Small observation and rant

[Jerlins]

This has been bugging me since I slowly began to understand the the basics of this game and its time for me to chime in with my two cents. I might be off base but my experience in leagues tell me otherwise. So here goes with my opinion of what I consider one of the most common pieces of advice seen on these boards:

"<Team> is too <rh, lh slanted> and your opponents will toss <rh's, lh's> at you all day long." Well, maybe its just the leagues I'm in but I rarely see more than a 4 or 5 man rotation on the majority of the teams and for the most part it is nearly impossible (during the regular season) for a team to alter one's pitching staff just to face your heavily slanted lineup that is suited for your ballpark. There are some teams (perhaps in your division) that might carry that one extra pitcher for the sole purpose of facing your team, but that luxury normally consists of a sub $1 million dollar pitcher anyways.

I don't understand why folks continue to toss this misconception out there. Case in point...

In my first 10 2005 leagues, I had made the playoffs 9 times, losing out the 10th time to a tie-breaker, yet I only had one title to show for it, so when I put team 11 together I decided to "protect" myself on the idea of maybe these folks tossing out this information (misinformation?) knew something I had yet to figure out. What has it gotten me? A team hovering just above and below the .500 mark and what will surely be my first non playoff team.

Seeing how the two biggest one way stadiums are Shea and Wrigley, I challenge anyone who continues to advise folks with this idea that folks "will be tossing one way pitchers day in and day out at you" to show me a link where more than 2 or 3 teams in a league actually are carrying these excess pitchers "designed to stop YOU". I haven't seen it yet, maybe I've just been lucky.

I have an open mind so I can be swayed. Frankly, I'm just not seeing it. Prove me wrong and I'll be happy to agree. Until I see proof, I'm just not buying into the theory.

[JAYDINGESS1]

It happens everyday in vet leagues. In this game, you have to get every edge every time you can. Keep a .50 extra one way pitcher and keep a 9R and 9L hitter to DH or pinch hit.

Come play in some vet leagues against Lucky or Riggo or Cristano just to name a few. They have .550 plus winning percentages because they take every advantage.

[Coffeeholic]

Here's how it works:

Brad Halsey fires a 3 hitter:

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2005/league/boxscore.html?group_id=9683&g_id=23

[Jerlins]

Again, its ONE extra pitcher and .50 at that. That's 1 team, 1 extra pitcher. And like I said, it might be 2 maybe 3 teams, but its not the whole league. And I don't think either of them is going to skip Clemens, Zambrano or the like just to toss Brad Halsey against me. I haven't played in any leagues with either of those two, but have played in leagues with some of the other "big guns" and have not seen them use this strategy either. And taking a look at the 5 teams in the record books, it doesn't appear any of them have these "excess" pitchers on their teams as well.

I'm still waiting for proof that this strategy is employed by more than 2 or 3 teams per league, if that. Until that time, I'm not convinced.

[Coffeeholic]

Here's my team with Halsey on it:

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/baseball/stratomatic/2005/team/team_other.html?user_id=42521

I will be able to pitch Halsey 12 times against that team (it's in my div... and both our home parks are Shea). Unless the other manager makes some changes to his team, I should be able to count on a $.50 mil starter to throw 12 very effective starts. Even if he does make changes, I'll take a divisional foe making drops and losing salary as a positive effect of my carrying just one $.50 hard lefty SP.

Notice that I also have Ortiz and Munro on my staff. This is to face a couple of other teams (outside my division) who play in righty dominant park and that are very heavy right hand hitting teams. That gives me an opportunity to get some more quality starts form these 2 cheapies.

I'll try to remember to update this post for you as the season moves along, but I'm quite confident that my $1.64 mil invested in these 3 starters will yield an excellent bang for my buck, thus leaving me free to invest over $16 mil in Bonds.

To me, thats an excellent reason why you don't want to provide your opponents easy pitching match-ups for their cheapo SP's.

[Jerlins]

With all due respect Coffee, we did play in one league together, in the same division mind you. TSN 2243. You tried it there as well. My record was 93 and 69, yours was 79 and 83. The theory behind the strategy is good, and might work against me with 1, 2, maybe 3 teams, but not the whole league like folks are preaching. Again, I repeat "everyone will toss cheapies against you so safeguard against it" is a flawed strategy that rarely works. Build a team, stick to it, and let others worry about your team.

[JAYDINGESS1]

Jerlins,

A little disrespectful there to a good vet in Coffee. He is trying to help you. Again, come play in some vet leagues.

[stevep107]

Jerlins:

I completely agree with what you are saying.

I too have tried having groups of pitchers who are "leftie-killers" or "rightie-killers" on multiple occasions and have not had any success with it. I have also not encountered any team using this strategy which has done exceptionally well or impressed me.

My view is that you use a four man rotation of solid starters and use them against all opponents, regardless of how many LH or RH hitters the opposition is using.

If I have a LH biased line-up (and playing in Shea) and the opposition uses "leftie-killers" against me, I will often substitute low-value RH hitters into my line-up to counter their strategy (guys like Youkilis and Encarnacion) and I have had some success with this strategy.

No disrespect intended to any vets out there, but I'll happily take my solid four man rotation against your specialty "leftie-killers" and "rightie-killers" anytime.

[Jerlins]

And on another note, in another thread I actually came to Coffee's defense when someone WAS being disrespectful to him

Look, I have the utmost respect for all the posters on here, I had never even played SOM until I found it last year, and have enjoyed it ever since. I wouldn't be competitive if not for the the folks on here. ALL of them. I just think this is one area where they are way off base on, Nothing more, nothing less, and like I said in the original post, I'm willing to be swayed, just haven't seen proof that this conspiricacy theory against one's team by the majority of the other teams in the league exists.

You keep touting the vet leagues, well show me a link where more than three teams in it use the excess pitcher theory (and with success) and I'll be happy to change my opinion.

And this "come play in some vet leagues" statement I keep hearing form you. This isn't about testing myself against anyone, I'll be the first to admit I'm not in the same league as these folks. I never implied that I am.

[Jerlins]

Thats exactly what I am saying Steve, seems you understand the basis of which I am coming from. The ironic thing is you are in that league upon which I decided to put my team on safeguard mode, look where it got me.

Again, I'm not trying to show anyone up, I am not trying to belittle anyones' advice, I'm just giving my point of view which for the third (or is it the fourth) time, I'm still looking for proof that this actually exists to the extent that some make it out to be that one should take a player not as well suited for their team to guard against this. Granted, come playoff time you might be unlucky enough to have to face one of the only two teams that are doing this, and you deal with it accordingly. And if your fourth starter is decent enough, somewhere along the line, either before the matchup, or after it, his turn is going to have to be skipped somewhere along the line.

Surely, some teams run out sub $3 million pitchers ever night and are more apt to employ this strategy, which like I said previously is fine, and it works for some. But you're not going to find the majority of teams using it, and yes, even in Vet leagues.