Minor league management: The "Death Spiral"

ackum · 11-17-2008, 09:59 AM

I've been a casual player of OOTP for a while but only started playing with career manager (non-commish) mode recently with OOTP 9. So far this is what I'm experiencing. Hopefully someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong.

Tooling along just fine in my 1st season as a AA manager. All of a sudden I lose a starting pitcher to a 12-month injury. Now, I know there's no minor league DL, and it looks like the for vs. against argument has been raging for some time...don't want to repeat that here. But the injured pitcher just sat there on my roster and since I didn't have the capability to add a replacement pitcher, I moved on with a 4-man rotation.

Then, I lose a second starter to a 6-month injury. Same problem - no replacement. Only this time it starts forcing my team to over-use relievers to pick up the slack. And guess what starts happening when you overwork tired relievers? They get injured. So begins the death spiral. I got a few call-ups throughout the remainder of the season but never enough to properly field a team, because one after the other the pitchers that still had usable arms eventually went down with 2-week / 6-week / career-ending injuries. My season ended with a 14 out of a 100 score and a "You can do better than that!"

Well, can I? Was there something I should have done to prevent this? Am I the victim of a bug or an AI not programmed to gauge the viability of its minor league teams? Or is there some cue I'm supposed to be giving the AI-controlled GM that says "hey, can I get some new blood down here?"

SMFXR01 · 11-17-2008, 10:54 AM

This topic has once again highlighted the two main (!) problems I have playing OOTP.
I like to, as a few do, start at the bottom and work my way up.
But at times find it frustrating.
Minor league DL is long overdue.
And either the AI to be more logical or an option to specify the range of pichers limit related to the roster size (i.e on a roster size of 50 the number of pitchers would be 16-18....for instance).

In conclusion....no there is nothing you can do.
I have managed, by tweaking options, to get 12 pitchers on to a roster size of 50.
If 1 or 2 starters go down it certainly can be the start of a spiral......

(or lead to just playing as the ML GM)

Kelric · 11-18-2008, 02:13 AM

What you're doing wrong is playing as a minor league manager. Seriously. It just doesn't work well right now.

cbbl · 11-18-2008, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kelric

What you're doing wrong is playing as a minor league manager. Seriously. It just doesn't work well right now.

Correct. AI minor league roster management is poor and, as stated, a big area a lot of us are shouting to have fixed.

1998 Yankees · 11-19-2008, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kelric

What you're doing wrong is playing as a minor league manager. Seriously. It just doesn't work well right now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbbl

Correct. AI minor league roster management is poor and, as stated, a big area a lot of us are shouting to have fixed.

I agree with these guys. I experimented with this level of play and basically it was no fun. "Death Spiral" is a good term for it because after going through what ackum describes, you probably will get fired and your reputation will suffer. Which causes you to get fired faster the next time, etc., etc.

Managing a minor league team is made possible in OOTP and is one of its selling points, but the game was designed to be played and enjoyed at the GM level. That is where the focus of game development continues to be. It's as simple as that.

bobser · 12-04-2008, 03:36 PM

As far as not having enough players, was the "ghost players" option and the roster size limit option enabled? Or did the AI assume that because you had 25 players on the roster you didn't need any "ghosts"?

Spritze · 12-04-2008, 04:10 PM

As I most foggily disremember: if you put an injured pitcher on the Designated For Assignment list you can move him from there to the Major League Disabled List freeing your rooster spot.

Afino · 12-04-2008, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spritze

As I most foggily disremember: if you put an injured pitcher on the Designated For Assignment list you can move him from there to the Major League Disabled List freeing your rooster spot.

Now, why would you keep roosters in the major leagues? Everyone knows they can't hit!!!

(sorry.....I couldn't help it)

Spritze · 12-04-2008, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Afino

Now, why would you keep roosters in the major leagues? Everyone knows they can't hit!!!

(sorry.....I couldn't help it)

Neither could I.

11-17-2008, 09:59 AM	#1 (permalink)
ackum Bat Boy Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 2	Minor league management: The "Death Spiral" I've been a casual player of OOTP for a while but only started playing with career manager (non-commish) mode recently with OOTP 9. So far this is what I'm experiencing. Hopefully someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong. Tooling along just fine in my 1st season as a AA manager. All of a sudden I lose a starting pitcher to a 12-month injury. Now, I know there's no minor league DL, and it looks like the for vs. against argument has been raging for some time...don't want to repeat that here. But the injured pitcher just sat there on my roster and since I didn't have the capability to add a replacement pitcher, I moved on with a 4-man rotation. Then, I lose a second starter to a 6-month injury. Same problem - no replacement. Only this time it starts forcing my team to over-use relievers to pick up the slack. And guess what starts happening when you overwork tired relievers? They get injured. So begins the death spiral. I got a few call-ups throughout the remainder of the season but never enough to properly field a team, because one after the other the pitchers that still had usable arms eventually went down with 2-week / 6-week / career-ending injuries. My season ended with a 14 out of a 100 score and a "You can do better than that!" Well, can I? Was there something I should have done to prevent this? Am I the victim of a bug or an AI not programmed to gauge the viability of its minor league teams? Or is there some cue I'm supposed to be giving the AI-controlled GM that says "hey, can I get some new blood down here?" __________________ --- Curtis

11-17-2008, 10:54 AM	#2 (permalink)
SMFXR01 All Star Reserve Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 907 Thanked 38x in 35 posts	This topic has once again highlighted the two main (!) problems I have playing OOTP. I like to, as a few do, start at the bottom and work my way up. But at times find it frustrating. Minor league DL is long overdue. And either the AI to be more logical or an option to specify the range of pichers limit related to the roster size (i.e on a roster size of 50 the number of pitchers would be 16-18....for instance). In conclusion....no there is nothing you can do. I have managed, by tweaking options, to get 12 pitchers on to a roster size of 50. If 1 or 2 starters go down it certainly can be the start of a spiral...... (or lead to just playing as the ML GM) Last edited by SMFXR01; 11-17-2008 at 11:04 AM.

11-18-2008, 02:13 AM	#3 (permalink)
Kelric Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Greater Boston Area Posts: 3,982 Thanked 46x in 36 posts	What you're doing wrong is playing as a minor league manager. Seriously. It just doesn't work well right now. __________________ Former Co-Commish and owner of the Boston Red Sox, 1783-1144, .609%, of the defunct Overlords Baseball League (1930-48). 17 Division wins, 9 ALCS wins, 5 World Series wins.

12-04-2008, 03:36 PM	#6 (permalink)
bobser Bat Boy Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 12	As far as not having enough players, was the "ghost players" option and the roster size limit option enabled? Or did the AI assume that because you had 25 players on the roster you didn't need any "ghosts"? __________________

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12-04-2008, 04:10 PM	#7 (permalink)
Spritze Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Redmond Wa and Cape Coast Ghana Posts: 2,815 Thanked 305x in 216 posts	As I most foggily disremember: if you put an injured pitcher on the Designated For Assignment list you can move him from there to the Major League Disabled List freeing your rooster spot.