Posted by ozomatli on 6/4/2020 5:16:00 AM (view original):
The benefit of picking the right stadium is one of the most interesting debates, to me. I have always felt that stadiums are very important since:
A) Their effects can vary so much
B) You play half the season there!

But I know that this view is not one that everyone holds. Of course, even they try to pick the right stadium when building a team, whatever that means :)

Stadiums do have an effect, I just think it's less than many people think. If you have an extreme team in an extreme stadium then it means something but for most teams we're talking about a small difference.
My best use of stadiums is for fatigue management on a team that might be light on stamina.

I have a probably bad habit of using extreme pitchers' parks as a default when I'm unsure about whether I've drafted enough PA and/or IP for a given cap level or theme. Less about aligning the right stadium with the right roster and more about having an insurance policy against fatigue. 1500 IP enough for a $140MM cap that's likely to have a lot of big hitters, hitters' parks & walks? Dunno, throw em into Petco to be safe.

I find ballparks most effective at killing homers (Target, Astrodome, etc.), if I have a low HR lineup, or a really high HR/9 pitching staff.

Posted by thunder1008 on 6/4/2020 1:00:00 PM (view original):
I have a probably bad habit of using extreme pitchers' parks as a default when I'm unsure about whether I've drafted enough PA and/or IP for a given cap level or theme. Less about aligning the right stadium with the right roster and more about having an insurance policy against fatigue. 1500 IP enough for a $140MM cap that's likely to have a lot of big hitters, hitters' parks & walks? Dunno, throw em into Petco to be safe.

If 1500 IPs isn't enough, I'm screwed bc I'm 75 short of that. I'm pushing the limits on IPs and PAs in every league.

Posted by thunder1008 on 6/4/2020 1:00:00 PM (view original):
I have a probably bad habit of using extreme pitchers' parks as a default when I'm unsure about whether I've drafted enough PA and/or IP for a given cap level or theme. Less about aligning the right stadium with the right roster and more about having an insurance policy against fatigue. 1500 IP enough for a $140MM cap that's likely to have a lot of big hitters, hitters' parks & walks? Dunno, throw em into Petco to be safe.

San Diego is not an option for the $140mm league

Hopefully that was just an off-the-cuff example ...

It was. He's in the Polo Grounds

My innings and abs on all my teams are gonna fall well short. I guarantee I’m in the bottom 5 in both categories. If not 1st...

But I have a feeling I’ll still play well. I’d put myself just outside the cage...

Some owners are very comfortable pushing that envelope and know how to manage it. But I've also recently seen an owner lose about 140 games after the pitching went south. I think there's a point where the risk outweighs the rewards of shaving an additional, say, 20 more innings. But it takes more experience than I have to know precisely where that line is, and no doubt it varies a lot by league and competition. There's more incentive to push yourself closer to the line in this tournament, but one blow-up can kill your whole ranking, too.

Posted by redcped on 6/4/2020 5:48:00 PM (view original):
Some owners are very comfortable pushing that envelope and know how to manage it. But I've also recently seen an owner lose about 140 games after the pitching went south. I think there's a point where the risk outweighs the rewards of shaving an additional, say, 20 more innings. But it takes more experience than I have to know precisely where that line is, and no doubt it varies a lot by league and competition. There's more incentive to push yourself closer to the line in this tournament, but one blow-up can kill your whole ranking, too.

Every bit of this is exactly right.

It's also interesting to consider where the sweet spot falls in Round 1 vs Round 2, since each game in Round 2 is worth double the points of a Round 1 game but you're facing an insanely high level of competition.

Thank you.

And if it helps that additional point, my R2 roster for the 110M has 18 fewer innings than my R1. I chose to try to roll the dice a little more in R2 if I get there, because it could help me eke out a few more wins if I play it right. And both numbers are low for me anyway, because this tournament has taught me that I used to be too conservative and not close enough to the sweet spot at all.

To play devil's advocate, WaitNSee won in spite of drafting objectively too many innings on many occasions. He played it safe, which is pretty badass because it means that he was that much better than everyone else during his era (and he knew it).

It's a shame that he never tweaked his strategy after dynamic pricing came into play and impacted his success, and chose to retire instead. I still send him a sitemail invitation to the tournament each year, in case he happens to log back in.

I feel like with so many owners in Round 1, fatigue is bound to impact many teams, to varying degrees. But after having a team lose 130 games due to the death spiral a few years ago and remove any hope of making Round 2, I now always err on the side of too many innings.

I hate this aspect of the WIS Championship, but the number of innings drafted is such an important aspect of your success. Draft too few and fatigue hell awaits... draft too many and your roster quality suffers.