AI refuses to help AAA team with pitching injuries?

[Matter2003]

I played a game against Norfolk today and they trotted out a pitcher who became exhausted when he hit 40 pitches. I checked to see why and it turns out all but 4 of their pitchers are currently injured. Crazily enough the guy took a no-hitter into the 6th inning before being replaced by an equally tired reliever. I ended up winning the game 2-0, in large part because all of their pitchers were tired---equally in large part because I had my stud pitcher throw a complete game 3 hitter...

Anyways, I checked after the game to see if there was any reason why some other pitchers from either their AA or A teams couldn't have been called up temporarily to help them out. The AA team had some injuries of their own, so I could understand why they couldn't have helped. However there were either few or no injuries to pitchers on their A teams, so I really am not understanding why they couldn't have temporarily demoted a few injured players to A level and brought up a couple AA pitchers, who would have been replaced at the AA level by A pitchers. It is no way realistic to think that a human GM would allow a team to have only 4 healthy pitchers on its roster when there are plenty of replacement candidates at lower levels. Something really really needs to be done about this. Also, I am STILL noticing that injured players on AI rosters are starting games and then being pinch hit for immediately when they come to bat.

IMHO, the first focus on this game needs to be on GM AI in all facets to ensure it is making better decisions and actually acting closer to what a human GM COULD do. It doesn't necessarily need to do what YOU would do, but it should do something that is at least defensible by some standard of what a human GM might do. Leaving 4 pitchers to pitch every game on an AAA roster and doing nothing to help them is definitely NOT defensible. Neither is starting an injured player and then pinch hitting for him when he comes to bat, meaning that he is out playing in the field with broken legs, ruptured ACL, etc. How does the AI figure out if he is going to get to a ball or not? Obviously a guy with a broken leg is not going to be able to get to any hit ball and it should be an inside the park HR...i guess its possible its cosmetic, but it takes away some immersiveness when that happens.

Something else that I have noticed is the AI pinch hitting for a stud player with a crap player, which appears to be pinch hitting only for the sake of pinch hitting and not actually pinch hitting to increase their chances of winning. What possible reason could the AI have for pinch hitting for their stud player in the 4 spot who has a .330+ average, 15+ HR's(in a league with fewer HR's), and 60+ RBI for a hitter averaging .150 with little power? What manager in their right mind would be pinch hitting for a player like that? I was a little stunned when I saw it to be honset with you. These type of AI blunders really are hurting the immersive feeling of the game...its hard to get into it when the AI keeps making boneheaded decisions(even when I am only playing .500 baseball and am 8 games out of first).

Before anything else new gets added, these type of things need to be fixed and the AI needs to be overhauled to make it much more realistic...

[Irishray]

I agree. Minor league injuries, and inability to properly address the injured has always been a pet peeve of mine.

I wish there were some appropriate options.

Ray

[andymac]

Yep, there have been many calls for a minor league disabled list. Hopefully it will be addressed in the next version.

[AZTarHeel]

do you have a full minor league system (ie enough players to fill all minors). otherwise, i'd think you assume ghost players are taking over the other positions, right?

I do agree it's not perfect

[matches malone]

Problem IMO is that the AI only uses ghost players when there are no actual players to fill the spot. So for example if there's only one healthy catcher, he'll play every single game until he too breaks down. Same thing for pitchers - if there's a healthy pitcher on the roster the AI will keep using him beyond a reasonable amount.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by andymac

Yep, there have been many calls for a minor league disabled list. Hopefully it will be addressed in the next version.

Markus has said that adding a DL for the minors, as they currently exist, would be difficult.

I propose an alternative: make ALL leagues fully unique, separate entities. The game can already do this for top-level leagues, so follow that logic to its conclusion and make all leagues, majors and minors alike, and regardless of their place in the developmental hierarchy, fully individual creations. This would sidestep the issue of having to try and shoehorn in a DL for affiliated minor leagues within the current structure, and offers a more comprehensive solution.

