Set Up Strategy

[STEVEPONEDAL]

Hey all,

This is my first back to the eighties team. One thing that I notioced is that the relievers all go 3 innings. different than 2005.

Given this, do you usually designate a set up man. Would you just maximize your closer use?

Thanks

Steve

[bjs73]

Welcome aboard, mate! :D

You'll hear all kinds of advice on bullpen management. You'll have to try out what works best for you out of any advice you get.

First off, not really sure what you mean that all relievers go 3 innings? Many relievers have a stamina rating of (2) like Eckersley for instance. Then there are other relievers like Willie Hernandez with a stamina rating of (3), so there are all kinds. (There's even a couple with a stamina rating of (4).

Personally, I like to take a lot of control of my bullpen management away from HAL as possible. I usually draft guys that I can expect a certain level of performance from. I will designate who the setup and closers are and when they should appear in the game. I'll also try and designate if they should avoid lefties/righties as well as quick and slow hooks.

Personally, the more control the better is my opinion. Hope this answers your original question?

[Outta Leftfield]

There appear to be three major schools of thought about bullpen management, any of which can work, depending on what kind of bullpen you've got and how the cards fall out.

1. The first, mentioned by bjs, is to give HAL directions from the start as to who should be your closer and/or setup man. Setup man seems to get maximum innings; closer's innings may be a bit more important. As bjs implies, this approach makes a lot of sense if you have a high-priced reliever or two and want to give them a key role from the start.
2. The second approach, advocated by YountFan among others, is to let HAL manage the bullpen. The theory (confirmed, I believe, by TSN) is that HAL knows the relievers years. Therefore, HAL will lead you to the relievers in their best seasons, based on how much he's using them and in what situations. Since HAL knows, let him manage. This approach makes a lot of sense in the 80s if you draft a bullpen of cheap RPs with some good years on their cards (a common strategy). Then HAL can lead you to the good years. YF favors keeping RP salaries below 1.5M and while he'll tweak the on-card settings a bit, he lets HAL manage the bullpen all year.
3. A third school of thought, which I--among others--advocate, is a kind of grafting of schools 1 & 2. I tend to start with the YF approach, drafting a cheap bullpen and then letting HAL guide me to the good years. But once HAL has helped me find those good years, I tend to set the manager settings pretty firmly. If I've got two good RPs, I'll make one setup man and one closer. I may coach HAL to avoid some relievers about whom I have my doubts. Sometimes these guys end up pitching well later and get redeemed, at which point I relax the settings.

Ultimately, any of these approaches can work--I would start out by trying what fits your draft plan or what feels comfortable, and then adapt with experience. The one main difference though, between the 80's and other leagues is that you don't really know what years you've got when the season starts, so unless you've got a can't miss bullpen ace like Eck or Henke, there's an argument for leaving hands off for a while till you see what you've got.

[STEVEPONEDAL]

Thanks

I think I may try thbe hands of apporoach. Here's to Hal

Steve