Reliever Not Pitching Prior Game Coming In With F0 Rating?

Anybody else experience something like this?

http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/ga ... 428269/810

J.P. Howell, who had not pitched the prior game, enters with an F0 fatigue rating and gets rocked. It was a save situation and he does not have a closer rating, but I don't recall that prompting an F0 fatigue rating. It's the Players Championship semi-finals against the team I am chasing for the Wild Card, so I really needed this win.

TOP OF INNING 9
SUBSTITUTION at P: Trevor Rosenthal (role: Closer vs. L)
0 M.Carpenter 2-10 Walk b-1 F9
SUBSTITUTION at P: Fernando Rodney (role: Closer vs. R)
SUBSTITUTION at PH: Alexi Amarista
0 1 A.Amarista 6-9 Double (CF) 1-3 b-2 F9
SUBSTITUTION at P: J.P. Howell
0 23 J.Mauer 2-6 Walk b-1 F0
0 123 I.Kinsler 3-7 Fly Out (LF) b-0 F0
SUBSTITUTION at PH: Tommy La Stella
1 123 T.La Stella 6-5 Sac Fly (RF) 3-H 2-3 b-0 F0
2 1 3 A.Escobar 3-10 Single (CF) 3-H 1-2 b-1 F0
2 12 J.Dyson 6-6 Walk 2-3 1-2 b-1 F0
2 123 R.Martin 3-8 Walk 3-H 2-3 1-2 b-1 F0
2 123 Y.Puig 6-6 Walk 3-H 2-3 1-2 b-1 F0
2 123 M.Carpenter 2-9 Single (RF) 3-H 2-H 1-3 b-2 F0
2 23 A.Amarista 2-9 Single (CF) 3-H 2-H b-0 F0

I do note that everything Howell gave up was either on the hitters' card or walks on his card (6-6 vs. righties), so maybe the fatigue rating didn't matter. I still don't understand why he was an F0, though.

If just venting we hear ya. If you want us to take guesses on why this happened might want to post the 3 or 4 games prior to this game.

Here’s the game immediately before it. Howell did not play:
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/game/428269/804

That was preceded by two 15-inning games. In the one two games before the game in question, Howell pitched 2 innings (34 pitches), leaving the game with an F3 rating:
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/game/428269/798

In the one three games prior to the one in question, Howell pitched 3 innings (47 pitches), leaving the game with a F0 rating:
http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/game/428269/789

The game prior to that was a Jake Arrieta complete game.

So Howell had pitched quite a bit, but not that much more than, say, Rodney, who threw 35 pitches in the game with the URL ending 798 and 29 pitches in the game with the URL ending 789. And he had an F9 rating when he came into the game in question. (Of course, it was a save situation and he has a C6 rating.)

I am wondering how the fatigue mechanism works, too. I suppose the easiest way to implement it would be to change the percentage of rolls that go on the hitter’s card as opposed to the pitcher’s card. In that case, maybe the fatigue factor did have an impact on Howell’s performance.

I do note that everything Howell gave up was either on the hitters' card or walks on his card (6-6 vs. righties), so maybe the fatigue rating didn't matter. I still don't understand why he was an F0, though.

Actually, this is precisely how F0 is enacted on the super-advanced on-line game. You get only readings on the offensive cards. The "@" symbol used as a fatigued mark is only used in the advanced mode (for face-to-face)

To answer Al,

Very simple answer: Howell didn't get into the game as F0. This was his state only after he allowed a walk.

He entered the game as F9, since he was rested the day before.

Unfortunately, he has no closer rating. And this was a closer situation (which, in Strat, is defined as any 9th inning situation where the hitter is a potential tying or leading run).

So Howell gets in the game as F9, he has no closer rating---so as soon as he allows something, anything, his rating gets a hit--usually, the rating will go down to F2 or F1, but it sometimes goes down to F0, especially for R1, which Howell is.

Thanks Marcpelletier!