How Much Emphasis Do You Put On Defense?

I seem to be in a bit of a slump lately. My active teams are hovering below .500 and I haven't won a ring in months, so I'm trying to isolate some things that I'm doing that might be holding me back.

One theory of mine is that I've always placed a high emphasis on defense - possibly even too much. I'll generally keep my defensive ranges at a 1 or a 2, using the occasional 3 at catcher or corner infield. I've never ever used a 3 or worse in my middle infield, with the exception of if I'm using Mariano Duncan in a platoon at 2nd.

To the (many) folks in here who are better at this than I am, how do you balance the cost of defense in the big picture of a salary cap league? And do you find that defense has more value in a hitting park or when you're building a pitching-oriented team?

Any pointers would be appreciated. I clearly am stuck in a rut right now and I think I'm holding myself back with some of these self-imposed rules that I've put on myself, so it's time to call in the experts.

Speed and Defense are critical to a small ball team, less so to a bomber team.

I generally want 1's at SS, 2B & CF. I can live with 3's or even 4's at 1B, 3B & C. 1's or 2's at the corner outfield position.

But other things matter as well and that includes: OF Arms, C Arm, C PB Rating, Pitcher Hold Rating, Pitcher WP & BK rating.

If you are building a small ball team, all of those things matter. A great defensive team can make $4M pitchers perform like $7M pitchers. I've had $20 million pitching staffs lead the league in runs allowed.

But, it's also about finding the RIGHT players. You need to get the value guys who fit the criteria above.

Interesting. I've always worked to the inverse of that, with the thinking that a costly error would likely lead to more runs in Fulton than it would in Petco. But maybe the difference is that you're using that defense to give yourself the ability to underspend on pitching and shift more money to hitting?

So I’m kinda the opposite of sweet swing here. Just going back over my last 7 100 win teams …… 3 of them I led the league in errors , another three I was second or third in errors. One of the teams which was a small balm team I had the least amount of errors in the league.

I do agree with being solid up the middle for the most part but besides no 3 & 4’s at ss and cf I don’t have any set rules on things I won’t do regarding defense when building a team. I do think there has to be a trade off when sacrificing defense though. You need to gain an offensive advantage when doing so. The 7.77 Eddie Mathews card which is a 3 at 3b is one of my favorites because of the upside at the plate that he brings. The 9m Ralph Kiner is very similar in that regard. Most of my better teams are power builds so maybe that has something to do with being able to sacrifice defense and remain successful but I do think there’s significant gains to not being strict to all 1’s and 2’s.

I do like getting a sub 1m 1 defender in my starting lineup though. Pokey Reese Brett Butler and Glenn Wilson are three examples of cheap defense that I like to grab.

So I’m kinda the opposite of sweet swing here. Just going back over my last 7 100 win teams …… 3 of them I led the league in errors , another three I was second or third in errors. One of the teams which was a small balm team I had the least amount of errors in the league.

I do agree with being solid up the middle for the most part but besides no 3 & 4’s at ss and cf I don’t have any set rules on things I won’t do regarding defense when building a team. I do think there has to be a trade off when sacrificing defense though. You need to gain an offensive advantage when doing so. The 7.77 Eddie Mathews card which is a 3 at 3b is one of my favorites because of the upside at the plate that he brings. The 9m Ralph Kiner is very similar in that regard. Most of my better teams are power builds so maybe that has something to do with being able to sacrifice defense and remain successful but I do think there’s significant gains to not being strict to all 1’s and 2’s.

I do like getting a sub 1m 1 defender in my starting lineup though. Pokey Reese Brett Butler and Glenn Wilson are three examples of cheap defense that I like to grab.

Interesting. I've sworn off the cheap defensive specialist in my lineups, but I don't remember my last 100 win team either, so I'm inclined to listen to you. Would you mind linking one of your teams for me to look at? (Don't worry. I'm not interested in copying anyone's roster. It's dumb and it doesn't work anyway.)

https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1779005

https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1766177

https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1763845

https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1732328

https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1738875

https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1742616

https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1743700

Here are links to all of my 100 win teams. I think 5 small ball and 2 bomber.

