Line up question

[ANDYCOCHRANE]

Please can someone answer a question I have? I am only a relativelt recent convert to baseball and there are a lot of gaps in my knowledge. I am having difficulty getting my head around the idea of one hitter protecting another. For example, this season with the Red Sox, having Manny hit 4th gives Ortiz protection and stops him being walked so often because Manny is up next. However, who protects Manny?

So, taking this on to Strat, can someone tell me what qualities are needed for a player to protect another? i.e., is a #4 or #5 player better protected by a particular player or just anyone with BPHR's? Who needs protecting and why?

[Mean Dean]

This is not a big factor in SOM (just like it is not a big factor in real life -- HUGELY overrated.) If you have a great hitter followed by a much worse hitter (particularly if the much worse hitter has a bad clutch rating), then the great hitter will be intentionally walked more often. But, except in very specific circumstances (with 2 outs in the 7th inning or later, if I recall correctly), there is no such thing as generally "pitching around" a batter in SOM. So, just avoid batting bad hitters after great ones and you'll be fine.