Why do I suck so bad at this game?

[WSR]

I've played the last several versions of this game, with the exception of the last version before 2007. In each of them, I had relatively good success at handling my team as the GM. However, in this game, I am absolutely horrible.

I spend money on FA with lots of gold stars, only for them to tank when they play for me. I spend $$ on top pitchers, only for them to have career high ERAs while on my staff. I have turned off Scouts as I thought this would help, but I'm still not experiencing any success.

So, is there something I'm missing? Or is this just the challenge with this version of the game?

Please don't misunderstand me as I don't expect to win it all each year, but when I have a stacked roster and I can't even break .400, then it seems that something is either wrong or I'm just missing something obvious.

Thanks for any advice.

[magnet]

I think the morale system is probably what you are overlooking. Some players are more demanding/more affected than others when it comes to things like playing time, spot in the order, how the team is playing, who you've traded for/traded away, who you've called up/sent down, etc etc. Watching this probably isn't the silver bullet to turn your team around, but keep an eye on it.

[Qrusher14242]

i usually do well in the regular season, but in the postseason i really suck. My pitching just collapses.

[injury log]

Originally Posted by WSR

I spend $$ on top pitchers, only for them to have career high ERAs while on my staff. [...]

So, is there something I'm missing? Or is this just the challenge with this version of the game?

There could be several reasons your pitchers are seeing an ERA spike-

-your home park might resemble a pre-Humidor Coors Field;
-your defense might not be that good (or the pitcher may have played in front of an excellent defense with his last team);
-your pitching coach might be bad, if you have coaching on;
-a pitcher going from the NL to the AL will normally see his ERA go up a lot, of course;
-if they were old when you signed them, they might have entered a decline phase;
-it might be bad luck!

I've been happy to discover the challenges of OOTP '07; in 2006 I was able to win Series after Series (which gets boring), and while I can consistently get teams to the playoffs after a few years of building them up, winning it all is more difficult. I'm valuing defense more highly than in the past. I also do not try to win through free agency; the most valuable properties in baseball are the players who are paid far less than their performance warrants- stars making the minimum, or who are still arbitration-eligible. If you can build up a good farm system, perhaps by requesting additional prospects in trades, or by international scouting (well, that may make it too easy), then you should be able to fill a few positions cheaply, and then you'll have money available to spend big on a free agent or two to fill the last holes on your roster. Anyway, good luck!

[Elendil]

I wouldn't trust stars too much either. They're a quick & dirty way to make player comparisons but not to be relied on for making actual transactions. You have to pore over the stats, particularly the peripherals for pitchers (K/9, BB/9, HR/9) rather than ERA, and of course the ratings (the wider the scale the easier for the human player to compete with the AI).

[1998 Yankees]

WSR, while I feel your pain, I am encouraged that some people do find this game difficult. I have read too many times about people who find it too easy and need to come up with "house rules" and handicaps in order to keep it interesting. A good game should be challenging and winning it more satisfying as a result.

[tcblcommish]

I can say that I find this game a lot tougher than all the last versions. Seems to me that the computer teams are signing more and more of thier good players when they have the money. There isn't a stupid amount of great free agents in the off season which to me makes this game a lot harder.

I don't trade that often to that will probably do it because it seems that people trade up to their team like crazy in this game. The only time I deal is for a hole.

[Tycobbler]

work ethic-loyalty-intelligence

3 attributes to live or die by. I like my guys at least an 8 in these if i can get them.

[patrick_richards1]

its just a coincidence that your team is doing poorly.
there are several things that go into that. just try switching up your starting lineup and bullpen.

just a suggestion though

[BarryD88]

In the older versions, I use to be able to build a good team through the waiver wire, but the 07 game there seams to be less good players being moved so a less of a chance to pickup someone cheap.

[zonk84]

It takes me longer to turn a franchise around in 2007 than in previous versions (used to be, I would go from worst in year 1 to first in year 2 -- now, it's more realistic... I usually contend by year 3, win in year 4, juggernaut by year 5).

I would suggest:
1. Overspend on coaches. My entire system - from my major league staff to rookie league staff - is stacked to the greatest extent possible. Obviously, this takes patience -- experienced coaches won't usually accept low level postings (though - it never hurts to check - I've gotten 60 something, 20+ year experienced coaches willing to take Mesa HC jobs). Your prospects will develop better.

