New to the game - a few questions

Tedder_Road · 07-08-2007, 09:38 AM

Hi all. I've literally just started playing OOTB7, and I think it's great. Even as someone who knew very little about Baseball (I'm from the UK) before the game, it's taught me all kinds of stuff about the game already, and I find myself watching it more and more now.

But I have a few questions that I just can't find an answer to even in the 550 page manual.

1. My active roster and my 40-man roster.

I am using WOB2.0, and after the inaugural draft when everyone grabs as many decent players as they can, it seems my 25-man and 40-man rosters have already been decided. This means I need to go through the tedious process of removing all the players from both rosters so I can put all the guys I actually want on there. Is there a way around this?

2. More about the rosters....

Is it really necessary for me to take a guy off the active roster by waiving and DFA-ing him? I just want him to get off the 25-man roster so my 100% fit SP on the 40-man can step in for a game. What's the big deal? Is there really no easier way of getting guys off the Active roster? There's no way I'm putting one of my star SPs on waivers and DFA just so my reserve SP can step up for one game. It means that I take up most of the 25-man roster with pitchers. Help!

3. Moneyball

I've just ready Moneyball (a fantastic book, I can't recommend it highly enough) and in there it talks about the factors that Billy Beane and the Oakland A's spotted in players that other teams didn't. I've tried to copy this model by signing big fat guys who are slow as hell around the bases, but have amazing OBP ratings and rarely get K's. I've also signed lots of players with a good Eye, and who can avoid K's, in an attempt to manufacture runs through a steady process of getting On-base, rather than going for HRs and triples and glory shots.

Is OOTP sophisticated enough to allow for these kind of tactics to bear fruit? I'm not saying I expect it to work just because I'm using these tactics, but has anyone found the game to be clever enough to allow a patient, methodical, scientific approach to Baseball to work?

4. On the SION Broadcast screen, the scoreboard in the top left stays blank. Is this a known bug? I'm running Vista.

5. Is there a screen where I can advise my coaches what I want them to concentrate on when it comes to training young players? Or do I just have to leave them to it?

Well, that'll do for now. Fantastic game so far, and thanks for any help!

injury log · 07-08-2007, 09:51 AM

Welcome to another OOTPer in the UK! I can answer some of your questions:

1- can't answer this one...

2- you need to waive/dfa players to remove them from the 40-man roster (or you can just release them if you don't want them anymore). If a player still has options remaining, you can demote him directly to the minors from your 25-man with no need for waivers or dfa; he'll stay on the 40-man roster, but will play in the minor leagues. Options are implemented in OOTP to imitate real-life transactions rules in MLB, although OOTP simplifies things a bit. Once you add a player to your 40-man roster, you'll have three seasons in which you can play that guy in the minors (for part or all of a season). These are known as option years. After you've used those three 'options', you will need to waive the player if you want to demote him. All players on your 25-man roster and some of your minor leaguers will have a * next to their name- that means they're on the 40-man roster. Only some will have a +, which means they're out of options. You wouldn't normally want to try to demote a good player with the +, because you'll likely lose him on waivers. Players with the § can refuse to be demoted.

3- Short answer- yes! Although I think Billy Beane likes the HRs as well.

4- That is a known bug, and can be easily fixed. See the first sticky in Tech Support for instructions.

5- No, the coaches just do what they do, and you can't instruct them to focus on any particular area. I think some would like that feature added, so maybe next year...

Tedder_Road · 07-08-2007, 01:39 PM

Thanks for the reply.

I have another question related to the draft. After the inaugural draft in my WOB league, I assume there is another draft for young rookie players and kids in college, right?

When is this? I know I need to scout it ahead of time (something I failed to do on my first game, thereby rendering the draft useless. I restarted the game!) so when and how do I get my scouts to scout the draft?

injury log · 07-08-2007, 02:41 PM

You can choose when you hold your annual amateur draft (or disable it altogether)- any time from March to December is allowed, I think. If you didn't change anything, your draft will be in June. You can also choose when the draft player list is 'published', but by default this will be one month before the draft. You'll get a news message informing you that the draft pool has been published, and from the League Transactions screen (where you find free agents, the waiver wire, etc), there will be a new tab for the Draft Pool. Click that, and in the bottom right you can choose to scout the draft pool.

