[Jason Moyer]

The longer a game goes, the more fatigued a pitcher is. This is simply a fact of baseball. From the moment a starting pitcher warms up before the game begins, there is a 2-3 hour window in which that pitcher can pitch effectively that day.

If a 2 hour rain delay occurs in any game, the starting pitcher is gone. If a 1 hour delay occurs after an hour or more of the game has been played, the starting pitcher is gone.

An interesting side effect to this is that the ever-lengthening games in real baseball are the reason why there are so few complete games. Pitchers now are better conditioned and have more endurance than they did in the 60's, but they still have the same 2 hour window in which they are able to be effective. If the average length of a game is 3 hours, you'll find that most pitchers should last about 6 innings - which is right in line with real baseball.

As far as how endurance is modelled in games, I have to give a nod to High Heat. You can have a starting pitcher throw 60 pitches in that game, but if the game is near the virtual 2 hour mark his arm is going to turn into jelly. I actually base my pitching changes in that game on the current elapsed time in the box score - well a combination...100 pitches or 2 hours, whichever comes first. Either of those should mean that your pitchers arm is close to becoming jelly.

Jason