2. I would turn scouts back on -- and send them abroad. All 6 of my scouts spend their entire year in the DR, Mexico, Japan, Cuba, Canada, and Puerto Rico except for 3 weeks in May when they scout the draft pool, and another 3 weeks in October when I send them all to rescout my own team in preparation for offseason moves. Sign EVERYONE they send your way - good, bad, cheap, expensive - doesn't matter. If nothing else, the signees make good trading chits. Also - to echo the advice you were apparently sent before - I ALWAYS require at least 3 opinions on a player before making my decision on a signing or trade... and prefer to have all 6 scouts weigh in (even if just via "Quick Scout").

3. Go young. As you can tell by the two strategies above - when I take over team, everyone over 30 is headed out the door. I hoard draft picks. I check the waiver wire weekly. I scan the FA market every week.

4. Focus on hitting, not pitching -- pitchers are just inherently more risky. TINSTAAPP principle -- "There is No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect". Sabermetric CW holds that to get one quality major league pitcher - you need to sign and develop 10 pitching prospects. That's not to say I ignore pitching - just that given a choice between a hitter and pitcher, I'll snag the hitter. Given a choice on hitters -- I'll take stud C's and SS's over anything else. OFs (except strong CFs) and 1Bs are WAY down on my list - My starting 1B is almost always a converted OF or other position - 'best bat without a position'.

5. Shop players often - ANY player. The AI often seems to have certain players they're desparate to unload - sometimes rather good players/prospects. Never, ever, ever let a player go for nothing if someone will give you something for him. I shop like crazy in November leading up to the Rule 5 draft -- despite having a stacked 40 man roster, I rarely lose anyone because I deal all rule 5 eligible prior to the draft.

6. Keep your minor league rosters "clean" -- whether via careful monitoring and releases, including the chaff in trades (you won't usually get anything for them... but I like being evil and hosing the AI's roster!). I.e., watch your roster sizes -- if your rookie league team has 60 players, it's time to do some trimming. I look to deal:

• players too old for their league
  players that have seen a rash of talent drops (I can't prove it - but it sure seems like the AI takes time to 'catch up' to the drop-off and recognize it)
  players that have hit their 20s with high talent levels, but whose abilities remain mired in the single digits (Note that I would only apply to this players you've had in the system for a couple years... if he ain't developed under my excellent coaches, I figure he ain't gonna develop nowheres!)

7. If you follow point 1 - put it to good use. I rarely sign high priced FAs - but I DO sign the 26-27-28 yo 'failed prospects'... they guys who have good talent, but whose abilities stagnated. Make sure your scouting reports are up to date on them - then give 'em that 500K or 750K 3 year deal. I've had ENORMOUS success plucking this former gems off the scrap heap, getting their careers back on track -- then dealing 'em.

8. Above all, be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day. One thing I love about OOTP is that I think it does a good job mirroring real life. Even the vaunted Yankee champs of the late 90s had to struggle through lean years in the early part of the decade -- when Bernie Williams was hitting .240/.300/.350, Derek Jeter was fresh out of college, and Petitte hadn't yet made the rotation. The Tigers were a laughing stock even AFTER they brought in a high-priced FA like I-Rod... it took the time for Verlander, Zumaya, etc to show up and get the pieces together.
Forget the owner, forget the fans -- develop a multi-year plan and work it (allowing for changes along the way... sometimes that 1st overall draft pick you expect to your ace for the next decade just doesn't pan out.)

[Raidergoo]

Originally Posted by zonk84

It takes me longer to turn a franchise around in 2007 than in previous versions (used to be, I would go from worst in year 1 to first in year 2 -- now, it's more realistic... I usually contend by year 3, win in year 4, juggernaut by year 5).

I would suggest:

Impressive. Most impressive.

[zonk84]

Originally Posted by Raidergoo

Impressive. Most impressive.

Thanks - though I do get a bit exploity (no outright, commish-mode, edit cheating, however).

I've gotten to the point where I think my sending of scouts to foreign locales on a continuous basis is a bit of exploit - I have this rich FA pipeline going... however - on the other hand, the Dodgers pretty ruled the latin FA market in the 80s, and the Mariners were pretty much kings of the Japanese market through much of the late 90s/early 00s (they were part owned the same company that owned Nintendo, and the popularity of Ichiro made the M's a popular and much watched team in Japan).

