Thought it might be helpful to other newbies to post my super dumb mistakes as I make them as a first-time owner:

1. When negotiating with your major league free agents before they hit the open market, don't forget to review your minor league FAs as well before the period ends.

2. If you want to release players without offering arbitration, don't waive them (hold your laughter until the end please).

3. Be wary of option availability before making big offers to those that may start the season in the minors.

More to come...

Don't feel bad, opie. Even the guys who are now established veterans made those mistakes the first time through, and their hard-won lessons are compiled in "Things We've Learned In Aaron/Ruth."

Biggest mistake I made during my 1st season was to sign every single IFA that came along. There was some real garbage there. A real waste of IFA $$.

Another BIG mistake that I made and have seen multiple newbs make is trusting stats way too much. Ratings are the law, ignore stats unless you are looking to see what a particular player would do given a particular circumstance (ie in a hitters park).

Quote: Originally Posted By oriolemagic on 2/06/2010Another BIG mistake that I made and have seen multiple newbs make is trusting stats way too much. Ratings are the law, ignore stats unless you are looking to see what a particular player would do given a particular circumstance (ie in a hitters park)

True, but only up to a point.

If a players stats are consistently over or under performing what you think they should be doing based on their ratings, then maybe your understanding of the ratings and how they work together might be a bit off. Take some time to try to figure out what you're missing.

Listen to Tec. He speaks knowledge, that's right I said it.

Have you been drinking, mitch?

Quote: Originally posted by tecwrg on 2/06/2010
Have you been drinking, mitch?

I thought I smelled liquor when I opened this thread.

I am not so think as you drunk I am

Joining worlds with 5+ 100 win/100 loss teams.

Paying ANY attention WHATSOEVER to OVR

Doesn't OVR predict free agent compensation? I pay attention to it at least that much, which I believe falls under the umbrella of "ANY WHATSOEVER."

Probably not a good idea for newbies to think about it. It is best to take the game one step at a time. But yes, it does determine free-agent compensation.

Fatal n00b mistake. Doing something before you know what you're doing.

Quote: Originally Posted By blanch13 on 2/06/2010
Paying ANY attention WHATSOEVER to OVR

I'll disagree. OVR can be useful IF used correctly.

I'll agree that OVR should not be used as an absolute judge of talent. But it can be used as an indicator that the player may have a significant flaw in something other than his core ratings. A lower than expected OVR for a player, when looking at the cores for his position, should be a red flag to take a closer look at the player to find out what's "wrong" with him.