FAQ: How Sparky Uses His Bullpen (2012 Update) Topic

Posted by crimsonblue on 3/15/2016 1:11:00 AM (view original):
Also on the 'team center' page, there is a tiny thing called 'edit user settings' Where you can construct your usage ratios. My experience here is that 90% of the people here have never ever adjusted this.
Wow, all the years here and I never noticed that little button for edit user settings.

What are the percentage options for starters about though? It gives 1/rotation which is whatever the number of rotation turns is, obviously, which I assume nearly all of us use. But then it also has options that go from 5% to 95% for starters. What would this be for? Especially since these settings are for multiple teams and if one sets it to 5% you would need 20 starters to cover games for you team then, no? What am I misunderstanding?

Anyway, the option to give recommended hierarchies when AAA are called up is a great option for those of us with busy schedules. It may be annoying sometimes, but at least you don't have to redo all the hierarchies if you call up a couple of players, nor at the start of an OL league if you replace all your ca. 200K scrubs (there are few actual $200,000 players now I have noticed) with your AAA.

thanks crimsonblue, for pointing that out.
4/19/2017 6:48 PM
Posted by italyprof on 4/19/2017 6:48:00 PM (view original):
Posted by crimsonblue on 3/15/2016 1:11:00 AM (view original):
Also on the 'team center' page, there is a tiny thing called 'edit user settings' Where you can construct your usage ratios. My experience here is that 90% of the people here have never ever adjusted this.
Wow, all the years here and I never noticed that little button for edit user settings.

What are the percentage options for starters about though? It gives 1/rotation which is whatever the number of rotation turns is, obviously, which I assume nearly all of us use. But then it also has options that go from 5% to 95% for starters. What would this be for? Especially since these settings are for multiple teams and if one sets it to 5% you would need 20 starters to cover games for you team then, no? What am I misunderstanding?

Anyway, the option to give recommended hierarchies when AAA are called up is a great option for those of us with busy schedules. It may be annoying sometimes, but at least you don't have to redo all the hierarchies if you call up a couple of players, nor at the start of an OL league if you replace all your ca. 200K scrubs (there are few actual $200,000 players now I have noticed) with your AAA.

thanks crimsonblue, for pointing that out.
Percentages are intended for relievers. It appears in the starters to let you hardcode percentages because... well, being that silly isn't their problem. (More likely: lazy coding)

User settings have only been around for a couple of years. They're kinda obscure, yeah.
4/20/2017 12:26 AM
The user settings have been around since at least 2007 when I first got into SLB. They really aren't new. The Expected Usage Patterns for Pitchers are, like it says right there on the screen, used in recommendations. Their only purpose is to give you those default/recommended pitch counts in the pitcher Advanced Settings window.
4/20/2017 9:58 AM
Posted by skunk206 on 4/20/2017 9:58:00 AM (view original):
The user settings have been around since at least 2007 when I first got into SLB. They really aren't new. The Expected Usage Patterns for Pitchers are, like it says right there on the screen, used in recommendations. Their only purpose is to give you those default/recommended pitch counts in the pitcher Advanced Settings window.
I've been here for much longer than that, but... wow, yeah, I guess time really does fly, lol.
4/20/2017 10:33 AM
What exactly counts as a 'save situation' to sparky? Say I'm up by 2 or 3 in the 7th, and have three players set as 'Closer A' (and otherwise available) - will it bring them in sequentially, or is this not a save situation?
5/7/2017 8:11 PM
I'm honestly ****** and confused why sparky took out Marichal here. 115 TPC. 1 pull rating.

https://www.whatifsports.com/slb/Boxscore.aspx?gid=28664393&pid=1&pbp=0&tf=10
5/30/2017 1:45 AM
Even at a 1 pull setting, if a starting pitcher blows a lead in an inning with relievers available, he will be pulled. This was done in the 7th inning, so you must have had at least one reliever set as available in the 7th or earlier. Marichal only stays in the game if reliever availability is 8th or later.
5/30/2017 9:54 AM
Posted by skunk206 on 5/30/2017 9:54:00 AM (view original):
Even at a 1 pull setting, if a starting pitcher blows a lead in an inning with relievers available, he will be pulled. This was done in the 7th inning, so you must have had at least one reliever set as available in the 7th or earlier. Marichal only stays in the game if reliever availability is 8th or later.
Well that's annoying considering that was his 3rd hit given up, and now my bullpen is gone. I need a 0 pull rating. Cuz the point of this team is for every pitcher to throw 115-120 pitches, go 8-9 every game.
5/30/2017 10:35 AM
Well **** me, it happened again to the same team. Should I send in a ticket?

https://www.whatifsports.com/slb/Boxscore.aspx?gid=28668075&pid=1&pbp=0&tf=10
5/30/2017 8:31 PM
2020 bump...still the most misunderstood facet of the game in my opinion
10/13/2020 6:04 PM
One thing that I didn't really discuss in the original posts is the use of the LH Specialist and RH specialist settings. For a long time I felt that these were useless, and that any relievers set to LHS/RHS weren't being used often enough.

I no longer believe that is the case, and after reading comments from skunk206 and other owners, I now believe the following is true:

-- LHS/RHS work best if ALL relievers, other than mopup and closer, are set that way
-- If you have a bullpen with LHS/RHS, Setup A/B, Long A/B, then the specialists will usually be the last ones used
-- Setting your entire bullpen to be LHS/RHS can, in fact, be a very effective way of using your pitching staff.
10/13/2020 6:07 PM
If you are reading this thread for the first time, the TL;DR is: the SIM algorithm never randomly decides to screw you over. If you find that a crappy reliever was used in a critical spot, it is because that is EXACTLY what the sum total of your manager settings led to.
10/13/2020 6:09 PM
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Posted by contrarian23 on 8/4/2015 10:35:00 AM (view original):
bump.... I've seen too many complaints recently about Sparky's use of the mop up.

If your mop up pitcher was brought into the game in a situation that you do not believe warranted it, it is ALWAYS because no other option was available to him at the time.

Specifically, it is very likely that one of the following was true:
-- Your other pitchers were fatigued below their autorest (this is most often the case...and when you look AFTER the game, the pitcher you think should have been used may now be at 100%, but before the game - which of course you can no longer see - he was at 94, and you set his autorest to 95)  
-- Your other rested pitchers were set to come in later in the game (if you set "inning available" = 7 and it's the 6th inning, then you have effectively told Sparky to use the mop up rather than this pitcher)
-- Your other rested pitchers were already used in the game (surprisingly common....user whines "why didn't Sparky use Eckersley" and what do you know, Eckersley was already used earlier in the game)
-- Your pitcher was ejected (yup, it happens)
-- Your pitcher was pinch hit for 
-- Your pitcher reached his pitch count
-- You just brought up the pitcher from AAA or from the waiver wire or via trade and forgot to check his relief box
-- Etc, etc, etc.

The point is, there is always a reason, based on YOUR settings.  It's not a glitch.

I wish that new users in SLB would reread this entire thread - but especially this post - over and over.
12/15/2020 12:00 PM

Thanks
12/15/2020 2:57 PM
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FAQ: How Sparky Uses His Bullpen (2012 Update) Topic

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