1979--A 3rd (and 4th) League is born - Page 15

Y0DA55 · 03-15-2005, 03:13 AM

seth, I really commend you for all the work you've put into this one. It was quite the task to handle 14 pages. And as I did all that at once (it took a little bit of time), I may have missed some things. What I am about to ask may be a bit of a task, but I am curious.

Just off the top of you head, what are the 3 biggest stories you've seen this season?

And again... well done!

seth70liz76 · 03-15-2005, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Y0DA55

seth, I really commend you for all the work you've put into this one. It was quite the task to handle 14 pages. And as I did all that at once (it took a little bit of time), I may have missed some things. What I am about to ask may be a bit of a task, but I am curious.

Just off the top of you head, what are the 3 biggest stories you've seen this season?

And again... well done!

Answer in Y0DA's countdown!

seth70liz76 · 03-15-2005, 09:40 PM

CLE 11-15-2
CIN 5-8-0
When CLE traded Del Wilber to NE, I said the best thing that would come of it is Dan Graham would get more AB’s. From the DH slot, he drives in 5, and is showing every indication he is the hitter other clubs thought he could be. Jack Banta gets the W despite surrendering 5 ER in 8 IP—not his strongest outing. Tuffy Rhodes 2B and steals a base, but Don Lang and Johnny Bero have the HR for CIN.

PIT 4-15-1
HOU 3-9-0
When you are a bad team, you just can’t dodge all the bullets. Fred Lasher gives up 10 hits in 5.2 IP, but only allows 2 R. Tim Layana throws 2.1 IP scoreless to bring his ERA under 10.00 for the season. Cue stopper Joe Klink, 13 saves, 4 wins, not an elite guy, but leads are safe in his hands. 2 bloop singles and an Al Heist 3B later, the Spirit have a win they shouldn’t have—and the Summit show why they are in last place.

PHI 3-6-1
NY 4-13-2 10 innings
Craig, you said you’d like tickets to a NY/PHI game—this was the one to be at. Sometimes, the difference between a win and a loss is who has the most bad things happen to them. It was a typical game like we had during the losing streak—Jim Bouton walks 6 in 4.2 IP, but we can only score 2 runs as Bouton is saved by GIDP and me falling back to being too aggressive on the bases. But we nurse that 2-1 lead—keeping the Fever from doing much of anything. So I bring in Gordie Richardson, our Proven Closer™, 2 singles and 2 walks later the game is tied. DH Marvin Lane, a Gene Tenace type hitter (100 walks, 20 HR and 90 Hit potential) dribbles one to Rolando Americo Biancalana—who can’t add to his 288 assists, instead makes his 13th error. 3-2 Fever, with Shawn (Proven Closer™) Barton set to enter the game. So two out (one a man thrown out at the plate because of my aggressiveness) and Dan (3-23 with runners in scoring position) Dobbek steps in. Lefty versus lefty match-up, start packing up the bats. Dobbek hits a line shot past the SS, and now we’re going to extras. Dobbek drops a fly ball in the 10th, but Jeff Terpko gets the fourth out with no problem. A single-ground out-single (Frank Campos extending his hitting streak at the last possible moment) to set up Rolando Americo Biancalana. A Shawn Barton pitch later, we’ve swept the Fever and have pulled ourselves 5 GB, tied with PIT. Keep hope alive brother!

ATL 3-12-2
TUL 7-10-1
ATL starter Ed Acosta can’t get out of the 1st, as a key 2B by Frank Quilici puts the game away early.

TB 4-12-0
LA 1-8-1
None of the Rowdies P have much control (7 BB/2K), but thankfully the Aztecs can only manage singles. TB also had their top 3 batters go a combined 0-13; the rest go 12-24—Earl Robinson’s 4-5, 2 R being a possible “breakout” game for him. Ed Olwine gets his 8th save in his last 10 appearances—he could be worth something in trade.

MEM 1-3-1
CAL 5-10-2
Joe McClain, well on his way to 20 losses, shows even the ugliest duckling has a spark of the divine. 3 H, 0 BB, 0 ER—Better numbers than he has ever had. Way I figure it, he has 16 chances left to lose 10—another victory and he may just lose 19.

NE 2-8-2
FL 5-8-2
It was the Danny Goodwin show! The FL 1B came in with 2 HR and double that by the 5th. NE can’t get any EXBH to spark the offense.

DET 2-10-2
MIN 4-4-1
The Express don’t do a lot wrong, but today they did. Joe Frazier’s 3-run HR, following a Matt Winter SF, cap the 5th inning. This was the only inning the Hits did anything—in fact they only had a hit in one other inning. Dom Zanni want that Frazier AB back, he gets a fly ball out there, then the Express win 2-1.

seth70liz76 · 03-22-2005, 01:54 PM

Will run the Sked (tonight?) to see which ones are approved:

MIN offers 2B Tony LaRussa and A SS Mike Miley to MEM for P DeWayne Buice.

MEM offers AAA 2B Tommy Hinzo to PIT for AAA P Mike Madden

PIT offers P Rick Ownbey and P Bert Roberge to MIN for AA CF Mike White and A CF John Scott

TB offers A P Jim Constable and A P Tom Parsons for MEM for AA LF Neslon Simmons.

Only the MIN attempt to acquire Buice would be a move for this season, everything else is a future move.

seth70liz76 · 03-22-2005, 07:22 PM

MIN does acquire Buice! That's the only trade that goes through.

Since in League time there was a full evaluation of each team 3 days ago (about 2 weeks in our time) I won't bother with team write ups unless something worth noting happens with the promotion/demotion.

cknox0723 · 03-22-2005, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seth70liz76

PHI 3-6-1
NY 4-13-2 10 innings
Craig, you said you’d like tickets to a NY/PHI game—this was the one to be at. Sometimes, the difference between a win and a loss is who has the most bad things happen to them. It was a typical game like we had during the losing streak—Jim Bouton walks 6 in 4.2 IP, but we can only score 2 runs as Bouton is saved by GIDP and me falling back to being too aggressive on the bases. But we nurse that 2-1 lead—keeping the Fever from doing much of anything. So I bring in Gordie Richardson, our Proven Closer™, 2 singles and 2 walks later the game is tied. DH Marvin Lane, a Gene Tenace type hitter (100 walks, 20 HR and 90 Hit potential) dribbles one to Rolando Americo Biancalana—who can’t add to his 288 assists, instead makes his 13th error. 3-2 Fever, with Shawn (Proven Closer™) Barton set to enter the game. So two out (one a man thrown out at the plate because of my aggressiveness) and Dan (3-23 with runners in scoring position) Dobbek steps in. Lefty versus lefty match-up, start packing up the bats. Dobbek hits a line shot past the SS, and now we’re going to extras. Dobbek drops a fly ball in the 10th, but Jeff Terpko gets the fourth out with no problem. A single-ground out-single (Frank Campos extending his hitting streak at the last possible moment) to set up Rolando Americo Biancalana. A Shawn Barton pitch later, we’ve swept the Fever and have pulled ourselves 5 GB, tied with PIT. Keep hope alive brother!

