The Secret Formula 2010

Postby J-Pav » Fri Jan 14, 2011 8:42 pm

Agree 100%.

After opening day, the general manager role should simply become a manager role. It never ceases to amaze me how few new players grasp this, despite it being plastered on the boards year after year.
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Postby tcochran » Sat Jan 15, 2011 9:58 am

[quote:2d4b4235f0="Aray0113"]My rule of thumb now is:
1. Change batting order -- several times, if necessary.
2. "Bench" a player for a series ... switch spots in the pitching rotation ...
3. Seek out a trading partner who might swap their 'problem child' for yours ... sometimes all it takes is a different park to fix the problem.
4. If all else fails, drop them for a different player: now, I only do this if there is someone who drops a player that I wanted on my original AD list, but wasn't able to get them -- AND -- they cost less than the player I'm dropping. Otherwise, I find myself cutting several players to get the one I wanted, and damaging my team at other positions.

And I try not to do this unless I'm really certain that the switch will help me at least win the wild-card. [/quote:2d4b4235f0]

Well stated. I believe the only exception would be in fine-tuning your pitching before the roster change deadline. If you are in contention for the division title, then see how your div. opponents are doing vs. LHP and RHP. I've swapped out pitchers twice now and won titles, by gaining an extra advantage in the final 40 games or so.
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The Secret Formula (tm) 2010

Postby timklucinec » Thu Jan 20, 2011 3:13 pm

J-Pav,
I have always enjoyed reading your advice. We've played aagainst each other in some leagues and have considered an honor especially when my teams beat you. I agree with alot of what you say as I am starting to win more. I also agree with Helium about defense to a point. I have used some 3s at 2nd and ss, but their errors have been very low and have had success. I read in strategy that the low errors make a 3 rating or 4 rating act like a higher rating. Your thoughts? I usually have a good bat to go with those guys. Also, about your contemplating putting your power guys in the top of the order versus the speed. Do they have a high OBP?
Looking forward to playing you with the new cards. Good luck in all of your teams.

Tim Klucinec
UC Pirates
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Postby J-Pav » Thu Jan 20, 2011 9:56 pm

Hi [b:6c19bce207]Tim[/b:6c19bce207] (and thx!),

Here's an analogy - kinda sorta weak - but hopefully it makes the point:

You run to the store late at night, no one's out and you go to park your car. There's no one there, so you whip it in to spot A1A without a care in the world. You might even be six inches over the line with the right front tire. No worries, who cares? That is TSF.

Now it's 6pm on December 23rd. The lot is full. The only open spot is between two SUVs both hanging over your lines. It's snowing. You can do it, though. The car fits. But you inch in, back up, straighten out, realign, inch in some more and then climb out the back window. That's 3s in the middle.

Both ways work. One is just easier and has a larger margin of error.

Regarding range and error ratings, not sure what you mean. A 3e21 at SS gives up about 22 runs to defense, whereas a 3e0 gives up 15. A 2e21 also gives up 15. Yes, low errors improve things, but don't ignore the obvious: low range improves things [i:6c19bce207]more[/i:6c19bce207]. I think you can be fooled by looking at your team page and seeing the low amount of unearned runs while forgetting to consider the base hits which came at the expense of higher ranges (which are invisible to the eye on the stats page). The way you make them visible is to look at your avg runs allowed: if it's four or less, all is good. As you creep toward 4.5 though...

I don't disagree with [b:6c19bce207]Helium[/b:6c19bce207] that you can win with 3s. It's just [i:6c19bce207]harder[/i:6c19bce207]. Where I do disagree is that his argument implies a strong middle fielder is somehow overvalued because of his defense. I argue back that a poor defender can be just as overvalued because of his OBP. Value must consider both sides of the coin (and within the context of the overall team). I repeat again, both ways work. I just think the records of Championship teams clearly demonstrate more favorable odds are created by playing the 1s and 2s.

Regarding the power at the top and speed at the bottom, read [b:6c19bce207]qksilver[/b:6c19bce207]'s section in last year's Formula post. But the short answer is, my players always have as much OBP as I can get for the price/position/place in the batting order. :D
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Postby Palmtana » Thu Jan 20, 2011 10:35 pm

[quote:0bdc530967="J-Pav"]......Regarding the power at the top and speed at the bottom, read [b:0bdc530967]qksilver[/b:0bdc530967]'s section in last year's Formula post. But the short answer is, my players always have as much OBP as I can get for the price/position/place in the batting order. :D[/quote:0bdc530967]


For those not following along at home last year:



[quote:0bdc530967="qksilver"]Traditional baseball purists and many SOM players will emphasize speed at the top of a lineup. I know there has been a lot written about having a * runner in the leadoff spot, and yes there's a small advantage to getting + GIDP balls converted to hits, but I've found this to be somewhat overemphasized. I also find the saber-approach of "it really doesn't matter how you set the lineup, we've proven it statistically" doesn't really translate to SOM. I'll get to that in a bit.

