Like a proud (if often frustrated) father...

luckymann · 08-28-2020, 11:12 PM

So I recruited this guy via FA when he was just 17 on a hunch because I liked the look of his makeup and thought he'd be a handy middle reliever if he came on. He's been like a simulated son to me ever since.

He never really killed it but made his way up from A ball pretty quickly nevertheless. And as he did, the most miraculous change came over his ratings. He exploded from 26/38 as an RP to 42/56 as an SP in his age 18 season and then to 58/79 the following year.

He finally made his debut in the bigs at 20 and has been in our rotation ever since. He's now 23 and like most pitchers that age his issue is consistency. One game he'll come out and pitch like Sandy Koufax, the next like Mitch Williams. His MOV rating has dipped worryingly from a peak of 55 a few seasons back to 47, which meant his HR9 this year has doubled to 1.6. He's always given up more hits than I'd like but his good control helps keep his WHIP at a respectable level.

He struggled at the start of last season, sitting at 3-4 after his first 10 starts with his ERA around 4. But then he found his groove and went on to finish the year 20-4 / 2.68 in 200-odd IP. He finished 3rd in the Apollo Medal (this league's version of the Cy Young) behind Rocket Clemens, who after years of going close finally won it for the first time at age 36.

This year he has been maddening. I mentioned the jump in his HR9, and that has been one of the main reasons his ERA has blown out to just under 4. His FIP is a worrying 4.56, the highest it has ever been by a good margin. But, thanks to this solid defensive work behind him and a RSG of 5.0, he has kept winning.

Today we played the Charlotte Flyers, an expansion franchise in their 2nd year of existence in the Constellation League. I've gimped the system over the past couple of years to try and get some real parity and it seems to be working. Three of the six teams that joined the league last year have winning records or close enough to, while one - The Nashville Stars - is even leading their division (the CL equivalent of the AL Central) by a few games as we near the halfway point. Even the D-backs - the real problem child of the CL - had started winning, although Texas and Colorado remain stubbornly recalcitrant. Charlotte had to that point gone 35-41 and were playing some solid ball, but were well back in their div from the runaway Red Sox (50-27, 10 games clear). Adam was on the mound for us.

We ended up losing 6-3, with Ads going 6+, giving up 3 ER on 9 hits and fanning 5. He was the pitcher of record.

Thus came to an end a pretty amazing run. 28 wins / 40 unbeaten games. Better than any IRL mark as far as I'm aware. I remain a proud (if often frustrated) quasi father to my computer-generated fake son. Just thought I'd share.

Dave Stieb II · 08-28-2020, 11:50 PM

That's a great story, a great find and you are obviously a proud 'simulated father'.
But talk about tough love!
Those are some pretty phenominal numbers for a 23-year-old you rescued from oblivion and if he frustrates you, I guess I should forgive myself for getting frustrated with some of the young Miami Marlins pitchers in my current save.

luckymann · 08-29-2020, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Stieb II

That's a great story, a great find and you are obviously a proud 'simulated father'.
But talk about tough love!
Those are some pretty phenominal numbers for a 23-year-old you rescued from oblivion and if he frustrates you, I guess I should forgive myself for getting frustrated with some of the young Miami Marlins pitchers in my current save.

Just one more piece of anecdotal evidence that it is a good thing I never became a father IRL.

I am notoriously tough on my pitchers (and notoriously lenient on my hitters). It's as much an aesthetic mindset as anything else for me. I love a 1-0 win more than a blowout. I regularly have to chastise myself for castigating my pitchers after a 4-3 win! Tough love indeed.

Over the 13 years of this league I have built up my A's franchise to have the most unbelievably robust pitching staff right through my system. It is so strong that I have 40+ OVR guys in my A ball rotation (see screenshot). I would estimate I spend about 70% of my time on pitching and 30% on hitting. I only ever trade for fully developed pitchers in an emergency. The rest are acquired as prospects and developed, with those who don't come on well enough to keep moving up / make the big team as SP moved into the bullpen or traded for new prospects.

I have absolutely no idea why this is the way it is. I was a "no bat, no glove" 3B when I played and most of my historical faves are position players. Go figure.

PS the "Robert Gibson" you see currently in AA is Bob Gibson's "son" IE Bob Gibson re-entered into the league after retiring as "Bob". I've done this with a few players who are now making their way up the ranks again. "Randolph Johnson" looks set to be destroying bats for the next 15 years or so! I've also started introducing some Negro League legends in recent seasons, so I have Cool Papa Bell, Oscar Charleston and Josh Gibson all as pups. Fascinating to see them all come on.And Casey Flick in MLB- is only there on a rehab assignment. We're not so strong to be able to park a 77/80 guy in the minors, but I'm working on it!!

BBGiovanni · 08-29-2020, 03:17 PM

This is a fun read! I like your un-retirement of players, a good idea.

