An Experiment of 3 Teams

[chazzycat]

The SmallBallers have opened up a bit of a lead now among the teams. There's just a lot of really nice bronze cards that fit that mold, were cheap and are really producing. The offense is definitely clicking, I'm now 2nd overall in AVG and 3rd in runs scored. On the pitching side German Marquez has been absolutely lighting it up, 6-0 with a 1.7 ERA, and a few bullpen arms are performing well, but overall the pitching stats are still looking pretty gross.

Interestingly on the balanced team, no one is really standing out performance-wise. My other two diamond cards are easily leading their teams in WAR by wide margins, but Rendon is just tied with 2nd place Miguel Cabrera and Jason Heyward. The performance is more spread out on this team, which I guess is fitting for the concept.

The SaberCats pitching has started to struggle a bit, as I have been neglecting it heavily since I was leading the league in runs allowed for so long. I'm down to third now, and my pitching staff is mostly bronze so it looks like it's time to focus there again for a while. A lot of my pitchers MOV ratings are still in the low 60s which is really not great. I've got the last of my starter cards (worth a few k) up for auction now, hopefully that will sell or I'll get some achievements overnight and can work on the pitching tomorrow.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by chazzycat

Interestingly on the balanced team, no one is really standing out performance-wise. My other two diamond cards are easily leading their teams in WAR by wide margins, but Rendon is just tied with 2nd place Miguel Cabrera and Jason Heyward. The performance is more spread out on this team, which I guess is fitting for the concept.

I have a theory that this "different star every day" team will be less prone to long slumps. Please prove it for me.

[chazzycat]

Originally Posted by Orcin

I have a theory that this "different star every day" team will be less prone to long slumps. Please prove it for me.

So far, the balanced team hasn't had a losing streak longer than 4 games. The small ball team is easily the best overall right now (leading by 5 games and almost double the run differential), but also the streakiest, with an 8-game losing streak and a few others around 4-5 games too. Which makes sense since they are relying on BABIP. The Saber team has been very steady along with the balanced team, they have only had one decently long losing streak of 5 games. So the streakiness is pretty close between those two, but, overall they are less successful.

I just keep finding amazing cards for the SmallBallers. Just added Mike LaValliere and Tony Fernandez to the roster, which both look fantastic. I'm a bit torn on center field though...love Kiermier's glove, but Mickey Rivers bat and legs are calling out to me...decisions to make.

The Saber team is frustrating me right now because I still can't sell that last starter card (Dontrelle Willis) which would inject some much-needed PP for pitching upgrades. But my offense is looking much better with the recent additions hitting dingers (Gallo on pace for 60 or something) and CF shaping up nicely finally, with an Ian Happ/Aaron Hicks combo.

The balancers offense is almost entire silver cards already, mostly because there just weren't the same number of bronzes with those balanced skills available. And they are all producing quite consistently. Just look at my starting lineup production:



That's a thing of beauty. And mostly the guys lower down just have less games. Also fittingly, the Balancers aren't leading the league in anything, or anywhere close. But they also aren't trailing the league in anything. The "no weaknesses" idea does seem to be playing out that way so far.

[chazzycat]

Ended up going with Mickey Rivers over Kiermeier for CF on the small ball team. It was a tough call, but I think the offense will make up for small dropoff in defense. Kiermier was not producing all that well...even his defensive stats were not impressive, and baserunning was downright awful. Even though I said defense is the top priority on this team...it's not always so simple.

[neugey]

Originally Posted by chazzycat

That's a thing of beauty. And mostly the guys lower down just have less games. Also fittingly, the Balancers aren't leading the league in anything, or anywhere close. But they also aren't trailing the league in anything. The "no weaknesses" idea does seem to be playing out that way so far.

After getting destroyed in the entry pool, I have tried my hand at a more sabermetric style and I'm seeing some similar results. Bronze Role players in the lower half of the lineup are overachieving - CF Tapia is hitting .304 with a 2.4 WAR, RF Reddick has been Mr. Clutch for my team with a 2.5 WAR over just 85 games and my super-sub Marwin Gonzalez has been wonderful with .284/14/47 and a 1.9 WAR. The RBI's are really spread around a lot.


I'm in control of my division and should easily make promotion and perhaps hold on for the playoffs. But I'm reluctant to give too much credit to sabermetric ball because the competition is simply not the same as it was toward the end of entry pool.


