Roster building strategy

redsfan17 · 02-02-2014, 03:07 PM

I have decided to start a Fictional League with an inaugural draft. For the first five round I will be taking dominant starting pitching and from there on out I will be taking dominant fielders. I am wanting to experiment with roster construction to see if pitching and defense wins championships. I do not have the greatest hitters, but I have tons of speed and tons of ground ball inducing pitchers. I will update as time goes by. Let me know what you guys think will happen and any other comments you may have.

redsfan17 · 02-02-2014, 07:44 PM

We'll the first season is simmed. My team finished in first place with a 91-71 record and lost on the first round of the playoffs. Their 477 runs scored was 14th in the league and their 447 runs allowed was 1st in the league. The team average was .228, 14th in the league. The team ERA was 2.37 which was 1st in the league. Team defense was .737 which was also 1st in the league. The team hit only 63 HR almost 100 behind the next team. It is a good showing, but it doesn't prove that pitching and defense wins championships. I will try and build through the draft and will hopefully get a few decent hitters who are good defenders there. Has anybody else tried this with any success?

Ike348 · 02-03-2014, 08:09 AM

I go for dominant starting pitching, high contact, and low power. Nobody except my 3-4 guys hit more than 10 HRs in a year, but they all hit .280-.310. And on one team my 1-4 starters had all previously won Cy Youngs and my 1-3 starters all made it into the Hall of Fame. Those teams generally finished around 95 wins and I occasionally won a World Series

Dr. Brian · 02-03-2014, 08:14 AM

I don't know ... I think you did quite well with your strategy, and even though you didn't "win the championship" you came in first place. That would keep any owner happy.

I say stick with the program to see how it works. You can't sim one season and expect to win it all year after year. That is unreasonable.

redsfan17 · 02-03-2014, 09:04 AM

I am in the second season, and was in first place until a rash of injuries hit the team. I am trying to weather the storm. In past games, I always went after stud hitters and had a little success, but nothing that I could sustain. So I thought I would try and win like the Tampa Rays do in real life, pitching and defense. I am trying to draft good SP so I can always have one ready to go in the minors, so I can trade the ones as they become too expensive. I will have to see how the remainder of the season goes, but I am sticking to the plan.

redsfan17 · 02-03-2014, 12:26 PM

I finished my second season at 81-81. The injuries we suffered were too much. We scored 535 runs still last in the league, and allowed 454 which again put us in first in the league. Our team batting average came up a bit at .239 good for next to last in the league. Our team ERA was 2.49, good for first, and team defense was .729, also good for first. I did trade for a big bat before the season, and he hit 42 of the teams 87 HR, which still put us in last place. My main slugger and DH is a free agent now and I cannot afford him, so I will have to look elsewhere for help. It can be a process but it is also very fun. Any tips or tricks or just comments?

Ike348 · 02-03-2014, 01:28 PM

Power hitters are way too expensive. Get more guys with Ben Revere's ratings (high contact, no power, great defense) as they are fairly cheap. If you must need a power threat, get a really cheap 40/75/40 guy (1-100 ratings) that will hit around .210 but will get you 30 HRs

redsfan17 · 02-03-2014, 05:31 PM

Sad thing is that he has those ratings and wants 18 million per season. I will let him go and hopefully get a draft pick and sign someone much cheaper. I like your idea about high contact guys. I will look for some in free agency and the draft and through trade.

KingxX · 02-04-2014, 07:23 PM

I'm going to try the pitching/defense strategy too. Will let you know how it goes for me

redsfan17 · 02-06-2014, 07:22 AM

Well, the third season finished up, and we finished at 89-73 which put us in the Wildcard play-in game. We lost that game to end our season earlier than I wanted but I can't complain. We scored 630 runs, still in last place, and allowed 578 which again put my staff in first place. Our team hit .260 which moved us up to sixth place in the league a vast improvement over the first two years. Our team ERA was 3.22 good for first and team defense was .716 still good, but we dropped into third place in the league. I found some good hitters who also had good fielding ability, but they weren't as dominant as some of those players they replaced. But the extra hitting made up for it and my rotation is a dominant one. I am looking to upgrade a few positions this offseason with better contact hitters and get ready for next year.

