Pitchers Card Question

[Carew29]

On the pitcher's card -- when it says "avoid lefthander" or "avoid righthander" -- what does that mean? Does it mean that the pitcher will IBB a batter to avoid him or does it mean that in a pinch the pitcher will be more likely removed from the lineup if a LH hitter comes up?

Thanks

[BRADSANDBOTHE]

First of all, I may be very wrong here, but my understanding is that those are mainly used in relief situations.

If you have a Pitcher that favors one side more than the other

Mullholland 9L
JJ. Putz 9R

For example:

These are the guys that I mark "Avoid" to make sure they aren't brought into a game facing someone to their weak side.

It may also let "HAL" make the move to a different pitcher if your guy is in and someone on Deck is going to be to his weak side.

I also usually mark the card to avoid using before 8th Inning to keep the # of chances down that he might face someone to his weak side.

I hope this answers some of your questions.

If this is incorrect, one of the "Vets" will pipe in and guide you better.

[bomp helium]

Thanks carew, I was quite literally thinking about opening the same topic you have...how does the "avoid" option play out for pitchers?

To use a specific example, I like to use K. Escobar as a spot starter and also my set-up guy vs. RHP...he's unstoppable against RH batters, and is an R3...however, he is less spectacular against LH batters...I'm worried that if I check "avoid LH batters", HAL will let him go 1/3 of an inning and then yank him against a LH batter...of course i don't want him to face six lefties in a row, but I certainly want him to pitch 2-3 innings against a mostly-RH lineup, if possible...

in your experience, how does HAL read and respond to the "avoid" command...

Thanks, pukin', for your input...I'm wondering if others have an opinion as well?...

[Stoney18]

There are a number of factors that I seen that come in to play regarding the "avoid" feature.

1. How deep is your bullpen. If you only have 5 relievers your specialist will see a good number of hitters on their weak side just because they have to pitch more innings.

2. What are your other settings. If your closer is set to maximize and not come in before 8th, his innings are limited to that role only. Setup guy is set not before 7th. Someone has to cover all the middle innings.

Someone made a comment a few weeks ago that made sense and that I've been following.

I usually have a lower priced closer set to maximize and a mid-level R2 for set up. Have 2-3 low-price unbalanced RP (Myers, Putz etc) but have them set to not before 7th.

A 2nd mid-level R2 or S5/R3 type to act as long reliever and a cheap R3 (prefer Vogelsong) for mop up duty.

With these settings I've found that the cheap unbalanced RP pitch few innings and fewer batters against their weak side.