I also allow draft pick trading... I've always thought MLB should allow this anyway. I really clean up here -- in my most recent June draft, I had 10 picks in the first round, 6 in the 2nd, and another 4 in the 3rd... I sorta do a "smarter Ditka" - I peddle away all my picks in round 5 and after, and focus on hoarding 1/2/3 round picks. I admit this is rather unrealistic -- I almost ALWAYS have the first 3-5 picks. On the other hand, though, it's not like I'm trading drek for these picks. I'm usually dealing good young players who just happened to be blocked at their current position and who also happen to just arb-eligible... so the my woebegone trading partners ARE getting quality in return. If nothing else, despite my depriving the worst teams of their top picks -- these teams do turn their fortunes around (thanks to the players they acquire from me). Last season, for example -- I fleeced the Reds of their #1 overall, 2nd round, AND 3rd round pick. However, they 2 players they got in return ended up leading the team in HRs and OBP the following year--- and actually led them to within 2 games of a WC berth.

Sometimes I feel like it's an exploit the way I trade with the AI... but that said, MLB never banned Billy Beane from trading with Allard Baird -- and ANYONE is allowed to trade with Dave Littlefield or Wayne Krivksy!

[Comedian2004]

You did not mention if you ran fictional leagues or historical leagues, size or league was also not mentioned or if you have minor leagues.

I play historically leagues most, but occasionally play a fictional season. With the historical league, you have the advantage of knowing a player's name. So, you know the player without looking at his ratings. However, when you play a few seasons of historical, it teaches you more about the game. Since you are dealing with player ratings that were based on real stats. It is easier to win that way.

Play a few historical seasons, and then go back to a fictional league and see if you are a better manager.

Here is a fun way to play a historical league.

Pick your favorite era to play in, like 1968. Start a historical simulation in 1901 and set it up to expand. Basically, use the defaults. You may want to tweak settings the way you want them, like 100 point ratings, etc. Set trade to HARD, as normal is too easy, IMHO.

So, start the league in 1901, sim it until 1-1-1968 (or what year you want). Then sim it until OPENING DAY. (This is before spring training begins, somewhere in early February.

Then release all players to FA and hold an inaugraul draft with you having one of the teams. I hit random draft a few times, and then go with whatevery pick you come up with. You can also rearrange it to make it so you get the 1st pick, to make it easier, or go with the last pick to make it hard.

Now, draft your team. I usually draft the top 25 players with the computer recommending the last 10 or so. So, I am picking the complete pitching staff and the starting hitters. I have found that I can usually do pretty well if I pick 4 pitchers 1st, then start picking hitters. But it is based on the year. In 1968, I would get the 5 best starters available to me before I even picked a hitter. Since this is a pitchers league, I want the best pitching.

You can a pretty good balance, as I would end up with a very strong pitching staff, but not that impressive of hitting squad.

Drafting the team is a lot of fun. Then with historical, using the correct 3rd part programs (see signature), you will have a very fun league, with real photos, logos, etc. This adds a lot to the game. A lot of times I may play out the entire season, game by game, while other times, I may just let the computer handle a lot of the choices and sim a week or two at a time.

If your team starts to suck, which can happen if you have some major injuries or people do not hit the way you expected them to. But, if you start to lose then just resign. Let the computer then take over your team and follow it. See the trades it makes, the way it uses the players. You can learn more how the AI operates this way.

I sometimes may even just sim a couple years and then go back and see what players I drafted are still on the team, and check out some of the players that are gone. Then I will sim a few more years and then release the players all over again and start all over.

Once season that I ran from 1901 to 2007, I must have had at least 5 teams. I picked the same team each time, but I just did the AU draft 20 years apart.

[WSR]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I will give these a try and see if I can turn things around.

[soxfan34]

Originally Posted by zonk84

It takes me longer to turn a franchise around in 2007 than in previous versions (used to be, I would go from worst in year 1 to first in year 2 -- now, it's more realistic... I usually contend by year 3, win in year 4, juggernaut by year 5).

I would suggest:
1. Overspend on coaches. My entire system - from my major league staff to rookie league staff - is stacked to the greatest extent possible. Obviously, this takes patience -- experienced coaches won't usually accept low level postings (though - it never hurts to check - I've gotten 60 something, 20+ year experienced coaches willing to take Mesa HC jobs). Your prospects will develop better.

