I Need Help Understanding This...

[lightningbolts35]

I don't understand this version of Perfect Team at all. Maybe there are people on this board much smarter than me that can help me out. My team consists of this basic line up: Rose(DH), Musial (1st), Vaughn (SS), Yaz (LF), Morgan (2B), Schmidt (3B), Charleston (CF), Mauer/Crandell (C), Chicken Wolfe (RF). My back ups for LH piching are Jackie R., L. Appling, C. Flood, H. Heilman. This team, in a hitter friendly park, is 25th in Runs, 25th in AVE (.240), and 22nd in HR. This is over 29 games, 15 of them at Home (which by the way I'm 6-10). I'm 5-8 on the road.

My pitching staff is Pedro M., G. Perry, F. Hernandez, T. Glavine, Brandon W. This starting staff is 2nd best ERA in conference. My bullpen consists of Vida B. J. Santana, E. Plank, D. Martinez, A, Wainwright, D. Phillippe, A. Joss. This staff is 12th ERA, 28th K's, 14 DEF.

As you can tell, I've done all the missions and yet, week after week, this team doesn't hit for average or hit HR's or score runs and I'd put that line up against anyone's. The guy that won our league last week, which was loaded with Diamond League winners, ran this same line up and ballpark configuration that I'm running this week. He was in top 5 in the league in all offensive categories against great pitching. My division is good but there are no "ringer pitchers" like Reuss, Noodles, etc. Only way I see to improve might be Keeler in RF. But I'm not paying for him. The rest of that team should hit, especially in hitter's park.

I started out 7-4 and then lost 12 of 15. Funny part to me is that during this losing skid, my pyt has not changed (still -1) So the computer predicted this long losing streak? No disrespect to the teams in my league, but some of the teams that I lost to do not have near the talent my team has... I lost to a team that is 7-22, no change to pyt..so how could it predict that unless...the entire season has been simulated on Monday and your inputs in line ups, pitching, strategy and ballpark effects mean nothing. I have always wondered why when I replace a guy in my line up with a guy from reserve roster, that player generally hits as poorly or pitches just as poorly as the guy I took out. The games should be simulated in real time, every half hour during the week to account for your team or other teams making changes. I just don't believe a computer can account for a losing streak as listed above unless the truth is, that the game has already been decided on Monday... which means that this is nothing more than a card collecting app, not a game at all. The card "talent" means nothing as the computer can make a "Perfect" 100 card play like a Diamond 92 and vice-versa. It seems to me the computer program just randomly picks who hits, who doesn't, who pitches well, who doesn't who wins, who loses, based on nothing. Team talent, ballpark effects, and strategies mean less in this year's game than ever, This just seems random, which is sad. I've played this game for 3 years and this is the worst yet.

So, I ask you guys who seem to do well week after week, what could I be doing wrong? I've had success playing this game the previous two years and I don't get what has happened or what's going on? I know that strategies I used before in previous years work but there are not doing anything to change anything this time around. This is my 4th week in Diamond, I've not made the playoffs yet, and all my seasons seem to have the same theme regardless of strategy change, ballpark effects, or line up construction. Poor start Monday and early Tuesday, right the ship till All-Star break, then have a bad end of the season on Sunday. My team does especially poorly against teams in my division, every week, even the ones that have poor records. Why don't these guys ever hit? Are there "bad cards" in the game? What I mean by that is a Perfect Yaz or Schmidt card that never hit HR's regardless of what you do? Because I see some of these cards that year after year, hit high HR totals. Mine barely make 20. My Schmidt has 3 HR's and my Yaz has 2 in 29 games. There was a guy last week who's Schmidt hit 42 HRs and his park settings were .900 for HR's with the wind blowing in.

