Questions on Pitchers

[BuenoWaino]

Sort of a schmorgesborg of questions, but at least they're all related to pitching in some way:

1) Do you manage your starting pitchers' innings and pitch counts (beyond simply keeping them rested), and if so how closely? Should a young guy or a player in his first year back after TJ have a pitch count each game or be shut down in September (or more wisely, have starts skipped throughout the season)? If I have a pitcher who has the stamina to go 110 pitches every 5th game, is there any reason I shouldn't let him try and go for a CG every start (provided he's sharp)? Guess I'm just trying to see how closely the game emulates real life, since there's no direct feedback on this sort of thing. Am I risking (re)injury? Making players decline faster (wearing out their arms so stuff/velocity goes down)? Or does it not matter?

2) Similarly, how much are you guys seeing pitchers go down requiring TJ? I'm in mid August, and I haven't seen any injuries requiring TJ the entire year. Not that I'm upset by this, just curious if the surgery is more common in more recent years.

3) Are the long term effects of injuries like TJ very realistic? Or is it just a "once he's healed, he's healed" situation (minus some appropriate rating drops presumably).

4) When do you guys know to convert a starter into a reliever? Anything to think about besides low stamina and only 1-2 pitches?

5) Relatedly, would a SP's stuff/velocity improve when being converted into a reliever, since he's going from trying to pitch 5+ innings to 1doesn't have to hold back in the tank? What about when I want to temporarily use a starter in relief, such as during the playoffs with my #5 SP or calling up a SP prospect to pitch in relief during September. I figure this would be hard to do since I can't tell the computer "hey I'm only going to pitch him for 1 inning instead of the usual 6".

6) Speaking of velocity...checking a lot of players' velocity stats in-game and comparing them to real life...is the 3 MPH range basically meant to represent where a pitcher's velocity "sits" (as in, his fastball sits at 92-93 and he can hit 96/97)? Because I'm looking at guys who hit 100 MPH on the gun in real life, but their OOTP velocity is 95-97.

7) When picking pitching coaches for your Minor League system, do you go for a mix of pitching coaches with different preferences (groundball, power, finesse) so that no matter who you draft or sign, they'll get a taste of everything. Or do you just commit to one and try and get every level of your organization on the same page?

8) At about what age are a young (17-19) prospects' secondary stats (velocity, stamina, etc.) not likely to increase any more? I get most won't develop, but if my scout finds a 17 year old with 25 stamina and 88-90 velocity, is there reason to hope he COULD get to 40 Stam/91-93 or something by the time he's finished growing? Similarly, can prospects ever add another pitch?

9) Is there a global setting to permanently turn off Warmups for bullpens? I switched this off in my first game of the season (that's a little too micromanage-y for me, plus the AI doesn't have to do it) in the Options tab for that game, but recently I noticed my pen was always allowing 1-2 baserunners on every inning when they first came on, even my top guys. And I realized the setting had somehow been switched back on. I'd like to ensure this doesn't happen again if possible as I don't always remember to check this setting before playing the game (after which it's too late to change).

10) Does anyone carry an extra reliever instead of bench player? I did for the middle third of the season after I traded my long man (OOTP rated him wayyyyy too high, and I couldn't resist selling), and it didn't seem all that effective, though that might've just been a symptom of only having 3 relievers I trusted and the number of close games in the 7th inning or later my team was in

[IsaacR]

Originally Posted by BuenoWaino

Sort of a schmorgesborg of questions, but at least they're all related to pitching in some way:

1) Do you manage your starting pitchers' innings and pitch counts (beyond simply keeping them rested), and if so how closely? Should a young guy or a player in his first year back after TJ have a pitch count each game or be shut down in September (or more wisely, have starts skipped throughout the season)? If I have a pitcher who has the stamina to go 110 pitches every 5th game, is there any reason I shouldn't let him try and go for a CG every start (provided he's sharp)? Guess I'm just trying to see how closely the game emulates real life, since there's no direct feedback on this sort of thing. Am I risking (re)injury? Making players decline faster (wearing out their arms so stuff/velocity goes down)? Or does it not matter?

