Drafting vs. Management Topic

crazystengel
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Posted by Bilfert on 1/19/2011 10:32:00 PM (view original):
Admitting I did not read the responses but I have found that Stadium choice is critical.
This would seem to be self-evident, but no matter how hard I try to tailor an offense to a staidum, the home/away splits seem pretty random.  And it's not just for me.  As an example, in a current OL I'm in (playoffs under way) the top 4 teams had 99 or more wins.  These 4 owners have overall winning percentages between .532 and .586.  Yet even in a league where owners had their pick of players/stadiums, all 4 of them had better away than home records -- combined, they had 21 more away wins than home.  And it's not as if they picked neutral stadiums where the differences could be chalked up as a fluke:

 AT&T Park (HR LF/RF:-3/-3 1B:1 2B:0 3B:2)
 Great American Ball Park (HR LF/RF:2/2 1B:0 2B:0 3B:-2)
Tiger Stadium (HR LF/RF:2/2 1B:-1 2B:-1 3B:0)
Busch Stadium (II) (HR LF/RF:-3/-3 1B:-2 2B:-1 3B:-1)

Again, this is just one example, but I notice it all the time. 
1/20/2011 12:52 AM
wonker
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Regardless of how hard I try to build to a particular stadium, my teams almost always end up with better road records than home?!?!?  And, speaking of flukes, I just recently had a team that started the season 21-0 on the road (.500 at home during that stretch)!!!
1/20/2011 7:45 AM
micki
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I got to thinking about this post last night. I think management has alot to do with winning percentage - more than what others on the thread think.

I admit, I am rather an obsessive/complusive, but I scout each team before the series. I see, does the opponent have LH or RH pithers, LH or RH or Switch Hitters in there line-up? What are the SH tendencies (better against RH or LH pitchers)? I constantly fiddle with the settings.

My winning percentage is high as a result. When I started, my first 6-7 teams were terrible.

Also, I almost always use pitchers parks and draft according to that. Took a long while to figure out PA's and IP's. I still don't know what all those numbers are in the advanced setting

1/20/2011 9:14 AM
schwarze
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I will be a contrarian and go against the grain.  I think for the most part, stadium choice is NOT that critical, UNLESS you take an extreme stadium.  If you take a park with very high singles, you will need to draft more innings.  If you take a stadium like Petco, you can draft fewer innings. 

Sure, after I build my team, I will try to find a stadium that "fits" my roster, but in my experience, except for the extreme stadiums, I have found that ballparks make very little difference. 

Who you have on your roster is probably 85-95% of your success.  The day-to-day management can be somewhat important, but only to the extent you don't screw things up (i.e., by playing fatigued pitchers, stealing with bad % base-stealers, intentionally walking guys, wasting outs by sacrificing with non-pitchers, etc.).
1/20/2011 10:53 AM
Bilfert
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I think that how you choose your stadium effects your pitching staff.  I think that pitching fatigue and maximizing your innings and quality innings is important.  I am finding (thanks to joshkvt) that ERC# and HR/9# may be the most important pitching factors.  I also think that you overpay for Home Runs and I have been having some success (mostly playoffs, the Championships have been slim) with AVG#.  I think the thing about building teams is maximizing what you pay for and using it when it counts the most.  You only need 3 pitchers in the PL (sometimes two).  Winning 100 games does not mean you win the championship.  I almost feel like if you are top heavy and can win just enough games to win your division you have a great shot to go far.  Admittedly, I am not as smart as crazystengel, so I would listen to him.  
1/20/2011 3:57 PM
jfranco77
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it's not just picking players... you need to pick the right players for the roles you're putting them in. that means you have to maximize your bang for the buck and not waste high $/PA or $/IP in low leverage situations

i would go something like this:

