Strategy Forum/Newbie Advice thread

Geoff, I mix * and non* guys too. Only thing is, if you go with only 5 non* guys, you lose the mix and match opportunities. Many times I've used an expensive * and 4 cheaper non* guys and it works well.

Geoff, I mix * and non* guys too. Only thing is, if you go with only 5 non* guys, you lose the mix and match opportunities. Many times I've used an expensive * and 4 cheaper non* guys and it works well.

As crazy as it sounds, this exercise doesn't take that much time, for a 12 team league, and a 5 man rotation with no *SP starters:

1. Estimate/Predict your division rivals' lineups (in a 12 team league, that's 3 division rivals), in terms of L-R vs each of LHP and RHP, and their overall balance, in terms of _L _R or E.

2. Do a chart where the division rivals are on the left side (row headings) and the columns are 5 man starter rotation spots, 1 through 5. So it's a 3 by 5 matrix of possible results - 3 rows and 5 columns.

3. Print out your own team's schedule. Every time your team plays a division rival, put a tick mark in the appropriate box, 1, 2, 3 , 4 or 5, for the place in the 5 man rotation. With a 5 man rotation, game numbers ending in 1 or 6 are the "1" spot, games ending in "2" or "7" are the 2 spot, "3" and "8" are the 3 spot, , "4" and "9" are the 4 spot, and "5" and "10" are the 5 spot. Keep going until you've ticked 72 times - once for every game you play against divisional rivals. Now your 3 by 5 matrix has 72 tick marks scattered in the 15 boxes on the matrix.

4. Look for imbalances in how the starting rotation matches up against divisional rivals. Almost always, one of the rotation spots will have a significant imbalance, where the starter will face 2 teams a lot, and 1 team not very much at all.

5. Now match up your starters - lefties and righties, L balanced and R balanced, against the divisional rivals that they are best suited for. Use the imbalanced starting spots to place the pitchers who are best suited to the 1 or 2 division rivals that they will play against a lot, and who need to avoid the 1 division rival that they won't play much at all, according to the way the schedule matches up against the 5 man rotation spots.

Occasionally, I get a team schedule where the 5 rotation spots play roughly the same number of games against each division rival. But usually there is enough of an imbalance in 2 or 3 rotation spots that you can nicely fit your starters against the right divisional opponents, without needing to tweak the rotation much, or at all, throughout the year. In other words, set it and forget it.

Andycummings, the above strategy has worked very well for me. Sometimes when division rivals change the makeup of their team, I have to adapt the rotation in midseason. Usually, this means dropping a starter and picking up a new one, and then sometimes I time that so that I can tweak the 5 man rotation spots at the same time!

But I have also used the strategy of mixing SP* and non* SP's in order to be able to get the best matchups at any time during the season, as you were saying.

Right, you can definitely schedule a 5 man non * rotation to take advantage of parks, but, once you start those five guys in a certain order, you are stuck with that rotation order was the point I was making. Drop/adding would help with that situation if you choose to though

Right, you can definitely schedule a 5 man non * rotation to take advantage of parks, but, once you start those five guys in a certain order, you are stuck with that rotation order was the point I was making. Drop/adding would help with that situation if you choose to though

Agreed

Observing Clutch

I had a baserunner picked 0ff twice in last night's last game, where the runner in both cases does not have a pickoff chance. Can anybody explain this?

I had a baserunner picked 0ff twice in last night's last game, where the runner in both cases does not have a pickoff chance. Can anybody explain this?

This is from the strat-o-matic game rules, posted on the web at:

http://somonline.wikia.com/wiki/Strat-O ... Game_Rules

In section 29:

(29.2) When runners attempt to steal
When rolling for a lead in the Supplementary Stealing System, also roll the 20-sided die along with the two 6-sided colored dice.
A. If the 20-sided die roll is 3-20, discard the 20-sided die and continue normally with the Supplementary Stealing System. (If a steal is attempted, you will need to roll the 20-sided die again.)
B. If the 20-sided die roll is 1, the runner attempting the lead may be picked off. Refer to the runner's second steal success rating (in parentheses) and roll the 20-sided die again. If the number rolled is less than or equal to the runner's rating, the runner dives back safely, but the runner has failed to achieve his good lead.
If the number rolled is higher than the runner's rating, the runner has been picked off (statistically, this does not count as a time caught stealing).
C. If the 20-sided die roll is 2, there is a possible balk. Refer to the pitcher's balk rating (at the top of the Advanced side of his card) and roll the 20-sided die again. If the number rolled is less than or equal to the balk rating, a balk has occurred and all baserunners advance one base. If the number rolled is higher than the balk rating, the runner dives back safely, but the runner has failed to achieve his good lead.

I highly recommend (re) reading the game rules, for any player. I find it useful myself to keep re-reading these rules from time to time. There's so much to learn about this online game. It's evolved in amazing ways since I first started playing the game in the early 70's.

http://somonline.wikia.com/wiki/Strat-O ... Game_Rules

The importance of ballpark:  more to it then BP(HR)s

Ultimate proof regarding intentional base on balls

alright I have searched high and low but can't quite figure out the mechanics of clutch hitting. is there an indicator on the player card as to how clutch he is? I know the dollar sign indicates a clutch hit/pop out but what determines the outcome? I have a feeling i'm missing a big part of lineup building and its about to get my manager fired. thanks for the help.