by Palmtana » Thu Jan 20, 2011 10:35 pm
[quote:0bdc530967="J-Pav"]......Regarding the power at the top and speed at the bottom, read [b:0bdc530967]qksilver[/b:0bdc530967]'s section in last year's Formula post. But the short answer is, my players always have as much OBP as I can get for the price/position/place in the batting order. :D[/quote:0bdc530967]
For those not following along at home last year:
[quote:0bdc530967="qksilver"]Traditional baseball purists and many SOM players will emphasize speed at the top of a lineup. I know there has been a lot written about having a * runner in the leadoff spot, and yes there's a small advantage to getting + GIDP balls converted to hits, but I've found this to be somewhat overemphasized. I also find the saber-approach of "it really doesn't matter how you set the lineup, we've proven it statistically" doesn't really translate to SOM. I'll get to that in a bit.
The most critical factors I have found in setting up lineups are as follows:
1) As much OB as possible in the top three spots, with a real minimum of GIDPs in the 2-3-4 spots
2) A minimum of three very good OB+SLG cards in the 4-5-6 spots
3) Decent clutch in the 4-5-6 spots
4) A bit of speed at the bottom of the order, especially if you're giving up some OB there
Let's deconstruct my first point, OB & lack of GIDPs at the top of the order.
Those of you who follow sabermetrics will say "What does lineup order matter? Studies show it makes no difference!" Well, remember, those studies are based on real MLB. Real MLB is much less predictable than SOM. All the best prediction systems like PECOTA still can easily be way off in any given year about, i.e. how many GIDPs McCann will hit into for a season. However, in SOM we know, with an extreme degree of predictability, how many GIDPs he'll roll on his card, and the only real variables are 1) how many outs are there when he rolls a GIDP, and 2) are there runners on base in front of him when he rolls? Both of these factors are much more controllable in a TSN environment than in real life.
In my lineups, I'll generally allow for one or two guys who roll GIDPs more than 10% of the time on their cards. At the top of my lineup, Bradley has almost none, same with Anderson. You'll also notice Anderson has a high BA and high doubles in the three spot. This is to ensure that, as often as possible, I have runners on 2nd & 3rd or 1st & 3rd when Teixeira and Hamilton hit. This resulted in 40 HRs each and 114 & 116 RBI respectively, despite being in a pitcher/neutral park (Comerica), excellent pitching staffs from my opponents, and some uncharacteristically low OB in front of them (Fontenot .350 & Anderson .298 - Bradley saved the day at .401).
Where I usually allow for some GIDPs is the 5th, 6th or 9th spots in the order, though really anywhere 5th or later is ok. In the 5th or 6th spots you'll see the most 2-out hitting. Guys like Luckyman/Marcus Wilby have run some great numbers to show this is true and why clutch in those spots is more important. So the corollary here is that more two-out hitting by your basepath slugs = less GIDPs. Unfortunately, McCann had bad clutch this year, so I couldn't get a balance out situation of bad GIDPs but positive clutch, and Teix has more DPs than I like in the 4-hole, but it's a keeper league, there's only so much I can control! Smile
Point #2 seems obvious, but I see many teams trying to survive just on OB & speed in pitcher parks, and this is a huge mistake that I learned the hard way. On a recent pitcher-park team I only had two decent sluggers vs RHP and the 1st season of that keeper league we struggled badly to score runs. In season two, I made a deal to add Ludwick and the natural XBHs in the 5-hole (behind Anderson #3 and Berkman #4) have made a huge difference on that club. In season 2, Ludwick put up a .286/.352/.613 slash line in AT&T park, with 49 HRs & 150 RBI. Thank you sir may I have another!!! My top four hitters (Vazquez, Baker, Anderson, and Berkman) averaged .360 OB, and Ludwick's huge bat driving them in has made all the difference.
Point #3 is often misunderstood in SOM. The math shows that the number of clutch hits rolled in a season is so small, the difference in run-scoring due to high clutch is really minimal unless you are able to build a really extreme all-clutch lineup. So why do I insist on the right clutch approach, and what is it? Basically, in a clutch situation, HAL makes a calculated decision about who to pitch to based on hitter batting average (chance to drive in at least 1 run) in that scenario. If my #4 hitter has a man on & two out, and neutral or slightly negative clutch, but a ton of XBH (both natural & park-related), do I want HAL to pitch to him, or the guy behind him who almost certainly has less total RBI potential but slightly higher BA? Clear answer: I want HAL to pitch to my cleanup guy. The extra SLG is worth way more to me in that scenario that a few points of clutch BA, especially if it's 1st & 2nd or bases loaded & two out. In order to ensure that HAL does not IBB my cleanup guy, I have a higher-clutch guy in the 5-spot. HAL is faced with a "damned if I do, damned if I don't" decision, and I score more runs as a result. So the issue is not to try to roll more clutch hits, but to use clutch to force HAL into the matchup that you prefer in a clutch situation.
Point #4, speed at the bottom (vs. the top) is a question of, when is the time right to risk a baserunning out? Even if you steal at a 70% success rate (generally considered the breakeven point by saberheads), you are still removing a runner from base 30% of the time. If I have good OPS guys in the 3-4-5 spots in a lineup, I prefer not to risk those outs, because my chances of getting the run in from 1st is high enough already, and I greatly decrease my chances of a big inning while slightly improving my chance to score one run. So when I put speed at the top of the lineup, it's those rare guys that feature elite OB and an incredibly low CS %, like 85% or better. Those guys are very hard to find, and as a result, when I have speed, mediocre SLG & OB in a player (often SS, 2B or CF) I put them in the 7-9 spots. Because the hitters behind the seven slot hit more singles and maybe doubles, there is better risk/reward in stealing, because the odds of the weaker hitters driving in a run from 1B are lower than for my 3-4-5 guys, substantially lower. [/quote:0bdc530967]