AI Pitcher selection question Topic

zbrent716
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Game 3 of the first round of playoffs.

Every pitcher began the game full rested (100%).

In the 18th inning, Furio Hunter was brought into the game to pitch. He was listed as the SP for the game *after* the next game (so game 5 had the order remained the same). He did not have the "Relief" box checked, but at that point no remaining pitcher or player *did* have the "Relief" box checked, so I think bringing him in was still the proper move. His TPC was listed at 40, his MPC was 70. He was effective for 4.1 IP and then he hit his MPC of 70 and was pulled.

At this point, in the 22nd inning, the AI went with Chun-Lim Lui in relief. Lui is part of a platoon for me and acts as a defensive replacement on days he doesn't start. This game he was the backup "SS" without the "Relief" box checked, with a TPC of 25 and a MPC of 30. Here is the thing though - I had 2 pitchers left.

One was Brett Evers, scheduled to start the following game (game 4). Since he's set as the starter for the next game, I understand why he should be the last option out of the pen. He also does not have "Relief" checked.

The other pitcher left was Brian Tanaka, who was penciled in as the SP for game 6 (in a best-of-5 series). He did not have the "Relief" box checked, has a TPC of 40, and a MPC of 70.

Can anyone think of a reason why Lui was brought in to pitch instead of Tanaka?
9/20/2010 2:23 PM
hamilton44
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Question - Still pretty new to this game as a whole. Why did you starter only work 3 innings? I assume it was because of your pitch settings but why would you have them set so low? Just curious...
9/20/2010 2:26 PM
zbrent716
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Posted by hamilton44 on 9/20/2010 2:26:00 PM (view original):
Question - Still pretty new to this game as a whole. Why did you starter only work 3 innings? I assume it was because of your pitch settings but why would you have them set so low? Just curious...
Completely due to my pitch settings, which are very different than most owners. On a team like this one, where my pen is the strength of my staff, I prefer a very low MPC for my SP so that I can shorten my rotation up considerably. In a 5-game series like this one, for example, I'll end up going 1-2-1-2-1 with my rotation. With the Mystique, I generally use a similar setup (though not quite as extreme) during the regular season as well.
9/20/2010 2:31 PM
saintonan
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My guess is that it's because Lui throws right-handed, and Tanaka left-handed. Since neither was selected for relief, and neither were assigned a relief role, Sparky won't see an inherent difference between them. Since the next three hitters in the lineup all batted right-handed, Sparky went with the R-R matchup.

Not to be snarky, but if you weren't expecting to start Tanaka (setting him as SP6 in a five-game series), but you would have been okay with him appearing in relief, why didn't you enable that, either through checking the relief box or assigning him as a LRB or SUB?
9/20/2010 3:52 PM
zbrent716
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Posted by saintonan on 9/20/2010 3:52:00 PM (view original):
My guess is that it's because Lui throws right-handed, and Tanaka left-handed. Since neither was selected for relief, and neither were assigned a relief role, Sparky won't see an inherent difference between them. Since the next three hitters in the lineup all batted right-handed, Sparky went with the R-R matchup.

Not to be snarky, but if you weren't expecting to start Tanaka (setting him as SP6 in a five-game series), but you would have been okay with him appearing in relief, why didn't you enable that, either through checking the relief box or assigning him as a LRB or SUB?
To the question you posed, my logic was as follows - I wasn't  "OK" with Tanaka appearing in relief as a general rule. I have at least 8 options I'd prefer to have used before him in the pen. No matter the amount of tinkering I do with individual roles and settings, the best way I've come across to hold a guy back and make sure others are used ahead of him (regardless of inning, lead, etc.) is to have that player in the rotation but not set to "Relief" - pretty much exactly the way it worked with Hunter (who is essentially my #8 pen option if Tanaka is #9).

