Pitcher Fatigue

Does anyone have specifics on how relievers are considered "fresh" or when they aren't available to pitch? I'm trying to go with a 5 man bullpen using 3 guys as super-relievers and 2 as specialists, but way too many times one of my specialists is brought in when the situation fits another guy's role, presumably because he isn't available. So I'd like to know what constitutes that, so I can continually change my bullpen roles to keep fresh guys ready to come in.

You can only have 1 super reliever. You have to set him for the top 3. Closer, set up and middle man. If you set more than 1 pitcher to do that HAL will pick a pitcher for you. As for fatigue your pitchers can go 2 games and needs rest during the third game. That pitcher can come in during the 3rd game but will be tried to start.

Well, the idea was that I had one guy set to middle man and setup, another for tied and late, behind and late, setup, and closer, and a third for tied and late, behind and late, closer, and tied and 9+, figuring that the roles would rotate as some guys were tired and others weren't. Yet several times my RHspecialist and LHspecialist have been brought in with no role cited by HAL. Is no 3 days in a row the only pitching restriction?

Well, the idea was that I had one guy set to middle man and setup, another for tied and late, behind and late, setup, and closer, and a third for tied and late, behind and late, closer, and tied and 9+, figuring that the roles would rotate as some guys were tired and others weren't. Yet several times my RHspecialist and LHspecialist have been brought in with no role cited by HAL. Is no 3 days in a row the only pitching restriction?

I'm not sure if this will be the issue or not, but what **order** are you listing the relief roles in? The order does matter.

The order that I list them in is usually like this:

Closer #1
Closer #2
Setup #1
Setup #2
Tied & 9th #1
Tied & 9th #2
Tied & Late#1
Tied & Late#2
Behind and late #1
Behind and late #2
Middle man #1
Middle man #2
Mopup #1
Mopup #2

I am not a big fan of lefty and righty specialists, although I do use them. The place in the bullpen order that I put them will depend on whether I think they are good for a particular series, or not. If I don't like them for a series, I'll list them below mopup. If I like them, I will place them higher up in the order. If I really really like the specialist, I'll list them right at the top of the bullpen roles.

If I like my setup pitcher better than my closer, I'll list the setup roles above the closers. If I really like the closer, I may choose to list him as setup#1 as well as closer #1.

My understanding is that HAL will choose the pitchers in the order that you list them in, starting with the first listed role that is applicable for the game situation.

If you are finding that HAL is using specialists more than what you intend, place the specialist roles lower down in the order, or even at the bottom. In my experience, that's a great way to limit their innings, and that has worked very consistently for me. Here is an example of a team where I used the low order placement to minimize the innings for the specialists:

http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/378694

This was in one of mbrake's virtual reality leagues. The team is obviously a Phillies team.

On this team, Herndon was listed at the bottom as a RH specialist, and Purcey was listed as a LH specialist, in the next to bottom role. Between the 2 of them, they had less than 8 innings pitched for the entire year. Stutes and Blanton were the mopup pitcher roles. Madson and Bastardo had the main roles, with Stutes also filling in as middle man and maybe some tied and late, tied and 9th etc. It helped a lot that Stutes could eat innings. But listing the specialists at the bottom of the bullpen order should help to reduce their innings, if that's what you want!



PS here is the last bullpen listing that I had for this team:

Closer Madson
Closer Bastardo
Setup Madson
Setup Bastardo
Tied & 9th+ Madson
Tied & 9th+ Stutes
Tied & Late Madson
Tied & Late Stutes
Behind & Late Stutes
Behind & Late Bastardo
Middle Man Stutes
Middle Man Bastardo
Mopup Stutes
Mopup Kendrick
RH Specialist Herndon
LH Specialist Purcey
LH Specialist Blanton

I think what I was doing is that if the opponent faced hitters that were L Balanced (prefered lefty pitchers) then this is the bullpen roles that I would use. If I was facing an opponent that prefered righty pitchers, then I would switch Madson and Bastardo in their respective roles, compared to the above.

I had all of my pitchers set to slow hook, except for the specialists. This strategy happened to work for this pitching staff, because of the great top 3 starters, 2 good relievers, and a guy (stutes) who wasn't too bad and who could really log innings.

Thanks for the in-depth reply! I actually quite like my specialists, particularly Scribner as a RHspecialist, because they are very strong against their side. That said, I want them used as specialists only, and what I've had happening was that they are brought in with no role listed, just as spare relievers. I think I needed to fix my roles a little bit, but it should be better now

Thanks for the in-depth reply! I actually quite like my specialists, particularly Scribner as a RHspecialist, because they are very strong against their side. That said, I want them used as specialists only, and what I've had happening was that they are brought in with no role listed, just as spare relievers. I think I needed to fix my roles a little bit, but it should be better now

Were you ahead, tied, or behind when HAL brought them in?

Other managers have said similar things to what you are saying. I'm just wondering if your team is behind and late, whether HAL chooses to bring them in in those situations. I'm not saying it's logical, but I'm wondering if that might be part of a pattern of "behaviour" by HAL. Was your team behind in the games in question?

Yes, usually if not exclusively I am behind. Some have been what HAL might consider a blowout, but down by 5 runs in coors field is not exactly a blowout to me. It seems like HAL likes to avoid using higher priced relievers in games I am losing. Also, I have one other question. A couple times Scribner has been brought in as the RHspecialist, and done his job getting a righty or two, but is then left in against lefties. Luckily, thus far he has gotten the lefties out and been replaced the next inning, but does HAL have something against taking out a pitcher who hasn't allowed a baserunner, even if I tell it to avoild LHB and to have a quick hook?

My understanding is that HAL will choose the pitchers in the order that you list them in, starting with the first listed role that is applicable for the game situation.

I'm pretty sure of this.

Which is why if you have a good say, R2/C5 type pitcher you want to more than a 1 inning wonder, you will need to set the closer lower in the order.

Even with the stud closers (like Kimbrel) I want more than 50-60 innings for that 6 mil. I will set them as tied and late, tied an 9th+, setup and then closer.