No comment necessary. Wow.

seth70liz76 · 03-26-2005, 12:21 AM

About a 1/3 of the way thru the teams on the off-day. The only real thing of note is DET sent out Elio Chacon and will turn over the SS job to Lee Elia. Hopefully will have all the teams done by the end of the weekend--just in time to switch over to my other thread.

seth70liz76 · 03-27-2005, 03:09 AM

Ok, I just finished doing MIN's evaluation, and the Buice trade just leaves me scratching my head. You have the worst offense in either league, just under .500 and 14 GB--and you trade for a $2.1 million dollar failed closer to shore up the strongest part of your team? I know you can never have enough pitching, but ecomonically, this pretty much means they can't make a move with the pitching staff unless they make another trade. I've tried to make sense of this deal, but all GM Eric Strauss has done is make trades for relievers and single hitting INFs. I understand having a type you covet, but at some point make a move that will actually improve the team!

seth70liz76 · 03-27-2005, 02:18 PM

Well, I said I wouldn't do a team update unless something notable happend: something notable happened. So the Tea Men dump salary and go from a 9th place club that I thought was the worst in baseball to a second place team thinking more about next year's title and not this year's pennant. The moves, while picking up awholebuncha young arms, has maxed out the roster (40 major league contracts) and limited the moves GM Mark Shaw can do. Still, he doesn't hesitate to make the moves he can. 5 of the 11 pitchers on the major league staff are sent to AAA. Almost 1/2 of the staff is sent to AAA. 2 starters, the no. 2 setup man and 3 other relievers are sent packing. Shaw sends a message, many of these guys will not be around next year--only the P's that can help win a championship will be here in 1980. The only way to find out is to throw them into the fire of the season and see who wilts.

5 of 11 sent to AAA. That is notable.

seth70liz76 · 04-04-2005, 08:03 PM

It's just not there.

So I sit down, turn on the radio to the Cub game and open everything to work on this dynasty. And it's just not there. No enthusiasm, no spark. Nothing. If I was working on Fort Lauderdale or Houston, I might chalk that up to the need to trudge thru the bottom feeders; but I was working on New York. MY TEAM. And there was nothing there to hold me. And while I'm doing all the writing and rolling needed to get everything in order, I just kept looking at that sheet of "off season" notes I wrote on break at work today for "Prologue." Thinking about how I need to work thru the DB to get it ready for the next round of seasons. Thinking about how the players in this dynasty are just names and stat lines. While I've actually made some characters who have life in the other.

So, I need to go thru 3rd&4th and change some of the P's from MR to SP, because most of the top starters imported as MR and I'd hate to see Paul Toth get sent to the pen, and I'll sim out the season sometime this week.

I just didn't think the thrill would be drained so quickly and so completely.

seth70liz76 · 04-05-2005, 12:44 AM

Simmed out the season, will give it a proper obit tomorrow.

But looking over the transactions, I'm reminded why I use the GM sked--bad bad AI!

cknox0723 · 04-05-2005, 12:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seth70liz76

It's just not there.

So I sit down, turn on the radio to the Cub game and open everything to work on this dynasty. And it's just not there. No enthusiasm, no spark. Nothing. If I was working on Fort Lauderdale or Houston, I might chalk that up to the need to trudge thru the bottom feeders; but I was working on New York. MY TEAM. And there was nothing there to hold me. And while I'm doing all the writing and rolling needed to get everything in order, I just kept looking at that sheet of "off season" notes I wrote on break at work today for "Prologue." Thinking about how I need to work thru the DB to get it ready for the next round of seasons. Thinking about how the players in this dynasty are just names and stat lines. While I've actually made some characters who have life in the other.

So, I need to go thru 3rd&4th and change some of the P's from MR to SP, because most of the top starters imported as MR and I'd hate to see Paul Toth get sent to the pen, and I'll sim out the season sometime this week.

I just didn't think the thrill would be drained so quickly and so completely.

what was this import for, anyway? doesn't really matter, but hell. probably a post i missed along the way.

can't say i blame you though. you said it better than i could, and why trudge through something you don't want to? your dedication to this league was unmatched and unwavering. but i can already tell that you're cultivating something great in your new league. i'll have to get caught back up when i'm not so drained; luckily there is the time for that!

i've enjoyed reading. i'll really, really miss this thread, but i'm glad that you'll still be around here and doing something you enjoy more. most people could only hope to match that.

seth70liz76 · 04-05-2005, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cknox0723

what was this import for, anyway? doesn't really matter, but hell. probably a post i missed along the way.

Nothing you missed, when I pulled each player season in, most of the pitchers were pulled in a MRs (this being an OOTP5 league)

Just think, if I hadn't had my computer debugged, this would still be going. Will I miss this? I think eventually I will, but I learned something about dynasty (for me at least): I need a "storyline," not for the reader's benefit, but for mine. I spent everyday of a season, mananging games, rosters, everything--and all of the players in the CL and NAL where nothing more than, as I said above, names and stat lines. The character, if any, they had to me, was what I knew about the real life counterparts. In Prologue, starting in an era I know next to nothing about, already a group of figures, from Aron Mousser to James McCormick, already are living breathing characters. With 3rd&4th, if I wasn't playing the game, they players were just data sitting in my computor. With Prologue, the league and characters can have life and story, even without a game being played.

I know there was a core group of people who followed this thread, and I'm sorry I pulled the plug even sooner than I thought I would. But it was just so strange sitting there and thinking, "this isn't what I want to be working on, this isn't the league I care about any more." I couldn't have been in a more baseball mood: opening day, Cubs kicking Diamondback henie--and nothing from the league I'd cared so much about for 1/2 a season.

Anyhoo, as I said, a proper obit later tonight, recaping the half a season that passed by in a blink. On the bright side however, when I get to 1946 in "Prologue's" world, the AI confirmed why I was GMing the game the way I do. And I think my normal (snail) pace with some actual "flesh and blood" characters populating the game on and off the field, I think we're looking at something that might rise to decent.

It is a progression: Non-Historical Historical--bad
3rd and 4th League--Better
Prologue--even better
1946 and beyond--hopefully good.