The most critical factors I have found in setting up lineups are as follows:

1) As much OB as possible in the top three spots, with a real minimum of GIDPs in the 2-3-4 spots
2) A minimum of three very good OB+SLG cards in the 4-5-6 spots
3) Decent clutch in the 4-5-6 spots
4) A bit of speed at the bottom of the order, especially if you're giving up some OB there

Let's deconstruct my first point, OB & lack of GIDPs at the top of the order.

Those of you who follow sabermetrics will say "What does lineup order matter? Studies show it makes no difference!" Well, remember, those studies are based on real MLB. Real MLB is much less predictable than SOM. All the best prediction systems like PECOTA still can easily be way off in any given year about, i.e. how many GIDPs McCann will hit into for a season. However, in SOM we know, with an extreme degree of predictability, how many GIDPs he'll roll on his card, and the only real variables are 1) how many outs are there when he rolls a GIDP, and 2) are there runners on base in front of him when he rolls? Both of these factors are much more controllable in a TSN environment than in real life.

In my lineups, I'll generally allow for one or two guys who roll GIDPs more than 10% of the time on their cards. At the top of my lineup, Bradley has almost none, same with Anderson. You'll also notice Anderson has a high BA and high doubles in the three spot. This is to ensure that, as often as possible, I have runners on 2nd & 3rd or 1st & 3rd when Teixeira and Hamilton hit. This resulted in 40 HRs each and 114 & 116 RBI respectively, despite being in a pitcher/neutral park (Comerica), excellent pitching staffs from my opponents, and some uncharacteristically low OB in front of them (Fontenot .350 & Anderson .298 - Bradley saved the day at .401).

Where I usually allow for some GIDPs is the 5th, 6th or 9th spots in the order, though really anywhere 5th or later is ok. In the 5th or 6th spots you'll see the most 2-out hitting. Guys like Luckyman/Marcus Wilby have run some great numbers to show this is true and why clutch in those spots is more important. So the corollary here is that more two-out hitting by your basepath slugs = less GIDPs. Unfortunately, McCann had bad clutch this year, so I couldn't get a balance out situation of bad GIDPs but positive clutch, and Teix has more DPs than I like in the 4-hole, but it's a keeper league, there's only so much I can control! Smile

Point #2 seems obvious, but I see many teams trying to survive just on OB & speed in pitcher parks, and this is a huge mistake that I learned the hard way. On a recent pitcher-park team I only had two decent sluggers vs RHP and the 1st season of that keeper league we struggled badly to score runs. In season two, I made a deal to add Ludwick and the natural XBHs in the 5-hole (behind Anderson #3 and Berkman #4) have made a huge difference on that club. In season 2, Ludwick put up a .286/.352/.613 slash line in AT&T park, with 49 HRs & 150 RBI. Thank you sir may I have another!!! My top four hitters (Vazquez, Baker, Anderson, and Berkman) averaged .360 OB, and Ludwick's huge bat driving them in has made all the difference.

Point #3 is often misunderstood in SOM. The math shows that the number of clutch hits rolled in a season is so small, the difference in run-scoring due to high clutch is really minimal unless you are able to build a really extreme all-clutch lineup. So why do I insist on the right clutch approach, and what is it? Basically, in a clutch situation, HAL makes a calculated decision about who to pitch to based on hitter batting average (chance to drive in at least 1 run) in that scenario. If my #4 hitter has a man on & two out, and neutral or slightly negative clutch, but a ton of XBH (both natural & park-related), do I want HAL to pitch to him, or the guy behind him who almost certainly has less total RBI potential but slightly higher BA? Clear answer: I want HAL to pitch to my cleanup guy. The extra SLG is worth way more to me in that scenario that a few points of clutch BA, especially if it's 1st & 2nd or bases loaded & two out. In order to ensure that HAL does not IBB my cleanup guy, I have a higher-clutch guy in the 5-spot. HAL is faced with a "damned if I do, damned if I don't" decision, and I score more runs as a result. So the issue is not to try to roll more clutch hits, but to use clutch to force HAL into the matchup that you prefer in a clutch situation.

Point #4, speed at the bottom (vs. the top) is a question of, when is the time right to risk a baserunning out? Even if you steal at a 70% success rate (generally considered the breakeven point by saberheads), you are still removing a runner from base 30% of the time. If I have good OPS guys in the 3-4-5 spots in a lineup, I prefer not to risk those outs, because my chances of getting the run in from 1st is high enough already, and I greatly decrease my chances of a big inning while slightly improving my chance to score one run. So when I put speed at the top of the lineup, it's those rare guys that feature elite OB and an incredibly low CS %, like 85% or better. Those guys are very hard to find, and as a result, when I have speed, mediocre SLG & OB in a player (often SS, 2B or CF) I put them in the 7-9 spots. Because the hitters behind the seven slot hit more singles and maybe doubles, there is better risk/reward in stealing, because the odds of the weaker hitters driving in a run from 1B are lower than for my 3-4-5 guys, substantially lower. [/quote:0bdc530967]
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Postby joethejet » Fri Jan 21, 2011 1:03 am

Hey J,

Great Post. Thanks! About half-way through I realized one of MY teams was one of your 20! :) And that leads me to a question. I had McCutchen go down for a 15 with 24 to play and I was battling for a PO spot so I had to let him go making some other moves that I had to make to get Cargo. In any case, what do you do in such situations?

