Could the FA market be more competitive?

Here24 · 03-27-2007, 03:21 PM

Love the game, but wondering . . .
It seems to me that I don’t get much competition from other teams when signing free agents.
If I can afford a player, I most often make a first offer below what they are looking for. Then increase the offer as needed.
Sometimes a FA will respond that my offer has to be increased because another team has made a higher offer. But most often, if I give the player what they want, or if I top another team’s offer once, the player will sign with my club.
Occasionally I get out-bid but it seems rare.
I look at the financials and there seem to be teams with the salary cap room and the means to afford better players.
What's your experience? Do you find the FA market competitive enough?

magnet · 03-27-2007, 03:40 PM

Is this just in one league, or have you tried different leagues with different settings?

fhomess · 03-27-2007, 03:50 PM

Players don't request contracts significantly out of line with the salary structure in league setup. If teams have way too much cash when compared with the salary structure, then the human GM will have the advantage of being able to bid higher than what the AI team will bid. I'd suggest lowering your income levels or raising the amount that players are demanding.

Here24 · 03-27-2007, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by magnet

Is this just in one league, or have you tried different leagues with different settings?

Just one league so far, though I player much more with 2006 and had a similar experience. Currently, I have had time to play four seasons with the same league. 16 teams, no minors. 6 round draft, enough fictional players for 7 rounds. Salary cap of 100 M. Cash Max of 80 M. Trading frequency and difficulty are set at average.
I can't think of any other settings off hand that might effect this.
Example: Pittsburgh has 40M cap room, a budget of 120M and 75M in cash and is rebuilding, but was signed only a couple free agents last time around.
My main question, however, is what everyone's experience has been. Is it something I will have to live with or can settings improve it?

Here24 · 03-27-2007, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fhomess

Players don't request contracts significantly out of line with the salary structure in league setup. If teams have way too much cash when compared with the salary structure, then the human GM will have the advantage of being able to bid higher than what the AI team will bid. I'd suggest lowering your income levels or raising the amount that players are demanding.

Very interesting. I raised the maximum cash for each team in the hopes that more teams would have more money with which to work. I thought the AI would be "overjoyed" to have more money and would use it.
But, I understand how the AI might be designed differently than I had assumed. I will take your suggestions and see what happens.

Scoman · 03-27-2007, 04:12 PM

From what I've seen so far its pretty rare for me not to get someone I go after in FA.

03-27-2007, 03:21 PM	#1
Here24 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: May 2002 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 28	Could the FA market be more competitive? Love the game, but wondering . . . It seems to me that I don’t get much competition from other teams when signing free agents. If I can afford a player, I most often make a first offer below what they are looking for. Then increase the offer as needed. Sometimes a FA will respond that my offer has to be increased because another team has made a higher offer. But most often, if I give the player what they want, or if I top another team’s offer once, the player will sign with my club. Occasionally I get out-bid but it seems rare. I look at the financials and there seem to be teams with the salary cap room and the means to afford better players. What's your experience? Do you find the FA market competitive enough?

03-27-2007, 03:50 PM	#3
fhomess Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 3,693	Players don't request contracts significantly out of line with the salary structure in league setup. If teams have way too much cash when compared with the salary structure, then the human GM will have the advantage of being able to bid higher than what the AI team will bid. I'd suggest lowering your income levels or raising the amount that players are demanding. __________________ StatsLab- PHP/MySQL based utilities for Online Leagues Baseball Cards - Full list of known templates and documentation on card development.

03-27-2007, 03:40 PM	#2
magnet Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 5,029	Is this just in one league, or have you tried different leagues with different settings?

03-27-2007, 04:12 PM	#6
Scoman All Star Starter Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: heath ohio Posts: 1,836	From what I've seen so far its pretty rare for me not to get someone I go after in FA.