In my experience, when the relief box is checked, you run the risk of the player being used earlier in games (more akin to a Long A or Long B) and that isn't what I wanted with Tanaka. Pretty much the only time I wanted to see him in a game is when it goes 15+ innings... and go figure, when that does happen and I want to see him, he still isn't there. 
9/20/2010 4:11 PM
zbrent716
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Posted by saintonan on 9/20/2010 3:52:00 PM (view original):
My guess is that it's because Lui throws right-handed, and Tanaka left-handed. Since neither was selected for relief, and neither were assigned a relief role, Sparky won't see an inherent difference between them. Since the next three hitters in the lineup all batted right-handed, Sparky went with the R-R matchup.

Not to be snarky, but if you weren't expecting to start Tanaka (setting him as SP6 in a five-game series), but you would have been okay with him appearing in relief, why didn't you enable that, either through checking the relief box or assigning him as a LRB or SUB?
As to the LH vs RH issue, that is interesting and something I hadn't considered. I might consider it a flaw in design if, once neither is relief, primary position (SS vs P) is ignored completely, but it is a possibility. A question with that though, that I'll pose to you since you came up with the idea that I didn't.

My other available player (other than Lui, Tanaka, and Evers) was my backup catcher Louie Johnson. He also throws RH, also was not checked for "Relief", and was also 100%. If (with no "Relief" options) the AI ignores primary position in favor or throwing arm, why would you think Lui might be chosen over Johnson?

Neither is a "good" option, to be sure. But Lui is the worst of the worst - 16 control, 0 vRH, 0 vLH, 64 P1. Johnson sucks too, but not *quite* as badly - 19 control, 11vRH, 8vLH, 52 P1.

So, if the R-R matchup is what drove the decision (possible, but a flaw in my mind), what drives Lui to be selected over Johnson?
9/20/2010 4:17 PM
MikeT23
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I don't think that's it.   It makes complete sense not to use your next SP.   But there's absolutely no logic in choosing a SS over a pitcher who is 100% and NOT scheduled for the next game.   Of course, we don't see many 22 inning games so it's not surprising that SIMMY made a less than stellar decision.
9/20/2010 4:23 PM
zbrent716
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Posted by MikeT23 on 9/20/2010 4:23:00 PM (view original):
I don't think that's it.   It makes complete sense not to use your next SP.   But there's absolutely no logic in choosing a SS over a pitcher who is 100% and NOT scheduled for the next game.   Of course, we don't see many 22 inning games so it's not surprising that SIMMY made a less than stellar decision.

I agree, it makes sense not to use Evers, and - like you - I couldn't think of a good reason to choose Lui over Tanaka. And yet, it happened, so there's *some* reason for it that I'm missing (and if it is merely an error, it's one I'd like to devise a way around so it doesn't happen again).

I have sent in a ticket, of course, but the response times have been lacking recently (my last ticket took from 8/23 to today 9/20 to get a second-level response) so the playoffs will likely be over before I hear back with the "official" explanation.

9/20/2010 10:51 PM
zbrent716
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9/22/2010 3:21 PM Customer Support
Turns out this was a bug. When a manager has gone through all pitchers that can pitch in relief and if the most recent pitcher in the game is an SP, the manager looked to a position player before looking at the remaining SP.

It's been fixed and will be in the next engine update.

Thanks
9/23/2010 12:33 PM
hamilton44
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No consolation.  You still lost the game.  Is it comforting to know they will have it fixed later though?  Tough break zbrent!
9/23/2010 1:21 PM
detlef
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That does suck, but at least it appears you won the series.
9/25/2010 2:06 PM
zbrent716
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Just heard back from the follow-up question I asked on 9/25 - "Even if it is limited to position players, why was Chun-Lim Lui chosen to picth over Louie Johnson (my backup C)?"

10/28/2010 10:47 AM Customer Support

When it gets to that emergency lineup, it just grabs the first available position player that is above his auto-rest settings. We'll make it a point to improve that logic as well.

Thanks
10/29/2010 3:21 PM
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