GO B YOURSELF HAL

The other viewpoint though, is that perhaps that team was more than overdue to lose 4 in a row. Before you excoriate me, yes, I know that's a fallacy, but I'm not sure HAL knows that.

so, just to confirm

it was NOT unlucky to lose 4 straight in the finals.......it was SUPPOSED to happen then, and that would NOT be considered bad luck to happen then....it SHOULD HAVE been expected....and not surprisingly....

it WAS regular distribution of luck, same as if the team had lost the last 4 games of the regular season (and still would have won the division and made playoffs)

that 4 game losing streak could have happened at ANY time, but to confirm it WAS NOT bad luck to happen at the most inopportune time as the finals ?.......got it

According to HAL, not me, just so we're clear.

Plus anecdotally, I can't tell you how many times I've seen the WC team win in the finals against a division winner with over 100 wins, it happens so often I seriously think there is some sort of "underdog luck" in the coding.

For those worried about fairness and luck, I would start with the crappy set up of the divisions and schedule. Why are we playing so many division games?

And why not go to the much more sensible two divisions and two wild cards? With that one move, you could cut out a lot of teams that are the 3rd or 4th best in the league but miss the playoffs because they get stuck in my division. That's an easy and simple way to make it fairer and more fun.

And what would the drawbacks be? It's not like we have division rivalries. It's silly, it makes no sense. What is the downside?

I advocated for a change to two divisions at least ten years ago---MLB had gone to 3 divisions per league by the time online became active, and that is just the way they wanted to do the schedule when the online game was created--with three divisions. There is no way to do three divisions with a balanced schedule with 12 teams and a 162-game schedule.

To me it was obvious to use the old schedule from 1969 until the national league went beyond 12 teams in 1993 with Marlins and Rockies--18 vs the 5 in division teams (90) and 12 vs the 6 out of division teams (72)--then the division winners and best two wildcards regardless of division--it all can be done with 3 game sets. You don't have two teams that you only play 9 against as it is now.

I guess a balanced schedule just makes no sense to anyone anymore.

rad and miller,,,,,good points

if you've never seen it, ESPN had a short 30 for 30 episode about the original schedule makers of MLB....fascinating short documentary

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3316684/

Guys,
I have been following this thread, and if I may, I would like to offer an opinion.
The dispute you are having revolves around your different visions of what the game should be.
Fred- you want the game to he as realistic as possible, and when you see it do the opposite, it upsets you. You have every right to feel that way, and express that frequently in a negative way if you choose to.
The others- ( kinda like me) your vision is that you know the game is flawed, and you do see progress Strat seems to be making to improve the game. You enjoy the game because it alows to build and manage a team in your image What you see as constant negativity conflicts with your hopeful positivety.
So, we who play the game in many different ways need to be tolerant of those who play the game differently from you.
Fred- I would hope you could take what you perceive as an attack with a grain of salt. Anyone who would attack you doesn't share your vision for the game, as I explained earlier.
OthersI (including me) you should pick your battles as carefully as you can. I don't think you should let something you read in the forums upset you. It is small stuff. Let it go. Fight for something that matters.

Just my opinion.

Guys,
I have been following this thread, and if I may, I would like to offer an opinion.
The dispute you are having revolves around your different visions of what the game should be.
Fred- you want the game to he as realistic as possible, and when you see it do the opposite, it upsets you. You have every right to feel that way, and express that frequently in a negative way if you choose to.
The others- ( kinda like me) your vision is that you know the game is flawed, and you do see progress Strat seems to be making to improve the game. You enjoy the game because it alows to build and manage a team in your image What you see as constant negativity conflicts with your hopeful positivety.
So, we who play the game in many different ways need to be tolerant of those who play the game differently from you.
Fred- I would hope you could take what you perceive as an attack with a grain of salt. Anyone who would attack you doesn't share your vision for the game, as I explained earlier.
OthersI (including me) you should pick your battles as carefully as you can. I don't think you should let something you read in the forums upset you. It is small stuff. Let it go. Fight for something that matters.

