The importance of defensive ratings?

I am about to start my second season of strat, $80Mil ATG. The first went well enough with a bit of advice from you guys. Best record in the league and then my league leading pitchers folded like a lawn chair in the playoffs. Anyway, I want to improve my game. My understanding of defensive card ratings is lacking. In as simple terms as possible.....

How important is the difference between a "1" and "2"? And at what positions is it critical, or not so much? I assume middle infield matters as my SS and 2B committed their fair share of errors even with good defensive cards. I am a little less clear in the outfield. I had Mays in CF and he was brilliant at a high cost. But I also had Manny Ramirez in LF at "4" but has a good arm. He outperformed his card and only had a few more errors than Mays. Through the use of cheap defensive subs I was able to keep errors acceptable, and seemed to throw a lot of advancing runners out. I played some aggressive running teams so I'm no sure how much of it was defensive skill vs reckless opposing managers. Appears I will face more of the same judging from preseason opposing rosters.

Simplified, range is of equal importance to error rating. 4e outfielders will give up singles, doubles, even triples, whereas 1e outfielders will not. Same for infielders but they just give up singles. Also 1e infielders can turn more double plays.

Many will disagree with me but I consider a 3e6 third baseman to be equal to a 1e31 third baseman.

If you haven't checked out DiamondDope yet, do so! As far as offensive performance goes, it will give you a breakdown of the ATG cards rather than counting chances on your own, plus it also gives you some other data categories.
http://www.diamonddope.com/help.cfm
Also you should look at this article that ranks defensive performance with respect to range and error rating.
http://www.mfooz.com/bblog/wp-content/uploads/offense-vs-defense.pdf
Good luck in all your future leagues.

Mike

....Many will disagree with me but I consider a 3e6 third baseman to be equal to a 1e31 third baseman.

Not exactly sure what you mean by that? Last season I had McCovey platooned at first and Bonilla on third. Considerable errors but found Bonilla a good value anyway. McCovey was not as his LH hitting and K rate was poor. This season McWire and Brooks Robinson if I don't change it before season starts. Getting cold feet on McWire as half the parks are small and his 3 rated defense seems poor at almost $11mill.

And thanks to both of you, I will check out that site.

I have my own set of rules. I do it like real baseball, strong up the middle. I do use 2s but most of my teams you will find 1s at ss, 2b, c, and cf. That, for me stops a lot of runs. I like cf and rf to have arms and unless the rf has a BIG bat he will be no less than a 2. I don't like using less than a 3 at 3b but even 4s are ok with me at 1st and lf. Mize in the right park will overcome that 4 by far. I am never at the bottom in team stats in runs against. I believe those rules allow me to win a larger percentage of one run games. A lot of guys on here do all kinds of math and/or rely on diamond dope. That isn't me. If I am torn between 2 guys I sometimes go to DD to choose but most times I look at cards and what I need. I have my own standards for the position a batter needs to hit in the lineup and fill accordingly. This also depends on the park I am in and the 3 parks in my div. Generally I will have guys that may not have power but good OBP. One guy with some power, high avg, and .400 plus OBP to bat 3rd. 2 smacker RBI guys for 4th and 5th. For 6th I gravitate towards medium type power hitter with .300 or better avg and.370 or better OBP. Then 7th can be a .320 plus guy with a low OBP or someone like Manny Sanguillen or Buck Weaver. 8th is my crappy hitter great fielder like Bowa. These are my basic rules but I break them all depending on my team. I won't have 3 hitting liabilities on my team though.

There a million ways win in strat. Everybody has a different idea. Here is what I recommend. Pick a salary cap and park and don't change it until you are winning consistantly. Learn what it takes to win at say a pitchers park. When you master say Petco 05, move to a hitters park like Wrigley 78. Play each type until you know what type of a team to put in to win consistantly.

I can play platoons successfully but as a beginner you should stay away from them IMO. There really is no need to platoon in 80 and 100 mil leagues. Avoid heavy R and L batters like anything more than 3R or 2L. But hey what do I know? I just am not a numbers guy.

I have my own set of rules. I do it like real baseball, strong up the middle. I do use 2s but most of my teams you will find 1s at ss, 2b, c, and cf. That, for me stops a lot of runs. I like cf and rf to have arms and unless the rf has a BIG bat he will be no less than a 2. I don't like using less than a 3 at 3b but even 4s are ok with me at 1st and lf. Mize in the right park will overcome that 4 by far. I am never at the bottom in team stats in runs against. I believe those rules allow me to win a larger percentage of one run games. A lot of guys on here do all kinds of math and/or rely on diamond dope. That isn't me. If I am torn between 2 guys I sometimes go to DD to choose but most times I look at cards and what I need. I have my own standards for the position a batter needs to hit in the lineup and fill accordingly. This also depends on the park I am in and the 3 parks in my div. Generally I will have guys that may not have power but good OBP. One guy with some power, high avg, and .400 plus OBP to bat 3rd. 2 smacker RBI guys for 4th and 5th. For 6th I gravitate towards medium type power hitter with .300 or better avg and.370 or better OBP. Then 7th can be a .320 plus guy with a low OBP or someone like Manny Sanguillen or Buck Weaver. 8th is my crappy hitter great fielder like Bowa. These are my basic rules but I break them all depending on my team. I won't have 3 hitting liabilities on my team though.