Thanks for your time and coments. A little more to come, and then I hope to see you around Prologue. After all, as Homer Simpson says, "Everyone loves prequels."

ifspuds · 04-05-2005, 11:50 AM

You have to be passionate about it. You have to want to know what's going to happen next, and enjoy writing about it when it does happen. This is a hobby, not a job. When you stop enjoying it, it stops being a hobby and you shouldn't keep doing it. I'm just glad to see there'll be some closure (if only to escape the wrath of yoda!) and that you're going to work more on the Prologue. If 1946 and beyond is going to be better, it's going to be one of the classics on this forum, I have no doubt. Congratulations on making it this far, and recognizing when you've lost your taste for it.

seth70liz76 · 04-05-2005, 01:54 PM

The rosters the clubs finished with had little resemblance to the rosters I'd played with for 1/2 a season. The AI, first chance it got, released about 100 players from Major and minor league rosters, and made a whole bunch of the "dumb" trades people lament. Looking over the trades made only two: DET getting Rick Williams and CIN getting Sherman Obando made much sense. DET needed a number 1 starter and Obando had the power the Kids lacked. Everything else made me scratch my head.

Among the players released that first chance they had was Jim Bouton, who was the closest to a story I had in the league. Yeah, he was 40, but he was anchoring a good PHI staff. The fact the Fever had no drop off after he was gone speaks to how good that staff was.

Code:

Contential Standings 
Team 		W  L  PCT   GB 
Philadelphia   94 66 .588    - 
Pittsburgh     85 75 .531  9.0
New York       82 78 .512 12.0 
Cleveland      79 81 .494 15.0  
Houston        71 89 .444 23.0 
Cincinnati     69 91 .431 25.0

The Philadelphia Fever grabbed the lead and didn't let go. In fact, with the only two challengers, NY and PIT just treading water the last half of the season, it turned out to be cake for the boys from Philly. Their pitching was just a notch under NY's in terms of dominance, and the hit a little bit better. NY, well the pitching stayed great, but they just couldn't score (When Kite Thomas came off the DL, he spent 2 months batting under .200 with only 22 RBI). Other than CIN collapsing down the strech, and HOU playing slightly better in the second half, nothing really changed from the All-Star break

Code:

North American Standings 
Team 		 W  L  PCT   GB  
Detroit 	96 64 .600    -
Tulsa 		93 67 .581  3.0 
Tampa Bay 	81 79 .506 15.0  
Atlanta 	80 80 .500 16.0 
California 	80 80 .500 16.0  
Memphis 	79 81 .494 17.0 
Fort Lauderdale 77 83 .481 19.0  
Los Angeles 	74 86 .463 22.0 
New England 	72 88 .450 24.0 
Minnesota 	68 92 .425 28.0

A little different in the NAL. TUL made a mad charge in the last month, as the Express traded for CAL's Rick Williams at the break to get that No. 1 they lacked. TUL, like the Illini last night, just had too big a hole to climb out of when time ran out. The real shocks on here is that TB, who spent most of the season in 10th, finished just over .500; while NE and MIN finally collapsed completly in the second half. The Tea Men were in 2nd when I stopped running the show, and finish a distant 9th. MIN, who couldn't hit anyway, stopped pitching and did nothing to show they deserved to win.

The Founder's Cup went to PHI, 4-2. While Rick Williams did what he was supposed to do, winning both of his starts, PHI's Rick Anderson threw two Shutouts in the playoffs, and the Express couldn't get the bats going in any game. If PH Jake Jones hadn't 2B with two out in the 9th of the final game, the Express would have been shut out 3 times in the series.

elmwood44 · 04-05-2005, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seth70liz76

The real shocks on here is that TB, who spent most of the season in 10th, finished just over .500;

YES!!!!! I knew the Rowdies were on the verge of being competitive

Seth thanks for a great idea and read. I am still working on my similiar league.

I am really enjoying the new dynasty as well. Can't wait to see how it plays out.

Thanks again it was great!!!

seth70liz76 · 04-05-2005, 08:10 PM

Bob Hazle had the best all-around season by a hitter. Splitting time between Pittsburgh and surprising Tampa Bay, Hurricane just had a monster year:

Code:

  G  AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI   R BB  K  AVG  OBP  SLG   OPS  TAVG  ISO 
154 581 223 42  0 26 103 111 89 34 .384 .465 .590 1.055 1.159 .207

Of course, MVP voters ignored that .871 fielding Pct. and hailed him the best hitter in the NAL.

For comparison, the CL MVP was Phil Clark, and his numbers look downright pedestrian:

Code:

  G  AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI  R BB  K  AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS TAVG  ISO 
141 541 169 32  5 14  89 70 42 41 .312 .367 .468 .835 .778 .155

But Clark did win a gold glove too, so he has that going for him.

One of my favorite lines comes from Glenn Gulliver who played for CIN and MEM:

Code:

  G  AB  H 2B 3B HR RBI  R  BB  K  AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS TAVG  ISO 
123 346 71 11  2  1  34 59 109 26 .205 .394 .257 .651 .683 .052

How many walks would he get if he could actually hit? Factor in that he had a stint at AAA (0-8, 10 BB) he could have done even more walking.

NE C Paul Ratliff must really crowd the plate, as he was hit 19 times, nearly doubling up MIN Herb Perry's 11.

LA had terrible trouble hitting doubles, so they solve that problem by having 3 of the 4 top base stealers:

Code:

Reggie Williams LA	32
Skeeter Barnes	FL	31
Larry Lintz	LA	25
Jose Gonzalez	LA	24

Tuffy Rhodes, sadly, did not end up with superstar numbers, just very decent ones:

Code:

  G  AB   H 2B 3B HR RBI  R BB  K  AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS TAVG  ISO 
146 510 132 24  4 18  59 88 85 77 .259 .363 .427 .791 .809 .169

Thrown in an 18-12 SB-CS mark, and he does have some room to improve.

If he wasn't NAL Champ DET everyday 3B, Dick Gray has a potential career as a PH:

Code:

AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SF SH HP   AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS 
 5 5  2  0  1  6  2  1 0  0  0  0 1.000 1.000 2.000 3.000

The thing I regret most is not seeing all of Paul Toth's season:

Code:

 G GS  W L SV  ERA    IP  HA  R ER BB  K CG  CG% SHO QS  QS% 
37 37 24 8  0 2.48 309.0 268 99 85 92 92 19 51.4  6  28 75.7

I'm just blown away by that K total--over 300 IP and fewer than 100 K's! And they still couldn't score against him.

Eric Hillman was the NAL pitcher of the year, and like Clark/Hazle, the difference is astounding:

Code:

 G GS  W L SV  ERA    IP  HA   R ER BB  K CG  CG% SHO QS  QS% 
34 34 19 7  0 2.92 259.0 274 100 84 41 88  6 17.6  1  22 64.7

CAL/DET hurler Rick Williams was probably a better choice, but the Surf couldn't score runs for him:

Code:

 G GS  W  L SV  ERA    IP  HA  R ER BB  K CG  CG% SHO QS  QS% 
36 36 14 10  0 1.96 289.2 276 84 63 56 99 12 33.3  3  30 83.3

More QS than Toth, very impressive.

