Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:16 pm
I don't use defensive replacements at caps $140 mil and below, as in the high offense ATG game I feel that the odds are greater of the other team rallying late in the game to take the lead than hitting the ball to an offensively challenged cheapo defensive replacement, who likely would have to bat in the event the opponent takes the lead. But the game engine has been using defensive replacements without authorization for some time now and I absolutely hate it when that happens. A couple of other mangers have complained about such in the ATG forum.
So the setting I would like to see added is a "don't use a defensive replacement" option for each player, or even for the whole team, as my D up the middle is always good, and the cheapo offensively challenged defensive subs are usually inserted by HAL at the corner IF or corner OF spots.
Also, a lot of managers, myself included, frequently use ballparks that are skewed to favor lefty or righty batters. So for example, If I'm playing a team with a predominantly lefty hitting lineup I use my pitcher settings to do whatever I can to prevent righty relief specialists like Frank Linzy, Kent Tekulve, etc. from getting into the game, as they get shelled by lefty batters. Similarly, if I'm playing a team with a predominantly righty hitting lineup I try to prevent lefty relief specialists like Andy Hassler, Dave Roberts, etc. from getting into the game. Unfortunately, HAL has ignored my settings on multiple occasions and has inexplicably inserted such relief specialists into the game against a lineup that no respectable manager would ever use them against.
So the setting I would like to prevent HAL from inserting a relief specialist into a disastrous match up situation is a "Do not use this series" option for relief pitchers.
Of course, my concern with the "Do not use this series" option is that some managers may use it to try to maximize innings for their star relief pitchers, and would add a 50 cent relief pitcher to meet the 4 "pure" reliever requirement with no intention of ever using him and would use the "Do not use this series" option every series so that he would never get into a game.
If SOM could devise a way to prevent abuse, I would be heavily in favor of a "Do not use this series" option for relief pitchers.