Still, my opinion of traditional lineups is going down a lot. A lot has to go right to get the #1 and/or #2 men on base and have #3 and #4 hit 'em home or go yard. It very rarely works out that way, particularly in OOTP. You might as well get your prime guys in the #1 and #2 spots and put the pressure on the opponent from the get-go in a more sabermetric manner.

[chazzycat]

Alright, the entry pool is done and over. The three teams actually ended up with very similar records and run differentials. Let's see how they do in Iron League!

Here are the rosters as things currently stand:


Team A - SmallBallers

Offense:


As you would expect mostly good contact ratings, gap, and avoid K.

Pitching:

Strong strikeout/walk ratios for the most part.

Next upgrade target: LHP Bullpen - likely Doolittle or similar


Team B - SaberCats

Offense:


Power & eye mostly.

Pitching:

Note the MOV ratings.

Next upgrade Targets: SP (several good options in the ~3k range), SS (hard to find)


Team C - Balancers

Offense:


Pitching:

Just 3 points away from all greens across the board...

Next upgrade target: bullpen

Please feel free to offer suggestions on good players that would fit the teams. I have been hesitating to use any spreadsheet or databases so far, just going through the Auction House. So I'm sure there are some hidden good fits out there.

[chazzycat]

I meant to include defensive/baserunning ratings but ran out of time. Suffice to say, Team A is solid across the board in both areas. Baserunning sliders are quite aggressive. Team B is incredibly strong defensively in the infield, but not as much elsewhere. Baserunning is pretty dreadful and the strategy sliders are very conservative. Also this team should be generating mostly groundounds, and few strikeouts or walks, so catcher defense isn't as important (hence Schwarber). Team C is in the middle in both respects, with strategy sliders set in the middle as well.

[OMGPuppies]

Originally Posted by chazzycat

I meant to include defensive/baserunning ratings but ran out of time. Suffice to say, Team A is solid across the board in both areas. Baserunning sliders are quite aggressive. Team B is incredibly strong defensively in the infield, but not as much elsewhere. Baserunning is pretty dreadful and the strategy sliders are very conservative. Also this team should be generating mostly groundounds, and few strikeouts or walks, so catcher defense isn't as important (hence Schwarber). Team C is in the middle in both respects, with strategy sliders set in the middle as well.

Your small ballers inspired me, and I have modeled one of my teams after them. You have some similar players to that team. Might i recommend Bill Madlock and Jose Reyes for that team. Tony Oliva.

[chazzycat]

Sweet, will check those out.

So far the single hardest-to-find player has been a Shortstop for the Saber team. Tulo is pretty great, but would be a better fit as the weakside of the platoon, playing against lefties and backing up the other infield spots vs RHP. I haven't found any defensive stud SS with a decent eye/power rating vs. RHP to be the strong side of the platoon. So that is why Leo Durocher is still on the roster.

[chazzycat]

After the first day of league play, I'm pretty happy with the (admittedly small sample) results. Team A leads their league in batting average, Team B leads their league in home runs, and Team C leads their league in nothing. But all three teams are playing well and leading their divisions nonetheless.

[Thornbreaker]

This is a fun thread. Thanks for sharing.

I think you've inspired me to turn my Gashouse Gorillas into a beefcake team of nothing but top Home Run stat guys with no regard for any other stat. Raise the HR park rate, lower everything else. See if I can solo shot everyone to death

It's currently my worst team anyway, so might as well have fun with it.

I've got an all Braves team I'm working on that somehow made the league series last week and is still above .500 in silver this week.

My third team is the Tea Totallers who are pretty well stacked for a F2P team. I've somehow pulled 3 diamonds in about 20 packs. Lot of gap hitters so I adjusted the park accordingly. Def is 4th in league, avg, K's, and runs all in top 5. But currently sitting in 3rd in my division, back 2 games.

[chazzycat]

I would recommend trying to get good eye ratings to go along with the HR power - walks compliment homers quite nicely. Especially when it's harder to get on base via base hits (low AVG modifiers), making walks even more valuable.

[chazzycat]

wow, the Balancers went on a tear! They had a 15 game winning streak last night, and currently sit atop their division by 9 games. Then literally as I was typing this comment one of my SP threw a maddux! The PP are pouring in and I continue making upgrades.

If not for Pappyzan of Bob's Burgers fame, and his Washington Senators, they would be the best team in their league (iron 239).

The other two teams are playing well too, but not quite dominating to the extent of the Balancers. I believe it's mostly just due to having better teams in their divisions. The Balancers division is quite weak, with no other teams in the positive run differential as of now. So I'm not quite ready to pronounce that strategy the best or anything.

