Riddle me this...where to upgrade

pgjocki · 02-06-2019, 12:09 AM

A quick run down as we finish day 2 of the week.

Earned Run Average = 3.56 - 1st in AC
Starters' ERA = 3.67 - 1st in AC
Bullpen ERA = 3.26 - 2nd in AC
Runs allowed = 202 - 1st in AC
Hits allowed = 397 - 1st in AC
Opponents AVG = .230 - 1st in AC
BABIP = .275- 1st in AC
Home Runs allowed = 43 - 3rd in AC
Bases on Balls = 193 - 14th in AC
Strikeouts = 408 - 2nd in AC
Defensive Efficiency = .710 - 1st in AC

So I need to find out why I am giving up so many walks and keep the ball in the yard but overall I am very pleased with my pitching and defense BUT I am just 23-31.

I put a lot of energy into finding my pitchers and I have focused on defense in some positions with my fielders but I didn't think it was to a complete abandonment of offense.

This is my first week at Silver and for some reason this team is struggling after putting up back to back 90+ win teams at Bronze before finally getting promoted.

Should I stay the course and ride out the rough offensive patch and keep focusing on pitching and defense or blow some PP for a big offensive push?

SJM1583 · 02-06-2019, 12:18 AM

Who is on your team?

pgjocki · 02-06-2019, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SJM1583

Who is on your team?

Here you go.

pgjocki · 02-06-2019, 12:25 AM

I just swapped out Jorge Polanco with Bobby Crosby. Not sure it will be much if any of an offensive upgrade but Polanco was only hitting .261 and had a negative WAR 0.1 so far after 49 games.

rudel.dietrich · 02-06-2019, 12:27 AM

How many runs have you scored and what is your pyt record?

I am still in the bronze leagues but I pretty much ignore defense. I look for hitters who can create runs and pitchers who can prevent runs. It really is that simple.
Last season I won 101 games and if I ever get the right dice rolls in the playoffs I will be promoted.
My teams hover around 15-20th in defensive efficiency but 1st to 4th in runs allowed.
Pitchers who strike out batters and never let them put the ball in play are good along with those that don’t put runners on via walk and don’t give up runs via HR.

I will have to get more complex as I hopefully move up. But for now I let my hitters work on creating runs and any defense they bring is a nice bonus.

rudel.dietrich · 02-06-2019, 12:29 AM

You only have four players who are league average or above in hitting. No wonder your 8 games under .500
Your offense is full of black holes. Even teams with average or poor pitching can feast off your team due to the easy outs most of your lineup gives them.

whobob · 02-06-2019, 12:46 AM

If you are focusing on defense, the DH becomes especially important. It's your one free spot to go absolutely nuts on any bat you want.

joehart · 02-06-2019, 02:29 AM

You will want to slowly move to a few more Silver and Gold players and look for

1. Contact (if you can't make contact, you won't see doubles, triples, or HRs).
At the lower levels, people tend to do well by adding HR hitters but as they move up, they start to struggle. Personally, I prefer not to go down that route...otherwise you will have to make adjustments down the road.

2. Movement. Continue to focus on Movement. Keep the ball in the park. Don't give up the easy score. This works all the way to perfect league.

3. Take a look at your team strategy. Do you ever see your starters give up 5 runs on an ongoing basis. You may need to adjust the global strategy and pull them earlier (change the slider to the left...even to red color).

4. Take a look at your bullpen. Do you ever see many of them in yellow? Tired pitchers tend to give up more hits, walks, homeruns. Either keep a few extra pitchers in the reserve list and swap them in and out or keep a 7th or 8th pitcher in the bullpen. This will require 2 players that can play lots of positions (one utility player for infield, one for outfield, …)

5. Look at how you lose games? Do you have a closer that tends to fail again and again. Look at Saves+Blown Saves. Make adjustments or change to 2-3 Stoppers+ 2-3 Middle Relief with one Long Relief pitcher.

