General Discussion - the 2039 Seasons!

[Dunzie]

Forum was pretty quiet there yesterday so figured I'd take the bull by the horns and start up the general discussion thread for the 2039 season!

How's everybody's league looking this week?

[Findest2001]

All three of my silver teams are hovering at .500 right now, although one started 2-9 so that one is making a comeback. My new park factors are making me needs a few minor adjustments to strategy, so I'll know a bit more in a day or two How are yours doing?

[DrTobiasFunke]

The Sidewinders have amazingly hung in there in the Diamond leagues, avoiding demotion after two 70 win campaigns, and are looking sharp in the early going of 2039 at 20-16. While point progression from achievements have slowed, they've earned ~20k in these 4 seasons, which has led to few different upgrades across the roster.



On offense, Bryce Harper has been added to be a cheap replacement for my ideal left handed right fielder (I got so close to that 86 OVR Tris Speaker... one day), and while he hasn't been great, at least he gets on base. Phil Rizzuto moved back to shortstop, where I feel he's a little more consistant than Tony Fernandez, though I haven't found that obvious upgrade in the infield yet. Jose Altuve was added as a DH/PH, still weighing whether he should enter into a 2nd base timeshare with Fernandez as the defensive replacement.

Pitching has been good to great, though they have been buoyed by strong defense. Satchel Paige cost an arm and a leg, but has been great as a starter. I've also embarked a small Knuckleball experiment with Phil Niekro and Wilbur Wood, to play around with the inherently low BABIP of the knuckleball and how it works with a great defense. Otherwise, it's the same philosophy of cycling starters out of the bullpen depending on performance.



Oh yeah, George Vukovich is still going strong. More of a defensive option at this point, he's still outlived the 4-5 right fielders I brought in to replace Pete Rose.

[Zorro]

Originally Posted by Dunzie

Forum was pretty quiet there yesterday so figured I'd take the bull by the horns and start up the general discussion thread for the 2039 season!

How's everybody's league looking this week?

Hey my friend. How is the whale killer doing this season?Rocky Point has started off very slow. Currently we are in 2nd place 3 back in the loss column. How are you doing my friend?

[Izz]

The Hoggs made the playoffs last week as a wildcard but got knocked out in the Division Series - the Apple Dumpling Gang were in our division and just too good, winning 100+ and sweeping the finals on their way back to promotion to Perfect.

Last season was tough for us. We scored only 669 (which is around our average) but conceded 660, our 3.89 ERA the highest we've ever allowed in Diamond.

So far this season we're tracking at 22-17. We haven't made any major changes over the last couple campaigns. Pulled 93OVR CL Brian Wilson last week, who is a great add for our pen. This week pulled rookie Ichiro and Otis Nixon and decided to use them both. Rookie Ichiro replaces record-breaker Ichiro (rookie Ichiro has better defense, better stealing, and is an excellent bunt-for-hit guy). I'm using Nixon in a similar way - starting against LHP and every 4th game against RHP - as he's also a great bunter and a terror on the basepaths.

[Findest2001]

Originally Posted by DrTobiasFunke

Otherwise, it's the same philosophy of cycling starters out of the bullpen depending on performance.

Attachment 623179

Oh yeah, George Vukovich is still going strong. More of a defensive option at this point, he's still outlived the 4-5 right fielders I brought in to replace Pete Rose.

Could you be so kind as to indulge my ignorance and explain this strategy to me? I've been having a revolving door in my rotation and I am intrigued...

[Dunzie]

Originally Posted by Zorro

Hey my friend. How is the whale killer doing this season?Rocky Point has started off very slow. Currently we are in 2nd place 3 back in the loss column. How are you doing my friend?

Blue Gryphs are around .500 and sitting third in the AC West in P411 - typical World Series hangover it seems. We can never follow up a winning season with a good start. Looking at teams on paper we should be more than in the running, but as I've learned nothing is ever guaranteed with this team. Seem to be hitting well individually but for some reason not scoring enough to win.


Gold Gryphs had a great playoff run and this year are in P401. Out of the gates with a bang and setting the world on fire was followed by a 2-8 stretch that dropped us back to mid-pack again. This team is safe to say my mid-range team and sometimes surprises like last week and sometimes looks closer to relegation. Never know.


