How Do You 'Police Yourself'?

AndrewG · 08-03-2009, 01:07 PM

What measures do you make to stop the tempation of easily improving your team when you are gm'ing in a personal league at home?

I elimiated trading draft picks

Elminiatated recently drafted

Limit myself to one free agent who is more than 2.5 stars potential, unless they are a free agent who just finished playing from my team the previous year. (My player who wants to test free egency)

Have a self imposed 90 million dollar payroll while the other teams are at 100

Eliminated trading for players with money only. (I offer money for a player in return)

toxicavenger74 · 08-03-2009, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sbufkle

What measures do you make to stop the tempation of easily improving your team when you are gm'ing in a personal league at home?

I elimiated trading draft picks

Elminiatated recently drafted

Limit myself to one free agent who is more than 2.5 stars potential, unless they are a free agent who just finished playing from my team the previous year. (My player who wants to test free egency)

Have a self imposed 90 million dollar payroll while the other teams are at 100

Eliminated trading for players with money only. (I offer money for a player in return)

So, my overall approach is that if I am trading for a veteran, depending on the value of the veteran I need to be giving the AI team players that could potentially improve the team in the future. Conversely, if I am trading for prospects or another veteran and offering a veteran then I need to be giving the AI team a veteran or veterans who will help the team almost immediately.

Here are my avenues to ensure this:

1. If I were the other GM would I have justification to make this trade?

2. The AI team needs to be significantly out of the playoff picture if they are trading away a veteran.

3. Anybody I trade to the AI will get a bump in current ratings. Prospects will get a bump in potential. This is a sure method to make sure that I am not fleecing or minimize fleecing the AI. I usually will randomize the number per category with the mimimum bump of 1 pt. per category and the max at 20.

4. If a veteran and the AI team is out of playoff picture, player needs to be in last year of contract. Or in second to last year if team appears to not be competitive next year due to tough division, finances. AKA: Toronto Blue Jays and Roy Halladay.

5. Cannot trade for prospects if the AI team is out of the playoff picture. They would'nt want a veteran if they are in a rebuild mode.

6. Trading on Hard.

Pirate Fan · 08-03-2009, 02:15 PM

I usually set a goal for team profitability and try to stick to it - something like $5-10 million for a small market team and 10-20 for medium.

I set trading to hard and only do deals that the AI offers or through the shop player function.

I avoid FAs unless I have no internal options.

Rand · 08-03-2009, 05:49 PM

Draft pick trading is disabled.

I cannot pick up players on waivers that my scout values at more then 1.5 stars for either current ability or potential.

I can only draft one player in any 3 year span in the rule 5 draft.

Trading set to Very Hard/Favour Prospects. I cannot include cash in trades, and I can never offer more then one more player then the AI is including in the trade. ie. 2 for 1, 3 for 2 etc.
Similarly the AI cannot include more then one more player then I'm offering.

My payroll budget is limited to a rolling average of the previous 5 seasons 20th overall team in payroll.

I cannot offer any team options in contract negotiations. I cannot offer any player incentives either.

My scouting budget is limited to 75% of league average.

Left-handed Badger · 08-04-2009, 02:59 AM

Nothing, I generally dont get the "steals" everyone else seems to in trades.

Generally, I dont like making too many moves in a short amount of time. So, that keeps me down a little.

With FA in the offseason, I concentrate on only signing one at a time. (if I get outbid, all that time wasted for nothing). That generally keeps me from getting more than 1 or 2 big FAs in the offseason (and quite often, I only go after 2nd tier ones instead).

I generally dont negotiate with my players in season unless they make the first move. (which can be a nail biter)

With trades, I generally avoid until I am looking to fill a specific need. Or in the case of the last week before the deadline, I generally only make a deal every 2 days max. This does make me start looking in earnest just after all break.

Afino · 08-04-2009, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Left-handed Badger

Nothing, I generally dont get the "steals" everyone else seems to in trades.

Me neither.

I stay away from the waiver wire - that's really my only hard and fast house rule.

damientheomen3 · 08-04-2009, 08:49 AM

yeah i don't really limit myself either, except for allowing only 1 FA signee with more than 2 stars and only trading if i feel that a position of mine is a great weakness. I also don't use the waiver wire.

ssstump · 08-04-2009, 11:55 AM

I set the trades to 'hard' to get rid of the trading hamburger for prime rib, and that's about it for settings.

But I also aim at running a team that makes money. Signing all the best talent for who cares what salary won't keep a team in business if they lose money.

I don't know about FA's though, cuz I've never yet seen one that I wanted.

abbyrd · 08-04-2009, 01:51 PM

I too try to just use the shop player function when trading away players. it keeps ME honest. I also don't trade away money, but I DO trade draft picks and recently drafted players if they are offered....but they are rarely offered.