Top closer, take your pick NY's Gordie Richardson

Code:

 G GS W L SV  ERA   IP HA  R ER BB  K BS 
61  0 7 3 32 1.18 61.0 47 14  8 21 31  6

or NE/PIT Pedro Borbon

Code:

 G GS W L SV  ERA   IP HA  R ER BB  K BS 
58  0 6 0 32 0.77 70.1 44 16  6 13 36  4

Only 7 P had over 100 K, with an equal number with 100 walks. 4 Were on both sides of the ledger, with LA/MEM/HOU's Scipio Spinks leading both catagories:

Code:

 G GS  W  L SV  ERA    IP  HA   R ER  BB   K CG  CG% SHO QS  QS% 
34 34 13 11  0 3.62 246.1 239 111 99 136 166  7 20.6  1  21 61.8

For this the AI released Jim Bouton?

Code:

G GS W L SV  ERA   IP HA  R ER BB  K CG CG% SHO QS  QS% 
8  7 4 1  0 3.48 44.0 40 19 17 19 18  0  .0  0   5 71.4

seth70liz76 · 04-05-2005, 08:46 PM

Well, on a practical game play level, I learned two valuable lessons:

Being agressive on the bases is great, but I need to be sure I have the players to execute the plan.

If you have a shut down reliever, he can get outs in the 8th just as well as the 9th.

On my GM sked level, I was very pleased. It worked as well as ever and the teams had the seed of a personallity. Not perfect, I saw somethings that will have to be tweeked when 1946 rolls around, but overall very pleased with the results. I even liked the fact I ended up with a bad GM, made my managing job more challenging.

But most importantly, what did I learn about dynasty? Honestly, I thought I had put some thought into 3rd&4th, but when I sent the CPU to be debugged, and I had that month to think about what "Prologue" is leading to . . . yeah, big difference. I learned that a story isn't necessarily for the reader, it can be for the creator. We're building these universes, and there is a story we're telling. It can be like the Pale Hose, where the story can be viewed as game by game--each loss building a legend. Or like Pat O'Farrell, where we follow our favorite player and his circle of family, teammates and friends. Or like Chappy where it is all about the team and the vision he has for them. Or Tiger Fan where you're curling up with the days paper and following sports like we did before ESPN and the 'net. And I'm not even touching on people like UG or goroyals or metsgeek who tell stories different ways. We all have stories to tell. And, like BigSix has pointed out, he'd care about Pat, follow Pat, even without the dynasty board--I honestly belive he'd write the same letters and telegrams if we weren't here. I, on the other hand, had a good structure, I had a good league--Craig said in Y0DA's countdown it captured the "small market" league many try for. But when all was said and done, I never looked at the league as anything more than, well, math. And so, knowing I was slowly losing my interest, I started thinking about what was next--I honestly thought I'd be starting a 1946 league. But the more I thought, scribbled, planned--it exploded into a whole universe that I had never thought possible with a sim game. When you are used to not being able to create a history, it takes awhile to warm up to the idea. And then I started thinking about the people needed to create a history--owners, writers, players--and it showed me how far from what I really wanted 3rd&4th is. Good idea, yes--but I didn't execute it in a way to make me want to keep it alive once I discovered what was lacking. Maybe when OOTP12 comes out, I'll revisit the idea--but things like the team/league conflicts that are starting in Prologue will be there. If I don't care about the players/teams/league why should you?

Well, I hope to see you all in your threads and in my newest project. Already--even with the blur a simmed season can be, I feel it is much more alive, much more real than I made this world.

Sarcastic · 04-08-2005, 01:48 AM

seth70liz76, I know you have moved on to a new (and better) dynasty, but please, for the love of all that is holy, tell me how you set extension and FA offers (or planned to, since you didn't really get to did it with this one). I don't need any hyper detailed examples, just a quick explanation.

Please?

seth70liz76 · 04-10-2005, 06:34 PM

At the request of Sarcastic, there is a little more unfinished business with 3rd&4th: how extensions and FA is handled using the GM Sked. This is an OOTP5 league, so it may not apply to the system in OOTP6, but should be close enough to work.

It is, unsurprisingly, a two-step process at it’s most basic: Will the extension be offered, and for how much. For example sake, I’m going to work with ATL’s roster and GM.

Code:

GM	Aggr	Spend	Pitch	Hit	Defense	Ideal P	Ideal H	
Curry	11[13]	4	7	8	B	456	554	
	11	6	7	5

For most of the season, extension can only be offered if the player request one—part of using the game as much as possible to dictate action. On Sept 1st, if I had been playing out the whole season, I would go through each club and check if every player with expiring contracts, who had not previously made an extension request, would be offered an extension. Offers of Arbitration are handled in a similar manner, but that’s another matter for another time.

Is extension offered?
Compare GM Aggressiveness + Pitch/Hit – AAA (if player is at AAA) to
League Aggressiveness + League Pitch/Hit
In ATL’s case we work with (ignoring the trade deadline aggressiveness for a moment) 18(-8) against 18 for Pitchers; 19(-8) against 16 for hitters.

With the following column shifts:

+1 in player’s favor: meets “ideal P/ideal H” rating as well as defense/range rating; OPS/WHIP is above team average; player is under 26 and GM profile ‘favors prospects”; is 27-32

-1 in player’s disfavor: OPS/WHIP below team average; position is listed as weakness in FA screen; is over 35; is at AAA; if teams ranks bottom 5 in offense/pitching (just a simple combination of the placement of the ‘roster screen stats’, low the total the better)

So if Kevin Chapman says he wants an extension. Fine, since he is one the active roster, we have a base of 18 v. 18 for the dice roll. He gets +1 for being 28, +1 for having an above team average OPS, no other adjustments. On my chart, a roll of 2d10 surpassing 7 is needed to offer an extension—65% chance of offering—pretty reasonable considering he was one of the key players in the Chief’s offense and steady with the glove.

If the roll fails, well, Mr. Chapman is looking for another team next season, but if it works—then we have to see how much to offer.

Money is a little tricky with this league; salaries are artificially low because of the way everyone imported from lahman’s. Chapman is making $300K and is asking for $4,590,000 over two years. Again, two parts to this: will we accept the player’s demand or make our own.

First roll to see if we accept the player’s offer, same formula as above adding the Spend column to both—no column adjustments though. If roll succeeds, then we give into the player’s demand, if not well, we have to come up with an offer. (If the player asks for an offer, obviously, skip the first part of this)

The key to the amount are these: Fan Interest, Team Ave Salary, GM’s spend rating compared to league ave, relation of player’s ratings to GM’s Ideal H/P ratings and the player’s OPS compared to League Average or players WHIP compared to League Average.

