Old time pitchers vs Modern pitchers

[Duncan Idaho]

Hey guys,
I have a question maybe someone can answer.I am replaying some old-timer teams and they are all set with four man rotations and I'm used to managing modern teams with five man rotations.I know ibn the five man rotation era pitchers get tired faster than old-time pitchers.What I want to know is :can my old timers survive pitching on a days less rest?Should I look to add a fiffth pitcher into my rotation,or would that take away from my accuracy of stats?

Thanks,

DI

[andjbock]

search the forums, i remember a thread about this recently

[Eugene Church]

I have had 4 man rotations and had no problems...they just pitch a lot of innings...which is what they did 1900-1930...if thats what you mean by "oldtimers". If you use the same 4 starters the entire season, they will pitch 250-325 innings each, which is higher than real life. 1900-1930 teams usually had 5-7 pitchers with 100-275 innings pitched...usually 3 of them 225-275 innings with 32-38 starts. Starters were also used in relief. OOTPB doesn't do this except with the spot starter, who can also be listed in one of the reliever positons.

I have never done it, but the game lets you play with a 3 man rotation.

Here are some guidelines about game settings...

HOWEVER I WOULD SUGGEST YOU WAIT UNTIL SOMEONE WHO PLAYS WITH 3 AND 4 MAN ROTATIONS IN THE DEADBALL ERA BEFORE USING THE FOLLOWING INFO:

Just be sure to set the ERA in the Advanced League Setup to take into effect the reduced staffs:

set "pinchhitting" to "seldom"...this will cut down on pitching changes.
set "use relievers" to "seldom" or "not often".
set "pitcher endurance" to "very good".

Also go into "team strategies":
set "pull starter" slower than "normal"...to the right on the scale "slow".
set "pull reliever" all the way to the right on the scale "slow".
set "pinchhitting for position players" all the way to the left "less".
set "pinch runner" all the way to the left "less".
set "favor lefty/righty matchup" all the way to the left "less".

I always use the "career league" to run test seasons. Once I get all the settings to where I get the most realistic results, then I play my league. Keep in mind OOTPB "seems" to be setup best for Modern Baseball and not for Oldtime Baseball (prior to 1960)...
the double switches, heavy use of relievers and pulling starters after 8 innings to put in a closer drives me crazy...but it's still a great game...and one just has to accept these things or find ways around them.

Do a search for "Eugene Church" and find the thread "can I use 4 starters/4 relievers"...this is how I'm getting starters to be used as relievers...the way it was prior to about 1960.
Please note I play a very simple OOTPB: no manager mode, all teams human controlled, disable almost everything, including minors. So far, it has worked pretty well, but not flawlessly. I am using this method in 4 leagues and will post the findings at the end of the season...about a week or so.

Hope this helps you and doesn't confuse you.