Here is a picture of my Silver Batter team. They compete in Perfect league against many of the managers that know the in's and out's of this game. I am clearly out-gunned in most of the games against teams with tons of Gold/Diamond and Perfect cards but I can usually go .500 or better and in some cases make the playoffs.

6. Help your pitchers. Look for 2 catchers that have really high ability and good arms.
This will help reduce stolen bases and help your pitchers. Jody Davis/Butch Wynegar (two Bronze options) that worked for me for a while.

Most of all....don't try to rush...enjoy the time building your team. Some players may not always be available in the Auction House so take your time.
Find your natural rivals in the league and see if they also post here. I learned a lot from other teams and tried different strategies that worked well but also some that failed.

Look for the discussion on best bronze players, best starters, ….
http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...d.php?t=297374

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...d.php?t=297821

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...d.php?t=297439

….apologies for making this answer a bit long.

mess · 02-06-2019, 07:26 AM

What's your Pythag record? I find that can be the ultimate indicator if you're getting unlucky when losing games.

Also, take a look at your W-L in 1 run games and Extra Innings.

It's entirely possible that you're getting lucky with individual stats but overall your team is weak. The opposite is possible. Without seeing the advanced data, it's really quite hard to tell.

Looking at your lineup? You probably want to upgrade at C and 2B. You're bleeding WAR from there.

SF Giants · 02-06-2019, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joehart

….apologies for making this answer a bit long.

This looks exactly like my team. Good to see that I'm doing it correctly. Greetings from Citizens from P40

Mizzery · 02-06-2019, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgjocki

Here you go.

As you get higher in levels, I’ve found defensive ratings become more and more important to remain competitive. Barnhart, Hunt and Waner are all cards that were contributors for my teams in Bronze that had to be replaced in Silver due to low defensive ratings- look at the zone ratings to better assess their performance.

Replacing Barnhart with Jody Davis, Hunt with Frankie Frisch, Jose Oquendo or Placido Polanco, and Waner with the 2001 Ichiro, and those are three cheap moves that will quickly pay off.

SJM1583 · 02-06-2019, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Replacing Barnhart with Jody Davis, Hunt with Frankie Frisch, Jose Oquendo or Placido Polanco, and Waner with the 2001 Ichiro, and those are three cheap moves that will quickly pay off.

I was just going to reply suggesting getting Jody Davis ASAP - he is under 100pp and a great defensive catcher.

Westheim · 02-06-2019, 02:00 PM

You follow the actual Raccoons, you should know what a manic obsession with defensive versatility and prowess does to a team's scoring capability!

For starters, replace all the Reds and Mets in that lineup with ANY card. Serious. ANY card will do. Ervin Santana at second base? Will do!

Nah, seriously, you have to find something better than Schebler or that assortment of second basemen, and foremost a catcher. Good silver catchers are hard to find, but for LF I can recommend Yoenis Cespedes f.e.; at your level he will do lots of damage and will only cost a couple o' hundo (it's a 79 card). This lineup needs a kiss of power so I am not sure about Ichiro.

I find Buster Posey a great, "somewhat" affordable card. It's a gold card and not a cheap one; I got mine for about 2,500 PP a few seasons ago.

jeffw3000 · 02-06-2019, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgjocki

A quick run down as we finish day 2 of the week.

Earned Run Average = 3.56 - 1st in AC
Starters' ERA = 3.67 - 1st in AC
Bullpen ERA = 3.26 - 2nd in AC
Runs allowed = 202 - 1st in AC
Hits allowed = 397 - 1st in AC
Opponents AVG = .230 - 1st in AC
BABIP = .275- 1st in AC
Home Runs allowed = 43 - 3rd in AC
Bases on Balls = 193 - 14th in AC
Strikeouts = 408 - 2nd in AC
Defensive Efficiency = .710 - 1st in AC

So I need to find out why I am giving up so many walks and keep the ball in the yard but overall I am very pleased with my pitching and defense BUT I am just 23-31.