[PSUColonel]

Originally Posted by andymac

Yep, there have been many calls for a minor league disabled list. Hopefully it will be addressed in the next version.

it won't be, in terms of a minors DL

[rem]

Originally Posted by PSUColonel

it won't be, in terms of a minors DL

My sister's trying to get her driving license. It's too bad she'll have to wait till 2011.

[Cryomaniac]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

I propose an alternative: make ALL leagues fully unique, separate entities.

Hasn't he implied that that would be difficult to do as well?

[Malleus Dei]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

Markus has said that adding a DL for the minors, as they currently exist, would be difficult.

Difficult? Maybe. Is it needed? Yes. I do difficult things on a regular basis, and I bet you do as well. Doing difficult things is how you increase your skills, which won't happen if you do unchallenging things over and over. Challenges and difficult things make you skill up and rise to the occasion.

They can raise the price of the game $5. They can take an extra month to release the new version. But they do need to do their best to get the baseball simulation right, no matter how "diffiuclt."

[Russ]

Originally Posted by Malleus Dei

Difficult? Maybe. Is it needed? Yes. I do difficult things on a regular basis, and I bet you do as well. Doing difficult things is how you increase your skills, which won't happen if you do unchallenging things over and over. Challenges and difficult things make you skill up and rise to the occasion.

They can raise the price of the game $5. They can take an extra month to release the new version. But they do need to do their best to get the baseball simulation right, no matter how "diffiuclt."

Right on the money, MD.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by Malleus Dei

Difficult? Maybe. Is it needed? Yes. I do difficult things on a regular basis, and I bet you do as well. Doing difficult things is how you increase your skills, which won't happen if you do unchallenging things over and over. Challenges and difficult things make you skill up and rise to the occasion.

They can raise the price of the game $5. They can take an extra month to release the new version. But they do need to do their best to get the baseball simulation right, no matter how "diffiuclt."

^^Well said^^

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by Cryomaniac

Hasn't he implied that that would be difficult to do as well?

I don't recall reading that, I only remember comments about adding a DL to the existing minor league setup.

In any case, I don't see why it should be difficult since the game already allows for fully unique top-level leagues. One would only need to refine that system whereby players are moved up and down between leagues — and the game can already handle players moving between top-level leagues as free agents can leave one league for another.

Originally Posted by Malleus Dei

They can raise the price of the game $5.

That only works if the decrease in sales due to a higher price is matched by the increase in revenue from the higher price. I'll let the resident economists here explore the issues surrounding the pricing of products and maximizing revenue.

Originally Posted by Malleus Dei

But they do need to do their best to get the baseball simulation right, no matter how "diffiuclt."

Yes, but shoehorning in a DL into the current structure is the wrong solution. I can see why the minor league setup in OOTP has evolved the way it has, but to continue adding to a limited (perhaps even flawed) system would not seem to be an optimal way to go.

Better to go the "all leagues are fully separate and unique" route because, sooner or later, it'd have to go that way anyway if the game is to fully maximize historical league authenticity and fictional league flexibility.

[akw4572]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

I don't recall reading that, I only remember comments about adding a DL to the existing minor league setup.

In any case, I don't see why it should be difficult since the game already allows for fully unique top-level leagues. One would only need to refine that system whereby players are moved up and down between leagues — and the game can already handle players moving between top-level leagues as free agents can leave one league for another.

That only works if the decrease in sales due to a higher price is matched by the increase in revenue from the higher price. I'll let the resident economists here explore the issues surrounding the pricing of products and maximizing revenue.

Yes, but shoehorning in a DL into the current structure is the wrong solution. I can see why the minor league setup in OOTP has evolved the way it has, but to continue adding to a limited (perhaps even flawed) system would not seem to be an optimal way to go.

Better to go the "all leagues are fully separate and unique" route because, sooner or later, it'd have to go that way anyway if the game is to fully maximize historical league authenticity and fictional league flexibility.

Yes, shoehorning something in wouldn't be ideal, but would it be better than minor league pitchers getting destroyed by the AI not adjusting for injuries? This consistently happens because there are no adjustments made when injuries occur within the current model. And it happens with ghost players turned on as well.