Middle Defense: Another Tutorial

An interesting topic, but I think five is simply too small of a sample. I'd like to see you do this with at least 50 teams. (No, I'm not volunteering to do that!)

I typically am ok with 1 of my 3 middle spots being a 3, but always want at least two of them to be a 2 or better.

For me, the value-play isn't always with the 3-player himself, but just as importantly, the money saved by using him which can be put to better use in other positions.

In the '13 set, I thought I could get more bang for the buck in most other positions, without sacrificing much with some of the 3-options at SS. Brad Miller was the SS on four of my 2013 Championship teams, actually. His 2.57 price tag was reasonable, given he was a lefty with some pop, and it always freed up some salary cap room to invest elsewhere.

I'd typically couple him with guys like McCutchen in CF and Infante at 2B, which provided some good defensive balance.

On a side note, I thought Infante's '13 card was the most valuable in the set...great D, very good hitting, and only $3.66M.

I'm not sure the card-sets were as amenable to this strategy in prior years, however...and still getting a handle on '14. Seems every season has a certain niche to exploit, just always hope to find it sooner than later!

I think J-Pav did look at a lot of teams-- it's in an old strategy thread.

If he actually did, he would need to post that study and many of those teams here. If he did that, it would provide valuable information on the topic. If you think it's in an old strategy thread, you could possibly provide it for us, yourself. As I said, it would be valuable information.

P.s. I did look on the Strategy boards and saw no such thread by J-Pav

P.s. I did look on the Strategy boards and saw no such thread by J-Pav

Actually, this brings up an interesting point - I noticed the strategy board only going back to 2013; the ATG Board and Suggestion Board only go back to 2012. In my opinion, I think that the "golden age" for this game and especially for the message boards was in the years between 2002-2007. Lots of players shared interesting stories, articles, pictures (remember the old baseball cards - awesome) and tips to help newbies, not the self-centered crap that litter these boards now.

Are the message boards for years prior to 2012-2013 still available out there?

The posts were called "The Secret Formula". They're in the archived boards. It's not like they're hidden posts or anything. I think I posted about 20 Champs teams per year over what, like 10 years??

I don't "need" to post anything, or even convince anybody of anything. Do your own research. When I do post something, it's out of fun and kinship with the community. I'm not misleading anyone or manipulating anything. I just (usually) enjoy the discussion.

The classic misinterpretation of The Secret Formula is that it is somehow my "opinion". The Secret Formula is 7th grade math. You might not like that 90+ percent of Championship teams use 1s and 2s up the middle, but the FACT is, they do. There's a lot I can't do, but one thing I do very well is add, subtract, multiply and divide. Tell me all you want about your 3 defenders, or bomp helium's 4 defenders, but don't tell me I can't add. Maybe this year will be different, all I know is it holds up VERY well over the previous 12 or 13 seasons.

I think it's wonderful when someone's bold approach works. But a trend is a trend is a trend. And by the way, 90% is not 100%. So I actually DO GET IT that some teams use 3 range defenders up the middle. I DO IT TOO!! It doesn't change the trend, the fact, the conventional wisdom, the veterans best practices or whatever you want to label it as. If 90+ percent can be most, then most Championship teams use 1s and 2s.

That's not even the point of this thread. The point is, over a very small sample, Champs teams in 2014 have tended toward less run differential and slightly higher 2B defense. My question to the community is: Does that possibly mean middle defense is more important in winning a seven game Finals series than having slightly more pop in the batting order over the course of the season?

HINT: There is no right answer. It's just our collection of opinions on the matter. I was asking for opinions. I don't want to discuss why I used a particular choice of words for a goofy board post. That and I wanted to get strether out of Valen's post on Castro.

You're welcome, Valen!

Here are the old ones: viewtopic.php?f=17&t=631692

Have at it.

You do need to provide evidence if you want your opinion on the matter to be more than opinion. You have yet to do so, so your statement on the matter remains opinion...and that's fine. I also never asked you to explain your choice of words; I just addressed the words you chose...big difference.

I've looked at those posts you gave. None of them prove or even amply support your arguments about using 2s middle infielders vs. using 3s middle infielders.


P.s I left Valen's thread last night, so save the histrionics...

You totally debunked me already. Your work here is done.

For the first time ever on these boards, allow me to say, literally, LOL (past-tense, obviously). Troll v. droll ....