Closers not throwing enough during SIM.

[ReturnoftheTmac]

It has been in the game since I can remember, and I keep thinking they'll address it. Closers only come in for one inning always and only if their team has a lead. So at the end of the year no closer will have over 60 innings pitched or anything close to real life leaders. In real life managers will use their closer down or up sometimes just to get them some work. Or maybe a 4 out or 5 out save. Maybe they bring them in in a tie game in the 9th. I'm sure it won't get fixed in this game, but it would be nice if the A.I. was a little more flexible with Closers in future games.

[Ghost Of The Year]

I wonder what would happen if every 'Closer' had their position changed to 'relief pitcher'.
And then in the Roster Control>Bullpen screen, moved from closer to setup man. If he is still the highest rated guy in the'pen, will he be called on the majority of the time for save situations. And will he also be called on when setupmen are called on.
Or maybe instead of moving him from closer to setup, move him from closer to middle relief.
I think I'm going to look into this over the weekend & do some simming.

[Jr.]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ghost Of The Year

I wonder what would happen if every 'Closer' had their position changed to 'relief pitcher'. And then in the Roster Control>Bullpen screen, moved from closer to setup man. If he is still the highest rated guy in the'pen, will he be called on the majority of the time for save situations. And will he also be called on when setupmen are called on. Or maybe instead of moving him from closer to setup, move him from closer to middle relief. I think I'm going to look into this over the weekend & do some simming.

I do this every season. The team will shuffle the bullpen sometimes (Zach Britton was replaced in the closer role by Sean Marshall when I removed Britton's CP designation) and All-Star voting will go almost exclusively to RPs in setup roles, but other than those things it works out well. I see much more variety in how the bullpen is used.

[Jolly Roger]

Good stuff guys. Pitcher usage is my only big issue with season/franchise mode. It's possible to bring down starter complete games to realistic levels by tinkering with stamina, but I have yet to see anything addressing reliever usage. There are always a bunch of guys with 100+ innings/starts. I call it the Mike Marshall Problem

I always wondered why there is a Closer position option, but not Setup, Middle Relief, and Long Relief. You'd think they'd all just be general relievers by position, with specialization coming in via bullpen slots.

[adamjsav]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ghost Of The Year

I wonder what would happen if every 'Closer' had their position changed to 'relief pitcher'. And then in the Roster Control>Bullpen screen, moved from closer to setup man. If he is still the highest rated guy in the'pen, will he be called on the majority of the time for save situations. And will he also be called on when setupmen are called on. Or maybe instead of moving him from closer to setup, move him from closer to middle relief. I think I'm going to look into this over the weekend & do some simming.

Has implications in franchise with depth of teams rosters. Every time there's a draft and free agency teams clamour to sign closers. Doesn't work out well. You will notice OSFM even went to lengths to make sure each AA and AAA team had an assigned closer for this reason.

[Jr.]

Quote: Originally Posted by adamjsav

Has implications in franchise with depth of teams rosters. Every time there's a draft and free agency teams clamour to sign closers. Doesn't work out well. You will notice OSFM even went to lengths to make sure each AA and AAA team had an assigned closer for this reason.

I didn't find this within the draft. I do Free Agency myself, so I can't speak to that.

[ReturnoftheTmac]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ghost Of The Year

I wonder what would happen if every 'Closer' had their position changed to 'relief pitcher'. And then in the Roster Control>Bullpen screen, moved from closer to setup man. If he is still the highest rated guy in the'pen, will he be called on the majority of the time for save situations. And will he also be called on when setupmen are called on. Or maybe instead of moving him from closer to setup, move him from closer to middle relief. I think I'm going to look into this over the weekend & do some simming.

I actually tried this. Changed every CP to RP and put them as setup with another guy. It does help a little with innings pitched, but still does leave a little to be desired with SIM stats. Hopefully next year they'll look more into it with how big a part the game RPs have become with starters going shorter and shorter.