Drawbacks to platooning

After many leagues I know some managers like to use the same 8-10 players nearly every game, and others go the full-blown platoon route...and most fall in between. What is the reason for your preferences, and what drawbacks do you see from mass platooning? Just trying to start an interesting discussion, so differing opinions would be excellent.

The biggest drawback is HAL's failure to listen to your plea to not let a batter face a lh or rh. This is especially true in the middle of the game. Get that rh starter out of the game and, if HAL actually uses logic, in comes a lh reliever who breezes through 3 innings because he is facing your lh platoon hitters. The other team has caught up and it is now a close game. If we could have an extra box to check (and HAL would use it) for NEVER hit against a rh or lh and a box to check for usually don't hit against a rh or lh, you would get a more realistic game without HAL depleting your entire bench in the 5th inning. But that doesn't happen right now.

Chuck

I think DJ pretty much summed things up really well. I try not to use more than 1 platoon if I can avoid it. No platoons would be idea for me.

I enjoy platoons quite a bit, but the drawback to me is mostly about defense. You can't afford 2 defensively sound guys, so you are sacrificing D at platoon positions.

I agree that the main drawback is that HAL rarely, even in the 9th inning, switches batters after he switches pitchers.
I don't think anyone "prefers" platoning if they had their choice, but it is alot easier to get the guys with 900 OPS on one side then the few players that can hit it from both sides of the plate.
Would you rather a tean where no one platoons and they all hit 800 OPS from both sides or a team where every position platoons but hits 900 OPS from each side? After taking into account HAL's management, I dont know for certain but I think the jump you get on offense until a pitching change outways the negative. Also, often HAL doesnt switch a R for a L when he puts a pitching change in. Generally, he puts the mopup, setup or closer in without taking into account if he is a R or L- or at least he doesnt take it into account enough.

I have literally done thousands of platoons on SOMO over the years in all every SOM game that they have put out. To not use platooms is to give away one of the few ways you have to legally circumvent the salary cap, along with park effects, etc. I usually would defer to Adam Katz and I think he is on the right track, but where I would disagree is that:
1)I would not say that HAL rarely pinch hits, even in the ninth inning. I would say pinch hitting before the ninth inning is rare, but I think it's pretty common in the ninth inning. Not sure about the eighth inning.
2)I would say the jump you get in offense definately outweighs any perceived disadvantage. The people who are expecting their platoons to face 100% of their preferred side are living in a fantasy world(pun intended). That being said, I pretty commonly get guys facing up to 90% to their preferred side unless they are forced to play do to injury. What more can you realistically ask for than a guy facing around 90%(usually vs RHP) to his preferred side? And, if you get a platoon to face that high a percentage, I do not see how the jump in offense could be outweighed by any problems with the platoon playing occasionally against their bad side unless you created a bad platoon, then shame on you.
Here are some examples just from my current teams:
1999(just won championship last night)http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/team/803671
Two successful platoons:
Helton-90% vs rhp's/Garcia 67% vs lhp's 120R's/150RBI Cost = $7.31
Hundley-92% vs rhp's/Hernandez 53% vs lhp's 97R's/123RBI Cost = $2.29
I realize the 1999 game has trumped up offensive stats, but the splits are valid anywhere. Garcia would have a better split but he also backed up 3B and took a few turns in the OF and at DH. Hernandez filled in for Hundley for at least a couple pretty good injuries to slide down to 53% vs lhp. As I said, the vs LH side of the platoon seems to always have the worse split.
I could go on and on posting examples from my current teams for different games, but I am confident they would basically show the same results. Both guys above having 90% splits is no fluke and how can that NOT be benefit you towards winning and being successful?

It's one of the "secrets" to winning at this game, and I don't like to give away my secrets. I've posted enough of my teams (several with 110+ wins) and they always have several platoons. You can expect about 90% strong side against RHP and about 70% strong side against LHP.

I think platoons are a great strategy and try to use them as much as possible but I'd have to agree with the drawback that DJ mentions. I usually go for hitting teams and if I'm clobbering someone early in the game my teams do get shut down by the opposite side pitcher. HAL probably is programmed to not break the platoon early because managers in MLB wouldn't do that. They also would probably avoid as many platoons as some of us use.

One of my "secrets" to managing is to avoid leagues with hallerose. I think that works better than platooning.

HAL probably is programmed to not break the platoon early because managers in MLB wouldn't do that. They also would probably avoid as many platoons as some of us use.

...and...we don't have to worry about managing "fragile" egos...

Since the playback option has been added -which is the greatest addition to the game since Ibegan playing - I have been watching the games unfold. I used to just look at the boxs score.
I used to religously plaoon. I am still pretty religous-just a little less.
I didn't mean to mislaead anybody but Durantjerry is right- HAL "usually" will pinch hit in the 9th inning. However, I have lost several games - including at least one recent playoff game - with some combination of Incaviglia/Deer/Benecdict/Vail, etc... while trailing by one run without Hal PHing in the 9th against a righty. There have been many many games where I have knocked out the starting pitcher but by the 5-7th inning I am down by a run or two and HAL keeps guys like that in the whole game against righties. He just doesnt pinch hit much-if ever- before the 8th inning and in the 9th if the pitcher is, for example, a righty that is strong against lefties, he wont take out righties that are absolutely worthless against righties if your bench pllayers are lefties. This is obviously extremely annoying- particularly in the playoffs.
That being said, if you have the opportunity to platton one player great against righties and one great against lefties for about the same price as one guy that is less good against both, it seems like a no-brainer.