Originally Posted by Bonkers25
First off, starting with the obvious, the OOTP game is a fantastic product.
I'd like to invite gamers to provide their perspectives on a game strategy called "Short Staffing".
Essentially, here's how it goes. Start all lefthand pitchers at very low pitch counts (I have encountered short staffs that have the starter only pitch to one batter). Have the bullpen staffed with only righthanded pitchers (mostly starters, if one has made a substantial investment). The game uses your righthanded line up vs. the lefthand starter, only to have that pitcher intentionally pulled very early in the game and replaced by a righthanded bullpen pitcher. After that, your predominantly righthanded line up is facing only righthanded pitching, in a home ball park that is set to suppress the effectiveness of righthanded batters and boost the effectiveness of lefthanded batters, which are predominant in the home team's line ups.
I think it's fair to call OOTP a baseball SIM. I think that's what attracted many of us to purchase the game and make substantial investments after that purchase. The game is based on actual players, statistics, ratings, and history. Yet, in the midst of this, we have a strategy that flies in the face of reality. From my perspective, this strategy exploits a hole in the program, that is, once a game begins, you can't shift your strategy. The short staff strategy doesn't happen in real baseball games, since the opposing manager would simply alter his lineup accordingly. As an aside, in some cases, due to this strategy, it's not unusual to see pitchers with 40-50 wins. Neither seem to reflect anything remotely found in real baseball and as previously noted, since we were attracted to a product based on actual history and because it's a simulation of real baseball, I find the short staff strategy undermines the integrity, spirit and enjoyment of the game.
As a side note, this isn't sour grapes on my part, as I have won my fair share... 8 Perfect Team Championships (6 at Perfect League Level) and can change to this strategy within 20 minutes of posting these thoughts.
So, what do you all think?
Thanks for your thoughts.
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