2) Similarly, how much are you guys seeing pitchers go down requiring TJ? I'm in mid August, and I haven't seen any injuries requiring TJ the entire year. Not that I'm upset by this, just curious if the surgery is more common in more recent years.

3) Are the long term effects of injuries like TJ very realistic? Or is it just a "once he's healed, he's healed" situation (minus some appropriate rating drops presumably).

4) When do you guys know to convert a starter into a reliever? Anything to think about besides low stamina and only 1-2 pitches?

5) Relatedly, would a SP's stuff/velocity improve when being converted into a reliever, since he's going from trying to pitch 5+ innings to 1doesn't have to hold back in the tank? What about when I want to temporarily use a starter in relief, such as during the playoffs with my #5 SP or calling up a SP prospect to pitch in relief during September. I figure this would be hard to do since I can't tell the computer "hey I'm only going to pitch him for 1 inning instead of the usual 6".

6) Speaking of velocity...checking a lot of players' velocity stats in-game and comparing them to real life...is the 3 MPH range basically meant to represent where a pitcher's velocity "sits" (as in, his fastball sits at 92-93 and he can hit 96/97)? Because I'm looking at guys who hit 100 MPH on the gun in real life, but their OOTP velocity is 95-97.

7) When picking pitching coaches for your Minor League system, do you go for a mix of pitching coaches with different preferences (groundball, power, finesse) so that no matter who you draft or sign, they'll get a taste of everything. Or do you just commit to one and try and get every level of your organization on the same page?

8) At about what age are a young (17-19) prospects' secondary stats (velocity, stamina, etc.) not likely to increase any more? I get most won't develop, but if my scout finds a 17 year old with 25 stamina and 88-90 velocity, is there reason to hope he COULD get to 40 Stam/91-93 or something by the time he's finished growing? Similarly, can prospects ever add another pitch?

9) Is there a global setting to permanently turn off Warmups for bullpens? I switched this off in my first game of the season (that's a little too micromanage-y for me, plus the AI doesn't have to do it) in the Options tab for that game, but recently I noticed my pen was always allowing 1-2 baserunners on every inning when they first came on, even my top guys. And I realized the setting had somehow been switched back on. I'd like to ensure this doesn't happen again if possible as I don't always remember to check this setting before playing the game (after which it's too late to change).

10) Does anyone carry an extra reliever instead of bench player? I did for the middle third of the season after I traded my long man (OOTP rated him wayyyyy too high, and I couldn't resist selling), and it didn't seem all that effective, though that might've just been a symptom of only having 3 relievers I trusted and the number of close games in the 7th inning or later my team was in

1. I don't, and think that is also overused IRL. Haven't noticed any long term effects.
2. Depends. Sometimes none. In one of my online leagues, I have 3 TJ patients on my DL right now. Just luck of the draw.
3. There are ratings drops, and some bounce back. Kinda like real life.
4. Low stamina, less than 3 quality pitches, and general ineffectiveness. If a guy has 3 pitches but one of them is bad (2-3 on a 2-8 scale) I'll start him until AA, when if they haven't improved on said pitch I move them to a setup/closer role.
5. Stuff improves, but not permanently, unless he stays there. Moving your fifth starter to the pen will not improve his stuff when he returns to the rotation.
6. It's where his fastball sits. A pitcher who throws 95-97 can hit 99-100.
7. Depends. Sometimes I turn it over to the AI, who usually just extends the guys I have. If I'm hiring new ones, I go for finesse guys who work well with youngsters. It's your preference. I draft a lot of guys with high movement/control but low stuff, so finesse works fine.
8. Stamina doesn't increase as dramatically as velocity. You probably have a good setup man if his other stats are okay. I can't speak to age, however.
9. I have no idea - I always use the warm-up rule. The AI does it too, I believe.
10. Rarely, unless my starters are terrible. I carry an 11 man staff with 14 position players usually. Only reason I'll carry 12 or 13 is if I have a bunch of pitchers without options that I would expect to be claimed. To paraphrase Earl Weaver: the extra bat that will get on in the bottom of the 9th is worth more than the pitcher who mops up a 8-0 game.