Thu Oct 31, 2024 3:39 pm
Hi Leeroy
I will chime in. Your question goes right to the core of playing SOM. What value should be placed on the various components (hitting, pitching, defense, speed, injuries, stealing, etc) and then what percentage applies to each? Unfortunately, I have no idea. I have plenty of theories and some have been successful, while others not so much.
Based on your question, I think you may be placing too much emphasis on defense. It is very important, but so is hitting and pitching. I certainly disagree with putting absolutes on defensive values at specific positions. Your example of Duncan is the perfect response to that. I find that the teams I put a bit more emphasis on hitting often do better than the defensive ones. In fact, I am really considering discounting defense by 10% in my "ratings". I think I overvalue it even though I am sure my value calculations are correct. In other words, my percentages are off.
I know the general thought is things like speed, defense and obp are critical to small ball teams. I read and thoroughly enjoyed Rich's thoughts on the subject about a year ago before he retired. But I disagree with much of that. One team I played was in an $80M Autoleague. My park was Petco and I spent $29+ on pitching. My defense: 1b (3&4), 2b (3), SS (3), 3b (1&3), LF (4), CF (1), RF (3). The team led the league in Runs (123% of league average) and was 4th in Runs Against (87% of league avg). They stole 28 bases. They were not the prototype small ball team, but won 103 games.
I dont think we can put generalized limits on teams. It just comes down to getting the values and percentages in line. That and a lot of dice rolls on the correct side of the cards! I hope this helps in a small way, you get out of your slump and HAL blesses you with the right rolls.