2. I would turn scouts back on -- and send them abroad. All 6 of my scouts spend their entire year in the DR, Mexico, Japan, Cuba, Canada, and Puerto Rico except for 3 weeks in May when they scout the draft pool, and another 3 weeks in October when I send them all to rescout my own team in preparation for offseason moves. Sign EVERYONE they send your way - good, bad, cheap, expensive - doesn't matter. If nothing else, the signees make good trading chits. Also - to echo the advice you were apparently sent before - I ALWAYS require at least 3 opinions on a player before making my decision on a signing or trade... and prefer to have all 6 scouts weigh in (even if just via "Quick Scout").

3. Go young. As you can tell by the two strategies above - when I take over team, everyone over 30 is headed out the door. I hoard draft picks. I check the waiver wire weekly. I scan the FA market every week.

4. Focus on hitting, not pitching -- pitchers are just inherently more risky. TINSTAAPP principle -- "There is No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect". Sabermetric CW holds that to get one quality major league pitcher - you need to sign and develop 10 pitching prospects. That's not to say I ignore pitching - just that given a choice between a hitter and pitcher, I'll snag the hitter. Given a choice on hitters -- I'll take stud C's and SS's over anything else. OFs (except strong CFs) and 1Bs are WAY down on my list - My starting 1B is almost always a converted OF or other position - 'best bat without a position'.

5. Shop players often - ANY player. The AI often seems to have certain players they're desparate to unload - sometimes rather good players/prospects. Never, ever, ever let a player go for nothing if someone will give you something for him. I shop like crazy in November leading up to the Rule 5 draft -- despite having a stacked 40 man roster, I rarely lose anyone because I deal all rule 5 eligible prior to the draft.

6. Keep your minor league rosters "clean" -- whether via careful monitoring and releases, including the chaff in trades (you won't usually get anything for them... but I like being evil and hosing the AI's roster!). I.e., watch your roster sizes -- if your rookie league team has 60 players, it's time to do some trimming. I look to deal:

• players too old for their league
  players that have seen a rash of talent drops (I can't prove it - but it sure seems like the AI takes time to 'catch up' to the drop-off and recognize it)
  players that have hit their 20s with high talent levels, but whose abilities remain mired in the single digits (Note that I would only apply to this players you've had in the system for a couple years... if he ain't developed under my excellent coaches, I figure he ain't gonna develop nowheres!)

7. If you follow point 1 - put it to good use. I rarely sign high priced FAs - but I DO sign the 26-27-28 yo 'failed prospects'... they guys who have good talent, but whose abilities stagnated. Make sure your scouting reports are up to date on them - then give 'em that 500K or 750K 3 year deal. I've had ENORMOUS success plucking this former gems off the scrap heap, getting their careers back on track -- then dealing 'em.

8. Above all, be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day. One thing I love about OOTP is that I think it does a good job mirroring real life. Even the vaunted Yankee champs of the late 90s had to struggle through lean years in the early part of the decade -- when Bernie Williams was hitting .240/.300/.350, Derek Jeter was fresh out of college, and Petitte hadn't yet made the rotation. The Tigers were a laughing stock even AFTER they brought in a high-priced FA like I-Rod... it took the time for Verlander, Zumaya, etc to show up and get the pieces together.
Forget the owner, forget the fans -- develop a multi-year plan and work it (allowing for changes along the way... sometimes that 1st overall draft pick you expect to your ace for the next decade just doesn't pan out.)

What level difficulty do you have trades set on?

[BoydOfSummer]

In my limited experience with the game, I've realized that if you play with anything under "hard trading" you have a great opportunity to take advantage. Then again, with it on hard, you won't get much activity.

[soxfan34]

Originally Posted by BoydOfSummer

In my limited experience with the game, I've realized that if you play with anything under "hard trading" you have a great opportunity to take advantage. Then again, with it on hard, you won't get much activity.

So what is the most "optimal" setting?

[tb62388]

I say hard or very hard...depending on how hard you want it.

Hard you can do decent deals, sometimes helping yourself. Very hard its hard to help yourself a lot, and is just used if you need it.

I personally dont like trading guys, I like to suffer the consequences of a bad signing or not planning ahead for a young guy.

[soxfan34]

Originally Posted by tb62388

I say hard or very hard...depending on how hard you want it.