Horrendous pitching - due to something fundamentally wrong?

Marsh511 · 06-18-2019, 12:00 AM

I've played PT for about 10 seasons (only v20) now (finally in Silver), but can't seem to get the hang of handling pitchers. For the past 3-4 seasons, I've been getting totally abysmal pitching performances from pitchers rated around 85-92. Starters, relievers - doesn't matter. They all have WHIP's over 1.7 and ERA's higher than 6.00. Small sample after game 25? I went the whole season last year, and some still turned in numbers like these - with over 150 IP! Is there something critical that you need to do to prevent these types of severe underperfomances? Also, I do tend to use Starters as Relievers - even Closers. Does that make them perform less effectively? For example, I had Paxton as a closer. Why? I had Will Smith, who had done well as Closer for 4-5 seasons suddenly imploded with 3 seasons of 5.00+ ERA - as a reliever (and around 1.50 WHIP)...so I sent him packing. This seems to be outside of expected variances....so I MUST be doing something wrong! Any advice would be appreciated!

bailey · 06-18-2019, 12:01 AM

What are your defense ratings especially at 2B SS and CF and C. You can't play Rod Carew OVR 69 DEF 29 at 2B and get good pitching results. My Hawthorn team has DEF over 100 at 3 and over 90 at C.

Goliathus · 06-18-2019, 12:19 AM

Mind posting your roster so we can at least have some data to find possible issues?

justpatrick · 06-18-2019, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goliathus

Mind posting your roster so we can at least have some data to find possible issues?

Yes, do this for sure. Off hand, I would guess your guys have low movement ratings. Other factors can be, as mentioned above, the quality of your defense and the type of pitchers you have. If you have groundballers with poor infield defense then you have a disaster, and flyballers with poor outfielders is also ugly.

Poor control is also a culprit, as is lefthanders without great movement. Smith is a lefty with great stuff, decent control but lousy movement. If you put your fences back to Montana he could be more effective.

DMan77 · 06-18-2019, 02:55 PM

Yup like others have said, you want solid defenders at SS, 2B, and the outfield... I also look for catchers with a high Catching Ability.

Sort of a part of the "game within the game"... You need to balance your roster the best you can, and the Overall numbers might not tell you the whole story.

waittilnextyear · 06-18-2019, 03:44 PM

I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet, but don't forget to tune those game strategy settings...

If you have SPs with lower stamina, you'll probably want to quicken the 'manager hook' in the later innings.

You can also use the 'intentional walk' slider to help manage how many homers vs how many BBs you're giving up.

The 'favor L/R' setting is also tunable so you can balance platoon advantage with bullpen fatigue with your relievers.

Whether your guys have pinpoint command or not will also impact how you set up the 'pitch around' setting. Some of the defensive strategies (shifting and playing the INF in) can really help on the margins also.

These strategies are not going to compensate for trotting bad pitchers out there. First and foremost you want to have the strongest pitching staff you can get, the best defense you can (already mentioned), and tailor it to the ballpark and strategy settings.

Orcin · 06-18-2019, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waittilnextyear

First and foremost you want to have the strongest pitching staff you can get, the best defense you can (already mentioned), and tailor it to the ballpark and strategy settings.

I like this strategy plus I try to have the best offense too.

joehart · 06-18-2019, 07:25 PM

Wow. Good one. Today must be generic Tuesday :-)

Going back to the original poster, if you have crazy good infield defense (Aparicio/Marion/Belanger) at 2B and SS, you can get away with pitchers in your bullpen that look more like 50+ Stuff, 70+ Movement, 70 Control.

You can find a few in the bronze-silver range (like Howe) before adding gold ones (Garber, Borbon, ...).
The same is true for starters. You can get some gold pitchers like Brett Anderson and Splittorff and they will serve you for a very long time.

You can further help your pitchers by adjusting your park to .900 for HRs.

Essentially, you want your opponents to drive their balls to your great infielders.

The same is true for your outfield. Get yourself some players that have great defense (85+ ) and negate some of the balls that fly to the outfield.

