Strat-O-Matic Baseball 365

Platoon in the outfield with 9L and 9R hitters. Hal is not pinch hitting when a reliever comes in who throws with the other arm. I'm using Avoid on the hitter prefs page and have extra depth in the outfield so I should be able to pinch hit something like four times to get the best matchups. But, Hal's leaving in the 9L to face righty relievers with an 8R outfielder on the bench. By the way, both are 4s in the field. Finally, I do have defensive replacements set, but that shouldn't affect a pitch hitting option in the middle innings of a close game when neither platooner is the defensive replacement. Who's done a platoon correctly?

Unfortunately HAL (the game AI) doesn't manage very well when it comes to platoons and pinch hitting.

It doesn't do well with no-DH teams and double switches either, in fact I've never had HAL pull off a proper double switch when I have a lead off platoon and the pitcher is pinch hit for with the other half of the platoon. He never seems to get the pitcher into the leadoff spot and leave the other half of the platoon in the 9 hole.

If you are behind he will pinch hit, but with the wrong guy sometimes (a different batter than the platoon mate)--if you are ahead, HAL will almost never pinch hit.

MY biggest gripe about the online AI is it seems to try to come from ahead to lose when you have a lead--it never pinch hits in high leverage situations when you have a 2 or more run lead and want more runs.

In fact I had this situation come up tonight on a new team with the 2014 card set---My team had let a 9-2 lead deteriorate into a 9-8 lead--bottom of the 7th I have the bases loaded and .79 SS 2-e18 Romine (3L) is at bat--I need more runs now--the other team brings in a RH pitcher to face him--I have the other half of the platoon available .91 SS e-19 Segura (4R)---better yet I have Delmon Young on the bench a .300 hitter, .450 slugger--Does Hal pinch hit??---NOOOOOO-- he lets Romine hit.

http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/game/426421/143

wait--- wait a second Romine hits a Grand Slam on a 3 9 roll (Young would have struck out)---HAIL HAL---HAL knows all.

Denorien wrote: I'm using Avoid on the hitter prefs page

Unfortunately, the Avoid LHP/RHP on the Hitter Prefs only applies to a batter entering the game as a pinch-hitter. If I have Jose Cardenal marked Avoid RHP, he wont ENTER the game against RHP. It doesn't make him sit when he's already in the lineup and a RHP enters the game, if I understand correctly.

this comes up quite often. A huge flaw is for all the "avoids", and "Do not PHs" there isn't a real "PH for" option.