Strat-O-Matic Baseball 365

Would any manager in their right mind make this decision? Top of 9th, my team is ahead 2-1. Rob Dibble with a 2.63 ERA, .160 opponents BAVG and 1.02 WHIP comes in to pitch. He walks the first batter on 6 pitches and is pulled for Bobby Thigpen with an ERA of 6.05 and a WHIP of 1.66. Thigpen proceeds to blow the save by giving up a two run home run. My closer is set to Max, relievers conservative and Dibble is not checked quick hook. Terrible logic. I'd like someone at Strat to explain that pitching change to me.

Mike

One of the managers in the league I am in gave me the answer. Dibble was a fatigue factor of F0 after one batter. Why was he at F0 you ask? Because he pitched in four straight games which included two games in a row where he was brought in to pitch trailing 8-3 and 11-8 in the 9th inning. There were other pitching options available to HAL. Terrible,terrible bullpen management.

Mike

Mike, I agree that it was terrible bullpen management. However, it's likely the fault lies with the human manager. I can't say for sure without seeing your bullpen settings or specific games, but the tools are there to avoid what you describe.

I don't say this to sound mean, and I know HAL can make absolutely horrible moves. However, bullpen logic is one area that we actually have decent control over. Learn to use Bullpen v2 well; it's your friend!

coyote303 wrote:Mike, I agree that it was terrible bullpen management. However, it's likely the fault lies with the human manager. I can't say for sure without seeing your bullpen settings or specific games, but the tools are there to avoid what you describe.

I don't say this to sound mean, and I know HAL can make absolutely horrible moves. However, bullpen logic is one area that we actually have decent control over. Learn to use Bullpen v2 well; it's your friend!

My bullpen is set as follows:

Parrett
Reed
Thigpen
Jackson avoid using before the 7th. He is the set-up man
Dibble avoid using before the 8th. He is the closer

No quick hooks on any reliever, all of them set for 1-2 innings max.

Team Strategy: Closer usage set at Maximize
Reliever Strategy: Set at Normal

The only thing I can see is I should have had the avoid using in a blowout checked for Dibble, but not sure if being behind 8-3 or 11-8 going into the 9th would be considered a blowout by the Strat manager.

Mike

If you don't already, be sure you are using these bullpen roles (in addition to setup and closer):

Middle Man
Behind & Late
Tied & Late
Mopup

Also, always list two pitchers for each role that your are using.** It will only use the second pitcher if the other is fatigued. Feel free to use other roles that I didn't list, but the above are important. (There are other opinions, of course. Hopefully, some others will chime in.) You can, of course, list a pitcher in more than one role, but I wouldn't list someone first in every role.

I also agree with your assessment that you should have had the avoid blowout checked for Dibble.

Don't be afraid to experiment with Bullpen v2--have fun with it! As I said in my first post, it's one area of the online game where we have some real control.
===============================
**If you decide to use RH or LH specialists, you might be able to get by with one. I don't use these roles, so I can't be sure.

Thanks for the advice. The one role I have stayed away from is mop up since I found it didn't mean what I thought it meant. To me, mop up means coming into a game to finish it when your team is losing by a big margin late. In my experience, the mop up pitcher came in with big leads late and the result was what you'd expect from the mop up pitcher.

Mike

Mike,

As soon as I think I have my closer figured out, I check that avoid blowout box. Generally, it seems he won't be used until the batter could hit a home run and bring the game to within 3 runs (though I'm not sure if that is also a result of other boxes checked or settings selected). In the 90's, I have Wetteland as my closer. He came in for every game last night and pitched the last game at an F0. He actually pitched the whole inning, blowing the save. But I didn't mind him staying in there as he is better than the others even at F0. If he pitched in the first game tonight, I think he would get pulled after the first guy gets on because it is his 4th consecutive game.

I have been very pleased with how the new bullpen logic has worked for my teams. But as Coyote mentioned that does not mean you will be pleased with every single move. Getting your bullpen settings just right can take some adjusting, but that is part of the fun. Good luck~!

The only thing I can see is I should have had the avoid using in a blowout checked for Dibble, but not sure if being behind 8-3 or 11-8 going into the 9th would be considered a blowout by the Strat manager.

Mike
It is very unusual in my experience for a guy you have set to closer to be coming in in those situations in the ninth inning when you are behind. The very large majority of the time closers and mop up guys are consistently brought in in appropriate situations. Of course, there is the occasional pitching change that makes little sense. However you have it set, Dibble is being over used if he is brought in in those situations and it is likely due to your settings. If you are not using the mop up role that might be the answer to your question. If your closer is coming in late when you are behind it can be a problem, as you found out. if you are not willing to entrust a five run ninth inning deficit to a lesser pitcher than your best reliever, you are probably going to pay the price for over use.

You could certainly find that fine line between max innings pitched and not using your reliever more than 3 games in a row.
I had "super reliever" Tom Niedenfuer 83 pitch 214.2 innings in an 80s league and HAL rarely if ever pitched him 3 consecutive games (and he even spent 2 stints on the DL that season!).
I dont know about you, but if I have one reliever who is head and shoulders the best of the lot, I want him in as often as possible.