And I think I'm your complete opposite, I produce scads of toolsy gap hitters with great gloves, then trade them for 30+ year old starters and use them until they melt

Based on what you've described there's probably a reason all my SP prospects end up as all-star long relievers

luckymann · 08-29-2020, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBGiovanni

This is a fun read! I like your un-retirement of players, a good idea.

And I think I'm your complete opposite, I produce scads of toolsy gap hitters with great gloves, then trade them for 30+ year old starters and use them until they melt

Based on what you've described there's probably a reason all my SP prospects end up as all-star long relievers

The rebirthing came about because I was a total noob at OOTP when I began this league and made some rookie errors at the import stage so a lot of these guys underperformed the first time around. Not much chance of that this time as the screenshots show!

The thing about SP and RP is you just need to have the right mix. If your rotation is a bit weak but you have a strong bullpen you can usually get away with it (the key word here being "bit").

My "problem" is that my SP are of a sort that means my RP don't get to pitch many innings, roughly 3/5 of the usual bullpen in the league as far as I can tell. But you still need the good ones because their job is so important. And the good ones want the money shown to them, to paraphrase Rod Tidwell. So I end up paying my relief corps big bucks for minimal bang. Yeah, it's not really a problem, thus the quotations.

luckymann · 09-01-2020, 02:19 AM

Check out his hitting as well - Game Score 92, second best of the season so far by a pitcher!!

Dave Stieb II · 09-01-2020, 10:41 AM

I can see where he would often frustrate you, though.
I mean, what's with giving up the one hit?
Maybe it's a focus issue.

luckymann · 09-01-2020, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Stieb II

I can see where he would often frustrate you, though.
I mean, what's with giving up the one hit?
Maybe it's a focus issue.

I know, right? I nearly hooked him after that (it was in the 6th...) but he settled down again and finished it off...

Still I might send him down for some seasoning in the minors

BTW In honour of your participation in this thread, I have renamed the reborn Dave Stieb jr

luckymann · 09-03-2020, 09:07 PM

... and then four starts later he does this... 97 game score, top for pitchers this season.

I've changed my mind about sending him down - he can stay for a bit...

luckymann · 09-04-2020, 03:30 AM

Slightly off-topic but this was a nice coincidence in my fictional league today.

"Son" of "Terrific".

luckymann · 10-12-2020, 04:33 AM

In the middle of the worst season of his career, on the cusp of being cut / traded / sent down / God knows what, just generally breaking my heart into a million pieces, my boy goes and does this...

ALB123 · 10-14-2020, 02:30 PM

I can't hold it back anymore...

I absolutely hate every numeric rating system that is not 20-80 using increments of 5. I look at that big screenshot with your batters and all of those numbers and I swear to God I get dizzy and say to myself, "Argh! Stop looking! Stop looking!" LOL It confuses the fudge out of me. Can't we all agree to just use 20-80 by 5 and stars for CUR/POT ratings? That's what all the cool kids are using... Pleeeeeeease? Pretty Please?!

I'm just joking, of course... Well, joking about forcing everyone onto one rating system. I really do hate those other systems. I hate them with the fire of a thousand suns. Okay, temper tantrum finished.

koohead · 10-14-2020, 02:55 PM

someone needs a Snickers

CBeisbol · 10-14-2020, 02:59 PM

I've switched to 2-8

Muddies the waters a bit more

rudel.dietrich · 10-14-2020, 05:03 PM

I always use 1-20....
I guess we are all different in our preferences

luckymann · 10-14-2020, 07:23 PM

Not sure why I went with 20-80 full, it just seemed like the one that would suit me best. Never used anything else but am thinking I might go a different way with my new save just to mix things up a bit.

mytreds · 10-15-2020, 02:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CBeisbol

I've switched to 2-8

Muddies the waters a bit more

Same here. And I haven’t looked back.