Thanks! Two trends I'm noticing that I've not done to this point is that you're balancing your pitching/hitting a lot differently than I do. (I'm usually +/- 5 from a 40/60 split) I also see you using a fair amount of home run hitters even in a pitching park. Are you doing that based on your division/league or is that a general rule of thumb for you?

Thanks! Two trends I'm noticing that I've not done to this point is that you're balancing your pitching/hitting a lot differently than I do. (I'm usually +/- 5 from a 40/60 split) I also see you using a fair amount of home run hitters even in a pitching park. Are you doing that based on your division/league or is that a general rule of thumb for you?

Largely I do modify my teams to better contend with my divisional (and league to a lesser extent) opponents.

Hi Leeroy
I will chime in. Your question goes right to the core of playing SOM. What value should be placed on the various components (hitting, pitching, defense, speed, injuries, stealing, etc) and then what percentage applies to each? Unfortunately, I have no idea. I have plenty of theories and some have been successful, while others not so much.

Based on your question, I think you may be placing too much emphasis on defense. It is very important, but so is hitting and pitching. I certainly disagree with putting absolutes on defensive values at specific positions. Your example of Duncan is the perfect response to that. I find that the teams I put a bit more emphasis on hitting often do better than the defensive ones. In fact, I am really considering discounting defense by 10% in my "ratings". I think I overvalue it even though I am sure my value calculations are correct. In other words, my percentages are off.

I know the general thought is things like speed, defense and obp are critical to small ball teams. I read and thoroughly enjoyed Rich's thoughts on the subject about a year ago before he retired. But I disagree with much of that. One team I played was in an $80M Autoleague. My park was Petco and I spent $29+ on pitching. My defense: 1b (3&4), 2b (3), SS (3), 3b (1&3), LF (4), CF (1), RF (3). The team led the league in Runs (123% of league average) and was 4th in Runs Against (87% of league avg). They stole 28 bases. They were not the prototype small ball team, but won 103 games.

I dont think we can put generalized limits on teams. It just comes down to getting the values and percentages in line. That and a lot of dice rolls on the correct side of the cards! I hope this helps in a small way, you get out of your slump and HAL blesses you with the right rolls.

So I’m kinda the opposite of sweet swing here. Just going back over my last 7 100 win teams …… 3 of them I led the league in errors , another three I was second or third in errors. One of the teams which was a small balm team I had the least amount of errors in the league.

I do agree with being solid up the middle for the most part but besides no 3 & 4’s at ss and cf I don’t have any set rules on things I won’t do regarding defense when building a team. I do think there has to be a trade off when sacrificing defense though. You need to gain an offensive advantage when doing so. The 7.77 Eddie Mathews card which is a 3 at 3b is one of my favorites because of the upside at the plate that he brings. The 9m Ralph Kiner is very similar in that regard. Most of my better teams are power builds so maybe that has something to do with being able to sacrifice defense and remain successful but I do think there’s significant gains to not being strict to all 1’s and 2’s.

I do like getting a sub 1m 1 defender in my starting lineup though. Pokey Reese Brett Butler and Glenn Wilson are three examples of cheap defense that I like to grab.

Interesting. I've sworn off the cheap defensive specialist in my lineups, but I don't remember my last 100 win team either, so I'm inclined to listen to you. Would you mind linking one of your teams for me to look at? (Don't worry. I'm not interested in copying anyone's roster. It's dumb and it doesn't work anyway.)

Here’s a few of the 100 win teams. I’ve noticed that none of these have the ultra cheap defensive guy that I mentioned earlier but it is a strategy I use often.

https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1755917

https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1780553

https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1777116

https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1766519

https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1767203


This last team here would be an example of one with the cheap 1. I see this is also a very good defensive team in general

https://365.strat-o-matic.com/team/1772095