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BASEBALL STRATEGY
Picking
Your Starting Defense
Although the newspapers every morning are
plastered with stories of towering long balls and overpowering pitching,
defense is a crucial part of the game of baseball.
1) Ensure every player has the
appropriate skills for his position. If you have two first baseman with good offense on your
roster, it is tempting to put one at another position to get them both
in the lineup. But if it's not one of the positions he can play (shown
under 'P' in the Defense Dialog), his performance will most likely be
horrible.
2) Strong
defense at the key middle positions is important.
Your shortstop, second baseman and center fielder should have good range
while your catcher needs a strong arm to throw out baserunners (and keep
them from trying in the first place). Good offense can sometimes make
up for mediocre defense, but these are the positions where outstanding
defensive talent will really affect your winning percentage.
3) Round
out your defense with the appropriate skills.
Range is important in left and right field as is fielding percentage (because
the batter will often get to 2nd or 3rd on an error). Excellent outfield
arms will throw out 10 or more extra runners each year. A strong arm and
good fielding average (above .960) means your third baseman can get in
front of and convert a lot of hard hit balls into outs. Your first baseman
should be a consistent fielder with a high fielding percentage (above
.990 is good).
4) Make
intelligent position substitutions. Sometimes you won't have strong players listed for all
eight starting defensive positions, and you may wish to start a player
out of position. If you do, be sure to use a player with related experience
and skills. Outfielders are generally interchangeable, although a right
or left fielder may not have the range to player center field competently.
Infielders can also be moved around, with shortstops usually being the
most flexible becaue they have the range of a second basemen and an arm
sometimes strong enough to play third base. Choosing anyone except a catcher
as your starting catcher position is just asking for trouble (in the form
of many passed balls and stolen bases allowed).
Clicking on the position abbreviation buttons
at the bottom of the Scouting Report will show the player's actual performance
throughout his career at different positions.
5) Change
player positions judiciously. If you have two good players at the same position, it
is possible to switch one of the players to another position using the
Change Position feature. This works best
when moving a player from a more challenging defensive position to a less
challenging one (e.g SS to 3B). Because changing a player's position can
have a negative impact on his fielding ability, you are often better off
trading your excess talent for players at positions where you are weak.
Setting Your Lineup
An important part of winning baseball games
from a managerial perspective is effective management of your batting
lineup and pitching rotation. Players with certain characteristics will
serve you better in specific places in your lineup and rotation than they
will in others.
Your batting lineup consists of nine slots, one for each position player
and one for your pitcher or designated hitter. Most big league managers
arrange the hitters in their lineups so that they follow this general
pattern:
Batter #1 (Leadoff hitter)
Your leadoff hitter is essentially
the catalyst of your team's offense. His job is to get on base any way
he can, by drawing walks or making solid contact hits. He also provides
a spark by stealing bases, moving himself into scoring position, and generally
giving fits to the opposing pitcher. Thus, a good leadoff hitter will
have high speed, eye, and contact values, as well as a high on-base average
(OBA). Batting average is also important, but OBA is a better indicator
since it also takes walks into account. With few exceptions, leadoff hitters
generally don't hit for power.
Batter #2
The second hitter in your lineup
is called upon to move the leadoff hitter along the base path. He can
accomplish this with hits or sacrifice bunts, but will not walk as often
as a leadoff hitter. Because the leadoff hitter will often attempt to
steal bases, a swing and miss by the number two hitter could have the
disastrous result of allowing the leadoff hitter to be thrown out. Therefore,
contact and eye are the most important characteristics of your number
two hitter. Often, the number two hitter will be the hitter on your team
with the highest batting average. He may or may not hit for power; usually,
he will only have average power numbers.
Batter #3
By the time your third hitter
comes to bat, you will hopefully have a runner or two in scoring position.
The third hitter needs to bring those runs home. Number three hitters
will often hit for both power and a high batting average. A number three
hitter will rarely walk because he bats in front of the cleanup hitter.