Another example of Bad Card is my Gaylord Perry, who does really well for most people. Last week, through 3/4 of a season, my Gaylord Perry was 0-9 with a 5.87 ERA. Although he has 94 control, he walked more guys than he struck out. I had to pull him out. Through 2+ seasons , this card has produced a record of 9-22 with a 4.57 ERA., 1.48 WIP, and a BABIP of .316. Don't even get me started on Kimbrel... 30 apperances, 9.52 ERA, 1.60 WIP and a ungodly .407 BABIP.

Anyway, any help or clarity would be helpful. I'll listen to all opinions, good or bad. You can even trash me if you want...

[chazzycat]

Sounds like you're running mostly lefty batters and righty pitchers. I would recommend choosing one or the other and cheesing up your park to match. Straight hitters parks don't really help you that much, since any benefit it gives your offense, is just given right back up by your pitchers on the other side. But with lefty or righty cheese and the right pitching staff, you force your opponents to hit at a -10% disadvantage, while your batters are +10%, which is huge. Diamond is just super competitive with tons of good teams so you need any tiny edge.

I use most of the same players (don't even have Jackie/Oscar) and have been in the diamond playoffs every week for the last couple months now thanks to the power of lefty cheese. And that is without Reuss or Noodles. Strategy definitely does matter.

[lightningbolts35]

Originally Posted by chazzycat

Sounds like you're running mostly lefty batters and righty pitchers. I would recommend choosing one or the other and cheesing up your park to match. Straight hitters parks don't really help you that much, since any benefit it gives your offense, is just given right back up by your pitchers on the other side. But with lefty or righty cheese and the right pitching staff, you force your opponents to hit at a -10% disadvantage, while your batters are +10%, which is huge. Diamond is just super competitive with tons of good teams so you need any tiny edge.

I use most of the same players (don't even have Jackie/Oscar) and have been in the diamond playoffs every week for the last couple months now thanks to the power of lefty cheese. And that is without Reuss or Noodles. Strategy definitely does matter.

Thanks for your input and suggestion. Truth is, I used that strategy the first week I was in Diamond and was 77-85 that week. It was my worst record in diamond to date. Maybe I should go back to it and give it another try. I agree that I've seen it work for other teams on a consistant basis. This week, I'm using a mostly righty starting staff with 3 lefties in the bullpen...and it's not working too well. I was just trying to get me offense to hit, regardless of what happens to my pitching and it has not worked, unfortunately. Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

[bailey]

Over 230 players have completed all the collections and hundreds more are close to completion. Good luck finding any kind of microscopic edge in DiL in the coming weeks. One of the (probably unintended) side effects of requiring players to hang on to most of their collection rewards is that everyone has all the same cards.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by chazzycat

Straight hitters parks don't really help you that much, since any benefit it gives your offense, is just given right back up by your pitchers on the other side. But with lefty or righty cheese and the right pitching staff, you force your opponents to hit at a -10% disadvantage, while your batters are +10%, which is huge.

What happens in the 50% of your games that are played away from your cheese park? Most teams win the majority of their home games anyway. The key is to win the majority of your road games also. I don't see how a cheese strategy accomplishes that goal.

[lightningbolts35]

Thank you to all who have commented.

[lightningbolts35]

Originally Posted by bailey

Over 230 players have completed all the collections and hundreds more are close to completion. Good luck finding any kind of microscopic edge in DiL in the coming weeks. One of the (probably unintended) side effects of requiring players to hang on to most of their collection rewards is that everyone has all the same cards.

Thank you. I agree with that 100%. That's why I feel results are just random.

[chazzycat]

Originally Posted by Orcin

What happens in the 50% of your games that are played away from your cheese park? Most teams win the majority of their home games anyway. The key is to win the majority of your road games also. I don't see how a cheese strategy accomplishes that goal.

Why is winning a majority of road games critical? There are any number of valid paths to winning X number of games in a season. If you want a 60% win rate for example, putting up 60% at home and 60% on the road surely works. But, so does 70% + 50%. Or 80% + 40% (in theory).