For ATL/Chapman the figures are this: FI 49; Ave Salary 489,895, Spend 66% of league (Actually, for this spend rating is figured out to 2 decimal places, but let’s keep it somewhat simple), OPS 15% better than league. Simple formula:

(FI/10) * AveSalary + (Spend + Ideal H/P+ OPS/WHIP) = proposed salary
4.9 * 489,985 + (34% + 18% + 15%) = 4,009,547 (not terribly far from what the player asked for).

edit: under the 'advanced' adjustment I use (tweeks of the percentages based on several factors, Chapman actually goes up to 4,583,981-even closer to the request than the basic formula. The adjustments, for hitters, come from the players C/L OPS; Scoring Pos OPS; SB/CS ratio per PA; and relationsionship of each "idea" charataricistic to team average in those ratings) Off-seasons are as slow as the regular season for me.

HOWEVER, if player’s OPS/WHIP is BELOW league average the formula would change to:
(FI/10) * AveSalary - (Ideal - Spend – OPS/WHIP)
4.9 * 489,985 – (18% - 66% - 15%) = 888,342

So the more fan support, the more willing the GM is willing to spend and the better the player performed all work together to determine the salary. Now, truthfully, if salaries were more “realistic” (meaning, more than 1 to 3 players making over the minimum per team) the first factor would be changed to FI/20. A younger cheaper player is more likely to get an extension than an older expensive one.

Years for extension are determined by 1d5 roll.

Arbitration is somewhat similar, I just figure if the expected arbitration salary is equal to or less than the ‘proposed salary” formula total, then I accept arbitration.

Free Agency I deal with in three 10-day sections, salary offers/years are handle as above, except I use the League Average Salary as the starting point.

1st Section: Players who meet the GM’s ideal P/H, and fill a “weakness” per FA page.
2nd Section: Players who meet the GM’s ideal P/H
3rd Section: Each day, reduce GM’s ideal P/H rating by one across the board

I use the ‘is extension offered’ formula to see if GM pursues player, then the salary formula to see what is offered.

Now, there are “bonuses” that can be added to the salary formula (heck there are a few of minor adjustments in all of these formulas) is player wins MVP/Cy Young/Gold Glove/etc. but this is the basics. There is also a “extra effort” bonus that I touched on when I first discussed the GM sked; figured based on where team finished, if FI/attendance is decreasing, and a couple other scenarios—but this is the vanilla version. Not perfect, but it has worked pretty well for me. Since this hasn’t been updated for OOTP6 financials, I’m not sure how signing bonuses, DFA, etc, would figure in, but when/if I make the move to OOTP7, one of my first projects will be to run a few ‘dummy’ leagues to test somethings out.

Hope this made some sense; I’m sure there are some little things I left out that are “automatic” but I think this is enough of a base if you want to adapt it to a league you want to use, you can.

03-15-2005, 03:13 AM	#281
Y0DA55 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: In the middle of the Yankees/Red Sox Rivalry Posts: 1,771	seth, I really commend you for all the work you've put into this one. It was quite the task to handle 14 pages. And as I did all that at once (it took a little bit of time), I may have missed some things. What I am about to ask may be a bit of a task, but I am curious. Just off the top of you head, what are the 3 biggest stories you've seen this season? And again... well done! __________________ Do, or do not, there is no try!

03-15-2005, 09:40 PM	#283
seth70liz76 All Star Starter Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 1,634	07/07/1979 CLE 11-15-2 CIN 5-8-0 When CLE traded Del Wilber to NE, I said the best thing that would come of it is Dan Graham would get more AB’s. From the DH slot, he drives in 5, and is showing every indication he is the hitter other clubs thought he could be. Jack Banta gets the W despite surrendering 5 ER in 8 IP—not his strongest outing. Tuffy Rhodes 2B and steals a base, but Don Lang and Johnny Bero have the HR for CIN. PIT 4-15-1 HOU 3-9-0 When you are a bad team, you just can’t dodge all the bullets. Fred Lasher gives up 10 hits in 5.2 IP, but only allows 2 R. Tim Layana throws 2.1 IP scoreless to bring his ERA under 10.00 for the season. Cue stopper Joe Klink, 13 saves, 4 wins, not an elite guy, but leads are safe in his hands. 2 bloop singles and an Al Heist 3B later, the Spirit have a win they shouldn’t have—and the Summit show why they are in last place. PHI 3-6-1 NY 4-13-2 10 innings Craig, you said you’d like tickets to a NY/PHI game—this was the one to be at. Sometimes, the difference between a win and a loss is who has the most bad things happen to them. It was a typical game like we had during the losing streak—Jim Bouton walks 6 in 4.2 IP, but we can only score 2 runs as Bouton is saved by GIDP and me falling back to being too aggressive on the bases. But we nurse that 2-1 lead—keeping the Fever from doing much of anything. So I bring in Gordie Richardson, our Proven Closer™, 2 singles and 2 walks later the game is tied. DH Marvin Lane, a Gene Tenace type hitter (100 walks, 20 HR and 90 Hit potential) dribbles one to Rolando Americo Biancalana—who can’t add to his 288 assists, instead makes his 13th error. 3-2 Fever, with Shawn (Proven Closer™) Barton set to enter the game. So two out (one a man thrown out at the plate because of my aggressiveness) and Dan (3-23 with runners in scoring position) Dobbek steps in. Lefty versus lefty match-up, start packing up the bats. Dobbek hits a line shot past the SS, and now we’re going to extras. Dobbek drops a fly ball in the 10th, but Jeff Terpko gets the fourth out with no problem. A single-ground out-single (Frank Campos extending his hitting streak at the last possible moment) to set up Rolando Americo Biancalana. A Shawn Barton pitch later, we’ve swept the Fever and have pulled ourselves 5 GB, tied with PIT. Keep hope alive brother! ATL 3-12-2 TUL 7-10-1 ATL starter Ed Acosta can’t get out of the 1st, as a key 2B by Frank Quilici puts the game away early. TB 4-12-0 LA 1-8-1 None of the Rowdies P have much control (7 BB/2K), but thankfully the Aztecs can only manage singles. TB also had their top 3 batters go a combined 0-13; the rest go 12-24—Earl Robinson’s 4-5, 2 R being a possible “breakout” game for him. Ed Olwine gets his 8th save in his last 10 appearances—he could be worth something in trade. MEM 1-3-1 CAL 5-10-2 Joe McClain, well on his way to 20 losses, shows even the ugliest duckling has a spark of the divine. 3 H, 0 BB, 0 ER—Better numbers than he has ever had. Way I figure it, he has 16 chances left to lose 10—another victory and he may just lose 19. NE 2-8-2 FL 5-8-2 It was the Danny Goodwin show! The FL 1B came in with 2 HR and double that by the 5th. NE can’t get any EXBH to spark the offense. DET 2-10-2 MIN 4-4-1 The Express don’t do a lot wrong, but today they did. Joe Frazier’s 3-run HR, following a Matt Winter SF, cap the 5th inning. This was the only inning the Hits did anything—in fact they only had a hit in one other inning. Dom Zanni want that Frazier AB back, he gets a fly ball out there, then the Express win 2-1. __________________ It was a mistake to come back. Last edited by seth70liz76; 03-16-2005 at 09:46 AM.