Just my opinion.

great points West Texas Winds (el paso)

I agree everything

My only addition would be that I don't expect the game to be "realistic" necessarily, if that means emulating MLB completely....I've played fantasy sports for over 20 years, and even they use real life players and stats, due to league make up/rules, it might not be completely "realistc" as MLB plays out every day

my biggest gripe is that there is an over preponderance of luck involved in SOM 365.....I dislike public fantasy leagues (yahoo default) compated to private leagues, because the luck factor is much greater in the public leagues.....(smaller rosters, each roster decision isn't quite as important with replaceable players on waivers).....and avoid almost all forms of "luck" games, etc, like casino games, lottery, etc.

when luck is minimized, it makes player involvement more important, and thus, GM decisions will have more impact

when GM skill is minimized (anytime luck is increased), it devalues GM skills, rendering them a veritable crapshoot for example in SOM 365 playoffs

while, the occasional Diamondbacks or Marlins teams wins the World Series, normally lower talented teams won't go all the way

here, a comatose team that just got lucky can waltz thru the playoffs defeating 2 or more teams (12 or 24 team league),along the way

not expecting SOM to be perfectly "realistic", but as a competitive game, hoping that SOM would do (much) more to reduce the luck factor, while at same time cleaning up clear and obvious errors in the system (stealing a base with 2 outs, or down by several runs, etc.)

"the squeaky wheel gets the oil" was one of my mom's favorite expressions

"the parable of the widow and the judge" shows the benefits of repeated, yet justified protests

"silence in the face of injustice is condoning that injustice

I guess those and more principles go into my mindset and feelings

I praise many things in life, I'm not a grinch or a whiner....I do however, call things as I see them, and I understand everyone might not see the same things, nor care about the same things

with that said, I am certainly not alone in the "complaining about SOM/HAL/etc" club, Ive seen many similar comments in leagues and on forum boards, and I've only been playing a year or so, likely, there's much more historically

I regret and apologize to people who don't wish to see negative comments, however truthful, but feel it won't last too much longer

i've only a few credits left, and will almost assuredly not give SOM any more of my money until or unless there are changes made......no desire to experience Sysyphean bad luck over and over, so the folks that are offended or bothered by my comments, won't need to much longer

blessings

If you want less luck in a baseball game, you are playing the wrong baseball game. Try Payoff Pitch or one of the more modern ones.

If you want less luck in a baseball game, you are playing the wrong baseball game. Try Payoff Pitch or one of the more modern ones.

seer -- he's not looking for advice. As per "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus", he's just looking for commiseration. You won't make any inroads with suggestions. Your responses should be more along the lines of "yea, I know what you mean" or "uh, huh".

(by the way, read the book referenced above, it's excellent and really works)

Tosh

im not looking for anything

Im just expressing my experiences and sentiments regarding those experiences, no purpose, no campaign, no need for agreement

if I'm the only fish in the aquarium swimming in the opposite direction of the other fish in the aquarium, and nobody else feels the game is (more than moderately) flawed, and are content with the status quo, then I'll accept that distinction

yn the other hand, if "where there's smoke, there's fire" and there ARE other GMs with similar experiences and sentiments, if there were enough of them, their feedback may be enough to eventually enact positive change

until then, I'll accept being one of the lone disconnected voices in the desert

but, thankfully my credits are almost finished, and so we're all due for a much deserved break ;- )

This has been an interesting thread to read. Well articulated differing points of view, with plenty of honest, heartfelt, sincerity.

Big Fred, I've enjoyed reading your old posts and perspective. I'll miss reading new ones. I've only played 15 seasons/credits, so don't have strong opinion one way or another at this time. Maybe that will change down the road after I've invested more of my time/money into the game. For now... just want to see this 2023 auto-league I joined fill. Do you have any interest in using one of your remaining credits managing a team in this league prior to 2024 season being released for play?

If so, it's this one
https://365.strat-o-matic.com/league/473776

I hope you do!

There are only 2 teams in it, so if anyone else here is interested in joining this league that would be fantastic. I'm looking forward to the draft, drop/add moves, etc., and reading the game results each morning for my team! Hoping this league fills soon.