2015 Tour Debrief

the official tournament of SOM Baseball 20xx

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ScumbyJr

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Re: 2015 Tour Debrief

PostSat Jul 18, 2015 11:59 pm

Here is the perfect example of a league with disparate strength of division. Does the winner of the central by 1 game deserve bonus points for going 78-84? Note the non=playoff teams include the 3rd place team in the East with 92 wins the 2nd
in the West with 91 wins. 5 bonus points is a HUGE difference in the standings
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/league/426997
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l.strether

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Re: 2015 Tour Debrief

PostSun Jul 19, 2015 12:45 am

ScumbyJr wrote:Here is the perfect example of a league with disparate strength of division. Does the winner of the central by 1 game deserve bonus points for going 78-84? Note the non=playoff teams include the 3rd place team in the East with 92 wins the 2nd
in the West with 91 wins. 5 bonus points is a HUGE difference in the standings
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/league/426997

Firstly, points awarded for playoff achievement are no more "bonus" points than points awarded for regular season wins. Like points for regular season wins, they are points rewarding substantial and significant achievement. Secondly, while a 78-win team making the playoffs is extremely rare and won't be the norm, it still deserves points for doing what 8 other teams didn't--making the playoffs. That is a greater achievement than winning a regular season game. Also, the teams that won 90+ wins were already rewarded by receiving 90+ points for it. So it's not unfair.

Finally, I wouldn't give 5 points for making the playoffs. GBrookes system of 3 points for making the playoffs, 2 pts for making the finals, and 3 pts for winning the Championship worked well and is more appropriate. And a player should receive a solid boost for winning the title: it is the main purpose of playing and the highest achievement in the regular season. So, the player who wins a title deserves a solid point boost in the standings.
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ScumbyJr

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Re: 2015 Tour Debrief

PostSun Jul 19, 2015 9:40 am

The out-of-division records tell the whole story.
East Central West
55-35 38-52 49-41
57-33 37-53 49-41
54-36 38-52 45-45
41-49 33-57 44-46

http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/le ... ded/426997

The last place team in the East losers of 96 games which finished 32 games behind was better out of division than the Central champs. Even the West teams did better. Some participants prefer the bonus point point system, but in no way is "winning" a division like this an achievement much less a substantial and significant achievement.
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J-Pav

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Re: 2015 Tour Debrief

PostSun Jul 19, 2015 10:49 am

Here's the fundamental flaw in having the Tour identifying excellent managers:

Last year, this was my worst stretch of seven consecutive teams (just like having seven consecutive tour events):

Winning Inc. 2013 $80M missed playoffs 3rd 84-78
Winning Inc. 2013 $80M missed playoffs 3rd 90-72
Winning Inc. 2013 $80M missed playoffs 2nd 86-76
Winning Inc. 2013 $80M lost Semi-Finals 1st 89-73
Winning Inc. 2013 $80M missed playoffs 4th 80-82
Winning Inc. 2013 $80M missed playoffs 3rd 79-83
Winning Inc. 2013 $80M lost Semi-Finals 1st 92-70

This was my best stretch of seven consecutive teams:

Winning Inc. 2013 $80M CHAMPS 1st 94-68
Winning Inc. 2013 $80M CHAMPS 1st 105-57
Winning Inc. 2013 $80M CHAMPS 1st 101-61
Winning Inc. 2013 $80M lost Finals 2nd 87-75
Winning Inc. 2013 $80M lost Semi-Finals 1st 90-72
Winning Inc. 2013 $80M CHAMPS 1st 94-68
Winning Inc. 2013 $80M CHAMPS 2nd 89-73

So which stretch of seven captured my manager "status"? And these are autoleagues, mind you.

The problem with playing 4-5 tour leagues is that it identifies probably less than more, esp amongst a bumped up level of competition. So how do we go about ferreting out excellence?

The "significant achievement" nonsense is easily debunked. If I should get any "bonus points" (and I'm still waiting for someone to point me to the bonus points section on the sports page), then I should get bonus points for 100 win teams. I do that way less often than winning rings. That is a significant achievement. Four 20 game winners happens less frequently than 100 win teams. That's a really significant achievement and merits strong "bonus points" consideration. How about five 15 game winners? Winning with 200 injury days? Two triple plays in a series? You see the subjective nonsense of this.