08-28-2020, 11:12 PM	#1
luckymann Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 13,576	Like a proud (if often frustrated) father... So I recruited this guy via FA when he was just 17 on a hunch because I liked the look of his makeup and thought he'd be a handy middle reliever if he came on. He's been like a simulated son to me ever since. He never really killed it but made his way up from A ball pretty quickly nevertheless. And as he did, the most miraculous change came over his ratings. He exploded from 26/38 as an RP to 42/56 as an SP in his age 18 season and then to 58/79 the following year. He finally made his debut in the bigs at 20 and has been in our rotation ever since. He's now 23 and like most pitchers that age his issue is consistency. One game he'll come out and pitch like Sandy Koufax, the next like Mitch Williams. His MOV rating has dipped worryingly from a peak of 55 a few seasons back to 47, which meant his HR9 this year has doubled to 1.6. He's always given up more hits than I'd like but his good control helps keep his WHIP at a respectable level. He struggled at the start of last season, sitting at 3-4 after his first 10 starts with his ERA around 4. But then he found his groove and went on to finish the year 20-4 / 2.68 in 200-odd IP. He finished 3rd in the Apollo Medal (this league's version of the Cy Young) behind Rocket Clemens, who after years of going close finally won it for the first time at age 36. This year he has been maddening. I mentioned the jump in his HR9, and that has been one of the main reasons his ERA has blown out to just under 4. His FIP is a worrying 4.56, the highest it has ever been by a good margin. But, thanks to this solid defensive work behind him and a RSG of 5.0, he has kept winning. Today we played the Charlotte Flyers, an expansion franchise in their 2nd year of existence in the Constellation League. I've gimped the system over the past couple of years to try and get some real parity and it seems to be working. Three of the six teams that joined the league last year have winning records or close enough to, while one - The Nashville Stars - is even leading their division (the CL equivalent of the AL Central) by a few games as we near the halfway point. Even the D-backs - the real problem child of the CL - had started winning, although Texas and Colorado remain stubbornly recalcitrant. Charlotte had to that point gone 35-41 and were playing some solid ball, but were well back in their div from the runaway Red Sox (50-27, 10 games clear). Adam was on the mound for us. We ended up losing 6-3, with Ads going 6+, giving up 3 ER on 9 hits and fanning 5. He was the pitcher of record. Thus came to an end a pretty amazing run. 28 wins / 40 unbeaten games. Better than any IRL mark as far as I'm aware. I remain a proud (if often frustrated) quasi father to my computer-generated fake son. Just thought I'd share. Attached Images Last edited by luckymann; 08-28-2020 at 11:30 PM.

08-29-2020, 03:17 PM	#4
BBGiovanni All Star Starter Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Republic of California Posts: 1,910	This is a fun read! I like your un-retirement of players, a good idea. And I think I'm your complete opposite, I produce scads of toolsy gap hitters with great gloves, then trade them for 30+ year old starters and use them until they melt Based on what you've described there's probably a reason all my SP prospects end up as all-star long relievers __________________ Let's Go (San Jose) Giants, Let's Go Mets! Current Project: WBAT/AABBA: Organized Base Ball And the "New Normal" World Baseball Aid Tournament 2023 trophy round underway!

09-01-2020, 02:19 AM	#6
luckymann Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 13,576	So close to the Hollywood ending... Check out his hitting as well - Game Score 92, second best of the season so far by a pitcher!! Attached Images

09-03-2020, 09:07 PM	#9
luckymann Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 13,576	... and then four starts later he does this... 97 game score, top for pitchers this season. I've changed my mind about sending him down - he can stay for a bit... Attached Images Last edited by luckymann; 09-03-2020 at 09:13 PM.

09-04-2020, 03:30 AM	#10
luckymann Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 13,576	Slightly off-topic but this was a nice coincidence in my fictional league today. "Son" of "Terrific". Attached Images

08-28-2020, 11:50 PM	#2
Dave Stieb II All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2020 Posts: 661	That's a great story, a great find and you are obviously a proud 'simulated father'. But talk about tough love! Those are some pretty phenominal numbers for a 23-year-old you rescued from oblivion and if he frustrates you, I guess I should forgive myself for getting frustrated with some of the young Miami Marlins pitchers in my current save.

09-01-2020, 10:41 AM	#7
Dave Stieb II All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2020 Posts: 661	I can see where he would often frustrate you, though. I mean, what's with giving up the one hit? Maybe it's a focus issue.

10-12-2020, 04:33 AM	#11
luckymann Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 13,576	In the middle of the worst season of his career, on the cusp of being cut / traded / sent down / God knows what, just generally breaking my heart into a million pieces, my boy goes and does this... Attached Images

10-14-2020, 02:30 PM	#12
ALB123 All Star Reserve Join Date: Jan 2020 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 638	I can't hold it back anymore... I absolutely hate every numeric rating system that is not 20-80 using increments of 5. I look at that big screenshot with your batters and all of those numbers and I swear to God I get dizzy and say to myself, "Argh! Stop looking! Stop looking!" LOL It confuses the fudge out of me. Can't we all agree to just use 20-80 by 5 and stars for CUR/POT ratings? That's what all the cool kids are using... Pleeeeeeease? Pretty Please?! I'm just joking, of course... Well, joking about forcing everyone onto one rating system. I really do hate those other systems. I hate them with the fire of a thousand suns. Okay, temper tantrum finished. __________________ "I'm on the side that's always lost against the side of Heaven. I'm on the side of snake-eyes tossed against the side of seven" - Leonard Cohen "The Captain"

10-14-2020, 02:55 PM	#13
koohead Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 3,211	someone needs a Snickers __________________ GM - New Jersey Bears of the NPBL;

10-14-2020, 02:59 PM	#14
CBeisbol Banned Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Ban land in 3...2... Posts: 2,943	I've switched to 2-8 Muddies the waters a bit more

10-14-2020, 05:03 PM	#15
rudel.dietrich Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Zürich, Switzerland Posts: 8,608	I always use 1-20.... I guess we are all different in our preferences

10-14-2020, 07:23 PM	#16
luckymann Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 13,576	Not sure why I went with 20-80 full, it just seemed like the one that would suit me best. Never used anything else but am thinking I might go a different way with my new save just to mix things up a bit.