I put a lot of energy into finding my pitchers and I have focused on defense in some positions with my fielders but I didn't think it was to a complete abandonment of offense.

This is my first week at Silver and for some reason this team is struggling after putting up back to back 90+ win teams at Bronze before finally getting promoted.

Should I stay the course and ride out the rough offensive patch and keep focusing on pitching and defense or blow some PP for a big offensive push?

You might stay the course. My team got promoted to Silver last season, and at the start of June was in last place. Kind of like you, the numbers looked good, but were in last place. One difference, I knew my defense was not great. was good at some spots, but definitely offense first at others, but pitching and hitting was at or near top in league. Decided to not make any changes, wound up having big second half and got to first place. Made Championship, but lost 4-3 in championship.

bobbycockstrong · 02-06-2019, 05:07 PM

Ive had seasons where I started 20-20 or so and then won 100+ games without making any major changes. Sometimes you just get a bad run of games, but definitely start to upgrade your offense. Your pitchers seem to be doing their part - you have the least runs allowed, but presumably are not getting any run support.

pgjocki · 02-10-2019, 12:10 AM

Well I only made one big move and that was to put Jose Oquendo and Bobby Crosby in my line-up and stock pile PP for the off-season. As you can see my pitching and defense stayed pretty solid but it wasn't enough to make up for my lack of offense.

I hadn't previously paid attention to the Pythag Record but it was consistently about 10 games better than I was all year. I do need to relook the bullpen after finishing the year 20-32 in One-run games - that is probably the main reason for falling short.

Now the big question is do I save up for a Trout or Betts to solidify the outfield with Willie Mays in Center or go get respectable catcher and a new bull pen arm who can fill the role of stopper?

Decisions decisions....

joehart · 02-10-2019, 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgjocki

Now the big question is do I save up for a Trout or Betts to solidify the outfield with Willie Mays in Center or go get respectable catcher and a new bull pen arm who can fill the role of stopper?

Decisions decisions....

I think you just stated the best part about PT. So many different ways to go and always more areas to adjust and improve.

Personally, I am always amazed at how much I can get out of more reasonable buys (Sad Sam Jones, Cleon Jones, Rod Carew, Eddie Jones, ...).
Down the road you will want to have some solid catchers with high arm and ability. You can find some silver ones that can last all the way to Perfect league.

DonkeyKongSr · 02-10-2019, 02:16 AM

See my post here about my LF Trout. http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...&postcount=107

A Trout-Mays-Betts OF should be excellent defensively and offensively.

bobbycockstrong · 02-10-2019, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgjocki

Now the big question is do I save up for a Trout or Betts to solidify the outfield with Willie Mays in Center or go get respectable catcher and a new bull pen arm who can fill the role of stopper?

Decisions decisions....

While thats a nice goal, and its neat to get those perfect players - you might want to consider upgrading 4-5 spots with the 20k you have now than get 1 player soon (betts or trout for around ~25k) and then save another 25k for the other.

You could get two intermediate upgrades for LF and RF - guys like robles (can play LF or RF very good defense and speed), blair (can be retrained to LF or RF), maddox (retrain), even diamond dwight evans in RF is good defensively with a lot of offensive power and OBP. Plenty of other guys as well.

If you pick up two outfielders for 10-15k total. Then you get yourself a decent defensive C, and a few bullpen arms for ~2k a piece.

The OF guys i listed usually hold their value from what I can tell, so later on when you do want to upgrade to betts or trout, you can sell one of them to contribute to the 25k or so needed for them.

But, as someone else said, there are many approaches. Just my suggestion if you go for the overall benefit approach, rather than the single position approach. The idea is to spend medium amount at multiple positions rather than go all in with big money at a single position.