Example, we started out with players like 69 Gwyn, 68 Ichiro before moving to Ashburn, Maddox, Piersall, Gold Ichiro, ...

Let us know how your team adjusts after making the adjustments this season and once you had an opportunity to adjust the park.

As for your catcher, get someone like Mike LaValliere. You can still find him on lots of teams in Perfect league.

06-18-2019, 12:00 AM	#1
Marsh511 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 27	Horrendous pitching - due to something fundamentally wrong? I've played PT for about 10 seasons (only v20) now (finally in Silver), but can't seem to get the hang of handling pitchers. For the past 3-4 seasons, I've been getting totally abysmal pitching performances from pitchers rated around 85-92. Starters, relievers - doesn't matter. They all have WHIP's over 1.7 and ERA's higher than 6.00. Small sample after game 25? I went the whole season last year, and some still turned in numbers like these - with over 150 IP! Is there something critical that you need to do to prevent these types of severe underperfomances? Also, I do tend to use Starters as Relievers - even Closers. Does that make them perform less effectively? For example, I had Paxton as a closer. Why? I had Will Smith, who had done well as Closer for 4-5 seasons suddenly imploded with 3 seasons of 5.00+ ERA - as a reliever (and around 1.50 WHIP)...so I sent him packing. This seems to be outside of expected variances....so I MUST be doing something wrong! Any advice would be appreciated!

06-18-2019, 12:01 AM	#2
bailey Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 3,434	What are your defense ratings especially at 2B SS and CF and C. You can't play Rod Carew OVR 69 DEF 29 at 2B and get good pitching results. My Hawthorn team has DEF over 100 at 3 and over 90 at C. Last edited by bailey; 06-18-2019 at 12:03 AM.

06-18-2019, 03:44 PM	#6
waittilnextyear All Star Starter Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 1,285	I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet, but don't forget to tune those game strategy settings... If you have SPs with lower stamina, you'll probably want to quicken the 'manager hook' in the later innings. You can also use the 'intentional walk' slider to help manage how many homers vs how many BBs you're giving up. The 'favor L/R' setting is also tunable so you can balance platoon advantage with bullpen fatigue with your relievers. Whether your guys have pinpoint command or not will also impact how you set up the 'pitch around' setting. Some of the defensive strategies (shifting and playing the INF in) can really help on the margins also. These strategies are not going to compensate for trotting bad pitchers out there. First and foremost you want to have the strongest pitching staff you can get, the best defense you can (already mentioned), and tailor it to the ballpark and strategy settings. __________________

06-18-2019, 07:25 PM	#8
joehart All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 1,131	Wow. Good one. Today must be generic Tuesday :-) Going back to the original poster, if you have crazy good infield defense (Aparicio/Marion/Belanger) at 2B and SS, you can get away with pitchers in your bullpen that look more like 50+ Stuff, 70+ Movement, 70 Control. You can find a few in the bronze-silver range (like Howe) before adding gold ones (Garber, Borbon, ...). The same is true for starters. You can get some gold pitchers like Brett Anderson and Splittorff and they will serve you for a very long time. You can further help your pitchers by adjusting your park to .900 for HRs. Essentially, you want your opponents to drive their balls to your great infielders. The same is true for your outfield. Get yourself some players that have great defense (85+ ) and negate some of the balls that fly to the outfield. Example, we started out with players like 69 Gwyn, 68 Ichiro before moving to Ashburn, Maddox, Piersall, Gold Ichiro, ... Let us know how your team adjusts after making the adjustments this season and once you had an opportunity to adjust the park. As for your catcher, get someone like Mike LaValliere. You can still find him on lots of teams in Perfect league. __________________

06-18-2019, 12:19 AM	#3
Goliathus Major Leagues Join Date: Apr 2019 Posts: 449	Mind posting your roster so we can at least have some data to find possible issues?

06-18-2019, 02:55 PM	#5
DMan77 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 45	Yup like others have said, you want solid defenders at SS, 2B, and the outfield... I also look for catchers with a high Catching Ability. Sort of a part of the "game within the game"... You need to balance your roster the best you can, and the Overall numbers might not tell you the whole story.