Posted by ahausla on 7/22/2015 8:51:00 PM (view original):
If he wants to, feel free.  I am all for being trolled if it helps me figure it out.

slashtc's comments will be of little help. Trust me on that.

As to listed position, this tidbit of information is well-hidden: how to change listed position and compare to ML averages.

"5) always! Always! Always! Make the last year of a contract you offer a player a 'mutual option'. They never turn it down and it could save you a ton of money when that shining free agent turns to a dog turd in their 4th year."

This is wrong as well, as players do decline mutual options - had two players decline mutual options in the same season for one of my teams. 

Players do decline mutual options. In my experience, I'd say its more common for them not to, but it certainly still happens.

Having said that, mutual options are a great tool to be used. Especially in the context of free agent offers where you're concerned about the player not aging well relative to what you're paying him. In those cases, put in that mutual option clause. 

I have a question on ratings. I have a C with 75/78 splits with contact but little power and pitch calling of 69. Currently hitting only .243. On my AAA squad a C that has 52/33 splits but a PC of 79. How much different is my pitching staff going to be if he is starting? Would you take the drop even though my current catcher has higher splits?

Jose Calderone's bat is good enough that the difference in defense probably isn't enough. MikeT has a formula posted that seems accurate; maybe .5 gain in ERA for every 10 points, but didn't see the thread on a quick search? Given that you're not really in the race, though, I'd bring up Orval Holder for the second half to see what he can do. Play him half the time the rest of the way and you can compare their Catcher's ERAs to see the difference (though with too small a sample size to be definitive).

I never skimp on defense at SS and only do it at C if I have good pitching to begin with AND the C's bat is sensational. I'd prefer a better defensive C to Calderone and move him to RF, but it would have to be one with a better bat than Orval Holder for me to make a permanent change. Holder would need C defense of 85-90-90 to even consider putting his bat (29 power, 27 vR and 32 Eye is god-awful, and his 58 contact/51 vL are low-end mediocre) on the field while chasing a playoff berth.

In general, there's a lot more to consider than PC and splits (or would be if Holder were even replacement-level). 
- How much does your offense need the bat? If you can bat your C 8th or 9th, the weak bat of the better defender is less important. If your weaker defensive C is hitting 3-4-5, that's a big hole to create.
- How good are your pitchers? If your staff is getting clobbered and should be good, that's impetus to improve PC. If your staff is getting clobbered and should be getting clobbered because they're lousy, improving PC isn't going to matter.
- Is there a better option on the waiver wire or in FA?

.12 ERA for every 10 points in PC.   That was a long time ago.     Obviously 10 points doesn't mean much but 40 is half a run.

Without trying to assign a specific value to the running game and its complexities, what (wild-guess) would 10 points better in AS/AA add to the ERA change? If it were a third as influential as PC, that would jump to .16. Maybe a total of 40-50 points combined for the three ratings would equal half a run?

As was posted earlier regarding veteran owners setting ADV to 0...

If a team is a few years away, does it make sense to set ADV to 0 and increase prospect, ifa, and HS or COL. And as a follow up, if ADV is 0 making trades will require more on looking at current ratings and trying to project potential correct?

And my reading of several forum threads, ADV has nothing to do with projecting futures of IFAs or draft eligible players, correct?

Posted by alogman1 on 7/23/2015 4:28:00 PM (view original):
"5) always! Always! Always! Make the last year of a contract you offer a player a 'mutual option'. They never turn it down and it could save you a ton of money when that shining free agent turns to a dog turd in their 4th year."

This is wrong as well, as players do decline mutual options - had two players decline mutual options in the same season for one of my teams. 

I don't know about "always," but these aren't used nearly enough. Players will decline their options, but there's really only been one -- out of the dozens that I've signed to mutual options -- that I was mad about (because he priced himself out of my budget). Mutual options are a great way to protect yourself from an injury or player who ages badly.