For kicks and grins, here's a patented JTJ quickie eval of your team (how's it doing so far btw?)

In the "average park", not your parks, team rates at 2426. That's a VERY good rating and I would expect it to be a playoff team barring an extremly tough division (much like the one I just faced in the NLD)

O Rating -> 7975
P Rating -> 4998
Fielding -> 551
P+F -> 5549
Overall -> 2426


That's a very good O rating for an AD team, maybe not quite as good in a Live Draft.

Fielding is average with V Mart and Prince bringing you down. Theriot too.

Pitching + Fielding (true indicator of runs you should allow) is pretty average.

Offensively you're good enough v RHP but destroy LHP. That skews your O rating a bit.

Personally don't like Hard LHP like Wolf, but maybe in that park you'll be OK. Garza is a good fit.

Injuries will probably be a problem since you have three issues there and only 3 players with > 600 PA. Your bench v RHP is meh. I guess Roberts plays a lot when Beltran and A Rod. Ugh.

Team should do well, but injury prone teams have a LOT of variability. As you point out, the dice will have to be kind to you in that regard.

It will be interesting to see how your pen plays out with the relatively high OBs. I'm curious how many PAs LHB are goign to get against Roenicke.

Guess that's about it. A solid team, but not without concerns.

Jet
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Postby joethejet » Fri Jan 21, 2011 1:11 am

oops, just realized the team has finished. Yeah, not a surprise that you won a lot of games. Looks like injuries didn't hit you *too* hard either.

You certainly got lucky with Roberts only committing 2 errors subbing for A -Rod, but maybe you used Bonafacio. Actually looks like you were pretty lucky with E's across the board.

As predicted you hit pretty darn well v LHP. Nice little team .500 slugging. ;) and a .636 win pct.

Cool stuff.

Jet
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Postby J-Pav » Fri Jan 21, 2011 9:46 pm

[quote:7e0a3120d7="joethejet"]Hey J,

Great Post. Thanks! About half-way through I realized one of MY teams was one of your 20! :) And that leads me to a question. I had McCutchen go down for a 15 with 24 to play and I was battling for a PO spot so I had to let him go making some other moves that I had to make to get Cargo. In any case, what do you do in such situations?[/quote:7e0a3120d7]

Me, I ride it out. [b:7e0a3120d7]Marcus[/b:7e0a3120d7] once wrote a great tutorial on why the appropriate answer is to switch 'em out ([i:7e0a3120d7]Palmtana. Paging Palmtana[/i:7e0a3120d7]).

I lean on my subs quite a bit. It's just me.

This year I did drop Arroyo, who was 4-7 and seeing way too many lefties, for Burnett. It was my only drop I think in the last five years. Burnett went 14-9 the rest of the season and I grabbed the ring. :roll:

Go figure.
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Postby J-Pav » Fri Jan 21, 2011 10:00 pm

[quote:6edac05be8="joethejet"]O Rating -> 7975
P Rating -> 4998
Fielding -> 551
P+F -> 5549
Overall -> 2426[/quote:6edac05be8]

In our May/June league, you won the ring even though my team out-Jetted you! I did get the consolation credit for making the finals though.

My team here rates even better than my effort against you, which was:

O Rating -> 7943
P Rating -> 5063
Fielding -> 479
P+F -> 5542
Overall -> 2400

Hopefully this bodes well!

:D
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Postby joethejet » Sat Jan 22, 2011 3:35 pm

[quote:52ec3adff9="J-Pav"][quote:52ec3adff9="joethejet"]Hey J,

Great Post. Thanks! About half-way through I realized one of MY teams was one of your 20! :) And that leads me to a question. I had McCutchen go down for a 15 with 24 to play and I was battling for a PO spot so I had to let him go making some other moves that I had to make to get Cargo. In any case, what do you do in such situations?[/quote:52ec3adff9]

Me, I ride it out. [b:52ec3adff9]Marcus[/b:52ec3adff9] once wrote a great tutorial on why the appropriate answer is to switch 'em out ([i:52ec3adff9]Palmtana. Paging Palmtana[/i:52ec3adff9]).

I lean on my subs quite a bit. It's just me.

This year I did drop Arroyo, who was 4-7 and seeing way too many lefties, for Burnett. It was my only drop I think in the last five years. Burnett went 14-9 the rest of the season and I grabbed the ring. :roll:

Go figure.[/quote:52ec3adff9]

I almost never make a cut of substance, but when you're going to get six games from a player over the last 21, you make a switch when you're battling for the last playoff spot. In this case, my rating didn't drop much with the change and my backup situation for McCutchen would have just killed me. It's not likely I make the playoffs if McCutchen gets hurt a game later or if I don't make the move.

I totally agree with staying pat with injuries in the middle of the season. This is about the only case where I'll make a big move during the season.

I just didn't know which team you used for your "formula". I assume you use the final roster?

Your "formula" team is done right?

Jet
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