02-06-2019, 12:09 AM	#1
pgjocki All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Maryland - just outside DC Posts: 1,581	Riddle me this...where to upgrade A quick run down as we finish day 2 of the week. Earned Run Average = 3.56 - 1st in AC Starters' ERA = 3.67 - 1st in AC Bullpen ERA = 3.26 - 2nd in AC Runs allowed = 202 - 1st in AC Hits allowed = 397 - 1st in AC Opponents AVG = .230 - 1st in AC BABIP = .275- 1st in AC Home Runs allowed = 43 - 3rd in AC Bases on Balls = 193 - 14th in AC Strikeouts = 408 - 2nd in AC Defensive Efficiency = .710 - 1st in AC So I need to find out why I am giving up so many walks and keep the ball in the yard but overall I am very pleased with my pitching and defense BUT I am just 23-31. I put a lot of energy into finding my pitchers and I have focused on defense in some positions with my fielders but I didn't think it was to a complete abandonment of offense. This is my first week at Silver and for some reason this team is struggling after putting up back to back 90+ win teams at Bronze before finally getting promoted. Should I stay the course and ride out the rough offensive patch and keep focusing on pitching and defense or blow some PP for a big offensive push? __________________ - - - World Series championships: 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, 1982, 2006, 2011

02-06-2019, 12:25 AM	#4
pgjocki All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Maryland - just outside DC Posts: 1,581	I just swapped out Jorge Polanco with Bobby Crosby. Not sure it will be much if any of an offensive upgrade but Polanco was only hitting .261 and had a negative WAR 0.1 so far after 49 games. __________________ - - - World Series championships: 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, 1982, 2006, 2011

02-06-2019, 12:27 AM	#5
rudel.dietrich Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Zürich, Switzerland Posts: 8,608	How many runs have you scored and what is your pyt record? I am still in the bronze leagues but I pretty much ignore defense. I look for hitters who can create runs and pitchers who can prevent runs. It really is that simple. Last season I won 101 games and if I ever get the right dice rolls in the playoffs I will be promoted. My teams hover around 15-20th in defensive efficiency but 1st to 4th in runs allowed. Pitchers who strike out batters and never let them put the ball in play are good along with those that don’t put runners on via walk and don’t give up runs via HR. I will have to get more complex as I hopefully move up. But for now I let my hitters work on creating runs and any defense they bring is a nice bonus. Last edited by rudel.dietrich; 02-06-2019 at 02:28 AM.

02-06-2019, 02:29 AM	#8
joehart All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 1,131	Riddle me this...where to upgrade You will want to slowly move to a few more Silver and Gold players and look for 1. Contact (if you can't make contact, you won't see doubles, triples, or HRs). At the lower levels, people tend to do well by adding HR hitters but as they move up, they start to struggle. Personally, I prefer not to go down that route...otherwise you will have to make adjustments down the road. 2. Movement. Continue to focus on Movement. Keep the ball in the park. Don't give up the easy score. This works all the way to perfect league. 3. Take a look at your team strategy. Do you ever see your starters give up 5 runs on an ongoing basis. You may need to adjust the global strategy and pull them earlier (change the slider to the left...even to red color). 4. Take a look at your bullpen. Do you ever see many of them in yellow? Tired pitchers tend to give up more hits, walks, homeruns. Either keep a few extra pitchers in the reserve list and swap them in and out or keep a 7th or 8th pitcher in the bullpen. This will require 2 players that can play lots of positions (one utility player for infield, one for outfield, …) 5. Look at how you lose games? Do you have a closer that tends to fail again and again. Look at Saves+Blown Saves. Make adjustments or change to 2-3 Stoppers+ 2-3 Middle Relief with one Long Relief pitcher. Here is a picture of my Silver Batter team. They compete in Perfect league against many of the managers that know the in's and out's of this game. I am clearly out-gunned in most of the games against teams with tons of Gold/Diamond and Perfect cards but I can usually go .500 or better and in some cases make the playoffs. 6. Help your pitchers. Look for 2 catchers that have really high ability and good arms. This will help reduce stolen bases and help your pitchers. Jody Davis/Butch Wynegar (two Bronze options) that worked for me for a while. Most of all....don't try to rush...enjoy the time building your team. Some players may not always be available in the Auction House so take your time. Find your natural rivals in the league and see if they also post here. I learned a lot from other teams and tried different strategies that worked well but also some that failed. Look for the discussion on best bronze players, best starters, …. http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...d.php?t=297374 http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...d.php?t=297821 http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...d.php?t=297439 ….apologies for making this answer a bit long. Attached Images __________________ Last edited by joehart; 02-06-2019 at 05:35 AM.

