Garcia's Blog 5/7/15- Pitching Rotations
Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 4:23 pmHey guys,
A few questions came up this past week about pitching rotations so I thought I'd talk a little more about them now.
First, the pitching rotation does not reset when the playoffs begin. Although there are two 'days of rest' between the regular season finale and Game 1 of the playoffs, if a pitcher pitched the last game of the season they are not eligible to pitch Game 1 of the playoffs. A starting pitcher that does not have an * in their endurance rating will not be able to pitch Game 1 of the playoffs if they started in Game 161 of the regular season. Only pitchers with an * would be able to. Any pitcher who started last in Game 160 or earlier would be eligible to pitch Game 1 of the post-season.
This leads to the question, if you've secured a playoff spot can you juggle your rotation to avoid pitching your ace at the end of the season. As long you have other starters eligible to pitch, you should be able to change your Per-Game Starting Pitchers (found under the Your Team menu). However if you have only 5 pitchers, you may not be able to, especially if they are all *-rated pitchers. In this case, unless you have an extra starter it would not be possible.
I always recommend carrying an extra starter (a starter/reliever is preferable) so you can plug in a spot-starter whenever necessary without having to make an add/drop or risk losing your ace for Game 1 of the playoffs. A starter/reliever gives you add the added benefit of not losing a member of your bullpen. While pitchers who can start are generally more expensive than reliever-only pitchers, I like to use the extra starter as a spot starter during the season as well. If you can get an unbalanced pitcher (a 7R or 7L), I like to rotate in this extra starter whenever playing against a team who would be vulnerable against an unbalanced pitcher.
This leads into another question we received this week about pitcher injuries. If a starting pitcher is injured and is forced to miss a start, the computer manager will take the best available starting pitcher for that game. However, teams who do not carry an extra starter and have all non-*-rated pitchers may not have a starter rested to pitch that game. In that case the computer manager, is forced to use a reliever to start the game and you'll see that pitcher listed under Probable Starters. In this case the manager will not have the option of selecting which pitcher they want to use, the computer manager will select one automatically. Of course, if it's early enough in the season, we recommend picking up a starting pitcher that you can use for that game if this situation happens.
Following up from last week, we still have the game recap stories shut off for the time being. Although we do have a potential solution right now, we are working on getting it in place and then will need to test it thoroughly to ensure it is not only working correctly but that it also does not affect anything else. Of course once the fix is in and properly tested, the game recap stories will be added back to the site.
That's all I have for this week but as always, please e-mail us at onlinegamesupport@strat-o-matic.com. Talk to everyone next Thursday!
-John
A few questions came up this past week about pitching rotations so I thought I'd talk a little more about them now.
First, the pitching rotation does not reset when the playoffs begin. Although there are two 'days of rest' between the regular season finale and Game 1 of the playoffs, if a pitcher pitched the last game of the season they are not eligible to pitch Game 1 of the playoffs. A starting pitcher that does not have an * in their endurance rating will not be able to pitch Game 1 of the playoffs if they started in Game 161 of the regular season. Only pitchers with an * would be able to. Any pitcher who started last in Game 160 or earlier would be eligible to pitch Game 1 of the post-season.
This leads to the question, if you've secured a playoff spot can you juggle your rotation to avoid pitching your ace at the end of the season. As long you have other starters eligible to pitch, you should be able to change your Per-Game Starting Pitchers (found under the Your Team menu). However if you have only 5 pitchers, you may not be able to, especially if they are all *-rated pitchers. In this case, unless you have an extra starter it would not be possible.
I always recommend carrying an extra starter (a starter/reliever is preferable) so you can plug in a spot-starter whenever necessary without having to make an add/drop or risk losing your ace for Game 1 of the playoffs. A starter/reliever gives you add the added benefit of not losing a member of your bullpen. While pitchers who can start are generally more expensive than reliever-only pitchers, I like to use the extra starter as a spot starter during the season as well. If you can get an unbalanced pitcher (a 7R or 7L), I like to rotate in this extra starter whenever playing against a team who would be vulnerable against an unbalanced pitcher.
This leads into another question we received this week about pitcher injuries. If a starting pitcher is injured and is forced to miss a start, the computer manager will take the best available starting pitcher for that game. However, teams who do not carry an extra starter and have all non-*-rated pitchers may not have a starter rested to pitch that game. In that case the computer manager, is forced to use a reliever to start the game and you'll see that pitcher listed under Probable Starters. In this case the manager will not have the option of selecting which pitcher they want to use, the computer manager will select one automatically. Of course, if it's early enough in the season, we recommend picking up a starting pitcher that you can use for that game if this situation happens.
Following up from last week, we still have the game recap stories shut off for the time being. Although we do have a potential solution right now, we are working on getting it in place and then will need to test it thoroughly to ensure it is not only working correctly but that it also does not affect anything else. Of course once the fix is in and properly tested, the game recap stories will be added back to the site.
That's all I have for this week but as always, please e-mail us at onlinegamesupport@strat-o-matic.com. Talk to everyone next Thursday!
-John