So. . . we finally gettin' "mop up?"

[texasmame]

Really would like to have a guy designated for mop-up duty, at least as a secondary role. Maybe even a position player.

[kq76]

I agree. I guess maybe they figure "long relief" does the same thing, but not really IMO. Mop Duty is when the game is out of reach one way or another while Long Relief is when say your SP got injured, but the game is still in contention.

I'd also like an extra innings relief option. I play in eras where starters routinely go 7-9 innings and while I already have 3 relievers I want to use in regulation time, I'd like to designate a particular guy to come in during extra innings.

[Ktulu]

The AI already prioritizes your rested relievers by their usage role. It will use your long relievers, "avoid high leverage" and "use less often". It will avoid using setup/closer/stopper/high leverage etc. if possible.

[Syd Thrift]

I tend to think of mop up duty and long relief as synonymous. There just aren’t going to be a lot of situations where your starter gets knocked out of the box early but you’re still in the game. Long relief is the multiple innings, come in and pitch so the rest of the pen can rest role, wherever and whenever it is. It tends to be low leverage because, frankly, that’s the spot you tend to put your worst reliever in (I know Earl Weaver said that was a good spot to use rookies, which is the point - they can work through jams and if they don’t, there’s little to nothing on the line except their own job).

[dward1]

long relievers constantly being promoted to way too big roles in the playoffs has been a bug for many years also. Playoff AI is so bad, rarely gets improved at all, it's been an afterthought for years

[Pelican]

Agreed there should be a close correlation between "mop up" and long relief; but it's not 100%. For example, this year, IRL, with inadequate Spring Training, starters are getting lifted after 3 or 4 or 5 innings, even if pitching well (yes, and after 7 innings with a perfect game). If I were simulating this, having a solid long reliever would mean much more than mop-up duty. More like a five-inning save.

I tend to assign "long reliever" to guys with lots of stamina, typically starters without a spot in the rotation. Many of them would fall into the mop-up category for sure. But, if there were a "mop-up" role to be assigned in OOTP, I would reserve that for my worst reliever, period, regardless of stamina, or whether he was a starter. It's the guy who is expendable to eat innings in a losing cause. The next alternative would be pitching a position player. Heck, most of them pitched in high school, and some were really good.

[kq76]

Originally Posted by Ktulu

The AI already prioritizes your rested relievers by their usage role. It will use your long relievers, "avoid high leverage" and "use less often". It will avoid using setup/closer/stopper/high leverage etc. if possible.

There is no "use less often" option for long relievers, only "normal" and "avoid high leverage". Now I understand, "avoid high leverage" is what will probably usually be selected in that situation, but even if there was a "use a last resort" option, why not just call it "mop up"? We all know what that means, so why not just label it that?

Originally Posted by Pelican

Agreed there should be a close correlation between "mop up" and long relief; but it's not 100%. For example, this year, IRL, with inadequate Spring Training, starters are getting lifted after 3 or 4 or 5 innings, even if pitching well (yes, and after 7 innings with a perfect game). If I were simulating this, having a solid long reliever would mean much more than mop-up duty. More like a five-inning save.

I tend to assign "long reliever" to guys with lots of stamina, typically starters without a spot in the rotation. Many of them would fall into the mop-up category for sure. But, if there were a "mop-up" role to be assigned in OOTP, I would reserve that for my worst reliever, period, regardless of stamina, or whether he was a starter. It's the guy who is expendable to eat innings in a losing cause. The next alternative would be pitching a position player. Heck, most of them pitched in high school, and some were really good.

Exactly. I want to be able to basically say, this is our worst guy, use him as our mop-up guy, when the game is out of reach either way.

And I had never thought of it, but it would be nice to label a position player as a save-our-bullpen pitcher too. Hmm. In the last season I played out, I'm not sure I saw the AI use a position player as a reliever once. Does it ever? I've seen it use SPs as emergency relievers, but I have the "allow SPs in relief" option enabled. It must.

[itsmb8]

Originally Posted by kq76

There is no "use less often" option for long relievers, only "normal" and "avoid high leverage". Now I understand, "avoid high leverage" is what will probably usually be selected in that situation, but even if there was a "use a last resort" option, why not just call it "mop up"? We all know what that means, so why not just label it that?



Exactly. I want to be able to basically say, this is our worst guy, use him as our mop-up guy, when the game is out of reach either way.

And I had never thought of it, but it would be nice to label a position player as a save-our-bullpen pitcher too. Hmm. In the last season I played out, I'm not sure I saw the AI use a position player as a reliever once. Does it ever? I've seen it use SPs as emergency relievers, but I have the "allow SPs in relief" option enabled. It must.

Exactly this. I'd love to see it as an option for modern play. It is especially common in current MLB for position players to pitch in games their team is losing by a lot. Also, if would help with bullpen stamina and injuries.