Dr. Brian · 02-06-2014, 08:31 AM

Three seasons so far, so it sounds like the strategy is working ... granted no championship, but youa re fielding a highly competitive team.

redsfan17 · 02-06-2014, 01:37 PM

Yeah we are competitive, but it feels like in a short series we don't have enough offense. Which is why I am trying to add some bats to the lineup. Its been really fun save to play though.

redsfan17 · 02-06-2014, 10:02 PM

We finished 98-64 in first place in our division and having the best defense, pitching staff and highest average in the league. But we still lost in a short series. It's frustrating to say the least. My four year record stands at 359-289 which is good but the owner is now expecting us to win it all which will hurt my rating of we don't. I have gotten three scores of close to 600 or better because he expected us to be a .500 team and we over performed. Now we will see if we can handle the pressure.

paul.m.w. · 02-20-2014, 03:08 AM

I'm a long term reds fan as well...
Grew up in Honolulu Hawaii, where we had a triple a team but no major.
So I adopted the The reds and Pete Rose.

paul.m.w. · 02-20-2014, 03:11 AM

Here's my replay of 2013 into 2014.
The first season was a disappointing 83 win season.
But as you can see..,
We are in the big show for 2014!

paul.m.w. · 02-20-2014, 03:14 AM

paul.m.w. · 02-20-2014, 07:52 AM

[IMG]

[/IMG]

paul.m.w. · 02-20-2014, 08:07 AM

Just won the WS!
Second season in.
4-3 games
87 win wildcard reds beat an
equally surprising Red Sox at 86 wins...

paul.m.w. · 02-20-2014, 08:11 AM

In the off season I sacrificed Phillips in a big trade... Eventually got cano , swisher and a. Ramirez.
They helped with the punch I needed to finish the post season.

paul.m.w. · 02-20-2014, 08:23 AM

In your case, maybe toward the trade deadline ( in addition to offseason trades made) you can pick up some cheap over the hill role players. Ones with multiple fielding positions and ok 'eye' or contact no#s. It's how I got through injuries at the end and thrived in the post season.( I dumped higher contract redundancy in those trades...)

02-02-2014, 03:07 PM	#1
redsfan17 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 29	Roster building strategy I have decided to start a Fictional League with an inaugural draft. For the first five round I will be taking dominant starting pitching and from there on out I will be taking dominant fielders. I am wanting to experiment with roster construction to see if pitching and defense wins championships. I do not have the greatest hitters, but I have tons of speed and tons of ground ball inducing pitchers. I will update as time goes by. Let me know what you guys think will happen and any other comments you may have.

02-20-2014, 03:08 AM	#14
paul.m.w. Major Leagues Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 417	I'm a long term reds fan as well... Grew up in Honolulu Hawaii, where we had a triple a team but no major. So I adopted the The reds and Pete Rose. __________________ Using Tapatalk

02-20-2014, 03:11 AM	#15
paul.m.w. Major Leagues Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 417	Here's my replay of 2013 into 2014. The first season was a disappointing 83 win season. But as you can see.., We are in the big show for 2014! __________________ Using Tapatalk

02-20-2014, 03:14 AM	#16
paul.m.w. Major Leagues Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 417	__________________ Using Tapatalk

02-20-2014, 07:52 AM	#17
paul.m.w. Major Leagues Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 417	[IMG][/IMG] __________________ Using Tapatalk

02-02-2014, 07:44 PM	#2
redsfan17 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 29	We'll the first season is simmed. My team finished in first place with a 91-71 record and lost on the first round of the playoffs. Their 477 runs scored was 14th in the league and their 447 runs allowed was 1st in the league. The team average was .228, 14th in the league. The team ERA was 2.37 which was 1st in the league. Team defense was .737 which was also 1st in the league. The team hit only 63 HR almost 100 behind the next team. It is a good showing, but it doesn't prove that pitching and defense wins championships. I will try and build through the draft and will hopefully get a few decent hitters who are good defenders there. Has anybody else tried this with any success?

