Tue Jan 08, 2013 1:51 am
My thoughts:
-One of the main things I do in the preseason - especially in a 12 team league where you play each of your 3 divisional rivals 24 times - is I see what my divisional rivals' lineups (and rosters) look like. If I'm in a division where each team has 6 guys that can hit Right EFFECTIVELY against Matt Cain (or any other extremely L balanced RHP), then I will probably exchange him for a heavily R balanced RHP. Managers tend to like reverse balance pitchers, so there are usually some good R balanced starting pitchers hanging around still in the preseason.
-I put the word "effectively" in caps in the previous thought, above. What I mean is that a poor hitting RHB - especially a W power RHB - need not be feared. So just because someone can start Jason Donald against Matt Cain doesn't mean that Cain will be ineffective. I tend not to worry about that kind of same-handed batter. The disadvantage for Cain is usually offset to a large degree by the drop in effectiveness from whoever would have been the starting batter in the normal lineup (left or switch hitter).
-If the opponent's lineup that's loaded with RHB is NOT in your division, you only play them 12 times - maybe only 9 times. Unless the whole league is avoiding Lefties and Switch hitters, you will get your share of lefties and switch hitters against other opponents.
- Even with * SP's like Cain, I will usually try to have at least a S/R pitcher who is good enough to start in a 5th starting spot when I need it. In this case, it would likely be a R balanced starting pitcher - maybe like Litsch. Then, I can just drop Cain down a game in the rotation if I need to, to face a team with more lefties or switch hitters. In my mind, the lost start is often worth getting the better match up. I try to plan my starting pitchers out at least 3 or 4 series in advance, for this reason. Of course, this tends to be less effective if 2 or 3 of your division rivals have lots of RHB - see my first bullet point.
-I've been using reverse balance lineups for years. The way you did it before (and you can still do it this way) is to leave your lineup blank. Then HAL will choose your lineup for each game. HAL takes into account the balance of the opposing starting pitcher when he chooses your lineup. The problem with using the "blank lineup" or "Who's on first?" technique is that HAL will often make choices that you don't agree with (especially at catcher) or that HAL will choose an outlandish batting order - sometimes with your cleanup hitter leading off. (Maybe HAL knows something we don't, but not many players would do this). BTW, you can also do a partially blank lineup, with the empty batting order slots at the bottom. But what the new reverse lineup feature allows you to do is to customize your reverse balance lineup, and thus avoid the disadvantages with the blank lineup technique. Anyway, the point is, this anti-Cain strategy of a reverse balance lineup isn't entirely new. I know quite a few managers have been using blank lineups for quite a while now.
EDIT -
I reread your post, and I noticed belatedly that you are in a keeper league, so the preseason shuffle isn't really a solution obviously. But many keeper leagues are 24 team leagues. In such leagues, you only play your divisional rivals 12 times, and there are 5 of them (not 3). So, you are less likely to have 5 divisional rivals with a common pattern of heavy weighting to RHB lineups. Then, you could use a less rigid pitching rotation to try to get better game matchups for Cain.
