Um wow

[Ragnarokpc]

So, I know I'm only 24 games into this season, but . . . I was expecting to be better than 10-14 and in last place in my division. A few highlights:

My shortstop, Martin Dihigo (2e26 at SS) is on pace to commit 86 errors this season. Granted, two of them came when he was filling in in CF (where he is a 1e18), but still . . . wow! And this is down from the 95 pace he was on before tonight's series, because he only made one error.

My team is tied for a close second in errors, at 29. Worst team has 30. Again, this is through 24 games . . . we're making more than an error per game.

My "closer" is 0-4. 3 SV, 4 BS. This was mostly before I removed him from the role and left it empty . . . then had to place him on mopup duty after HAL used him twice in that role, anyway.

We just fell to #2 in runs scored. We're fifteenth in pitching right now.

So, am I nuts? My team seems like it should be a lot better. I know I have some guys who are poor fielders but we should be more solid defensively than the stats show. We actually blew a game in the ninth with a four run lead, allowed five unearned runs. I've never had luck like this.

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/stratomatic/team/team_other.html?user_id=350231

We're in Crosley Field '66.

[LMBombers]

ATG???? What is that?

[Valen]

This should be posted in the ATG forums. But to be honest I do not like this team. You can hide a lot of weak bullpens with a solid starting staff and the DH rule but you need to have 1 decent reliever especially in a no-dh league.

The offense might do well in a neutral park but Roush, O'Doul, Dihigo, and Prothro do little to take advantage of 19 HR rating of Crosley. Betting there may be more than one team in your division that is more at home in your park than your team is.

[coyote303]

My second-worst team ever had my longest winning streak (something around 15 games). While a weak 24-game stretch can be cause for concern, it is no cause for panic. A team might simply be under-(or over-)performing.

If you truly believe you have a good team, give them time. One of my most satisfying seasons was such a team (that I truly believed in), and they eventually went on to win the championship.

There is no guarantee that your team will turn it around or even that it should (Valen might be right!). But if you start making questionable moves or dropping players (taking the drop penalties), you will [b:01878a6f65]vastly [/b:01878a6f65]increase your chances you will have a bad year.

One thing in your favor is when your shortstop finally settles down (and he will), your chances of winning will go up!

Hang in there, and let us know how you do.

EDIT: Corrected name of coach who doesn't like this team.

[gbrookes]

I thought I heard someone say "a penny for your thoughts" - so here is 2 cents worth:

-Errors are definitely going to hurt more in a homerun park - just like walks do. Errors maybe slightly worse than walks since they may be negating what might otherwise be a double play opportunity on the X chart.

-Like other posters have said, he is committing way more errors than he should be at this point. It will tend to even out over the season. I thought the e-rating was supposed to be a rough estimate of the total errors for a whole full-time season played at the position? Roughly, anyway. I'm probably wrong in saying this, but I sometimes use that as a very, very rough rule of thumb.

-My own personal view is that having great pitchers with good homerun control playing in a homerun park exposes what I think is the only significant flaw in strat. The flaw is that the pitcher's control for homerun balls is not really built into the game system as much as I would like to see. I would like to see a game system for pitchers and hitters similar to the "N" and "W" power for hitters. The pitcher's equivalent would be to have some of the homerun readings on a batter's card be subject to the pitcher's homerun ball control. Without that, the great starting pitchers are still very vulnerable to homerun readings on the batters' cards. This means that the very best way to avoid problems for pitchers is to keep the WHIP as low as possible. Of course, in substance, errors also factor into the issue of having runners on base when the homerun reading comes up on the slugger's best column!!!

[coyote303]

[quote:b6e64e5325="Geoff Brookes"]...I thought the e-rating was supposed to be a rough estimate of the total errors for a whole full-time season played at the position?...[/quote:b6e64e5325]

This is correct.

[KEVINEHLE]

Dihigo is about 90 years old by now. You have to know he would commit some errors out there at SS. :shock:

[gbrookes]

[quote:ae047ad360="ehlekev"]Dihigo is about 90 years old by now. You have to know he would commit some errors out there at SS. :shock:[/quote:ae047ad360]

LOL! :)

[ROBERTLATORRE]

[quote:5f51aef372="LMBombers"]ATG???? What is that?[/quote:5f51aef372]

LOL

[Ragnarokpc]

Okay, guess I should have been more specific. Before going in to that...

Protho and Cannady were both compromises I made to get Robinson's best card. I had a guy with more pop at 3B, but traded down so I could get one big bat instead of two decent ones. So far Robinson is panning out, one of the best hitters in the league. Protho and Cannady are hitting up to their cards at least.

So . . .

I know the errors should start to slow down, but still some questions remain.

Will Foster, Nahn, and Hughson start to pitch better, or at least more respectably? Foster is 2 runs higher than his actual ERA, Hahn almost 2. Hughson is 4 runs higher. If I'm trying to have an older-style rotation and bullpen, I need my starters to not suck. Only Johnson has been solid for me.

Will Maltzberger stop looking like he's a little leaguer pitching against HOFers? At 2.46/1.11, I thought he fit the bill as a "decent" reliever. 8.78/2.03 is anything but decent. The rest of my 'pen is hardly stellar, but no one is flopping as severely as Maltzberger.

If the answer to either of these questions is no, what is the fix? There is still good pitching talent to be had, but the 20% penalty is gonna make it tough to acquire. Where might some of these pitchers perform better, so I'll know who to offer trades to?

And Valen, there is one, maybe two teams with more power than mine, but my division is actually fairly devoid of power. One team actually had no player with more than 17 HR. When I drafted I had no power; Bench, Powell, and Robinson were all Waiver acquisitions.