"Pitchers' Park" strategies

[Larryrickenbacker]

Howdy,

As I've posted elsewhere, I drafted my first SOM team recently, a 70s league squad (TSN_10201). Since I'm fond of the early 70s A's and my first years as a fan, naturally I tried to be a SOM Charlie Finley, or as close as possible.
I invested [i:d710114570]heavily[/i:d710114570] in pitching, to the point where my team really [i:d710114570]will[/i:d710114570] wind up hitting the ball about as well as those early 70's A's! Which is to say, not exactly a strong hitting bunch. Our home park will be Oakland Alameda Co. Coluseum-a pitcher's park if ever there [i:d710114570]were[/i:d710114570] one!
Is there any advice you veterans would like to share about future draft strategies and ideas? It's been said 'round here that SOM differs from real MLB in that pitching isn't quite as important..Anyone?

Also, what experiences have ya'll had with:
1. Al Bumbry ('73 ROY)
2. Manny Trillo
3. Harmon Killebrew
4. F. Alou
5. Al Oliver
6. Luis Tiant
7. Rollie Fingers
8. L. Gura
9. Jim Hunter
10. Elrod Hendricks *

Thanks again for all informed replies and input. I'm excited about starting soon. I'll learn alot from my first campaign; hope my Mules can stay out of the basement!

Larry
* I chose Ellie Hendricks because he was good enough to chat with me for a good 10 minutes at a Rangers game in the early 70s, when I was about 9 yrs old!

[visick]

Good defense (SS/2B/CF/C/RF)
Low WHIP pitchers/High K pitchers
Guys with 30+ hit chances
Guys with Natural HR"s/High slugging
Speed on the basepaths

[durantjerry]

1)Al Bumbry's good year is very good(I caught it on back to back teams-one a title winner with 110 wins). Strictly a platoon player though.
2)I have also had good luck with Trillo. Usually a free agent with the likes of Stennett and Beckert killing LHP's at 2B. Again, pretty much a platoon player except for maybe one year that probably isn't that good.
3)If I have had Killebrew, I cut him early. His good year is very good and he has another 40+ HR year I think. In a pitcherrs park, you need to determine if you have one of his good years and cut him otherwise, as he's too pricey to platoon.
4)Al Oliver is a good player for a pitchers park. I believe only one year is a nonplatoon year, as he's heavily slanted towards hitting rhp's. Multiposition player.
5)Tiant-sought after bargain pitcher. Can be very good.
6)Gura-usually one of the last taken. The 70's game is RH hitter slanted, so Gura can have problems. Although, as with most, his best year would be good to have.
7)Hunter is an ideal guy for you. He can really give up the long ball on the road, which will be an indication of which card you have. Even his bad cards can be good in a low homer enviroment.

[durantjerry]

Some have played more teams than me, but few have played more Astrodome teams than me. Here are a few oif the best to give you some ideas. I think Catfish is on three of them.
Champs
[url]http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/70s/team/team_other.html?user_id=1301[/url]
$100 Cap-95 Wins
[url]http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/70s/team/team_other.html?user_id=25024[/url]
93 Wins-Lost finals in game seven
[url]http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/70s/team/team_other.html?user_id=17926[/url]
$200 Cap-98 Wins
[url]http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/70s/team/team_other.html?user_id=21064[/url]
Royals Stadium-94 Wins
[url]http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/70s/team/team_other.html?user_id=9809[/url]

[RICHARDMILTER]

socalchiro said:[quote:070096ddd9]Good defense (SS/2B/CF/C/RF)
Low WHIP pitchers/High K pitchers
Guys with 30+ hit chances
Guys with Natural HR"s/High slugging
Speed on the basepaths [/quote:070096ddd9]

This is great advice. But one thing I think about is; if my defense is really,really good(I mean like all 1s and 2s)I do not always have to have a big strikeout pitcher. The reason being; I think the pitchers with a lot of strikeouts(like one per inning)cost more money,and if your defense is really good you can save money by having a pitcher who has a lot of groudball or fly ball X s on their card. And because my defense is good the pitcher will get outs. I look for pitchers who have good whips but played on bad defensive teams. In some of those cases the pitcher may put up better numbers than he did in real life(going against weaker lineups). Anyway, good luck.

[Mean Dean]

[quote:872a234807]if your defense is really good you can save money by having a pitcher who has a lot of groudball or fly ball X s on their card[/quote:872a234807]All pitchers have the same groundball and flyball Xs.

[RICHARDMILTER]

Dean TSC said:[quote:f3083a30ae]All pitchers have the same groundball and flyball Xs.[/quote:f3083a30ae]



Oops, I guess I know a lot less about this game than I thought. My (bad)advice did not come out right. I will try to refrain from stupid statements in the future.

[SteadyEddie33]

[quote:0d31594409="rmilter"]Dean TSC said:[quote:0d31594409]All pitchers have the same groundball and flyball Xs.[/quote:0d31594409]

Oops, I guess I know a lot less about this game than I thought. My (bad)advice did not come out right. I will try to refrain from stupid statements in the future.[/quote:0d31594409]

i read it as gb and fly ball A's anyway :)

guess I'm not so hooked on phonics as I once was :lol:

[coyote303]

[quote:403fcd3d06="SteadyEddie33"][quote:403fcd3d06="rmilter"]Dean TSC said:[quote:403fcd3d06]All pitchers have the same groundball and flyball Xs.[/quote:403fcd3d06]

Oops, I guess I know a lot less about this game than I thought. My (bad)advice did not come out right. I will try to refrain from stupid statements in the future.[/quote:403fcd3d06]

i read it as gb and fly ball A's anyway :)

guess I'm not so hooked on phonics as I once was :lol:[/quote:403fcd3d06]

While the 70s is my favorite league, the one thing I don't like is the pitchers don't get gb A's on their cards. I like the modern sets where pitchers who make them "hit it in the dirt" will get more DPs as in real life.

[ndowdy]

[quote:400ebaa9f5="socalchiro"]Good defense (SS/2B/CF/C/RF)
Low WHIP pitchers/High K pitchers
Guys with 30+ hit chances
Guys with Natural HR"s/High slugging
Speed on the basepaths[/quote:400ebaa9f5]

The above comments are sound strategy. A few things I would add.

Look for WHIPs that are composed of short singles and walks. A guy that gives up some BP HR's isn't a big deal in a pitcher's park, but one who gives up lots of long singles (SI**) and doubles can be a problem. Also, you want a good hold rating since stealing becomes a little more important.

As far as hitters, high double and triples are nice.

Don't skimp on defense for those corner outfielders, when they can't get to the ball or make errors (or both) it's all too easy for the bases to clear.