I won't speak for everyone, but I think it's safe to say that generally, the consensus is that a Champs team should "deserve" somewhere between zero and 15 "bonus points" (Clean up your room! Why, I don't get anything for doing that?! I'll give you 15 bonus points! 15 bonus points!! Wow! Yippee!)

As a result of my truth-hurting exchange with gbrookes last year, we dropped down to the 3+2+3 points method for the next season. 8 points to the Champ, halfway between 0-15, yeah, that seems pretty fair to everyone. Even strether likes this.

So I argue, since we're giving 8 points to the Champ, why be subjective about it at all? Just let wins on the field be the objective metric.

No amount of bonus points is going to change anything (assigning 500 bonus points for rings, in the end, would probably still get you a reasonable number of managers who are considered excellent). 4-5 qualifying events simply does not capture "excellence" in a game where excellence is measured in years of games, not games. So if we're to pretend it does (so we can have a tour), then we should at least remove all the subjectivity that we possibly can.
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l.strether

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Re: 2015 Tour Debrief

PostSun Jul 19, 2015 11:32 am

ScumbyJr wrote:Some participants prefer the bonus point point system, but in no way is "winning" a division like this an achievement much less a substantial and significant achievement.

Yes, winning one's division is an achievement because it is one of the main goals in playing an SOM season. It certainly is more of a goal than winning 90 games and missing the playoffs.
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l.strether

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Re: 2015 Tour Debrief

PostSun Jul 19, 2015 11:55 am

J-Pav wrote:The problem with playing 4-5 tour leagues is that it identifies probably less than more, esp amongst a bumped up level of competition. So how do we go about ferreting out excellence?

The point of the tournament isn't identifying the 36 best managers; it's rewarding the 36 managers who did the best...big difference.
The "significant achievement" nonsense is easily debunked. If I should get any "bonus points" (and I'm still waiting for someone to point me to the bonus points section on the sports page), then I should get bonus points for 100 win teams. I do that way less often than winning rings. That is a significant achievement. Four 20 game winners happens less frequently than 100 win teams. That's a really significant achievement and merits strong "bonus points" consideration. How about five 15 game winners? Winning with 200 injury days? Two triple plays in a series? You see the subjective nonsense of this.

No, it's not easily debunked, and you didn't easily (or uneasily) debunk it. Considering making the playoffs is one of the most significant goals of the SOM season, it is a significant achievement. What is nonsense is saying it isn't. And as I said before, points rewarding significant achievements--like points for regular season wins--aren't "bonus points," they're points rewarding significant achievements.

And again, all point reward systems are subjective. So, the only subjective "nonsense" is your forgetting that. There are no objective point equivalents for regular season wins, and there are no objective rules saying they all deserve the same amount of point rewards as playoff wins or wins giving a team the championship. That is your (and others') subjective opinion. So, your position is not the "objective" one. I (and others) would make a sound argument why the "achievements" you mentioned are not as significant as making the playoffs or winning the title, but if people want to argue for points for them, it is in their right to do so.
As a result of my truth-hurting exchange with gbrookes last year, we dropped down to the 3+2+3 points method for the next season. 8 points to the Champ, halfway between 0-15, yeah, that seems pretty fair to everyone. Even strether likes this.

So, you admit to the exchange you did have, now? Considering your humorously fervent denial of it before, that's admirable progress.
So I argue, since we're giving 8 points to the Champ, why be subjective about it at all? Just let wins on the field be the objective metric.

You really seem to have a difficult time grasping this; I'm not sure why. Making the Finals is "done on the field." Winning the finals is "done on the field." Making the playoffs is accomplished "on the field" at either the moment of victory or qualification. So points for those achievements are for what is accomplished on the field. And I repeat again: all point systems--including those for regular season wins--are subjective. There are no objective point equivalents.
No amount of bonus points is going to change anything (assigning 500 bonus points for rings, in the end, would probably still get you a reasonable number of managers who are considered excellent). 4-5 qualifying events simply does not capture "excellence" in a game where excellence is measured in years of games, not games. So if we're to pretend it does (so we can have a tour), then we should at least remove all the subjectivity that we possibly can.

