2 Questions (reliever use and contracts)

[nmigliore]

1 - Okay so some times my starter gets shelled and leaves the game after 2-3 innings.. and then I noticed one of my set-up man is used for like 3 innings.. wtf? Is there any way to stop that? Its not like my relievers are out of order either; for instance I have my setup men in the setup man part of the pitching staff.. I dont think I have a reliever in the mop-up role though, could that be why? I should note I sim through games so its not like I can do it myself in the middle of the game.

2 - I noticed the game automatically hands out contracts to arbitration eligible players.. Is there any way to non-tender a player?

thanks

[jasonn29tn14]

I'm guessing not having a mop up man designated is probably at fault here. But a big part of the reason I started playing out the last 4 innings of each game was I just hated the way the AI used my bullpen.

[SteveP]

Originally Posted by nmigliore

1 - Okay so some times my starter gets shelled and leaves the game after 2-3 innings.. and then I noticed one of my set-up man is used for like 3 innings.. wtf? Is there any way to stop that? Its not like my relievers are out of order either; for instance I have my setup men in the setup man part of the pitching staff.. I dont think I have a reliever in the mop-up role though, could that be why? I should note I sim through games so its not like I can do it myself in the middle of the game.

The way the AI handles MRs is a bit mysterious. There is a similar mystery about how the AI uses the depth charts when making in-game substitutions for position players. It is clear that the AI is programmed to treat your assignments in these boxes as more advisory than prescriptive (like drivers around here treat stop signs ). There are two possible reasons for that. One is that Markus thinks the AI makes better decisions when it can consider more factors that just who is in what box on a chart. The other is that the AI is more likely to paint itself into in-game substitution corners if there are two many constraints on the choices available to it.

I always ask the AI to tell me who it wants in what boxes. That at least gives me an idea of what the AI "wants to do". It's useful info, and sometimes I just decide to go along. Also, if you have someone who you think is a good long reliever choice, putting that person in the mop-up box might help the AI make decisions closer to what you want. No guarantee, but it's a sensible experiment.

2 - I noticed the game automatically hands out contracts to arbitration eligible players.. Is there any way to non-tender a player?

I've been wondering that myself. Have you tried submitting a zero dollar contract offer? Or a blank contract offer? Just some things I plan to try next time I have that situation in an arbitration.

[gnomez]

Yes, to non-tender a player, you offer a contract value of 0.
Your problem will be alleviated, but not entirely fixed, by designating a pitcher in the mop-up role. Pick a reliever with higher stamina than most others.
The depth chart issue is just a clusterfudge.

[SteveP]

Of course, don't overlook the fact that you can just release the guy before arbitration. It's possible that the game design assumed that if the guy was still there on arbitration day, you wanted to keep him. The text on that screen isn't as helpful as it could be on that point.