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Old 03-26-2017, 04:38 AM   #222
injury log
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Toronto
Posts: 9,162
It's possible there are certain AI preferences that are responsible for some of those behaviours. If you feel like digging around your game a bit, it might be possible to find an 'explanation' for what you're seeing. With the bunting, it might be that the AI team's manager has sabermetric tendencies, and/or a 'very low' bunting frequency preference in his Strategy, and that is the reason the game is deciding to swing away, even with a pitcher. Now, whether the Manager should ever hate bunting so much he doesn't let even his pitchers do it is a separate question, but it would at least be interesting to know if it was a Manager preference that is responsible, or if it's a ubiquitous AI behaviour independent of Manager strategies.

It might also be true that Manager preferences account for some unusual lineup choices. If a Manager really loves speed, that might explain why CarGo sits and other slightly faster guys play ahead of him. But if that's the explanation, then that Manager preference is having far too drastic an effect. If that's not the explanation, I'm at a bit of a loss to guess why Patterson would play over CarGo. I just checked my current game, and CarGo got a peculiarly low number of GS in the 2017 season I just finished (with a 1.032 OPS, not a guy you want sitting very often!). He did have several injuries, but even when healthy he was used as a PH a lot.

I've asked on beta that AI evaluation of relievers be looked at further. That's a longstanding issue, present in every version of the game I've played - the AI seems to undervalue certain good relievers (and especially relief prospects). I haven't yet seen a guy as good as Thornburg on waivers, but I have seen AI teams fail to protect pretty decent RP prospects from expansion drafts or rule 5 drafts, and AI teams are willing to part with those guys too cheaply in trade - not 5-star guys, but more guys in the 3 to 4 star potential range. There's no preference I can think of that would lead an AI team to waive Thornburg (and keep League), so I'd have to guess that's a symptom of a general AI problem around RP evaluation. Luckily that kind of thing doesn't seem to happen very often.
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