03-22-2005, 01:54 PM	#284
seth70liz76 All Star Starter Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 1,634	07/08/1979--Proposed Trades Will run the Sked (tonight?) to see which ones are approved: MIN offers 2B Tony LaRussa and A SS Mike Miley to MEM for P DeWayne Buice. MEM offers AAA 2B Tommy Hinzo to PIT for AAA P Mike Madden PIT offers P Rick Ownbey and P Bert Roberge to MIN for AA CF Mike White and A CF John Scott TB offers A P Jim Constable and A P Tom Parsons for MEM for AA LF Neslon Simmons. Only the MIN attempt to acquire Buice would be a move for this season, everything else is a future move. __________________ It was a mistake to come back.

03-22-2005, 07:22 PM	#285
seth70liz76 All Star Starter Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 1,634	MIN does acquire Buice! That's the only trade that goes through. Since in League time there was a full evaluation of each team 3 days ago (about 2 weeks in our time) I won't bother with team write ups unless something worth noting happens with the promotion/demotion. __________________ It was a mistake to come back.

03-26-2005, 12:21 AM	#287
seth70liz76 All Star Starter Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 1,634	About a 1/3 of the way thru the teams on the off-day. The only real thing of note is DET sent out Elio Chacon and will turn over the SS job to Lee Elia. Hopefully will have all the teams done by the end of the weekend--just in time to switch over to my other thread. __________________ It was a mistake to come back.

03-27-2005, 03:09 AM	#288
seth70liz76 All Star Starter Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 1,634	Ok, I just finished doing MIN's evaluation, and the Buice trade just leaves me scratching my head. You have the worst offense in either league, just under .500 and 14 GB--and you trade for a $2.1 million dollar failed closer to shore up the strongest part of your team? I know you can never have enough pitching, but ecomonically, this pretty much means they can't make a move with the pitching staff unless they make another trade. I've tried to make sense of this deal, but all GM Eric Strauss has done is make trades for relievers and single hitting INFs. I understand having a type you covet, but at some point make a move that will actually improve the team! __________________ It was a mistake to come back.

03-27-2005, 02:18 PM	#289
seth70liz76 All Star Starter Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 1,634	Well, I said I wouldn't do a team update unless something notable happend: something notable happened. So the Tea Men dump salary and go from a 9th place club that I thought was the worst in baseball to a second place team thinking more about next year's title and not this year's pennant. The moves, while picking up awholebuncha young arms, has maxed out the roster (40 major league contracts) and limited the moves GM Mark Shaw can do. Still, he doesn't hesitate to make the moves he can. 5 of the 11 pitchers on the major league staff are sent to AAA. Almost 1/2 of the staff is sent to AAA. 2 starters, the no. 2 setup man and 3 other relievers are sent packing. Shaw sends a message, many of these guys will not be around next year--only the P's that can help win a championship will be here in 1980. The only way to find out is to throw them into the fire of the season and see who wilts. 5 of 11 sent to AAA. That is notable. __________________ It was a mistake to come back.

04-04-2005, 08:03 PM	#290
seth70liz76 All Star Starter Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 1,634	It's just not there. So I sit down, turn on the radio to the Cub game and open everything to work on this dynasty. And it's just not there. No enthusiasm, no spark. Nothing. If I was working on Fort Lauderdale or Houston, I might chalk that up to the need to trudge thru the bottom feeders; but I was working on New York. MY TEAM. And there was nothing there to hold me. And while I'm doing all the writing and rolling needed to get everything in order, I just kept looking at that sheet of "off season" notes I wrote on break at work today for "Prologue." Thinking about how I need to work thru the DB to get it ready for the next round of seasons. Thinking about how the players in this dynasty are just names and stat lines. While I've actually made some characters who have life in the other. So, I need to go thru 3rd&4th and change some of the P's from MR to SP, because most of the top starters imported as MR and I'd hate to see Paul Toth get sent to the pen, and I'll sim out the season sometime this week. I just didn't think the thrill would be drained so quickly and so completely. __________________ It was a mistake to come back.

04-05-2005, 12:44 AM	#291
seth70liz76 All Star Starter Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 1,634	Simmed out the season, will give it a proper obit tomorrow. But looking over the transactions, I'm reminded why I use the GM sked--bad bad AI! __________________ It was a mistake to come back.

04-05-2005, 11:50 AM	#294
ifspuds Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 2,117	You have to be passionate about it. You have to want to know what's going to happen next, and enjoy writing about it when it does happen. This is a hobby, not a job. When you stop enjoying it, it stops being a hobby and you shouldn't keep doing it. I'm just glad to see there'll be some closure (if only to escape the wrath of yoda!) and that you're going to work more on the Prologue. If 1946 and beyond is going to be better, it's going to be one of the classics on this forum, I have no doubt. Congratulations on making it this far, and recognizing when you've lost your taste for it. __________________ Jeff Watson Former dynasty writer and online league player, now mostly retired

04-05-2005, 01:54 PM	#295
seth70liz76 All Star Starter Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 1,634	Last Rites--Part One, the season The rosters the clubs finished with had little resemblance to the rosters I'd played with for 1/2 a season. The AI, first chance it got, released about 100 players from Major and minor league rosters, and made a whole bunch of the "dumb" trades people lament. Looking over the trades made only two: DET getting Rick Williams and CIN getting Sherman Obando made much sense. DET needed a number 1 starter and Obando had the power the Kids lacked. Everything else made me scratch my head. Among the players released that first chance they had was Jim Bouton, who was the closest to a story I had in the league. Yeah, he was 40, but he was anchoring a good PHI staff. The fact the Fever had no drop off after he was gone speaks to how good that staff was. Code: Contential Standings Team W L PCT GB Philadelphia 94 66 .588 - Pittsburgh 85 75 .531 9.0 New York 82 78 .512 12.0 Cleveland 79 81 .494 15.0 Houston 71 89 .444 23.0 Cincinnati 69 91 .431 25.0 The Philadelphia Fever grabbed the lead and didn't let go. In fact, with the only two challengers, NY and PIT just treading water the last half of the season, it turned out to be cake for the boys from Philly. Their pitching was just a notch under NY's in terms of dominance, and the hit a little bit better. NY, well the pitching stayed great, but they just couldn't score (When Kite Thomas came off the DL, he spent 2 months batting under .200 with only 22 RBI). Other than CIN collapsing down the strech, and HOU playing slightly better in the second half, nothing really changed from the All-Star break Code: North American Standings Team W L PCT GB Detroit 96 64 .600 - Tulsa 93 67 .581 3.0 Tampa Bay 81 79 .506 15.0 Atlanta 80 80 .500 16.0 California 80 80 .500 16.0 Memphis 79 81 .494 17.0 Fort Lauderdale 77 83 .481 19.0 Los Angeles 74 86 .463 22.0 New England 72 88 .450 24.0 Minnesota 68 92 .425 28.0 A little different in the NAL. TUL made a mad charge in the last month, as the Express traded for CAL's Rick Williams at the break to get that No. 1 they lacked. TUL, like the Illini last night, just had too big a hole to climb out of when time ran out. The real shocks on here is that TB, who spent most of the season in 10th, finished just over .500; while NE and MIN finally collapsed completly in the second half. The Tea Men were in 2nd when I stopped running the show, and finish a distant 9th. MIN, who couldn't hit anyway, stopped pitching and did nothing to show they deserved to win. The Founder's Cup went to PHI, 4-2. While Rick Williams did what he was supposed to do, winning both of his starts, PHI's Rick Anderson threw two Shutouts in the playoffs, and the Express couldn't get the bats going in any game. If PH Jake Jones hadn't 2B with two out in the 9th of the final game, the Express would have been shut out 3 times in the series. __________________ It was a mistake to come back. Last edited by seth70liz76; 04-05-2005 at 01:55 PM.