Draft scouting normally takes about 20 days (it depends on the quality or perhaps experience of the scout), so it's a good idea to send your scouts off as soon as you're notified that the draft pool has been published. Definitely send more than one scout- the players your scouts agree on are the safer bets in the draft. And the younger the draftee, the less predictable the results.

Curtis · 07-08-2007, 04:41 PM

I'll just cover your first question then, since injury log has answered the rest: This is a known issue, and we're hoping it will be changed for 2008, since it's beginning to feel awfully late for it to be fixed in a 2007 patch.

There's no real 'fix' for it at present, but a 'workaround' that I'm not fond of would be to simply make your first 25 (or however many you set your primary roster to — I use 24 or 28) picks the ones with the highest Overall ratings at the various positions, then draft for the high Potential players later. Your first 25 will the the ones the computer defaults onto your primary roster. Since I love to stock up on prospects, this annoys me and shouldn't be neccessary. (It forces me to use to same drafting strategy as the computer.)

I don't know what WOB is — presumably some mod — but in the unmodified game only your primary roster is automatically filled (note that all players on your primary roster are also on your secondary roster). Thus, your 40 man roster should only have 25 players on it at the conclusion of the draft. If that's not the case, I can't explain it, and you should ask the author of the mod.

ChronX · 07-08-2007, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tedder_Road

2. More about the rosters....

Is it really necessary for me to take a guy off the active roster by waiving and DFA-ing him? I just want him to get off the 25-man roster so my 100% fit SP on the 40-man can step in for a game. What's the big deal? Is there really no easier way of getting guys off the Active roster? There's no way I'm putting one of my star SPs on waivers and DFA just so my reserve SP can step up for one game. It means that I take up most of the 25-man roster with pitchers. Help!

Well, that'll do for now. Fantastic game so far, and thanks for any help!

Regarding item 2, I don't understand why you'd need so many pitchers? You should have your 5 man rotation and 5 to 7 relief pitchers. Typically one of your RPs should have enough endurance to be able to "spot start", for which there is a slot in the pitcher manager screen to put a guy for just that role.

Otherwise, you should have SOMEbody with option years left that you can send down for the one game while you bring someone up from the minors to fill in; you can also do this for position players if they aren't hurt enough to justify the DL but are day to day.

Hope this helps.

Tedder_Road · 07-08-2007, 05:16 PM

Well I have 5 SPs, only 2 MRs and only 2 CLs. I tend to bring the MRs on about inning 5 or 6, and the closer for the last 2.

My SPs tend to be tired a lot of the time, so I am assuming that I am not changing them out for a MR enough of the time? They say they are OK to carry on pitching, so I let them. I assume this is just them being enthusiastic?

How many pitches should a starting pitcher pitch? That sounds like a tongue twister but it's not intended as one.

EDIT- I also have another question regarding the draft. I know that it's common for teams to swap picks in the draft, or rather to trade them...is this possible?

injury log · 07-08-2007, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tedder_Road

Well I have 5 SPs, only 2 MRs and only 2 CLs. I tend to bring the MRs on about inning 5 or 6, and the closer for the last 2.

My SPs tend to be tired a lot of the time, so I am assuming that I am not changing them out for a MR enough of the time? They say they are OK to carry on pitching, so I let them. I assume this is just them being enthusiastic?

How many pitches should a starting pitcher pitch? That sounds like a tongue twister but it's not intended as one.

Your bullpen is one or two guys short of the average size, although if it's working for you, no need to change it. What makes you think your SPs are tired? Trust what they tell you when you visit the mound- the '0%' that shows up in their profile after they start the game is not an indication of how tired they are- it happens with all pitchers, tired or not. Your pitchers' endurance ratings will determine how many pitches they can throw before fatiguing; most starters will be good for at least 100 pitches, though there are exceptions. You run an increased injury risk by leaving a tired pitcher in the game.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tedder_Road

EDIT- I also have another question regarding the draft. I know that it's common for teams to swap picks in the draft, or rather to trade them...is this possible?

That's not common at all in real life; in fact it's not allowed in MLB. Perhaps you are thinking of other major American sports leagues, where draft pick trading is frequent? It is allowed in OOTP, if you like. There's an option to allow draft pick trading in the Game Setup menu, in the Rules tab for your league, if I'm remembering correctly.