Sweed · 08-04-2009, 02:57 PM

I play slow, ie I play out all of my games, usually get in 3 seasons per version. Perhaps this slow play doesn't let me see or take advantage of weaknesses in OOTP? I'm finding in my solo league that with each new version the financial and roster rules are making house rules almost unnecessary.

I let the owner set the budget. This goes a long way in curbing spending and the ability to keep my star players.

Revenue sharing on at %20 of total revenue (started this last year in ver 9) prevents me from stockpiling cash. Again I play slow so may find this needs to be higher? But,at least for now,it is having the desired effect.

No trading of draft picks. I do this because it is the real life rule, not so much to hinder my ability.

Some mention not trading recent draft picks. I checked this in my league and it isn't allowed during their first year as a pro. Is this not true for everyone in ver X? Option or setting I have checked that others don't?

I suppose the only house rule I use is if I think a real GM would do it then I will, if not I won't. This also applies to how I think my opposing, ie AI GM's, would act. If I wouldn't do the deal if I were the AI GM then I won't make the deal.

Questdog · 08-04-2009, 03:47 PM

Does Roman Gabriel still hold the record for most fumbles in a career?....

damonrusst · 08-04-2009, 04:52 PM

I don't police myself yet. Said I wouldn't until I won a Series. In 8 yrs been to two but lost both. I used to play mogul and haven't foudn this game as easy to dominate... The only thing that limits me is I can be fired which frequently forces me to watch teams I've created go on to do great things after I've been kicked out by an impatient owner. Also keeps things more competitive because I have to later go up against teams that I helped stack with talent.

Anyway, works for me at the moment. I also find that a lot of times when I think I've gotten a great deal, the players I trade away end up being all stars and more productive over the long term than the players I got. So maybe the AI is smarter than I give it credit for.

BMW · 08-04-2009, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by damonrusst

I don't police myself yet. Said I wouldn't until I won a Series. In 8 yrs been to two but lost both. I used to play mogul and haven't foudn this game as easy to dominate... The only thing that limits me is I can be fired which frequently forces me to watch teams I've created go on to do great things after I've been kicked out by an impatient owner. Also keeps things more competitive because I have to later go up against teams that I helped stack with talent.

Anyway, works for me at the moment. I also find that a lot of times when I think I've gotten a great deal, the players I trade away end up being all stars and more productive over the long term than the players I got. So maybe the AI is smarter than I give it credit for.

Wait...

Gene?

Gene Michael?! Is that you?

Left-handed Badger · 08-05-2009, 03:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssstump

I set the trades to 'hard' to get rid of the trading hamburger for prime rib, and that's about it for settings.

But I also aim at running a team that makes money. Signing all the best talent for who cares what salary won't keep a team in business if they lose money.

I don't know about FA's though, cuz I've never yet seen one that I wanted.

Yeah, forgot about that, I do tend to try to make money. Even dumping players to make sure I do.

ssstump · 08-05-2009, 05:24 AM

Good info Swede. I also play slowly, and since I have just started in with OOTP, I have been wondering how far i might get.

I like that idea of, If it wouldn't happen in real life, ya don't do it. Easy peasy, that one is.

I'm thinking I will stockpile money though. In fact, I have cut my team salary significantly in my first season since I am a small market and thought I had too many big dollar players.

But, I may use those savings later.

bosunmate · 08-05-2009, 11:45 AM

What i do in my Historical Leagues.

1. Computer makes all trades, I only allow myself 5 protected. But the computer will even trade them away.

2. I never look at real stats to see when they retired. Have retire like real life on.

3. I have drafts every year instead on having players go to real teams.

4. The only thing I decide is the contract renewal and free agent signings.

It can be maddening because we all know the computer can make some stupid moves. They traded Robin Roberts my ace with 4 20 game seasons for a FADED star who flamed out. I almost wanted to put commish back on and reverse the trade. But i didn't.

In all Ived play 14 years have been fired 5 times and have never made the playoofs. But i'm in 1964 right now and only two teams make it period.

I have found that if I control trades it is to easy to build a winner. So I like to resign after winning then take the worse team and try again..

ssstump · 08-05-2009, 11:58 AM

1964 eh Bosun?

Me too.

Better watch out, or I'll sick my Indians and Louis Tiant on ya.

Jason · 08-05-2009, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewG

What measures do you make to stop the tempation of easily improving your team when you are gm'ing in a personal league at home?