Red Gryphs are my weakest on paper but seem to overachieve slightly. Last week barely missed their first Perfect playoffs in the last few games. This week in P404 and not off to a great start, couple games below .500 right now. Had earned some cash last year so added DeGrom to the rotation today and trust me that's an upgrade for our 5th spot. Never expect much but sometimes pleasant surprise from these overachievers.

[W0rmzbr0]

Hoboken Zephyrs are in the mini-perfect league this week, P409, which has 24 teams. Currently sitting at 20-29, which is 1 game above relegation as of now. I'm thinking of adjusting my ballpark next season to see if I can get myself into a better position. The team is defense-first and have consistently struggled to put up runs in their 2+ seasons in Perfect. Not entirely sure what I'll do, but at least it'll keep things interesting.

My pack-only Port Washington Pack Rats are in G300 and have the benefit of their first full season of Old Hoss Radbourn after a monster pull a few days ago. They lead their division with a 30-16 record. Hoss is sitting at 9-1 with a sub-2 ERA, but another squad's 97 Randy Johnson is currently leading the triple crown categories. Feeling good about their chances to get back up into Diamond after this season.

[Dunzie]

Pulled Old Hoss. Wow. Won the lottery!!

My all-pack team would have had Chris Davis batting cleanup and 15 guys named Joe. All 3 of my PT20 teams are pack only and none have any really stars. I much prefer PT19 probably for that reason.

[DrTobiasFunke]

Originally Posted by Findest2001

Could you be so kind as to indulge my ignorance and explain this strategy to me? I've been having a revolving door in my rotation and I am intrigued...

Well, I've made my staff/bullpen composed of all starting pitchers, based on the idea that the extra stamina means I can get by with a smaller bullpen and use my extra roster spots for pinch hitter/split lineups. Ideally, I'd be able to run a staff and bullpen with only 10 pitchers, which gives me 15 batters to choose for splits/pinch hitting (right now I have the extra bullpen arm because Satchel Paige has really low stamina, so that's just to keep everyone from yellowing out if Paige only goes a couple of innings). Of course, if you go this way you've got to be very selective about what starting pitchers you're choosing, because RP rating depend nearly wholly on the pitcher's two best pitches.

So you take someone like Vic Raschi for example. Three good pitches, decent starter, but because he has a 90 grade fastball and a 95 grade curveball, he gets a huge bonus to his reliever stuff rating, which makes him usable far longer than the average silver rated pitcher.

Once you've got a rotation built like that, then you can cycle out your worst performing pitchers after a decent sample size and throw in whoever is throwing lights out from the bullpen. At least, that's how it works when it works.

[Findest2001]

Originally Posted by DrTobiasFunke

Well, I've made my staff/bullpen composed of all starting pitchers, based on the idea that the extra stamina means I can get by with a smaller bullpen and use my extra roster spots for pinch hitter/split lineups. Ideally, I'd be able to run a staff and bullpen with only 10 pitchers, which gives me 15 batters to choose for splits/pinch hitting (right now I have the extra bullpen arm because Satchel Paige has really low stamina, so that's just to keep everyone from yellowing out if Paige only goes a couple of innings). Of course, if you go this way you've got to be very selective about what starting pitchers you're choosing, because RP rating depend nearly wholly on the pitcher's two best pitches.

So you take someone like Vic Raschi for example. Three good pitches, decent starter, but because he has a 90 grade fastball and a 95 grade curveball, he gets a huge bonus to his reliever stuff rating, which makes him usable far longer than the average silver rated pitcher.

Once you've got a rotation built like that, then you can cycle out your worst performing pitchers after a decent sample size and throw in whoever is throwing lights out from the bullpen. At least, that's how it works when it works.

Pardon my newb question, but are you telling me there are different ratings for RP vs SP? I've used some starters as relievers, and vice versa, and noticed they pitched better as one or the other but never saw a change to any of their underlying ratings...


I've been confused by why some people in the forums suggest a starting pitcher as my closer (Raschi is just one example) and they seemed positive that he was a reliever, but I was confued because it says SP on the card...

[Izz]

Originally Posted by Findest2001

Pardon my newb question, but are you telling me there are different ratings for RP vs SP? I've used some starters as relievers, and vice versa, and noticed they pitched better as one or the other but never saw a change to any of their underlying ratings...


I've been confused by why some people in the forums suggest a starting pitcher as my closer (Raschi is just one example) and they seemed positive that he was a reliever, but I was confued because it says SP on the card...