The reason cheese works overall, is that away parks are not always the opposite cheese. Away parks come in all shapes & varieties, evening out to a neutral park over long enough time. So if you are operating at a +10% advantage at home, and neutral on the road, that's a +5% overall bonus. Those numbers are way over-simplified but that's the gist of why cheese is effective.

I'm definitely not saying it's the only way to go. I've seen success from all types of builds. But I don't have all the best cards in the game (not even close) and am consistently in the diamond playoffs, for 8 straight weeks now. So something would appear to be working.

[TwanLX2000]

Originally Posted by Orcin

What happens in the 50% of your games that are played away from your cheese park? Most teams win the majority of their home games anyway. The key is to win the majority of your road games also. I don't see how a cheese strategy accomplishes that goal.

This has been a curiosity of mine as well. I'm admittedly an amateur when it comes to park factors (even more so competing in diamond), but my team is playing with half the talent as the original poster, and I'm still winning my home games due to my setup.



But it doesn't translate to winning on the road if the opposition is set up to do the same. I'm not as frustrated because I know my roster pales in comparison to my competition, but if the above team is showing similar home/road splits, won't skewing their team to compete more dominantly at home make the road splits that much worse? I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for this, I'm just not sure what it is.

[TwanLX2000]

Chazzy, you were replying while I was typing, so I'll contemplate your answer and see what I can put to good use. =)

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by chazzycat

Why is winning a majority of road games critical? There are any number of valid paths to winning X number of games in a season. If you want a 60% win rate for example, putting up 60% at home and 60% on the road surely works. But, so does 70% + 50%. Or 80% + 40% (in theory).

I believe we have been debating this since OOTP19.

I still believe that the best cards win over the long haul, regardless of the player's input.

[lightningbolts35]

Too show how ridiculous this season has been, I'm up 4-0, Tom Glavine taking a no-hitter into the 7th inning. He gave up a hit and a homer. Brandon Webb comes in against a right handed heavy line up (which his ratings say he should be good at getting out)and gives up 5 consecutive hits and I'm down 7-4 before even getting an out in the 7th inning. They got another hit in that inning. Those are the only hits that team got the entire game. Ridiculous!

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by lightningbolts35

Too show how ridiculous this season has been, I'm up 4-0, Tom Glavine taking a no-hitter into the 7th inning. He gave up a hit and a homer. Brandon Webb comes in against a right handed heavy line up (which his ratings say he should be good at getting out)and gives up 5 consecutive hits and I'm down 7-4 before even getting an out in the 7th inning. They got another hit in that inning. Those are the only hits that team got the entire game. Ridiculous!

The real oddity in that game is how Glavine managed to have a no-hitter through six innings against a RH-heavy lineup.

[lightningbolts35]

Originally Posted by TwanLX2000

This has been a curiosity of mine as well. I'm admittedly an amateur when it comes to park factors (even more so competing in diamond), but my team is playing with half the talent as the original poster, and I'm still winning my home games due to my setup.

Attachment 809770

But it doesn't translate to winning on the road if the opposition is set up to do the same. I'm not as frustrated because I know my roster pales in comparison to my competition, but if the above team is showing similar home/road splits, won't skewing their team to compete more dominantly at home make the road splits that much worse? I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for this, I'm just not sure what it is.

I am just trying to find out why my team doesn't hit. That line up is 8-19 against right handed pitching batting .238. And it's been that way every dog-gone season. That line up won my league against some multiple time diamond league champions last week for another team. Had same ballpark I'm using this time and had great offensive results yet my team just hits the same as when I used a pitcher's park. Just doesn't make sense to me. Last week was my best offensive output because I loosened up the ballpark to be more hitter friendly. I opened it up even more and I'm hitting 30 points worse on batting average and hitting fewer home runs. A guy in my same division last week had higher offensive numbers both in homers, runs, and average using a very similar line up (one guy different) in a pitchers park. Seems to me strategy does't work or mean anything and the game is just totally random...and this is my week to take my lumps. I'm ok with losing, it's just that I'm trying to understand if it's really strategy or the game is just about random and luck. I didn't get that same feel playing Perfect Team OOTP20 or OOTP21.

