Should I be concerned about my 4-14 spring training record?

Can you elaborate on some of the chatter in Cooperstown? Seems like there are discussions about the MWR and some about people possibly tanking to get better picks in the draft. What say you?

We've got a lot of teams that will lose 90.  Too many.   But we'll only have one MWR casualty.   The NL seems to be the bigger problem as all but one playoff spot was decided by roster expansion.   It's my belief that owners have adapted to the current MWR and are gaming the system.   Could be a one season aberration or a potential problem.   I'll have a better idea after the season and the individual MWRs are set for next season.   If we have a bunch in the 70s, there's a problem.  If it's just 1-2 owners, I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill over one "off" season.

I usually run a 3 man pitching rotation during the playoffs. Sometimes I need to trot out a fourth starter once or twice during a long playoff run, sometimes not. My question is this... when deciding who is going to start in the playoffs, how much do you look at ratings versus actual in season performance?

EG... I have

http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=5113969 (Hideki Ni)

http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=5896267 (Felipe Sanchez)

http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=3898847 (Larry Leach)

http://whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=6067371 (Kiki Aguilar)

Obviously, Ni is pitching. Going by ratings, Sanchez and Leach would be the other two guys. Going by in season performance, Aguilar is in as the second starter and Sanchez and Leach are a toss up for the third guy.

Who would you roll with? And how much do you look at ratings versus performance in a case like this?

I have a pitcher with a Mutual Option on his contract coming up. I'd like to keep him, but he's 32 years old, and I haven't made the playoffs while he's been on my team, and I likely won't this season. His Patience rating is 81. What are the odds he declines his option?

Sanchez looks like the better pitcher to me and their stats aren't that much different.  Sanchez.   I look at both and, if one doesn't jump out as the much better pitcher using stats, I go with ratings.

I probably need to know his overall and his option amount to even give a good guess.

SuA/Closer, 70 OA, 4 million final season of contract, 1 million buyout. If an FA, I think he'd be a Type B. Does that make you lean either way?

I'd say he's going to decline it but, if he's in decline, I doubt he will.   Comp pick status will matter.

I didn't think of this before... If he declines am I still on the hook for the 1 mil buyout?