I'm in crisis, please help!

[ScouserHUN]

Hi guys!

I'm playing my franchise with the RedSox, playing every game and I'm in the middle of august. The Yanks lead the division with 5 game lead, and I'm 2nd in the wild card race with 2,5 games behind the Halos.

In august (I'm at the 15th of august) I have lost 8 times already, but 6 times out of 8 I have lost in extra innings. This is devestating, I dont know what to do. I just FEAR from playing the game right now, so I stopped for some days...

My pitching is very good, especially my starters, but when I reach the 14-15 inning mark, I don't have any more left. The problem is with hitting, I don't know, what I'm doing differrently, because I had been leading the league with .280-290 team average the whole season, but now, I'm sittign at 274.

Please help!!!

[cusefan74]

Could be you are just going into a little slump. Just think about what you are doing. Are you hitting the same way as before? Meaning are you swinging at more bad pitches, or whatever. Chances are you will come around. Everyone goes into a slump once in a while.

[jtboy27]

Relax. It's just a slump like cusefan74 said. Be patient more when hitting. If you have a good pitching staff and a solid bullpen you should consider using your starters deep into ballgames and let your bullpen take over. Usually 1-2 innings of solid work you should be able to get out of your relievers.

[Heroesandvillains]

First off, .274 is much more realistic. Be happy for that. I kind of chuckled when I read this, because I'm convinced most OS'ers would have suggested you changed your sliders or difficulty to compensate for the high BA.

This is a prime example of numbers balancing out! Thanks for sharing that bit!

Secondly, I am playing every game also and sitting at August 21. I'm the Yankees, and I'm feeling the pressure too. I am up on TOR now by just 1 game, BOS by just 1.5 games, and TB by 5 games. Every time I play now I can't help but get anxious because of how close this damn division is!

What I've decided to do is go for broke. I sent down a struggling bench player for a tad more stability. I'm starting CC every 5 days now regardless of off days. I'm coordinating the lineup with lefty/righty averages in mind. I'm micromanaging my bullpen, making subs based on AVG against and overall Confidence. And, I'm also throwing ALL of my warm up pitches to give me a little pitch confidence boost (I use Classic, so this can backfire if I miss the zone. LOL!).

I'm committed to making the playoffs.

Keep positive and be patient when playing. Take your time, and play the fundamentals (steals, sacrifices, etc).

You can do it. The slump will turn. Be the manager AND GM (waiver trades, etc) right now. Your team needs you.

Best of luck.

[rje090020]

In August you get less time off to let your players rest and there stamina decreases and can't increase and with low stamina they tend to go on slumps. I had a slump in June and lost 14 games and my batting was terrible, I got off the slump during the all star weenked and went on a 13 game steak which lead to a 5 game loss streak. There just streaks and I see in August (it's August 2 for me) I only get one day off in the middle of the month so am trying to win as possible before I hit another slump. Pitchers go through the same thing if they don't skip a start once an a while,

[jtboy27]

Quote: Originally Posted by Heroesandvillains

First off, .274 is much more realistic. Be happy for that. I kind of chuckled when I read this, because I'm convinced most OS'ers would have suggested you changed your sliders or difficulty to compensate for the high BA. This is a prime example of numbers balancing out! Thanks for sharing that bit! Secondly, I am playing every game also and sitting at August 21. I'm the Yankees, and I'm feeling the pressure too. I am up on TOR now by just 1 game, BOS by just 1.5 games, and TB by 5 games. Every time I play now I can't help but get anxious because of how close this damn division is! What I've decided to do is go for broke. I sent down a struggling bench player for a tad more stability. I'm starting CC every 5 days now regardless of off days. I'm coordinating the lineup with lefty/righty averages in mind. I'm micromanaging my bullpen, making subs based on AVG against and overall Confidence. And, I'm also throwing ALL of my warm up pitches to give me a little pitch confidence boost (I use Classic, so this can backfire if I miss the zone. LOL!). I'm committed to making the playoffs. Keep positive and be patient when playing. Take your time, and play the fundamentals (steals, sacrifices, etc). You can do it. The slump will turn. Be the manager AND GM (waiver trades, etc) right now. Your team needs you. Best of luck.

He's right .274 is realistic. Look at the Texas Rangers they have a .276 Team Batting Average. Don't freak out that you're in a slump. Teams go through it every time. Just be patient. Hang in there. It's not wrong to play conservative and go back to the fundamentals of baseball. Just Relax.

[ScouserHUN]

Thank you very much for all of you positive answers! It really feels better now, you have gave me strenght to play the games again.

To tell the truth, I had a 2-2 series against the Rangers, and I pretty sure, that I will win one game agains the Yanks in our series now. So loosing does not bother me, because It's in the game. You will lose 60-70 games, if you want to reach the playoffs.

The only thing that bothers me, is loosing 6 games of the last 8 lost game, in extra inning or in the 9th inning. i was so close to winning these games, even having the bases loaded and then grounding into a double play, then in the next inning giving up a run on a sac fly. These things hurt and I was very upset.

In the end of the month I will play 8 games against the Halos, so thet might decide the wild card race, but I'm also going to have 8 more games against the Yanks and 6 more games against the Rays.

You know I'm from Hungary, Europe, and I've started following baseball and the Red Sox thanks to John Henry's involvement in Liverpool FC. After watching so many footbal (soccer) games, including the never to be forgotten 2005 Champions League final between Liverpool and AC Milan, I can say, that nothing comes close to the BASEBALL. I'm just not interested in football anymore...

[ScouserHUN]

I'm back with two great wins agains the Yankees!

The first one was a 3-0 shutout, I have allowed 2 hits.
The second was a 5-1 ballgame, with Big Papi hitting a 2run homerun in the 9th inning. I have allowed only 5 hits. The opposing pitcher was CC, he was subbed in the 6th.

Now after a day off, the Halos are coming to Beantown, and now I'm looking for a 3 game sweep! The Yanks are going to Chicago and Cleveland, so hopefully I can close the 4 game gap a bit.

I have Yuniel Escobar at SS, and he was very cold before these two wins. I have sent him down to AAA for Iglesias for one game. After coming back he hit 3 triples in the 5-1 game, maybe he learnt his lesson