Depending on the strength of their best 2 pitches, starting pitchers get a stuff boost when you convert them to relief pitchers (you can set their roles on the player card).

[Findest2001]

Originally Posted by Izz

Depending on the strength of their best 2 pitches, starting pitchers get a stuff boost when you convert them to relief pitchers (you can set their roles on the player card).

I just started doing this. So far to mixed results. Basically no increase or decrease in performance, but I like the ability to platoon more than just catcher and one other position. So I'm able to use more effective hitters in key situations. And I've been looking for a reason to put Billy Hamilton on my roster for pinch running only. Now I can .

I wish I had known this 10 seasons ago. It would be nice if it was somewhere in the manual or within the game. I literally had no idea. I had used relievers as starters and vice versa, but I don't remember ever seeing a ratings improvement. I saw changes in their performance, but I just don't remember seeing that ratings jump. I'm keeping my eye on it now. I wish I didn't have to re-buy cards to test it out though. I'm wasting tons of money buying guys to find out I see little to no difference, because there's no way to set the player's position before you buy on the AH.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Findest2001

I just started doing this. So far to mixed results. Basically no increase or decrease in performance, but I like the ability to platoon more than just catcher and one other position. So I'm able to use more effective hitters in key situations. And I've been looking for a reason to put Billy Hamilton on my roster for pinch running only. Now I can .

I wish I had known this 10 seasons ago. It would be nice if it was somewhere in the manual or within the game. I literally had no idea. I had used relievers as starters and vice versa, but I don't remember ever seeing a ratings improvement. I saw changes in their performance, but I just don't remember seeing that ratings jump. I'm keeping my eye on it now. I wish I didn't have to re-buy cards to test it out though. I'm wasting tons of money buying guys to find out I see little to no difference, because there's no way to set the player's position before you buy on the AH.

https://manuals.ootpdevelopments.com...tching_ratings


"Relief pitchers receive a small bonus to stuff, to reflect the fact that batters get fewer looks at their pitches and have less of a chance to adjust to them. OOTP displays that bonus in the form of increased Stuff ratings. This bonus is heavily tied into the strength of a reliever's top two pitches, since relievers have much less incentive to mix in their weaker offerings. This means that a pitcher with a strong fastball, a strong slider, and a weak changeup might make for an average starting pitcher but a great reliever. You get to decide how he provides the most useful fit for your team. You can see the change in a pitcher's Stuff rating if you change the player's position from SP to MR and back."

[Findest2001]

I had read that but it confused me. The way it's worded it made it seem (to me) it referred to RP being used as SP and not the other way around. Upon reading it again, however, I can see I was mistaken. Thanks again!

[Findest2001]

Could the increase in STU be exploited by setting their position as RP to get the increase in rating, but still pitch them as a starter? Or does that change how they inherently use their top 2 pitches?

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Findest2001

Could the increase in STU be exploited by setting their position as RP to get the increase in rating, but still pitch them as a starter? Or does that change how they inherently use their top 2 pitches?

The role assigned determines the rating, not the position assigned. If you set a starter's role to reliever without changing his position, he will still get the boost but it won't show on the screen.

[Findest2001]

Originally Posted by Orcin

The role assigned determines the rating, not the position assigned. If you set a starter's role to reliever without changing his position, he will still get the boost but it won't show on the screen.

I'm not sure if I understand. It's a bit confusing. So...if I set a player as a reliever, but put them in the rotation, then they are rated as a starter regardless of what position I have them set as? In other words, setting their position is only so I can see the boost (or lack thereof). The actual position of that player and how I utilize them is determines what ratings are actually used in the game? Am I understanding that correctly?

[Dogberry99]

Originally Posted by Findest2001

I'm not sure if I understand. It's a bit confusing. So...if I set a player as a reliever, but put them in the rotation, then they are rated as a starter regardless of what position I have them set as? In other words, setting their position is only so I can see the boost (or lack thereof). The actual position of that player and how I utilize them is determines what ratings are actually used in the game? Am I understanding that correctly?

As I understand it, you are understanding it correctly.

I agree that it is confusing.

[bluesguy]

Het all,
I have found that when you change a starter to a reliever or closer there is usually an increase if the stuff rating. When you move the card to the starting rotation, the card will change back to a starter.
However, if you change to a reliever after the card is in the starting rotation, it will stay as a reliever or closer.
m