Game too hard, frustrating.

[JMDurron]

If your team is ranked 15th in defensive efficiency, then yes, your fielding has been terrible. Your weakest IF position appears to be SS, which is the most important. I haven't found the C EFF rating to be relevant at all. If your stud pitchers have flyball tendencies, 2 of your OFers are poor defenders, and if Wrigley is a hitter's ballpark with prevailing winds that blow out, that would explain much of your difficulties.

Forget who you think the "studs" are, because OOTP doesn't care about name recognition. Go young, and go for high GB rates. GB pitchers are the best defense against a hitters' ballpark and a poor defensive OF, particularly when combined with a solid defensive IF (particularly at SS and 2B).

There is no such thing as a reliable, consistent pitcher (except Mariano Rivera, who is actually a cyborg), just ask Lincecum or Lester. OOTP models this quite well, IMO.

[Raidergoo]

Since the time that dinosaurs roamed the earth (that's the most polite way I can describe Tim McCarver...), pitching and defense has been preached as the key to a pennant.

The trouble is that this is a lie. The trouble with this lie is that it is nearly true.

Pitching is defense. Improve your defense, in particular your 2B and CF. If you have a staff that induces a lot of grounders, pay attention to those infielders. If you have a fly ball staff, you need good defense in the corners as well as center.

But, pitching is not entirely defense. Your defense will never come into play if your pitchers record strikeouts. Get starters who rack up K's, and then match your defense to catch everything else put into play. You can turn that league worst EFF into much better result quickly by examining your pitching staff.

[The Game]

Originally Posted by cpmackenzi

Nationals went to World Series in my most recent year. Here are their positional "EFF" (I assume Defense Efficiency) for the positions players with most playing time at each position. C: .930, 1B: 1.042/1.015, 2B: 1.037, 3B: 1.093, SS: .979, LF: 1.134, CF: 1.000/.964, RF: 1.048/1.063.

Here are my Cubs "EFF" scores. C: 1.121/.979, 1B: 1.016, 2B: 1.015, 3B: 1.159/1.024/.934, SS: .997, LF: .964/1.053, CF: .980/.919, RF: 1.099 (gold glove).

I got them beat at C, SS, RF. I'm close with some players at 1B, 3B, CF. I don't have the time to compare my EFF to all other teams, but that's one team that did well in the season.

Your running the Cubs? That is what your problem is. Look for the OOTP Hates the Cubs threads. There are 2-3.

[mpejkrm]

Can we see your starters' FIP along with their ERA? From what I can tell, your defense is awful, and if there is a major difference between their FIPs and ERAs it will mean your defense is indeed the cause.

Focus on defense up the middle (C, SS, 2B, CF) with bats, preferably power bats, at the corners. But have defense on the corners too.

[Fyrestorm3]

Originally Posted by The Game

Your running the Cubs? That is what your problem is. Look for the OOTP Hates the Cubs threads. There are 2-3.

His team's the Cubs. Problem solved. We can all go home now.

[CatKnight]

Actually back up. It sounds like you're flying through your seasons...which is fair enough, but when you're trying to diagnose a problem you need to dig deeper.

My suggestion: Put aside an hour or two one evening, and watch a few games unfold in front of you. Use your baseball fan instincts. Pretty soon you'll start seeing where it's falling apart. If you start wondering why your 2B/SS can't do anything right, then everyone here is right and it's your defense. Is your manager making obnoxious strategic decisions? Maybe it's time to find one with a strategy profile closer to the team you're trying to build.

Another possibility, though I'm thinking you might not like it: Blow up the team. You're relying too much on what you know of these players compared to their RL performance. OOTP (and BM for that matter) don't know who Zimmerman is. They see his ratings and run with it. Maybe it's time to fill your Cubs with unknowns, so the only expectations you'll have of them come from their ratings and stats.

[The Game]

Originally Posted by CatKnight

Maybe it's time to fill your Cubs with unknowns, so the only expectations you'll have of them come from their ratings and stats.

Isn't this Theo Epstein's method already?

[CatKnight]

Theo Epstein has a method??

[Fyrestorm3]

Originally Posted by catknight

theo epstein has a method??

THANK YOU.

EDIT: Well, that's weird. Is there some sort of script that prevents posts in all-caps? Because, until I added this edit, my line above kept reverting to lower-case.