Over the Budget in Challenge Mode

BlackIce · 06-20-2017, 10:08 PM

Hi folks,

I'm new to the game and also very new to baseball. I'm slowly but surly finding ways to enhance my knowledge of the sport (and ootp game) by google searching and referencing the built in online glossary allowing me to look at the terminology at times to figure out things.

So far so good! =)

I decided to try my hand at playing in the challenge mode as the Atlanta Braves, I'm finding not only is playing and managing the Braves a real challenge in itself but the fact I cannot pluck anyone from waivers really frustrates me as I feel I'm loosing out on various depth options and pieces that come along every now and then.

Is it normal for teams to start a season so far into the over budget area that we cannot as so much take a player or two from waivers ? Or is this simply part of the challenge mode almongst teams and the only transactions I can do is pull players who have no business in the major leagues in from minor leagues and watch them implode on themselves ?

In previous games as other teams, I usually stick to a strategy or two and thats staying clear away from long term enormous contracts and focus on 1 yr deals that are under 1M, usually targeting Relievers to help with replacing some of my pitchers who just arn't helping me win or pulling they're weight but the annoyance of not being able to take anyone even on a cheap and expiring deal from the waiver wire makes things complicated.... alot!

I do love the challenge mode and if this is a challenge in itself then so be it but if theyre is something that I am doing to address this I'd love to gather ideas.

Thanks for your time

NoOne · 06-21-2017, 08:12 AM

you want to manage your money a bit better. short-term cheap contracts won't fill out a 25-man team that will win much... you will inevitably have some longer terms and larger contracts..

the idea is to learn how much you can handle at any one time and when you can splurge and how to do it without shooting yourself in the foot (aka budget problems). knowing what to expect from revenue is important.. whehter winning, losing or .500. you need to be able to speculate in an accurate/rational way.

these things are 100% avoidable. (budget problems)

in a pinch you can reduce scouting or development budgets... although this isn't a good idea if already near or below baseline.

start experimenting with team financials to maximize revenue. e.g. charge more for season tickets because you learn that attendance will not be affected by this # or cost (still as of this year). (eye-ball it or use calculus

)

just because the game automatically puts an escalating contract pay scale does not mean you have to do that... evenly paid or even a front-loaded contracts are sometimes better ideas. you can free up money for a time-period you know will be more expensive due to inevitable extensions you intend to sign.

lots of ways to attack this

chazzycat · 06-21-2017, 02:42 PM

It's not part of challenge mode, it's just your team's finances. Generally you want to take a close look at your financial situation before the season starts. If you just started a normal game and started playing games right away without checking on finances, it might be a rough first year. The budget is all set when the season starts, so the only way to free up money is by trading players who have high salaries. Braves are rebuilding so it's probably a good idea to move veteran players anyway like Kemp, Phillips etc.

NoOne · 06-22-2017, 11:54 AM

most mlb teams are terrible with finances, so i bet 1/2 of them are borked for a couple years, lol. i know my home town team is strapped for budget space

not cash, they all make money in RL.. marlins have ~10k people show up and they make 50M or more -- and that's 'accounting revenue' not real revenue. probably closer to 100M.

06-20-2017, 10:08 PM	#1
BlackIce All Star Reserve Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Calgary, AB Posts: 589	Over the Budget in Challenge Mode Hi folks, I'm new to the game and also very new to baseball. I'm slowly but surly finding ways to enhance my knowledge of the sport (and ootp game) by google searching and referencing the built in online glossary allowing me to look at the terminology at times to figure out things. So far so good! =) I decided to try my hand at playing in the challenge mode as the Atlanta Braves, I'm finding not only is playing and managing the Braves a real challenge in itself but the fact I cannot pluck anyone from waivers really frustrates me as I feel I'm loosing out on various depth options and pieces that come along every now and then. Is it normal for teams to start a season so far into the over budget area that we cannot as so much take a player or two from waivers ? Or is this simply part of the challenge mode almongst teams and the only transactions I can do is pull players who have no business in the major leagues in from minor leagues and watch them implode on themselves ? In previous games as other teams, I usually stick to a strategy or two and thats staying clear away from long term enormous contracts and focus on 1 yr deals that are under 1M, usually targeting Relievers to help with replacing some of my pitchers who just arn't helping me win or pulling they're weight but the annoyance of not being able to take anyone even on a cheap and expiring deal from the waiver wire makes things complicated.... alot! I do love the challenge mode and if this is a challenge in itself then so be it but if theyre is something that I am doing to address this I'd love to gather ideas. Thanks for your time

06-21-2017, 08:12 AM	#2
NoOne Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7,258 Infractions: 1/0 (0)	you want to manage your money a bit better. short-term cheap contracts won't fill out a 25-man team that will win much... you will inevitably have some longer terms and larger contracts.. the idea is to learn how much you can handle at any one time and when you can splurge and how to do it without shooting yourself in the foot (aka budget problems). knowing what to expect from revenue is important.. whehter winning, losing or .500. you need to be able to speculate in an accurate/rational way. these things are 100% avoidable. (budget problems) in a pinch you can reduce scouting or development budgets... although this isn't a good idea if already near or below baseline. start experimenting with team financials to maximize revenue. e.g. charge more for season tickets because you learn that attendance will not be affected by this # or cost (still as of this year). (eye-ball it or use calculus ) just because the game automatically puts an escalating contract pay scale does not mean you have to do that... evenly paid or even a front-loaded contracts are sometimes better ideas. you can free up money for a time-period you know will be more expensive due to inevitable extensions you intend to sign. lots of ways to attack this

06-21-2017, 02:42 PM	#3
chazzycat All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 1,685	It's not part of challenge mode, it's just your team's finances. Generally you want to take a close look at your financial situation before the season starts. If you just started a normal game and started playing games right away without checking on finances, it might be a rough first year. The budget is all set when the season starts, so the only way to free up money is by trading players who have high salaries. Braves are rebuilding so it's probably a good idea to move veteran players anyway like Kemp, Phillips etc.

06-22-2017, 11:54 AM	#4
NoOne Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7,258 Infractions: 1/0 (0)	most mlb teams are terrible with finances, so i bet 1/2 of them are borked for a couple years, lol. i know my home town team is strapped for budget space not cash, they all make money in RL.. marlins have ~10k people show up and they make 50M or more -- and that's 'accounting revenue' not real revenue. probably closer to 100M.