Bullpen Troubles

[NeonGris]

New to PT as of 25 and I feel like I'm missing something when it comes to bullpen strategy. Without fail, it seems like as soon as my starter comes out of the game the whole thing is thrown into jeopardy. Are there any general tips or guidelines to follow to limit the amount of times my bullpen completely sells me out of games?(when to use aggressive tiredness hook, pitch count/stamina management etc)

[LeeD]

1. Starters get a boost when in the bullpen. This means that actual relievers need to be better than actual starters to stick.

2. Consider the use of specialists who only face a couple of same-handed batters. Adjust their max pitch counts way down, say 8 to 12, so that they will be able to pitch a lot of games.

3. Make sure the pen is a mirror image of the rotation. If you have an all-right-handed rotation then you'll need mostly lefties in the pen, with perhaps a right hander as closer.

4. Ballpark factors also have to be considered...and don't forget to check your division rivals' choices as well, since you'll be playing almost half your games against them and almost a quarter in their parks. If you're playing in a homer-friendly environment then guys with home run rates in the sixties will absolutely kill you.

5. Fresh arms can also help. Having twelve good arms to fill seven or eight slots means that you can shuffle them between active and reserve every two season weeks to keep yourself from having the pen totally gassed, with everyone below 70% rest. This is especially important if you limit your starters to less than 100 pitches.

6. Yes, pitch counts matter. I keep mine at 25 default and then lower them for specialists and set-up men. This is especially important for true relievers, who will lose effectiveness very quickly due to their low stamina. Starters who have been moved to the pen will also take a massive hit on their stamina, so forget about that 100-stamina starter being able to throw 75 pitches in relief. His arm will fall off long before that even if he could handle it easily as a starter. Look through your reliever pitching game logs to identify guys who are getting rocked in longer outings and then adjust accordingly.

7. I don't use aggressive tiredness hook, but I do use pitch counts and generally have a slightly quick hook for relievers. I know that others do use it, but my opinion is that it's more random luck than loss of effectiveness when an relatively fresh reliever gets beat.

[Hwilensky]

I thought they took the starters getting a boost in the bullpen away last year.

[LeeD]

Originally Posted by Hwilensky

I thought they took the starters getting a boost in the bullpen away last year.

My understanding is that it's still there but not as strong as it once was.

[Hammerpgh]

Sorry for newbie question but in respect of tired pitchers.. or any player for that matter. The only way to properly rest them is to put them in the reserves is that correct? But that means they can’t be used for 14 days? My bullpen was very tired yesterday but didn’t want to lose players for a full 14 days.

I can restrict pitches of course so is that how you get them rest without sending them into the reserves?

[LeeD]

You can set them to unassigned role and avoid high leverage. The AI is sometimes stupid enough to use that pitcher, but more than likely it won't use them in any case if they're seriously fatigued.

[bailey]

Originally Posted by Hammerpgh

Sorry for newbie question but in respect of tired pitchers.. or any player for that matter. The only way to properly rest them is to put them in the reserves is that correct? But that means they can’t be used for 14 days? My bullpen was very tired yesterday but didn’t want to lose players for a full 14 days.

I can restrict pitches of course so is that how you get them rest without sending them into the reserves?

In rookie the best solution to a tired bullpen arm is to open some packs and get a better pitcher.

[Hammerpgh]

Thanks for the advice ��

[Valhoun]

Originally Posted by LeeD

My understanding is that it's still there but not as strong as it once was.

Is there no downside to filling a perfect team with starters in reliever roles if their stats are equal to or better than a RPs?

[Magus978]

General reliever performance is fickle. If you're looking for consistency, forget it. One week your closer could put up a 50+ save, sub-1 ERA season...next week? 7+ ERA, 10+ blown saves, implosions on a sim per sim basis.

Look elsewhere for any kind of consistent results. Ride it when good, change it up when bad.