Once more, if we're going to remove subjectivity from the tour, we'd have to get rid of points for regular-season wins, since those are subjective, too. And the point of the tournament is not to "capture excellence." It is to have an enjoyable, competitive tournament that rewards those who did the best, even if they are not the most "excellent" players. And amply rewarding those players means amply rewarding them for the most significant and important achievements in playing SOM. For most players of SOM, those most significant achievements are:

1. Winning the title.
2. Making the Finals
3. Making the playoffs
4. Winning regular season games.

The current point system amply rewards #4, but not #s 1-3. So, if the championship reward system is to more objectively reflect the values and reward the most important achievements of SOM play, it needs to amply reward those three achievements. To not do so, would just be wrongly deferring to the subjective opinions of those who don't adequately value those three achievements....and that's not removing subjectivity.
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J-Pav

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Re: 2015 Tour Debrief

PostSun Jul 19, 2015 12:18 pm

Interesting. The opposite of virtually everything you state makes a logical and cogent argument (I recognize mixing in a little half-truth every now and then makes your spiel appear more sensible).

You ignore the facts, deflect the points you can't counter into abstractions, change the meaning of words, take things out of context, repeat repeat repeat repeat nonsense ever more loudly, and voila! You have won the argument.

Yes, if the definition of opinion here actually means quantifiable fact, then yes, you have completely debunked me.

Well done! You win!
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l.strether

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Re: 2015 Tour Debrief

PostSun Jul 19, 2015 12:27 pm

J-Pav wrote:nteresting. The opposite of virtually everything you state makes a logical and cogent argument (I recognize mixing in a little half-truth every now and then makes your spiel appear more sensible).

Wow, that's an amazing non-statement that just shows you can't actually address or counter any of my cogent arguments. Of course, I already knew that.
You ignore the facts, deflect the points you can't counter into abstractions, change the meaning of words, take things out of context, repeat repeat repeat repeat nonsense ever more loudly, and voila! You have won the argument.

No, I won the argument because I countered all of your flawed, erroneous arguments with my sound, correct ones. Again, your failing to counter any of them, but instead making those false unfounded accusations, helps prove that.
Yes, if the definition of opinion here actually means quantifiable fact, then yes, you have completely debunked me.
Well done! You win!

Thank you. You are making admirable progress.
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keyzick

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Re: 2015 Tour Debrief

PostSun Jul 19, 2015 1:12 pm

l.strether wrote: And the point of the tournament is not to "capture excellence." It is to have an enjoyable, competitive tournament that rewards those who did the best, even if they are not the most "excellent" players. And amply rewarding those players means amply rewarding them for the most significant and important achievements in playing SOM. For most players of SOM, those most significant achievements are:

1. Winning the title.
2. Making the Finals
3. Making the playoffs
4. Winning regular season games.

The current point system amply rewards #4, but not #s 1-3. So, if the championship reward system is to more objectively reflect the values and reward the most important achievements of SOM play, it needs to amply reward those three achievements. To not do so, would just be wrongly deferring to the subjective opinions of those who don't adequately value those three achievements....and that's not removing subjectivity.


I would say the current point system DOES amply reward the following:

1. Winning the title.
:arrow: You would have to win 4 games in the series, thus getting 4 points. And it also acknowledges the loser of a 4-3 nail biter championship, by providing 3 more points to them than the manager who loses a title via a 4-0 sweep.

2. Making the Finals
:arrow: You would have received 4 extra points via winning the first round of playoffs...and now have the opportunity to win more games (i.e. points)

4. Winning regular season games
:arrow: you agreed on this point already, so I won't belabor


And the missing item...is currently only rewarded via opportunity (which may not be a bad thing):

3. Making the playoffs
:arrow: You make it, you can earn more points via items 1 and 2 above. You get swept, you get nothing extra. This would perhaps be where the hybrid system might come into play, providing an automatic 2 point bonus for anyone making the postseason. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I offer it as an option of compromise. While I do like the current point per win system, I understand the feeling that there should be some "subjective" reward to this accomplishment. I may not be in agreement, but I can certainly understand that point.


