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Earlier versions of OOTP: New to the game? A place for all new Out of the Park Baseball fans to ask questions about the game. |
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02-15-2013, 03:09 PM | #1 |
Minors (Single A)
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 59
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On Pitchers and Fielding ...
As my journey into the amazing world of baseball continues, there's two things that still confuse me about the game, I'm hoping someone could clear it up (and remember, I am a n00b)
Pitchers I understand that pitching is a pretty arduous job that can injure players if they're not looked after properly. I'm guessing that this is the reason why you have 5 starters and a raft of relievers and closers to finish the games - this gives your pitchers time to recover between games, right? But what I can't seem to get my head around is why teams don't get the 5 best starting pitchers in the league and fill out the lineup that way. After all, this is what happens in soccer - you get the best that money can buy. It seems that teams have one, maybe two 'star' pitchers, and the rest of the starting lineup is nothing more than ever decreasing circles of talent. It's as if teams are happy enough to fill out the bottom half of the lineup with what would appear to be inferior players. So: - why not buy the best pitchers in the league? - what would be the difference be if you put, say, Justin Verlander first, or fifth in the lineup? - Why put star pitchers in first? Do they do this with one eye on the schedule, knowing that a star pitchers is likely to face another star pitcher? "His fielding does not matter" This line from the film Moneyball fascinates me. In OOTP13, when scouting I actually focus quite heavily on the fielding abilities, looking for the proverbial all-rounder. Coming as I do from a soccer world where fielding (in my interpretation: the defensive abilities of each player) is a very important part of the job, this perhaps explains that mentality. Right now, in my OOTP13 game as the Mets, I've got Lucas Duda absolutely ripping the rest of the team to shreds. He's leading in pretty much every category, and even his fielding is not that bad, yet not one of his fielding ratings are above 8. Both his LF and RF rating is 5, values that would have me overlook him pretty quickly if I was scouting him. So, just how much does fielding matter? Is is something you look for when scouting players and putting them in position on the field? Or are his batting abilities more important? Ow, and one more thing: does anyone use the RC (runs created) stat, and if so, how (un)important a stat do you reckon it is? To me it's the baseball equivalent of soccers 'goals scored per season'. Thanks for reading. I cannot wait for the regular season to start - my first complete season as a baseball junky! Go ORIOLES! Last edited by zerozero31; 02-15-2013 at 03:11 PM. |
02-15-2013, 03:44 PM | #2 | |
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Join Date: Jun 2006
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02-15-2013, 03:52 PM | #3 | ||||||
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 3,584
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A lot of what you're asking is going to be personal opinion, but here's my take:
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The first starter typically starts against the other team's top starter, but more importantly, they usually start more games. Baseball is played almost every day, but there are enough off days and rain-outs that certain days get skipped. If you have an off day, you can bump up your top starters to pitch more often and pass over your 4th or 5th starter on occasion, thus getting your better pitchers on the field more. Quote:
C-SS-2B-CF-3B-RF-LF-1B Beane's comment referred to a guy who was going to play first base. He would not have made that comment about a catcher or shortstop. That said, it is hyperbole intended to point out that he cared a lot more about Hatteberg's hitting than his ability to play first base. Quote:
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I don't use RC much. I prefer VORP, which is Value Over Replacement Player and is also a measure of runs. VORP is a little more instructive to me as it compares a player to his peers so you can get a relative sense of worth. For a quick and dirty, I'll look at OPS or OPS+ (OPS relative to league).
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02-15-2013, 03:53 PM | #4 |
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: The big smoke
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Great questions. Here is my take.
Unlike Soccer you can't just buy players. To acquire talent a team must draft and develop, trade for it and/or find overlooked talent that other team discard. When you trade you must give up value back so it's not feasible to acquire all of the best pitchers. Pitchers are notoriously injury prone. Having the best pitchers at market value contracts could be a financial disaster. Teams do fairly extensive research to find "value" in lesser players so they can afford to pay the best players more money. Verlander's slot in the rotation only matters because you want your best pitcher to get the most starts. Teams are very concerned about overworking high priced pitchers so they rarely step outside the standard 5 pitcher rotation. Rotations do get managed. A lesser team is more likely to avoid putting their best pitcher in against the team that has its best of say 3 top flight pitchers. Also remember that teams play almost every day but often get different days off so rotations don't always match 1 vs 1 .... Defense Defense does matter but again one must balance available talent vs price. A talent rich team can make decisions vs a poor team taking what it can get. In baseball defense up the middle is most critical. So catcher, 2B, SS, and CF are positions where a team may take defense over offense. However a superior offensive player can still beat that paradigm. In LF RF 3B and 1B teams will often take offense over defense. When you get a superior offensive and defensive player at these positions it is a bonus. So when you look at individual players to see how they fit you must look at all 8 positions. You don't want to have 3 bad OF or both your SS and 2B bad but in the right spot go for the bat. I have nothing on RC.
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Cheers RichW #stopthestupid “Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition …There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.” Frank Wilhoit |
02-15-2013, 07:22 PM | #5 |
Minors (Single A)
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 59
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Thanks to all for taking the time in those detailed answers!
"The pitching term is rotation. Lineup is where your hitters go" oh, that's embarrassing (facepalm) |
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