[lightningbolts35]

Originally Posted by Orcin

The real oddity in that game is how Glavine managed to have a no-hitter through six innings against a RH-heavy lineup.

Lol...agreed! Can't argue that.

[chazzycat]

Originally Posted by Orcin

I believe we have been debating this since OOTP19.

I still believe that the best cards win over the long haul, regardless of the player's input.

Well we play from different perspectives. I am not generally in possession of the best cards, being F2P, unless they are collection rewards. The non-collection cards that cost several hundred thousand to millions of PP are mostly out of reach to me. So my goal is to maximize the performance of the cards I do have access to. And secondarily, to narrow the scope of cards to target, to stretch my budget as effectively as possible. For example that is why I don't have Jackie - I sold him because he's not a lefty. Some would say that is crazy, but those 300k pp helped me out a ton, and I'm still in the playoffs every week without him.

If you have access to every card in the game, that changes the whole outlook and strategy compared to free players.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by chazzycat

If you have access to every card in the game, that changes the whole outlook and strategy compared to free players.

For the record, I don't have that access either.

The teams that have most of the top-tier cards win consistently because they have a counter to everything. The teams that have far weaker rosters can be beaten by balanced teams as easily as cheese teams.

[chazzycat]

Originally Posted by Orcin

For the record, I don't have that access either.

The teams that have most of the top-tier cards win consistently because they have a counter to everything. The teams that have far weaker rosters can be beaten by balanced teams as easily as cheese teams.

Ok, we're not really disagreeing I don't think. The teams that I have seen be successful with a neutral build, certainly have the best cards. I don't see neutral teams having much success at all in my leagues without them though, whereas cheesy teams are regularly finishing on top of the league, or very near the top, with only the 2nd tier (collection reward) cards.

I think we are kinda saying the same thing. Having the best cards definitely works! But in the absence of that, cheesing also works. OP seems to be in that same boat, having access to the collection rewards, but not the ultra-elite cards. So I think cheesing it up will improve his performance.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by chazzycat

Ok, we're not really disagreeing I don't think. The teams that I have seen be successful with a neutral build, certainly have the best cards. I don't see neutral teams having much success at all in my leagues without them though, whereas cheesy teams are regularly finishing on top of the league, or very near the top, with only the 2nd tier (collection reward) cards.

I think we are kinda saying the same thing. Having the best cards definitely works! But in the absence of that, cheesing also works. OP seems to be in that same boat, having access to the collection rewards, but not the ultra-elite cards. So I think cheesing it up will improve his performance.

I may just go full cheese next week in order to prove you wrong.

[ncap99]

My numbers improved moving to a lefty cheese home park. I don't see how it hurts you on the road either, assuming you have a solid lineup against both RHP and LHP. I guess you could make the argument that putting Pedro or Felix in the pen instead of the rotation will lose you a few games on the road starting Plank or Blue, but you will gain more than that in wins at home.

I'm also experimenting with running 11 pitchers instead of 12 so I can have better platoons and so far I'm 35-14 this season at diamond so it is working somewhat. 19-6 at home, 16-8 on the road. I have all the collections done, and I'm running exactly zero non collection cards.

There are also more things to adjust than park factors. Player and team strategy settings actually make a difference when playing against a lot of teams with similar rosters. You mentioned Gaylord Perry being terrible for you, what are his sliders at? He is averaging about 2.0 WAR per year for me as a stopper which is really solid.

Also pay attention if teams are running openers against you. If you have a couple in your division that is a lot of games that you're likely starting the wrong side of the platoon so make sure you have opener lineups configured (unless you're running 7 day lineups).