Hitting problems

[TylerG30]

Anybody have any ideas how to get out of a hitting slump? When I say slump, I mean thru 160 games lol. My team is loaded 1-9, my expectation was to win it all. in 160 games I have score 710 runs, or less than 4/game. I did fire my hitting coach, thinking that might be a problem, but didn't seam to help. When I looked at my players VORP to see what players had off years, almost everybody is negative. The mood of all my players is at least ok. Is there something I could be missing, or something else to look for? I feel I have a pretty good mixture of speed and power. Could it just be a bad season?

[Malleus Dei]

Slumps happen in real life and in OOTP. But you seem to be having an average season.

FYI, the average number of runs scored in the NL in 2009 was 718. You are within 1.1% from that with two games to go. Your team is not in a slump overall. Your team is just performing at an average level.

Just having the best players in an OOTP league guarantees nothing. This is not an EA game; if your difficulty is set properly and you don't cheat, you will get your butt kicked now and then. More often, you will have average seasons...like you are.

[TNCubsFan]

Malleus speaks truth to you.

Are you playing with scouts on? Maybe the ratings you are seeing arent the ratings that the player actually has.

How is your line up constructed vs. how your manager manages? IE: If your manager has a line up of thumpers and tries to manage them as a track team.

To many pretty girls around? See Grace, Mark 1B Chicago Cubs on his solutions.

[TylerG30]

Ok, that makes sense! Yeah, maybe my scout isn't all that accurate, I tried to take the best one available at the time, but his scouting majors is rated as "good", so he could be off (int'l scouting is excellent). Yes, I do have scouting on. I went in and set up each players strategy on how I wanted it. I like using a classic format, I guess you would say. Speed leading off, good contact I can hit and run with at #2, my best talent #3, my 30 hr, 100 rbi man #4 and so on. Starting a new season now, so we will see if my players can out perform their contracts

[Malleus Dei]

As the man said, "You can't win them all."

[TylerG30]

I'm not greedy.....I just wanna win enough to get into the playoffs.......I'm going to need that playoff revenue

[Ambermonk]

You might also want to review your 'game management' policies like...

1. Do you have the optimum batting order for your lineups (optimizing OBP, player speed, power, batting average, stealing ability, etc)?
2. Have you optimized your player rotation (players well rested, righties v lefties, etc.)?
3. How effective are your starting Pitchers & bullpen?
4. Are your relievers getting enough rest between appearances?
5. Do you execute good baserunning strategy versus the opposing team's Pitcher & catcher (hold & catcher arm ratings)?
6. Is your team fielding well enough (especially SS, CF, & C)?
7. Have you identified your teams weaknesses and addressed them through trades & the draft?
8. Are you skilled in managing 'special situations' like hit & run, double steal, hold runners, squeeze, guard sidelines, corners in, etc.)?
9. Does your team have a good locker room (check intangible player ratings like hard work, intelligence, greed, etc.) and read each player's personality synopsis (and expectations)?

Doing well in these things should translate into more wins for your team. Just because we 'manage' our teams doesn't mean that we are all competent managers. I'm in my 7th season now and I'm still learning how to be a better manager. Sometimes our players don't perform up to our expectations because we don't use them to best advantage.

[Malleus Dei]

Originally Posted by Ambermonk

8. Are you skilled in managing 'special situations' like hit & run, double steal, hold runners, squeeze, guard sidelines, corners in, etc.)?

I'd really like to see a thread discussing the whens and hows of those strategies in OOTP. We haven't had one of those in years and we have a lot of new guys.

[TylerG30]

Yeah, I would like to see that too. I'm still learning/playing around with different strategies to try and figure things out. Would be interesting to see some success stories on what has worked well for people.

I've been starting to look at some of the detailed reports to evaluate my team. This year through the first 25 games, I'm 11th in the AL in runs scored and 14th in bullpen ERA. Do you guys look at VORP, or is that an overrated stat? All my starting lineup, with the exception of one (Beckham), has a VORP of 4.8 or less, with a couple in the negatives. Some of these guys in the past have had 30-40+ VORP.

I am 1st in runs allowed and 2nd in defense, but only 11-14 so far. Maybe pitching and defense doesn't win championships lol

[TNCubsFan]

Originally Posted by Malleus Dei

I'd really like to see a thread discussing the whens and hows of those strategies in OOTP. We haven't had one of those in years and we have a lot of new guys.

That will be a very long thread. Historical era and type of team plays such a huge role in that discussion. Even Earl Weaver said that he would have to manage differently in St. Louis than he did in Baltimore.

[SteveP]

Originally Posted by TylerG30

I'm not greedy.....I just wanna win enough to get into the playoffs.......I'm going to need that playoff revenue

Hey, if the owner doesn't fire you, you're golden.

[Tram2Whitaker]

I had a guy at 1b. He normally hit high .280s w/ 40 HRs. Then for no reason, at the age of 29, when he should be hitting his peak, he starts the season off at .178. Of course, he still had option years left, but none of the guys I brought in to replace him lasted very long. Also, he was only hitting .233 in AAA. Finally an injury to my stop gap 1b forced me to call him back up. By the end of the season, his BA was .205, and he did manage to hit 25 HR in only 100 games (so the slump didn't really hurt his power). The very next season, He was back in the .270s (I kept him because he was only making $4million through arbitration, and his slump actually helped me in SA, when I got him for $3.75 M). Fast forward 2 years later, and he's still pretty consistent on the average, although his power numbers are beginning to dip. (32 and 28 home runs in full, 166 game seasons)

[Malleus Dei]

Originally Posted by TylerG30

Would be interesting to see some success stories on what has worked well for people.

1. Pitching. Tons of it. The very best you can get.

2. OBP. Guys who get on base.

3. SLG. Guys who hit the three run homer.

Works fine in real baseball, works fine in OOTP. Good defense at C, 2B, SS and CF is a fine idea so long as you aren't trading offensive power for it (i.e. you want a Jeff Blauser at short and not a Rafael Belliard).

Yes, it's pure Earl Weaver from WEAVER ON STRATEGY (which you should buy a copy of; between that and Tom Tango's THE BOOK you would have all the knowledge tools you need to win at OOTP).

[Tram2Whitaker]

Originally Posted by Malleus Dei

1. Pitching. Tons of it. The very best you can get.

2. OBP. Guys who get on base.

3. SLG. Guys who hit the three run homer.

Works fine in real baseball, works fine in OOTP. Good defense at C, 2B, SS and CF is a fine idea so long as you aren't trading offensive power for it (i.e. you want a Jeff Blauser at short and not a Rafael Belliard).

Yes, it's pure Earl Weaver from WEAVER ON STRATEGY (which you should buy a copy of; between that and Tom Tango's THE BOOK you would have all the knowledge tools you need to win at OOTP).

4. Trust no one over 30!

[Malleus Dei]

Originally Posted by Tram2Whitaker

4. Trust no one over 30!

Trust no *player* over 30. And, per Branch Rickey, trade a player a year too early rather than a year too late.