I don't know why the tournament would not want to capture excellence AND reward those who do the best? I think a point system that only addresses one of these, would be a flawed system. If too much weighting is put on the bonus points, I think it can potentially skew tournament qualification by overemphasizing a couple great seasons as opposed to consistent excellent performance. It's like saying Eli's a better QB than Peyton because he has more Super Bowl rings.
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l.strether

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Re: 2015 Tour Debrief

PostSun Jul 19, 2015 1:38 pm

keyzick wrote:I would say the current point system DOES amply reward the following:

No, it doesn't.
1. Winning the title.
You would have to win 4 games in the series, thus getting 4 points. And it also acknowledges the loser of a 4-3 nail biter championship, by providing 3 more points to them than the manager who loses a title via a 4-0 sweep.

And your example above shows it doesn't amply reward. In a nail-biter series, the winner only gets one more point than the loser, relegating the worth of winning the championship to winning one regular series game. Winning the championship is worth more than winning a regular season game. Even in a 4-2 series, the 2-point difference doesn't represent the achievement of winning the Finals. So, only if there is a sweep, which isn't common, do we have the same representation most were happy with before. So the current system decidedly does not amply reward winning the championship.
2. Making the Finals
You would have received 4 extra points via winning the first round of playoffs...and now have the opportunity to win more games (i.e. points)

Your statement above show your position to be wrong again. Just like in the Finals, if the other player wins 1,2, or 3 games, the significance of the points rewarded becomes inadequate. And the "opportunity" to win more games is certainly not an ample reward if one is shutout or only wins one game. So, again, you have well-shown why the current point system does not amply reward a player for making the finals.
4. Winning regular season games
you agreed on this point already, so I won't belabor

We are agreed, and since we're only focusing on playoff rewards, I'm not sure why you included it.
And the missing item...is currently only rewarded via opportunity (which may not be a bad thing):

No, it's not a good thing. Opportunity for points itself is not ample reward for the significant achievement of making the playoffs, particularly when there is solid chance that opportunity won't translate into ample reward.
3. Making the playoffs
You make it, you can earn more points via items 1 and 2 above. You get swept, you get nothing extra. This would perhaps be where they hybrid system might come into play, providing an automatic 2 pint bonus for anyone making the postseason. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I offer it as an option of compromise. While I do like the current point per win system, I understand the feeling that there should be some "subjective" reward to this accomplishment. I may not be in agreement, but I can certainly understand that point.

Well, we're in agreement here. As to compromise, GBrookes already substantially compromised when he reduced the regular playoff points last year. Continual "compromise" will just make the minimal playoff point reward inadequate and irrelevant.
I don't know why the tournament would not want to capture excellence AND reward those who do the best? I think a point system that only addresses one of these, would be a flawed system. If too much weighting is put on the bonus points, I think it can potentially skew tournament qualification by overemphasizing a couple great seasons as opposed to consistent excellent performance. It's like saying Eli's a better QB than Peyton because he has more Super Bowl rings.

Because, as I said before, the purpose of a fair tournament is to give everybody--not just the "excellent" players--the same chance and opportunity to win a tournament that best reflects SOM play and best rewards the most important accomplishments in SOM play. MLB certainly doesn't try to get the most "excellent" teams in the playoffs, it lets the teams who earned it make it. As I said before, Altec is the best player SOM has had, so if we were just rewarding the excellent, we should just give him next year's title now.

And a playoff point system does reward excellence, since the excellent players are usually the ones who make the playoffs most and win the most titles. So, a playoff point system does "capture excellence and reward those who do the best." As to "skewing" tournament qualification, you can say the same about a one-point-per-win system that gives 90+ points to players who just had a "few good seasons" by winning 90+ twice. If you don't want a few good seasons to "skew" things, you'd have to get rid of the current point-per-win system as well. I don't think you want that.

And the bonus point system is "not" like saying Eli is better than Peyton; that's a poor analogy, particularly since they aren't competing in a tournament. It's more like saying Peyton did win two super bowls (which is a major achievement), and he should get his deserved recognition for that. And when the time comes to evaluate his achievements, those should definitely be included along with the rest of his achievements. The same goes for making the playoffs, making the Finals, and winning the Finals. They don't necessarily make a player inherently better, but they are significant achievements the Tournament should amply recognize in its point system. As I showed earlier, the current system doesn't.
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