04-05-2005, 08:10 PM	#297
seth70liz76 All Star Starter Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 1,634	Last Rites, Part 2--The players Bob Hazle had the best all-around season by a hitter. Splitting time between Pittsburgh and surprising Tampa Bay, Hurricane just had a monster year: Code: G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K AVG OBP SLG OPS TAVG ISO 154 581 223 42 0 26 103 111 89 34 .384 .465 .590 1.055 1.159 .207 Of course, MVP voters ignored that .871 fielding Pct. and hailed him the best hitter in the NAL. For comparison, the CL MVP was Phil Clark, and his numbers look downright pedestrian: Code: G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K AVG OBP SLG OPS TAVG ISO 141 541 169 32 5 14 89 70 42 41 .312 .367 .468 .835 .778 .155 But Clark did win a gold glove too, so he has that going for him. One of my favorite lines comes from Glenn Gulliver who played for CIN and MEM: Code: G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K AVG OBP SLG OPS TAVG ISO 123 346 71 11 2 1 34 59 109 26 .205 .394 .257 .651 .683 .052 How many walks would he get if he could actually hit? Factor in that he had a stint at AAA (0-8, 10 BB) he could have done even more walking. NE C Paul Ratliff must really crowd the plate, as he was hit 19 times, nearly doubling up MIN Herb Perry's 11. LA had terrible trouble hitting doubles, so they solve that problem by having 3 of the 4 top base stealers: Code: Reggie Williams LA 32 Skeeter Barnes FL 31 Larry Lintz LA 25 Jose Gonzalez LA 24 Tuffy Rhodes, sadly, did not end up with superstar numbers, just very decent ones: Code: G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K AVG OBP SLG OPS TAVG ISO 146 510 132 24 4 18 59 88 85 77 .259 .363 .427 .791 .809 .169 Thrown in an 18-12 SB-CS mark, and he does have some room to improve. If he wasn't NAL Champ DET everyday 3B, Dick Gray has a potential career as a PH: Code: AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SF SH HP AVG OBP SLG OPS 5 5 2 0 1 6 2 1 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 2.000 3.000 The thing I regret most is not seeing all of Paul Toth's season: Code: G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K CG CG% SHO QS QS% 37 37 24 8 0 2.48 309.0 268 99 85 92 92 19 51.4 6 28 75.7 I'm just blown away by that K total--over 300 IP and fewer than 100 K's! And they still couldn't score against him. Eric Hillman was the NAL pitcher of the year, and like Clark/Hazle, the difference is astounding: Code: G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K CG CG% SHO QS QS% 34 34 19 7 0 2.92 259.0 274 100 84 41 88 6 17.6 1 22 64.7 CAL/DET hurler Rick Williams was probably a better choice, but the Surf couldn't score runs for him: Code: G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K CG CG% SHO QS QS% 36 36 14 10 0 1.96 289.2 276 84 63 56 99 12 33.3 3 30 83.3 More QS than Toth, very impressive. Top closer, take your pick NY's Gordie Richardson Code: G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K BS 61 0 7 3 32 1.18 61.0 47 14 8 21 31 6 or NE/PIT Pedro Borbon Code: G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K BS 58 0 6 0 32 0.77 70.1 44 16 6 13 36 4 Only 7 P had over 100 K, with an equal number with 100 walks. 4 Were on both sides of the ledger, with LA/MEM/HOU's Scipio Spinks leading both catagories: Code: G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K CG CG% SHO QS QS% 34 34 13 11 0 3.62 246.1 239 111 99 136 166 7 20.6 1 21 61.8 For this the AI released Jim Bouton? Code: G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K CG CG% SHO QS QS% 8 7 4 1 0 3.48 44.0 40 19 17 19 18 0 .0 0 5 71.4 __________________ It was a mistake to come back.

04-05-2005, 08:46 PM	#298
seth70liz76 All Star Starter Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 1,634	Last Rites, Part 3--what have I learned Well, on a practical game play level, I learned two valuable lessons: Being agressive on the bases is great, but I need to be sure I have the players to execute the plan. If you have a shut down reliever, he can get outs in the 8th just as well as the 9th. On my GM sked level, I was very pleased. It worked as well as ever and the teams had the seed of a personallity. Not perfect, I saw somethings that will have to be tweeked when 1946 rolls around, but overall very pleased with the results. I even liked the fact I ended up with a bad GM, made my managing job more challenging. But most importantly, what did I learn about dynasty? Honestly, I thought I had put some thought into 3rd&4th, but when I sent the CPU to be debugged, and I had that month to think about what "Prologue" is leading to . . . yeah, big difference. I learned that a story isn't necessarily for the reader, it can be for the creator. We're building these universes, and there is a story we're telling. It can be like the Pale Hose, where the story can be viewed as game by game--each loss building a legend. Or like Pat O'Farrell, where we follow our favorite player and his circle of family, teammates and friends. Or like Chappy where it is all about the team and the vision he has for them. Or Tiger Fan where you're curling up with the days paper and following sports like we did before ESPN and the 'net. And I'm not even touching on people like UG or goroyals or metsgeek who tell stories different ways. We all have stories to tell. And, like BigSix has pointed out, he'd care about Pat, follow Pat, even without the dynasty board--I honestly belive he'd write the same letters and telegrams if we weren't here. I, on the other hand, had a good structure, I had a good league--Craig said in Y0DA's countdown it captured the "small market" league many try for. But when all was said and done, I never looked at the league as anything more than, well, math. And so, knowing I was slowly losing my interest, I started thinking about what was next--I honestly thought I'd be starting a 1946 league. But the more I thought, scribbled, planned--it exploded into a whole universe that I had never thought possible with a sim game. When you are used to not being able to create a history, it takes awhile to warm up to the idea. And then I started thinking about the people needed to create a history--owners, writers, players--and it showed me how far from what I really wanted 3rd&4th is. Good idea, yes--but I didn't execute it in a way to make me want to keep it alive once I discovered what was lacking. Maybe when OOTP12 comes out, I'll revisit the idea--but things like the team/league conflicts that are starting in Prologue will be there. If I don't care about the players/teams/league why should you? Well, I hope to see you all in your threads and in my newest project. Already--even with the blur a simmed season can be, I feel it is much more alive, much more real than I made this world. __________________ It was a mistake to come back.