Kelric · 07-08-2007, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tedder_Road

3. Moneyball

I've just ready Moneyball (a fantastic book, I can't recommend it highly enough) and in there it talks about the factors that Billy Beane and the Oakland A's spotted in players that other teams didn't. I've tried to copy this model by signing big fat guys who are slow as hell around the bases, but have amazing OBP ratings and rarely get K's. I've also signed lots of players with a good Eye, and who can avoid K's, in an attempt to manufacture runs through a steady process of getting On-base, rather than going for HRs and triples and glory shots.

Just to comment on this, OOTP doesn't take into account height or weight for on field action. You probably won't see many 250 pound fast guys, but that's as far as it goes, really.

Avoiding strikeouts isn't terribly important in the long run. Taking a walk/getting on base any way you can, is always important. The game looks at ratings, physical attributes don't matter, you should act the same way for best results.

Tedder_Road · 07-09-2007, 02:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kelric

Just to comment on this, OOTP doesn't take into account height or weight for on field action. You probably won't see many 250 pound fast guys, but that's as far as it goes, really.

Avoiding strikeouts isn't terribly important in the long run. Taking a walk/getting on base any way you can, is always important. The game looks at ratings, physical attributes don't matter, you should act the same way for best results.

Yeah I saw a mention in the manual that the physical dimensions, so to speak, don't matter. That's cool.

But avoiding K's matters a great deal. I always rate "Avoid K's" and "Eye" very highly, far higher than Gap or Home Run power. I just want my guys forming a nice orderly line as they progress steadily around the bases.

Of course, I chuck in a few old sluggers to get those grand slam homers. With my team we managed to win a game by about 24 runs, and it was a shutout too!

Kelric · 07-09-2007, 04:50 PM

Well, in OOTP I suppose Avoiding K's does matter for contact ability which will change their BABIP, but in real baseball, a strikeout can sometimes even be better than a grounder or a pop fly.

With that said, everyone plays differently. I'd take a guy who struck out 200 times a year if his other 400 PAs gave me 200 hits and 100 walks.

07-08-2007, 09:38 AM	#1
Tedder_Road Bat Boy Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 6	New to the game - a few questions Hi all. I've literally just started playing OOTB7, and I think it's great. Even as someone who knew very little about Baseball (I'm from the UK) before the game, it's taught me all kinds of stuff about the game already, and I find myself watching it more and more now. But I have a few questions that I just can't find an answer to even in the 550 page manual. 1. My active roster and my 40-man roster. I am using WOB2.0, and after the inaugural draft when everyone grabs as many decent players as they can, it seems my 25-man and 40-man rosters have already been decided. This means I need to go through the tedious process of removing all the players from both rosters so I can put all the guys I actually want on there. Is there a way around this? 2. More about the rosters.... Is it really necessary for me to take a guy off the active roster by waiving and DFA-ing him? I just want him to get off the 25-man roster so my 100% fit SP on the 40-man can step in for a game. What's the big deal? Is there really no easier way of getting guys off the Active roster? There's no way I'm putting one of my star SPs on waivers and DFA just so my reserve SP can step up for one game. It means that I take up most of the 25-man roster with pitchers. Help! 3. Moneyball I've just ready Moneyball (a fantastic book, I can't recommend it highly enough) and in there it talks about the factors that Billy Beane and the Oakland A's spotted in players that other teams didn't. I've tried to copy this model by signing big fat guys who are slow as hell around the bases, but have amazing OBP ratings and rarely get K's. I've also signed lots of players with a good Eye, and who can avoid K's, in an attempt to manufacture runs through a steady process of getting On-base, rather than going for HRs and triples and glory shots. Is OOTP sophisticated enough to allow for these kind of tactics to bear fruit? I'm not saying I expect it to work just because I'm using these tactics, but has anyone found the game to be clever enough to allow a patient, methodical, scientific approach to Baseball to work? 4. On the SION Broadcast screen, the scoreboard in the top left stays blank. Is this a known bug? I'm running Vista. 5. Is there a screen where I can advise my coaches what I want them to concentrate on when it comes to training young players? Or do I just have to leave them to it? Well, that'll do for now. Fantastic game so far, and thanks for any help!

