Is there a between game refractory period for relievers?

[padrenurgle1]

I need a better understanding of rest and fatigue for relievers.

Tell me if this is correct, please:

- Starters need 3 or 4 days of rest between starts, depending on the rating.
- Starters can get fatigued if they go past their inning limit and give up a series of hits
- Relievers who are actually closing a game get fatigued if they record more than the listed number of outs.
- Relievers who are not closing games have an innig limit; if they pitch more than that number x 3 outs, they can get fatigued.

I get all that.

But...do relievers need time to recuperate BETWEEN games? Is it OK for a reliever to pitch in 50 straight games? I need to know this because I tend to manage bullpens closely.

Thanks.

[Ninersphan]

Right from the rule book:

TSN uses the Super Advanced settings

27.0 PITCHER ENDURANCE

ADVANCED

Find each pitcher's point of weakness (POW) in the upper right portion of the Advanced side of his card. The number in parentheses following the word "starter" or "relief" is the inning of work when the pitcher becomes vulnerable to fatigue. If a pitcher is both a starter and reliever, he will have two different POW factors.

27.1 All Advanced-side pitcher cards have out readings followed by a dot. When a pitcher is fatigued, these readings change from their original outs to SINGLE** (all other runners advance two bases).

27.2 Once a pitcher reaches his POW, it cannot be overcome, no matter how well he pitches afterwards. So we strongly recommend that you relieve a fatigued pitcher.

27.3 A pitcher reaches his POW in either of two ways:

A. He reaches his POW inning (or any inning after that) and allows any combination of three hits or unintentional walks in the same inning. His POW begins with the next batter after the third hit and/or walk.

B. He reaches his POW inning (or any inning after that) and allows any combination of four hits or unintentional walks in any two consecutive innings. His POW begins with the next batter after the fourth hit and/or walk.

Intentional walks, batters hit by a pitch or errors do not contribute to a pitcher's POW. Nor do any hits or walks that occur before the pitcher's POW inning.

Example: A starting pitcher with a POW of 6 becomes fatigued as soon as the third hit and/or unintentional walk occurs in the 6th inning. Or, he retires the side in order in the 6th, but becomes fatigued by yielding two walks in the 7th inning and two hits in the 8th. His POW is reached with the last hit, in mid-inning.

27.4 A relief pitcher's POW is determined by outs. A reliever with a POW of (1) is immediately vulnerable to fatigue. He could reach his POW by yielding three hits and/or unintentional walks without recording an out. A reliever with a POW of (2) would become vulnerable after he has recorded three outs. Then, whenever three hits and/or unintentional walks occur within a subsequent three-out period, the reliever reaches his POW.

Example: A reliever with a POW of (2) enters the game with one out in the 6th inning. He becomes vulnerable after one out in the 7th. Then, after getting the second out in the 7th, he walks the next two batters before getting the third out. But he allows a single to the leadoff batter in the 8th, and becomes fatigued, because he has allowed three hits/walks in a three-out period after reaching his POW.

SUPER ADVANCED

Use the Advanced POW system, but add these features:

27.5 STARTING PITCHERS

27.51. The Super Advanced Starting Pitcher Rest Chart determines how many games of rest a pitcher needs between starts. The amount varies according to whether the pitcher is an *-rated starter and how many innings he pitched in his last start.

27.52 A pitcher used in relief in his last outing should have at least one day of rest before starting. If he does not have this day of rest, consider him fatigued for his entire start.

27.53 If a pitcher who does not have a rating as a starter must start a game, give him a POW inning of 4.

27.54 The maximum number of innings a starter can pitch without fatigue is 11.

27.55 A starter who "doesn't have it" may "lose his stuff" before his POW inning. If a starter gives up 5 runs in any one inning, 6 runs in any two consecutive innings, or 7 runs in any three consecutive innings, consider him fatigued and convert all readings followed by dots to SINGLE** (all other runners advancing two bases).

27.6 RELIEF PITCHERS

27.61 A pitcher used as a starter in his last outing must rest the number of days indicated in the Super Advanced Starting Pitcher Rest Chart before his next appearance, whether it is as a starter or reliever. If a relief pitcher is used without this proper rest, consider him fatigued for the entire relief outing.

27.62 If a pitcher who does not have a rating as a relief pitcher must pitch in relief, give him a POW inning of 1.

27.63 The maximum number of innings a reliever can pitch without fatigue is his POW inning, plus 2.

27.64 Relief pitchers cannot be used more than two straight days. After pitching two straight days, he must rest at least one day.

