Does OOTP Hate Me? Or Is This a Warm Welcome?

[ALB123]

I started my very first season as GM of the 1981 New York Yankees. I was six years old in 1981, so I thought it would be cool to play with the very first player names my tiny brain recalls. I did very well in 1981.

1982 comes along and I'm building a very solid team, in my opinion. The best part is, my rotation was rock solid and my BP guys were good, except for my Closer, Goose Gossage, who was exceptional.

Dave Righetti was my Ace. He was also one of the top overall prospects. I was in heaven. And then it all went wrong...FAST.

(Disregard the amount of time injured. It is not accurate to what I'm about to state. I took these screenshots many in-game months after the initial injuries of the players. I didn't think I'd be in here whining like a baby until the very last injury when I really lost it. LOL)



ABOVE: This was my first wallop of injuries in the middle of 1982. 3 of my 5 Starting Pitchers. And then a couple of months later 1 of my good relievers (D. Bird). The length of time for every injury was between 12-16 months! Needless to say, the second half of my 1982 was all dandelions, candy & unicorns...NOT! It was difficult trying to fill the roles with even remotely good quality Starters without mortgaging my team's future.

We moved onto the 1983 Season and at least one pitcher was coming back to the team.



Tommy John baby! My 4th starter (with a fully healthy roster), I'm sure he'll stop the bleeding. I couldn't wait to see his first game back on the mound. I got nervous and limited him to 60 pitches. Better to be safe than sorry, right? Well, in hindsight I should have limited him to 10 pitches because ole' T.J. blew his arm up again after only 11 gosh darn pitches. Yes. Eleven. That's why you see everybody else's remaining time lowered 1 month while Tommy John's Injury is back up to 8 months.

I'm really struggling in 1983. I was able to get my hands on a couple of good pitchers, but even they are experiencing a run of bad luck - lots of 6th & 7th Inning leads blown. Then, just to put the icing on the top of my crap cake, this happens:



I know baseball is baseball. Stuff happens. But this level of bad luck?!?! Did I do anything wrong by putting Tommy John back into the rotation just a few days after getting back on my Active Roster? Any other Tips or Suggestions?

[Dyzalot]

Unless I desperately need someone back on the mound or in the lineup in a pennant race, anyone who has been out for 5-6 weeks or more I put them on rehab for at least a start or two. Not sure how much of a difference it makes but it is supposed to. Most of what happened to you was just the wrong side of variance. Maybe you could have prevented the second Tommy John injury, maybe not.

[happyharrell]

Wait a minute...the game gave Tommy John a torn UCL? Awesome lol.

[ALB123]

Originally Posted by happyharrell

Wait a minute...the game gave Tommy John a torn UCL? Awesome lol.

I thought the same thing.

I'll have to look into how to rehab a pitcher. Thanks for the heads up! My Team Owner is going to murder me in the off-season!

[Westheim]

You should look at what your pitchers do in their spare time. Looks like some of them took up hammer throw as a pastime...

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by ALB123

I thought the same thing.

I'll have to look into how to rehab a pitcher. Thanks for the heads up! My Team Owner is going to murder me in the off-season!

When a player is ready to return, if it has been a lengthy injury (how you define that can be different for each person, but generally speaking if I have a player out more than a month, I consider that rehab territory) you can send them to a rehab assignment by right-clicking on player profile and under transactions select send to rehab assignment (or some such wording, not in front of the game right now.)

There are limits (a bit longer for pitchers than position players) for how long they can be on the rehab assignment and you aren't obligated to keep them there the full time. I'll often check in and see how they are performing and make decisions about bringing them back to the big league club accordingly. But unless the team desperately needs them back even not at full strength, I will err on the side of giving them a bit more time to rehab even if they are tearing things up at AAA.

I don't know if this has any effect on whether they will be less prone to another injury, but it does help knock off the rust from inaction. So if you return them without a rehab stint after a long injury they will likely not be ready to perform up to expectations at first and will struggle.

[ezpkns34]

Generally, the number of injuries is pretty accurate, but the length of them is usually a bit of an issue for most

That said, I think the current Yankees iteration feels your pain also

[ALB123]

Originally Posted by BirdWatcher

There are limits (a bit longer for pitchers than position players) for how long they can be on the rehab assignment and you aren't obligated to keep them there the full time. I'll often check in and see how they are performing and make decisions about bringing them back to the big league club accordingly. But unless the team desperately needs them back even not at full strength, I will err on the side of giving them a bit more time to rehab even if they are tearing things up at AAA.

Thanks for that information in bold lettering. I happened to right-click a players name just off the IL and saw that I could send him down to the minors for a rehab assignment. Unfortunately, I got scared thinking he'll have to be down in the minors for 60 days minimum. Two more months without my flame thrower? I shudder at the thought. hehe

Thanks to everyone who's posted in this thread! I appreciate the jokes as much as the lessons.

[jeffw3000]

Originally Posted by happyharrell

Wait a minute...the game gave Tommy John a torn UCL? Awesome lol.

I think it is hard coded that any league Tommy John plays in, he has to get a torn UCL at some point, and from that point on it changes how players react to a torn UCL.

[r0nster]

believe me you will get worse than that once in a while and occasionally you would get next to no injuries as well. However your medical staff the better it is the less serious the injuries can be as well but doesn't always hold water but more often than not I have seen it help

[ALB123]

Originally Posted by r0nster

believe me you will get worse than that once in a while and occasionally you would get next to no injuries as well. However your medical staff the better it is the less serious the injuries can be as well but doesn't always hold water but more often than not I have seen it help

When you say "medical staff" do you mean my trainer? There isn't anything medical related besides that one Trainer, is there?

I'm going to put what is hopefully the last chapter in this Pitching Rotation madness thread (the original topic)...

Quick recap: Of the three Starters, Tommy John spent the most time in street clothes. T.J. had his initial injury and needed Tommy John surgery (who would have guessed?!). Once mended, he came back ready to rock! He took the mound, threw 11 pitches and then his shoulder blew up for another extremely long stint on the DL.



When I finally got him back for the second time, you know he repaid me? He promptly retired. Is there an option in OOTP 20 to have an executive-level "fixer" on the payroll? Tommy and I need to have a talk....

[BigRed75]

Wow. Your luck is...


...bad. Yep, that's the only word for it. You've got seriously bad luck.