Strategy/Tips For Winning

[soxfan34]

Originally Posted by JohnHoward

Yep, if I start a game on one platform now I don't port it over. No rational reason, just pure baseball superstition. I have leagues going in 9, 12, and 13 too.

How are the other teams doing?

[EvilGenius]

I forgot to mention, it is important to have your players be cleanly shaven before Must Win games. I don't know why I don't see this more in in real life.

When your players are running bases or chasing down fly balls, it improves the aerodynamics by cutting the wind resistance.

It's not superstition if its based on science!




And if a team is using this against you, you must counter with Rally Monkeys (for reasons that are mysterious to me, but it works).

[soxfan34]

Originally Posted by EvilGenius

I forgot to mention, it is important to have your players be cleanly shaven before Must Win games. I don't know why I don't see this more in in real life.

When your players are running bases or chasing down fly balls, it improves the aerodynamics by cutting the wind resistance.

It's not superstition if its based on science!




And if a team is using this against you, you must counter with Rally Monkeys (for reasons that are mysterious to me, but it works).

Thanks for the perspective...

[JMDurron]

Lineup Management

In contrast to other posts, this one is entirely evil-free.

Spring Training

I will generally do an "Ask Manager for All Depth Charts and Lineups" to begin the process, then rebalance the ST lineup based on the following factors:

1 - Ensuring sufficient playing time for my expected starters
2 - Ensuring maximum playing time for any players I need to gain experience at a defensive position. This is particularly vital for the bench players, as well as starters who may be shifting down the defensive spectrum in the coming years.

If both a starter and bench player need experience at the same position, I put the bench player in for "Every 2nd game", unless the starter's experience is so low that there is a potentially severe defensive risk that he will have to play most of the season in the 30-40 rating range in the field.

I completely ignore the batting order in Spring Training, all that matters is the depth chart. My only lineup tweaks are to ensure that the defensive positions match the defensive depth chart.

I sim the ST games.

Regular Season/Postseason

I take the same approach once the real games start.

Opening Day - Use the depth chart I want, then select "Ask Manager for Lineup for ____" for the 4 lineups. I'll let the AI pick the order, so long as I pick the players and positions...for now. I emphasize defensive ratings over offense for positions where I think I can live with a light bat, such as SS or C (Catcher Ability >>> Catcher Arm).

I then re-balance the lineup at the first of every month, along with each DL trip or prospect callup. I have a regular approach, and a SSS approach for early in the season.

SSS Approach

Until at least mid-May, I will run with my Opening Day starters. My tweaking consists of increasing or decreasing the "Every ___ game" for my backup players at a given position or lineup based on their SSS to date. I will ride the hot hand, and giving more PAs to those hot hands helps to give me better data to judge them by as the season progresses.

Entirely new players called up or acquired due to injuries or trades who are expected starters generate a new "Ask Manager for Lineup" request in this phase.

Regular Approach

Starting around mid-May, I switch to a straight stats approach for the lineup, although not necessarily for the starters/bench balancing.

Each lineup is sorted based on OPS+ *for that lineup split, such as "vs RHP"*. The top 4 OPS+ players are in the top 4 lineup spots, then broken down as follows:

#1 OPS+ hitter = 3rd in lineup
#2 OPS+ OR highest SLG hitter if sufficiently better than the #3 and #4 OPS+ hitter = 4th in lineup
#3 OPS+ OR highest OBP hitter = 1st in lineup
#4 OPS+ OR remaining guy from other criteria = 2nd in lineup

Spots 5-9 (or 5-8, if I'm working with the no-DH lineup) are setup strictly based on descending OPS+, highest to lowest.

New arrivals due to trades, injuries, or callups who start are slotted into the lineup between the lowest hitter with an OPS+ over 100 and the highest hitter with an OPS+ at 99 or below. Then, that player becomes a part of the overall lineup shuffle after a sample size of roughly 1 month or more.

In a situation where a player has a severe platoon split, and a backup player who can be expected to do better in that particular lineup (such as a RHH 4th OFer when a LHH starting OFer has an OPS+ of 75 or below against LHP), the backup player will be started in that lineup. The benched starter only plays when another player is tired.

In the event that a bench player is playing well (OPS+ over 100) and the starter has an OPS+ of 75 or worse, the bench player at least gets the "Every 2nd Game" treatment, and may become the starter if their defensive ratings are superior to the current starter. If the spread is more like OPS+ of 125 vs 75, then the bench player starts.

