PHI, Roy Halladay, Fritz Peterson - NYY, Roberto Alomar, Mike Napoli - TEX

Robin4 - Colorado Rockies: Ubaldo Jimenez, Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki, Larry Walker, Ellis Burks, Roger Clemens - HOU, Vinny Castilla, Tim Hudson - OAK, Eric Young, Cliff Lee - TEX

shaybee - Minnesota Twins: Rod Carew, Joe Mauer, Chuck Knoblauch, Kirby Puckett, Johan Santana, HWMNBN - CIN, Joe Nathan, Don Wilson - HOU, Bert Blyleven, Jose Reyes - NYM

jose can u c - San Diego Padres: Kevin Brown, Jake Peavy, Tony Gwynn, Randy Jones, Ken Caminiti, Nomar Garciaparra - BOS, Gary Sheffield, Chris Hoiles - BAL, Heath Bell, Phil Niekro - ATL

ff09 - Los Angeles Angels: Frank Tanana, Nolan Ryan, Andy Messersmith, Jered Weaver, Darin Erstad, Carlton Fisk - BOS, Mark Texeira, Paul O'Neill - NYY, Jim Fregosi, Chase Utley - PHI

holleybard - Boston Red Sox: Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens, Derek Lowe, Fred Lynn, Rico Petrocelli, Nolan Ryan - HOU, Carl Yastrzemski, Eric Gagne - LAD, Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Kemp - LAD

tjefferson - San Francisco Giants: Barry Bonds, Willie McCovey, Jason Schmidt, Tim Lincecum, Juan Marichal, Mark McGwire - STL, Kevin Mitchell, Wade Boggs - BOS, Scott Garrelts, Howard Johnson - NYM

jstewart281 - Baltimore Orioles: Cal Ripken, Jr., Brady Anderson, Roberto Alomar, Jim Palmer, Mike Mussina, Fernando Valenzuela - LAD, Todd Frohwirth, David Cone - NYM, Al Bumbry, Jim Rice - BOS

schwarze - Milwaukee Brewers: Jeff Cirillo, Robin Yount, Ryan Braun, Teddy Higuera, Mike Caldwell, Robinson Cano - NYY, Rollie Fingers, Hideo Nomo - LAD, CC Sabathia, Matt Holliday - COL

Cheno5 - Texas Rangers: Alex Rodriguez, Ivan Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro, Fergie Jenkins, Nolan Ryan, Bill Singer - LAD, Josh Hamilton, Freddy  Garcia - SEA, Ian Kinsler, Sal Bando - OAK

spoonfed - Philadelphia Phillies: HWMNBN, Placido Polanco, Steve Carlton, Curt Schilling, Roy Halladay, Danny Jackson - CIN, Tug McGraw, Buddy Bell - TEX, Gregg Jefferies, Brett Butler - CLE

mussopini23 - Seattle Mariners: Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey, Jr., Edgar Martinez, Randy Johnson, Felix Hernandez, Ben Sheets - MIL, Cliff Lee, Lenny Dykstra - PHI, Bret Boone, Adrian Beltre - BOS

llcoach - Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals: Pedro Martinez, Dennis Martinez, Tim Raines, Vladimir Guerrero, Jose Vidro, Jimmy Rollins - PHI, Tim Burke, Adam Wainwright - STL, Andre Dawson, Billy Wagner - ATL

mllama54 - New York Mets: Dwight Gooden, Tom Seaver, Pedro Martinez, John Olerud, Mike Piazza, Bernie Williams - NYY, David Wright, Rick Burleson - LAA, Carlos Beltran, Paul Molitor - MIL

tridentric - Atlanta Braves: Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Chipper Jones, Hank Aaron, Davey Johnson, Joe Torre - STL, Kevin Millwood, Ryan Howard - PHI, Gary Sheffield, Jorge Posada - NYY

sgsmith - Chicago Cubs: Greg Maddux, Fergie Jenkins, Derek Lee, Ryne Sandberg, Sammy Sosa, Mike Cuellar - BAL, Rick Wilkins, Rich Aurillia - SFG, Rich Harden, Billy Wagner - CHC

specsman - Cleveland Indians: Gaylord Perry, Kenny Lofton, Albert Belle, Roberto Alomar, Manny Ramirez, Mike Norris - OAK, Sam McDowell, Harmon Killebrew - MIN, Rafael Betancourt, Cal Eldred - MIL

moneybonn - Florida Marlins: Kevin Brown, Mike Piazza, Gary Sheffield, Miguel Cabrera, Hanley Ramirez, Jimmy Key - TOR, Armando Benitez, Andy Pettite - HOU, Bryan Harvey, Will Clark - SFG

newarkwilder - St. Louis Cardinals: John Tudor, Chris Carpenter, Bob Gibson, Albert Pujols, Willie McGee, Marcus Giles - ATL, Ted Simmons, Bruce Sutter - CHC, Ozzie Smith, Doug DeCinces - LAA

alleyviper - New York Yankees: Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Rickey Henderson, Catfish Hunter, Ron Guidry, Jeff Kent - SFG, Dave Righetti, Jim Edmonds - STL, Mariano Rivera, Juan Guzman - TOR

sinfonian11 - Cincinnati Reds: Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Eric Davis, Barry Larkin, Tom Seaver, Steve Ontiveros - OAK, Joey Votto, Matt Cain - SFG, Kevin Mitchell, Scott Rolen - STL

Disco Dogs - Los Angeles Dodgers: Adrian Beltre, Mike Piazza, Clayton Kershaw, Don Sutton, Orel Hershiser, Ichiro Suzuki - SEA, Kevin Brown, Dante Bichette - COL, Hong-Chih Kuo, Bobby Murcer - NYY

marlowe - Oakland Athletics: Jason Giambi, Rickey Henderson, Vida Blue, Catfish Hunter, Dennis Eckersley, Javy Lopez - ATL, Steve McCatty, Jim Thome - CLE, Miguel Tejada, Bobby Abreu - PHI

thaneoffife - Houston Astros: Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Lance Berkman, J.R. Richard, Mike Scott, Carlos Delgado - TOR, Larry Dierker, Gary Carter - MON, Cesar Cedeno, Chone Figgins - LAA

Well, let's get it rolling. I'll stay close to home and select the Boston Red Sox.

bump

Why the hell not, i'll go with the Astros

I just started a new job on tuesday, and I don't even have a computer yet (even if I did, WiS is blocked and my damn smartphone won't work in the deadzone of a building), so i'll be holding everyone back during the day probably next week. Sorry guys!

well at least you did the right thing and took the team that will be picking last. thanks and good luck in your new job

Posted by thaneoffife on 1/4/2012 9:48:00 PM (view original):
Why the hell not, i'll go with the Astros

I just started a new job on tuesday, and I don't even have a computer yet (even if I did, WiS is blocked and my damn smartphone won't work in the deadzone of a building), so i'll be holding everyone back during the day probably next week. Sorry guys!

The holdups are usually with the keepers, so if you get yours in now you should be fine. And i'll echo tridentric: congrats on/good luck with the new job.

yeah, I figured the Astros weren't falling to 11, congrats on new gig thaneofife

I just posted a schedule for tomorrow...will sitemail as well.  We will draft untimed for the rest of today.