There a million ways win in strat. Everybody has a different idea. Here is what I recommend. Pick a salary cap and park and don't change it until you are winning consistantly. Learn what it takes to win at say a pitchers park. When you master say Petco 05, move to a hitters park like Wrigley 78. Play each type until you know what type of a team to put in to win consistantly.

I can play platoons successfully but as a beginner you should stay away from them IMO. There really is no need to platoon in 80 and 100 mil leagues. Avoid heavy R and L batters like anything more than at 3R or 2L. But hey what do I know? I just am not a numbers guy.

Thanks for taking the time to help. I do enjoy the analysis but don't understand the strat rules quite well enough to take full advantage yet. I am just playing it like real baseball until I learn where that doesn't work. I found early success leading the league in regular season record my first season. I stayed in Riverfront and will try to figure out why my team was successful. Just concentrating on improving my obvious weak points from last season (errors and middle relief). I got cold feet on McGwire and duped him fo upgraded middle defense with Griffey and a few lesser moves. A few days until season starts and I think I may have set the record for player swaps. Deciding how much to spend on SPs is tough in an $80M league. Currently planning to use $6M pitchers. Some more $5 bargains would help. I led the league with Carlton winning 30 games so it must be possible.

Rule #1 in Strat is trim the fat. Money in subs doesn't win games. Money on the field wins. If you make a bunch of swaps during the season, you are probably done unless they are 5% but even then chances are slim for a recovery. It takes experience to sub during the season. The higher dollar the player is that you exchange, the more money you lose, the worse your team will do. Good luck.

Rule #1 in Strat is trim the fat. Money in subs doesn't win games. Money on the field wins. If you make a bunch of swaps during the season, you are probably done unless they are 5% but even then chances are slim for a recovery. It takes experience to sub during the season. The higher dollar the player is that you exchange, the more money you lose, the worse your team will do. Good luck.

Definitely don't want to lose a bunch on in season swaps so doing it before Monday while it is free. All my subs are cheap, and almost all have a role they are well suited for. I did have some bench waste last season and it came out of my 4th starter money. Consumed the bench money finding that 4th acceptable pitcher. Actually thought I got by with it until the playoffs.

....Many will disagree with me but I consider a 3e6 third baseman to be equal to a 1e31 third baseman.

Not exactly sure what you mean by that? Last season I had McCovey platooned at first and Bonilla on third. Considerable errors but found Bonilla a good value anyway. McCovey was not as his LH hitting and K rate was poor. This season McWire and Brooks Robinson if I don't change it before season starts. Getting cold feet on McWire as half the parks are small and his 3 rated defense seems poor at almost $11mill.

And thanks to both of you, I will check out that site.

What Whoopycat is referring to is that each fielders range and error count works out to a % chance a hitter will reach base on an X roll. Since you're new I'll introduce you to X rolls. they are rolls on the pitchers card that become a test against that position players fielding ability (aka, range and error count). Check out a pitchers card, they ALL have the exact number of X chances per position.
SS=7
2b=6
3b=3
CF=3
C=3
LF/RF=2
1b=2
P=2

So the math for a 3b with 1 range and 31 errors is 63% out, 37% on base (by error or hit). A 3b with a 3 range and 6 errors is 74% out 26% on base. Why not just go with the 3e6 then? Because the better the range the more DP's. 50% of all DP chances are turned by a 3b with a 1 range compared to 28% for a range 3. So you can see how Whoopycat looks at all that and determines they are pretty even fielders.

....Many will disagree with me but I consider a 3e6 third baseman to be equal to a 1e31 third baseman.

Not exactly sure what you mean by that? Last season I had McCovey platooned at first and Bonilla on third. Considerable errors but found Bonilla a good value anyway. McCovey was not as his LH hitting and K rate was poor. This season McWire and Brooks Robinson if I don't change it before season starts. Getting cold feet on McWire as half the parks are small and his 3 rated defense seems poor at almost $11mill.

And thanks to both of you, I will check out that site.

What Whoopycat is referring to is that each fielders range and error count works out to a % chance a hitter will reach base on an X roll. Since you're new I'll introduce you to X rolls. they are rolls on the pitchers card that become a test against that position players fielding ability (aka, range and error count). Check out a pitchers card, they ALL have the exact number of X chances per position.
SS=7
2b=6
3b=3
CF=3
C=3
LF/RF=2
1b=2
P=2

So the math for a 3b with 1 range and 31 errors is 63% out, 37% on base (by error or hit). A 3b with a 3 range and 6 errors is 74% out 26% on base. Why not just go with the 3e6 then? Because the better the range the more DP's. 50% of all DP chances are turned by a 3b with a 1 range compared to 28% for a range 3. So you can see how Whoopycat looks at all that and determines they are pretty even fielders.

My original question is answered. I do understand the concept that a 3Bs higher rate of errors is compensated by his ability to turn DPs more frequently due to his improved range. I misread earlier and thought he was comparing defensive ratings between a 3B and a 1B.

I hate to ask but could I trouble you or someone else to write out the equation for the 37% on base for the 3B with 1 range and 31 errors? I'm sure it is simple math but it is eluding me. The online rule book doesn't seem to explain it unless I am looking in the wrong section.