I have noticed that the managers who do well seem to have a 3 man rotation just about every time. Can a 4 man rotation compete with a 3 man rotation of 12 million dollar pitchers like joss 08' ?

I always use a 4-man rotation and I do fine. Frankly any size rotation can work if you can draft and manage well.

It's all based on the quality of the players/rotation. The 12 mil joss is popular because hes relatively cheap for his .81 whip (.90 #whip). You can have a better 4 man rotation of say, the top version of pedro, 2 maddux, and one mordecai brown, but that will drain all your resources in an OL.

not at all. I just made the playoff with a 101 win team using a bunch (7) of guys with IPs between 110-180 and rotated them around between the starting corps and bullpen.

To answer your question, yes.

In a word, no. Three-man rotations are murderously hard to maintain, and you will find your SP's running at 90-95% (at best) unless you get huge inning guys (over 350 IP). Usually you have to use someone like Elmer Steele as a combo long reliever and spot 4th starter to keep your 3-man rotation fresh, or roll the dice on a AAA spot starter.

You can squeeze Joss `08 into a 4-man rotation if you're willing to sacrifice one or two offensive positions and plug in your AAA players as starters there. One of my favorite $80 MM OL teams had a rotation of Joss `08, Pete Alexander `19, Doc White `06 and Bill Burns `08, and then I rotated AAA prospects at 1B and RF .

One of my favorite $80 MM OL teams right now has a 6-man rotation of SP's with between 150-175 IP apiece that cost only $27 MM, and they're very low maintenance and always pitch at 100%. I have $12 MM over for a 5-reliever shutdown bullpen and a full priced offense.

I think the update has shifted preferences away from the 4-man rotation and towards the three-man because:

(1) the 1200 IP minimum has largely eliminated the practice of using scrubs and AAA in the #4 rotation slot.
(2) Many 300ip+ ace types are now affordable.

In any case nearly any rotation structure can win if you draft and manage right.

I've won with 2, 2.5, 3, 4, and 5-man rotations. Made the playoffs once with a 6-man rotation, but I was coming out of a weak division and got swept in the division series.

Once I get to the playoffs, I like to roll 3 or 4 (max)... getting there I've used up to 6.

Quote: Originally Posted By eastvanmungo on 3/22/2010Once I get to the playoffs, I like to roll 3 or 4 (max)... getting there I've used up to 6

I think most teams only need 2 starters with 200+ ip and maybe 1 with 125+ ip once the playoffs start. But it really depends how deep you want your starters to go.

If I had decided to be pitcher when I grew up, I'd be a one man rotation.

shoot, i made the lcs with a three man rotation, waiting to enter with a 2 man rotation, and am in the hunt with a 4 man rotation

so...no is my answer