There's no reason not to use the option unless it's your favorite player who you don't want to risk losing at all, ratings be damned.

Edit: Think of it like an option on the back end of the contract.

Posted by hockey1984 on 7/22/2015 12:07:00 PM (view original):
Important newbie rules I wish someone had told me.

1) bump training up to $20 million and keep it there. Don't ask questions.

2) You don't have to bump medical up to $20 million but I would. You no longer have 'career ruining injuries' and instead big injuries can be a positive.

3) try not to make any trades for the first 5 seasons. If you do, post here or ask a mentor if it's a reasonable deal.

4) players start taking ratings hits at 32-33 and most become pretty useless by 36. Keep in mind when signing older players to long yet deals. Pitchers start losing ratings at 34 and are usually good until 38.

5) always! Always! Always! Make the last year of a contract you offer a player a 'mutual option'. They never turn it down and it could save you a ton of money when that shining free agent turns to a dog turd in their 4th year.

6) put your important prospects on the 40 man ASAP. You will forget, they will be available for the rule V draft and no one will feel sorry for you.

7) for high school, college and international scouting, a budget of $13 million or less is useless. Put $15 million into two of them and leave the third at 0. If you can afford to get HS or College up to 20 I'm told it's worth it with the new update.

Returning to #4. I've seen various opinions on the age a player declines. If it's 32-33 for hitters, that becomes an area where we must remember that HBD isn't MLB. And I've been letting hitters go too soon :-).

Posted by joshkvt on 7/27/2015 3:24:00 PM (view original):
Without trying to assign a specific value to the running game and its complexities, what (wild-guess) would 10 points better in AS/AA add to the ERA change? If it were a third as influential as PC, that would jump to .16. Maybe a total of 40-50 points combined for the three ratings would equal half a run?

That's so hard to say.   Strong arm catchers not only throw out runners at a better percentage but they also suppress running.   For instance, Hardball Dynasty – Fantasy Baseball Sim Games - Player Profile: Neftali Park played in the equivalent of 453 games.   296 SB attempts. 

Hardball Dynasty – Fantasy Baseball Sim Games - Player Profile: John Romanski in 1142 had 1289 SBA. 

Park is one of those 80/80/80 guys while Romanski is a 60/60/60 guy.

Posted by Ramey519 on 7/27/2015 9:50:00 PM (view original):
As was posted earlier regarding veteran owners setting ADV to 0...

If a team is a few years away, does it make sense to set ADV to 0 and increase prospect, ifa, and HS or COL. And as a follow up, if ADV is 0 making trades will require more on looking at current ratings and trying to project potential correct?

And my reading of several forum threads, ADV has nothing to do with projecting futures of IFAs or draft eligible players, correct?

As a long-time 0 ADV owner, I think it always makes sense to go to 0.    It takes more work to trade, and now that we can't see development/decline patterns, it takes more work. 

IFA/College/HS determines the projections you see for those players BEFORE they are signed.

Thanks Mike, your answer was very clear.

Posted by MikeT23 on 7/28/2015 10:31:00 AM (view original):

Posted by Ramey519 on 7/27/2015 9:50:00 PM (view original):
As was posted earlier regarding veteran owners setting ADV to 0...

If a team is a few years away, does it make sense to set ADV to 0 and increase prospect, ifa, and HS or COL. And as a follow up, if ADV is 0 making trades will require more on looking at current ratings and trying to project potential correct?

And my reading of several forum threads, ADV has nothing to do with projecting futures of IFAs or draft eligible players, correct?

As a long-time 0 ADV owner, I think it always makes sense to go to 0.    It takes more work to trade, and now that we can't see development/decline patterns, it takes more work. 

IFA/College/HS determines the projections you see for those players BEFORE they are signed.

So what is the "work" you mentioned above? Fairly new, but scared to go 0 ADV without knowing what I'd be getting myself into lol What do you do to make up for the 0 Adv?