If both the bench player and the starter are mashing (OPS+ over 125), then the bench player gets the "Every 5th game" designation, unless they feature superior defense to the starter, in which case they get "Every 4th Game" or "Every 3rd Game" depending on my scouting impression of which player should excel going forward.

If both the bench player and starter suck (OPS+ of 75 or below), then they get the "Every 2nd game" designation until one of them steps up, or I can find a replacement. This will vary based on defensive capability. If both are noodlebats and one is a great defender, the great defender starts and the backup gets no more than "Every 5th game".

Gameday Management

Since I manually play out the games, if a starter is tired or otherwise replaced by a bench player on that given day, I re-balance the lineup based upon my regular lineup order criteria. This is because the AI automatically does some re-sorting of its own when a backup player is inserted, and I don't like having my system undone just because one player is tired or the bench player is due for his "Every Nth game" start.

[soxfan34]

Originally Posted by JMDurron

Lineup Management

In contrast to other posts, this one is entirely evil-free.

Spring Training

I will generally do an "Ask Manager for All Depth Charts and Lineups" to begin the process, then rebalance the ST lineup based on the following factors:

1 - Ensuring sufficient playing time for my expected starters
2 - Ensuring maximum playing time for any players I need to gain experience at a defensive position. This is particularly vital for the bench players, as well as starters who may be shifting down the defensive spectrum in the coming years.

If both a starter and bench player need experience at the same position, I put the bench player in for "Every 2nd game", unless the starter's experience is so low that there is a potentially severe defensive risk that he will have to play most of the season in the 30-40 rating range in the field.

I completely ignore the batting order in Spring Training, all that matters is the depth chart. My only lineup tweaks are to ensure that the defensive positions match the defensive depth chart.

I sim the ST games.

Regular Season/Postseason

I take the same approach once the real games start.

Opening Day - Use the depth chart I want, then select "Ask Manager for Lineup for ____" for the 4 lineups. I'll let the AI pick the order, so long as I pick the players and positions...for now. I emphasize defensive ratings over offense for positions where I think I can live with a light bat, such as SS or C (Catcher Ability >>> Catcher Arm).

I then re-balance the lineup at the first of every month, along with each DL trip or prospect callup. I have a regular approach, and a SSS approach for early in the season.

SSS Approach

Until at least mid-May, I will run with my Opening Day starters. My tweaking consists of increasing or decreasing the "Every ___ game" for my backup players at a given position or lineup based on their SSS to date. I will ride the hot hand, and giving more PAs to those hot hands helps to give me better data to judge them by as the season progresses.

Entirely new players called up or acquired due to injuries or trades who are expected starters generate a new "Ask Manager for Lineup" request in this phase.

Regular Approach

Starting around mid-May, I switch to a straight stats approach for the lineup, although not necessarily for the starters/bench balancing.

Each lineup is sorted based on OPS+ *for that lineup split, such as "vs RHP"*. The top 4 OPS+ players are in the top 4 lineup spots, then broken down as follows:

#1 OPS+ hitter = 3rd in lineup
#2 OPS+ OR highest SLG hitter if sufficiently better than the #3 and #4 OPS+ hitter = 4th in lineup
#3 OPS+ OR highest OBP hitter = 1st in lineup
#4 OPS+ OR remaining guy from other criteria = 2nd in lineup

Spots 5-9 (or 5-8, if I'm working with the no-DH lineup) are setup strictly based on descending OPS+, highest to lowest.

New arrivals due to trades, injuries, or callups who start are slotted into the lineup between the lowest hitter with an OPS+ over 100 and the highest hitter with an OPS+ at 99 or below. Then, that player becomes a part of the overall lineup shuffle after a sample size of roughly 1 month or more.

In a situation where a player has a severe platoon split, and a backup player who can be expected to do better in that particular lineup (such as a RHH 4th OFer when a LHH starting OFer has an OPS+ of 75 or below against LHP), the backup player will be started in that lineup. The benched starter only plays when another player is tired.

In the event that a bench player is playing well (OPS+ over 100) and the starter has an OPS+ of 75 or worse, the bench player at least gets the "Every 2nd Game" treatment, and may become the starter if their defensive ratings are superior to the current starter. If the spread is more like OPS+ of 125 vs 75, then the bench player starts.