02-03-2014, 08:14 AM	#4
Dr. Brian Minors (Single A) Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 76	I don't know ... I think you did quite well with your strategy, and even though you didn't "win the championship" you came in first place. That would keep any owner happy. I say stick with the program to see how it works. You can't sim one season and expect to win it all year after year. That is unreasonable.

02-03-2014, 09:04 AM	#5
redsfan17 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 29	I am in the second season, and was in first place until a rash of injuries hit the team. I am trying to weather the storm. In past games, I always went after stud hitters and had a little success, but nothing that I could sustain. So I thought I would try and win like the Tampa Rays do in real life, pitching and defense. I am trying to draft good SP so I can always have one ready to go in the minors, so I can trade the ones as they become too expensive. I will have to see how the remainder of the season goes, but I am sticking to the plan.

02-03-2014, 12:26 PM	#6
redsfan17 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 29	I finished my second season at 81-81. The injuries we suffered were too much. We scored 535 runs still last in the league, and allowed 454 which again put us in first in the league. Our team batting average came up a bit at .239 good for next to last in the league. Our team ERA was 2.49, good for first, and team defense was .729, also good for first. I did trade for a big bat before the season, and he hit 42 of the teams 87 HR, which still put us in last place. My main slugger and DH is a free agent now and I cannot afford him, so I will have to look elsewhere for help. It can be a process but it is also very fun. Any tips or tricks or just comments?

02-03-2014, 05:31 PM	#8
redsfan17 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 29	Sad thing is that he has those ratings and wants 18 million per season. I will let him go and hopefully get a draft pick and sign someone much cheaper. I like your idea about high contact guys. I will look for some in free agency and the draft and through trade.

02-04-2014, 07:23 PM	#9
KingxX Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 144	I'm going to try the pitching/defense strategy too. Will let you know how it goes for me

02-06-2014, 07:22 AM	#10
redsfan17 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 29	Well, the third season finished up, and we finished at 89-73 which put us in the Wildcard play-in game. We lost that game to end our season earlier than I wanted but I can't complain. We scored 630 runs, still in last place, and allowed 578 which again put my staff in first place. Our team hit .260 which moved us up to sixth place in the league a vast improvement over the first two years. Our team ERA was 3.22 good for first and team defense was .716 still good, but we dropped into third place in the league. I found some good hitters who also had good fielding ability, but they weren't as dominant as some of those players they replaced. But the extra hitting made up for it and my rotation is a dominant one. I am looking to upgrade a few positions this offseason with better contact hitters and get ready for next year.

02-06-2014, 08:31 AM	#11
Dr. Brian Minors (Single A) Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 76	Three seasons so far, so it sounds like the strategy is working ... granted no championship, but youa re fielding a highly competitive team.

02-06-2014, 01:37 PM	#12
redsfan17 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 29	Yeah we are competitive, but it feels like in a short series we don't have enough offense. Which is why I am trying to add some bats to the lineup. Its been really fun save to play though.

02-06-2014, 10:02 PM	#13
redsfan17 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 29	We finished 98-64 in first place in our division and having the best defense, pitching staff and highest average in the league. But we still lost in a short series. It's frustrating to say the least. My four year record stands at 359-289 which is good but the owner is now expecting us to win it all which will hurt my rating of we don't. I have gotten three scores of close to 600 or better because he expected us to be a .500 team and we over performed. Now we will see if we can handle the pressure.

02-20-2014, 08:07 AM	#18
paul.m.w. Major Leagues Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 417	Just won the WS! Second season in. 4-3 games 87 win wildcard reds beat an equally surprising Red Sox at 86 wins... __________________ Using Tapatalk

02-20-2014, 08:11 AM	#19
paul.m.w. Major Leagues Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 417	In the off season I sacrificed Phillips in a big trade... Eventually got cano , swisher and a. Ramirez. They helped with the punch I needed to finish the post season. __________________ Using Tapatalk

02-20-2014, 08:23 AM	#20
paul.m.w. Major Leagues Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 417	In your case, maybe toward the trade deadline ( in addition to offseason trades made) you can pick up some cheap over the hill role players. Ones with multiple fielding positions and ok 'eye' or contact no#s. It's how I got through injuries at the end and thrived in the post season.( I dumped higher contract redundancy in those trades...) __________________ Using Tapatalk