Quote: Originally Posted By River_Rats on 10/19/2009
Quote: Originally Posted By steve9781 on 10/19/2009
Here is how WIS describes their game:
Welcome to SimLeague Baseball (SLB) from WhatIfSports.com, where you have the opportunity to build and manage a team of all-time greats as you compete against 23 other users in a full 162-game regular season schedule. Dream matchups from baseball lore come to life. Ruth vs. Clemens. Bonds vs. Koufax. Aaron vs. Johnson (the Big Train or Unit).
I guess on the surface it's correct, but what they don't tell you is there are all kinds of tricks and loopholes to exploit, and if you don't play along you'll NEVER win. EVERYONE that first comes here thinks this game is one thing ( a baseball sim) and is disapointed to find out that's incorrect. We live in 2009, and baseball is played a certain way. Think how much better it could be if we open up the database and allow people to win with all kinds of players, not the same cookies over and over. Maybe my expectations are the problem, but I just can't belive I'm out on an island on this one.
Try the theme leagues, Steve. Plenty of theme leagues where the game from 2009 is the way to play.
Just don't ignore that the game in 2009 is WAY different than how Ruth played it. It's really a different ballgame. How one judges the 'what if' factor between eras is up to them... but forcing Ed Walsh to pitch in a four-man rotation is as unrealistic as expecting Johan Santana to pitch in a three-man.
Good luck with the new SIM, and again, I encourage you to look in the theme leagues if you're really looking for modern-era rosters...
River,
You make some great points and I understand how the game has changed. But if you reference what WIS say.... "Dream matchups from baseball lore come to life. Ruth vs. Clemens. Bonds vs. Koufax. Aaron vs. Johnson (the Big Train or Unit)." I take that to mean something else entirely. To me it means taking players from different era's and having them match up against one another, and since we live in 2009, I would assume that's where this takes place. Do you doubt that R.Clemens or R.Halladay could pitch 400-500 innings if they lived in 1800's? Modern pitchers shouldn't be penalized for the era they lived in.
I think this is a great game. But in my opinion there's a clear reason why only thousands of people play this, and not hundreds of thousands. The more people that play this, the better it would be for everyone. If it weren't for Bill Simmons referencing this site in one of his pieces, I still would never of heard of this game, which is a shame. For me personally, this site is my fantasy baseball fix, until a new season starts. Hope I've been able to articulate were I'm coming from.