02-06-2019, 07:26 AM	#9
mess Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Posts: 202	What's your Pythag record? I find that can be the ultimate indicator if you're getting unlucky when losing games. Also, take a look at your W-L in 1 run games and Extra Innings. It's entirely possible that you're getting lucky with individual stats but overall your team is weak. The opposite is possible. Without seeing the advanced data, it's really quite hard to tell. Looking at your lineup? You probably want to upgrade at C and 2B. You're bleeding WAR from there. __________________

02-06-2019, 12:18 AM	#2
SJM1583 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 85	Who is on your team?

02-06-2019, 12:29 AM	#6
rudel.dietrich Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Zürich, Switzerland Posts: 8,608	You only have four players who are league average or above in hitting. No wonder your 8 games under .500 Your offense is full of black holes. Even teams with average or poor pitching can feast off your team due to the easy outs most of your lineup gives them.

02-06-2019, 12:46 AM	#7
whobob Minors (Single A) Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 85	If you are focusing on defense, the DH becomes especially important. It's your one free spot to go absolutely nuts on any bat you want.

02-06-2019, 02:00 PM	#13
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,244	You follow the actual Raccoons, you should know what a manic obsession with defensive versatility and prowess does to a team's scoring capability! For starters, replace all the Reds and Mets in that lineup with ANY card. Serious. ANY card will do. Ervin Santana at second base? Will do! Nah, seriously, you have to find something better than Schebler or that assortment of second basemen, and foremost a catcher. Good silver catchers are hard to find, but for LF I can recommend Yoenis Cespedes f.e.; at your level he will do lots of damage and will only cost a couple o' hundo (it's a 79 card). This lineup needs a kiss of power so I am not sure about Ichiro. I find Buster Posey a great, "somewhat" affordable card. It's a gold card and not a cheap one; I got mine for about 2,500 PP a few seasons ago. __________________ Portland Raccoons, 90 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here. Last edited by Westheim; 02-06-2019 at 02:01 PM.

02-06-2019, 05:07 PM	#15
bobbycockstrong Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jan 2019 Posts: 178	Ive had seasons where I started 20-20 or so and then won 100+ games without making any major changes. Sometimes you just get a bad run of games, but definitely start to upgrade your offense. Your pitchers seem to be doing their part - you have the least runs allowed, but presumably are not getting any run support.

02-10-2019, 12:10 AM	#16
pgjocki All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Maryland - just outside DC Posts: 1,581	Well I only made one big move and that was to put Jose Oquendo and Bobby Crosby in my line-up and stock pile PP for the off-season. As you can see my pitching and defense stayed pretty solid but it wasn't enough to make up for my lack of offense. I hadn't previously paid attention to the Pythag Record but it was consistently about 10 games better than I was all year. I do need to relook the bullpen after finishing the year 20-32 in One-run games - that is probably the main reason for falling short. Now the big question is do I save up for a Trout or Betts to solidify the outfield with Willie Mays in Center or go get respectable catcher and a new bull pen arm who can fill the role of stopper? Decisions decisions.... Attached Images __________________ - - - World Series championships: 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, 1982, 2006, 2011

02-10-2019, 02:16 AM	#18
DonkeyKongSr All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2018 Posts: 777	See my post here about my LF Trout. http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...&postcount=107 A Trout-Mays-Betts OF should be excellent defensively and offensively.