If both the bench player and the starter are mashing (OPS+ over 125), then the bench player gets the "Every 5th game" designation, unless they feature superior defense to the starter, in which case they get "Every 4th Game" or "Every 3rd Game" depending on my scouting impression of which player should excel going forward.

If both the bench player and starter suck (OPS+ of 75 or below), then they get the "Every 2nd game" designation until one of them steps up, or I can find a replacement. This will vary based on defensive capability. If both are noodlebats and one is a great defender, the great defender starts and the backup gets no more than "Every 5th game".

Gameday Management

Since I manually play out the games, if a starter is tired or otherwise replaced by a bench player on that given day, I re-balance the lineup based upon my regular lineup order criteria. This is because the AI automatically does some re-sorting of its own when a backup player is inserted, and I don't like having my system undone just because one player is tired or the bench player is due for his "Every Nth game" start.

This is great, thanks man.

What are you settings? Scouting, AI eval? Also what kind of success have you had?

[soxfan34]

Oh yeah, and dumb question but what is SSS?

[JMDurron]

Originally Posted by soxfan34

This is great, thanks man.

What are you settings? Scouting, AI eval? Also what kind of success have you had?

I posted my settings on page 1, so I wouldn't have to post them 15 times as I add sections in here.

I also answered your question about my success (in OOTP12 and 13 only) in a previous post.

I'll give you a mulligan this time, and say:

Scouting Very Low
AI Eval (or is it Option Settings?) 25/25/25/25
Success - 3 Titles in 5 seasons in OOTP 12, .728 Winning Percentage and a World Series loss in my only completed OOTP 13 season.

I would allocate more of my success to evil roster strategies than my lineup management tactics, but I think this section should still be applicable to almost any league setup.

Originally Posted by soxfan34

Oh yeah, and dumb question but what is SSS?

Small Sample Size.

[soxfan34]

Originally Posted by JMDurron

I posted my settings on page 1, so I wouldn't have to post them 15 times as I add sections in here.

I also answered your question about my success (in OOTP12 and 13 only) in a previous post.

I'll give you a mulligan this time, and say:

Scouting Very Low
AI Eval (or is it Option Settings?) 25/25/25/25
Success - 3 Titles in 5 seasons in OOTP 12, .728 Winning Percentage and a World Series loss in my only completed OOTP 13 season.

I would allocate more of my success to evil roster strategies than my lineup management tactics, but I think this section should still be applicable to almost any league setup.



Small Sample Size.

My bad, I tend not to look at the name of the person posting, lol. I'll be more patient next time haha. Thanks again, this is really interesting.

I find it cool to see how others play the game -- you have the guys who sim out 100 years and know nothing about their players but like to see how the league has evolved, then you have guys who take the time to play every inning of every game. Both have strategies and both are fun for different people. Just goes to show this game has something for everyone.

[JMDurron]

Originally Posted by soxfan34

My bad, I tend not to look at the name of the person posting, lol. I'll be more patient next time haha. Thanks again, this is really interesting.

I find it cool to see how others play the game -- you have the guys who sim out 100 years and know nothing about their players but like to see how the league has evolved, then you have guys who take the time to play every inning of every game. Both have strategies and both are fun for different people. Just goes to show this game has something for everyone.

Well, I figured the lack of an avatar on my part didn't help, so I fixed that situation.

Agreed with your second paragraph.

[soxfan34]

Originally Posted by JMDurron

Opening Day - Use the depth chart I want, then select "Ask Manager for Lineup for ____" for the 4 lineups. I'll let the AI pick the order, so long as I pick the players and positions...for now. I emphasize defensive ratings over offense for positions where I think I can live with a light bat, such as SS or C (Catcher Ability >>> Catcher Arm).

Because you have scouting at low - does this at all play a factor in how your manager evaluates your lineup? If your scout severely over or under rates someone, will your manager think the same? Hopefully this makes sense...

[JMDurron]

Originally Posted by soxfan34

Because you have scouting at low - does this at all play a factor in how your manager evaluates your lineup? If your scout severely over or under rates someone, will your manager think the same? Hopefully this makes sense...

This is a good question, and one I had not really thought of. I will say that my manager, even on day 1 in season 1, when you'd assume that the scouting info would be at its worst, has generally put together logical lineups. The high-OBP speed guy is 1st, high contact medium OBP is 2nd, slugger 3rd, 2nd slugger 4th, etc..