Look for a player with above average contact and power ratings to fill
this position.
Batter #4 (Cleanup hitter)
The cleanup hitter's job is to
clean up the base paths by driving all base runners home. The cleanup
hitter should have the highest power rating on your team. Cleanup hitters
may or may not hit for batting average; often, they will have fair to
mediocre batting average numbers and average contact ratings. Because
cleanup hitters are so large, they are generally not fast. They also tend
to have a high number of walks - after all, how many pitchers want to
risk pitching to Albert Belle if they don't have to?
Batter #5
Ideally, your number five hitter
will be just as dangerous to opposing pitchers as your cleanup hitter.
If pitchers think they can walk your cleanup hitter and have an easy time
with your number five hitter, they will. Therefore, your number five hitter
should have better than average power numbers, and perhaps even a higher
contact rating and batting average than your cleanup hitter. Remember,
if your cleanup hitter fails, you'll be counting on this guy to get your
runs home.
At this point, your first five hitters have hopefully gotten you some
runs. There are many schools of thought on how the bottom half of your
lineup should be arranged. Some managers like to arrange the bottom half
the same way as the top half, so that the number six hitter would be speedy,
followed by an excellent hitting seventh hitter, a reliable and versatile
number eight, and then either the pitcher or whoever you've got left in
the number 9 slot. In any case, the beginning of your lineup will almost
certainly be more formidable than the end, but skill in arranging the
bottom half can get you an extra run or two that may be the difference
between a win and a loss.
Assembling
Your Bench
Once your starters are picked, you only
have 5 or 6 roster spots left for other position players. The most important
feature of your bench is the ability to cover for any position player
that gets injured. This means at least one backup catcher, one or more
infielders and one or more outfielder. Utility infielders (with a position
listed as 'IF' in the Lineup Dialog) and utility outfielders (listed as
'OF') are especially useful on the bench because of their defensive flexibility.
Depending on your lineup, fill out your roster with a fast player (for
pinch running) and a power hitter (for pinch hitting).
Another factor to consider when assembling
your bench is player development. A young player will develop better in
AAA than he will sitting on the bench in the majors. Often, a trade-off
exists between the usefulness of a promising prospect as a backup, and
the need to keep that player at the AAA level to maximize his development.
For this reason, it's important to keep affordable veterans on your bench
so that your promising rookies don't have to waste their time riding the
pine. Pay attention to the scouting reports on players - they can help
you determine the best make-up for your bench.
The Starting Rotation
Teams in Baseball Mogul employ a
five-man pitching rotation. The pitchers in the starting rotation
are expected to carry the team's defense into the late innings of
a game. At that point, the bullpen takes over to finish off the
opposing team, unless the starter is having an especially strong
game, in which case he may stay on the mound to complete the game.
Ideally, your starting five will all have reasonably high endurance ratings.
You want them to be able to get into late innings without tiring, and
if possible, to complete the games they start. This will save wear and
tear on the arms in your bullpen, which will in turn be able to give you
more innings when your starters do need a rest. If some of your starting
pitchers have lower endurance ratings than others, it's usually a good
idea to start them in the number 3, 4 or 5 slots. For example, if you
have two starters with lower endurance ratings, start them number 3 and
number 5. That way, your bullpen will have a day in between working to
rest.
Your number one pitcher, the staff ace,
should combine the best of all worlds. He should be the pitcher with the
highest endurance, power, control, and movement ratings on your starting
staff. Your staff ace will pitch lots of innings and usually strike out
a high number of batters (at or near one per inning pitched). More often
than not, he will lead your team in wins. You want to put the pitcher
your opponents will most worry about facing in the number one slot.