I elimiated trading draft picks

Elminiatated recently drafted

Limit myself to one free agent who is more than 2.5 stars potential, unless they are a free agent who just finished playing from my team the previous year. (My player who wants to test free egency)

Have a self imposed 90 million dollar payroll while the other teams are at 100

Eliminated trading for players with money only. (I offer money for a player in return)

Honestly, I just remind myself it's not much fun when you stack the deck in your favor. Cheesy, I know, but it works.

PhillieFever · 08-05-2009, 12:35 PM

In my historical league,the one thing I do for the league as a whole,is set Revenue sharing at 50%,I got the idea from Bill James who proposes this in the Historical Baseball Abstract in order to limit the advantages of the big market clubs without eliminating it entirely.As for what I do,first off,I do not go over budget,whatever the Owner allows that's what I stick with,even if I'm forced to trade players to do so.I also set trades to hard/favor prospects and I never use the shop around feature.When I do trade,I try to be sensible about it,by offering a fair deal to the AI.I also set each team's in game strategy based on their real life tendencies(sac bunts,SB's,IW's,and play D in)

damientheomen3 · 08-05-2009, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bosunmate

What i do in my Historical Leagues.

1. Computer makes all trades, I only allow myself 5 protected. But the computer will even trade them away.

2. I never look at real stats to see when they retired. Have retire like real life on.

3. I have drafts every year instead on having players go to real teams.

4. The only thing I decide is the contract renewal and free agent signings.

It can be maddening because we all know the computer can make some stupid moves. They traded Robin Roberts my ace with 4 20 game seasons for a FADED star who flamed out. I almost wanted to put commish back on and reverse the trade. But i didn't.

In all Ived play 14 years have been fired 5 times and have never made the playoofs. But i'm in 1964 right now and only two teams make it period.

I have found that if I control trades it is to easy to build a winner. So I like to resign after winning then take the worse team and try again..

In my league where I simmed 60 years before I started managing, one team traded a huge prospect and a career minor leaguer for a crappy major leaguer. Well, in almost 4000 career ABs that major leaguer finished with a career VORP of 79.9. The career minor leaguer lived up to his title, but the prospect went on to be the career leader in home runs and spent the first 15 years of his career on the team he was traded to. As the biggest kick in the nuts, the crappy major leaguer batted about .220 while on the team he was traded to and left after 1 season.

08-03-2009, 01:07 PM	#1
AndrewG Major Leagues Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Pointe Claire, PQ, CANADA Posts: 317	How Do You 'Police Yourself'? What measures do you make to stop the tempation of easily improving your team when you are gm'ing in a personal league at home? I elimiated trading draft picks Elminiatated recently drafted Limit myself to one free agent who is more than 2.5 stars potential, unless they are a free agent who just finished playing from my team the previous year. (My player who wants to test free egency) Have a self imposed 90 million dollar payroll while the other teams are at 100 Eliminated trading for players with money only. (I offer money for a player in return)

08-04-2009, 02:59 AM	#5
Left-handed Badger Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: at the altar of the baseball god praying for middle infield that can catch the ball Posts: 2,036	Nothing, I generally dont get the "steals" everyone else seems to in trades. Generally, I dont like making too many moves in a short amount of time. So, that keeps me down a little. With FA in the offseason, I concentrate on only signing one at a time. (if I get outbid, all that time wasted for nothing). That generally keeps me from getting more than 1 or 2 big FAs in the offseason (and quite often, I only go after 2nd tier ones instead). I generally dont negotiate with my players in season unless they make the first move. (which can be a nail biter) With trades, I generally avoid until I am looking to fill a specific need. Or in the case of the last week before the deadline, I generally only make a deal every 2 days max. This does make me start looking in earnest just after all break. __________________ -Left-handed groundball specialist -Strikeouts are for wimps

08-05-2009, 12:35 PM	#19
PhillieFever Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Elk Twp. NJ Posts: 6,763	In my historical league,the one thing I do for the league as a whole,is set Revenue sharing at 50%,I got the idea from Bill James who proposes this in the Historical Baseball Abstract in order to limit the advantages of the big market clubs without eliminating it entirely.As for what I do,first off,I do not go over budget,whatever the Owner allows that's what I stick with,even if I'm forced to trade players to do so.I also set trades to hard/favor prospects and I never use the shop around feature.When I do trade,I try to be sensible about it,by offering a fair deal to the AI.I also set each team's in game strategy based on their real life tendencies(sac bunts,SB's,IW's,and play D in) __________________ We're All Wednesday Aren't We? WAWAW

08-03-2009, 02:15 PM	#3
Pirate Fan Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 166	I usually set a goal for team profitability and try to stick to it - something like $5-10 million for a small market team and 10-20 for medium. I set trading to hard and only do deals that the AI offers or through the shop player function. I avoid FAs unless I have no internal options.

