Sat Mar 22, 2014 8:26 pm
Closer Rule
Each reliever is given a second rating next to his Relief Endurance rating which we will refer to as his "Closer Endurance". For example, a pitcher who is rated "relief (2/3) has a Relief Endurance of 2 and a Closer Endurance of 3. The Closer Endurance rating is a measure of how many outs a pitcher can maintain his effectiveness in "Closer situations". The rating ranges between 0 and 6, or "N" which means he is not used as a closer.
Closer Situation
A "closer situation" occurs whenever the defensive team has the lead and the tying run is at-bat or on-base from the 9th inning on. When this situation occurs then observe the following rule changes:
Reliever being brought into the game
When bringing a relief pitcher into the game in a closer situation ignore his Relief Endurance rating. Instead use his Closer Endurance rating to determine the number of outs he can record before he loses his effectiveness.
Once this number of outs have been recorded, the pitcher will lose his effectiveness as soon as he allows a hit or a walk. If a pitcher is rated 0, then he loses his effectiveness as soon as he allows a hit or a walk. When a pitcher loses his effectiveness, he has reached his POW.
If the pitcher being brought into the game in a closer situation has a Closer Endurance rating of "N", then he enters the game with the loss effectiveness penalty already in affect (he has reached his POW). For pitchers rated as a "N", this penalty is always in effect starting with the first batter they face in a closer situation.
Reliever currently in the game
If the pitcher in the game has a Closer Endurance rating of "N", then he immediately loses his effectiveness (he reaches his POW.)
If the pitcher in the game has a Closer Endurance rating of 0 to 6, you should subtract the number of outs that he has already recorded in this game from his closer rating. This number becomes his Closer Endurance for this game. If the computed number is less than 0, then accept 0 as his Closer Endurance for this game.
Follow the rules outlined above (under "Reliever being brought into the game") using this computed Closer Endurance instead of his actual rating.
Important notes about the Closer Rule
Once the closer situation rules have been implemented for a particular reliever they over-ride the normal relief endurance rules and cannot be canceled. DO NOT REVERT TO THE NORMAI, RELIEF ENDURANCE RULES FOR THIS PITCHER EVEN IF THE SCORE CHANGES AND YOU ARE NO LONGER IN A CLOSER SITUATION!
Whenever you bring in a new reliever you are starting a clean slate. Use the current situation to determine if you should start with the normal relief endurance rules or the closer endurance rules.
These rules do not affect the starting pitcher's POW in any way! This must be kept in mind when a pitcher rated to start and relieve is used as a starter. If he's used as a starter then these have no effect, but when used as a reliever you will follow these rules.
Relievers effective inning are capped. The relievers maximum innings without reaching his POW is equal to his relief endurance plus 2. After that point, the pitcher may remain in the game but has reached his POW (all dots become SI**.)
Table 6: Relief Pitcher's Maximum Innings
