How Bad Can You Be?

Maybe we could just get back to trying to answer the original question(s):

If you are following minimum standard best practices (no pitching staffs of $1 starters, no 3s and 4s at 2B, SS and CF, no high-singles-only teams in the Cell, no fire sales after week one, no dropping Miggy after week two...etc etc...) and you are not consistently winning slightly more than half of your games, then what might you be doing wrong? How can you improve?

Minimum best practices: salary construction (ie, $20 mil SPs, $10 mil RPs, $50 mil offense); 1s and 2s up the middle on defense; scoring roughly five runs on offense and surrendering four runs on defense; players appropriate to at least your own park; pitching card selections; hitters card selections; minimal (or better yet no) dropped salary; learning from previous mistakes; learning from the boards.

Is Strether saying that cutting players mid season and taking the salary penalty drops is NOT a recipe for disaster? I don't think veteran GMs should be making a single in season drop, save for the mystery leagues. ....

Dropping players after the season starts is the first tell to me that someone does not know what they are doing. I know someone else said this first and I totally agree~!

when you say that do you mean just for non-keeper leagues? I have found when I do get frustrated with a team in a non-keeper league I will start making changes. If the ultimate goal is winning a championship then yes it is a recipe for disaster. When your 20 games out by game 60 it is hard to stay patient. I have made some teams better and at least more enjoyable watch.
This is what I found in my own personal experience, I don't really follow what the other teams are doing. Maybe somebody can show us a team that has made wholesale changes and won a championship?

Alk, are you actually saying that cutting any salary at all in a 20xx, 80 mil league is an inherent recipe for disaster for all teams?

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Alk, are you actually saying that cutting any salary at all in a 20xx, 80 mil league is an inherent recipe for disaster for all teams?

no not at all, i'm saying wholesale changes. Nothing is certain you can most definitely make a couple of changes. Maybe some rookie manager drops a player you value. Maybe somebody in your division makes changes where now you might need an extra lefty bat. Show me 1 MLB team that just goes through 25 players. Making changes for a losing team is very appropriate, but wholesale changes I think you will be doomed.

It is the guys changing their roster after only 21 games or so are the guys that are usually beginners. I've had Babe Ruth hitting below .200 after 21 games. Do you give up on him? Of course not. After all of your hard work, during preseason, putting together a team that gives you your best mathematical chance to win, you need to give those guys a chance before second guessing your efforts.

If before the season starts you were told that everyone gets 80mil but you only get 75mil, you would not agree to that. It doesn't make any more sense to play with less salary cap after the season starts.

no not at all, i'm saying wholesale changes. Nothing is certain you can most definitely make a couple of changes. Maybe some rookie manager drops a player you value. Maybe somebody in your division makes changes where now you might need an extra lefty bat. Show me 1 MLB team that just goes through 25 players. Making changes for a losing team is very appropriate, but wholesale changes I think you will be doomed.

I got you, and I completely agree about wholesale changes. I will share some of my teams that did well after shedding salary and did well because of shedding salary:

http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/1109609. 2012 Championship team (6 moves)
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/66962. 2007 championship team (7 moves)
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/81060. 2007 Finals team (14 moves)
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/220943. 2008 Championship team (13 moves)
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/238333. 2008 Championship team (5 moves)
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/282094. 2009 Championship team (2 moves)

(Currently working on posting teams.)

All these teams, and I can provide more, succeeded because of the midseason moves I made. I completely agree with Alk's analyses, and I think it would be helpful if other veteran managers chimed in with their experiences with their own teams and other teams they have watched.

here is one I went through 65 players. Lost 102 games
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/819534

and a team that did win using 46 players
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/822601

Were you drunk-dealing with that first one, Alk?...

Were you drunk-dealing with that first one, Alk?...

clueless I would get swept and make 4 changes