Newbie Serious Help

I'm pretty new to this. I'm a couple games into this and I'm getting slaughtered to put it mildly. I've included a link to my team looking for help/ideas on how I can improve my team. I don't want to be losing every game by 10-20 runs.

For the most part when I drafted I was trying to get pitchers and hitters close to even as possible. If that the wrong strategy? If that is not correct what should I be doing. Open to any advice. Thanks


https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1577858

Until you’ve completed five seasons, you still won’t know anything about anything (as a newb).

Six games means so little, it’s impossible to overstate. Teams that win 100 games often have a 10 of 15 losing streak somewhere along the way, but it’s buried within a bunch of hot weeks so you don’t even notice it. Your record at this point counts for very little. IGNORE it.

To reiterate, you’re not even a newb until you have five finished teams. Keep playing, keep studying, keep learning.

FWIW, I like your team and think it’s very interesting. The big ERA won’t last, it’ll come down and the wins will go up. All you can do is hang in there and OBSERVE.

What I would not do is start dumping underperforming players. Salary dumps in newbie hands will result in 100 loss seasons more often than not, and on top of that you learn absolutely zero.

Play. Study. Learn. CATom is one of the better managers in your league. Watch his team and know this: he has played almost 1000 teams over 15 some years! (hope that puts your six GAME record in perspective)!

There are an infinite number of helpful posts on the boards. Read as much as you can to distract yourself from blowing up your team, and start making plans for what you will do differently with your next team.

In single-card seasons (i.e., NOT mystery leagues), it is rare that dumping a player makes sense (assuming a 20 percent penalty, which is standard). Also, it is stupid to dump a good player just because he is doing poorly. His card doesn't get worse just because he is "slumping." Slumping is only a result of random bad luck.

Also, J-Pav is 100 percent correct when he says six games means nothing. Don't panic and start dumping players. Have faith in your team. They may or may not have a good season in the long run, but if you are a manager who makes frequent moves (again, talking about a single-season league like you are in), you almost guarantee that you'll finish last.

PS. The real test in putting together a good team comes during the autodraft and the preseason. You can make all the changes you want in preseason without penalty.

Thank you for the advice. I have been doing a lot of reading. I'd be curious to hear from some of the experienced players what they look for when selecting players to make a well rounded team.
I know there is not one cookie cutter way of drafting your team.

Welcome to the game. 6 games in or not, your team has flaws.

Generally speaking 28 players on a squad is not the way to go. Too much salary is spent on players who won't give you a return on your $80M. A lean squad of 25 is what you want.

The advice to not cut players once the season has started is sound. Usually. In your case, a bullpen of 9 is only going to lead to further angst. Cut Kelley, Leone and Cortes. Then upgrade Miller to the best R2 that is out there.

Pillar ($4.35) is only playing against lefties while Almora ($.90) is facing righties. It should be the other way around since you will face RHP's 75% of the time. Drop Pillar for a CF who is better against RHP and use Almora as a backup.

Your best RP, Giles, hasn't made an appearance. In "Pitcher Pref" list him as Setup as well as Closer.

SP's less than $1M rarely fare well. Draft accordingly next time.

Check out this thread for more advice.

Palmtana thank you for the advice.

Edit: Actually, I would just start Pillar vs. RHP and not drop him for another.

Palmtana, I did keep him. When I was looking at other CF nobody jumped out as a replacement. Question for you if you don't mind or another seasoned player. How do you determine where players hit in the batting order? Lets say you are facing a righty pitcher. Do I go real life where they normally hit? Stack all your hitters who favor righty then put the evens and left favored at bottom of lineup? Same question when facing a lefty pitcher.

how do you look back on transactions

how do you look back on transactions

Look under "Recent Transactions" at the bottom left of your Front Office page
or
Mouse over "Your League" at the top of the page and you'll see Transactions