Archive of SportingNews.com's old SOM Baseball forum

Can someone tell me why my record is so bad with this team? Just bad luck or are there fundamental problems? Is Furillo typically this much of a dog for others?

Thanks for any comments

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/atg2/team/team_other.html?user_id=114458

To me , your team looks like it should be playing at like Sportman '46 or a Bennett . Most FW'86 teams I've seen that have success are tilted towards the left . Your very righthanded . Its like your missing one more LH bopper . These are just my opnions and any other opinions are theirs to spew . :D

Give Furillo some time. He's an ideal pick for your park.

Overall I like the offense. Except for Gedman. I do disagree completely regarding successful Fenway 86 teams tilting toward the left. And I would be very surprised if anyone has played there as often as I have.

The three major problems I see with the team are named Seaver, Gedman and Harris. Seaver gives up 4 ballpark hrs. vs. righties which are 1-10 in your park. You want guys in Fenway that give up the 1-7 ballpark homers vs. lefties. Like Oil Can who is perfectly suited for Fenway. Or Hurst who I use all the time there. You could actually drop Seaver for Hurst. You might like the results.

I use Fenway as much as I do because I treat it as a park that favors righties. Yes, I know the single differential is 19-15 vs. lefties but I consider the 10-7 hr differential favoring righties as more significant. Thus you have close to the perfect OF for your team. Good job. Now all you have to do with them is sit back and wait for them to hit. They will.

Gedman is wrong for the team the same way Seaver is. You want your hr guys in Fenway to be righthanded. Like Parrish for example.

Harris just isn't that good a pitcher for Fenway. The hr's are a bit more than I'd like and the OBP is really the problem. He is normally an excellent small ball value, but isn't that great a fit here. But he's not a disaster either. Hunter or Grant are much better fits for your park. I use them all the time there.

You have the right idea with Henke and Lyle in the pen. But I don't think that you need three good relievers. I'd rather have a 4M 4th starter than have Lefferts. But that's just me.

Apart from these three issues, this is a good team. The record is mostly due to luck. Bad luck.

Also Ford is probably not the greatest value. I think he's probably worth around 6.5 M. But this is a relatively trivial point.

Furillo and Mays should improve their hitting, but your three automatic out spots in the lineup, c, ss & 3b are at the tops of their games. There is no reason for anyone to ever throw a left-handed pitcher whose name is not Sandy Koufax at your team. Luderus is a nice cheap hitter, but he isn't going to make anyone think about throwing a lefty to stop him. Nor will anyone from your platoons.

Three automatic outs (not counting the pitcher) in your lineup is surrendering three innings per game to your opponent. A bit more balance there and with L-R hitters should help with your next go-round.

And study, study, study -- your opponents in this league and other teams you can find on the boards or anywhere else to find combinations that work for other owners in different parks. There's nothing to invent here. All the ideas you ever will need for SOM success are laying around begging to be stolen.

Good luck.

And listen to Petrosian. He is one of the people you should be stealing ideas from. He owns Fenway '86. If he ever can convince 11 other owners to play a Fenway '86-only league, the only one who will come within 15 games of Petro is Nevdully's. :)

Naturally I agree with most of what Frank said. 8)

'Cept for one thing. I've found that you almost always see 1/3 lefties. So far that's very close to where it's at. Unless you have a big name, then people may tailor their staffs against you.

Like I do with Frank. Only it doesn't usually help. :cry:

Here's a few recent Fenway '86 championship teams:

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/atg2/team/team_other.html?user_id=111836
Finished second in the league in pitching and runs scored. Note all the guys with the power numbers are righthanded. Key is included on the staff as he has no ballpark effect singles vs. lefties.

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/atg2/team/team_other.html?user_id=108158
I love Gardner in Fenway. But always as a platoon. He and Maz at a total of 3 /14 M combine for almost 80 runs scored and rbi's. And you do need defense in Fenway, there will be lots of baserunners. This was a Fenway '86 no power theme I tried. I like McLain there cause his hr problems are vs. lefties.

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/atg2/team/team_other.html?user_id=107187

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/atg2/team/team_other.html?user_id=100126

Here's two still playing. The first team was tearing up the league when Valentine went down for 15. Replaced by Agee, they have since struggled.

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/atg2/team/team_other.html?user_id=113340


http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/atg2/team/team_other.html?user_id=112978

Thanks very much for the input. I do try to steal from those managers who consistently drub me, but I appreciate the unique insights from you 300 team guys.

And I do listen to Petrosian, I recently quoted from one of his posts to someone who offered me a deal for Mays - "He is the best player in ATGII, IMO." Obviously, I didn't make the deal.

The first of those last two is no longer strugling. Having just passed me for 1st.

BTW Valenitine went down during a series in which I swept P, w/ the timely hitting of one Riggs Stephenson.-A satisfying series indeed. :wink: