Question about online leagues..

[RsEoDx 86]

I've run leagues on OOTP before but I still have a few questions to perhaps optimize the experience.

First off, I'm wondering how GM's who own OOTP can export their team's lineups--I've always wanted to use this but never knew how it worked.

Secondly, this is more of a preference question, but how many games should be simmed each time in a sim? I've simmed from a few weeks up to three months, so I was just wondering if there is some kind of agreed-upon number.

Also, look for my OOTP6 sim to come soon, I'll be needing quality GMs and I'm sure this is the best place to come.

Thanks for the time,
RsEoDx 86, Commissioner of R'n'B Baseball League (coming soon!)

[satchel]

It’s easy for owners to export their team files online, they just press the ‘Export team to ftp’ button on the Team setup screen.

The number of days to play in each sim is a personal decision. The fewer the days simmed, the better control the owners have over their teams; the disadvantage to simming a small number of days is the slow pace of completing your season.

A large majority of leagues sim between 7 and 15 days per sim. Personally, I sim 10 days (in theory, two cycles of a five-man pitching rotation). Anything over a month at a time is severely limiting GM control.

[rem]

I do all my sims live; so I only sim seven days. Otherwise, I'm worried the live sim will drag on too much. But, I'll admit it's a fairly slow pace.

[LivnLegend]

7 day sims are perfect in my opinion. Simming a week at a time allows you to stop on a natural ending point (calendar week),

Longer sims make it harder to utilize the disabled list effectively.

The pace may be slower than other leagues use but one thing it has done for the USBA as it has helped foster a lot of involvement in writing articles and allowing team owners to contribute regular "columns" for the enjoyment of everyone in the league. When you sim 15 days (or more) at once, time is passing so quickly in the league that writing articles and team reports almost becomes pointless since they become very dated within a few days (by the next sim). It’s worked great in the USBA and has helped it become the most active online league I have ever seen in regards to articles and columns from the team owners.

[CommishJoe]

Agreed on the sim speed. The TLB uses a 7-8-7 method where we alternate between 7 & 8 day sims. This way, 2 sims = a stint on the DL. It prevents the DL from turning into a 21 day DL instead of 15.

[satchel]

This leads to the question of how Commishes can handle their league’s teams’ DLs.

In my leagues, I check all the teams before a sim, and manually take players off the DL as they become ready. It’s unrealistic for a good player to sit on the DL after he’s healed, so I make sure that doesn’t happen. I know every team in both of my leagues very well, and a little research can usually answer any uncertainty. The owners have to trust my judgement, as far as where to put the returning players in lineups, etc., but I haven’t had a single complaint in over a dozen seasons.

[jazzrack]

We use a 4-3-4 days per sim , and we sim on even days (2nd, 4th, 6th ect) The pace is slower than most league, but you get great control of your team & it mitigates alot of the issues that longer sims have (the DL issue, player signing lag, trade lag ect.) it also fosters an enviroment for writing and really has helped forster a community feel.