[chazzycat]

I spent my winning streak & Maddux reward PP on purging the last yellow ratings off my pitching staff. Well rounded relief pitchers are fairly expensive, and there are very few options for lefties. But I'm pretty happy with the bullpen now - especially the 3-headed stopper monster of Jeff Montgomery, Ron Reed, and Dave Righetti. Should be very solid now and I can turn back to improving the offense.

[chazzycat]

Mid-Season Updates:

Team A - SmallBallers
Record: 53-30 (2nd best in league)
Run Differential: +133 (1st in league)
Runs Scored: 454 (1st)
Runs Allowed: 321 (5th)
Division: 1st, +2.5 games
Key Metrics: Offense 1st in AVG, OBP, SB, ZR. Last in HR. Pitching gives up the least walks, and strikes out the 3rd most. HR allowed = league average.
MVPs: Justin Turner (4.1 WAR), David Price (2.5 WAR)

Team B - SaberCats
Record: 54-28 (1st in league)
Run Differential: +134 (1st)
Runs Scored: 412 (5th)
Runs Allowed: 278 (2nd)
Division: 1st, +1.5 games
Key Metrics: Offense 1st in HR, BB. Last in AVG. Pitching gives up the least walks, but also the least strikeouts. Highest GB%. Also gives up the least HR, despite the ballpark.
MVPs: Lonny Frey (3.2 WAR), Rick Reuschel (3.1 WAR)

Team C - The Balancers
Record: 56-30 (2nd in league)
Run Differential: +98 (4th)
Runs Scored: 436 (2nd)
Runs Allowed: 338 (7th)
Division: 1st, +11 games
Key Metrics: above average in nearly everything, but not elite. 2nd in bullpen ERA
MVPs: Anthony Rizzo (4.9 WAR), Mark Mulder (3 WAR)

[mcdog512]

Originally Posted by chazzycat

Mid-Season Updates:

Team A - SmallBallers
Record: 53-30 (2nd best in league)
Run Differential: +133 (1st in league)
Runs Scored: 454 (1st)
Runs Allowed: 321 (5th)
Division: 1st, +2.5 games
Key Metrics: Offense 1st in AVG, OBP, SB, ZR. Last in HR. Pitching gives up the least walks, and strikes out the 3rd most. HR allowed = league average.
MVPs: Justin Turner (4.1 WAR), David Price (2.5 WAR)

Team B - SaberCats
Record: 54-28 (1st in league)
Run Differential: +134 (1st)
Runs Scored: 412 (5th)
Runs Allowed: 278 (2nd)
Division: 1st, +1.5 games
Key Metrics: Offense 1st in HR, BB. Last in AVG. Pitching gives up the least walks, but also the least strikeouts. Highest GB%. Also gives up the least HR, despite the ballpark.
MVPs: Lonny Frey (3.2 WAR), Rick Reuschel (3.1 WAR)

Team C - The Balancers
Record: 56-30 (2nd in league)
Run Differential: +98 (4th)
Runs Scored: 436 (2nd)
Runs Allowed: 338 (7th)
Division: 1st, +11 games
Key Metrics: above average in nearly everything, but not elite. 2nd in bullpen ERA
MVPs: Anthony Rizzo (4.9 WAR), Mark Mulder (3 WAR)

What level leagues are they in?

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by mcdog512

What level leagues are they in?

I think they are all in Iron leagues.

[chazzycat]

Originally Posted by Orcin

I think they are all in Iron leagues.

yep, that's right.

I waited until the Monday after launch, to get a full week of entry pool PP. The bronze placement was only for week 1 so these teams were always destined to start at iron level.

[pappyzan]

Throwing in an update here since Chazzy hasn't in a couple of days.

Chazzy's Balancers have cruised to a 27 game lead and a 90-45 record to finish out Friday night. In the NC, they're 1st in AVG, Runs Scored and a few other offensive stats. Top 5 in nearly all offensive, pitching and defensive stats.

Really nice team for only spending a small amount of cash on a Rendon card.

[chazzycat]

Yeah, I've been pretty surprised how effective the "balanced ratings" approach has been. What started mostly as a control group, has become a fairly compelling experiment in its own right.

Meanwhile the small ballers are completely tearing up their league. They somehow are in first place in both runs scored AND runs allowed, with a massive run differential over 300.

The SaberCats are still playing quite well too, the run differential is over 200, but were unlucky to be placed in a division with the 2nd best team as well. So they are locked into a tight playoff race.