From there, experiment with the rotation. Baseball Mogul will try to use
the first pitcher in your rotation as often as possible. So if your team
has a day off, it is likely that your fifth pitcher will be skipped in
favor of your ace. You can affect how often your #1 pitcher is used by
adjusting the "Start on Short Rest"
setting in the team's Managerial
Strategies. If a pitcher in the
number 5 slot is doing particularly well and you'd like to get more innings
out of him, move him up in the rotation. Pay attention to warnings about
how many days must pass before a pitcher is fully rested when deciding
to move pitchers up and down in the rotation. A pitcher who is not fully
rested will not perform at his peak. A pitcher that is frequently overused
will have an increased chance of injury.
Arranging Your Bullpen
Your bullpen consists of six pitchers.
The placement of the pitchers in your bullpen determines what role they
serve on your team:
Slots 1 and 2: Closer / Short Relief
Slots 3 and 4: Middle Relief
Slots 5 and 6: Emergency Starters / Long Relief
Your closer (slot 1) comes in late in the game to overpower the opposing
team. Closers will pitch few innings (typically no more than 1 inning
per appearance) and usually only appear with the game on the line, trying
to save the game
for your team. Closers have very high power and movement ratings, and
thus have a high number of strikeouts per inning pitched (sometimes as
high as 2 K/IP). They don't work pretty, but they get the job done.
The short reliever or set-up man (slot 2) usually comes on between the
starter or long reliever and the closer. His job is to get through the
later innings (the 7th and 8th) before the closer gets in. If the team
is losing, the short reliever may finish the game to rest the closer.
Short relievers, like closers, tend to have better than average power
ratings, but typically have better control than their fireballing companions.
The middle relievers (slots 3 and 4) are the unsung grunt workers of the
pitching staff. They rarely get wins or saves. They pop into games when
things go badly for the starting pitcher, whether the starter has been
knocked around early and often, has suffered an injury, or simply tires
early. While endurance isn't necessarily important for such a reliever,
good control is a must. The middle reliever often comes in after the floodgates
have been opened and the other teams is scoring runs in droves. If the
middle reliever can hold the other team in check with steady pitching,
the team's offense has a chance to pull the team back into the game.
Your two emergency starters (slots 5 and 6) are there to start games in
case of injury to one of your starting five. You won't typically get a
lot of innings out of your emergency starters, but they should have at
least average endurance ratings so that your bullpen doesn't get overworked.
The emergency starter role might be a good place to try out some of your
Triple-A talent. You can promote and demote talented minor leaguers to
give them some big league innings without rushing them into the rotation.
Experiment with your bullpen arrangement to find out what works best for
your team. For example, a closer might perform better with a solid short
relief man pitching ahead of him. Or you may find that your average short
reliever makes a superior closer. Finding the right chemistry between
your bullpen pitchers and their roles can make the difference between
winning and losing in many games during the season.
Expensive Contracts
Once you sign a contract, you're stuck
either keeping the player or buying out the contract. You can't just release
him to free yourself of the financial burden. So look before you leap.
If money is tight and you have a strong rookie able to replace an expensive
star, consider his demands carefully.
Your Farm System
The money you put into your farm system
increases both the number and quality of recruited minor leaguers. Extra
money in your farm system is usually a good investment. Even if your minor
leaguers don't find their way onto your team, if you have promising talent
you can always trade it away for seasoned players.
The number of new minor leaguers appearing
each year at the AAA level is also affected by the number of players already
being groomed at the AAA level. The more prospects using up resources
at the AAA level, the fewer prospects that will be able move up from the
lower minor leagues. A good rule of thumb is to keep no more than your
best 12 minor league batters and 9 minor league pitchers within your system.
Any more players than that can be traded or released.
Making Some Quick Cash
There are times when, despite your best
efforts to be profitable in the long term, you need some quick cash to
land a quality free agent or keep from going bankrupt during bad times.
Here are some tricks of the trade:
1) Sign a Pay TV Contract
2) Sell talent
3) Raise ticket prices
4) Trade expensive players
Find out more in Budget
Strategy
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