HAL's subbing Molina for Yogi on defense! Team wins ring!

I would definitely rather have Javy catch than King Kelly, from a defensive standpoint. King K's e13 and pb20 give me the heebie-jeebies. Passed balls are worse than steals in my book, because there's no chance to throw the runner out, and because even a really slow runner will advance on a pb, and because a runner can score from third base. By contrast, with a steal, a fast runner is likely only getting to second. A modern catcher with a +1 arm and low errors & pbs doesn't worry me that much. Many of my catchers fit that description. Yogi is actually a defensive luxury for me.

Anyway, as indicated, I tried setting Yogi as defensive sub (and starter) last night and my team won one game of three. In my single victory, I headed into the ninth inning up three runs, and HAL left Yogi in. So the kluge worked for one night. We'll see if it holds up.

BTW, with Yogi (-2 arm) as starting C and 4 SPs with holds rated -3, -2, -1, and +1, plus a couple of RPs rated -6 and -3, my opponents haven't made a single steal attempt in my season's first twelve games. So, HAL, please LISTEN: I don't think the defensive upgrade from a -2 to -3 arm is all that critical.

I do like Bengie's card though. A lot of defense for the money.

Last night, my team won 2 of 3 games, and Molina subbed defensively for Yogi in both wins. So my designation of Yogi as defensive replacement had no effect on either game.

Now, 15 games into the season, my team has nine wins and Bengie has subbed defensively in six of them. None of the wins was a walk-off. In all nine cases, I had a lead going in to the late innings. In one case, I lost the lead, and the tied game went into extra innnings. Bengie came to bat twice. We did finally win that one, though, in the 11th inning. There's no obvious reason why Molina appeared in those particular six games, and not in the other three. Still no stolen base attempts against Yogi.

Unless anyone can think of another way to nudge HAL into leaving Yogi in, I may need to just let this keep happening. In the grand scheme of things, it may not matter that much, but it is an example of a case where the SOM manager can't control something an actual manager can control.

When SOM added the Platoon PH function, I thought that was a BIG step forward. Made me feel more like I was actually managing the team. A "don't remove for defensive sub" button would be a similar improvement. I think I will write to SOM customer support advocating for this, and if anyone else wants to write to them, that would be great. Or, if you express approval here, I can cite this thread.

Here's the team, in case anyone wants a look: https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1701878

Even stranger substitution last night.
My DH was injured, so HAL selected $.50 Rafel Belliard as the new DH. It wasn't even a HBP (pinch runner) situation.

This is a $200M league with Sosa, Duffy and a host of good hitters on the bench.

It's bad enough when Belliard comes in as a defensive replacement in late innings. Now he's coming in to pinch hit and play DH in the 3rd inning.

Wow! DH-ing Belliard with Sosa & Duffy on the bench is a lot worse than using Molina as a defensive replacement. At least Molina is actually a better defender than Yogi, even if the wisdom of using him is debatable.

But there are no grounds on which Belliard should DH in a 200M league. That's wonkier than my usual experience with HAL.

How many plate appearances does Molina have.

How many plate appearances does Molina have.

My team has played 18 games at this point. Molina has appeared in six of my ten wins, and he has a total of 3 plate appearances--resulting in two outs and a HBP.
Admittedly, this isn't a really big deal in the grand scheme of things, but it's a little frustrating not to be able to control HAL's urge to sub in situations when I wouldn't choose to do it.
Next time I create a team with a .5M catcher, I might chose one with OK defense, but only equal to or slightly worse than my starter. Sammy White for example. His c-2(-2)e2,T-20(pb-3) is fine, but might not be subbed for Berra.
It is nice to have a ranged of new .5M cards featuring catchers with good D, though.

I've got a new team with Yogi Berra's 1956 card at C and Bengie Molina's new .5M card as backup. Bengie doesn't hit at all, but his defense is quite spiffy for the money: c-1(-3)e1,T-1(pb-0)

Trouble is that in my first 9 games, HAL has subbed Molina for Berra defensively four times. The offensive decline with Molina in there is massive, and Yogi's defense is good enough that he doesn't really need a sub: c-2(-2)e7,T-15(pb-2). Aside from the high throwing errors, which don't really bother me, especially since most of my pitchers have minus holds, I like Yogi's defense just fine.

The trouble, of course, with any defensive substitution in SOM is that the opposing offenses are so strong (and this is a 175M league) that one's team is much more likely to lose a lead than in actual baseball, and then you're going to miss your starting player's bat.

The only thing I can think of to short-circuit HAL's determination to insert Molina is to list Yogi as the defensive sub at C on my Team Strategy page. Does anyone have any other ideas? Meanwhile, I'll see what happens with my approach and let you know.

I wrote to SOM help nearly two years ago with the same unauthorized defensive replacement complaint, which has been made in this forum on multiple occasions by multiple authors, and specifically made the point highlighted above. Outta Leftfield is correct. I told SOM that with the powerful offenses in the ATG game that the odds were greater that the opponent would tie the game or take the lead than the ball being hit to the defensive replacement, and then the low cost defensive replacement would likely have to bat. Even with a lead, I don't want one of my stud hitters replaced in the lineup with a 50 cent hitter, no matter how good his defense may be. While others may differ, I NEVER program defensive replacements in leagues with caps at or below $140 mil for the reasons set forth above. Further, in non-DH leagues, I HATE the late game double switch for the very same reason, as the cheap player inserted into the lineup in the pitcher's spot is generally only a marginally better hitter than the pitcher and I'd rather let the pitcher bat and keep my best position players in the game.

Whether to use a defensive replacement should be up to the manager, not the game engine.

Unfortunately, SOM never did address the problem.

The fact that there is not a ‘do not remove for defensive sub’ is mind blowing to me.

TRUE DAT!!!!

I have 3 catchers. I check remove for def sub for my starter. I list my #2 catcher as the def replacements. Hal continues to pick my #3 catcher as defensive replacement. How can I get Hal to pick #2 not #3 short of just cutting #3?