28.0 CLOSER RULE

This Super Advanced system encourages realistic use of relief pitchers, emphasizing the use of pitchers in late-inning save situations who were the real big-league closers.

Since 1992 (and for each of the oldtimer seasons Strat-O-Matic has issued since then) each reliever is given a second POW rating, call it "closer endurance." For example, a rating of "relief (2)/3" indicates a regular POW rating of 2 and a closer endurance rating of 3.

28.1 Closer ratings range from 0-6, with 6 being the big-league's most frequent and successful closers. If a relief pitcher is rated "N" for closer endurance, he should not be used as a closer.

28.2 Closer endurance is the duration, measured in number of outs, a pitcher can maintain his effectiveness in closer situations. In Strat-O-Matic, a "closer situation" is defined differently than a big-league save opportunity. Your pitcher will be in a "closer situation" whenever you have the lead in the 9th inning or later and the tying run is on base or at bat.

28.3 A pitcher may enter a game in a closer situation or a game he already has entered may suddenly become a closer situation. Here are some rules to govern both possibilities:

28.31 The closer rules do not affect the current game's starting pitchers, who always use their starter POW (even for starting pitchers who have ratings both as starters and relievers).

28.32 Each reliever enters the game using either his closer endurance (if the game is already a closer situation) or his regular POW rating (if the game is not currently a closer situation).

28.33 If the pitcher begins his appearance with his regular POW and the game becomes a closer situation, he changes to his closer endurance rating. At that time, reduce his closer endurance by the number of outs he has already recorded. This number cannot be reduced to lower than 0, unless the pitcher's closer endurance is "N".

28.34 Once a pitcher begins to use his closer endurance rating, that is his endurance for the remainder of his appearance, even if the score changes and the game no longer is a closer situation.

Example: A reliever enters the game in the bottom of the 9th inning with a 3-2 lead - a closer situation. The opposing team ties the score in the bottom of the 9th. In the top of the 10th, the pitcher's team scores four times. If the same pitcher remains in the game for the bottom of the 10th, he is still using his closer endurance rating to determine when he becomes fatigued.

28.35 The closer endurance rating is the number of outs the pitcher can record before becoming fatigued. Once this number has been reached, reducing his endurance rating to 0, he becomes fatigued as soon as he allows a hit or walk.

Example: A pitcher with a closer endurance rating of 0 will become fatigued as soon as he surrenders a hit or walk, while a pitcher with closer endurance of 6 can pitch two full innings without risking fatigue.

28.36 Any pitcher with a closer endurance rating of "N" is immediately considered fatigued with the first batter he faces in a closer situation.

28.37 As with regular POW, once a reliever becomes fatigued under the terms of the Closer Rule, out readings followed by dots become SINGLE** (all other baserunners advancing two bases).

28.38 When using the Closer Rule, also be sure to use the rule which limits a reliever's innings to his relief POW rating, plus 2. At that point, he automatically becomes fatigued.

[padrenurgle1]

"27.64 Relief pitchers cannot be used more than two straight days. After pitching two straight days, he must rest at least one day. "

...but...what if the computer NEEDS to put a reliever in 3 straight days? Does he come in auto-fatigued? It's one of those things that could be forced on HAL.

I have 4 relievers. Let's say three of them get used in two straight games. On game 3, the starter gets pummeled early, and has a quick hook. So he gets taken out in the 4th. HAL puts in the rested reliever, who quickly becomes fatigued himself, and in any case can't pitch more than 3 innings (rule 27.63). So it's the 8th inning, and all the relievers on the team are in "can't be used" mode. What does HAL do?

[Mean Dean]

Yeah, the board game rules don't necessarily apply here, where there is a pitch count system. Because it's more realistic and subtle, there aren't rules you can look up; there are too many possible situations for that. Just make sure you have enough pitchers and enough innings in your pen (I would say fatigue ratings should add up to at least 8), that's all.

[BRIANSIELSKI]

[quote:1d6aa69e4b]Yeah, the board game rules don't necessarily apply here, where there is a pitch count system. Because it's more realistic and subtle,[/quote:1d6aa69e4b]

This is the part I don't get. If SOM uses a pitch count system ... why do the majority of my SPs throw 140+ pitches a game? That doesn't reflect "realism" if that's the goal.

Doc

[Ninersphan]

I could be wrong, bacuse I don't know doodly about the CD-rom version of the game, but it was my understanding that the pitch count numbers in the writeups were totaly fictious and had absolutly no bearing on pitchers fatique. They are simply included to make the write ups more enjoyable/realistic.