So I just finished assembling a theme league lineup and noticed I created an entire team of players with A/B fielding but C/D range. Now I'm trying to determine how this should affect my choice of pitchers. Can I focus less on OAV because I know there won''t be many errors or should I be worried about balls in play because I won't have many + plays?

Is it really only an average defense if your players are spectacular in only one of the two fielding stats?

Side question: Does the SIM take into account foul ground size when modeling stadiums? I'm guessing no, but as A's fan I'm keenly aware of how foul territory can affect gameplay.

With Good Fielding and Bad Range  I would take pitchers with low OAV.

The SIM does indirectly factor in foul ground.  Since those parks have more foul outs they tend to be - for singles (and thus hits) in the SIM.

Your double plays will stink so you should keep people off the bases and keep the ball in the park.

So my defense, while being good, also in fact sucks. Good tip. It's a shame defense is so pricey in this iteration of the SIM.

yeah i would rather have the opposite (good range, bad D) - at least you get some DPs that way

I would go with low BB, high K pitchers.

I tend to side with the faction that feels defense is somewhat overrated.  Of course a superior defender at SS with a 6.00+ RRF can prevent a lot of hits by making plus plays, but those A+ range guys are very expensive and can really cut into a payroll.  I've won divisions, playoffs and even championships with defenses that were at, or near,  the bottom of the league as I have no problem starting a D minus range shortstop or second basemen, as long as their offense and fielding negates their minus plays.  In fact, 90% of my teams have a D minus SS and 2B.  This is hardly to suggest that you can win with a D-/D- SS, but for whatever its worth, I do believe that defense is overrated.

I agree that defense is overrated. There are many owners who know more about this than I do, but here's a small SS sampler for what it's worth:

A/B- 61 GS  29 DP 0 + 1 - .994  .568 RF
A-/D 68 GP 24 DP 0 + 5 - .970  .543
C/A 102 GS 71 DP 10 + 0 -  .961  .591
C-/A+ 51 GS  29 DP 5 + 0 -  .949  .545

The C- SS made 14 E in 51 games. So, if he stopped 5 hits with his plus plays, he's cost his team a net of 9 baserunners with errors. But this is Lajoie 1901 and he's doing a lot more offensively than most SS would.

Now the A/B- is fielding .994, so even though he has no + plays, he's also allowing few baserunners via errors. And this is Petrocelli's best offensive season, and he was batting in the 4 and 5 spots.

In general, I try to avoid less than C range or less than B fielding. I make exceptions when the offensive potential is great, such as Lajoie or Honus Wagner.

And there are so many other variables that it's difficult to generalize. I agree with the idea that low OAV would should fit best with A/D fielding; however, in a sampling of DPs that I did once, no great difference appeared between the high-range and the low-range infields. I doubt that the Sim is rewarding the 1982 Ozzie Smith-1928 Frankie Frisch infields with enough extra DPs to make their prices worth the cost on most teams, but an A/A+ Tulowitski might be worth his cost.

I do not think defense is over-rated.  I think A/A types are priced beyond their utility, but at the same time the defensive liabilities of A/D or A/C defenders at 2nd and SS are vastly underestimated.

Zub: Are you saying there are
Missed plays that don't show up
as pluses or minuses?

DT:
No, what I am saying is when you add up the missed DPs, errors, "+" and "-" plays, A/D and A/C guys aren't very good up the middle.  Maybe I have just had horrible luck with such players, but I doubt it.

By my calculations, on average each error is equivalent to ~.0017/ .0015/ .0017
In the same way each + play is worth ~.0017/ .0015/ .0020

I'd have no problem with an A fielding, D minus 2B, as long as his fielding pct. is .985 or better and his RRF is 4.70 or more. This type of 2B will not make a lot of errors and you could live with the number of minus plays he makes.  In other words, he won't kill you in the field.  Then you have some guys who WILL kill you in the field, such as 89 HoJo at shortstop and 92 Bip at secondbase. Although they make few errors, they're virtual "minus play" machines and will let a lot of batted balls through your infield because their RRF numbers are so low. But the flip side of that, is like Doubletruck noted, their offensive potential often negates their defensive inadequacies.  I also believe that the letter grades of fielders are very misleading, and you can't just go by that because not all "A" fielding and "A" range guys are created equal.  You have to look at their actual fielding percentages and range factors.

Love it zubinsum. For once old-fashioned baseball wisdom might also be good sim advise? Build strong up the middle defense. Also good point about the k's. Like many simmers, I try to stay away from overpaying for gaudy strikeout totals. Might be refreshing to have a staff of flamethrowers for a change.

FWIW, in general I try to at least have good defense on the left side of the infield and at CF. I've been putting more iron gloves in the corner OF slots, just because the price is so good right now on the Manny-type great hitting/poor fielding players. I've also been trying as often as possible to draft first basemen with A range. They're usually good for 15-20 "+" plays.