07-08-2007, 05:16 PM	#7
Tedder_Road Bat Boy Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 6	Well I have 5 SPs, only 2 MRs and only 2 CLs. I tend to bring the MRs on about inning 5 or 6, and the closer for the last 2. My SPs tend to be tired a lot of the time, so I am assuming that I am not changing them out for a MR enough of the time? They say they are OK to carry on pitching, so I let them. I assume this is just them being enthusiastic? How many pitches should a starting pitcher pitch? That sounds like a tongue twister but it's not intended as one. EDIT- I also have another question regarding the draft. I know that it's common for teams to swap picks in the draft, or rather to trade them...is this possible? Last edited by Tedder_Road; 07-08-2007 at 05:23 PM.

07-08-2007, 09:51 AM	#2
injury log Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 9,162	Welcome to another OOTPer in the UK! I can answer some of your questions: 1- can't answer this one... 2- you need to waive/dfa players to remove them from the 40-man roster (or you can just release them if you don't want them anymore). If a player still has options remaining, you can demote him directly to the minors from your 25-man with no need for waivers or dfa; he'll stay on the 40-man roster, but will play in the minor leagues. Options are implemented in OOTP to imitate real-life transactions rules in MLB, although OOTP simplifies things a bit. Once you add a player to your 40-man roster, you'll have three seasons in which you can play that guy in the minors (for part or all of a season). These are known as option years. After you've used those three 'options', you will need to waive the player if you want to demote him. All players on your 25-man roster and some of your minor leaguers will have a * next to their name- that means they're on the 40-man roster. Only some will have a +, which means they're out of options. You wouldn't normally want to try to demote a good player with the +, because you'll likely lose him on waivers. Players with the § can refuse to be demoted. 3- Short answer- yes! Although I think Billy Beane likes the HRs as well. 4- That is a known bug, and can be easily fixed. See the first sticky in Tech Support for instructions. 5- No, the coaches just do what they do, and you can't instruct them to focus on any particular area. I think some would like that feature added, so maybe next year...

07-08-2007, 01:39 PM	#3
Tedder_Road Bat Boy Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 6	Thanks for the reply. I have another question related to the draft. After the inaugural draft in my WOB league, I assume there is another draft for young rookie players and kids in college, right? When is this? I know I need to scout it ahead of time (something I failed to do on my first game, thereby rendering the draft useless. I restarted the game!) so when and how do I get my scouts to scout the draft?

07-08-2007, 02:41 PM	#4
injury log Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 9,162	You can choose when you hold your annual amateur draft (or disable it altogether)- any time from March to December is allowed, I think. If you didn't change anything, your draft will be in June. You can also choose when the draft player list is 'published', but by default this will be one month before the draft. You'll get a news message informing you that the draft pool has been published, and from the League Transactions screen (where you find free agents, the waiver wire, etc), there will be a new tab for the Draft Pool. Click that, and in the bottom right you can choose to scout the draft pool. Draft scouting normally takes about 20 days (it depends on the quality or perhaps experience of the scout), so it's a good idea to send your scouts off as soon as you're notified that the draft pool has been published. Definitely send more than one scout- the players your scouts agree on are the safer bets in the draft. And the younger the draftee, the less predictable the results.

07-08-2007, 04:41 PM	#5
Curtis Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Watertown, New York Posts: 4,567	I'll just cover your first question then, since injury log has answered the rest: This is a known issue, and we're hoping it will be changed for 2008, since it's beginning to feel awfully late for it to be fixed in a 2007 patch. There's no real 'fix' for it at present, but a 'workaround' that I'm not fond of would be to simply make your first 25 (or however many you set your primary roster to — I use 24 or 28) picks the ones with the highest Overall ratings at the various positions, then draft for the high Potential players later. Your first 25 will the the ones the computer defaults onto your primary roster. Since I love to stock up on prospects, this annoys me and shouldn't be neccessary. (It forces me to use to same drafting strategy as the computer.) I don't know what WOB is — presumably some mod — but in the unmodified game only your primary roster is automatically filled (note that all players on your primary roster are also on your secondary roster). Thus, your 40 man roster should only have 25 players on it at the conclusion of the draft. If that's not the case, I can't explain it, and you should ask the author of the mod.

07-09-2007, 04:50 PM	#11
Kelric Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Greater Boston Area Posts: 3,992	Well, in OOTP I suppose Avoiding K's does matter for contact ability which will change their BABIP, but in real baseball, a strikeout can sometimes even be better than a grounder or a pop fly. With that said, everyone plays differently. I'd take a guy who struck out 200 times a year if his other 400 PAs gave me 200 hits and 100 walks.