08-03-2009, 05:49 PM	#4
Rand Minors (Double A) Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 124	Draft pick trading is disabled. I cannot pick up players on waivers that my scout values at more then 1.5 stars for either current ability or potential. I can only draft one player in any 3 year span in the rule 5 draft. Trading set to Very Hard/Favour Prospects. I cannot include cash in trades, and I can never offer more then one more player then the AI is including in the trade. ie. 2 for 1, 3 for 2 etc. Similarly the AI cannot include more then one more player then I'm offering. My payroll budget is limited to a rolling average of the previous 5 seasons 20th overall team in payroll. I cannot offer any team options in contract negotiations. I cannot offer any player incentives either. My scouting budget is limited to 75% of league average.

08-04-2009, 11:55 AM	#8
ssstump Minors (Single A) Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 57	I set the trades to 'hard' to get rid of the trading hamburger for prime rib, and that's about it for settings. But I also aim at running a team that makes money. Signing all the best talent for who cares what salary won't keep a team in business if they lose money. I don't know about FA's though, cuz I've never yet seen one that I wanted.

08-04-2009, 01:51 PM	#9
abbyrd Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 30	I too try to just use the shop player function when trading away players. it keeps ME honest. I also don't trade away money, but I DO trade draft picks and recently drafted players if they are offered....but they are rarely offered.

08-04-2009, 02:57 PM	#10
Sweed Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Iowa Posts: 6,698	I play slow, ie I play out all of my games, usually get in 3 seasons per version. Perhaps this slow play doesn't let me see or take advantage of weaknesses in OOTP? I'm finding in my solo league that with each new version the financial and roster rules are making house rules almost unnecessary. I let the owner set the budget. This goes a long way in curbing spending and the ability to keep my star players. Revenue sharing on at %20 of total revenue (started this last year in ver 9) prevents me from stockpiling cash. Again I play slow so may find this needs to be higher? But,at least for now,it is having the desired effect. No trading of draft picks. I do this because it is the real life rule, not so much to hinder my ability. Some mention not trading recent draft picks. I checked this in my league and it isn't allowed during their first year as a pro. Is this not true for everyone in ver X? Option or setting I have checked that others don't? I suppose the only house rule I use is if I think a real GM would do it then I will, if not I won't. This also applies to how I think my opposing, ie AI GM's, would act. If I wouldn't do the deal if I were the AI GM then I won't make the deal.

08-04-2009, 03:47 PM	#11
Questdog Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: In a dark, damp cave where I'm training slugs to run the bases...... Posts: 16,142	Does Roman Gabriel still hold the record for most fumbles in a career?....

08-04-2009, 04:52 PM	#12
damonrusst Major Leagues Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 470	I don't police myself yet. Said I wouldn't until I won a Series. In 8 yrs been to two but lost both. I used to play mogul and haven't foudn this game as easy to dominate... The only thing that limits me is I can be fired which frequently forces me to watch teams I've created go on to do great things after I've been kicked out by an impatient owner. Also keeps things more competitive because I have to later go up against teams that I helped stack with talent. Anyway, works for me at the moment. I also find that a lot of times when I think I've gotten a great deal, the players I trade away end up being all stars and more productive over the long term than the players I got. So maybe the AI is smarter than I give it credit for.

08-05-2009, 05:24 AM	#15
ssstump Minors (Single A) Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 57	Good info Swede. I also play slowly, and since I have just started in with OOTP, I have been wondering how far i might get. I like that idea of, If it wouldn't happen in real life, ya don't do it. Easy peasy, that one is. I'm thinking I will stockpile money though. In fact, I have cut my team salary significantly in my first season since I am a small market and thought I had too many big dollar players. But, I may use those savings later.

08-05-2009, 11:45 AM	#16
bosunmate All Star Starter Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 1,717	What i do in my Historical Leagues. 1. Computer makes all trades, I only allow myself 5 protected. But the computer will even trade them away. 2. I never look at real stats to see when they retired. Have retire like real life on. 3. I have drafts every year instead on having players go to real teams. 4. The only thing I decide is the contract renewal and free agent signings. It can be maddening because we all know the computer can make some stupid moves. They traded Robin Roberts my ace with 4 20 game seasons for a FADED star who flamed out. I almost wanted to put commish back on and reverse the trade. But i didn't. In all Ived play 14 years have been fired 5 times and have never made the playoofs. But i'm in 1964 right now and only two teams make it period. I have found that if I control trades it is to easy to build a winner. So I like to resign after winning then take the worse team and try again..

08-05-2009, 11:58 AM	#17
ssstump Minors (Single A) Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 57	1964 eh Bosun? Me too. Better watch out, or I'll sick my Indians and Louis Tiant on ya.