30% picking the roles you need to fill
50% picking the players for those roles
10% picking your park
10% managerial stuff
1/20/2011 9:51 PM
chisox378
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I think managing is a really fun part of this game. I am trying my first theme league now , a 60/20 AAA WAA players and I am having a blast with all the options and stats and bringing up players just for one game because the matchup and ballpark is right.  I love beating that 08 Joss (once in a while) by stacking the lineup with high average lefties. I am pretty much a newbie at this but managing for me is something I enjoy doing and hopefully it helps a little in the standings. I keep going with US cellular Field because I love the White Sox but other parks I may do better.
1/20/2011 11:30 PM
AGKWhizKids
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For what it's worth, I agree with Bilfert, statiums that affect pitching seem to be relevant, others (other than Atlanta/Coors Field) don't matter..  However, I have seen so much inconsistency that it is crap shoot.  I've had teams I've put together that win division titles 2-3 times in a row and then lose 90-100 games after that. 

1/21/2011 11:49 AM
seels
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The biggest thing in the OLs that I learned is to know how to utilize the AAA.  You make an 80M but you are given 10M+ in AAA.  If you don't utilize the players you get in AAA you are playing with an 80M roster while others are playing with a 90M roster.  You'll lose more than you win.

1/21/2011 12:58 PM
chisox378
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I open mouth about Joss and he mows me down  .  If we think we know something, then we really dont have an idea!
1/21/2011 2:48 PM
boogerlips
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I think
1/21/2011 5:26 PM
Jtpsops
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Posted by contrarian23 on 1/19/2011 10:44:00 PM (view original):
jtpsops, you've always been competitive in the leagues I've been in with you...I'm not sure there's a problem.  What's your record been recently? 

One possible thought could be that cap makes a difference.  I'm more or less useless under 80M, and my "sweet spot" is probably 90-120M.  Do you have greater relative success at low/medium/high caps?

Perhaps type of league also makes a difference?  I tend to do well in leagues that require significant research - like twist leagues, puzzle leagues, etc.  I'm just so-so at OL/CL, a bit better than average in progs, and not particularly good at 1-time drafts.  But I do know a fair bit about baseball history, and that allows me for example to probably find good players for twist or teammate themes quite a bit faster than someone who is navigating the environs of history through baseball-reference.com for the first time.
Thanks for all the feedback guys.

Contrarian...my record has been far better in the second half of my "career".  I've made up a lot of ground (which tells you how crappy I was my first few years here).

That being said, I think I've gotten better, but I always seem to consistently fall short of the elite owners, or have teams that storm out of the gates, but fall back drastically in the last third of the season, so I'm trying figure out why that is.

I'd say $80-$100 mil leagues and progs are where I do my best work.
1/21/2011 11:45 PM
thunder1008
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Glad to see someone else atoning for past sins.  I started out with a .441 W/L % over my first 18 seasons.  I just picked players I liked, didn't read the Forums, didn't study other teams, didn't learn the SIM.  I remember when I first asked how to look up Owner Rating and what it meant and someone cheerfully told me that mine was minus 2700.  Ouch.  I've been running .580/.590, trending toward .600, in OL/CLs recently.

I like jfranco's percentage breakdown, which boils down to 90% decisions you make at draft time a nd 10% managerial decisions during the season.  I love to manage, but it doesn't affect much.  About 30 games into the season, you usually have a pretty good sense how your team is going to do, plus or minus a few games, and your managerial skills don't affect that much one way or the other.

1/23/2011 1:33 PM
chisox378
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I think once in a while its possible to overmanage as well.
1/23/2011 11:41 PM
doubletruck
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I'll add the thought that the SIM context is important. Generally today, in open leagues (at any cap), owners are not paying the premium for fielding and range any more, and they are picking pitchers who do not give up HR easily. You need to think about what kind of a team can best capitalize on these trends, and then hope you land in a league where those trends actually apply. In special themes, the context changes. Many themes have restricted talent pools and the overall quality declines. A-Rod, for instance, is likely to do well in these kinds of themes, but mediocre in unrestricted leagues. I agree with those who've said that ballpark choice makes little difference, unless you choose an extreme park and fit your team to its advantages -- which can be a lot harder to do than it sounds.
1/24/2011 2:19 AM
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