04-08-2005, 01:48 AM	#299
Sarcastic Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 36	seth70liz76, I know you have moved on to a new (and better) dynasty, but please, for the love of all that is holy, tell me how you set extension and FA offers (or planned to, since you didn't really get to did it with this one). I don't need any hyper detailed examples, just a quick explanation. Please?

04-10-2005, 06:34 PM	#300
seth70liz76 All Star Starter Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 1,634	Last Rites, Part 4--Math At the request of Sarcastic, there is a little more unfinished business with 3rd&4th: how extensions and FA is handled using the GM Sked. This is an OOTP5 league, so it may not apply to the system in OOTP6, but should be close enough to work. It is, unsurprisingly, a two-step process at it’s most basic: Will the extension be offered, and for how much. For example sake, I’m going to work with ATL’s roster and GM. Code: GM Aggr Spend Pitch Hit Defense Ideal P Ideal H Curry 11[13] 4 7 8 B 456 554 11 6 7 5 For most of the season, extension can only be offered if the player request one—part of using the game as much as possible to dictate action. On Sept 1st, if I had been playing out the whole season, I would go through each club and check if every player with expiring contracts, who had not previously made an extension request, would be offered an extension. Offers of Arbitration are handled in a similar manner, but that’s another matter for another time. Is extension offered? Compare GM Aggressiveness + Pitch/Hit – AAA (if player is at AAA) to League Aggressiveness + League Pitch/Hit In ATL’s case we work with (ignoring the trade deadline aggressiveness for a moment) 18(-8) against 18 for Pitchers; 19(-8) against 16 for hitters. With the following column shifts: +1 in player’s favor: meets “ideal P/ideal H” rating as well as defense/range rating; OPS/WHIP is above team average; player is under 26 and GM profile ‘favors prospects”; is 27-32 -1 in player’s disfavor: OPS/WHIP below team average; position is listed as weakness in FA screen; is over 35; is at AAA; if teams ranks bottom 5 in offense/pitching (just a simple combination of the placement of the ‘roster screen stats’, low the total the better) So if Kevin Chapman says he wants an extension. Fine, since he is one the active roster, we have a base of 18 v. 18 for the dice roll. He gets +1 for being 28, +1 for having an above team average OPS, no other adjustments. On my chart, a roll of 2d10 surpassing 7 is needed to offer an extension—65% chance of offering—pretty reasonable considering he was one of the key players in the Chief’s offense and steady with the glove. If the roll fails, well, Mr. Chapman is looking for another team next season, but if it works—then we have to see how much to offer. Money is a little tricky with this league; salaries are artificially low because of the way everyone imported from lahman’s. Chapman is making $300K and is asking for $4,590,000 over two years. Again, two parts to this: will we accept the player’s demand or make our own. First roll to see if we accept the player’s offer, same formula as above adding the Spend column to both—no column adjustments though. If roll succeeds, then we give into the player’s demand, if not well, we have to come up with an offer. (If the player asks for an offer, obviously, skip the first part of this) The key to the amount are these: Fan Interest, Team Ave Salary, GM’s spend rating compared to league ave, relation of player’s ratings to GM’s Ideal H/P ratings and the player’s OPS compared to League Average or players WHIP compared to League Average. For ATL/Chapman the figures are this: FI 49; Ave Salary 489,895, Spend 66% of league (Actually, for this spend rating is figured out to 2 decimal places, but let’s keep it somewhat simple), OPS 15% better than league. Simple formula: (FI/10) * AveSalary + (Spend + Ideal H/P+ OPS/WHIP) = proposed salary 4.9 * 489,985 + (34% + 18% + 15%) = 4,009,547 (not terribly far from what the player asked for). edit: under the 'advanced' adjustment I use (tweeks of the percentages based on several factors, Chapman actually goes up to 4,583,981-even closer to the request than the basic formula. The adjustments, for hitters, come from the players C/L OPS; Scoring Pos OPS; SB/CS ratio per PA; and relationsionship of each "idea" charataricistic to team average in those ratings) Off-seasons are as slow as the regular season for me. HOWEVER, if player’s OPS/WHIP is BELOW league average the formula would change to: (FI/10) * AveSalary - (Ideal - Spend – OPS/WHIP) 4.9 * 489,985 – (18% - 66% - 15%) = 888,342 So the more fan support, the more willing the GM is willing to spend and the better the player performed all work together to determine the salary. Now, truthfully, if salaries were more “realistic” (meaning, more than 1 to 3 players making over the minimum per team) the first factor would be changed to FI/20. A younger cheaper player is more likely to get an extension than an older expensive one. Years for extension are determined by 1d5 roll. Arbitration is somewhat similar, I just figure if the expected arbitration salary is equal to or less than the ‘proposed salary” formula total, then I accept arbitration. Free Agency I deal with in three 10-day sections, salary offers/years are handle as above, except I use the League Average Salary as the starting point. 1st Section: Players who meet the GM’s ideal P/H, and fill a “weakness” per FA page. 2nd Section: Players who meet the GM’s ideal P/H 3rd Section: Each day, reduce GM’s ideal P/H rating by one across the board I use the ‘is extension offered’ formula to see if GM pursues player, then the salary formula to see what is offered. Now, there are “bonuses” that can be added to the salary formula (heck there are a few of minor adjustments in all of these formulas) is player wins MVP/Cy Young/Gold Glove/etc. but this is the basics. There is also a “extra effort” bonus that I touched on when I first discussed the GM sked; figured based on where team finished, if FI/attendance is decreasing, and a couple other scenarios—but this is the vanilla version. Not perfect, but it has worked pretty well for me. Since this hasn’t been updated for OOTP6 financials, I’m not sure how signing bonuses, DFA, etc, would figure in, but when/if I make the move to OOTP7, one of my first projects will be to run a few ‘dummy’ leagues to test somethings out. Hope this made some sense; I’m sure there are some little things I left out that are “automatic” but I think this is enough of a base if you want to adapt it to a league you want to use, you can. __________________ It was a mistake to come back. Last edited by seth70liz76; 04-11-2005 at 09:32 AM.