I think that to some degree, the AI (my manager, and other managers and GMs) have some degree of access to what is behind the curtain, which is weighted somehow with the scouting ratings. If the scouting ratings are a major factor in lineup construction, then either my scout is remarkably insightful, or there was an amazing coincidence that the lineup looked so appropriate from day 1. Or, perhaps the scouting ratings are not factored in to the lineup decisions. I am certain of which is true.

[bking123]

Originally Posted by MBarrett

"Pitching, defense and the three-run homer."

I Didn't know Earl Weaver played this game.


Posted from Ootpdevelopments.com App for Android

[The Wolf]

Originally Posted by JMDurron

Frankly, I'm surprised nobody else has been criticizing, since I know there is a very passionate "realism and difficulty above all" section of the community here, but I think the "live and let play" mentality is alive and well in this community.

It's your game. Play it your way.

[The Wolf]

Originally Posted by bking123

I Didn't know Earl Weaver played this game.

You really think he could use a computer?

[The Wolf]

Originally Posted by JMDurron

I would allocate more of my success to evil roster strategies than my lineup management tactics, but I think this section should still be applicable to almost any league setup.

Good GM work can get you far more wins than optimizing your lineups can.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by The Wolf

Good GM work can get you far more wins than optimizing your lineups can.

Agreed.

I'm very much a "feel" type GM. I have my analytical thoughts as a tie breaker but it's more about fit. I look for the best pitching (stuff/control) I can find in all roles and fill in the holes with the best contact/eye/k hitters with defense as the tie breaker. I like to balance speed and power so that I can play both games. I keep high contact minor league hitters and high stuff minor league pitchers around longer looking for that occasional late bloomer. I scour the pot for undervalued backup hitters with good defense and overpay to keep them for 2-3 seasons. Often they end up starting due to injury and I can get super value for different single seasons out of 3-4 different players. I cycle this group each season especially if one or more have good years. I try always to have power arms in the bullpen and be more flexible with starters.

I like to double up on certain positions with draft choices and force myself to make a decision after 3-4 years. I've traded away some good players but the value received can be worth it even if I didn't "win" the trade. I cut my losses quickly especially with pitching. I'll take a chance on injury prone players if the contract reflects the risk. This can be a great way to fill a rotation spot for 1-2 seasons. I don't pay for catching unless I have nothing else of value.

I have a long term league with a powerhouse team. I try not to rip off the AI. My strategy would be different in a different circumstance.

[soxfan34]

Originally Posted by RchW

I have a long term league with a powerhouse team. I try not to rip off the AI. My strategy would be different in a different circumstance.

Thanks for the input, Rich. Two questions: what are your scouting settings, your age/development modifiers set at? Do you play out your games or sim (day, week. month). Ok that was three

[RchW]

Originally Posted by soxfan34

Thanks for the input, Rich. Two questions: what are your scouting settings, your age/development modifiers set at? Do you play out your games or sim (day, week. month). Ok that was three

Apologies if this seems uncooperative but it's kind of OT for a thread on tips for winning. I have a habit of going OT in other posters threads that needs breaking.

There may be a better thread for that info.....

[The Wolf]

Here's my two tips for winning:

1. If your pitching staff throws mostly groundballs, then be certain to have really good fielders at SS and 2B. If they throw mainly flyballs, then not so much.

2. Reverse your team to your home field. If you play in a pitcher's park emphasize better hitters, as even an average pitching staff looks good when they pitch half their games in a pitcher's park. Likewise, if you play in a hitter's park emphasize better pitchers.

[soxfan34]

Originally Posted by The Wolf

Here's my two tips for winning:

1. If your pitching staff throws mostly groundballs, then be certain to have really good fielders at SS and 2B. If they throw mainly flyballs, then not so much.

2. Reverse your team to your home field. If you play in a pitcher's park emphasize better hitters, as even an average pitching staff looks good when they pitch half their games in a pitcher's park. Likewise, if you play in a hitter's park emphasize better pitchers.

Well said. I like to focus on strong defense/range up the middle (C/2B/SS/CF) first. I won't even look at a pitcher who's G/F% is under 50%, and I always hesitate to select teams who play in extreme parks -- such as the Padres or Rockies.